BigDUSA

The best advertisement a business can have is word of mouth. Damn I just creamed myself. Now a days ROLAND is my auxiliary pimp. I call him mini-pimp.

No Thai flies thru Osaka from LAX.

I just got off the phone with United reservations. I booked a super saver frequent flyer ticket for October. I was on the phone for less then 5 minutes and got my second choice on my dates. I fly UA metal from Philly to LAX then Thai to BKK same on the return. I'm in country from 6 October thru 26 October. Update: I needed to come back a few days earlier 22 October. No hassle making the change. I hadn't ticketed until after the change.

I used a travel agent on 2nd Road next to the Tourist Police Station. They print the ticket there. They were cheaper then booking with United in BKK.

I try and find out the hotel manager's name. I send out 5 emails to different hotels on the same day. I'm a long stay guest usually 15 or more days in low season. I end up with a nice discount.

Cost of the van was 1800 plus tolls. Fair price IMHO.

Check out www.skytoppattaya.com Good location on 2nd Road near soi 6. Excellent price for room with AC, fridge, TV. Rate is 450 and up. ROLAND suggested I recommend Alex to pick you up at the airport. Thanks ROLAND, I didn't think of that. From now on I'll think of you as my auxiliary pimp. alex_qme@hotmail.com 09-8292911

Last trip I had my wife, daughter her friend and myself. I asked Alex to provide a van. No problem he said. Driver was waiting for me when we arrived at the airport with a clean van.

With gas prices as high as they are, I don't think you will see prices drop much further.

emil, House of three colors, Stuttgurt, Germany back in 1965, I was paying $5, $7.50 or $10 depending on how good looking the girl was. Needless to say, I always went for the $5. girl

I was in Na Trang October 2001 and I paid $5USD for a massage and b++j. Flash back to Na Trang 1967, Sgt BigDUSA catches the lap and I think I paid $2.50 for the honor. soi6, I've been back for a week. I miss Pattaya.......

LiL_Lightning, I had the same problem with my ATM card. I got a new one from the bank and the problem went away.

LAX to Vietnam starts in December. IMHO the MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMEN on this planet live in Nam. I may split my trips to Asia and go to Nam every other trip. I love Saigon!!

torrenova, I disagree with you about not worrying about credit card cloning as this has happened to me twice and I think it was at the Flipper Lodge, soi 8 Pattaya. I didn't have to pay anything but it was a hassle.

DON'T BELIEVE ANY MEDICAL ADVICE YOU GET OFF THE INTERNET, ESPECIALLY MINE. Listen to your local MD and get the two shots he recommended.

torrenova, Depending on the topic I aim my post toward the newbie coming in from the US late at night who's looking for reliable transportation and as far as reliability goes this is Thailand. Friend of mine had used Alex and was pleased with his service but decided on his last trip he would grab a cab at the airport. The two of them drove around Pattaya for 2 hours before they found the hotel.

torrenova, I agree with you. The only problem I have with the drivers at the airport. Most of them do not know Pattaya and speak extremely limited English. Bigmike, I used Alex services twice this trip. His driver picked me up at the airport on time. Week later his driver picked me up at one hotel in BKK and picked up another couple from Nana Hotel and we drove to Pattaya. Driver was 15 minutes late. He told me traffic was at a stand still. He offered to let me use his mobile to call the other couple and let them know we were delayed but on our way.

Emil, The 500 mile upgrades can be used for domestic upgrade to first class. No go international but they are good on the domestic portion of your trip.. They do expire but they put the miles into your account. Request the upgrade when you book. I'm a Premier Executive and I get upgraded 90% of the time.

echster, Thanks for the "heads up" but with double frequent flyer miles on UA. I'm locked in with them. Plus in the fall they usally give me a two for one coupon and I may have a buddy coming with me in November.

FWIW, UA uses a 747 NRT-BKK.

Check out www.skytoppattaya.com High speed internet is 1 baht per minute. Good location, cheap rooms with ac,tv and fridge. Excellent value for the buck.

If you book your FF ticket as soon as they available ie: 330 days in advance you will not have problems booking on United. Almost every year I book 3 tickets to Honolulu for late August supposedly the hardest ticket to get and I never have a problem. Service back in the cheap sets is the same on all airlines including SQ. Only difference with SQ they have the most beautiful FA on the PLANET. Last week I flew BKK-NRT on United and the service was fine.

I'm waiting to book United, PHL-BKK is over 1K right now.

MOSCOW -- Drunken passengers often give air crews trouble, but Russia's leading airline on Tuesday reported an "unprecedented" reversal: A passenger was assaulted by intoxicated flight attendants. Two crew members on a domestic Aeroflot flight beat up a passenger who had complained that the flight attendants were drunk, airline spokeswoman Irina Dannenberg said. The passenger, identified only as A. Chernopup, was aboard a recent flight from Moscow to the Siberian city of Nizhnevartovsk, Dannenberg said. She said the crew belonged to another airline, Aviaenergo. Seeing that the crew were intoxicated and were not fulfilling their duties, Chernopup asked to be served by a sober and competent flight attendant, Dannenberg said. He was then beaten up by crew members. On Russian flights, attendants often have to struggle to keep intoxicated passengers under control. But on this flight, Dannenberg said, flight attendants were so intoxicated that they "behaved improperly" and only began catering to passengers 1 1/2 hours into the four-hour trip The daily Izvestia quoted another passenger as saying that half of the food the crew served ended up on the floor, leaving the aisle strewn with debris that passengers had to walk over as they disembarked According to the passenger, Chernopup left the plane with a black eye and was promptly sent to a doctor. Izvestia also reported that a criminal case was opened after Chernopup reported the incident to the police. Dannenberg said that the plane was carrying out an Aeroflot flight, but both the aircraft and the crew belonged to Aviaenergo. Aeroflot has been contracting out from Aviaenergo since August 2003, but the incident prompted it to tighten control over Aviaenergo's staff, she said. The entire crew of the flight has been temporarily dismissed and a joint commission is investigating the incident, Dannenberg said. San Fransisco Chronicle ©2004 SF Gate

I've read where Thai will start flying from JFK-BKK, ORD-BKK non stop next year. Flight time about 16 hours.