beerboy

The Coruna and Evergreen Wings have in room safes. not sure about the original Areca Wing.

i went out with Eva Business Class last July, fast track at both airports on both legs.

Arrived yesterday afternoon, flying business class with EVA Air. I had not realised this included Fast Track vouchers for Heathrow + Bangkok Airports as well as access to the Lounges. Amazed at how quick it was to get through Bangkok via the special Immigration area. Off the plane, and collecting my bags all within 10 minutes. It has taken up to an hour before. I would recommend paying any surcharge for this option, even if not travelling Business class

Marks & Spencer Travellers Cheques are available at 1% commission for sterling cheques. Also have an advantage in that you can get £200 cheques, thereby reducing the Thai bank fee ie 1 cheque instead of 2 x £100.

i'm booked into the Evergreen wing in July for 4 weeks. The Coruna was fully booked due to the limited availability during the refurb. Use Atsiam to book, cheapest around [ i believe ] and can build up miniscule extra discounts with them

The Areca Lodge on Soi Diana Inn is my favourite at the moment. Good location and wide range of rooms from 1450 pn.

i thought the 30 bhat scheme had stopped

i invariably tip in restaurants, and always the maid at the end of the trip. The ones who often don't get anything are taxi drivers here at home. If i have to give directions to get to my place, or whereever, then no way will they get any form of tip.

the original Wonderland opposite the old Pink Lady restaurant on Beach Road. Porn the cashier was the hell of a character. still meet up with the ex-pats i met there 10 years ago.

use to use Nortons, but it was like living in the dark ages, it just slowed everything down Now i'm with Panda, happy again

Father Ray was an incredable individual. Most people could not have achieved a fraction of what he managed in his lifetime. Despite all the despicable inuenos generated by the gutter press, he was inevitably 'cleared' of all alleged 'crimes. Of course by that time his reputation had been damaged. Sponsored a kid at the Orphange about 20 years ago. Now she's left and we still have regular contact. In fact she costs me more now than when she was there. The Human Help Network, with offices on the Orphanage site, does very similar work. http://www.hhnthailand.org

would have loved to extend, but am knackered by being on the limit for an 'on arrival visa' and by having to be back at work.

just had an email from Ebookers letting me know that EVA have changed my return flight, bringing it forward by 1 day. 24 hours less time to keep emptying the fluid sacks. Also 24 hours more to kill at home looking forward to returning to work

when Eva first started there was very little difference in price, now i don't bother the Economy set up is fine for me these days. only quibble i have is over the quality, or lack of it, on the wine side.

try looking for Eva Air flights, more modern aircraft with back of seat monitors. more often cheaper than Thai to. look at Netflights.co.uk, or Kayak.co.uk to get an idea on current prices. i got Eva for £617 early july Only drawback with Eva is the cheap white wine from a lousy carton

No problems at all with bringing a girl back. i sign mine in for the duration for the convenience. never experienced any form of attitude from the staff there.

Booked into the Areca in July for a month, guess that says it all

just booked 4 weeks in july + august with atsiam, bht 1210 a night, plus a bht 1000 discount.

Just seen on Netflights that Thai have reduced their return fare to £619 for early July. Eva are offering a return at £614. The main benefit with Thai is that they have a lunchtime flight in both directions which gives me a few more hours in Pattaya. Also one of my gripes with Eva is that their on board wine is CRAP. However the advantage with Eva is that their planes are nice new ones with entertainment in seats. Has anyone any idea what sort of aircraft Thai are now using on the UK - Thailand run. Still the clapped out old stock or nicely refurbed jobs ?

I've stayed there a couple of times, ans probably again in July. very good location, central with easy Baht bus links in all directions. some of the rooms are a little bit tired, but not so that it is to unpleasant to stay in. sometimes the pool areas can be a little crowded, i like some space to relax in pleasant staff attitude, some charachters there. 1 guest friendly, 2 requires a supplement. overall does the job well

hi folks just wondered if any one has managed to get a discount, booking in advance, at the Areca. i've stayed there a couple of times, once booking with them, and once via AtSiam.com, and like the location and easy going attitude of the place. Atthe moment the Coruna Wing is 1400 with Areca, and 1210 with Atsiam, possibly less with AtSiam as last night they gave a small discount for the 3 week stay. Only drawback with AtSiam was that they wanted the cash upfront, as i will probably go for 4 weeks its a load of cash and obviously that knocks any fexibility on the head.

like the other guys i got fed up with Nortons as it outgrew its base idea. Tried the freebies, but none seemed to tick all the right boxes, little drawbacks with each. Have been using Panda for the last couple of years. No problems at all, even had to reinstall after my old computer went tits up.

Just booked for 1 May, so hopefully the Airbus will be back

Pretty sure the dark beer they have [ ? ] at the Rock House is Beer Lao. Cannot remember how much it was though.

Am tripping back out in May, and expect to stay at the Areca again. Just looking through a few sites i came across The Grand Sole at a reasonable rate. Just wondered if anyone has any recent news of the place. I thought that it appears to cater for groups as opposed to lechers like us. Any experiences ?