i think it's worth it to read for example the last 2000 posts or something from both threads. you can also put 100 posts per page so it's only 20 pages

to answer your questions: yes it's possible to rent for 1-2months. hotels/guest houses for a month from like 5000 to 100k+ a month. monthly budget depends on too many things. i avg $2k a month

cambodia to enter $20 and to leave the country $25

edit: misread a question so i removed my answer

High season is coming to an end so you might be able to find a good deal even for only a 2 months lease

you can live off like 300$/month here or you can spew 10k+ but I guess most people here (in Phuket) are somewhere in the 1,5-3k range?
Expect to be at the higher end of that range when you first get here though. There will be more unforeseen costs, more going out etc.

Ok, thnx all.

Hail Thaksin <o/

Been googling for hotels at Koh Samui and Koh Tao, but they don't seem to have internet on the room it self? They only seem to offer internet in the hotel lobby?
Has anyone been to hotels there that have internetacces from the rooms?

Thnx.

How can I get an ip address that's in Europe or w/e while I'm staying in Thailand? Kinda need to use Moneybookers but pretty sure they'll lock my account if I try to withdraw from a thai ip

no they don't

just withdraw

Depositing to poker sites / withdrawing from poker sites works as well??

from what ive read itt various times it that you can withdraw but not deposit to gaming sites. for a EU (switzerland IP) you can use this http://www.swissvpn.net/
i think it was 5$ a month. ive never used it with moneybookers, only gaming sites and it worked when i was supposed to be blocked because of the country i was staying in. i dont know how "reliable" it is and if sites can detect it.

you can do anything else with moneybookers but not deposit to gaming sites from thai ip

Koelkast most hotels offer wi-fi. How good the signal will be in your room depends mainly on the strength of their transmitter and the quality of your Wi-Fi antenna. WiFi providers in the west usually use good boosters which mean your wi-fi signal is strong regardless of your own antenna. Thai hotels and cafes don't really care so much how strong their signal is so it usually is up to you to do what you can to improve signal quality.

Most laptops come with an inbuilt wi-fi antenna, the quality of which is dependent on brand but usually horrible. The single best way to improve wi-fi performance is to buy an external directional wi-fi antenna. eg http://www.cantenna.com/ With one of these you will be getting 5 bars in places where everyone else is getting 0-1 bars.

The other option which many people in this thread use is to buy a mobile broadband account with a Thai provider that can be used anywhere in Thailand.

www.bananavpn.com is good

My friend uses this and it's an attractive option. However, isn't it true that you need a high end 3G capable phone? If you don't have one, is there a cheap thai alternative ?

I have an Iphone 3G, but it's simlocked...

take it to any mall and get them to software unlock it for you

There is the "aircard" which is just a large USB stick plugged into a USB port on you puter that involves NO phone at all.

The stick itself costs ~7KTHB-12KTHB and the service like 900THB/mo.

mmh that's convenient but very pricey.. I mean thats 300$ for the stick, I could get a half decent 3G phone for that price.

The thing is the aircards are much more stable for internet than 3g phones are. When your income relies on a stable internet connection it's worth it. After all you only have to disconnect once with money on the table for that $300 to pay for itself.

Heading to Udon Thani for a couple nights. Anyone have suggestions as far as hotels/food/clubs?

when i was in udon some months ago i stayed at centara (formerly charoen sri). its a big hotel with great facilities and pool. its also connected with a mall. its very cheap for what u get, think we payed aroun 1500 baht pr night.

http://www.r24.org/udonthanihotels.c.../pictures.html

at the moment the stick costs 6500 and monthly fee is 845. you get first 3 months free and they want you to pay another 3 months in advance(so basically you are paying 6 months up front) if you dont have a work permit. this in phuket when i went to help zach/rudy/reima/niko get one in the last couple of weeks

total ~9k for the if you use it for 6 months and then throw it away

OK Sweet. What he said!

for anyone thats had a thai teacher whats their normal rate(bb/100!) for private lessons.

i got a thai teacher, but shes not hot (old). she charged like 500 baht for 1.5 hrs. i quit after like a week tho cause got too much stuff going on.

i can give u her # if u want, pm me.

I've had lessons from 150b/h (qualified teacher but freelancing) to 400b/hour (overpriced school).