Butch

That might have been the case in the past, but I found that at least two weeks ago when I was in LKM and touring the GGB's there, Pandoras had a very good and very attentive selection of girls, arguably one of the better line ups on the street.

Even a majority of the saver fares booked direct with EVA allow a change of date for 25 quid plus the addition of any other charges with regard to a change of ticketing status, so for example if you've booked a cheap ticket , but you change your return date and the only tickets that are still available are of a slightly more expensive type (but still the same cabin class) then you pay the difference. I recently had to change my return date with EVA, it cost me 25 quid plus another 63 because there were no more fares left at the fare basis I did, thus they stung me for a bit more. Agree 100% that dealing directly with the airline is the way forward. I've had nothing but headaches dealing with Travel agents , especially recently, so since a few years ago we just go direct to Cathay or whomever we fly with.

No pic but online source giving tt rate of 43.03. Kasikorn foreign debit card purchase rate is below 40 baht now.

Hi Yselmike 4 services including the EVA BR68 which is a 777-333, which as Sam mentioned are 2 Thai , one A380 and the other Thai a 777 (I think?) (one mid day service 12:50 and one overnight 21:30) and one British Airways, again possibly a 777 but I might be wrong. Price wise Thai and EVA come within a few pounds of each other when they have an offer on at the same time, but it can be hit and miss. As Bazle and others have said, price wise EVA are very competitive, even coming in lower than non direct fares via the Middle East in some cases, plus they have more offers throughout the year as opposed to Thai who seem to have a sale only once or twice. BA seem to be between the two price wise, but BA's service is arguably the worst of the three with less seat pitch and passenger comfort. Also, BA is a 20kg alowance whereas both Thai and EVA are 30kg now (I booked direct through the EVA website - some tickets might not have the full 30kg though). I think we're pretty lucky to have the choice of 4 direct services to BKK, however they only go via LHR, to my limited knowledge there are none which go from Gatwick or any other UK airport direct to BKK. Shame China have stopped their service from AMS, I'd have thought that was a pretty popular one out of there.

Foodland I believe, along with 2 cases of Hoegaarden and some wine.

Hi Bazle Yep i agree, it would be a surprise if after having a recent refurb then within a year they change the seating config, unless they wait for the plane to go into D check and do it then, which happens every 5 years I think (might be wrong). As mentioned earlier it might be a false economy on some routes, but probably on the LHR - SVB route it might reap some dividends, however, that along with a steady decline is enough to make me switch carriers. Like yourself I'm fairly regular on EVA but not doing as many trips per annum as yourself, which might be why I notice the decline more as there is a bigger interval between. The food has improved greatly, but the snacks /drinks and general all round apathy of some of the crew is pretty poor. If I had the foresight to take a pic of the kids meal they served to Jr last trip, it would make your toes curl almost as much as the cold chicken nuggets had. When I asked for a replacement I was told there are no other meals available and met with a fairly obtuse reaction from the crew. Maybe they have become a victim of their own success. They price competitively and have more frequent and better offers than Thai, but a large percentage of their cheap fares don't qualify for mileage which is poor form. schedules are pretty good and they've held that path out of LHR ever since 97 when they started iirc. However, I still see a decline in EVA, especially when other SEA economy airlines are upping their game. When one makes a comparison between EVA and Cathay for example, it's easy to see a difference.

Yep, a business with enough custom in Pattaya to go turning people down! go figure. Still, the steaks turned out pretty damn good Dog, and I won't forget the look on the guys face when you got hold of the knife and said "this big!".

I have been sat here thinking that from LHR there are up to 4 direct daily services to SVB, depending upon the schedule of the airlines: Thai - 2 services at 12:00 and 21:35 (approx) BA - 1 service at 16:05 EVA - 1 service at 21:35 BA are shit, just ask Goldpanner and to be honest they didn't exactly set the world on fire when we flew with them years ago to Manila via HK. EVA are becoming more and more wank with each passing trip. Although they've sorted out their timings now and seem to be getting closer to decent departure times, the thought of having 10 abreast in Econ fills me with a desire to go back to using the "Elite" service (or Evergreen Deluxe to you old timers). Sadly having a wife with expensive tastes and yet another purchase to add to my burgeoning classic vehicle collection (making it now 2 vehicles instead of just one) might make this position untenable. Thai really put me off when I stepped aboard one of their 747-400's back in 2007 and I then had to turn my watch back another 20 years. Never flown with them since. Any airline that didn't have seat back screens in 2007 suggests to me that they probably pay as much attention to passenger comfort as they do passenger safety. It reminded me of a time when I flew across country in Africa. I boarded a piece of shit Antonov only to open the tray table and see the word "Aeroflot" scrubbed out with black marker pen and the name of the airline I was flying on "dyno taped" above it. It didn't fill me with a great deal confidence, but in fairness crashing into the Savannah would have been much more pleasurable than the following weeks I spent in Angola anyway. might be time to give Thai another go if this carries on.

The "curvy" building near Soi 6 now has a Starbucks opened at the front. Not bad either, and gets a fair bit of business, although it's a bit trendy for me they still serve a great cup of Earl Grey. nothing else in there as far as I could see though.

I spent a few nights in Pandoras during my recent trip, and I must admit that despite my earlier reservations about going in, Ricky has really nailed it here. He's got one of the best line ups in LKM by a long shot, the draft beer comes in a big glass (except during Happy hour when they switch to small glasses lol - but see the above ad for a change in that). Pandoras is getting a following and for good reason, it's a good GoGo bar with a good reputation offering value for money and some great girls. Pandoras is in the running for the best GGB on LKM at the moment. The girls are fun, really good fun and it's busier than any other GGB on the street, and deservedly so IMO. I only hope Ricky can keep up the momentum and continue to maintain it, which he should be able to with any luck.

I landed on an EVA 777 yesterday, some have just been refurb'd with new seat material and cushions, improved IFE and plugs under the seats for UK & US spec plugs along with USB charging from the screen. I sat in 46K in econ which was above the wing and had the IFE box next to my bloody foot, so avoid that seat if poss (one behind the bulkhead / extra legroom seating and right behind the Elite cabin). 55k on the way out was much better. IFE is excellent and the food on both legs was very good indeed. The seat booking on EVA online is shite, it was showing all full for the reutrn journey and even a call to the office didn't let me pre book. Had to do it at the airport and luckily I got the kind of seat I wanted. They've also taken to putting eye shades , earplugs and toothbrushes in the econ toilets, but they get grabbed fairly quickly, snacks always available at the galley. Also, it's worth pinching a blanket as they're not too bad at all, especially the ones in Elite. There were a few empty seats on both BR68 and BR67, oddly we were given steel cutlery on the return but plastic on the outward?. They also seem to have got their times in order, both flights left on time and landed early (45 min early into SVB). i'm not sure how they can fit an extra aisle seat in to be honest Gus as there just doesn't seem to be the space, unless they reduce all the seats across by a couple or more inches, I had it in my head that the 333 stood for the seat configuration, I really hope they don't mate, but I guess that you're right on this one and as always, passenger numbers being the deciding factor. I reckon it's a case of just keeping a close eye on EVA for the coming year. BTW if anyone is interested, Purple parking Heathrow is being developed into a housing estate next year, so the big one near Western International will be closing i've been told. I paid £65 for 16 days recentl.

Hi Jacko, as MM said I left Pattaya early hours of Sunday and the storm was pretty bad , heavy rain but it backed off after an hour or two. I was beginning to flap a little bit as I saw the roads getting worse and worse but the water soon abated. I got caught in the rain twice, and got really ill first time around. No floods like previous years though and I'm a wee bit shocked. I arrived home only to find that thoughtfully my wife had left the hot tap running at about 10% for the last week, plus she'd "forgotten" to flush the toilet. I might fucking "forget" that I'm married next time I go out there and see how she likes the smell of stale piss. Women!.

I recently spoke to a good friend who tells me that the reservoir is very low and the seasonal expected rains have not yet materialised. Now, apart from the inevitable deluge of water in the usual areas which I've just spent an hour or so watching on youtube from years gone past, has there been any supposed civil works to alleviate the problems that are seen each year?. I know areas of Bukhao get very deep, and it always reminds me of the farang guy who got electrocuted during a flood as a live cable was in a puddle or area of water into which he stepped, tragically ending his life. I also recall luckily enough being "stranded" at a friends house overnight as the rain came down. We had to open another bottle of wine. If memory serves me, the very worst was in 2014 when pictures on FB showed a girl waist deep in 7/11 behind the counter, and trucks struggling against a torrent of water on what I think (could be wrong) was Soi Khao noi. Be interesting to hear anyone's "Pattaya flood" stories, unfortunately my only one is getting soaking wet feet from an MC Taxi as I managed to avoid a massive storm back in 2011.

PT Taxis get my vote, decent cars and drivers but occasionally they do stop to refill with LPG just outside pattaya which only takes 10 mins.

Thanks for the update Evil, as always nicely balanced, great pics and honest!. Do they do a "set menu" for 2/3 persons? Cheers Butch

+1 nice one Bazle.

Sabai wing is my usual go-to venue when I'm Patts. Good staff, good rooms go for a deluxe pool view - but ask for "non adjoining" as some (the ones at the far end) have an adjoining door to the "sunset view" rooms ( these are located at the far end of each floor of the 2 wings) and as such the noise transmits across both.All "sunset view" rooms have the adjoining door to the adjacent deluxe pool view room and are best avoided, they're not really worth the extra. Good pools, ask for the no breakfast option for 250 baht off the quoted price, making it then cheaper than the RG rather than the same price. The wing tends to have better staff, decent email communications and much cleaner than the Inn side I've found. Always best to email them rather than book on the web as you then don't have to give your CC details online, you just pay upon arrival, or do what I do, pay three nights then look for a decent rate in town to change up the full amount. I've stayed at the RG, the rooms there are much better than the equivalent Sabai Wing, being separate lounge / bedroom but the staff at the RG were pretty moody I found and the pool too small. I also noticed that a lot of the guests at the RG were ignorant, slamming doors at the early hours and generally being inconsiderate cunts. However the same can be found at the Wing in high season. You might get a bit of construction noise at the Sabai depending upon where you decide to stay as being central pattaya there's bound to be some going on, somewhere. Location of the wing / inn is handy, but the RG is also pretty good and much quieter. Hope that helps.

Guys I'm not too sure how accurate the OANDA website / currency exchange figures are but they're giving 46.11 at the moment. Meanwhile any improvement is welcome and I agree Jacko, breaking the magical 50 milestone will be a welcome sight.

Yep +1 CP.

That's not bad, the EVA prics for the end of this month have increased to £609 in Econ.

Nice one CP.

Yep, people are still holidaying, but perhaps being a bit more sensible on family holidays where a lower rate would maybe have a bigger impact on the overall spend than of a single guy or couple travelling. A poor rate is a pain in the bum, but not a deal breaker as to whether to take a trip or not. Can you recall the rock bottom figures in 2013 Jacko?. I can vaguely recall 44 / 46 in the Feb of 2013. I was there at the time and although it turned out to be my worst trip ever, the rate didn't bother me that much. I agree that it's just a matter of riding the storm, there's nothing we can do about it anyway.

No need to be escorted to your hotel room in Pattaya unless you're either blind drunk or a female is escorting you there!.

Along with a year high FTSE, which might be better for your pension than a temporary drop of 5 baht to the sterling in the exchange rate.

+1 CP, thanks for posting this.