tomcat76

Yes, and the Tourist Visa application form asks for a "contact" in Thailand as well. I've asked around and never received a useful answer as to whose name to use if you don't happen to know a Thai national who knows you well enough to act as a reference or vouch for you. It's a TOURIST visa for Pete's sake! Why do I have to have a reference?!

I see couples, and sometimes groups traveling together, play this game all the time, and not just at BKK. Husband/group member gets in one line, wife/other grp_mbr gets in another, (and so on), and when it becomes obvious who's going to hit the counter first, the one(s) in the slower line move(s) to the fast line. Good news for anyone in the line being "left"; bad news if you thought you were only 1 or 2 people away from the counter when suddenly... Snake lines kind of eliminate this though. (LAX uses multiple snake lines, but they're few, large & relatively far apart, so the scheme

'Same thing happens at LAX. ('not usually many Russians there though....)

I'm actually trying to make a reservation there presently, and they're asking for my credit card info? Is that normal for them to be charging ahead? (I went through Scandibar last time.)

There's a recent post on TV about Thai Immigration tightening up on overstays. I won't get into the details because the particulars (e.g., degree to which

Concur. 'Tried booking it via their own website. Initially, you select it from the dropdown list on the flight search page, but at some point after the flight list appears you get ' premium economy not available' indications. I could be wrong, but I THINK premium economy is only available on routes where they're flying the Airbus 330-300 ("v2") or 340-300 (also "v2"). Unfortunately they seem to be scheduling the B777-300 on the LAX-HKG and HKG-BKK routes.

Stayed here a few nights in JAN and my only complaint about the place was on check-in. They kept telling me room wasn't ready. (Since I'd never stayed at the place before, I did ask to just see the room when I first arrived even though not ready.) They gave me a "ready time", and I went off & came back 3 hrs later - room still not ready. Waited in the lobby for ANOTHER hour (with another guy, also waiting for HIS room) - room STILL not ready. They then said "10 minutes please sir". I said, "OK - TEN minutes" - and let him see me check my watch. At the 10 minute mark I finally I told

Try the top-floor bars in Nana...

'Have to agree with this. Winning customer loyalty is a concept completely foreign to most Thais, when it comes to the tourist trade anyway... All kinds of cultural metaphysics etc etc etc often cited to explain it, but I think it actually probably has more to do simply with "employee mobility". But whatever the true reason, it's only the businesses with farang ownership or management that seem to understand & value it. RE Latestays.com - No real complaints about it, but I've been checking it before every trip the last few years and have never really found any deals there that weren

I see Cathay Pacific has just started up Premium Economy service... Also, Thai Visa is reporting that Yingluck S. has directed the reopening of Don Meung for "budget airlines" in order to relieve overcrowding at Suv and in response to passenger complaints about missing flights due to lengthy immigration lines. AirAsia, Bangkok Airways, and Orient Thai are specifically mentioned, but presumably this would also include airlines like Cebu Pacific and Tiger Air mentioned here on this board in connection with those wanting to fly between BKK and Clark. Before everyone gets too excited about

Hmmm - I should know this 'cause I JUST missed the last train one night back in JAN... Or was it the last Express I missed? I know I had THOUGHT they ran until midnight, like the rest of the BTS system (and like the timetables they published back in 2010 say), but I got down to the station level after seeing someone off and discovered the last one actually left earlier than that - 10PM I think... Even if they DO run 'til midnight, the rest of the system does shutdown at midnight, so if you were to take a midnight train & arrive at Phaya Thai (or any of the other Airport Link stations)

I always spend at least a couple of nights in BKK before heading down to Pattaya if arriving late at night (which is usually the case). 'Short trip fm the airport to the Sukhumvit area and rapid transition to the street scene - a chance to catch up on what's up at Nana & Soi Cowboy if nothing else. Then the trip down to Pattaya is just a matter of grabbing a bus/taxi or arranging a driver whenever I'm ready. But if you want to just head straight to Pattaya, then I think some of the drivers mentioned here on the forum are the way to go. (Dynasty Inn will provide you free transportation f

I've actually read through this entire thread, and have to say I'm impressed by nev's willingness to invest as much time as he has in wading into the swamp and staying engaged. BMs here are generally honest & forthright about their experiences, certainly not always complimentary, and as someone said somewhere in the thread, the truth does tend to eventually see daylight. It's hard for me to imagine a business owner who goes to such lengths to keep such a dialog going NOT caring at least a bit about his customers. I'm looking forward to stopping by in May (and getting one of those cards!

If I understand your question, yes indeed. I almost always buy my tickets several months ahead, have always seen the charge on my next statement, and have most often actually paid it off by the time I actually travel. ('Guess I'm just the trusting type...) http://www.creditcar...s-1282.php#FCBA Again however, there are LOTS of different cards out there with all kinds of different incentives & gimmicks. (Ex. The one I travel with never charges any foreign exchange fees and gives me miles.) It wouldn't be hard for me to believe that there might be a few which do guarantee your tr

11sq m... Is that a room or a cell? And I thought hotel rooms in Japan were small... 'Could never handle such close quarters I don't think; esp. wi company.

You can do this (in the US under the FCBA anyway) for up to 60days following the day you're billed by the credit card company (which might be as much as 30d after you charge the ticket depending on where you were in your card's billing cycle), for a total of a possible 90d). After that though, you're at the mercy of the credit card company. (Your particular card might have additional/extended protections.) So, if you make reservations well ahead (and outside that 60d window) to secure a good fare, you need to know what your card's terms actually are.

'Sure would like to know the secret for catching the baht bus from RG... If you can get across the road without being run down, they do pass all the time, but are most often full and usually don't even stop. You're right about it not really being that much of a walk.

Not much sympathy here. It was a popular revolution (back in 1917). Entirely their choice. In a world where foreign influence is so often blamed for the course of events, the Russian Revolution was absolutely a Russian choice. What came after was a case of getting what they asked for (demanded and executed many innocents for actually). And there are actually many Russians today who actually look back fondly on the Soviet era - with all its state-controlled atrocities and thuggishness. (Just as there are Japanese today who've built shrines to some of Japan's most brutal war criminals.) So

Nope. Definitely just not the same... There are subs, and then there are Philly-style hoagies. 'Difficult to explain the difference. You just have to have had one to knowappreciate the difference.

OK, I will.

Stopped by there several times while I was there in JAN - not hard to find, but absolutely nothing to shout about.

...not the whole story. Even an aircraft rated for the distance has to make a tradeoff between the number of passengers/baggage/cargo it can carry and the required fuel load (nearly full tanks for a max-range flight obviously). I suspect this has something to do with Thai Air cancelling their non-stop LAX-BKK service. The A340 could make the trip, but possibly not with enough dry carrying capacity to keep it profitable wi rising oil prices (and their fares were already significantly higher than many others offering 1-stop service from LAX to BKK and so actually flying more miles).

Planning a trip in a few months myself - Thanks!

In almost 30yrs, never been stopped (then again, I don't smoke, travel light, & don't bring in any booze). I have noticed others from time to time undergoing inspection right there before going through the barrier to the public hall. 'Never noticed the plain-clothes inspections mentioned by Joe, but 'will start being more observant for those.

Am researching air transportation from Tahiti (Papeete - PPT) to Bangkok, and it's looking like the only way to get from PPT to BKK is via Honolulu or even Los Angeles (also Tokyo) on Air Tahiti Nui. Not cheap. I see however that there are lots of flights from PPT to other French Polynesian airports and wondering if there's a way to fly more direct from one of them. Anybody ever done this?