Rawhide2

Have to say I never put my middle name into the booking form. Never ever had a problem personally

There are 2 tiny swimming pools on ground floor which only catch the sun certain times of day When I looked around (few years ago now) our sub continent friends were everywhere

Reading elsewhere all seems as before

Interesting the thread over there....so many saying the same that doubtless it will be ignored lol

Unless I've missed it I cant see anything as yet over on Asean Now Would have thought it would be a massive thread (there may well be lol) but I cant see it as yet

Which I refuse to use except in emergency I could baht bus it in say 2 stages but the loss of Bolt will be catastrophic for many....go out the front of Maldives and inaviabiy 10 or so people waiting for Cars which inaviably appear every couple minutes....my condo contract ends on October 18th and really dont want to move I can see a compromise happening

It would really cock up my social life with the location of my Condo Maldives 3 in Jomtien I can walk from there to Rhompoo bars no problem and frequently do when on my own and also back home but no girl will walk that far nor would I expect them to Getting somewhere like Soi Bongkot would be a nightmare

I'll believe it when I see it TIT

Yes am not clear either........I know on the SETV there is a "use by date" to arrive but was under impression the METV 6 months literally starts from the day its "issued" I hindsight I might just go SETV obviously I know at the moment its effectively same as visa exempt and use 90 days (with extension) as I was somewhat pointly asked last entry "no visa" by IO The last 3 have been visa exempt entries with first two extended by 30 days.....the third one I departed bang on validity without extension 90 Days from late August will take me to within 4 months of state pension age.......I could try and do it phone as suggested on Help the Aged website but it appears (and happy to be corrected) you need a reference number which Pension service send via letter 4 months prior to 66th birthday ?? In addition and as per other thread I started on "requirements" for state pension am coming up against a blank wall no matter who I enquire with as to whether I'm actually divorced from a decade plus ago (long story) and how do I get around not having a divorce certificaate

I'm a bit surprised how low one way fares back out to Bangkok are in August The pinch point seems to be around 23rd (ish) where they drop I can use China Eastern again for around £290 ish standard connections.....I should have joined their frequent flyer club before So basically looking to obtain METV and go around that time......I understrand the METV works differently in that if granted the 6 months runs from immediate of issue where as the SETV you have some time before it needs to be used Is that correct ??

Main leg is spot on but its the connections via Delhi and Mumbai that are pretty bad

Some of the fares I'm seeing are eye watering to say the least Even Thai and Eva were cheaper albeit could just have been the few dates I tried re Norse

How much was that then if you dont mind me asking ??

What I dont understand is why Air India dont allocate a widebody onto that 2nd sector from Delhi and Mumbai to Bangkok......from reading airline forums these connections are full every time Now China Eastern on their 2nd sector start January Shanghai Bangkok had an A330 on that sector and that was full as well If a widebody was allocated it would make the experience perfectly acceptable especially for the price on Air India and pricewise at £289 very good indeed

Just done short trip report over Air India same sub section

My lad went to Dubai via Riyadh last year......on outbound sector bag didnt come onto acrousel at Dubai....his story was the same multiple bags hadnt been loaded. They did get it back about 5 hours later fortunately. Apart from that though he thought Saudi were good

I thought I had done a report here before from last October over using Air India via Delhi Its possible it was elsewhere as cant find it here...no problem Recap back to October I had flown out of Heathrow via Delhi....one of the reasons was certainly price one way but also the fact Air India had literally just taken delivery of a brand new A350 few weeks before Now the Heathrow Delhi sector was excellent as expected but Delhi Bangkok let it down with single aisle A320 and an old one at that. No screens no nothing. Chalk and cheese compared to 1st sector Fast forward and am on Air India again but this time via Mumbai again price was excellent Main sector was on 777-300ER but probably older version clearly....seats were fine no problem not on a par with A350 but quite acceptable nonetheless Onto to 2nd sector and after choosing 25C aisle at online check in near the back (and obviously having that boarding card at Heathrow) going through final gate the scan flashes red and says seat change...thinking immediately might have been upgraded no in hindsight I've been downgraded lol New boarding card showing 29C so think no problem until I got on 29C was final row and not only was the seat back jammed hard against bulkhead its clear the seat pitch is less than other rows...visibly different Spoke to male flight attendant who immediately contacted someone from ground handling who came 5 minutes later...Really sorry Sir we've had to substitute the aircraft which has different configuaration.....Very politely quietly non aggressive I say I'm not sitting there. I cannot genuinely get my legs in straight. Off he goes and says flight is full sir completely......this time I did speak slightly louder saying dont make your problem my problem. You'll have to offload someone I said (clearly not the wisest thing to say) lol Back he comes and says sit 26D and very small lady got lumbered with my initial seat....in hindsight I should have stayed there !! Half the passengers were up walking around talking to other passengers standing in aisle...how many times I got accidentally whacked I dont know....only 2 shitters at back so queue all the time past where I was sitting Nighmare 4 hours that was ! They are so ignorant without outright naming the nationality ! Definately thats it never again !

Reopened apparently Jacko but guess will take few days to get back to normal I'm flying Monday inbound (hopefully) and lad is on Eva Wednesday outbound

China Eastern and Air India both leading the way with decent priced single and return fares Now I'd be the first to say if you were on a very short trip than the increased airtime might not suit but if you're on a long trip another 3 hours in the air is no big deal China Eastern bouncing around £500 return like Air India in fact £485 when I did random midweek dates Just picked up Air India for just after Songkran one way for £289 Heathrow Bangkok total "airtime" of 13 hours 20 minutes so perfectly acceptable...normal transit times Eva cheapest the day I booked AI was £515 Extra £226 or 9.831 at todays rates.......for just under 10k could have fair bit of fun in gents clubs over say 3 visits !

I would surmise the passport stamp I'm not quite sure what you're referring to ?? When you say Evisa did you mean SETV from Embassy website

That China Eastern was decent again...food not the best but had A330 and 777 on the two sectors so no single aisle 737 etc 95% plus full from Gatwick to Shanghai and 100% full Shanghai to Bangkok Very heavy flight traffic was circling for 30 minutes...;arrived about 45 minutes late Immigration heaving 2nd trip in a row I was asked the question "no visa" I had an onward ticket for 6th Feb so wasnt concerned but interesting that they asked again Didnt ask for anything though but the kiosk beside me a female IO did ask young guy for something (I didnt hear) but he was frantically looking through his phone for something....no idea if he found it

I wrote the above before going down for the breakfast buffet and the foodi itself was actually fine...solid 8/10 there It opened at 6am and I was first in quickly followed by others.....2 piles of plates heated through. Top 2 plates covered in yesterdays remnants of food This time I have reacted lol and totally warranted.....calls the server over and just point. Further words were superfluous. Not a word of apology whatsoever. Just took the 2 plates away and said absolutely nothing ! Even more alarming from the Travel lodges own point of view....nobody bothered checking complimentary breakfast voucher whatsoever. Anyone could walk in Checking out a bloke comes up beside me and says he wants to pay for his breakfast lol (its not included automatically its £11.95).....complete honesty from him and his wife yet the indifference from reception staff just astonishing. Couldnt have cared less and with that shuttle coach came and the less said the better about that lol.....shocking experience all around.....will give it overall 2/10 and one point was for the decent food assuming I dont start shitting myself to death on the plane lol No alarm wake up call service so just had phone alarm but woke up 1am anyway... just farcical

I'm actually in the accomodation in above post now Has to rank as the biggest shithole I have ever dropped anchor in I wouldnt even know where to start but its mid winter minus 3 outside and this in photo is the heating provided....its a family room "upgrade" and woke at 1am its so cold inside Wifi you get 30 minutes and then have to pay (not joking) The approach road to the property has no pavement. You're literally walking in the road full of potholes (and ice) TV is something out of the ark must be about 19" tops I could go on for an hour......wait to the fuc**** see the review I give tomorrow once left. Travelodge Gatwick I've stayed at Premier Inn Heathrow previously which was fine. Wrongly assumed this would be similar

Unfortunately where we are from in UK its a minimum 220 miles to either Heathrow ot Gatwick Take into account coach times and time between arrival and wheels up its typically 9 hours minimum Not to bad coming to Thailand for obvious reasons but coming home is utter nightmare Even when I came home on Thai (so obviously non stop) because of coach timings and getting home from final coach stop was 29 hours on Boxing day door to door.....I could have chopped 1 hour off that by leaving later from Condo but thats it

China Eastern Jacko who I have flown before Lovely seating 33" in economy no stupid underseat AVOD boxes either Transit in Pudong Shanghai 2 hours 10 minutes "Air time" is the same as say Malaysian or Cathay from Bangkok to or fro London so not excessive