Sailfast

Resaurant is GREAT. Grounds are beautiful. Pics of room and pool are deceiving. Pool is tiny. Rooms are small as well. My suggestion is to book it for a couple of nights and go out looking around at other places. Motor bike rental out front is good...ask for Tiger. I would not stay there, but there are worse places. My suggestion... as you walk out of Als Hut to the main road, go right and walk a couple of blocks till you see a sign "Lucky Mother Guest House". Office is down the path at the beach restaurant. Bungalos are shit, however there are NEW rooms up by the road. Good AC, a locking drawer in the closet, fridge, nice balcony, etc. Don't pay more than 1500 per night (they may ask for more). Look at the rooms first and then bargain.

Thanks again Pico. I'll give them a try. Sailfast

If the pilot thought there was a risk of a medical crisis on board the plane he has every right to refuse her service. My thoughts are that he was afraid for the girls safety. Imagine if it got to the point that she needed medical attention? This would require an emergency landing and perhaps a crisis on board that the crew was not prepared to handle as well as a hospital. That being said, Continental probably should have handled it better. It's all fun and games till your flight to LOS is diverted to EastBumfuck Ohio cuz someone has a nose bleed that won't stop. Sailfast

Thanks Pico. I have been flying mostly Bangkok Air. HOLY CRAP is Air Asia CHEAP....I did some random comarisons and they are sometimes less than 1/10th the price!! I just have to wonder why? Will I be flying on some old Russain plane that is ready to fall from the sky? Do they have seats? lol

I'm thinking of booking my next trip via Hong Kong. With luck I will have 4-5 weeks to travel. My thoughts are to spend a few days in Hong Kong, Macau, and mainland China. Bangkok Air flies direct into Koh Samui, but, it is rather pricey at around US$260 one way. The only flights I could find from HKG to BKK are over US$500 round trip. Is there a cheaper option? Travelocity, and Orbitz won't book flights starting in HKG. The only site I found so far is Expedia. Any thoughts? Thanks, Sailfast

Good advice so far... I have used the flight several times as well... Sometimes the best price is on the Thaiair.com website. Expedia is also cheap, but I never tried the link listed above (I will though:) It's a great flight. If you get a silly price like 5K for economy just change the dates a day or two either way and that will generaly get you down to arounk 1K+. I have paid as little as 900 but I think those days are over. United/ANA has a nice one stop from JFK to Tokyo to BKK as well. With the huge Viet/Lao/Chin/Thai/Cambo etc population in and around the Boston area you would think you could get a decent flight out, but you can't Sailfast

Nice pics, thanks for the tour. How many rooms do you have (I travel with 3 - 6 guys)

Not worth it IMHO. Now, I have never flown prem. econ. but I did check out the seats and they are not that much better. Not 500 bucks better anyway Thai air service and food is pretty good in cattle class and those premium econ. seats don't look like they are anything like business class seats. They may offer you an upgrade at check in w/ a reduced price. At JFK I have been offered it for 199 each way (400). Thai also WOULD NOT gaurantee seating until check in, so don't get your heart set on that isle seat until you get to the airport. If you have an isle seat I would skip the upgrade. If you are a big guy and stuck on the middle, then it might be worth it. I guess it also depends on your budget. Hope this helps. Sailfast

Thai air website is still listing non-stop flights into Jan 2008 Travelocity is still selling the non-stop flights into Jan 2008 Since it does not seem like they have set an alternative, I would not worry just yet. The flights I have taken have been fairly full, with the exception of premium economy. Seems like you don't get much in that class for the extra money you pay. Even the manager at JFK's Thai air told me not to spend the money for the upgrade if I already had an aisle seat. I hope they can work it out becuase it's a nice flight at a fair price. Sailfast Look at me, I can't head back for almost a year and I'm still dreaming....

Brau House on beach Rd near Pizza hut. Nice brew as well. Sailfast

I think the lucky Aussies get to fly direct to Phuket from the outback. Well, many simply pack a cooler, harness a salt water croc and surf over on his back

Been to Phuket once. Samui twice. I prefer Samui, but Phuket is a must see at least once. It's not a simple answer, but.. My next trip I am leaning towards Samui again. The party atmosphere in Phuket is fun though... Shit maybe I will go to Phuket instead.. I'm really not much help at all OK, Phuket is more expensive and easier to meet girls. The beach is just as nice and there are more dance clubs/freelanceres. Samui has too many backpackers. Your first trip won't be as fun till you know the ropes OR you can bring a g/f to Samui. Single, first time, to go Phuket.

There is only one way to fly. BangkokAir owns the airport on Koh Samui. Never stayed at the flipper, so can't compare. There are loads of places to stay, book something for a night and then pick your own the next day. Sailfast

500K per year at 20% return rate for 20 yrs and you are worth 20 million. Why are you wasting time on this board, you should own your own country by now.

The Thaiair JFK to BKK direct is the best option for me. I would rather suck it up and get it over with. I get to the airport early and try for an upgrade (never got a free one..yet), or at the very least get a good seat. Also, they run deals on upgrades to premium economy, never took one of those either because I have always gotten a bulkhead or exit row seat (so far). I did recently fly ANA business class w/ a stop in Narita and that was the best flight ever, but it won't happen again till I get another 90,000 miles saved up Worse flight ever was British Airways, JFK - stop - stop - BKK. FUCKERS. I paid for a one stop flight through london that got me into BKK in the afternoon. Ended up losing a day and they would do NOTHING for me! The BA flight cost me $1300. If I wanted the other shit flight I could have purchased it for $900. FUCKERS promised me an upgrade on my return flight and then acted like I they never heard of me before. Fucker in NY lied again when I got home and talked to him face to face. UNFUCKINGREAL! NEVER FLY BA!

Comparing apples and oranges IMHO. My sailboat might beat your Porche in the right race Sailboat

I have to agree, sounds like the perfect girl. Can you just put her in a box and ship her to me? Oh, that would probably make my next trip to LOS/Cam a bit tricky to pull off now wouldn't it? "Honey, I'm off to the arctic circle, I'll be back in 5 weeks with a tan and a venerial disease"

Maybe because the prearranged pickup services charge more from BKK to Patts (because of the possibility of a flight delay) they figure everyone can charge more. Anyone who has ever been tired and lost in a taxi with a driver who you have NO hope of communicating with will never again go budget. Seconds quickly begin to feel like hours and you slowlyl slip into insanity. Not a nice way to start your trip. Sailfast

No

I'm not familiar with the plans but it sounds like a load of crap. I'm sure big companies who already provide healthcare will save the most. LOL I'm sure people who make $3000/month will really be thankful that the $1000/month healthcare cost would be tax deductable IF, IF, IF they could just afford it to begin with...lol

It really is up to the individual. Some people like nice things. Why pay 4 times more for a Benz than a Toyota? You can subsist on noodle soup so why eat out? I can drink JW Black but I could just sit by the pool and drink cheap rum and coke. I surely don't need those Partagas that I indulge in on occasion. Some people have more money than they need so they spend it. I just wish I had that problem. Sailfast

I have used Paypal's ATM in LOS. There where times when I could not get money. Did not eat my card, just would not let me take out cash. Other days it was fine. My bank ATM worked all the time. Sailfast

WHY DON"T YOU DO THIS CRAP WHEN I"M IN TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( Just kidding, but keep up the good work! When I come back I will be spending lots of time at LD1 Sailfast

Funny thing for me is that I seem to be less involved with my investments than I used to be. I had my own stocks that I would trade and belonged to an investment club that met monthly and had over 100K invested. As the market slowed a few years ago and "day trading" did not look so profitable I have decided to just leave my assets in mutual funds. I'm 41 and now have my 401K (110K invested so far) and my house as my major assets. I simply put it in fairly agressive funds and try to forget about it. I've thought of investing in some more real estate, as the market here in the US is going through a correction, but not sure if I want the responsibility. I could invest more, retire earlier OR invest less and continue with my lifestyle....I think I'll continue having fun Sailfast

We call them zip-lock bags (trademark for one brand, I think) here in the Yankland. By them at any supermarket in the UK. Probably near the plastic rap and al-U-m-I-ni-U-m foil Sailfast