som nam na

Back in the UK for a short trip, so decided to take the plunge and open a Nationwide Account. The figures are quite good. No ATM withdrawal fee and better interest than my HSBC USD account. So its goodbye HSBC. ....bad news is the USD is getting worse, just looked on yahoo currency and the rate is now 1GBP=1.8514USD

Thanks Emil I will keep a look out for that NS2

I am looking for a long term permanent good quality base so the sails and northshore were interesting, but when I enquired the better units had already been sold and timing was off anyway since I am going through a divorce. I will be back on the market at the end of this year. Does anyone know what is the next development coming up for sale, similar in qulaity to Northshore, sails etc?

Does the article mean that if I was a sex traffiker drug dealing yugslavian war criminal come to the UK I would get free NHS but as I am an Brit expat worker I would not?

Just checked HSBC International and I am getting ripped off. Background is I live and work outside of the UK (oil and gas industry) and get paid in USD so use a HSBC USD debit card for my cash withdrawals, HSBC charge me 1. 2.25% commisson on the foreign exchange rate for cash and purchases. 2. a handling fee of 1.5% (min USD 2.25) for cash withdrawals, no upper limit At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask Any advice on banks from BM's who are Brits and who work outside the UK would be welcome. Nothing against our cousins from across the pond but Brits will be tuned into the tax dodges. P.S. just looked at the GBP to USD rate on yahoo ...its now gone up to 1.8263 ... so now going out to drown my sorrows.

BA is my airline of choice .....given a choice I choose not to fly with them .... yes they do have good seats in business class but the service sucks.....IMHO

Pattaya is an excellent place to learn ....for PADI open water ...takes 4 days - mermaid THB 14,000 http://www.mermaiddive.com/ - PJ Scuba THB 14,000 http://www.pjscuba.com/ - Aquanauts THB 14,000 http://www.aquanautsdive.com/learntodive/c...pen_water.shtml Try to negotiate on the price, if the school is not too busy they sometimes give a discount, also try and see if they throw the text book in for free. Duration: 4 Days Cost: 14,000 Baht Curriculum: Day 1- classroom - 7-9 hours Day 2 - in the swimming pool honing those skills for the ocean. Days 3 & 4 - In the ocean (4 dives (2 per day)). Includes: Equipment, swimming pool, instruction, boat fees, PADI International license

if you need training or are a beginner or just want to get wet then Mermaid is a good place to start, there are others dive schools equally as good and some more personal and not so much a "factory"....just google scuba pattaya and see what comes up....diving off Pattaya is ok but nothing special if you are really interested in diving and are PADI open water or higher then consider doing a 3 or 4 day liveaboard off the Similan Islands ....its well worth it...the dive guides are excellent and the diving is superb ....turtles, shark, water snakes, numerous fish and even manta rays http://www.highclass-adventure.com/liveabo...olphinqueen.php One piece of good advice is to plan your trip so that you do the scuba diving before you come to Pattaya and not the other way round ....I know from personal experience that once you get to Pattaya its difficult to leave ...good luck with it

Coming to Pattaya on 17th December for one month. Normally stay in a hotel but this time (i know its a bit late) it may be an idea to stay in a an apartment.....anyone know of any available and the price?

mrgreek .... good recommendation ....here's looking forward to the day that we can reserve seats online

the 2 hours late for dubai was really unforgiveable or freudian ....I had already put my return back by a week .....only goes to show pattaya must be a different time dimension ...either that or i was in an alcoholic haze

done it twice now, not read my booking details correctly, first turned up at don muang 2 hours late for a flight to dubai, second a day late a don muang for a flight to japan ....both times didn't realise until checking in but thankfully thai air were cool about it and got me on the flight ....for the dubai one there was another flight about 4 hours later and for the trip to japan they put me on the flight i turned up for even though i was a day later than booked .. no extra charge

Just been on to the Thai Airways website and one of the FAQ states I am also a member of other FFP Program. Can I transfer or combine mileage from one account to another? No, it is not possible to transfer miles from one account to another or from one FFP Program to another. I have seen somewhere that Thai were introducing a nominee programme and it would be operable through the website but can't find any trace of it ....perhaps it is coming soon

Stayed at the Areaca Lodge for my previous vists but since I will be staying for a month on one of my next trips then a condo looks to be a good idea ... which ones have wireless or broadband internet access? + how much? Thanks SNN

Not tried a sleeping pill on a flight before ...which type is best?

used the left luggage plenty of times, no problems .....about THB 70 or 90 per day per bag.

Stayed at the Majestic Grande over the weekend ....no problems and good service, also a good breakfast...nice hotel and a very nice room .....but was the stay at Majestic Grande worth THB 2,900 per night?....yes very good value if you are used to staying at say Landmark.....but for me I can usually get reasonable accomodation for about THB 1,500 a night ........on reflection and this is just my preference I would prefer to have the extra cash to spend.

Thanks irmster ...the Grottino is more in my usual price range ....liked the low priced broadband.....from the photos the rooms look good.....I will give it a try next time I am in Bangkok

Just booked in myself ...check in 8 July check out 10 July ....non smoking (does that mean cigarettes) king size bed .....2900 THB per night including breakfast .......did it over the phone .......the lady was very good ....no mistakes with the name or English ....checked first with Precison website ....their base rate was cheaper but they do have add ons..........plus I would have had to call them since the booking is for less than seven days away ........the booking is only for two nights and I am on expenses so easier to contact the hotel direct

I am using Norrton Anti Virus / Security .....any ideas on which settings to tweak?

Would very much appreciate some help / advice. I am using Windows XP OS and IE 6 but can't see the pics in the frames on some websites ......tried using the IE help function and I have clicked all the right boxes in Internet Options > advanced > multimedia :frustrated