jacko

AA Insurance is a broker, they arrange the medical insurance for the Pattaya Expats Club and my motorcycle cover. Used to be on Pattaya Klang, but just moved to Duck Square near Big C South. http://www.aainsure.net/links.html

I am looking into an Alliance and Leicester account based in the IOM. Great interest rate (6.5%) Internet only. Certified copy of passport and a utility bill required. Alliance and Leicester

Now that one is definitely eye-popping tight...

I re-read your post and it may be risky. Plane landing, (on-time do you think), long walk to immigration, immigration queues, collect luggage and finding a taxi...then check in at Don Muang. If your ETA is anytime around the Bangkok rush hours, it could be tight.

I saw that Ocean 1 Tower was to go ahead on a news article a few days ago, that is some 91 floors, tallest in Thailand! As to VT7, if the construction is now going ahead, what has prompted this? Just 14 metres or 4 floors, for real?

Heathrow has been crap for me the last several times, exhibiting pathetic organisation, overcrowding and complete lack of regard for customers. Broken jetways, late departures, aircraft parking in remote areas and waiting 45 minutes for the steps, repeated security checks, long queues and surly staff who cannot speak English. Transit from terminal 1 to 4 and reverse is a chore... the connections centre a farce. My pet hate, a national disgrace, burn it down, leave the staff inside...rebuild. Sciphol for me next few trips......will try Abu Dhabi or Qatar next. Heathrow, well I will wait to

An example would be the Nova Park..... , I believe you can get them down to 15k (low season) if you don't have the room cleaning and pay your electricity on a per unit basis. Plenty of 'big rooms available', over beer bars advertised at about 10,000. Soi LK Metro area or one of the many Soi 13s Then cross over Sukumvit and pay even less. No it isn't hard to get a place for a month, in fact quite common.

Both BA and BM have flights at 17.05 to LHR, BA 1403 and BD 591, my guess is Etihad have a code share on British Midland. The flight duration this routing is over 31 hours.That along with the dismal prospect of going via terrible LHR, and 15 hours in Abu Dhabi airport (per your warning) might not suit everybody.

Why have you listed the 'Ethiad' 7 early evening flights via Heathrow? Is it an Ethiad aircraft between Manchester and LHR? (I would be surprised if they were allowed to take customers from BA or British Midland) Having to take BA to LHR and go through Heathrow itself would take away the Ethiad advantage for me.

I have always erred on the side of caution. With a hotel room, there is no issue, but your own place? She might just have a few boyfriends interested in your DVD player, laptop and that safe in the bedroom. Have the driver take a circuitious route. More likely you will one day have a problem with a keeper though.

The £76 sounds a little steep..... although I admit to not having done this for a while. It all depends on the 'class' of your booking and the class/code you have to change it to. (There are quite a lot of codes for economy, most of the consonants and a vowel or two). Overall it is likely cheaper than a one way bought from the UK... plus a one way bought in LOS. I end up needing one way tickets as I often get single leg awards tickets.

LHR and CDG, some sort of massochist? I prefer to use KLM, same mileage club!

Seems like getting an open return, or buying a ticket that allows you change the date is the best option. Visa and immigration issues aside, did you try shopping for that one way ticket to Thailand yet?.. They often work out as much as a return. I have bought one way from LOS, you often see them advertised on Soi Post Office, but in January, particularly early January, there will be little availability. The muslim holiday of Eid al Adha will be around 18-24 Dec this year too.

Eneukman got it right and you did too!

I was using my GPRS in Phang Ma Pha, a little village in Mae Hong Son, the Edge network there worked better than here in Pattaya, East of Sukhumvit. I think I will be sticking with this crap in Pattaya for a while yet!

How do you get the immigration official to totally ignore the (60 day) Tourist visa in your passport the first, second and third times you come in? There are a lot of other issues with this approach, one being you might not get the extensions you hope for. Even then, it is only 'up to' 1 year 9 months, not 2 years. Also, as I stated, one of the Tourist Visa (60 day) extensions likely will count against you in the 90/180 limitation. This very limitation was introduced to curb people living here based only on the 30 day stamps (it is NOT a visa). It seems they are now tightening up the loopholes

A common mistake is to call the 30 day arrival stamp 'a tourist visa'... it is not. A tourist visa is stuck into your passport outside Thailand. You cannot 'renew' a tourist visa, you use it until it is used up (number of entries), or it expires, then you would need another. What you descibe sounds like what the visa run outfits are advertising, with a bit of the above confusion. You get a single entry tourist visa in Malaysia...enter and stay 60 days. Extend it at immigration for 30 days... Do a visa run after the 30 days and get a 30 day stamp. Do it again after those 30 da

One of the visa run outfits is obtaining single entry tourist visas in Malaysia. Well they are advertising the fact on TV. I am also confused how you will stay in Thailand for 2 years using one triple entry tourist visa.... that visa would expire after 6 months.

Perhaps the visa run agencies pay the 'official' Cambodia visa price of $20, or 680 baht. Your extra 100 baht is probably the newer extra charge, for not staying in Cambodia! Nevertheless, with a breakfast, dinner and sitting in comfort watching a DVD, I will be using the visa run agencies. They were offering afternoon runs a while back, probably not viable in low season, plus they got back too late.

Surprised you couldn't get on one of the organised visa runs this time of year.... I would always prefer an 'organised trip'. I don't see a problem though other than the Cambodians maybe taking advantage.. and wanting 1000 baht instead of $20. But sure, you can get in and out on the day. If money is no real object I would think about driving to the airport and jumping on a budget flight to Singapore...

I thought 'food' was not an option to the owner? Any space for a microwave? A nice pie or pasty after a few beers is always nice. There is a lady does this on Beach rd near Soi 7, although she is a bit mean with the microwave timer. Good luck

Yes just had a crown fitted, I think it was about 8000 baht altogether. Dr Jaew, Art of Smile. Near Tropical Berts (famous Soi 6 area, 2nd Rd, opposite Bangkok Bank))

Or look up the Canon service agent on the internet and see who they list. It will likely be in Bangkok though, but it might be worth the trip there. I just did that with my watch and it was done in 1/5 the time at 1/3 the price that it would have been in the UK. An early start from the bus station and you can be back in Pattaya by 2pm.

My thoughts too, plenty of unskilled Thais working as carpenters here, well this week they might be carpenters! Anyhow wood is a dying building material. I am certainly hoping to replace it when the pet termites have done with it!

Sarcasm from a high horse perspective...