whitney

I would not want to be around 21 days of water throwing, as riding a motorbike during Songkran would not be my idea of fun.

For myself, I'm not putting too much time and money into future plans until I get some reports about entering countries without major hassles and problems.

Leg room in economy is garbage now, but seat padding is getting thinner which also means airlines can cram in more rows of seats. A short flight is tolerable with crappy economy class seats, but longhaul would be total misery on a full flight, yuck.

I would choose the the A380. It is much more quiet, has a bar in the back and lounge in the front. I have flown in business class with Korean air with these two types of aircraft, and the clear winner was the A380.

I don't think its worth the risk. If you go swimming in it, maybe in this case the risk is more than the reward. I would stick with hotel pools, or exercise on gym equipment with low impact on the body.

The balconies and electrical system, two things in Thailand that are scarier for me than crossing a busy road here :-)

I remember the days when flying was kind of fun. Now when you get to the airport, you really just don't know what new ban or restriction you may have to face. I was flying out of the Philippines, and they did not let me bring my umbrella with me in the cabin. I'm glad it was not an expensive one.

I liked the pics and their quality 100 Baht for admission, looks well worth it. Thanks for the excellent work RhinoTusk.

This is a great fare, even if their service is hit and miss. For this price, a short trip to Thailand can be worth it and not break the bank account Thanks for the information.

I have stayed here a few times. The rooms are nice, and its a very clean hotel. I liked that the AC was always cold no matter which room I stayed. I have been fortunate to not have to hear the bar noise once in the room, I was staying at the Evergreen Tower. I liked that the water pressure in the shower was decent, no issues there. Its a pretty decent hotel, and the staff were nice. I have had some grumpy staff at other hotels in Pattaya, but at this hotel, whether it was reception desk,restaurant staff,maids, etc... I thought that they were friendly with no attitude.

I had seen this on TV, and thought the police would just walk away when they had seen what was going on with the players in their building playing bridge. The next thing I see is the police loading up the seniors to go to the police station. I hope to never have to deal with the police when visiting Thailand

With these beauties on board your long haul flight, it really does make the long flights from the US more tolerable

The US airlines would even be more crappy without competition from the asian airlines. Thankfully, I have the choice to spend my money on foreign airlines when flying out of the US, which I have done for quite a while now. One thing that US airlines are really perfect at is making sure that the CEO is very well paid

The US airlines should be paying me to fly them, as they're just about worthless. I fly them for domestic only, but will not fly them when going overseas. They lost my business a long time ago.

Thanks for the nice pics The cars at the show don't have a chance against those models when it comes to getting attention from me

Thank you plahgat for those great pictures. They really show that beach and walkway with areas that could be a nasty fall for someone who is walking around there at night or a little bit drunk I thought crossing the road was quite dangerous at times, but that walkway could really ruin somebodys night

Anyone who has flown with United or any other US airline overseas, are in for a real surprise when they board almost any other foreign airline for a long haul flight overseas. I will not spend my money flying any US airline when traveling overseas because there are thankfully better foreign airlines. United and the other US airlines are for the most part, worthless, and really have no idea what a decent product is supposed to be. The US airlines have been left in the dust and are clueless about customer service but unfortunately are still making money.

Bangkok is much more expensive for the nightlife than Pattaya. If you visit Soi Cowboy,Nanaplaza in Bangkok and see what the prices are for the drinks and women, you will probably do better in Pattaya for lower prices and have much more in numbers of go go bars and beer bars

The way prices have increased at such a fast pace, especially in the nightlife areas, Bangkok is not my first choice for certain to visit anymore. Pattaya still has something to offer, without crazy prices that are now all over Bangkok. On my last visit to Soi Cowboy, the price quote I got from a dancer for LT, along with the drink prices, just had me laughing about how bad things have become in Bangkok, especially in Soi Cowboy and Nanaplaza I believe the future of nightlife areas will soon only be places for some big spenders where money is no issue, especially in Thailand.

Thanks for the nice pics RhinoTusk

Maybe for the vast majority of the tourists, its somehow a major thing for them to talk about that they actually went to Pattaya, went to Walking Street and survived. Probably makes for great story telling back home. Oh well, I guess for them, they can be very easily entertained by walking past bars and go gos, and paying a tour guide for the privilege

Thanks for the pics RhinoTusk, they're great. Some of the welcome girls have that look towards the camera of, oh no, another guy taking my picture Oh well, they'll find out it comes with the job

I can think of only 3 ways that someone can keep Songkran fun, and that is either you are fully into it, or stay home or get out of the country during Songkran I would rather visit the bars totally dry, but with Songkran, no matter how careful you are, you're likely to get wet by someone dumping water on you.

US airlines are at the bottom for service, and are best avoided when possible. When flying overseas from US to Asia, I almost always take Singapore Airlines,Eva,Malaysia airlines etc... but avoid US airlines. One time, I did one flight with Northwest when they were around, and it was mostly grandmother flight attendants with bad attitudes to match on a flight from Narita to LAX. The airlines in the US domestic services suck also.

1. Immigration lines at BKK were long, approx. half full in the rope lines arrival (10:50am), but I waited about 15 minutes, which was pretty quick considering they had quite a few booths open and things ran smoothly. I have done a few midnight arrivals at Suvarnabhumi, and I found the lines to be much worse, and slower processing. But maybe they have a wave of international arrivals coming in at this time, I'm not sure. 2. The food and drink was the most basic I have ever experienced on a long haul to Asia, or Europe. Compared to Korean Air,Eva,Asiana etc... the service was a dinner