Post deleted by Mat Sklansky

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

there are bars in the trains? i never noticed any.

[Tempest122]

Earlier in the thread it was mentioned party poker is blocked by the thai government. KKF and Ski, how do you guys play on party from thailand? I'm going to visit for a month or so this summer and would love to be able to play at party again.

[WhoIam]

[ QUOTE ]
This has probably been covered about a thousand times, but any suggestions on a good value for a hotel in the $50 area in bkk? I'm just looking for something for two nights while I stop hating life after the 24 hour trip.

[/ QUOTE ]
I recently asked Bill about hotels in bkk and he said this:
"sukumvit 11 has the ambassador and grand president which i beleive are about $50 a night and i think you can save money and book online, or so i've been told. cheaper than that there are loads of options but i'm not really sure of names or anything."

[K䲰䮥n]

Koh Samui / Thailand first timer - Chaweng or Lamai?

I'm going to stay at Koh Samui for 10 days in June. I'm going with my spouse. We're near our 30s.

Things that we enjoy doing on a holiday:
<ul type="square">[*]Snorkling (coral(ish) beaches preferred)[*]Sun bathing (on the beach, not the pool)[*]Eating local food (in restaurants)[*]Some kind of a privacy[*]Shopping[*]Live music + few beers[*]Other activities (safaris, excusrsions etc.)[/list]
Things that we (she [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) dont enjoy:
<ul type="square">[*]Crowded beaches (o rly)[*]Sound of jet skis (o rly)[*]"Spring break" athmosphere (past that)[/list]
So far the Nora Beach Resort (3800 TBH/night) on the northern Chaweng Beach looks like the winner. I'm gonna make the reservation for the first three nights from that hotel unless something comes up in this thread.

Also, any general tips for a first time traveler like me?

PS. So far I only have my flights booked to Bangkok so feel free to suggest other places than Samui if you feel so. Thanks.

[kaah]

[ QUOTE ]
Koh Samui / Thailand first timer - Chaweng or Lamai?

I'm going to stay at Koh Samui for 10 days in June. I'm going with my spouse. We're near our 30s.

Things that we enjoy doing on a holiday:
<ul type="square">[*]Snorkling (coral(ish) beaches preferred)[*]Sun bathing (on the beach, not the pool)[*]Eating local food (in restaurants)[*]Some kind of a privacy[*]Shopping[*]Live music + few beers[*]Other activities (safaris, excusrsions etc.)[/list]
Things that we (she [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) dont enjoy:
<ul type="square">[*]Crowded beaches (o rly)[*]Sound of jet skis (o rly)[*]"Spring break" athmosphere (past that)[/list]
So far the Nora Beach Resort (3800 TBH/night) on the northern Chaweng Beach looks like the winner. I'm gonna make the reservation for the first three nights from that hotel unless something comes up in this thread.

Also, any general tips for a first time traveler like me?

PS. So far I only have my flights booked to Bangkok so feel free to suggest other places than Samui if you feel so. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

chaweng is like the patong in phuket of samui(hooker n nightlife central) atleast north/central chaweng is.. its a seven kilometer long beach so hard to pinpoint action, but this is a place where you walk up and down and get pestered by taxidrivers honking at you every 10seconds, be prepared. lamai is quieter i have only stayed there one night but its a bit smaller more relaxed. chaweng is like the capitol of samui and if you are traveling as a couple i would probably say live in lamai and visit chaweng. you will have more privacy in lamai.
advice? dont play 4K/night for a room [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[kaah]

Tempest122 i played at party while i was in paton phuket. i talked to some other players at the cafe and they said it depended on where you where in the contry, they said the could ent connect to party in pattaya e.g
i dont know if it was the poor connection ore the poor hardware(ore both) but it lagged HELL and i got disconnected and autofolded more than 5times in 5minutes..

"samui is way mroe developed and resortish and just had a weird feel to it. it didn't have that much of a local feel to it. more commercialized i guess. There was nothing that stood out about the island either.

ko phangan has the full moon party and is much smaller and really awesome imo."

honestly is there anything on this earth more commercialized then the full moon party. kohpangan is cheap, thats about all it is.. the beach is PACKED with topess hot... sweds?! thats not what you travel halfway across the world too see, not a person over 40 at the island and the avrage is farang/ age 20.8/britt 33%/scandinavian 33%/israeli 33%

and alot of resturants are runned by israelis at this island for some reason

i thougt the place sucked ass but if you are the type of person that enjoy ibiza you will have a blast for 150b per bucket there.

[NewTeaBag]

[ QUOTE ]
Koh Samui / Thailand first timer - Chaweng or Lamai?

I'm going to stay at Koh Samui for 10 days in June. I'm going with my spouse. We're near our 30s.

Things that we enjoy doing on a holiday:
<ul type="square">[*]Snorkling (coral(ish) beaches preferred)[*]Sun bathing (on the beach, not the pool)[*]Eating local food (in restaurants)[*]Some kind of a privacy[*]Shopping[*]Live music + few beers[*]Other activities (safaris, excusrsions etc.)[/list]
Things that we (she [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]) dont enjoy:
<ul type="square">[*]Crowded beaches (o rly)[*]Sound of jet skis (o rly)[*]"Spring break" athmosphere (past that)[/list]
So far the Nora Beach Resort (3800 TBH/night) on the northern Chaweng Beach looks like the winner. I'm gonna make the reservation for the first three nights from that hotel unless something comes up in this thread.

Also, any general tips for a first time traveler like me?

PS. So far I only have my flights booked to Bangkok so feel free to suggest other places than Samui if you feel so. Thanks.

[/ QUOTE ]

3800THB/night sounds on the sicker side of sick in terms of prices IMO. Not been to Samui, but you could easily fulfill all your desires/requirements on multiple parts of Phuket without ever coming into Patong (most touristy/nightlifey part). If you want some advice bout specific areas/accom on Phuket drop me a PM.

PS I'm 33 with a 31yr old Long term Thai GF. So this isn't coming from a "young spunker".

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

you might be able to get a discount on a flight in june. there is as court ruling on the 30th which could spark violence and more political uncertainity. maybe even another coup!

[xxThe_Lebowskixx]

The Constitutional Tribunal may dissolve the two biggest political parties on May 30, and if the first draft of the new constitution holds up, the party system could lose most of the clout gained under 10 years of a democratic charter.

Unpredictability has characterised Thai politics for decades, but this year's host of uncertainties has got even the most seasoned political analysts scratching their heads.

"This is the most confusing period in Thai politics that I can remember," admitted Chris Baker, co-author of several books on the topic with his wife, academic Pasuk Phongpaichit.

One of great unknowns is whether or not Thailand's two largest political parties will be dissolved and their leaders barred from politics for the next five years.

On May 30, the Constitutional Tribunal will decide the fates of the Thai Rak Thai Party, founded by ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and the Democrats, the country's oldest political party which celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.

The two parties face charges of committing fraud during the April 2, 2006, general election, the results of which were annulled on May 8, leaving Thailand in a political wilderness from which it has yet to emerge.

Other questions looming on Thailand's political horizon include whether or not a nationwide referendum will reject the kingdom's 18th attempt at a constitution, whether there will be a general election by the end of the year and whether the extremely popular but equally divisive Thaksin will return from exile and if the military will stage a counter-coup in an attempt to clear up, once again, all this political uncertainty.

Much depends on the outcome of the May 30 Constitution Tribunal ruling.

If the tribunal decides to dissolve the Thai Rak Thai and Democrat parties, street protests can be expected by the two parties' followers, which number about 14 million and 4 million, respectively.

If the tribunal decides not to dissolve the parties but to bar their executives from politics for the next five years, that will raise other questions.

"If they bar a significant number of politicians from politics, questions will arise about how meaningful the next election will be," said Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat party.

While it is clear that the Thai military do not want to see the political comeback of Thaksin, whom they deposed with a coup last September 19, it is less clear to what extent they intend to throttle the political party system.

Judging by the first draft of the new constitution by a military-appointed committee, Thailand's political parties are set to lose a lot of the political clout they won under the last 1997 constitution, deemed the country's most democratic charter to date.

The 1997 constitution was scrapped with the coup.

Many clauses in the newly drafted charter are designed to prevent the emergence of a strong premier and one powerful political party, as happened under Thaksin and his populist Thai Rak Thai party between 2001 to 2006.

"This is an elitist constitution," said political analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of Chulalongkorn University's Institute of Security and International Studies. "The spirit of this constitution is to put down Thaksin and the Thaksin regime or anything like Thaksin again."

But there are indications that the charter will be significantly amended by the time it is presented for a referendum in August or September this year.

For instance, an amendment committee has already dropped a controversial clause that would have created an "emergency council," an appointed body to resolve future political crises, and it is likely to change a clause bringing back appointed, as opposed to elected senators, as was stipulated under the 1997 charter.

If the new constitution weakens Thailand's political parties too much, the politicians are likely to mobilise their followers to reject it in the referendum.

"Any attempt to make the elections not meaningful, and to restore the rule of the bureaucracy, will only invite trouble. That's the bottom line," said Abhisit.

When Thai politicians say "the bureaucracy," they include the military, who basically ran the country from 1932, when they overthrew the absolute monarchy, until 1992, when a brutal army crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Bangkok finally ousted the generals from the political scene.

"They've been trying to burrow their way back for the past 15 years and got nowhere until this coup, and then suddenly they're back," said Baker in reference to the Thai military.

Over those 15 years, however, much has changed in Thailand, and the "bureaucrats" may be in for a surprise if they force their hand too much.

"Public expectations are much higher," said Thitinan. "People are smarter, more sophisticated. They have had ten years of the 1997 constitution and five years of Thaksin, so they've had a foretaste of the things they can get."

Democrat leader Abhisit, who may well lose his job this month, agreed.

"The one certainty is you can't roll things back," said Abhisit. "One way or the other we will return to elections very soon."

[edfurlong]

Does this mean I'll get to see tanks?!