CheshireTom

I (and several members of my family) were silver/gold card holders with TG for many years. Never once managed to get an upgrade and ended up converting the miles to hotel vouchers to avoid losing them.

Hidden away was the bit about non-compliance. The thought of five years in jail should help concentrate the minds of those farangs who are looking to circumvent the rules. Thailand threatens jail for foreign investment violations 04.10.07, 5:46 AM ET BANGKOK (XFN-ASIA) - Violators of Thailand's new foreign investment law could face up to five years in prison, under a revised version of the proposed amendments approved by the cabinet, Commerce Minister Krirk-Krai Jirapaet said. The changes, originally proposed in January, would limit foreigners to holding not more than 49 pct of the shares or voting rights in Thai companies. The original proposal would have punished violators with only a fine of up to 100,000 baht, but the revised version raised the fine five-fold and also threatens to imprison violators for five years, Krirk-Krai said. Companies would also have three years rather than two to adjust to the new regime, he added. 'The cabinet agreed to raise the penalty for violations both in fines and imprisonment. Those who violate the law would face five years in prison and fine of five times the amount in the earlier draft,' he said. 'We added the criminal penalty in order to promote good corporate governance in the business sector,' Krirk-Krai said, adding the draft would be submitted to parliament before Friday.

yselmike, if you have already booked your KLM ticket then it is irrelevant who you book your onward flight with ..... you'll have to go through immigration and check-in. You only use the transfer desks if you are on a through ticket i.e. one flight booking reference.

Comaghee, I checked in two shops (both on the 3rd Floor) at Panthip yesterday: Digital Camera Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM - 22,800 Baht Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM - Not in stock LA-OX Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM - 22,500 Baht Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM - 27,000 Baht Both shops indicated that they were open to discounting a bit from those prices depending on the market.

It's also worth bearing in mind that not all English teaching jobs are about teaching kids. There are plenty of corporate jobs around teaching English for Special Purposes (ESP). That said, the pay around Chonburi is particularly crap due to the number of farangs in the area (around 25k a month) but there are plenty of jobs teaching IT skills or hotel/tourism service if you look hard enough that pay 40k plus. I was offered 40k a month last week to teach Photoshop 15 hours a week in BKK/Thonburi. Not a huge amount but a decent bit of cash flow and gives you something constructive to do with your life rather than just drinking/fucking yourself into oblivion. If you go down that route it is worth doing your homework as there is a lot of crap to sift through in relation to both English training and jobs. The Bangkok Post has its job vacancies online now ....... http://www.jobjob.co.th/ but I would expect the responses to any decent ads to be in their hundreds.

I've got a couple of Canon Ultrasonic (USM) lenses (50-80mm and 75-300mm) in Pattaya that I am getting rid of along with my 300D and kit lense. I'll be back there during the second week of May. If you want new, Panthip would be the place. I'll be there on Fri ...... let me know if you want me to price them up and exactly what lense (USM/IS etc) that you are after.

m62man, What are your flight dates? I book from the BKK end i.e. BKK-MAN return and pay 77,000 Baht incl of taxes on Etihad.

I've booked several 1-3 months in advance. If you are in UK give the guys a ring at their offices in MAN a call ......... they are very helpful and they'll tell you straight off when there is/isn't any availability.

Etihad's biz class is the best value for money premium class product from the UK by a long way..... if you are getting it for 1,673 USD it's an absolute bargain. Fully-flat, pod-type beds, huge AVOD screen system that will take your playstation/ipod etc.

Etihad flies via Abu Dhabi, not Dubai.

Paesano and Gianni's, both on Soi Tonson, are two of the best Italians in town. Soi Tonson is midway between Ploenchit and Chilom skytrain stations, directly opposite Central Chidlom department store.

Aircraft LHR-DOH and v.v. varies between A330 and A340-600 (not much difference for passengers - one has 2 engines, the other 4). DOH-BKK and v.v. is A330. Both are in a 2-4-2 configuration in economy. Entertainment is AVOD in all classes. Two meals are served on each leg and booze is plentiful. The upgrade work at DOH was completed last Nov for the Asian Games. The new terminal being built is some way from the existing terminal. Duty Free is small but very cheap for ciggies/booze. Cabin crew are generally a mix of Asian, East European and Arab. Join their FF Club online. Two return trips in one year will get you Silver status. There is loads of info on their website.

No, but that fuckin' van advertising the muay thai comes straight past the front door!

They ceased the LGW schedule and went double daily with the LHR schedule when they announced their summer timetable. They still have offers under 400 quid incl after 16 April so I'm not sure aout them being more expensive.

unziped, What you need to do is contact Emirates in BKK after you have made the outward journey from Manchester. Many of the available seats will currently only be showing in the more expensive (less restricted) classes because of the proximity of the Easter holidays. Some of those seats will be available in the more restricted classes as the computers yield management systems kick in over the next few weeks. From memory, the cost to change a return EK flight after outbound travel ranges from 0-200 USD depending on the booked class of the original ticket. If you phone them to make the change make sure you make a note of the date/time and reservation agent's name. The following day you should be able to check that the booking has been changed on Amadeus. https://www.checkmytrip.com/ITN/LoginServle...amp;LANGUAGE=GB City: BANGKOK Agent: Emirates Address: B.B. Building 2nd Floor 54 Asoke Road Sukhumvit 21 Khet Wattana Bangkok 10110 Thailand International Dialing Code: 0066 Telephone: 02-664 1040

Fly Air Asia to Surat Thani for around 2k Baht return all-in incl taxes etc and jump on one of the ferries to Samui. I am currently staying at the Akwa in Chaweng ........ stunning value for money and can be had for 1k per night if booked at the last minute. http://www.wotif.com/hotel/View?hotel=41029 Akwa Guesthouse & Restaurant is located at the quiet end of Chaweng Beach. Far enough too escape the hustle and bustle but still only a two-minute stroll from Chaweng's famous and varied shopping and nightlife. Koh samui's best and famous beach, Chaweng, the white sand, sea breezed, and water activities are only a 45 second, or 15 second run (if you are in a hurry) , from the front doors the of Akwa Guesthouse. Unique ... The individual and boutique style accommodation at Akwa Guesthouse provides the discerning holiday goer with an experience you will remember including : ** Superb location ** DVD, MP3 & CD player ** Contemporary modern renovated bathrooms ** Complimentary DVD Library ** Modern restaurant ** Mini Bar ** Complimentary Drinking Water ** Room service ** Air conditioning ** 21 Inch TV with DVD player ** Complimentary Tea & Coffee Making Facilities

Err, NYC is what is known as a grouped code and includes JFK. Try to keep up in future.

Try again then ....... the 747 was almost 50 tons overweight when it first came out. Anyway, you can be sure that flying to LAX and NYC it is the passengers and not the aircraft that is overweight.

sbj, How much did you pay and when did you travel last year?

sbj, Unless you give some indication of what you paid last year and when you intend travelling it's unlikely any decent advice will be forthcoming. Both Thai and EVA have current offers but without knowing what you're looking for its pretty much hit and miss.

Most airlines don't have to offer discounted seats for travel outbound between 15-25 Dec. If you are travelling on Qatar (or Emirates/Etihad) between those dates I would take the price on offer. Also bear in mind, it is one thing to have availability between 15-25 Dec but quite another for the return journey during the first week in January. The only decent reason to put off booking is to see what prices/routes Air Asia's new low-cost, long-haul carrier will be offering to Kuala Lumpur. The additional 20 quid tax has pretty much been offset as airlines reduce the fuel surcharges they had in place last year.

Yes, they are strict. The excess baggage charges are here. Scroll down to Sevice charges.

I am currently in the Somerset Lake Point Serviced Apartments on Soi 16. The hotel tuk-tuk will drop you off at Sukhumvit subway/Asoke skytrain or Emporium. A 45 sq m suite at 2,500 Baht is outstanding value for money. http://www.somersetlakepoint.com/

adam, When do they start the piling work at Ocean 1? I only ask because I normally stay at the end of Soi 4 (as it is now) and would probably give it a miss whilst the groundworks are going on. Tom

The rates shown on xe.com are mid-market rates. You need to add 3-4% for the cash/TC rates. Best to use the Bangkok Bank's site for tourist rates. http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok+Bank/Pe...tes/default.htm