uptome

For those who have to go to Thailand during the school holidays, July-August, the best price i've seen so far is £618 on Qatar airline with ebookers.

Just searched and found this thread. I just stayed at the Diana Inn, april 15-18 '06. Cost me 1,200 B per night. On my last night i decided to have a look at their buffet breakfast. 110 B the sign said. But when i tried to pay the girl told me that it's free to guests! Wasn't told this by the reception on arrival.

Three hours to kill.

When i first bought the tickets in december, the layover in Abu Dhabi (going) was for an hour and a quarter, with an arrival time in Bkk for 18:00. Now, with their revised schedule, it's a three hour stop in AD, arriving in Bkk at 20:00!

Very true.

Same same here Phillip!

That sounds nasty Dave. Was your return flight out of bkk at about 21:00? - Because that's what ours is. Depart LHR - return LGW. If they mess around anymore with the schedule i won't use them again, regardless of price/service.

Cheers Phillip. I read that you're going in april like us. Which airport are you flying out of? We're on the 21:15 out of LHR.

Dave & Phillip, I booked with Etihad, paying 4 months in advance. Later i get an email from ebookers.com about a change in the schedule, everything has been moved back 15/20 mins. How did your schedule change? Cheers.

Thank you Flighty.

Which terminal do Etihad arrive at in bangkok airport?

Does anyone know how much those fake designer watches sold in Pty are costing these days?

They do bother with emails as they've just confirmed my booking. Now, i wonder if they will remember that when i arrive?

And i thought that was just me being lazy.......

Read this, it's quite worrying. This information is worth reading. By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself. One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was called on Thursday from "MasterCard". Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it. The scam works like this: Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card that was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for £249.99 from a Marketing company based in (name of any town or city)?" When you say "No" the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and the charges range from £150 to £249, just under the £250 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to(gives you your address), is that correct?" You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 0800 number listed on the back of your card and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. “Do you need me to read it again?" Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers". There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him. After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct, I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back; if you do....", and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of £249.99 was charged to our card. Long story made short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them. Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost to late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report. What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily! They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is happening.

Btw, is it worth emailing the Lek to reserve a room or don't they bother with that?

Thanks for all the replys. fellas. Some good advice.

Nice 1 'Dru

Thinking of hitting it, Dru' ?

Nitnoyham, The transactions were both purchases made over the internet at home in London. Airline tickets to Bkk & some electronic equipment. I also made some smaller buys too. I rarely buy over the net but it just so happens that i did these times. I suppose this is what got my banks attention. I've never had a problem using my cards in Thailand or elsewhere in the past so this card-blocking got me thinking. Yes, i think i will inform my branch that i'll be overseas, might stop them from blocking the card again. Cheers.

Today my debit card wouldn't allow me to withdraw cash from the ATM's here in the UK. So i phoned my bank, spoke to an adviser, and he said that a "hold" had been placed on my card as several large transactions had been made recently and this was done to prevent fraud. To re-activate my card i had to phone up and answer some security questions to confirm my identity. Very good i thought. Then i wondered, what if this happens and my card is rejected from an ATM in Thailand? You would have to phone your banks international number to re-activate the card. Has this ever happened to anyone here?

csm, 1,200 B. Sorry, but i've lost the phone no. - I know Mr T is cheaper, but he let me down once and i haven't used him since. I'm not saying he's unreliable, just i'd had a bad experience with him and would rather use someone else. If he works for others, great. Btw, Kerddee will use a Bkk meter taxi.

Hmmm Walking right into a waiting taxi and not having to move again until you reach your hotel? Although i do agree, the BKS bus system is very good and reliable, personally i just can't be arsed with them on arrival.

I agree Pty Steve. Are they having a laugh? After a longhaul flight i just want to get showered & changed into some clean clothes. Fcuk messing around with buses. I've used Mr T before, but another choise is a firm down Soi Skaw beach. Again, they will meet you at the a/p. kerddee1@hotmail.com. Email them shortly before you go with your flight details. - Voila! Or failing that, on arrival at bkk a/p, go to departures, wait for a taxi which has just dropped someone off, (avoiding the 50B a/p surcharge) go to Morchit, get a BKS bus to Pty, then on arrival at Pty bus station, walk past the waiting baht bus drivers (avoiding the 40-60B fare) flag down a moving baht bus, get straight in, hopefully he isn't going up the Naklua Rd, and get off wherever along the Beach Rd. Voila! Cheaper than Mr T & Kerddee's taxi pickups, but do you really want all this just after getting off the plane?

Here is the official web site for the festival.