tomcat76

A little OT, but just something to check on and be sure of if you haven't already: Check the visa requirements for Shanghai. I think PROC has "cleaned up" this mess, but a few years ago I had a connection through Guangzhou (just a regular, everyday, routine, standard, 2-3 hour layover & plane change - nothing at all special) and found out getting ready to leave BKK that I actually needed a visa. BKK put me (and several other pax in the same situation) on the flight anyway, but at Guangzhou we certainly got "special attention" (uniformed security herded those of us without visas toge

Milockie Check it out. (Also available at Amazon now I see)

Ah, the very night I arrive. I'm THERE!

Teaching the knuckledraggers to fill out their arrival cards, the Thais are doing the world a great service!

I hate to think about the leash that has possibly been put on those poor guys after the Cartagena thing (Marines were involved in that, too - making sure DoD gets its share of the scapegoating...). 'Wouldn't be surprised if they didn't put an 11PM or midnight curfew on all of them. Totally underserved, but pretty much the way the Obamanation operates.

Old news. True all over SEA I think. It's even in the movies. 'Wonder if it might "make merit" for the unknowing payer. So, for the deep thinkers, does the birdman make merit for himself by giving you the chance to make merit for yourself (assuming you don't know that the birds fly back and assuming he doesn't actually mistreat his birds)? 'Seems like good intentions on the part of the payer at least should have some kharmic value.

It's not for the budget-minded and a bit upscale (some will no doubt say overpriced), but there's a buffet-style place down near the far south end of WS, past FLB and on the same side. Outdoor seating/ seaside type place. 'Was there in January and thought the offerings were decent. 'Can't remember the name. 'Was by no means limited to, but included the usual seafood table (pick out what you want and they cook it up & deliver it to your table; seafood as well as some chicken, pork, & kabob type stuff). Sort of like the buffet-night spreads you might see at one of the resorts like D

'Not sure that someone who still believes in government assurances should be walking around free without a handler, let alone running an airline.

The built-in wireless NICs in some laptops (esp. pre-Win7) can be very temperamental/intermittent. Everything'll be fine for weeks & weeks, and then suddenly they just seem to go on strike. Sometimes disabling & re-enabling it fm Device Manager clears the issue; other times you just have to cold boot the laptop (and give it plenty of time to finish the entire boot sequence). So yeah - when things aren't happening, first check and see if there's even a connection (leave the 'show-connection' icon status turned on in your system tray; right-clicking on that will usually tell the tale, an

Here in CA it's a matter of standing behind someone trying to sort out what they can use their foodstamps for and what they have to pay for themselves.... The wait's never really that bad though - the checkers are all quite experienced with the racket. Grrrrrr ATMs though - I use a CU and there's seldom much of a wait, although the outage rate is probably slightly above avg.

So long WS (as we know it)...

Some truth in this probably (re "hardening of the law"), but I suspect much more a dog & pony show. 'Doubt they want to take TOO big a bite out of the motobike rental racket OR let Pattaya get a signficant rep as a police-hassle destination. Would like to hear about it if more of these checkpoints are seen to go up post-Songkran.

This sounds like it was aimed at the Songkran revelers, but I certainly wouldn't be inclined to put this theory to the test... 'Wish they'd have given the same level of attention to individuals throwing water at drivers!

Can't wait to hear what's on for the week of the 7th...

Just to close the loop on this (and be fair to the business involved), the problem with their website is that it's apparently just not IE9-friendly. 'Works fine with Firefox, and once you're in a browser where you can read their "if-you-have-trouble-with-our-website" message, it says they recommend IE7 ('course you can't SEE that unless you're NOT having trouble ....). And, as I said in my other post, they DO respond very cheerfully & promptly if you just email them directly.

Strange that this would even generate a discussion. Just say no thanks. It's all OK. No need to "clue the girl in" that's trying to peddle the stuff, and/or precipitate bad feelings. Most of them are savvy enough; they already get it. It's just a gimmick to try & generate a little extra revenue in the bar. You buy or you don't; it works or it doesn't. No need to get up tight about it.

Carrying a gold coin in your pocket IS supposed to ensure good luck. 'Not sure I'd recommend it while vacationing in Thailand (& lots of other places) though...

Yeap - even a person who does not travel... Let's say I've got $100US in my pocket. I can just about fill the tank of my bigass SUV with that $100 today. I can hold onto the $100, or trade it for something else. If I hold onto it, it's a bet against inflation and essentially in the strength of the dollar (whether I realize it or not). With $100US today I can maybe fill the tank of my bigass SUV here in CA. So then let's say a year from now, the dollar has weakened substantially. The dollar falls, the price of oil (in dollars) rises, and in a year maybe I can only fill half my tank. I

In a sense, we're ALL currency speculators (unless you have no assets at all), aren't we? Whatever currency your holding, merely by the fact of your holding it, represents an investment or "speculation" in that currency against all others. It would've been very esoteric to have made that point a hundred years ago, but by this point all major (maybe actually ALL) world currencies are linked, with long-term consequences for holders of losing currencies.

Slightly OT, but do hotels in Viet Nam really still collect your passport when you check-in (and keep it 'til you check out)? Or is all that just in the hinterlands? Can it be avoided by carrying photocopies? I HATE to have my passport out of my possession for ANY reason, and I've even heard that they DO occasionally get misplaced by careless hotel employees in VN as a result of this.

Oops. My apologies. There's an outfit trying to persuade me that a 1-yr Non-Imm O visa is the way to go for me, but given what the consulate website says, I don't see how since there's no "family visiting" nor NGO volunteer work involved in my travel at all.

I particularly liked the comment back in 2006 about the "'next' admin" paying down the debt. (In line with the mindless, incessant, cult-like anti-Bush drumbeat of the day.) Well, here we are - the next admin is here (and maybe almost gone!), and guess what? The debt is bigger than ever (and the rate has gone from 35+B/$ to 30+B/$). MUCH bigger debt than it was in 2006, or 2007, or 2008, or 2009 (when our arch-villain Mr. Bush left office). But I know I know - Bush is still to blame for it all... And will be a hundred years from now... BO could set up a printing press and start counterf

Scary. 'Hope they have things in hand by May....

Right there in black & white Jacko. Actual Section 5 from your actual form: "Reference person and address in Thailand". While we're at it, can multiple entries be requested on a Tourist Visa (up in Section 1)? Or is that only for Non-Imm visas?

All it would take is one imm. official, just ONE (and maybe even just a trainee at that), and that probably not even full-time, to send line-crashers to the back of the line (with maybe some "special" attention to their arrival cards...) to nip that in the bud, esp. now with the snake-lines.