Butch

Getting rid of the huge rat population might be a good start. Years ago they decided to gas them in the sewers. Great idea, all the dead rats merely provided a food source for the rest of them.

Thanks guys, I've opted for Nord VPN. Currently going through the payment options then will configure it.

Those guys must be rubbing their hands at the scrap value of the copper. In the UK the pikeys would be on it like flies to a turd.

Some great replies chaps, much appreciated. Given the retirement lifestyle you've all chosen (wisely :) ) does anyone "miss" their work, or maybe even the guys they worked with?. Sometimes one drawback is missing the social angle of sitting and chatting with workmates.

When you Gents finally finished your job, or wound up your business or handed it over, was it bittersweet?. Did you see retirement (either in Thailand or in general) as a new beginning, or as something that you felt was a natural and deserved progression?. Lastly, and be honest , How many of you would have liked to have kept working another year or two, given the benefit of hindsight?. reason for the topic is because I was chatting with my Dad, he retired at 68, pretty much on the orders of my Mum. I asked him the last question, he told me he would still be working if no one had

I recently had it up to my neck with Private Internet Access, the password request form didn't work, it wouldn't automatically connect and the whole product was unstable. Shame because I've used them for 5 years without any hassle, and when I did get hold of Customer support they tried telling me the yahoo mail servers were down, because Yahoo mail servers often fail across the UK for 3 days at a time. Anyway, I've ruled out Earth VPN as they're awful as well. I don't mind paying, with PIA it was about $40 per year or so which is less than $1 a week. Cheers Butch

It is financial madness lol. I mean, I guess that I can understand it, a National Airline is flagship, maybe a sign that a Country has "made it" on some level, thus if the Airline fails then it's seen as a slight against the Country. Is the success of the Flag Carrier seen as a yardstick of the success of the Country?. I really don't know how the finances work and like MLC, I'm asking the questions simply because I can't begin to fathom the logic of it all. Either way, I really hope that Thai manage to pull through in whatever guise, better still I hope the Thai Govt continues t

Good point and well worth considering, but given the fact the auditors won't sign off, maybe we will see someone taking the fall for this? Bugger! I downvoted by accident MLC with my fat fingers, have changed it to a green! Apologies for that chap Indeed this year is a unique event, and you're 100% on thwe button . Thai have been running at a loss for a while, maybe they will fold the airline, then rebuild with a massive restructure and possible rebranding and put a European or American in charge so they have a built in fall guy next time. I'd ask a question, if the past fai

From the Bangkok post: "Trading in Thai Airways International Plc shares was suspended by the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Friday after auditors declined to sign off on its financial statements for the six months to June 30. Auditor Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos Co said it could not reach a conclusion on the statements due to issues including a lack of liquidity and debt defaults, which created "material uncertainty" and may affect the value of assets and liabilities. THAI is under bankruptcy protection and is due to submit its rehabilitation plan to the bankruptcy court on M

Interesting point, I always wrongly thought that the Honey massage was aimed at Indian guys, and as such the numbers of Indian guys hanging around was counter productive to encouraging farang visitors.

Sorry to cut and paste directly, but this affects us all: TAT deputy governor dashes hopes of 2020 reopening for Thailand’s international borders By Marissa Carruthers / Posted on 7 August, 2020 18:50 Thailand is unlikely to reopen its borders to international leisure visitors this year, predicted a deputy governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Speaking at a webinar hosted by Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office and TravelMole, Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya, deputy governor for international marketing at TAT, said that there has been no talk of or timeline iss

I can see a bit of a pattern emerging here with Thai...

It is. even with the Mrs working for the NHS in a fairly decent position and using a bit of "professional courtesy", I couldn't get a test certificated and back within that time. It's bollocks but kudos and props to anyone who actually pulls it off. Judging from recent events in Vietnam, plus the panic beginning to surface here in the UK regarding a second wave, I think Thailand will remain shut until next year, (sorry for the thread drift) - however, even when they do eventually open up, I still think the measures will be draconian, over enthusiastic and erring on the side of discouragin

To be honest the first class / next day postal services by Royal Mail are very very good indeed. Pretty much anything which is "special delivery" is fully tracked door to door and hitting the mat within the 24 hour timeframe (some areas such as the highlands are exempt due to their distance). However the scenario above would be very difficult to do, for example let's say your flight is booked, I know it is possible to get a daily appointment in numerous "clinics" in and around Hounslow, near to LHR for £90+ for a FTF certification (not sure if they will issue C-19 clearance yet as you ne

Watching Sky News, during the ads was one for Thailand tourism, the general gist was that "we're in it together" and "united" but it was definitely aimed at promoting tourism and encouraging people to consider visiting, which is somewhat ironic given there are currently no flights operating for tourists per se. Is this an indication Thailand might be opening up soon, or merely to increase awareness that certain travellers can visit but only those meeting certain criteria ?, also, no mention of the quarantine. I was pretty shocked when it came on to be honest.

Brown1950, are they staring an LHR-AUH-MNL service anytime soon?.

I guess they're hoping it doesn't rain today ?

Yep, sadly the 747 is becoming a rare sight over UK skies. I think everyone knew her days were numbered, but C-19 has really done for it. Are other ME carriers bringing their 380's back into service or is it just Emirates?. With the Philippines now slowly reopening, hopefully the demand for the LHR- DXB - MNL route will begin to increase as well, time will tell of course, but running an empty 380 to BKK seems to be madness.

Is that Emirates scaling back their fleet size or merely changing their schedule for predicted demand?. I'd be pretty surprised if Thailand fully opens to farang by Sept, the way they're going , Emirates would do well to fill one 380 let alone 4. Great info Brown, thanks for the heads up.

Never booked with them .but reading the reviews that Brown1950 linked to, I'd give them a miss. sometimes paying a bit extra to go direct with the Airline or through a repuatble TA is worth not getting a headache when things d go wrong.

I heard he died while Cherry Bar was on Soi 8, as I seem to remember it was Adam who reported it to the board, as one of his staff found him. Odd how these people find themselves remembered by so many others. Pale face Lady, Glitter Man and the guy in the pic whom I always thought was called "Tony". They all have their own stories, sometimes interesting but sadly in many cases, tragic.

Yes, he was found dead in a skip. Always felt bad for this bloke, he was dealt a pretty crap hand in the first place, abused by people all his life, then died in a rubbish bin. That sucks whichever way you look at it. I hope that wherever he is now, he is enjoying an existence somewhat more pleasant and rewarding.

Hi Firth Sorry mate I was on about this one, looks pretty derelict to me lol, although I might be well wide of the mark :

Great pics firth and thanks for taking the time and effort to upload them. I'm a bit surprised to see some "derelict" and abandoned boats, along with a couple of derelict buildings. Even in Brentford I'd have thought it would be prime houseboat real estate!. Any idea what boat is behind the foliage in this pic? - With a rig like that it looks commercial.

GBP 37.82 A seriously hard kick in the nuts there, looks like the next "threshold" of bad news will be if it drops under the 35 baht barrier. Shit it.