tallguy

I think you'll find that most of that £329 tax is the fuel surcharge of £190. I had a look at the Etihad website yesterday and they were showing taxes and surcharges of £296 from Manchester of which £190 was fuel surcharge and £106 was various taxes and airport charges. Interestingly Emirates prices its flights slightly differently including the fuel 'surcharge' in the main fare and showing the taxes and airport fees as just over £100. I don't like defending the UK government but I think some of the airlines are misrepresenting the breakdown of their costs by lumping their fuel surcharge

If your bothered about prescription medicine take a copy of your prescription with you, my experience is that you will have no problem getting replacements from a pharmacy. If for some reason the pharmacists want a prescription written by a thai doctor, pop into one of the clinics. For other minor medical matters most of the clinics will be able to deal with your problem adequately. If you're not happy with the advice or treatment given, or the problem is more serious then try one of the hospitals. One advantage the international hospitals have over the clinics is that the doctors are

At a guess I would say that the pictures taken immediately below the Sapphire sign were taken at Sapphire Lodge and the photos beneath the beer fridge with the Exotica logo on it were taken there. Hope this helps. TG

When I lived in View Talay 1 Jomtien (now over 2 1/2 years ago), I would sometimes hire a baht bus as a taxi, (normally paid 100 baht never paid more than 120 baht), or would wait by the 7-11, roughly opposite Soi Diamond, to try to get a 10 baht ride, I occassionally had a longer wait but most times only had to wait about 5 mins. Good luck whatever you decide to do. TG

Only went into Airport once in the afternoon a couple of years ago, so may have changed. It was horrible!!! Only the front half of the bar open and full of fat munters who were being barfined by arabs, (3000baht LT was the price I overheard). I don't expect the afternoon go-gos to be overflowing with stunners but will stick to TQ and the Post Office go-gos on the occassional times I hit a few afternoon go-gos until I hear some positive reports re the few WS go-gos that open. BTW, Champagne probably has best afternoon line-up quality wise but TQ has more girls available. Cheers T

There are plenty of exchange booths operated by the main thai banks all over pattaya and jomtien. You will need to show the staff your passport and they will ask for the name of your hotel and probably the room number as well. The staff know enough English to enable the transaction to be completed. (I've never tried to have a more in depth conversation with them). Cheers TG

Remember you need to add on taxes to the prices shown in this thread. Just booked a return bkk - pnomh penh in August which showed similar base price but came out around 5000 baht in total. Have a good trip. Tallguy

Unless you are lucky enough to find a small to medium sized hotel overlooking the beach with a room available I can foresee a couple of stumbling blocks. 1) A lot of hotels have a minimum stay length, 3-5 days is typical, over the Christmas and New Year period. 2) Some hotels, mainly the larger hotels, have a compulsory gala dinner on NYE, typical prices I have seen quoted are around 2000-3000 baht per person, with the price increasing according to the quality of the hotel. Good luck TG

I agree with Teelack about the pools at Sabai Lodge. I always liked the Dolphin Pool, it is fairly small but quiet. Also why not ask your brother about the pool at VT 6. I haven't stayed at VT 6 but my experience of other View Talay's is that they have large pools which do not get particularly busy. Cheers TG

Had a look at the website and agree there is little clear information about the difference between the 2 fares. I would still go with the view that the cheaper ticket will have restrictions if you need to cancel or change dates. There are some fare rules available if you go through the booking process but they are not the clearest I have ever seen. TG

Probably more restrictions on usage and changes for the cheapest option. Best bet is to look at the airlines website. TG

Notwithstanding doubts about the actual price you should check out the location. Soi 18 jomtien beach is a long way out if you are planning on hitting WS most nights. Cheers TG

This is quite mild for Colombian football. Andres Escobar was shot for scoring an own goal in the game against the USA at the 1994 World Cup Finals. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/art...05385/index.htm

If you use Firefox as a browser it may be set to log you out of active sites when you close down your computer. Otherwise you would only need to log on each time if you signed off the last time you used the site on the same computer. TG

I've used the Louis Lounges on a pay as you go basis. Last time was about three years ago when it was about 600baht per hour, which was double the price they used to charge at Don Muang. TG

No there were a few nights he went home early the night before to be in the bar when the cricket started. Needless to say this didn't happen every day!!! TG

Mick Dennis was in the bar at 6.30 am some mornings for the ashes, so I am sure he will make it into the bar for at least some, if not all the rugby games, particularly when Ireland are playing. Looking forward to see you in September. Cheers Tallguy

Its on Soi LK Metro, an Lshaped soi which runs between Soi Buakhao and Soi Dianna. If you walk down from Soi Buakhao, Metro Apartments is on the left hand side about half way down. Attached is a link to a map http://metro-apartments-pattaya.com/location.php. Its also an aircon bar so more comfortable to watch a game in than somewhere like Jack Tar. Cheers Tallguy

Mick I'll still be in Thailand on my long summer trip at the start of the World Cup. (I return to the UK on 23 September). I reckon Metro Apartments will be a great place to watch the rugby. Dennis seems to get a good crowd in for most rugby games, so can't imagine the world cup will be any different. Cheers Tallguy

I don't think the Metro Apartments fits the OP's spec. Although they have a side entrance it is really for use when the bar is closed. You walk through the back of the bar from this entrance to get to the rooms, so you would still be doing the 'walk of shame' if you entered this way when the bar was open. Cheers TG

2 1/2 hours is more than enough time to get through check-in and security at Manchester. If you want to give yourself a bit more leeway try checking-in online then you only need to be at the baggage drop 90 mins before departure. Have a good holiday. TG

Good to see you crawling out of the woodwork again now the convicts have wonw one. LoL

Don't have a thai girl friend so that's not a big problem but thanks for keeping one of my gik's in rice while I am not in town