tomcat76

'Watch out for the TIGER leg of that itinerary... Surprise cancellations. And you have to watch all those discount guys for the taxes & fees (not usually included in the fare initially quoted and bitten on), which can easily exceed the fare itself. Some of them assign you a seat and then automatically charge the optional seat selection fee (unless you catch it an undo it before you Confirm the purchase). Some of them include NO checked baggage in the fare, and then allow only a 7kg carry-on (and they'll weigh!). They also don't include the 'Terminal Fee' you pay leaving CRK. (There's also a "Transport Tax" - think that's what it's called; they check your passport stamp there in the check-in area and let you know whether you have to pay it or not - I didn't - but it can be as much as PHP1600 and I have no idea what the criteria are.)

Yeap - 'couldn't argue with that!

Timing is everything, and mine might have just been bad, but was in there last night and just not that impressed.

There certainly aren't MANY commercials I can tolerate watching over & over (& over [& over {& over}]...) again... I feel like a trip to Carl's just to reward them for it.

'Have stayed in a seaview room and a seaview suite, and I liked them, BUT... There are other tall buildings closer to the beach than is SMS that kind of "frame" the view you'll have of the ocean. They don't block it, but rather sort of sit to either side of your direct line of sight. I'd say get the rooms on the highest floors possible, but they don't seem "finished" (or at least the ones I was shown - and they walked me around letting me choose from several). So my advice would be to do what I did if you can: when you check-in ask to see a few different available rooms with ocean views. Or, if you can abide staying somewhere else your first night, maybe take the time to have your viewing without actually already having committed yourself to staying there. (Not something I'd try in the high season; but the staff seems very amenable to letting you make a selection as long as they have vacancies.) Oh, and there was some construction noise going on last time I stayed there. 'Sounded like carpentry work actually going on inside the hotel starting around mid-morning. Maybe finished by now - not all that loud and 'didn't really bother me that much.

Have used Bell several times and never really had a problem, although I've never used them to actually get to the airport for a flight. I've been kind of disappointed with the last couple of Pattaya-bound trips at boarding the bus at the BKK aggregation point and THEN stopping at Suv. for more pickups. Last trip a few days ago took almost exactly 4 hours from the time the driver picked me up at my BKK hotel (he was actually 30mins early which was actually OK with me, but it was almost 30mins until he actually made it to the 2nd pax pickup point) until I was dropped off at my hotel in Pattaya. The fill crowd at Suv. was all Indians, and that's getting old. 'Had to share my seat with an overweight Indian this last time who couldn't fit in his own seat. 'Had to push him off me a few times.

Well, in my experience we used to use the term less formally to describe most any maneuver or series of maneuvers not performed to any recognizable standard or with any recognizable purpose. But then again, I never did that many "flight shows" (well, there was the time we managed to shutdown the Las Vegas/McCarren commercial approach corridor while inbound to Nellis AFB - we definitely did some whifferdills that day).

Wow. Four pages of this...

Oh yeah - the runway thing. No matter what the talking heads say, the single runway ops ARE causing delays for arriving aircraft. TUE night we circled for about 20 mins as well (as we did on my flight back in mid-June). Well not circling or holding exactly. This time I started timing the pilot's turns & legs and discovered he was really just performing a series of whifferdills... Anyway, multiply that by the number of arriving aircraft, and that must add up to a whole lot of expensive jetfuel being wasted... You would think they'd just get ATC to just start "slotting" (slowing down & metering) inbound traffic to Bangkok. Maybe SE Asian ATCs just don't coordinate well enough to be able to do that.

Ever since Suv. opened, I've been stumped by the way the airport police will have blocked the escalator you need to get to the floor you need to get to, except to "airport pass" holders. This forces passengers, with their families & bags, to use the elevators, which of course then become overcrowded. What the heck are they doing? Is it possible for plebians to get these "airport passes" that allow you to ride? When I encounter this, I'll usually walk the entire terminal end-to-end looking for the up or down escalator I need, figuring there just HAS to be one, but always end up having to take an elevator. 'Just don't get it. What's the point of blocking an operating escalator to a floor that one can otherwise access by elevator? What are they trying to accomplish? Ex - my last outbound trip, arrived by Airlink and started working my way up to the Departures Floor and ran into one of these blocks, on the 1st floor I think.

'Have come in through immigration 3x now since late May, arriving at different times of day and different days of the week. The first two times were literally no-waiting at all; the last one late Tuesday night I waited maybe 5mins. There was a line, but it moved extremely fast - almost no stopping at all. Two line monitor girls were checking everyone for complete Arrival forms, and doing a good job of shoving the dopes off to one side and directing others on by. I arrived at a counter queue with only one person actually at the counter ahead of me and that person was finishing up. Baggage was out swiftly in all 3 cases as well. 'Can't currently see any reason to pay for Fast Track, but I realize that I've maybe just been lucky. 'Sure seems to me though that immigration is being handled much better than it used to be.

Flying to Clark on Cebu Pacific tomorrow night - 'hope they're not having any such problems... (It's bad enough leaving at 2340 and getting in at 4AM!)

I think these runway repairs at Suv will be going on for a few more weeks ('think it was advertised as 30-40days worth when they began), resulting in continuing single runway ops and delays during peak hours. If there are radar or power issues, then that's on top of the SRO. But I wouldn't worry much about running out of fuel due to in-flight delays (earlier post). Requirements for reserve fuel are fairly extensive, documentation of fuel carried very thorough, and monitoring of fuel burn vs fuel remaining quite meticulous (one of the few things they actually have to do anymore enroute...). There's always a planned alternate (U-Tapao most of the time I guess, depending on weather of course) and a fuel allowance for getting there (plus all the related contingencies plus a general percent reserve plus plus plus...).

The deletion part a bit more tricky when using a smallscreen device (ipod or smartphone). Can be done if you can zoom in to the point where you can accurately place the cursor and start deleting character by character. 'Haven't found a way to designate & delete whole blocks of text though. I usually just give up & leave it all in (or rethink replying at all... ).

I believe that's essentially it, with the add that "discount" int'l airlines will also be moving there. Direct shuttles every 15-30 mins between Suv & DM would sure go a long way to alleviating newfound inconvenience & expense to travelers having to make transfers (but not do much for taxi mafia morale I guess...).

Well - I was in the place a few nights ago, and am now a, uh, emm, firm... believer! Nice meeting you, Scott!

Have to second this. 'Don't know what the risk of a raid might be, but places with girls and selling drinks can easily be found.

'Growing up near Philly, I don't remember the use of Cheez Wiz - it must've come along a bit later. I was always more of a sub fan anyway. Man there was a GREAT mom&pop sub shop right near where I lived - long gone now. If Pattaya had a place that made 'em like that I'd probably never eat anything else.

You know, I just can't quite buy this. I shouldn't have to turn somersaults just to placate these pests. When the Mosquitos start to bite, I don't alter my diet or stop using cologne to "disinterest" them. I get out the deet and kill any I see. I ignore the Indian tailors and react physically to any that touch me.

My my - now THAT does sound interesting!

I'll just bet a lot of this is going on around Pattaya all the time. Instinct screaming at me though that such arrangements likely have their hazards. 'Not sure what they all might be...

Plan to visit for the first time the week of 11Jun. It's my understanding that the guards responsible for much of the cruelty were actually Korean conscripts (although you'd have to say ultimate "responsibility" rests with the Japanese, who have never acknowledged any responsibility for the war or their many atrocities).

I'll have to scrutinize Thai more carefully. I've NEVER seen a competitive price from them, no matter how far in advance, and they no longer have the direct flight LAX-BKK. I think I'm going to try and start building up some points with Cathay Pacific. I too like the idea of a selectable long stopover in Hong Kong, and eventually they're sure to inaugurate Premium Economy on the route from LAX.

'Stopped by and tried to say hi a few nights back, but the girls all said you were "out somewhere"... ('kind of rolled their eyes when saying that; wassup with that??

No 18- or 19-year olds at Areca.