The_Fat_Controller

No chance of getting upgraded when you check in at a UK airport. The place to ask is at the gate in Amsterdam or on the return, at the check in desk in Bangkok.

For each round-trip from AMS to BKK, you get 11406 miles. The £1079 fare is a "discounted business class" that only attracts economy mileage, so you could accumulate the same in economy. A one-way upgrade outside of peak season is 30000 miles. So, six trips, then upgrades both ways.

Hi TC. The price for Dynasty certainly has gone up to that level. I am out again on 30th May, and paid £569 for my ticket with Gazelle, however will be sitting upstairs as have got upgrades both ways with my points. You could try EVA, they have an enhanced economy, not sure of the prices.

Here are the rates I got from Nationwide on my recent trip. 15/2 69.912 19/2 69.42 22/2 69.526 So it looks like the rates are very similar to those given by the Thai banks on their websites, and radically different from the rates I saw on the Yahoo currency converter when I actually made the tranactions.

Just back, departed 26th Feb. I can confirm that the booths where you have to pay the departure tax have now gone. My ticket had the 700 Bt departure tax included in the price, and was shown as 10.10TS which is the converted amount into UK Pounds. When I checked in, they checked and circled this on my ticket. Some people obviously had tickets that did not include the tax, and were required to pay this at the check in desk.

Between my GF and I, we have 3 ACER computers. She has a desktop and laptop, both bought in BKK, and neither has missed a beat. I have just bought an ACER 5103WLMi from Tesco in the UK, and must say that it is exceptional value for money.

I have see SO many people at the Areca who have booked a few nights to "see what it's like" and then try to extend their stay with no success as the hotel has a large golf group arriving etc etc If you do get to extend your stay, be prepared to have to move rooms, maybe on more than one occasion so they keep their regulars happy !

I would not bank on getting a room change on arrival, as the Areca is quite often fully booked, especially at weekends, even in low season. I have stayed there numerous times, and the only deposit asked for by the hotel was the cost of 1 night. If you book via a hotel booking website expect to have to pay upfront for the full stay, this is the normal policy for these companies, although refunds are available if you cancel, less a small administration charge.

I also have a China Airlines ticket (Dynasty Class) and if you look in the middle it says :- CI SECTORS BUSINESS/NONEND/RERTE/REF RESTICT/CHANGE80GBP Therefore I think your travel agent is 100% correct in saying that a change will cost you 80 of our Great British Pounds.

My GF has used Emirates twice, travelling via Dubai to Glasgow, no transit visa is required. They were the cheapest for this route, and I used NPK Travel. http://www.npkpattaya.com/ For travel insurance, have a look here http://www.iag.co.th/eng/Default.aspx

I am a China fan as well. I buy my tickets here http://www.gazelletravel.co.uk/ using the Newcastle branch. I normally deal with Ms Pat Cooper ( patc @ gazelle.co.uk ) she is quite an expert with China stuff. The Dynasty (Business) Class is often available for aroud £900, though at this price date changes will probably cost you.

I am with Nationwide, and sent my GF the money to buy our condo last year. I just put the true reason on the form, and it was not queried, I think they just need it for money laundering regulations. Nationwide will probably try and get you to convert to Baht before sending, and although the rate was reasonable it was not as good as at the receiving end, I had checked online before leaving home! The customer service agent had never done an international transfer to Thailand before, and was surprised that I wanted it sent in Sterling, but the electronic form they used seem to accept

Have to agree the breakfast is worth waking up for, they are one of the few places that have decent back bacon on the buffet ! (Thanks Nancy) I have found myself turning Thai after 9 visits over 3 years, and quite enjoy yellow curry or fishballs in the morning, much to the amusement of my long-term TG, who invariably has sausage, bacon and eggs. There is something for every taste, so make the effort, LOL. Enjoy your holiday.

Glasgow - Amsterdam - Bangkok with KLM/China in June, Economy £539, Dynasty £899. Also use Gazelle Travel in Newcatle, always excellent service. I went with Emirates last June, the Airbus A330 to Dubai was OK, but the Boeing 777 from Dubai to Bangkok was like a cattle truck even though the staff were good. The 777 is now on the Glasgow to Dubai route, and that has put me off.

You can partly thank PM Toxin for the Baht's recent surge. The sale of his family interest in SHIN Corp helped the Baht to surge. As I left on Sunday evening, the rate for cash was 67.7

Just found the paperwork from when I opened the account. Total cost was 300 Baht to open it. It was 100 for the ATM card itself, which is valid for 10 years. The other 200 is the annual card fee. Withdrawal fees are 20 Baht if you do not use your home branch, so if I use the Bangkok Bank in Pattaya I get charged, I think it is to do with what Province you are in. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong. Regarding my edit, checked on the web, had the numbers (100/200) the wrong way round. The card is a Visa Electron, which doubles as a charge card.

Have you considered China Airlines from AMS-BKK ? Much better than KLM, cannot comment about Lufthansa.

Bangkok Bank. I and many others have opened a basic account with just a 30 day stamp in my passport. I got a Passbook and ATM card (you choose your own PIN at the time of issue). They gave me some SWIFT code information as well, so if I need to transfer money from the UK I have all the info available. I opened my account at the main office on Silom Road in Bangkok, but others have done so in Pattaya. It took about 30 minutes to get it ALL done, and I got a free bag as well !

http://www.arecalodge.com/rates.html Look at "recommendation", and there is also a tick-box on the reservation page, which says price to be advised when requested. Not used it myself, but several friends have with no problems.

As a regular at the Areca Lodge, you will not find it any cheaper booking via a third party website, the price is exactly the same. I have used Asiatravel for hotels in Bangkok, and there seem to be good savings on some Bangkok hotels and more upmarket Pattaya hotels as compared to the walk-in rates. I have never had a problem booking online, just turned up with the printed hotel voucher or confirmation.

As I travel from Glasgow via Amsterdam, I make sure the KLM card is swiped at GLA. If the system is "open" for seat alloaction whilst at GLA and I get my China boarding pass there, I always make sure that my Dynasty Flyer card is recorded in the holding lounge at AMS. Never had any problems with mileage being credited either way. Sitting here now in my BKK condo, and heading for CI65 and seat 10B tonight, DAMN !

How can anybody e-mail you by an IP address? One of the advantages of being an AOL customer is that you get a different IP address every time you log on, and as the McAfee firewall reports to me when I try to test it, there is a discrepany about my IP address which makes it more secure! I used this site to find Tiger Airways for my BKK-SIN-BKK trip, and even putting my correct e-mail address in the Tiger Airways booking system after being re-directed has not resulted in ANY spam mail. They ARE NOT out to get you LOL !

Asian Low Cost Carriers http://www.attitudetravel.com/lowcostairlines/asia/

Get yourself a Nationwide FlexAccount for the next time, no charges for their ATM or Credit Card use anywhere !!!!! TCs are safe, rates only vary minutely between exchange booths, and as somebody said, charges are 33 Baht per cheque, so bring larger denominations.

http://www.gazelletravel.co.uk/ China Airlines discounted business class for around £879. I have used the Newcastle office of Gazelle Travel several times, always good service and the price includes the connection to Amsterdam.