biggles

You might want to check out the local ex-pat club meetings. they have tie ups with insurance. details of their meetings are on the board (sunday mornings)

It is interesting that when this story came out in australian media quite a few people came forward who had had trouble with the police in Phuket after drinking at this bar. You got the impression from the articles that there might have been a regular thing going on with the BIB Also, tho she pled guilty (to avoid detention in jail) her friends admitted that they put the mat in her bag without her knowledge. she had told the BIB this when they came to the bar and her friends agreed with her but the police werent interested.

Air asia have again put on sale their fares from the Gold Coast in Queensland to Kuala Lumpur. The sale price is $200, taxes included and is for flights from 1st July 09 to 30 November 09. Air Asia has many flights from KL to BKK each day starting from $A59 one way. They also have direct flights from KL to Clarke in the Philipppines.

skylar, maybe not today, tomorrow or next month, but next year?? thats a different story. good luck to you both.

The form does stipulate the reason for the letter, open bank account etc. when I got mine you had to show proof of residence:- house book if you own or lease if you rent. It may have changed. suggest you ask the question on www.thaivisa.com where there are some folks with up-to-date information.

When someone repeats a long post (trip report e.g) in full, including photos, and then says "Great TR" on the end of it, it must be really annoying for people who only have dial-up. It would take forever to load !!

Yes, i didnt realise that was the case until I got a couple of responses. Unfortunately AA is the most cost effective and convenient way to get me to BKK (via Clarke in AC) so it looks like I am stuck. Might just have to pay for the seats in the exit row.

How does that work? if the ATM you are using is overseas and they dont charge for the useage and the bank that processes the transaction doesnt charge you, what is the cost?

I just did an overnight flight from KL to gold coast in australia with Air Asia. Flown AA many times before and no problems, however this time it wasnt that good. The A330 seats are really narrow and you dont have much leg room. to make it worse, the seat back doesnt recline, instead the seat squab moves forward, further reducing the leg room. I am only a short person and not very big build but I was not at all comfortable. anyone of a larger size would be very uncomfortable in fact all the people around me were complaining. A330 might be good for shorter flights but for an overnighter where you want to sleep, its not very pleasant.

ask the bank what other charges they impose. oz banks charge at least $5 for an atm withdrawal and some charge a lot more.

Thanks for that. the web site says $20,000 for over 50's but he was quite definate that he paid $10k

It is a recent change, only happened within the last few months which is why he took advantage of it. He did say it was up to $US50,000 in the past. There is an official web site for the scheme so it shouldnt be too hard to find, he mentioned the name but I forget it. Perhaps you could post it if you find it.?

On the subject of retirement in the philippines, I was speaking to an american in AC and he has a "Residence card" for the philippines and his passport is stamped as a resident. The PI government have a scheme where you invest (currently) $US10,000 to get these benefits. you dont need a visa and you dont report to immigration under this scheme.

I have been using Air Asia to KL from the gold coast. they often have specials of $199 all inclusive if you are flexible about travel dates.

I have stayed at Up to You apartments. They are off Soi 15 which runs between soi buakaow and second road (its behind the avenue shopping centres) These places are spotlessly clean, have air con, cable tv, video camera and electronic key entry. they are really close to the action and transport. I was there for 15 months and loved it. I was paying 5000 a month. The owner also runs the Pattaya Bay Resort so if you cant find any links on the web drop them a email and you might have some success. .

mate stayed there last october and they charged him 500 baht. One day he had a ST and a LT and they slugged him both times. He moved to Marina house, just down the street a few doors, similar prices/decor/pool but no joiner fee.

I can understand your frustration in trying to contact them by phone. After no answers to my email sent on their booking system I tried to ring every one of their listed numbers, from australia. I rang regularly during office hours with no success as they were continually engaged. In the end I had to wait until I checked in for my flight from australia to get some action from the counter staff who were very helpful.

You should also be aware that the cheaper dvd players dont usually have a warranty. Ask the staff about this before you take one. I know its hard for us to believe but if you take it back a couple of weeks later, even with the receipt, they dont want to know you.

quite a few familiar faces there, and a few very beautiful ones as well. Merry christmas adam and a happy new year to you. I hope its a prosperous one for you and the girls.....

Jack, as you say its much easier just to take the green book to a local bike dealer, the one you bought it from is good, and let them do it. I have done this every year except one for the last four years. they charge 200 baht fee for a small bike upto about 125cc. my mate pays 600 baht extra for his 200cc phantom. You go back and pick up the new sticker about 14 days later, but they give you a receipt for the money in case you are stopped.

I had problems booking once (card works ok now) and sent them an email giving details of the flight/date etc. they sent me an invoice on pay pal for me to pay.

I was on the first flight to clarke, and it left (and arrived) 45 minutes late.. also the drinks/snacks trolley would only accept american dollars (on a flight from thailand to the philippines, who thought this up). I have had problems with my oz issued credit card also and my bank followed it thru and said that they had approved the payment (verified by visa) but the refusal was with cebupacific. I sent themn an email about it and they sent me a paypal account to buy the ticket.

Yeah, me too had the speed dial all ready to go. good job I didnt need it. Thanks for this helpful post.

They have a 60 baht drinks all night offer on at the moment. mate and I were lured in and at 9.30p we were the only customers. Never seen a more miserable, unsmiling bunch of girls in my life. Wont be back, even at 30 baht a drink!!!

I take the motorbike, couldnt cope with driving a car around pattaya.