Evil Penevil

Asiana codes the flight as 77W, which shows up as a 777-300ER on the Websites of other airlines (see the screenshot in post #2). It's actually a 777-200ER. But you can call Asiana to confirm, that's what I did. As far as I know, Asiana is still offering first-class suites on the JFK-ICN route. I am booked to fly JFK-ICN in March, again in first class. Evil

I'm setting up pre-Christmas visits to Pattaya Orphanage, the Camillian Center in Rayong and perhaps other places to help bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the kids. If you'd like to join, please send me a PM and I'll get back to you with the details. If any of you know a group or institution that works with kids but isn't as well known as some others, I'm happy to take part in visits to those places. It looks like the visit to the Camillian Center will go down on Dec. 17, but the date for the visit to the Pattaya Orphanage hasn't been spiked yet. It will happen sometime between Dec. 18 and D

Last night's supper at the Butcher's Arms on Soi Bukhao: For me, chicken tikka masala with rice pillau. My friend (from the U.S., no less) chose cottage pie. And both of us had pints of Heineken at 100 baht. Very fresh draft (as it should be). Reasonable prices for the food, if not cheap. Chicken tikka masala and cottage pie were both 230 baht (plus 45 baht for my rice pillau). They had fish 'n chips as the daily special at 195 baht. Evil

I got a tuna sandwich from the Central Food Hall in the basement of the Central Festival Mall for my dinner tonight. It was very tasty and filling. It was a huge sandwich, about 5" thick. The slices of "muesli bread" were a nice touch, as the dried fruit and nuts in the bread complemented the tuna, diced veggies and fresh lettuce very well. They had a two-for-one special at 129 baht, so the sandwich was a bargain at 64.50 b. Good selection of other sandwiches as well. Evil

You might want to try contacting this place- Winner Inn on Soi Bukhao. I haven't stayed there, but a friend did and thought it was OK. He said the location was convenient and the room was good value for money. You are in a bit of a tough situation. It's not a good idea to commit yourself for a period of three months unless you or a trusted friend has had recent first-hand experience with the place. But Pattaya usually fills up quickly for the period Dec. 15 - Jan. 15 and guest house owners aren't likely to offer discounts from peak season rates for anything less than a three-month r

If I remember right, Opey De Place has a wading pool or at least one end that is very shallow, Kids, including my then-girlfriend's five-year-old daughter, were in the pool every day. A pic from the hotel's Website (http://www.opeydeplacepattaya.com/): I believe the area in the lower right of the pic is the wading pool. Evil

This tragedy is a reminder of the need for sea-going vessels to have life vests for every passenger. And the Thai authorities need to get serious in enforcing the rules about overloading ferries. Evil

Different news sources have different versions: From the Bangkok Post: From Phuket Wan: Evil

Apparently the guy who gave you the negative vote didn't think so. Anyway, I just wish the Russians who visit Pattaya would show the same spirit as in Gabor's video. Evil

Bell Bus has become a victim of its own success. In the beginning, it was a fast, convenient and cheap way to get to Pattaya from Swampy. The reclining seats made it much more comfortable than a taxi. But its growing popularity has meant that the buses are often full to last seat, with a lot of passengers traveling in a group. This has caused delays because the groups often have too much luggage and there's not enough room for everyone's suitcase under the bus. Last time I used Bell from Swampy was in 2011 and the bus was delayed 30 minutes in departing because of all the hassles. I s

Not a pleasant experience for you, but a good story. Whenever I hear about these kinds of misadventures, I think about Dorothy's line in The Wizard of Oz: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Evil

Yes, the Rockhouse has lost its cook and food service has been suspended until a replacement can be found. Too bad. Evil

Loy Kratong is a major holiday that generates huge sales and revenues for many, many businesses in Thailand. It would have been insane to attempt to postpone mass celebrations. Halloween is another matter. That's a foreign import and basically only affects businesses catering to farang customers, although it does indeed generate a lot of money for Thais. Personally, I'll be very happy if Halloween proceeds as usual. I've had majorly fun nights the last few years on Oct. 31 in Pattaya. I just have to make sure I don't max out on the drinking too early. Evil

I asked about this at the Hertz counter at Newark Liberty because I could have faced the same situation as MM and syd-tybil on my next trip to the U.S. - an expired state license but a valid license from another country (not Thailand). I was told renting with a foreign driver's license but no IDP wouldn't be a problem at any major U.S. airport, but could be a problem at more obscure locations. Also, the counter clerk warned about possible hassles with local law enforcement, up to and including having the vehicle impounded. Luckily, I was able to get my state license renewed this trip, so it

I had planned to update this report from Incheon, but the cards came down otherwise. Strong headwinds added 40 minutes to the flight and there was a delay in de-planing, so 60 minutes disappeared from the time on the ground before the flight to Bangkok. It took another 30 minutes to clear the security check and by then, only 30 minutes were left until the BKK flight started boarding. I decided not to bother with the Asiana First-Class lounge and went straight to the departure gate instead. The ICN-BKK flight took off on time and landed an hour ahead of schedule. The biz class on Asiana

Asiana doesn't have its own lounge at JFK, so I"m sitting in the Swiss Airlines' lounge (Asiana gave me a pass for it). It is one of the smaller and more modest airline lounges I've seen, but at least it has a fast Internet connection. Boarding starts in 40 minutes. Let's hope the Boeing 777-200er looks like this the whole way to Seoul: and not like the one that crashed at SFO: So far nothing fancy about the pre-flight stuff in First Class. No passengers were at the First Class counter, but it didn't go especially fast because the agent hassled me about not havin

That's distressing. Seems like the food has gone down since I ate there. The rice and refried beans don't look the same as in my pic. I wonder if it was the same cook as the nights I was there? Consistency has always been the hobgoblin of small of restaurants in Pattaya. Evil

I called Asiana and they still have the first-class suites on the JFK-ICN route. It won't be easy! Evil

Wow! You had me scared, as I'm booked on that route in first-class in five days. But what I can gather from the Internet, Asiana is still using the "enclosed suite" version of the 777 200ER on the JFK-ICN route. Here's part of a recent report: You can read the full report here. Got a problem with my cell phone, but plan on getting it straightened out this afternoon. I'll call Asiana to check for sure. Not much I can do at this late date in case they say "no first-class suites," but at least I won't be disappointed as I board the aircraft. Evil