grs90

There is a watch repairer (in fact a couple of them) on the left hand side as you turn in to Soi Bukaow from Cental Road, just by where you queue for the baht buses. I've twice used the first one on the left with is the 2nd or 3rd shop unit and was very impressed with the speed, quality and low cost. Don't remember the cost but was only 2 or 3 hundred baht to have the winder replaced and watch serviced.

I stayed there 5 or 6 times during 2005/2006. I abandoned it after my stay last XMAS/New Year because, like most places managed by Thais, they have let the place get a bit run down and are not that good at fixing the little problems. I only ever stayed in the apartments so all room related comments only apply to them and not to their bungalows. PROS ==== Very friendly staff, if a little dim and forgetful at times. Good sized rooms - but get one at the back of the apartment building so it overlooks the courtyard and pool. The rooms fronting on to Soi Buakhao can be noisy at times. In room safes and safety boxes behind the reception desks. Can get the room for 800 a night if you ask and say you don't want breakfast. Good beds - room for 3!! No guest charges. Nice pool. Good size TV.(cable only - not a great range of channels) Good aircon. CONS ==== As mentioned earlier if something is not working 100% then getting it fixed promptly was impossible. Took repeated requests. Typical problems were leaking aircon units, safes in rooms not working and leaks in the shower pipes meaning only half the water actually reached the shower head. Don't book a taxi from them. Irrespective of the car type you order I invariably ended up with one of the staffs' mates driving me to the airport. Including one fucker who actually got lost on the way to the airport while I was asleep in the back. Woke up to discover he was on his way back to Rayong and only just made the plane. Rooms need decorating and updating as they are quite worn now. Still useable though. Linens and Towels getting threadbare. Overall, it is OK and I would stay there again but having had a couple of trips trying alternatives I think you can get better value for the money - though not by much - if you are not fussed about the pool. I've now spent the last couple of trips at Tropical Berts and really like it there. Rooms about the same size but you get free tea and coffee in the room. Plus a DVD player to watch twisted porn on while you are with a girl (works for me!).

The rules (from www.dh.gov.uk). Seems the key, if you are living in Thailand, is to declare you intend to become a permanent UK resident if you need treatment when you are back in the UK. Or burn your passport and claim political asylum and it is bound to be free then!! Are you spending more than 3 months living outside the UK? What if I should need hospital treatment? Under the current Regulations, anyone who spends more than 3 months living outside the UK is no longer automatically entitled to free NHS hospital treatment in England. Whether you remain entitled depends on the nature of your residence abroad. Extended holidays If you are going abroad for a one-off extended holiday for a few months, then you will continue to be fully exempt from charges for NHS hospital treatment when you return to resume your permanent residence in the UK. The same will apply to your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are living with you in the UK on a permanent basis. Once you are living here permanently you will become ordinarily resident and the Regulations will cease to apply to you. Your spouse, civil partner and child will also be considered ordinarily resident if they are living permanently in the UK with you. If they are not living permanently in the UK then the Regulations will apply and in order to be entitled to free hospital treatment they will have to meet one of the categories of exemption in their own right. In common with those ordinarily resident in the UK, anyone who meets the criteria of ordinary residence or is exempt from charges for hospital treatment will have to pay statutory NHS charges, eg prescription charges, unless they also qualify for exemption from these, and will have to go onto waiting lists for treatment where appropriate. Living in a bilateral healthcare agreement country? If you have at some point lived lawfully in the UK for 10 continuous years, and subsequently choose to go and live permanently in a country with which the UK has a bilateral health agreement (including other European Economic Area member states) then when you are visiting the UK you will be exempt from charges for treatment for a condition which arises after your arrival here. Routine treatment of a pre-existing condition, or pre-planned operations etc, will be chargeable. This partial exemption will also apply to your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are living with you in the UK for the duration of your visit. You will only be fully exempt from charges if you meet one of the other exemption criteria, for example because you are working abroad and have been doing so for less than 5 years. For a full list of bilateral healthcare agreement countries, see the menu on the left-hand side. Living in a non-bilateral healthcare agreement country? If you choose to go and live permanently in a country with which the UK does not have a bilateral health agreement, then you will not normally be eligible for free NHS hospital treatment during a visit to the UK, no matter how long you may have lived here in the past. You may, however, be exempt from charges if you meet one of the other exemption criteria, for example because you are working abroad and have been doing so for less than 5 years. Living in both the UK and another country? If you spend more than 3 months living in another country on a regular basis each year, for example because you spend four months living in a second home during the winter but return to the UK for the rest of the year, then you may not be eligible for free hospital treatment while you live here. If the other country is one with which the UK has a bilateral health agreement then the partial exemption described above will apply to you. If the other country is not one with which there is a bilateral health agreement, then you will not be entitled to free NHS hospital treatment during the time you live here, unless you meet one of the other exemption criteria. If you are in receipt of an UK state retirement pension then a different part of the Regulations applies to you. Please see the page 'Are you a UK state pensioner spending more than 3 months living outside the United Kingdom? ' Returning to the UK after a period of time living away? If you go anywhere abroad for more than three months, either for a one-off extended holiday for a few months or to live permanently for several years, but then return to the UK to take up permanent residence here again, then you will be entitled to receive free NHS hospital treatment from the day you return. So will your spouse, civil partner and children (under the age of 16, or 19 if in further education) if they are also living with you permanently in the UK again. Once you are living here permanently you will become ordinarily resident and the Regulations will cease to apply to you. Your spouse, civil partner and child will also be considered ordinarily resident if they are living permanently in the UK with you. If they are not living permanently in the UK then the Regulations will apply and in order to be entitled to free hospital treatment they will have to meet one of the categories of exemption in their own right. In common with those ordinarily resident in the UK, anyone who meets the criteria of ordinary residence or is exempt from charges for hospital treatment will have to pay statutory NHS charges, eg prescription charges, unless they also qualify for exemption from these, and will have to go onto waiting lists for treatment where appropriate. If I should need hospital treatment what documents will I need? The Regulations place a responsibility on individual hospitals to determine whether, in accordance with the Regulations, a patient is liable to be charged for treatment or not. In order to establish entitlement, hospitals can ask you to provide documentation that supports your claim for free treatment. Am I entitled to access primary care services? Any person living here lawfully and on a settled basis is regarded as resident in the UK and therefore entitled to free primary medical services. On taking up residence in the UK it is advisable to approach a GP practice and apply to register onto its list of NHS patients. The practice may choose to accept or decline your application. An application may be refused if the practice has reasonable grounds for doing so, such as if you are living outside their practice area. A practice would not be able to refuse your application on the grounds of race, gender, social class, age, religion, sexual orientation, appearance, disability or medical condition. Do I have to pay for emergency treatment if I have an accident? Regardless of residential status or nationality, emergency treatment given at primary care practices (a GP) or in Accident and Emergency departments or a Walk-in Centre providing services similar to those of a hospital Accident and Emergency department is free of charge. In the case of treatment given in an Accident and Emergency department or Walk-in Centre the exemption from charges will cease to apply once the patient is formally admitted as an in-patient (this will include emergency operations and admittance to High Dependency Units) or registered at an outpatient clinic. Am I entitled to help with the costs of non-emergency NHS treatment? For Information on help with health costs please see HC11 ‘ Are you entitled to help with health costs?’ that which is available from main post offices, social security offices and NHS Hospitals. HC11 is also available on the internet at

If you click on RATES on the website he's provided you will see the price.

Cheers Lads Couldn't beat the Opodo price but got one from WestEast for about £100 more as it gave me full mileage accrual. With my other planned trips this full mileage one will put me in to gold card land so its well worth the extra.

Thanks Regyai, I thought that was a winner. WestEast website has it at 476 inc taxes.........................................until you try to book it when it jumps up to £497 because another £20.50 tax is added. Presumably the latest UK budget increase? It is so fucking annoying when you are comparing prices when all these sites don't give you the actual price you will pay up front. Louis - thanks for the link but I'm only really interested in Thai at the moment as I'll be flying over another 6 times this year and want to try ang get enough airmiles for the gold card. Cheers

Hi I'm about to book a flight LHR-BKK outbound 1st March returning on 12th. Cheapest I can see at the moment is OPODO which is £485 when you use their £20 January sale voucher. Before I go for this has anyone found Thai flights for March any cheaper than this? Cheers

Well, this was my suggestion so I'm obviously supportive of it, although I did suggest a graduated discount depending on the amount spent, resulting in a totally free bar fine if the bill hit 5000. From many of the comments on here you would think people are being forced to spend 5000. They are not. If you normally only spend a few hundred you are no worse off than you were before, but if you do run a big bill then you save the cost of the barfine. I can't see what the problem is - nobody loses and some people gain. Although I normally only spend an hour or so in a bar before moving on to the next, if I spot a girl I like early in the night I can easily spend a few hours in the same place. During this time my own drinks bill will be well over 2000 and no doubt she will have a had at leat several drinks as well. If I know a few of the girls then there will normally be a round or two of drinks for them, see some mates then its more on the bill. Its not an every night thing but if I'm visiting for a week I will typically run up a bill of 5000 at least once at some place or other. I'll then end up leaving with someone to put me in to bed. I can fuck 'em in the morning if I can't manage anything during the night!! And if I have saved the cost of the barfine then great. Alan - hope you offer the deal at least once during my next trip which is 23/12 to 2/1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What I'd like to see is a discount on the barfine depending on how much I have spent on drinks in the bar. Say if I spent 1000baht in the bar then knock 100 off the barfine If I spent 2500baht then knock 300 off If I have run up a bill of 5000 then give me the bf for free!!!

Checked again and it looks like I messed up the first time. Its only coming up as 150,000 miles to redeem for a return flight from London to Bangkok. So thats 12 paid for flights to earn a free flight although presumably taxes are still payable for the free one. Still doesn't seem like that much of an offer, rather like most of the others I've looked at. I'm doing 6 or 7 trips to S.E Asia per year at the moment, mainly bangkok but also occasionly Jakarta and Manilla. I prefer flights to be as direct as possible and, so far, I find the best thing to do is wait for the seat sales and other offers and live with the fact that BA/Thai/Cathay/Singapore Air all have crap deals on mileage accrual.

I've just had a look at the mileage accrual and the cost of flights. Using London to Bangkok as an example a return flight earns under 13,000 miles. It costs 300,000 miles to buy that journey so, thats around 23 flights paid for to earn a freebie. I assume I must be doing something wrong to get these numbers because if its correct it must be one of the shittiest award schemes going.

I stayed there just over a year ago. Average hotel and a 500b joiner fee. Avoid it if you can get something else.

Official policy at UK airports. From BAA.co.uk Security control Following the Government’s reduction in security levels from critical to severe, passengers are reminded that strict security remains in place at all UK airports. This easing of restrictions is not a return to normal. The revised regulations will continue to have an impact on our airport's operations. All passengers will be subject to hand baggage restrictions and are asked to be patient while these additional security measures are in place as delays are likely. Passengers are asked to allow extra time for their journey and to arrive at the airport prepared. To help passengers prepare for their journey and the heightened security restrictions download this leaflet. (1.87MB PDF) Hand baggage restrictions Passengers are now permitted to carry ONE item of hand baggage, no larger than the specified size, through the airport security search point. Sharp items Items such as knives, razor blades are not allowed in the cabin, for a full list of sharp items, please see our Packing tips section. Please note: Other bags, such as handbags, may be carried within the single item of cabin baggage. All items carried by passengers will be x-ray screened. For further guidance on prohibited items, including what to do if travelling with baby milk and prescribed medicines, download this leaflet giving details on what you can and can't take in your hand baggage. (76KB PDF) All laptops and large electrical items (eg large hairdryer) must be removed from the bag and placed in a tray so that such items neither obscure nor are obscured by the bag. Pushchairs and walking aids are permitted but must be x-ray screened. Wheelchairs are permitted but must be thoroughly searched. Further passenger information Before security: All shops and catering outlets are open to all passengers, but any liquids and gels purchased must be packed into your luggage for check-in. Any other purchases must fit into your hand luggage. Once through security: All shops and catering outlets are open to all passengers. If you are travelling to any destination except the USA then you can take all items purchased in the departures lounge into the aircraft cabin. If you are travelling to the USA: Extra restrictions are in place. Passengers will be subjected to secondary security searches at the gate. No toiletries or cosmetics purchased in the departure lounge will be allowed into the aircraft cabin and any drinks or liquid items must be consumed before boarding. Food, however, is allowed. Passengers boarding flights to the USA and items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, will be subjected to secondary search at the gate and any liquids discovered will be removed. If you are in any doubt about what you can and cannot take on board please ask a member of staff.

Jambo Apart from flights from the UK to US, at all UK airports you can buy what you want in the departure lounge and take it on to the plane with you. The logic to this is that all the stuff in the departure lounge has already been given the OK by the security people. Its all a load of bollocks though in my view.

Ben/Jambo After you have cleared the security check you are in the departure lounge and can buy what you need at the Boots Chemist in there.

They are being very tight with bag sizes. I've been through Gatwick and Heahthrow since the change to allowed size and both times had to put my bag in to a frame to prove it was within the limit. From what I observed anyone with a bag that looked anywhere near the limit was being asked to do this. It probably isn't worth trying to get away with anything over the limit.

I don't know how often this place gets booked solid in May as its usually a dead quiet time of the year but, IMHO, asking for a 4000 deposit is taking the piss. I expect there will be lots of places in May that will have rooms with some fantastic deals available. I wouldn't pay a deposit up front at this time of the year unless I was desperate to stay there.

Thanks for the feedback I'll get on and book it now I think. Cheers

If you want to be sure, try the BA website - and type RECONFIRM in the search box http://www.britishairways.com/travel/askba...e=TOP_contactus Reconfirming Flights Question Do I need to reconfirm my return flight with British Airways? Answer Having made a booking on British Airways flights, regardless of where it was booked, you do not need to reconfirm these flights prior to travel. In addition you do not need to reconfirm British Airways return flights at your destination **except** for those services listed below. **On the services below, reconfirmation has to be done by all passengers irrespective of cabin or class or travel. The reconfirmation must be done directly with British Airways. Services from Tripoli, Libya: Passengers travelling from Tripoli to London on BA899 must reconfirm their return flight locally at least 72 hours (3 days) prior to departure. Customers should contact the British Airways office in Tripoli on +218 21 335 1277/8/9 or fax +218 21 335 1283, quoting your booking reference and the passenger name on ticket. Bookings held in the system without a ticket number will be cancelled. Please note. The minimum check-in time at Tripoli Airport is 3 hours. Services from The Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia (Jeddah, Damman or Riyadh): For customers who have made their bookings in Saudi Arabia only. If you have made your booking in Saudi Arabia, it is mandatory to confirm your flight from Saudi Arabia at least 72 hours prior to departure. Failure to reconfirm your flight from Saudi Arabia may lead to cancellation of your booking. Please note: Manage My Booking gives you the ability to print your itinerary and also email your itinerary, online, to a friend or colleague. To review your reservation through Manage My Booking click here . If you would like to see up to the minute British Airways flight arrivals and departures information click here. Worldwide British Airways telephone numbers can be found if you click here . Print Answer Answer ID 798 Date Updated 23/11/2005 11:55 AM How well did this answer your question? 100% 75% 50% 25% 0% Related Answers • Looking at your bookings on ba.com • Baggage transfer from a British Airways flight to a connecting British Airways or oneworld flight • Booking other airlines' flights • Manage My Booking • Booking on ba.com to arrive at one city / country and return from another? Back to Search Results

Hi I'm currently thinking of coming over for xmas after many low season trips. Fuck me the flights are expensive. So far the best price I can see for direct flights is £792 on Thai. (out from LHR on 22nd December, returning on 2nd January). I don't want indirect flights, even though I can get Turkish for about £250 less so, before I book it, does anyone know of a better deal at the moment? Or would it be worth waiting in the hope some cheaper seats come up later? Advice appreciated Cheers

Just tell the travel agent the flight details and your bookinfg ref. and they will be able to take care of it - they probably have a list of all the correct telephone numbers. If its the Ba e-ticket, or qantas or thai come to that, then you do not need to reconfirm.

Never had a problem with them in over 30 flights to and from BKK. I only ever take carry-on and my record weight for the bag was over 14KG and they didn't weigh it - in fact I don't recall it ever being weighed on the return leg. On the outbound from LHR, if you use self-service check in then they never even see the bag until you are boarding and, unless it is way oversize, they will not stop you. If you have a paper ticket and use the check-in desk then, in my experience, they don't normally mind unless its over 10KG. If it is then just start stuffing things in your pockets and put them bag in the bag after you've checked in.

Well, good news for me and possibly others flying on qantas. According to the qantas website, this week the QF002 is only stopping to refuel on Monday to Wednesday departures. Thursday to Sunday departures are now going direct. An extra 90 minutes in LOS, now what can I do with that time.............?

I'm due to fly LHR to BKK in a couple of weeks time on Qantas. Ever since the big fire at Hemmel Hempstead, BAA have been rationing fuel so some of the Qantas flights, including the one I'm flying on, do not get a full load of fuel at Heathrow and have to stop for refueling en-route. Now I can understand the need for this, although I had hoped that they would have sorted out a deal to buy fuel off, say, British Airways by now. But what seems crazy to me is that they are filling up a 747 with passengers at Heathrow, flying it fifty miles, and landing to refuel at Stanstead. I can't believe this is the best and cheapest way to do it. Why can't they fill up a tanker or two at Stanstead, drive those over to Heathrow, and refuel fully there. Its long enough sat on the plane without all this fucking around. Any thoughts as to why they are doing it the way they are?

"if you check in online how do you get the boarding card?" For some flights you can print it at home and take it with you. For others you get it from the self service machines at the airport (this was the case last September when I used BA to Thailand). The BA website has a full interactive demo which will explain it better than I can. Even if you can't print the boarding card at home its still worth doing the check in online as this makes things quicker at the airport.