Back to LOS on 2nd March

[Guest]

Hi guys, and salma of course!!!

I have not been posting for a while, I'll put it down to pressure of business!

I will be departing the UK for LOS on 2nd march and was wondering if anyone can give the the low down on high speed wireless internet access in BKK?

I will be staying at the J W Marriott and then going to Chiang mai for a few days and will be staying at the Sheraton there (formerly the Westin).

Advice much appreciated as usual

[stogie bear]

Still got the famous THAIPAN sense of humor, I see! Nice one! Like it, like it!

[Guest]

I kind of thought that wireless internet access was funny too till I tried it today in sunny but f**king freezing Glasgow

OK I take it that high speed wireless internet access access in BKK is a no go!

[Mai-Kee]

Nice to see you're still around, Thaipan!
I have no idea if the JW Marriot has a wireless broadband access (I personally think this place sucks), the Conrad has a wireless LAN definitely and I'm pretty sure the Westin Banyan as well. In CM I'd rather recommend for that the Regent, which's nicer anyway.
Enjoy!

MK

[Guest]

Thanks MK!

The JW does have high speed internet access through their network so that is not a problem. My new laptop has wi-fi and I wanted to play with it

Can't wait to get back to LOS on the 3rd march!!!

[Mai-Kee]

Perfect timing for the midnight pick-up party! Best is: Skip the dinner go directly for the girls and afterwards for some streetfood (never shag with a full stomach!) - if there is still some available....but be careful maybe you get shot when you stroll through the streets after closing hour...and maybe they also switch of the lights....???
I heard that they do this in N-Korea, which is obviously the model for this Mr. Shitawatra.

MK

[Guest]

Taipan, just called the assistant GM at the Sheraton/Westin in Chiangmai who is a friend of mine, and enquired about internet connections in the rooms. Local dial up only I'm sorry to say, but their business centre has a high speed connection.
If you wish to go on line in your room, I would suggest the purchase of a a JI Net Shark Bite card (or similar) on your arrival in Bangkok. It's a 1222 dial up number, and good for all 76 provinces.....179 baht for 15 days. regards The Cynic

[stogie bear]

Just a thought but it's amazing how most hotels haven't figured out how important internet access is!

[Guest]

I am heading to BKK on business and staying at President Solitaire. Free Broadband

My company is footing the bill so I can stay just about anyplace. President Solitaire is a good deal, great service, huge rooms, DVD player, plasma TV plus free broadband. The only thing they don't supply is the girl ;-)

[Guest]

A topic near and dear to my heart...

In Bangkok, I don't know which hotels offer WiFi. But the Siam Discovery Center, as well as other places, offer free hotspots. Sit near the Apple store (I'm a recently converted Mac-user, from Linux, btw) for best reception. They have a Starbucks or something right there. I think many of the Starbucks in bangkok have WiFi, but they may charge.

Here's a phenomenally useful link:
http://www.wi-fihotspotlist.com/browse/intl/2000038/

In Chiangmai, where I live most of the year, I'm similarly clueless about hotels. I have found one hotspot, from browsing the link above, at "Just Coffee" connected with the "Kingdom" book shop. It's on the street Chiangmai Land (across from the disco Bossy, where you should go if you are so inclined, LBs there every night), not at the address they listed on the above website.

GPRS (wireless internet through your GSM phone, or through a pc-card with SIM card) is apparently available through practically all of Thailand. Pre-paid it's slightly expensive, but they have some pretty cheap unlimited monthly plans (1200 baht/month through AIS if you sign up for a post-billed account). I've heard good things about this, but haven't checked it out yet myself. Hoping this may do the trick.

[Guest]

high speed broadband zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,

time for some real speed perhaps - yep, that"s methy-amphetamines to you propellar heads !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...................

Bricktop

[Snick]

I just got ADSL 512/256 at home and I'm thinking of buying some kind of repeater and aiming it at my swimming pool downstairs.

I'm interested in what you find out about wireless hotspots, please post your discoveries.

Snick

[Guest]

Snick,

You can get a wireless access point for under $100 US. Even in over-priced-for-electronics-Thailand. If your laptop is not already wireless enabled, you can probably pick up a combo Access point + wireless card for right about $100.

It's dirt simple to set up. Plug the access point into your connection. Follow instructions to set it up. MAKE SURE to secure it with a password.

Put the card in your laptop (might need to install a driver or some shit) and you can log on to your network from within about a 1000 foot radius.

Some tips:

1) I've had decent luck with Linksys products (Though I'm on Apple Mac now, with the Apple Airport, which is expensive, but as everything they do these days blows everyone else away)

2) DEFINITELY get 802.11 g (NOT 802.11 b). G is faster. They're selling B at a discount to get rid of them.

3) If you think you'll ever want to hook up a desktop system, plus one-or-more laptops floating around, make sure to get an access point that is both a router and a wifi access point. Linksys definitely makes these. This way, you plug the AP into your ADSL connection, run a wire from this to your desktop, and any other machine you can either run a wire, or use wireless.

Hope that helps.

[Snick]

Chuck, I'm already running wireless at home (11B, since I've been using it for a while). But what I want is a repeater, that I can put on my terrace and point at the pool downstairs....
Once thats done, its laptop by the pool !

p.s. If you are setting up a ADSL home network here in Thailand, I suggest getting an Adsl-modem/Router locally that is pre-configured for your ADSL provider. They are using some funky ADSL settings and I would not want to try and configure an adsl modem myself. I bought a modem/router here for $100, I'm sure it would have cost $50-$75 stateside, but this one was known to work. Get a real modem/router, not a USB adsl-modem.