CheshireTom

BigD, Have you got a link to the LAX-BKK info? Tom

stumpdog, Hub done a very good write-up un the Members' Area a few weeks ago. The link to it is below: Bella Villa Prima Tom

makavelli, You should phone both the agent and the airline (Emirates is 0870-243 2222) and get a quote for the upgrade - probably best to phone the agent first so that you can put that price to Emirates to see if they will better it). The agent would be within their rights to charge an "administrative fee" for the change but they may waive it if they are making more cash from the booking so you should check that when speaking to them. The cost is likely to be the difference what you paid for your ticket and the cheapest biz class fare - currently, for July 7 departures, discounted biz class is running at circa GBP 1,675 - 1,750 (incl taxes) depending upon the agent. Tom

In all the time I have used them I have never come across a "him" managing the operation. It has always been Arunee who is in the office, answers the phone/e-mails etc and the drivers refer to her as "Boss". Tom

Floyd, It appears that Auckland is now getting the crappy MD11 (three engines) for the non-stop flights and Milan is getting the new A340-600 from mid-July. Tom

It would seem that the poster left Khrong Fa high and dry at the airport. Since he had booked their service and they had been at the airport to collect him it seems perfectly reasonable that he should pay for that service. It was hardly the fault of Khrong Fa that he had made multiple taxi bookings. I have used Khrong Fa on several occasions without any of the hassles you mention but if I book a taxi I tend to use that service. Tom

Flash Basbo, A significant number of the guests staying at the Sabai Inn are loyal, return guests who stay 3+ times a year. They would not be very impressed if there was any hint that either walk-in or "cheap charlies" were negotiating the price down compared to what they were paying. For this reason, further discounts are few and far between. The internet rate of 700 Baht is the going rate for the place (walk-in or pre-book). If you do book, you should avoid room numbers in the X07-X11 range as they are "internal" rooms with no natural sunlight. The place is normally quite busy (especially during bank holidays and if they have a "star turn" at the Kumm Pun Pub) so if you decide to walk-in then your choice of accommodation could be limited. Tom

makavelli, Quite possibly it is just thai fonts that you don't have loaded on your pc. Tom

The Mook, I don't recall the Sabai Inn having a pool. Tom

monkeyman, 1. Phone EVA's London office and check the availability in the class you want to book in and the class you want to upgrade to. They should, at this point, tell you the class the agent should book the ticket in (H, L, V or whatever). They are well-used to being asked the same question. 2. Book with a decent agent that understands EVA's system - I used Trailfinders who actually phoned EVA whilst I was there to confirm the process. 3. Once you are booked with your agent and have the EVA booking reference (not the agents) call EVA back and request the upgrade. They will confirm everything is OK. 4. Your ticket will probably show the class you originally booked in (an accounting thing apparently) but the EVA reservation system will have your booking cross-referred into the upgraded class. Clear as mud? 5. Go to the airport and hope. Have a good trip. Regards, Tom

Travelmood are currently doing what must be the best Biz Class deal around for the start of their new Boeing 777 Premium Laurel service which commences on 15 Sep. The cost is GBP 689 + Tax (GBP 765 incl). The fare is a "Companion Fare" which means two people must travel together. Travelmood's telephone number is 08700 66 00 04. Details of the offer and the new Premium Laurel (Business Class) service can be found at Travelmood's EVA deal At around GBP 100 more expensive than Evergreen Deluxe it seems like a bit of a bargain but I would try to book soon as e-mail alerts went out this morning and I'm sure the number of seats will be restricted. Tom

The lady/guy at the taxi booth at the Airport speaks good English. You simply tell her/him that you want a new car with a driver that speaks English and knows his way around Pattaya. There will always be a couple in the queue and no-one is going to get upset if you do. Simple really, and as long as your eyes/mouth are in working order it shouldn't be too difficult to confirm that your request has been complied with. A recurring theme about Alex (and other one-man operators) is not only that he is unreliable but when (if) you are able to contact him he is offhand, unapologetic and, on occasions, sub-contracts to drivers that can't speak English and don't know their way around Pattaya. All in all, it's potentially a lot of hassle that you could do without when you have just arrived in LOS, especially if you are a first-time visitor. Tom

BA are offering BKK @ GBP 299 incl tax ...... got to book by midnight! :crying Book via the BA website: BA Bangkok Offer Tom

pat, Use the Bangkok Airways site to check the timings and get an idea of the prices but don't book on it. Wait until you are in Pattaya and then visit their office on 2nd Road (opposite the Montien/Hard Rock). They always have an A4 flyer of "Specials" at around 20-30% less than published prices. Bangkok Airways Tom

RICHERTS, Thai is currently introducing its refurbished 747s onto the London route. Whilst First and Business class products have had a positive reaction the economy class cabin seems to be pretty much as before except for the seat covers. EVA on the other hand are introducing all new 777 aircraft onto the LHR-BKK route from 15 Sep which will be fitted out in the same style as their Airbus 330s with the addition of an Evergreen Deluxe cabin. All seats, including economy, on the EVA flights will have touch-screen AVOD (Audio Video On Demand) and all the gizmos that go with it. Given the choice between the two, I know who I would opt to fly with. Tom

pat, Airline Network has Qatar available at GBP 480 incl tax. If you can put off your travel by a week or so, Travelmood (www.flynow.com) has the Swiss/Thai codeshare via Zurich at GBP 494 incl tax using Thai's brand new A340-600. Prior to the 1 Nov it is still scheduled on the old MD11. As a rule of thumb, the low season for flights starts at the end of Aug/beginning of Sep and deals are normally released 70-100 days in advance, depending on the airline. Therefore you are really looking at sometime after the late-May Bank Holiday for deals in Sep/Oct. Personally, I would go for the best schedule/price available when I knew my travel dates as the so-called deals frequently are only headline prices applicable to travel on a Mon/Tue/Wed or other restrictions. One of the purposes of the EVA/Thai deals under GBP400 from London has been achieved (removing Phuket Airlines from the competition) so I wouldn't hold my breath on seeing the same sort of deals resurfacing to the same extent in the autumn. Anyway, Heathrow is a shithole that is best avoided IMHO - I would opt to go via Doha, Dubai or Singapore and make my savings at the duty free. Tom

Singapore Airlines currently has deals ex Manchester through until the end of May for GBP 447 incl tax. This is GBP 70-100 less than their normal fares. Travel MAN-SIN-MAN is non-stop (except Tue and Thu) with a 3 hour layover (2 hours on the return) in SIN which has you arriving in BKK at 10:00 a.m. Flights are on new Boeing 777 aircraft with individual PTV and the Krisworld system in economy. Use the e-bookers search engine and the +/- 2 day facility to help identify availability. Tom

Pete, The issue seems have resolved itself when I cleaned up my cache although I can still view a few pics. God only knows where they are hiding. A bit too techie for me. Regards, Tom

BigDUSA, Are you saying Pete, the Aussie, does not own the place any more? I don't know how many posts you have made recommending the SkyTop (20?, 30?, 40?) so why get upset when I make one post expressing a different opinion? Next thing you know, you'll get upset if I express the opinion that it isn't prudent to rely on a one-man taxi operation. Tom

BigDUSA, So what is worth recommending about the place? Location? Hardly; it is on 2nd Road with the continual noise from traffic, day and night. The nearest shopping malls are Tops and BigC, neither which could be described as being close by - they are on the same road, that's all. Room faciities? Cheap and nasty furnishings with a small, uncomfortable bed and synthetic bed-linen. Threadbare curtains to make sure you wake up along with the sun. Helpful manager and staff? Was it not you who wrote: "I'm sitting outside the Sky-Top Hotel watching couple of girls play pool. I'm staying at the hotel, drinking a beer and talking to a friend. The outside girl turns on the music and it's a bit loud. I can't talk to my friend. I ask her to turn it down. She tells me NO go inside if you want to talk. I talk to the owner and he comes outside and tells her to turn it down and she does. Few minutes later he leaves the hotel and she turns it back up. I grab the remote and turn it OFF. She gets mad, you bad man she shouts. Later my BG asked , why you turn off. She speaks excellent English and I try to explain the concept of customer service and I quickly realize it's going in one ear and out the other." and "No, i wasn't left in charge of the remote but I am a paying customer and I didn't feel the need to go some place else. I just wanted to continue the conversation I was having before I was rudely interrupted by an employee with poor customer service skills." I think you explained it much better than I ever could. As many others have said, much better places for the price. Tom

I stopped by the Skytop out of curiosity last month. For me, there was absolutely nothing about the place worth recommending. As Ting Tong says, there are loads of better places at the price. You just have to get off your arse and have a look around. Tom

Pete, I have started to store my photos at Photobox (I get an extra 50 mb of space each time I order prints online which is useful for the larger files) and intended to link my posts to the photos there rather than through PattayaPics. Having deleted all the photos from My Gallery (CheshireTom) I was surprised to see that, apart from my most recent posts containing photos, my older posts were still showing the photos and the Properties of those photos still showing as PattayaPics. Does this mean that I have not in fact deleted the photos (e.g. only deleted them from My Gallery) and they are still held on PattayaPics, or what? Regards, Tom p.s. I tried to send this by PM but got a message saying your inbox was full.

I backed Luke Donald yesterday for a top-four finish at 8/1 and to win at 36/1. Normally that would be the kiss of death ................ Tom

The touts are probably a bit daunting for a first time visitor but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the service they provide ......... a decent car with a decent driver at a decent price. Just make sure that they actually have a cab available for you there and then before handing over your cash. Oh, and their vehicles have a boot (trunk) that isn't taken up by an LPG tank and can actually accommodate more than one suitcase. Tom

Neil, I book direct with Qatar Airlines in Manchester. I just tell them the best fare I have managed to get quoted and they normally better it by about 8-10% plus there are no CC surcharges, SAFI insurance or postage costs added on to the price. I enjoy using them from Manchester because on the evening flight Terminal 2 is pretty empty and it is a breeze from check-in all the way through to boarding. It means a 7 p.m. landing in Bangkok but I enjoy spending a few days in Bangkok before hitting the road to Pattaya. Likewise, on the return journey I try to spend a night or two in Bangkok as I find the road trip to Pattaya, directly before or after the flight, to be a bit of a pain in the ass. I think that if I stayed near LHR I would stick to the one direct carrier and accumulate the airmiles rather than chop and change. It will be interesting to see how Evergreen Deluxe turns out on EVA's new planes. Tom