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

I would stay at the Nana over the Grand Inn, which is a shithole. Jimmy

Since I made my initial report last fall, I again stayed at Lilo Lils this past trip last month. I could no longer recommend this place. The prices have gone up considerably, the cleaning staff does not keep the place as clean as it was on my first stay, and the owner is always pissed up and does not get his booking information straight. Rgds, Jimmy

I picked up a Nokia T-200 last month for 1400 including a sim card(second hand) and it is very good for my basic needs. You can send text messages I am told if only someone would have educated me about this. he he Jimmybb

For what it's worth, I'm pulling for Di Marco, just love his takeaway, reminds me of myself getting ready to plunge my unit into a bar girls arse. Rgds, Jimmy

This is not a flame, but why would you even consider NWA these days. I used to be a loyal flyer to BKK on this carrier, but through delays, mechanical troubles, surly employees, and ever rising ticket prices I have opted to not use this airline any longer. I still have about 20,000 freq miles and it looks like they will not be used, and I don't care. You can do much better on EVA, Cathay Pacific, and Delta/Korea. It is no wonder why NWA is in bankruptsy from my view, and if they go belly up mai pan rai. Jimmy

tucked under his arm walks into the living room of his house where his wife is reading a book. The guy says "this is the pig I've been fucking when you're not around." His wife looks up from the book and says,"that's not a pig, it's a sheep." The husband says "shut up, I wasn't talking to you." Rgds, Jimmybb

How they got my bag on the plane in such a short time is still a mystery to me, but they did it and I was happy as a pig in shit to see my grip come down the carousel in BKK. Jimmy

After hearing some good reviews of this carrier in general, and of the deluxe seats in particular, I booked EVA for my latest trip. The total cost from Chicago O'hare-BKK-O'Hare was $1176 all in. EVA does not fly out of O'hare so a flight on American Airlines (in economy) was necessary to get me out to San Francisco and the hook-up with EVA. Incidently, the plane left O'Hare about an hour late, and also had to buck terrible head winds on the way to the coast and I was pretty panicked about missing the connection in SFO to Taipei. I informed the American flight steward of my predicament, and he told me that there were 7 or 8 others with the same connection as mine, and that EVA had been called, and that the plane would be held for us. I thought that was pretty decent of American and did restore at least a little faith that there are some American carriers who do really care about their customers. We were let off of the plane before anyone else, and we made a run from the domestic terminal to the international terminal, and there were EVA representatives placed about every 100 meters to direct us to the check in, xray machines, and the gate. We got aboard and the plane left the gate immediately. My lungs were seared but I was aboard and this was the only calamity re my flights that I endured on the holiday. I had an aged 747-400 on all four flights on EVA, but the seats were certainly wider than economy, the pitch was greater(but not as great as business class) and I found myself liking this class ticket which is certainly affordable for working stiffs like myself. The flight attendants were all nice looking, very efficient, and the food was "airline passable." I will probably use this carrier from now on, unless I can get a suitable flight from here to New York in which case I will try Thai Air non-stop to BKK, just to see if spending 17+ hours on a 747 is feasible for me. I would recommend EVA to all those who are good sized lads like myself and need a bit more room. Jimmybb

I stayed at this hotel for about 8 nights this month. It is located on Soi Diana, just east of Soi Bukhao(sic). I paid 750 per and the room was clean, the aircon worked well, the cleaning and desk staff were pleasant. There is a pool as well which is pretty good size. The hotel is guest friendly and no one asked me for my tg de jour's ID card whilst we were engaging in the "walk of shame." There are no in room safes, but they are available at the main desk and your valuables are accessible from 0800 to 2200. I will stay there again as I like the location and the price is very affordable. Jimmybb

I did not have the same situation at the Beergarten last month- had two hook-ups there and both were very happy with 1000. This was done so easily that had I even tried to haggle, I might have been able to lower the price a bit but, considering BKK is higher I thought the price very fair. The service from one was spectacular whilst the other would have given a sea shell on the beach in Ko Larn a run for most stationary thing Thai. Jimmy