PenName

May might be the beginning of high season, but that falls far short of a worthy explanation (or justification) of how or why a coach ticket on a nearly empty plane on an airline like NWA, departing from the closest point to Thailand in the continental US (air route-wise) is going for $2,200+. I could route through Los Angeles on Singapore, Cathay or Thai and beat that price, including the cost of getting to L.A. and beat the NWA price. Fortunately, we have other alternatives here like Eva, China and UA, or even Korean and Nippon. ~ Pen

Well, it's good to hear there's some reasonable fares to be found somewhere. This morning, NWA was quoting $2,211.43 on their site as the cheapest coach fare for SEA - BKK for travel on a Tuesday departure and Wednesday return in May. Oddly enough, there remained 149 empty seats in coach. Plummeting dollar, rocketing airfares -- nice combination. ~ Pen

Well, for years the water has been credited with being a major contributor to the quality of bagels and pizza dough / crusts in New York City (and the inability to reproduce them anywhere else on the planet), so given the percentage of beer that is water, this may very well be a culprit in it all. ~ Pen

San Migeul Lite was pretty much the order of the day when hanging out with LeoTex and pdxlou on the last trip over. I tend to agree that it gets the job done with a better taste than a lot of the alternatives. I'm not sure if its just the Thailand version of Heiniken and some others that I don't care for or what. Heiniken in the states and in Europe works great for me, but not in LOS. On a side note, one night in FLB last trip, I was into my third or so San Miguel Lite when one of the bar girls says, "Why you drink San Miguel Lite? Why you no drink Tiger?" Ever seeking to be the polite guest and being open to a "When in Rome..." outlook, I said, "Sure." She had a Tiger sent over and while we were all engaged in some large group version of the dice game, I had another Tiger, but I then figured two in the name of politeness were more than enough and I got back on the an Miguel Lite horse after that. Funny, now I'm thirsty and again checking airfares and exchange rates. ~ Pen

As I sit here tunneling by the teaspoon-full, like Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption, a look to my wall calendar says it's "only" 72 days. I'm never really sure if knowing the dwindling number helps or not. ~ Pen

Given the shorter "commute time" to LOS, I should probably count my blessings at whatever cost. On the ff miles front, I actually use Alaska Airlines, even thought I don't fly Alaska more than half the time. The beauty of their corporate relationships is that I can deposit miles from Northwest, American and Delta whenever I'm flying domestically, all with full value and counting toward elite status. About 15 other airlines will allow me to contribute miles without the elite qualifiers. Then, when it comes time to cash in (to LOS, of course), I have NWA (but it's unlikely I'll ever seek out their Business or First classes on a mileage ticket), but also Air France, British Air and, as I'm doing with a nice First Class ticket in November, Cathay Pacific. Just one man's path in an imperfect world. ~ Pen

Funny that airfare.com doesn't have a price listed for NWA from Seattle - NRT - BKK. I think somewhere along the line, all of the west coast departures for NWA got to be prime connection cities as I often see them listed out at $1,400+ and given that we're two or three hours closer to NRT at the moment of takeoff as compared to the $983.70 out of MSP, it seems ulikely it's about the cost of fuel. ~ Pen

pattayabayresort.com pinewoodresidences.com ~ Pen

Pattaya Bay Resort has everything you listed except the sofa in their basic rooms, but may very well have one in their next level up, which may still average out to less than or right at your THB 1,500. ~ Pen

Dream Hotel

Well, in an attempt to give you some perspective and a welcome gift of feeling a bit better, I too just got back about three weeks ago and you're next trip in is ahead of mine. Thank God for the board and the somewhat lesser pleasures of build-up and anticipation. Welcome to the board, though. ~ Pen

I was in room 511 for two-and-a-half weeks (ending on 08 October). Room 511 faces the construction, and is sort of down at the construction end of the building. Could I hear that there was building going on right outside? Yes. Was what made it through the sliding doors disturbing or anything that prevented an afternoon nap, watching television or getting down to business at any time of night or day? Absolutely not. It was my first stay at PBR, and for the market it shoots for and everything it seeks to be, I couldn't and wouldn't ask for more. The pool, restaurant and staff are actually a lot more to shout about than a lot of places costing more THB. Also, the location is a hell of a lot more convenient than I had thought prior to booking. As a last vote of confidence, I've already reserved three weeks there for my next trip to the Home Land. ~ Pen

I've always like the food quite a lot The Sunday roasts are a great way to end or start a week. Pen

T-minus 03:04:35:26 Pen

I believe Mulphy wrote me that he'd be back in Pattaya the 19th. Pen

I've never had the pleasure of a TQ2 party -- I look forward to stopping by and helping to the rough edges off of 43. Pen

Wow, I never thought to see how it would look in hours. Let's see...looks like 414 hours until first wheels up and just under 437 until BKK touchdown. Yeah, I do like the way that looks. Tick, tick, tick... Pen

Coming in on Thai Air from the states, heading down to Patts from the airport. Pen

18 Days from this evening it will be SEA / LAX / BKK, passing blissfully somewhere over the Pacific back into the Smile Mode -- in every sense. Pen

Sail - Well, God knows fares are all over the place these days, but a lot of people are paying $1,110+ for either of the destinations you listed, so a multi-city on an airline like Cathay for that price all-in might be worth locking up. Look at it this way -- if the fares go down, it would be unlikely to be more than $75-100. If they go up, it could be $200 or more. Risk versus reward and all of that. I used to do the same thing and wait and wait on tiny margins of fare decreases. I finally got burned once too often and decided that is a destination's fare was "worth it" to me, without regard to where the price might go in the interim, I closed the deal. So far, no huge regrets. Just one opinion. Pen

Hi, Jack - Well, thats $199 each way in addition to regular Economy. Depending on whether you're going out of Los Angeles or New York, standard Economy is around $1,100US, so it's more expensive than Eva's Elite but as I wrote earlier, it's a better experience in my opinion. Also, it's nice to not have a layover and then another 3 - 6 hours flight (depending on connecting in Tokyo or Taipei or Hong Kong) after already being on a 10+ hour flight. And lastly, I think I prefer the mileage plan with United / Star Alliance, and Thai fits right in. Pen

40 minutes ago, I just crossed under 32 days to departure.

Hi, Jack - Yeah, on the Airbus non-stops from New York and Los Angeles, Thai has Premium Economy. It's $199US each way to go Premium but I find it to be at a higher level of comfort, care and attention than Eva Deluxe or Elite. I believe seatguru quotes it out as something like 36" to 40" of legroom and the seating is 2-3-2. Power ports at each seat, personal video with a decent-sized screen and plenty of choices, plus the nice Thai flight attendants. Singapore Air has their version from Los Angeles and New York, too. As far as I know, those are the only carriers with something between straight economy and business class that are flying from the US. Pen

Fair point, Jack. I've enjoyed coach seating on 777's in a handful of different airline designs. Like I wrote earlier, if nothing else, it's got me try new alternatives like Thai and Singapore, and there's nothing so wrong with giving them a few trips-worth of business. Pen

Yeah, I'm going to miss Deluxe instead of Elite. Shame when things that are working perfectly well and being enjoyed have to go the way of the dinosaur. Good that we've got Thai and a few others with their enhanced economy, even if they do go for a higher tariff than EVA. Pen