CheshireTom

pat809, Firstly, thanks for a quality post. The guy behind PIC and Sugar Hut, Dr Sunya Viravaidyai, is quite an interesting bloke in his own right. His brother, Mechai, is a former Health Minister and is the guy behind Cabbages and Condoms (restaurant in Bangkok and resort in Pattaya) which, incidentally is worth a visit if only for the gift shop and learning the history behind C&C. Mechai also has the dubious distinction of having the Thai slang for condom (mechai) adopted in his honour. The hospital is dedicated to their mother, a Scottish lady called Isabella McKinnon Ro

accyboy, Try the Bangkok Tonight website or have a look at the links below: http://bkktonite.com/cgi-bin/forum/topic.c...rum=7&topic=583 http://bkktonite.com/cgi-bin/forum/topic.c...rum=7&topic=344 http://bkktonite.com/cgi-bin/forum/topic.c...rum=7&topic=403 Failing that, just e-mail the hotel and put your questions to them. info@bel-aireprincess.com Tom

accyboy, The Bel-Aire is a decent tourist class hotel (part of the same chain that has the Dusit) Although it charges a joiner fee they are pretty relaxed about it and don't come over heavy like some of the other hotels such as the Rembrandt. A 2 minute stroll to Gullivers and if you ever get past there a further 2 mins to the skytrain and the rest of BKK. It is a decent choice of hotel for your first trip. Tom

Dougie, The trouble with Emirates is that if they become too successful on the route they will replace the Airbus 330 with a high-density seat-fit 777 (to all intents and purposes a charter configuration) as they have done with the lunchtime flight from Manchester. That said, the door-to-door timings for the guys north of the border are excellent. I think the thing that swung it for Emirates was the thought of all those Jocks who won't be holidaying in Portugal next June!! Tom

Thai and EVA seat-fits in the economy cabin are identical. The only thing that will make any difference is the thickness of the seats and since both airlines are operating on the older, padded-style economy seating any difference between the two is pretty negligible. Given that both also have a pretty basic entertainment system, EVA's current price and the fact that, unlike Thai, its airmiles can be easily redeemed for upgrades would appear to make it the better bet IMHO. Tom

jimmybcool, The Bella Villa Prima on Soi 4 matches everything except it has in-room electronic safes. You would get a standard or deluxe room at least for the rates you are talking about. See pat809's review in the Hotels' section for all the info, pics etc. Tom

Dougie, Details of the Emirates schedule are: Starts on 10 April 2004. GLA/DXB EK26 1400/0030+1 AB330 DXB/BKK EK382 0315/1225 B777 BKK/DXB EK385 0315/0620 AB330 DXB/GLA EK25 0730/1225 AB330 Fares are currently around GBP525-535 incl from most of the major agents. Regards, Tom

fatboyfat, GBP476 is only priced up to 14 June with Airline Network, thereafter the cheapest is, as you say, GBP557 up to 15 Aug. Tom

sinbinjack, You should be aware that most carriers will either increase their prices or severely restrict the cheapest tickets during the high season on the mid/far east routes. The high season will normally start for outward travel after sometime between 1-15 July depending on the carrier. If you are flying from Scotland then, China Airlines through Amsterdam generally afford the cheapest option. Personally, I would wait and see what prices Emirates will offering from Glasgow. Tom

Crackpot, Sorry if I confused you; I referred to a direct service, not a dedicated, non-stop service. As you know, there is a world of difference between the two. I also stated that Qatar are starting daily flights from April so the midddle-east carriers have already done their sums on the route. Emirates will also formalise upgrading one of their daily flights (lunchtime) to 777 rather than the current 330. There has been speculation in the local press up here that the next middle-east operator at MAN will be Saudia (therefore, holds little interest for me) but that seems to be a

Fatboyfat, Thanks for that - much appreciated. Tom

Crackpot, ??? You're becoming an embarrassment now. :-[ Tom

Crackpot, Both Airtours and Britannia flew charters from MAN/LGW to HKT/BKK in the 90s, so that is two that "got off the runway" - you didn't mention anything about "regular services for any length of time" so please don't go changing the goalposts. The market certainly exists from the North of England to BKK and elsewhere in the far east - just ask Emirates, Qatar, Malaysian, Singapore etc. Even Thai is on the record as earmarking Manchester as part of its route expansion. As for Mr Branson - I think he should stick to making his pickle - in any case, he has got his hands full t

stevoh, Thanks for that. I've been using Trailfinders in Manchester for the last 18 months or so because they were the only agent I could find at the time who knew how to handle the bookings to upgrade to Evergreen Deluxe, at the point of booking, using FF miles. The trouble is, like most of the main agents, you just get used to dealing with one sales agent and they seem to disappear so it may be worth giving Ours a try in that respect. Regards, Tom

Crackpot, For Christ's sake, you do know how to put people off posting any info on the board! > Rather than just cast doubt on the validity of the info, would you like to put your money where your mouth is? There have been several charter operations from both Manchester and Gatwick to Bangkok over the last 10 years and we're talking about 2004, not the 80s - totally different aircraft and a totally different market. The only thing they have in common is that you'll probably still find Abba songs on the in-flight entertainment programme. 8) For somebody supposedly "in the busin

Good news for the Jocks.8) Emirates will start a daily service to Dubai from Glasgow commencing on 10 April 2004. Further good news is that the route will be operated using Airbus 330 rather than the cramped 777. http://www.news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?...m?id=1285512003 Tom

The word at Manchester airport at the moment is that a direct charter to Bangkok will start operations on 4 Mar 2004 - probably AV8Air, a Manchester-based charter company. There have also been several Taiwanese doing the rounds at MAplc (China Airlines already has cargo flights into the airport) and rumours are rife about another scheduled far-east service coming on-line in the first half of 2004. Fingers crossed it will have a stop in BKK since KL and Singapore are already served by their national carriers. Qatar airlines will also be going head-to-head with Emirates by introducing d

Fatboyfat, What class does Ours book you under if you are travelling Evergreen Deluxe? Is it the normal L class ticket? I had always assumed that they issued some sort of group ticket (same as Kuoni etc) and therefore you could not book your seats in advance and no airmiles would be accumulated. Gus's post seems to indicate this is not the case and that you get your individual PNR at the time of booking - if that's the case it seems an exceptional deal since the cheapest tickets at the moment from agents such as Airline Network etc for travel in March require immediate payment and

Gus, I spoke to EVA today. They will use both versions of the 777-400 (368 and 386 seat configuration) which will make getting rows 26 or 27 a bit of a lottery on the Thu and Sat flights. Thanks for the heads-up anyway. Tom

Gus, From what I understand the Thu and Sat flights will be operated by 747-400 in a full pax configuration. The remaining days, (Tue, Wed and Sun) will be operated by 747-400 Combi. Now, if they just routed one into Manchester ....... :-/ There are two full pax configurations that EVA use on their 747s - a 368 and a 386 configuration. The layout in Evergreen Deluxe is totally different between the two configurations. I will find out what configuration they propose to use on the LHR route and let you know. I've got to agree with you about their reservations staff. I've always

Below is a link to most of the major airlines' seating plans as opposed to just seat pitch. The plans are an invaluable aid in ensuring that your 12 hours + spent in an aluminium tube are as comfortable as possible. http://www.uk-air.net/seatplan.htm Tom p.s. Crackpot, What's happened to Thai Travel? It seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.

Jauls, There are another two pools which are both set away from the building work. Unfortunately the Type B Rooms are, as you say, parkside (old wing) (when they say park they actually mean car park) and the building work is taking place at the eastern end of this wing. Regards, Tom

JAULS, It's something called the rainy season plus they had to terminate the leases on the shops and the Zebra Bar and Go-Go opposite the Kumm Pun (?) pub. You shouldn't be affected if you are not in the old wing. Regards, Tom

The Sabai Lodge has just started work on a new wing and pool. It may be best to avoid it for the next few months or stay opposite in the Sabai Inn - much bigger rooms and much better value for money IMHO. Regards, Tom

Scarface, Emirates has to be the choice. Go for the evening flight from MAN if possible - the lunchtime schedule is constantly using a 777 in a high density seat fit configuration as is the connection from DXB to BKK. The evening flight is still using the roomier Airbus. Regards, Tom