where do you come up with this **** lol

watch the movie and you can answer your own question.

the koh tao diving scene is the closest thing i've seen. most of the instructors are foreigners and there are lots of them that all live on a small, very beautiful island.

I agree. It's difficult to make a decision when you've never been to the place. Go there and check it out for yourself, then decide.

hotel/rent and food wise is Samui cheaper than phuket? And if so how much?

So I have 6 days before I fly back to the US from BKK (curently in Penang). I was thinking of stopping by Phuket for most of that time because I'm in the mood for some beaches and snorkeling (Penang beaches are pretty terrible).

Anything wrong with this idea? Beaches are good in Penang right?

Also is there a decent gym in Phuket that offers reasonable 1-day rates?

Without question Samui is cheaper.

There are valid reasons people prefer Phuket to Samui but I doubt price is ever going to be one of them.

I got carpentry skills.. a man with a talon can build anything.

maybe when I get to phuket I should create my own secret community of travelers.

diving scene? you mean when they jumped off the cliff thing? alls I know is that the cliff, weed field & the beach were filmed in all different locations.

i know it will have been asked a million times but any good recs on hotels near kao san road?

obv depends on budget but sawasdee hotels are the best budget hotels in that area imo. should be less than 1,000 baht per night and there are several in that vicinity

ty very much

take a boat from penang to langkawi. takes like 1.5h at most. beautiful beaches and duty free alcohol!

anyone selling a bycycle in phuket or knowing where i could buy one ?

Ok, I know its been asked 1000 times already by all the n00bs in this thread, but after being in Thailand for almost 1 year now, Ive decided its about time I opened a Thai bank account.

So, if anyone could offer any advice.....

1. Best bank to use? Purple/Yellow/GreenK/etc?
2. Ease of opening? Docs/Visas required?
3. Fees for withdrawals at ATMs (I assume they are cheaper than using your Farang card at ATM?)
4. Depositing and withdrawing from Stars and Tilt?
5. etc etc etc

Thanks

1. green
2. need an address in thailand, possibly a contact person (a thai), your passport
3. using your own banks ATMs in your own province 0 baht, 10-20 baht using different bank or in different province
4. some yank could answer this, i only withdraw from moneybookers to KBank
5. yep you should go open one

you are welcome

Ian, any update on the CDMA?

There is a bicycle shop on the corner of chaofa east road and the tiger muay thai road.

steelerian,

You can link your PS account to Kbank. You just have to change your addy and send them a utility bill. AFAIK it's the same with FT. Also, **** the Steelers.

Are there any deductions taken out when you cash out from site -> Kbank?

Where is the best place in Koh Samui to go to? North East, South West, etc?

Any 2p2'rs going to be in phuket/rawai around Feb-April?

Also need recommendations on good places to stay in that area (rawai) with good internet connection!

Slappz,

The sites just give you an exchange rate that is a bit worse than the XE rate. You end up paying less than 2% vig.

There will always be 2+2ers in Phuket / Rawai. I live in Rawai, so i'm one of them.

What kind of place are you looking for? Get CDMA, so you have at least reliable internet.

what? the sites are not making the exchange, KBank is. If for some reason the site is doing the exchange then tell them not to and to send the money in USD/EUR/GBP or whatever your account currency is

and like I have stated several times KBank takes 0.25% + flat fee of 200-500 baht when they receive your money. you should see how much (if any) the sites take from the cashier

unless you are sending like $1000 at a time the vig will be way less than 2% on KBank side

Any 2+2 ers with a spare bed / couch for rent in Bangkok or Pattaya for Nov 7th-12th? I will be alone and I do not want to be bored to death and would love to be around some poker players before i head back to the states. Big bonus if I could find a jogging / basketball / weight lifting partner as well. I am just leaving a 3 month visit with my Indonesian fiancee' (we started with a Thailand holiday and spent the last 2.5 months in Indonesia), so I will not be looking to meet any ladies - but a few beers sounds good. Heading back to the states early in the morning on the 12th.

If no good places for rent with poker players, I will wind up staying at the ambassador (default choice) hotel - anyone up for showing me around bangkok? Would especially appreciate someone taking me to basketball courts, gym etc.

I currently play PLO50 - 200 and LHE 2/4 - 3/6 - mostly on cake. My main games are live NL 500 -1000 and PLO 200 - 1000. Cannot wait to get my grind back on in Florida! Nothing like 3 months away from the tables to make you want to grind live!

Lessu,

That's just how my queer roommate described the process to me. My main point is that you end up not paying very much vig at all.

Slifdog,

Is your avatar a picture of your fiancee? We have weekly soccer games on Sunday/Wed that everybody sans Germans are welcome to. Basketball only goes off once in a great while.