Lung Per wrote:My seeing eye smells a troll....

Lung Per, I assure you I am not a troll. I would rather go back to being a passive observer than an active participant, if being the latter is going to upset people. I learnt long ago that "local knowledge" is a valuable tho' underated commodity, and I have found valuable information on many subjects, simply by putting Alpha male conceit to one side and asking people better informed than I am. I guess on the subjects of karaoke bars, soi dogs, unpleasant smells etc that another poster raised, I'm no different from anyone in that I want to find the balance between having everything close to hand, yet not so close that I can't block it out when I want a quiet night in. I'd like to be as close to the beach as the budget will allow-not very!-and, as another poster queried, to have "everything"-restaurants, bars, shopping etc within a 10-15 minute drive. We liked "Kiri Nakara" to the North, and "Hua Hin Horizon" to the South. It was a simple, honest attempt to engage with the people who will soon be my neighbours, and I really have no interest in engaging in vituperative point-scoring with anyone.