jacko

Great feedback glynbuk...... One quick question.... ...that's a half mile..sounds a long way and a cracking pace you made (7 minutes)..120 yards/ minute... I'd be out of breath! I am still interested to hear how transit works at T5... that was always one of the most infuriating things about LHR.... being forced through repeated security checks...as if Manchester couldn't do the job.

Alternatively you can carry a small 'package' for 'Carlos', a nice polite swarthy gentleman in a white suit and Panama hat and hand it to 'George' at the other end, a very polite West African man and he will give you some money! I certainly wouldn't trust BA though!

Don't worry. Tom should have said 90 days in any 180 as the max on 30 day stamps unless........... A 30 day stamp being what nationals of many countries get when they arrive in Thailand WITHOUT a visa in their passport..

I have just been mooching around the BA website and they are making some serious claims about how wonderful things are working there in T5 and elsewhere in LHR. Anybody confirm or deny? I must admit to being a little confused by the process of moving flights into T5. I was under the impression that T5 would make transfers a dream... I would walk directly from my domestic BA flight onto the Bangkok bound plane carrying a complimentary glass of champagne. And visa versa.... I see my ex Manchester planes indeed now do land at T5 ....? Used to be T1. The Bangkok bound plane still leaves from T4... but many longhauls have moved to T5, and others follow in September and October... not my Bangkok plane though, of course that means Sydney too, Singapore also for some reason. But in January 2009 these remaining ones move. ......, not toT5, but T3? Ah well, if I am crazy enough to go BA, and so utterly mad as to try Heathrow, at least I will land and take off from the same airport... if not the same terminal. For now... So I get off at T3, need to head to T5 for Manchester (or visa versa)... do I still have to go through the dreaded CONNECTIONS CENTRE...aaaaarghhh

My point was biz class tickets are a lot cheaper out of mostly anywhere than the UK. Your first point I disputed was 'Tickets often appear cheaper from abroad, but in reality those are heavily restricted.' Now you say.....'Some tickets appear cheaper from UK to Bkk than from Bkk to the UK, because the UK tickets are generally more heavily restricted. Perhaps you are calling UK abroad? I have a Pattaya agents list of flights before me now, to Europe, in the economy group, they mostly are 3 month tickets, quite a few 6 month, and only the odd 1 year or 1 month validity... Business class tickets are also going through the roof, ('Club' is only British Airways which is in the clouds) I live in Thailand but still buy my business class tickets ex-UK, I wanted to get back here one way then perhaps I could get the bargain Qatar tickets and perhaps the cheaper 'D' and 'Z' classes. But prices are in a state of flux. Perhaps not a good time to call!

Well after a bit of messing about..I am online...some routers are problematic, my Belkin would NOT sync... my D-Link does but I had to make some changes to the default settings. As to Maxnet....I haven't sat around like this since dial-up. It really slows down at peak times, but is better than my old Edge. And so it should be at 3 times the price.This country is in the stone age when it comes to internet connection.

Agreed Tom, Biz Class can show a substantial difference depending on which end you book it from. It became our company policy, where someone was expected to make many round trips from the US HQ, to leave the first ticket return to US open, and buy all other tickets at the other end. (This was Eastern Europe, North Africa, South America)... I think the 78,000 baht Qatar tickets will be scarce soon, I see a lot about 120,000+ taxes for later in the year. They are already that ex UK at about £2050. (http://booking.qatarairways.com ) I am a little unhappy at being forced into a corner and flying China Airlines in October.....

This statement is untrue....ticket prices are set to the market they are sold in. The UK being one of the highest. I have had personal experience of this when I found that the cost of rerouting the ticket I had in my hand, was more expensive than buying a one way from the place I was at, same airline....(ticket Caracas to London, I wanted to get back from Buenos Aeries) I was also amazed how reasonable the fares were in Venezuela on BA.

The concern for the airline is that you will be 'rejected' by immigration, which means they are liable to a substantial fine and be held responsible for taking you off their hands. I believe Thai immigration only require proof of 'flight' or way out of Thailand, when you arrive without a visa (ie 30 day stamp).

I saw the Finn Air aircraft when I was at Bangkok airport recently and it looked tiny...I think it was an MD11. Also the outward layover in Helsinki of 5 hours is too much for me (ex Man). Return offers either a late evening arrival at Manchester, or sleeping in a seat at Helsinki... no thanks. Good price though.

As I posted recently in the Member's bar, I was pleasantly surprised when I went there. I wasn't looking for a barfine..... just to sit, drink a beer or two and enjoy the entertainment. Some very cute girls dancing immodestly. It's disadvantage is being so large, it needs a lot of customers to look like fun.

Agreed...but you could check with your embassy to see how many entries you can get on a tourist visa. I used to get a triple entry visa. I made an 'entry' just before the visa expired (6 months) and hence got 60 days beyond the life of the visa. I still had the option of another extension, and even an entry without visa (30 day stamp) if needed.

I guess you mean on Thrappaya, which goes from the RG to Jomtiem beach. Thanks for sharing this, everyone's nightmare when having involved procedures done overseas. Imagine this doctor performing eye operations. As you said, you suffered an expensive and uncomfortable procedure to be ultimately left worse off! Will you have an opportunity to revisit this unethical doctor and confront him with the implants? Or perhaps throw them in his face? And very dissapointing to be faced with such an attitude from an educated professional, that he can do no wrong, and by his evaluation, it was your mistake to use these teeth to eat with! What is the final position on this, since teeth are gone and underlying bone messed up, a lifetime of gaps or annoying plates in your mouth?

One suggestion would be to get rid of the nanny.......... I found that getting a job for my bored tilac was not easy. All the jobs were full time... maybe 48 hours and I wanted her back home more time than that would allow. Also the money hardly seemed worth it. In the end she went off to a school to learn a hobby or two. She did hairdressing........didn't seem to like that. Next was making clothes....this she liked and now we have some strange gadgets that make noise and clothes in the spare bedroom. She now combines an advanced English course with helping the teachers in the 'clothes making' class. The school is a Catholic church sponsored place, but they do not push religion at all. It costs next to nothing, I believe they just want to give girls and women skills to keep them out of the usual Pattaya trade. Many students are the wives and tilacs of farangs. Thai women do seem keen to offload the work of taking care of a baby, she gets sent to mama, or worse, mama comes to stay to help out. Not the way it was done when I was young, but frequent here. Yours, at only 27, certainly should not be allowed to get bored.

Are you saying that someplace in Pattaya they went ahead, and made implants for you, when the reality was you were unsuitable? Might be worth warning somebody off .... I have certainly seen this promoted a lot lately, by very cute girls who speak good English! Or is that View Talay 2417?

You might want to consider implants, which are being well promoted here. A lot more money than you are talking, and a longer, more intensive, treatment duration. Are you currently using a plate? They area pain and I threw mine and had some bridgework done. I think implants are about 40,000 baht/tooth. More involved jobs, like replacing several teeth on say 2-3 implants, well heading towards 100,000 baht and up.

Bloomberg showing $129 for Brent spot... BA are offering some good deals for Sept/Oct, the problem is you get BA service and Heathrow thrown in when they should be thrown out.

A bit of warranty might be good too.....quite a few backstreet conversions end up as charred remains.

I don't see an airline that flies from Bangkok (I guess) to Auckland via Perth. So you might be looking for an open jaw ticket. Thai fly to both cities, so you could use them in and out of Bangkok and look for a Perth-Auckland single. Might be easier to just get the round trip to Perth, only Thai direct, many choices with a change, about 20,000 baht + taxes. Perth to Auckland is likely Air NZ or Qantas..about 1200-1300 Oz dollars, nearly 24 baht 50 satang

Well I am trying the E5 diesel substitute.... can't tell any difference. I wouldn't know if service is consistent, only dealing with the one place. The mechanics seem to get on with their work and are a pleasant bunch. You have to interface with these young girls, and my limited Thai seems to make them avoid me. It is all a bit disorganised, and customer time is of no consequence, I have waited hours for small jobs. Plus the vehicle can be ready for an age before they pick the paperwork up and pass it to the cashier. There are 2 fancy offices for the managers, who are male. I have yet to see one of them in the place! I am getting the impression Toyota take better care.

How much is the postage?

A bit like selling aeroplanes. Sell them first, struggle or miss on the promises later. I'm still using my Edge.. the router flashes away in the corner trying to get a connection.

They did fix the seat belt for free once. Gary, I believe you live in the sticks, so probably not using the Ford dealer on Sukumvit near NaJomtiem?

Yes I might be on a shared line with 19 guys who video conference and download movies overnight. I got my hardware, pleasantly cheaper than I expected. Plenty of choice, finally got a Belkin from the big store at the top of TukCom. Splitter and a bit of telephone extension too. What fun unpacking it, wiring it together and programming it. It was surprisingly straightforward. All the information I was given by TT&T slotted in. Of course it doesn't work. The Pattaya office refuses to answer the phone. Other numbers I call, if they answer, tell me they will call back,but never do. Welcome to the world of dealing with the Thai telephone companies.