Butch

Beaches, you'll probably have to shout a bit louder. MM passed away on the 20th Feb this year.

Lol good point, I do apply it to keys, which is why I've got 3 spare sets of all of them (yes indeedly, I am that organised!!). As for credit cards etc, well I lose my wallet on a daily basis somewhere around the house, but it would be a disaster if I properly lost it, which is why I keep a small float of cash handy for emergencies. I think that because phones are relatively fragile (unlinke a wallet) they can be busted when dropped, sat on or even just get a mood on and stop working altogether which I guess is why some guys keep a spare.

Good info Teelack, I was in a bit of a tight spot and needed a phone though. It is at the lower end of the market and is also a genuine Nokia item, I made sure of that. As I mentioned, many of us I'm sure have had repairs done, or purchased phones in good faith only for them to be crap. There are numerous copies out there, as well as ones which are marketed as smartphones but have inferior chipsets etc in them, so after a few weeks they get to be useless. My dual SIM is handy because I can now add my Globe SIM into it from the RP. I'm on PAYG in the UK as well, so losing my SIM wouldn't be the end of the world but it would be more inconvenient to lose 2 rather than one!. I use more data in LOS and the RP than the UK.

Hi Odense I trust you're well my friend. In the UK I use the "team knowhow" which the Carphone Warehouse sell when you buy a new phone. It covers everything except "malicious" damage, so basically don't admit you chucked the phone at your girlfriend in a rage which broke it, but instead it fell onto the floor from your pocket. There used to be 2 options, a one off policy payment of £50 with no "excess" (payment when you claim) or £25 with a £10 excess. so effectively I got a brand new phone, in the box and all accessories for £35 , there is no restriction for the number of claims either. Technically I did pay for the phone via an insurance policy so it wasn't "free" but that's insurance for you lol. It does vary depending upon the value of the phone however. If they cannot provide a phone because it is discontinued, then you get the next model up or the updated model. I've claimed every year so far, when the policy nears it's renewal I "drop" my phone and get a new one, very often it is updated but in this case it was not, it's still last years model. Cheers Butch

busted TV, was that the X/Y Sustain bored? (pardon the pun - yes there is such a thing as an X/Y Sus board as well)... Smart TV's are bloody wonderful, mine came with Netflix, youtube and all the other gubbins built in, plus it's 4kHD which means I can watch some really high quality Xhamster stuff. All I need now is smellyvision....well actually given what I've been watching recently, probably best not to.... glad it got sotrted Atlas. 12 grand for a date is a wee bit on the steep side though, looking forward to that report!.

One other issue, I can't upload pics through Firefox at all now, the whole page stalls at the "file upload" part when the bar is full.

Hi, Mr Fiend, I'm pretty impressed so far, time will tell. It did come with some "bloatware" on it which I've since removed but all in all it I prefer it to my Huwaei. Jacko, I hadn't considered the VAT element so yep, spot on, that along with what I think is a different spec (dual sim being one) that's going to be the reason. In my last para I was being serious, on balance repairs never seem to be 100% reliable, wherever they're done, so in buying a phone (but taking a slight risk at the same time as to the authenticity) kind of made sense to me at the time. It was one of those situations where I had to just swallow my pride and the 3600 baht bill and crack on. For some reason I've never seen a successful permanent repair of tech stuff, especially not in the RP so in my twisted logic I thought I'll end up spending 1700 on a crap repair plus another 3600 on a phone, so I went for the more expensive but perhaps more cost effective option. I'll understand if you tell me that makes no sense, because I'm struggling to see it myself lol. I think it might well be the old Sony centre, it looks a decent outfit and is staffed by 3, all wearing uniforms with name tags etc. My only problem is that the default "save" for videos and photo's is the phone itself, I don't know how to transfer and get it to default transfer to the memory card. Probably have to google it or the better option, get a BG to do for me. Overall it was a lot less painful than I had expected, and it was all sorted out much faster than I expected as well. In and out within 2 hours isn't a bad turnaround considering an hour was wasted.

Hi Like many of us I'm very reliant upon my phone, and like many of us I'm pretty useless when it comes to taking care of it, and in my case transferring all the data etc to a new one. On this trip I managed to bust my bottom of the range Huwaei, so a trip and urgent replacement was needed before Mrs Butch sent some hitmen from the Philippines to ask me why i wasn't answering. I decided a visit to TUK com was in order, so on the baht bus and it turned right at the end of Bukhao and dropped me pretty much on the doorstep. I did spend a good hour on the second floor of (first floor for yanks) looking around Tuk com for my old one to be repaired, one guy said he could do it so I left it with him, he told me to return in an hour. 1700 baht for a new LCD and glass. One hour later I returned and he told me it couldn't be fixed. Fucking cheers mate. Anyway, I went back down the escalator and went to a store I had seen earlier while waiting, basically it's not a "stall" but an official looking set up, on the right hand side as you walk into Tuk com (up the 3 small steps, keep right and you'll see it, it is adjacent to 4 ATM machines). There are phones on display and they have several Nokias etc, all new, no second hand stuff here. They couldn't repair my phone but offered me a similar but slightly higher spec Nokia N3 for 3600 baht, relucantly I agreed, in the knowledge that when I return to the UK I'll get my old one replaced free from the insurance and I can punt it out on Ebay for about the same money. So, basically it works like this (remember TiT): I agree to buy the phone. Different sales girl comes over, speaks to the other sales girl and then goes somewhere and returns with a bag, a box, some plastic covers and a coffee. She then takes my laminated credit card copy of my passport, tells me to sit down, gives me the coffee and walks off. Sales girl #1 returns, opens the box, removes the new phone and proceeds to add plastic covers, goes to take her coffee from the table to realise it's now half empty because I thought it was for me. She throws me a dirty look. She asks for my old phone which I give her and swaps the SIM over, it's at this point I've realised I'd been given a dual SIM model nokia. Result. she then plays around with the settings in Thai on both phones, does the NFC thing and walks off. Sales girl #2 returns with a bill. 4100 baht. "Hmmm" I think - then I realise there must be a charge to swap the info over and for the plastic covers I didn't want but turns out I most definitely need, but I'm not going to quibble, after all I did steal the coffee. I hand over 3.5k baht , then a futher 600 in 100 baht notes. Sales girls # 1 returns, talks to sales girl #2 who then disappears and returns with...500 baht in 100 baht notes as change. Righto. Both sales girls pack everything into a very fetching blue canvas bag with "I love nokia" all over it, give me a wai and say "thank you sir". I leave TUK com, as I'm about to climb on the baht bus I check my spanking new Nokia phone and realise everything is now in Thai, both on that and my busted screen Huwaei, I then decide I might have a problem so return to the TUK com store. I smile, hand back both phones and explain that I can't read, write or work out how to change it back from Thai. "Busy have customer, one hour" comes the response. One trip to the coffe shop and 2 frappes later and i'm on my way out within 10 minutes ,all contacts, apps and media transferred and backed up. I was half expecting to be ripped off for a moody Nokia, but it's actually very good, faster than my old Huwaei and it has been confrimed as genuine by the local Carphone warehouse, and they told me the Nokia warranty remains valid in the UK. Added to that, it was also cheaper to buy it in Thailand than the UK. Over here they retail for around £129, over there it worked out about £85 give or take, plus the freebies (silicon cover, 10 screen protectors and a gay bag) that range from £10 upwards over here. So if ever you find yourself in need of a replacement phone, I recommend this place located on the ground or bottom floor of TUK com on the right adjacent to 4 ATM machines. I don't know the name of the place as it's written in Thai on the receipt. When I compare it to the 1700 baht (probably unreliable) repair option, getting a whole new phone for just over double that seems to be a better idea.

Hi It's actually not that bad, as there is plenty of ambient light from the guest house half way up and the LKW itself, but there are a couple of "slippery when wet" drain covers. Security wise it is fine, you'll have no issues, I often wandered along there pissed in the small hours, my only company being the occasional cat.

Hi Tex I'd give it a go. I usually stay on Soi 1 or Soi 5 (Blue Sky), but for 100 baht more over the Blue Sky, the LK really offers much better value. LK Metro GGB's have some really nice girls in them and i'll offer up a report in due course, but the beer bars (check out my TR in the relevant section) have some great girls with some great attitudes. The additional benefit of having good afternoon drinking venues all around and more opportunity for S/T. In future I've decided I will stay on Bukhao, as WS is a cheap Taxi fare away should I want to. Also, Soi 7/8 and Central is a short walk from the Wing through the New Plaza, 10 min max - if you don't get distracted :)

FF, I was joking mate, it's what my brother used to refer to the RAID as. Thanks for sorting it out, I have posted a review of a hotel and it uploaded and came out pretty quick. When i'm next in town I'll shout you a few in Le Pub. Cheers Butch

OK, First off, there are 2 LK group hotels close to each other, The Royal Suites and the Royal Wing. they are separated by a distance of about 100 yards, the Suites face onto Soi Bukhao, whereas the Wing is up a side Soi adjacent to the Suites. Although the "Wing" is advertised as "serviced apartments", it is no different from any other Pattaya Hotel. Room service comes from the Suites, and if you have ordered breakfast, you wander down to the Suites and eat there in the ground floor open air restaurant. Here's a short list of "pro's and con's" Pro's: Cheaper end of the LK group of Hotels Large, spacious rooms, clean and uncluttered. Superior room has a kitchenette, large Bathroom. Good,controllable A/C. Rooms have balconies and large windows. Road does NOT flood out during heavy rain, but that section of Bukhao does. Quiet. Con's Beds made out of granite. 100 yards off Bukhao, when pissed can take a bit of navigation as the road is not well lit. Not all MC Taxi guys know it (although give them a card from the Hotel they soon realise). Pool area small and unkempt but the pool is a good size. Housekeeping are not quiet in their duties (dragging chairs and tables). Soi dogs. I paid 1600 baht per night without breakfast. For me it represented excellent value. The room was large, airy but the bed was quite hard, very hard in fact. I had to double over the duvet to give me a soft surface to sleep on. You do get a couple of Soi dogs here on the street outside. They are slightly inquisitive but unless you face them, they will follow you around. There are a few businesses down the Soi, plus an MC Taxi guy just outside the Hotel who is fairly solid and reliable. Charged me 60 baht to WS which is more than fair. There is an in room safe and ample wardrobe space, plus a chez lounge which I used to store my stuff on. The bathroom has free soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, razors, shave foam and shower cap along with a shower gel and conditioner in the shower. The shower itself (no tub) is either a rain shower or hand held, water pressure is so-so but the hot water very efficient. 4 Towels, 2 dressing gowns and slippers provided, plus 2 blue towels for the pool area. The floor is tiled with a rug in the middle, there is a chair and desk, all lighting A/C etc can be controlled from the bedside. It is guest friendly for one guest, joiner of 500 baht for any additional. Ample car and M/C parking with security. Desk staff speak very good English, especially the LB who is very helpful. Entry and exit of the room is by key card which you can drop off at reception or keep with you when you go out. Most rooms are non smoking but they do have smoking rooms available. Also there's a lift for the higher floors. Overall I'd give this place a thumbs up. The pool area was not up to my expectation which is a shame as it was a selling point for me, however I did speak to management about it and they took note (for all the good it will do lol). For 1600 baht a night I thought it offered decent value. you have the Leng Kee restaurant 200 yards away which offers excellent, cheap food, 24h and I made a right pig of myself there frequently. They occasionally run out of dishes though, so bear that in mind. There is a money changer at the end of the Soi, but the TT rates which is a few yards away are better. Also a 7/11 - here's a couple of Google map links to help you along. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@12.9350408,100.8881433,3a,75y,112.67h,71.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sM4F6I4AL5rr66O1z4KTTaQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Royal Wing itself: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@12.9345876,100.8892925,3a,75y,183.94h,93.05t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1ss6TLeVCgaxvp4I-uheADmQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 Any questions, just ask.

RAID - is that the Random and inexpensive disc array? old tech isn't it?. Lol anyway, thanks for the greenie KM, I have asked if the whole topic could be deleted actually, then I can re paste everything from word and insert the pics. they're only around 350kb each so nothing too massive.

cheers mate, I deleted the whole lot KM, I basically spent an hour doing a TR only to not be able to edit anything so i said bollocks to it. What happened was that I posted a double post, tried to edit one of them in order to remove the text and pics, but every time I did it , both posts would "switch" so one of them had just pics, the other just text. It transpired that every edit I made to one of the posts affected the other, even if it were just one line (I tried adding a line saying "ignore this TR - read the other one" at the start of one of them, only to lose all the pics in the other one. I also couldn't upload photo's using firefox, and the whole TR upload timed out, so I switched to chrome, pasted it all in and then uploaded fairly quick, then discovered the firefox upload was live, thus there were 2 posts. I'll give it a day or so then will try to write it again using Chrome. Not sure if the browser makes any difference but FF seems to be unstable on this forum for some reason, especially when uploading content. I'm bloody baffled as to why it has happened.

I double post, so when trying to delete the text and pics from one of them (the double) it does it to both. bloody headache!. Check out my "may musings" post where I had all the trouble. also the upload is very slow and times out occasionally.

Fuckers. The following day after Bazles flight I was due out on BR068 on the 27/4. It had a bird strike in BKK and didn't get to LHR until late that night so it was cancelled, so EVA had 2 flights cancelled with 3 days and deferred until the following day. my BR068 became BR068D and departed LHR at 13:30 on Sat 28th, getting into BKK at 06:20 on Sunday 29th. I was first in line at the ticket desk, and overheard the staff saying they were going to bump some PAX onto the TG outward. When I asked the bloke said the planes were full, I then told him I'd heard them talking and he said it was for transfer pax only, so I then asked him why he felt the need to lie in the first place and tell me they were full planes, short of calling him a cunt I just snatched my paperwork and left. We were put up in a shithole of a hotel, given a free "buffet" voucher which was like eating warmed up dogshit and the breakfast not much better. still, I'm in line for some compo so it's not all bad news.

That's one of the ones that was streamed on youtube. good find.glad to see it's live again at least.

It's all about money at the end of the day it seems, and the Managment at LHR call the shots. EVA took a big hit on this one for sure. That's interesting and useful info Rawhide and thanks for the heads up. I'll keep a keen eye on the inbound EVA67 in future as it may well dictate any plans if I'm flying that day. I wonder how long, with the LHR expansion etc that the govt will actually keep the restriction in place, or maybe they might relax the rules. I know it must be a pain the the arse having 747's fly over your house at all hours, but as time goes on and technology improves maybe the noise issue will reduce somewhat.

Doesn’t Heathrow have some dispensation for late flights though? Easy to see why the airlines are keen to get their gear up in the sky as the night draws in, as you said rawhide, £200k minimum, plus 500 Euro per pax, even if there was say, 200 , that adds another 100k to that bill. Soon mounts up. I expect someone somewhere is getting a bollocking for that one.

200 large, Ouch!!..., That does explain why though, I did wonder. I expect there will always be an element of risk on an evening flight, luckily it seems to be quite a seldom occurance. Cheers for the info.

Seems like BR068 arrived at LHR 2 hours late in from BKK, it was then cancelled and sent out the following day as BR068D at 17:30. With any luck I hope to be travelling on EVA soon, just wondered if this was a one off or if they're getting into the dubious habit of cancelling flights due to low pax volumes.

Excuse the slight TF, but thought you might appreciate these pics I took from a Mustang show back last year during our trip to the USA

lol you watched it twice then?.

Patna, how are you finding The terror?. Haven't had a look at it yet.

Be interesting to see the prices when compared to the equivalent LHR departures. Never been on the A350, although I just missed out on a connecting flight from HKG to MNL a few months ago, dammit. A350 looks decent in economy 32 inches pitch with 18 width and decent IFE. https://www.thaiairways.com/en_GB/hilight_destination/life_style/A350-900_highlight.page