jacko

Well last time I was up there it was a pretty small and to be honest I thought it was at the Second Rd end, which would not make it correct for a sunset meal. Perhaps I should take a look Wednesday evening en-route to the PT crawl.

I struggle to apply such logic to the usual ongoings in Thailand! It is about security, not efficiency. The introduction of passport readers in the UK certainly didn't speed things up for me, it never worked, so I wasted time there, then had to go back to fewer manned kiosks ! Which steps will be reduced or eliminated? At the moment I see only one added one that is a bit fiddly and sometimes takes a moment. Fingerprints will have to be supplied every time one enters. Perhaps no Tm 6?

I haven't been up there for ages. I only pass through when traffic on Beach Rd is heavy, and I decide to get to Walking St via Second Rd.

The way I heard it the old place was to be closed for renovation and remodeling with an increase in size, and the replacement at the other end of the Mall would be temporary. It would be surprising to have 2 places. I get the impression of a change in format in the slicker and more comfortable. I was wondering if there would be a change of focus, too and more representation of other oriental styles being introduced, ie Korean, Japanese and Malaysian, in a way copying the one in T21, and playing to the audience. Hardly surprising the improvements have come with an increase in prices, it was often busy and the opportunity to make more was there. The shopping part of the Mall I often found quiet. I expect it will do okay, despite better prices for Thai food being plentiful, being in the AC while eating is preferable. Great Report EP, was beginning to wonder where you were.

How do you see the addition of an extra step in the process as speeding things up?

Read and weep.... I know, it says Thursday again!

One at a time please, parity with the Euro first!

Kirk Douglas

You are joking... they shut the place down if they find an empty cigarette packet and call in the bomb squad!

Oh I expect it is true. You can see all the construction around the area if one ventures further East. Where I am is a bloody nightmare at the moment due to road construction and pipe laying. Another Mall in Pattaya sounds a bit silly though.

I certainly agree there!

I can't say as I noticed the option on the ATM machine. In fact I think I would prefer not to be given such confusing options. The exchange rate actually used would have been (15000+220)/427.21 ie 35.63, that was Friday about 8am BST. The 34.99 I came up with is overall. Anyhow, if I recall correctly, my HSBC one is usually worse! I too see the baht has weakened, thankfully. Wasn't Carney also reasonably optimistic on the UK Thursday too?

Well the good news is Eva are going back to work.... the bad news is..... Heathrow strike threat to summer holiday travel. More than 4,000 workers at the airport - including customer service, engineering and security staff - have voted to strike over pay. Staff will walk out on 26 July, 27 July, 5 August, 6 August, 23 August and 24 August, which the Unite union said could create "summer travel chaos". Heathrow says it has contingency plans to remain open and operate safely.. BBC News.

Slightly different.... I just got a new Debit/ATM card from, my UK bank. It required activation so I phoned the number shown, and of course, despite the number being for Jersey, ended talking to a lady in India whose English was pretty difficult. Anyhow got nowhere. Sorted it after a few days. I decided since I do use this card (when in the UK and nearby countries), I would like to test it and see how the rate looks too. It is actually some years since I did this in Thailand. Firstly, as we all know, the ATM machine warns you it will add 220 baht onto your withdrawal. Nice to be warned... but I still only got 15,000 baht in cash. It has shown up already on my on-line banking. My bank took another £1.50 charge and £427.21 deducted. I make that 34.99 baht/£. Above, for cash notes, you see TT were giving 38.28. An overseas ATM card is a good emergency backup, but will cost you

Orders being cancelled and serious financial impact on Boeing. https://news.yahoo.com/saudi-carrier-cancels-troubled-boeing-122101629.html A Saudi airline canceling an order worth up to $5.9 billion in favor of a European rival of the U.S. manufacturer. Flyadeal, the budget airline arm of Saudi Arabian Airlines Corp., ordered 30 A320neo jets from Airbus and took options on 20 more, meaning that its entire fleet will consist of planes from that company. Officials with Indonesia's Garuda said in March that they were canceling the remaining 49 of a 50-jet Max order. Published reports suggest the airline and Boeing are in talks, however, and Boeing still lists the last 49 Garuda orders on its website. Similarly, the owner of Lion Air — the Indonesia airline whose Max jet was involved in the first fatal crash in October — vowed to cancel. Boeing still lists the airline's 187 unfilled orders as active. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed by families of those aboard the downed planes. Boeing will likely have to compensate airlines that already own Max planes — nearly 400 around the world — which are not expected to be allowed in back into the air any time soon.

I expect EVA might be good for a few bargains in the next month in an attempt to recover market share and reputation. An SMS poppeed into my phone today, which required translation but here is the gist of it. Use Bangkok Bank credit card to book flights at www. .evaair.com / en-th / bangkok / BBL.html Get up to 7% discount and receive a 15% cash back credit when spending as specified + redeem points for the purchase amount 1 Jul 62-30 Sep 62

Belatedly.....

Thread locked. Some posts removed that are not suitable in Open Area.

Good tip.

Well sorry to be repetitive but I traipsed round in the rain, so you are getting it.

Many yeas ago,landing at Heathrow, you also had to clear customs there and there was a small bag check in area in T4 for onward domestic (maybe International too). You had to get from there to T1 for a BA domestic up to Manchester, and it was certainly not a journey to be dragging cases around. Now all BA flights are from T5 and it is easy peasy and efficient. No need to rush either as the flights are always late!

For so many yeas I have avoided changing carriers for fear of baggage loss. When it did happen it was my own fault with a bit of help from check-in at Manchester. They said my bag would be transferred onto my South American (AA) flight and ticketed it through. Sadly I changed at JFK and their policy was you had to collect your baggage and clear customs, then check it in just after that area. How about your flight into Thai and up to Chiangmai?

Baggage transfer no problem?

The Blue Max.