jacko

Well perhaps when Thaksin gets back into power, he will move it to Chiangmai.....or Manchester.

Congratulations on the Thai lessons, you are halfway to becoming Thai, enjoying idle gossip and speaking pidgin English!

At a height of about 5ft 2, with blood stains on the corners!

Maybe because there is a slip road there, bypassing the lights, that you should have used.

Tongue in cheek perhaps, but he seems to have got a decent sort for once and encouraging bribing isn't the way to go. Wait to see if it will be necessary..... Now asking the girlfiend, that deserves comment..

High water pressure.......in Pattaya? My incoming main varies from zero (most of the daytime) to a geriatric piddle. If your high pressure is from your own booster pump, you might reduce the switch seting. I put metal fixtures into plastic threads (using PTFE tape) without producing leaks, although I was nervous tightening them as I might have broken the plastic piping within the wall!

PM sent.....

Your reasons for avoiding a second hand car may not all be valid....but I can appreciate them, Thais love NEW things and will gladly spend the extra 150,000 baht of yours The warranty would still be valid... it can be 3 years and will transfer with the vehicle. You can check the book to see if it has been serviced regularly at the authorised dealer. Yes second hand cars are relatively high priced, because vehicles hold their prices well in Thailand... and new cars do often come with a years Class 1 insurance, but believe me, it will be in the price. I think that will change as so many pickups are being built here now and new vehicles are being offered very attractively. A buy from a farang who is going home or a 1 year old repo vehicle at auction can still save you a decent amount. I was pleased with my visit to the Ford Dealer, great service, located Sukhumvit heading South between Jomtiem and Na Jomtiem. Consider the number of doors well, 2 is an aggravation unless you will NEVER have people (or luggage) in the rear of the cab......

Index on Sukhumvit...(East side near Soi Siam Country Club) As mentioned, there is a seller on the ground floor in the Sukhumvit/ Pattaya Tai branch of Big C.

And boy would they have a field day with that! OP...This is the most complex question I have seen here and I am afraid I can be of no help. I hope you have thought long and hard deciding that relocating your son to LOS is the best decision. Good luck.

It is some years since I went through Abu Dhabi, but then it was small (convenient if the place is empty, not so if busy), crowded and stinking of cigarette smoke. Smoking booths are of no use to me and the OP did not mention business class. Likely it is still better than LHR, I doubt whether checking in on-line would make much difference there as I would still have to do security at 2 airports and 2 gates and go through that horrendous connections centre, queues and packed buses.

Marmite on my side of the globe mate. Although can't beat a Sunday late morning full Monty English! Partial to a fried slice of black pudding (blood sausage) with mine..... now that should help our USA pals to eat their beans up!

The airport in Abu Dhabi is a negative.....

Yes, an English thing..... jam (jelly) or maple syrup are less 'odd' things to mix in with eggs and bacon aren't they?

Arriving into Bangkok you can buy duty free at the airport too. But you will be at the back of the queue at immigration. Coming back the other way is the real annoyance. You are already in the EU in Amsterdam so duty free there is not available. They will take it off you if you buy in Bangkok. There wasn't any available on the plane either, I thought they might sell it in sealed bags that I could carry through AMS, no such luck.

Not at all, Thai ones are a regular addition to 'Nam Prik Ong', and as mentioned, readily available in the inevitable plastic bag with the impossible elastic band. In fact I now prefer them to UK style as they are just the skin and fully rendered. Last time I tried some 'UK style' I found them disgusting, hard, overly salty and horribly greasy. Next to the food plaza in Carrefour Mall, they often have Northern food on sale, plenty of fresh (they must be) pork scratchings, and very good Chiangmai sausage.

Nasty time for me to drive to Manchester Airport, the motorway is stationary about then.. have to travel on a Sunday. Long layover coming back from BKK too. I shall see how much SQ Biz can be had for... or perhaps I should save lots of cash and get into economy, last time I did SQ (BKK-SIN-DPK) they were good back there. Getting hard to justify ever increasing differential. Thanks for your efforts.

If the layover is over 3 hours, along with the extra flying time going via the Middle East, I would not likely be impressed. My last journey via Emirates seemed interminable. At least the KLM connections and overall travel time (about 14 hrs) get it over with quickly. So SQ no longer fly via Delhi then? Although my searches rarely pull up attractive prices in Biz class with them. (Better ex Bkk or ex Man??) It has been a long time since I flew Swiss, I thought they were going bankrupt. Are the Thai codeshares easy to spot? Again are you booking ex BKK or ex Man?

Hey big spender............spend a little time with me. Charoen Hotel, 549 Phosri Rd. Tel 042-248155 I recall it is near the bus station and treated me well... although not sure if they are as cheap as you require. ( I paid about 500, but some years ago)

Thanks Tom. I was about to switch to Qatar and take advantage of the competitive fares ex Bangkok in Biz class. (After a long association with KLM who keep squeezing up the fares ex UK). I have had some confusion looking at transit times, I basically couldn't believe them. A saving of a few hundred pounds does not justify a 7 hour layover so close to my old (much disliked) workplace, KSA. I may consider the KLM-China combination for my Manchester trips.

I certainly don't want to be sending my passport in the post to get a 1 week extension or a residence letter! Doesn't sound practical and hence would be a perfect move for LOS.

I would be surprised if Pattaya (Jomtiem) closed, that place is making money that Bill Gates would be proud of. Unless they would like that money to be going into the Bangkok coffers.

I did China Airlines Biz Class (I think it is the one with a big pink flower in the tail and flies on to Taipei). I went from Manchester on KLM and changed in Amsterdam. The flight was punctual and service pretty good. It isn't business class like BA, but it isn't their prices either. Wide seat that didn't recline fully, like Biz class was 10 years ago in the big carriers.I thought it was very good value at the time (£650 about 2 years ago), but they have come up some since.

Copy of my rental agreement (take the original along too), 2 photos, copies of passport (picture page, TM card/ stamp and visa...non-Imm-O in my case). Original passport. Completed form and of course 200 baht.That did it for me, had 3 residence letters in the last 2 months.

Converting to baht in the UK is madness! I do as you ask, also with the Bangkok bank, and the money is converted to Thai baht, in Thailand, at a very good rate (65.2 on Tuesday). If the account you are sending to (which must be specified) is indeed a Thai baht account, then it will be converted to Thai baht at the TT (Telex transfer) rate by Bangkok bank. No special arrangements.