jacko

Another year and another standard. I would recommend avoid BA and London Heathrow if at all possible. Heathrow is a shambles these days. My recent flights. BKK-LHR-MAN-LHR-BKK just highlighted how good Bangkok is. Outward...late arrival in LHR. Unable to move jetway to aircraft, trapped on plane. Missed connection. Transferred to British Midland by a very rude BA service agent, British Midland left late and they charge for a cup of coffee (£1.75) Return. Slow security (3 checks before boarding), late departure from Manchester (no information given). Plane parked miles away in LHR, sat trapped on plane 35 minutes as no busses available. Dropped on wrong side of security in Terminal 1 LHR, repeat security checks and mad dash to terminal 4. Late push off from gate there, then plane stuck at end of runway for 30 minutes awaiting some clearance (reason given, computer down). Poor in-flight service, in World Traveller Plus..... 1 drink and 1 little bottle of wine is the limit, requests for a drink get you put on the 'ignore list'....Over 1 hour late arrival. Try complaining to BA, someone called Gupta sends out the standard blurb letter proving your complaint was not even read. They don't give a shit!

I was ferried around Pattaya a few times looking at houses by a very nice Thai man, but he only seemed interested in showing me new (still being constructed) and expensive developments. When I suggested there must be a section of the market of pre-owned homes worthy of viewing he suddenly stopped calling. I am beginning to see some more houses at lower asking prices now. Perhaps the effect of low season, or some feel the 'limited company ownership' method is looking shaky. My attitude has also changed and I am beginning to feel I should only spend what I can afford to walk away from.

Yes of course, but my mileage ticket the other way, BKK-LHR-MAN (also involving 2 departures) was about £65 charges, for a Biz class seat on the long stretch. Seems to be expensive to depart 2 UK airports, relative to one Thai and one UK.

I am not expecting any answers that may negatively affect prices..perhaps that pile of festering trash and rubble could be described as land available for expansion.

Yes I find mine easy to live with, and she only steps on her lower lip occasionally. Normally I bring this on...... hooking your little fingers together is a 'I want to be friends again' sign.

Drinks per outing only goes up to 6.....so I doubled my number of outings! Not sure if it includes buying beer, soft drinks and water for the house.... Although I pay all the bills I still have to give a monthly 'salary' to my live in, didn't see this included. So my result of 55K was low on what I actually spend.

Well of course I would expect it to be cheaper, and it certainly is for me! If you continue to pay her the equivalent of BF + LT per day it is still a hooker/client relationship. Most important is being very careful in your selection before committing.

Any clinic... if you go up the little street at the side of Bangkok Bank (soi Bangkok Bank strangely enough) on 2nd Rd, opposite soi 6... clinic about 40 metres up there, Dr Belem (I think) You need a residency letter from immigration too. Also another licence in English.

slightly personal.. but here is a quick answer. First met.. she is a bargirl, second time she is a shop cashier. Keen to join me after work. Still together... Both her sisters want farangs.....

Buy a couple of condos and rent them out.

Yes, especially if you go via a farang managed agency. I pay 15k for a 2br bungalow (furnished).... many farangs tell me I pay too much. Thais gasp in disbelief!

If you cross over the railway track on Soi Siam Country Club, now there is a 15m wide leveled track on both sides. There was certainly evidence of it in February, it has become the preferred route to the market! I don't expect it to be motorway standard...who said it was? Now does anybody recall the original question???????

I was looking at a house for sale just up SoI Nermplubwan (soi Muslim). As usual I took a stroll up and down the street to see if I was attacked by dogs, or the local pig farmer/slaughterer was set up in a neighbouring house. I saw a lot of houses advertised as for sale.... and from the look of them I sensed farang owners. At first I thought maybe recent 'poltical' changes had prompted a selling spree, or the fear that the house ownership via a shell company loophole may be closed. Then another thought, the new highway by the railway track, due to open in October. This will really cut off East Pattaya from the real part of town, Sukhumvit alone is a nightmare......imagine 2 parallel roads only 50-100 metres apart. Talking to my GF she seemed to think tunnels (or bridges) would be built both for cars and the railway line. Now those aren't going to be ready in October. Is East Pattaya due to become isolated by a horrible amount of road construction for a few years. Nothing gets done quickly here, and ensuing chaos is expected to be tolerated. I think of the motorway flyover at Chonburi, where for a long time all the traffic had to come off the motorway, go a kilometer in the wrong direction and then U-Turn and drive back to get back onto the motorway towards Bangkok. That was a mess. Anybody know what is to become of the 'dark side', as kolobos refers to it?

Good grief man......can't you put the toilet seat down. Great report on Secrets......

I got a bike so please don't waste any effort. Thx

What is the point of moving to Pattaya then?

The GF's brother wants his back, and I don't really want the other one being parked infront of where she goes to school. So anybody got one they want to sell off? About 120cc...15-20kbaht. You know the line, good runner, full service history, one lazy owner... sorry one lady owner! It's you or the auctions. Well the auctions were fun... although a bit hot and sweaty. They gave free water and food. I was outbid on the 5 I was interested in. Having since visited a few second hand dealers I should have bid higher!

Nope....and I regularly check my 'BULK' folder perchance my SPAM filter blocks it!

It would be an interesting thread continuation if people commented on whether the bank they are with is good, OK or crap. I would say good for my Bangkok bank.... Others here mention SCB, but for me I heard someone rant negatively about them so went elsewhere.....also the abbreviation for my UK bank is also SCB and I am a simple minded fellow who confuses easily!

And isn't that rather refreshing in the Pattaya environment!

Of course they do, they are in the business to make money, so why should they give away seats when there is a high demand. They also reduce the cheaper discounted economy class seats. Even if the airline 'claims' not to have blackout dates, they likely offer much reduced proportions of 'points' or 'mileage' seats. The booking software would automatically take care of this whenever a high demand for paying customers is seen. As you have enough mileage points for a return (nearly)....try booking a one way seat over the Christmas period. Try 2007, then 2008..etc etc. This will give you an idea. I have found it a struggle to utilize my airmiles when I wanted to....you have to await times of struggle or strife....namely threats of strike action. These cause cancellations and open up availability. My free seat last year came after a disasterous period for a particular airline....I got one for this month too...can anyone guess the airline?

As you say the taxes are a part of it, the airlines can't discount those. For one the new BKK airport now incorporates the 700 baht departure charge into the ticket price. Also I think LHR must be one of the most expensive places to fly out of for charges and taxes. My one way mileage ticket MAN-LHR-BKK had charges and taxes of £150.

Well I picked up their flyer at the Expats club meeting thinking this would be useful if I got involved in a traffic accident. (The card I got with my insurance has loads of telephone numbers, but everything is writen in Thai???). They seem to get promoted at the Expats club a lot. I sent off an Email, 6 days later no reply...not so FAST so far. Would they respond quickly to a problem if they are so lapse with their mails?

You have a point, plenty of fresh fruit available (cold pineapple on the beach..lovely). Fresh vegetables, flash cooked, are common...I would say Thailand is the best place to get all your vitamins without pills and supplements.

I got a free wallclock and scrounged a couple of placemats! Transfers from my UK Jersey account are fast.(total of £30 charge)..money there next working day. THe exchange rate is comparable to cash exchange in LOS. Sadly the £ is down recently.