marcortez

Thanks again MC.....let's keep this going and see if anyone is perhaps a former travel agent, ticketing agent or has the inside scoop on how airlines price their tickets. And willing to share. Through the proverbial grapevine, I have heard that certain seats are allocated to travel agencies, among others, and certain blocks of seats are provided at X price and others are priced at X. I have spend literally hours, going from various so called "consolidaters" sites to "search all" sites such as Kayak, Vayama and a host of others. From what I can see, the prices for flights are usually within a few bucks of each other, for the most part. And more often than not, prices on the airlines sites are a tad lower. Some accurate rhyme or reason or "inside scoop" would prove invaluable me thinks. Let's put service levels, seat pitch and seatback entertainment systems on the back burner. Myself, and more than likely, many others who fly international carriers would like to be better informed and possibly included in, pricing "inside scoop", whereas we can be a better informed customer, price wise. I know this may be impossible as anyone who has this "inside" scoop may not want to spill the beans. It's like my favorite fishing hole, I ain't telling cause then too many fisherman will find out and now my favorite fishing hole is just another wide spot in the sea.

Bingo MYKL......works like a charm. Thank you very much.

Thank you for setting me straight on 1/3rd of the "this isn't true at all" without resorting to sarcasim to me personally. Not only do members here try and gleen information and opinions, it turns many off when information and opinions are laced with sarcasim and condesending responses. When I first joined this site, I was anxious to get as much info as I possibly could in advance of a first time trip. There was this guy on here at the time with the handle "Winston Churchill" who blasted me at every turn with sarcasim and attacks on my intentions, veracity and stupidy. I was new here, my skin was thin and I thought this guy had it out for me...literally!! Rang up Pattaya Pete ( moderator at the time) on a PM asked him why such guys are allowed to intimidate and attack new members. His response to me at the time was....I should learn to toughen up my skin and just let it go in one ear and out the other. He went on to say that certain guys get some perverted source of glee at being sarcastic and hateful. Ok...I can live with that. Now along comes some new guys on here, clamoring for information and advice. And there is still the same type of guys, being sarcastic and condesending at every turn here.. Joe is one of those guys. Doesn't make him a bad man per se, at times he can be informative, but I just wish the hell he could back off the smart ass, sarcastic remarks. It's counter productive in my view and does nothing to advance the intelligence of "Joe" average Thai monger. Case in point.....I just asked today, the tech forum, how to use the quote function to quote only a certain phrase in a posters message. BM mykl provided the information I needed EXACTLY. Then along comes BM StarBright and says "It's not that difficult" with a head scratching smily!!!

Joe, You stated "my league", now you have no idea what my league is?. If you have no idea, then why on earth would you want to make that statement in the first place? I call it sarcasim.....you can call it anything you wish. Nowhere did I espouse the LOWEST price would be my choice. I simply thought(my mistake sure) that since there are many international airline patrons hereabouts, someone might have some clue as to how and why the various carriers price their tickets. And if so inclined, inform those of us who patronize these carriers, that just perhaps we can make the best choice(s) I am only anal when it comes to continuing and unrepentant sarcasim, that serves no useful purpose whatsoever.

I got it now......rather than have some substance to answering a valid question, you choose to let fly the irony and sarcasim and take a pot shot at my "league" I take pot shots at sarcasim, yes. If the shoe fits.....

Is this another "irony bird" swooping from above, or do you actually know "my league"? Sweeping generalzations are not what I was looking for. Obviously your not one of those "in the know" or you just choose to not share. Fair enough. Do you happen to know the TV series in the US called "House"? It's about a doctor who's specialty is diagnostics in a large hospital. He is brilliant in his thinking/diagnostics and usually ends up saving the life of the patient. But along the way in saving the world, his mannerisms, ego, sarcasim and irony are enough to make a viewer want to strangle him, not to mention his staff. It's only TV yeah? Dr House, meet JoeKicker

All four of these airlines are major players in the LAX to BKK route. I am trying to understand the rhyme or reason why their pricing structure varies so much. Thai airlines seems to always have the highest fares followed by Cathay Pacific, EVA and then China Air. The odd promotion can change this, yes. But I believe for the most part, that day in and day out, the up/down pricing runs Thai, CP, EVA and CA.....in that order from high to low. I would assume that the fees at LAX would be the same for these international carriers. More than likely, a Asian flight attendent makes about the same salary and the flight crews, more or less equal. Surely they have to be competitive? A 747 is a 747, flying the northern route, head winds out and tail winds back. They all fly about the same speed, with more or less the same loads. Certainly (yeah think?) fuel costs can't be the big factor in pricing? Unless one airline has a up on "fuel futures" Granted, the airport fees at Taipai and Hong Kong could be different and add to the ticket costs. Then there is Thai airlines, that only have to pay fees at Swaaannapoom, as they fly non-stop from LAX, yet they are usually the priciest. Is it that touch of "Royal Silk" that ups the ante? The manner of how airlines allocate tickets, at what price, is mind boggling to me. Is there anyone out there who is "in the know" about ticket pricing, and your ok to share?

How do you "quote" only selected passages or sentences when making a post response and have that "quote" show up in the shaded, quotation mark framed box?

Another of the Dynasty chain has just opened inside soi 4 a little ways. Google dynasty inn bangkok and you can check it out. Named Dawin hotel. I stayed there 4 nights.... nice digs but might be a bit out of your price range.

Looks like Mod to me.....could be wrong......frequent FLB bar visitor.....saw her there last saturday night. Halle Barry lookalike girl..... No, I never have, but would love to.

Sorry but I have no idea..... The free expires 30 Sept 08

My room was about 50 feet from the nearest WI-FI point.......yet the signal level was "very low" and I often got dropped off the internet. To top it all off, there is a FREE promo running to the end of this month for WI-FI......they gave me a user name and password good for ONE hour. When that hour was up, I was told "come reception, we give you another password" Can I call you and you can give me the new password?...."No sir, must come to reception" You mean to tell me that the WI-FI is free this month but I have to go down to reception to get a new user name and password every hour? "Yes sir" Whoever is responsible for this should be gagged and flogged!!!!! During the normal check in hours, I was told "sorry sir, room not ready, we clean now" You can relax in another room until yours is ready...ok thank you!! Yeah it's hot...and the thirsts were yanking my chain. So I use a small bottle of water from the mini bar in the temporary room. I checked out before I really wanted to...because otherwise it's a very nice hotel and a very good location. They gave me a nice seaview room with a small table and two chairs outside...great!! Quiet soi with no bars but easy to Beach Road and 2nd road and soi's 13/1 13/2 have plenty of drinking establishments. The crap WI-FI was the killer for me. So on checkout this morning, I am scanning the bill......and low and behold, they charged me 20 baht for the small water I used while waiting for my regular room. My immediate thoughts are....you mean to tell me, I was delayed during normal check in hours for 30 minutes and you are going to charge me 20 baht for using a bottle of water?? I kept my mouth shut.....TIT....but I feel that was a cheap shot on the part of Sandy Springs. Cheap Charlie I am not.....20 baht is certainly no big deal at all......just the principle got under my skin. If any of you are not computer users who require use in your room.....I can highly recommend the SS hotel.

Can't say about the Kleinxxxxxxx place but if your thinking about the Metro apartments on soi LK Metro....best get in a reservation ASAP. Even now, in what is supposed to be low season, they are booked full.

Brilliant idea!!!!!! Red until whoever is ready to go green!!! On edit:..... On my screen, those beer mats are spelled P A T T A Y A?? Maybe it's 8000 miles away right now?? Second lady photo....far right gal looks pretty enough for most any discriminating renter!!!!!!

Strange indeed!!!! From the photos, it looks as if it's already in use?? Sheets on the bed, motos and a car in the parking area, a towel draped neatly on the tub. 5 people strolling into or out of the reception area and sun lounge chairs ready for use next to the pool. Oh well....

Any more details? When is it opening? etc.....

Hey Steve.........take a look at this website ok? http://pattayaone.com/index.html It shows hotels listed in alphabetical order (left side) and info on joiners fees, a webpage link, rates, internet connection or not and a room safe or not. This will save you hours and hours of searching and asking questions. The Mercure does list joiners charge at 500 baht. I would strong suggest you email the hotel of your choice and ask them directly...."do you charge for overnight joiners"? If you get a "no, we not charge".....print that email and take it along with you for backup if you run across any problems. I was a bit uneasy about asking this a long time ago.....but the hotel reception/office has heard it all before ok?

Inflation ya think?

Nearly all hotels raise the rates in the high season. From what I tell.....the "end" of low season pricing is 31 October. Has something to do with supply and demand. More demand....higher prices

Just send them an email Bell. http://www.bestbeachpattaya.com/EN/IndexEn.html Then when you get an answer, let us know ok? One thing that really turns me off, and I would not do is.....make a money transfer to their bank account for 50% of the anticipated charges. If they can't put in a secure CC guarantee payment system, or take your baht on check in, I will pass on them. It is the 21st Century right? (even in Thailand)

Actually it's not really. I can choose to be a racist or not.....up to me. Certain races, including whitey, are at times, obnoxious, and I don't care to be around them when in that state of mind. Decent, polite, courteous, reasonably sanitary.......those are the key criteria that I appreciate, rather than a robe, head adornment or skin pigment. As far as "Arabs" go, just look at many hotel websites and you will see the disclaimer: "NO middle east, Arab, Indian, Pakistan allowed" In order to keep this "racist" free......I won't even go there as to why some of these hotels do not allow that certain type. Just use your "nose" and you will sniff it out!!!!

Hey Wally........ Just relax ok?....smile a lot.....be friendly and put on a happy face. Before you know it, some lady will be asking you..... "where you come from"? If your alive and can talk.....your "in".. The next move is "up to you" See all those girls sitting or walking around Beach road all hours of the day or night?.....well, there not there for the ambiance ok? As suggested, the FLB bar on Walking street and the newer Beer Garden are good places to strike up chit chat with some dudes or dudettes. Although I have never been to the Bamboo bar at the entrance to Walking street, I hear tell it's a place frequented by "not so young" single ladies looking for a dude "just like you" I would venture to say that there are "hundreds" of ladies looking for a laid back older guy, NON drunkard and a happy "good heart" man just like yourself ok? In any case, the proverbial baht is what will rule your fun times, either lounging on the beach with Ms Right or wrinkling some sheets in the cool of your room. Be happy, smile until it hurts and take some time in these pages to get a feel of what the going costs are going to be for you. Anything and everything is going to be "up to you" ok?

I just saw on the WhiteHouseCondotel website......you have to pony up your CC for a one night deposit that clearly states: NO REFUND!! Nothing about cancel within 7 days before... get a refund or such.....just NO REFUND!!!!! Shame.....I was seriously considering this place before I saw that tidbit. On edit: Is that pretty much a standard practice where there are NO REFUNDS of deposits?

I am pretty sure you would end up paying more for a camera in Thailand vs your home country. But there are benefits to buying a Thai person a camera from Thailand. If something were to go amiss.....need some user help....warranty claims....a spare battery...no doubt much easier to get that done at the local camera shop. And....your lady friend might get a kick out of being able to select the unit she really likes!!!!

I use 1-2-call and always have.I do believe it used to be one of Thaksins goldmines, if that makes any difference. If you up the minutes or baht frequently, the time your number is valid, stretches out for quite sometime. Mine now is good until Jan 09 and I reloaded in Feb of this year. Last time, 500 baht reloads were hard to find in a 7-11 or Family Mart.....those give you the best time extensions...over say a 300 baht or less reload. Before I first went to Thailand, I had a 1-2-call SIM card shipped to me from some dude in Pattaya. Off Ebay I believe it was......then I could relay my number to anyone BEFORE I stepped off the plane. Then on disembark......send out the SMS's and see who responds positively. It's a very good way to stay in touch with whoever you want to stay in touch with.....just be prepared to get those unwanted messages at odd times. Plan ahead and keep the phone on vibrate when your out with some lady....if they hear a ringtone.....the questions about "who call you"...."you not know anyone in Thailand" "You have other lady?" and on and on.