Jimmybb

The Haven is a shitter-the owner is a major wanker who thinks he is doing you a favor by taking your reservation for a room. Forget about this place. Jimmy

The complete trip report in one sentence. Rgds, Jimmy

Sorry, I don't know Jack Shit, but I am a very close friend of Jack Mehoff. Rgds, Jimmy

Oh my, how nice to see a photo of little Sriprapan!!! So sweet, so innocent,,,,I almost had pry her legs apart with a crow bar the first tie I took her to my hotel!!!!!! A nice young lady indeed. Rgds, Jimmy

that is pretty funny, Al. Jimmy

OMG, Taxi in the house-hope to see you Nov 21 or thereabouts. Jimmy

You know Doc, the search results on EVA can vary wildly on a daily basis-This I know as I go to this site almost daily in anticipation that once Labor Day has passed that flight costs will go down as USA moves from peak time into shoulder season. I am pretty much convinced that, for my needs, that EVA will continue to be my carrier of choice for transport to LOS from the states. That said, we shall see how mutt ticket costs drop once we get past September 3. I am hoping they go down significantly as Evergreen Deluxe Class is the way to go for me, and I shudder to think that prices will remain higher than they are now and I have to stray to another carrier. The Brits and Aussies have a real advantage as their worst leg is only 10 hours flying time or so for them whereas we Yanks are faced with a 26 hour ordeal all in as we make out way to LOS. Hopefully, with the dollar getting beat up big time by the Euro and the Baht, airline costs will diminish soon-that said i shall still be coming in November and will simply suck it up if costs do not come down. I can always come back home and re-coup the extra cash I have to pay for a great trip to LOS. Rgds,Jimmy

EVA is the only airline lounge that I have been in and it seemed great to me. The one in SFO had beer, wine and hard liquor. The lounges in Taipei and BKK were ok as well. It really is nice sitting in a comfortable chair away from the hordes. Jimmy

Sure, it's a good deal if you live on the coast, but for those of us who live in the heartland, getting a ticket out to the coast makes this too costly. EVA, my carrier of choice, is hooked up with American Airlines and prices their flights with the flight to the coast included, and is the better choice for me. That said, I did fly Cathay on one LOS trip and it was a very nice experience. Rgds, Jimmy

For what it's worth, although I am an EVA flyer and like their Evergreen Deluxe class, current price for the same ticket that I bought for my holiday to LOS two months ago now costs twice that. My friend at EVA says that this price will come down-but I am not sure at current prices of fuel and the increased volume of flyers these days that that will happen. Therefore, I have looked into the JFK-BKK non stop on Thai . However, I recall reading an article in the BKK Post a couple of months ago stating that this route has not been even close to being profitable and, accordingly to the article Thai was trying to get rid of 4 or 5 of their new Airbus 340 long haul planes. Accordingly, I would hate to buy a ticket on this route only to have it cancelled leaving me with a scramble to re-book suitable passage for my next trip this coming Nov. Therefore, I called Thai and inquired if they have already sold, or are still trying to peddle the planes. The lady with whom I chatted did not come out and say that this route was ready to be axed, but she did not say that the planes were not still for sale either. She did inform me that even if this route were cancelled, that the plane would still depart for LOS but simply make a connection in Asia. This is not acceptable for me as the only reason I would buy a ticket on Thai is to get the non-stop into BKK. Given that no definitive answer is available, I did not book the flight on Thai and have to wait until EVA tickets go on sale if that indeed happens. If any BM have any news re Thai plans for this non-stop route I would be interested in hearing it. Rgds, Jimmy

Well, here is my take on this situation. I returned two weeks ago from my last visit to LOS, and what struck me odd is that it always seems that I am on the flight where there is seemingly endless sneezing, coughing, excessive snoring, people sucking their teeth after meals (rather than using the supplied toothpick) for oral cleaning, and various other sundry annoying things. I am generally very easy going, pretty laid back with respect to air travel as well, but this time I would have liked to have seen every wheezing, sneezing passenger taken off the plane so that those not similiarly afflicted could travel in peace. In the future maybe I simply need to take two Ambien and a couple of cocktails so that I can go into a semi-coma and just chill out for the long flight. Rgds, Jimmy

Ii have stayed at the Grand Inn several times the past three years and the rooms are looking very tired indeed. That said, the place is very guest friendly and certainly affordable. No frills here just a great location. The desk staff are efficient but not overly-friendly. Rgds, Jimmy

Dude, I will be there but you have realize one thing-our time in LOS goes at warp speed-do not even try to line things up whilst you are there-nothing ever goes accordingly to plan-just get up each day and go with the flow. Things will go so much more easily for you if you approach LOS with this attitude. Rgds, Jimmy

I made my second trip to LOS on EVA this month and whilst I was completely satisfied with my first experience this past March, I encountered a problem that I believe has been previously addressed but which I did not believe, until now. dxstudent and I caught the San Francisco to Taipei leg of the trek and had great seats on a 747-400-plenty of leg room, good seat pitch and the foot rest that pulls away from the chair was easy on the legs-great flight indeed. However, on the Taipei to BKK leg we boarded a 777 and we found the seats to be smaller, with less pitch and, most annoying of all, the foot rest just was not the same same as on the 747. Fortunately, this leg of the journey is only 3+ hours and was not a major inconvenience. However, if EVA retires their aging 747's and opts to go with the 777's, I will probably not fly this class or this carrier in the future. Rgds, Jimmy

I stayed at the Cock and Bull a couple of weeks ago (Nov 12-16) and had a pleasant stay indeed. Room 13 was very large , clean, the tv and CD/DVD functioned well, and all for 700 baht per, a deal I thought. The Brit who owns the place seemed very accomodating, the staff was friendly and when I asked for more than the alloted two towels per day, no one had a hissy fit. I asked how mutt that same room would cost on a monthly basis and was told 20,000 which, IMHO, seemed pricey. That said, I definitely would recommend the place for short-term lodging. Lolitas is about 40 meters from the place so a thorough pipe cleaning can be gotten with no friction of distance, and the coffee at Don's Blackrock guest house just up the soi is tolerable. Rgds, Jimmy