Text 19037, 62 rader
Skriven 2005-12-18 09:06:20 av Björn Forsström (2:203/614.61)
  Kommentar till text 18983 av Carol Shenkenberger (6:757/1)
Ärende: Thailand
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BF>> Doesn't sound to encouraging. Have too look out for it since I'm going
BF>> there  Jan. 3 to Pattaya.

 CS> Oh enjoy!  It's a wonderful place.  On the drink scam, just pay as you go
 CS> and you will be fine.

We don't visit night clubs and places where the scum might be so I hope
we will do just fine.

 CS> One of the fun places, if the idea doesnt bother you, is a place that has
 CS> a stage show of transvestites.  Lots of fun and pricey but worth it.  The
 CS> lead singer is a hoot to party with along with the others!  Yeah, costs
 CS> more to get them drinks (pay-me type) but it was worth it and didnt get
 CS> ripped off since i was paying by the drink.

Thanks, but we don't go there for that kind of entertainment. Rather see and
experience the nature and are hoping to ride on an elephant.

 CS> When you walk the beach, think of our last Thialand node out here who was
 CS> taken out along with his family apparently, to sea.  His bar is gone,
 CS> swept clean.  His nodelisting was in BangKok but he had moved...  Big
 CS> gruff looking fellow with lots of reddish hair and a glorious laugh but it
 CS> took me a time to know it was the same fellow in the nodelist and then he
 CS> was gone.

The he must have been on the west-coast where the Tsunami hit and Pattaya
is far away from that place.
I'm going to bring my laptop so I can be your Thai node....

 CS> Check what colors your female friends like in beads and such and get gifts
 CS> for them all at 50centsUSA exchange rates.  Watch for earrings though as
 CS> if they are metal sensitive (most of us arent but some are and will get
 CS> ear infections) you want to skip all but the ones at the goldsmith places.

There is a warning on Thailands Swedish website that there is a big gem-scam
going on and that we should *never* buy any jewelry from anyone but from
a recomended store.

 CS> Drink bottled water but dont be afraid of the food.  As a tourist place,
 CS> they are very careful about that.  Icecubes in your drink are a bad idea
 CS> though I am told (even the hotel had little warnings about that when I was
 CS> last there but that was only 3 months after the tsunami).  It's not that
 CS> the water is 'bad' but that it has slightly different bacteria than you
 CS> may be used to and thats not a good way to spend vacation time.

There exist a drinkable vaccine that takes care of up to 70% of the "normal"
stommach problems (tourist stommach) and we have taken that. It worked well
for us in Domenican Republic so I cross my fingers and hope it will work well
even this time but thanks for the warning.

 CS> Have you been there before?

No, but we should have been there during the Tsunami but things happend
so we re-book it to March and then we had to re-book again to Domenican
since our reserved bungalow at Khao Lak, 20 yards from the beach was gone.
I suppose we were very lucky.
Now we're going to stay there for two months and hope that nothing will
happend this time.

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 * Origin: . (2:203/614.61)