Xircal

14 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

So if that is the room rate then 3,000 Baht deposit seems fare. If you pay for your room when you first check in they may not charge you a deposit. If they do then don't pay them right away and just give them the deposit. I have never had a problem ever getting my deposit back, or at least taking it off my room price, but there is always a first time for everything.

 

I don't really agree with what you say about the deposit because hotels are like any other business. They budget for mishaps and for users who walk off without paying, or never arrive and these kind of events are factored into the rate they charge for rooms. Also, they'll be insured for damages and will claim on that where necessary.

If they require 100% payment in advance when a guest books over the Internet months ahead of their arrival, why would they want to charge them a deposit which is more than the cost of the room when they actually arrive? What's it for?

Some guests unfortunately do cause damage to a room, but that can be addressed when they checkout. After all, they always hold you at the front desk when you checkout so that they can inspect the room for damage. If the guest doesn't want to pay, then they can call the cops and let them sort it out. If it's going to mean a guest might miss their flight, they'll soon cough up I'm sure.

1 hour ago, Gillyflower said:

 I imagine that many of the posts using the word 'hotel' actually mean 'guest house' (in Thailand at least).

Yes, I agree with that. I think this is also part of the problem. In order to try and attract business Thai owned businesses are very fond of misrepresenting accommodation using terms like 'boutique hotel' and 'Resort and Spa' to describe what is little more than a guesthouse or in some cases, just a glorified backpackers establishment.

I discovered that myself when I stayed at White's in Soi Sansabai a few years ago. I thought I was getting a bargain at 1800 Baht for a 'boutique hotel', but it was just a guesthouse without a lift even. The furniture was the usual tacky style you find in all cheap hotels in Thailand and although the bed was fairly comfortable, that was the full extent of the 'boutiqueness'. Never again.

28 minutes ago, GOLDBUGGY said:

I think it sort of depends on a few things which is what is the deposit for, and if you are using a credit card. 

 

In the past I have paid a deposit because I refuse to use my Credit Card in hotel in Thailand anymore. Even once in a 5 star hotel. I had my card information stolen two times this way and I don't want to make it 3 times. I would rather pay my room charge after I check in, which in most cases they won't charge me a deposit after that.

 

If you want access to a mini bar or telephone and don't use a credit card or pay for your room when you check in, then most times they will ask for a deposit. When it comes to paying your bill they will just deduct the deposit from that amount. So paying a deposit greater than your hotel bill is a bit odd.

 

How much is a room for a night their? 

On the hotel's own site, the rate is quoted at 2865 Baht for one or two nights from 12 December with a 200 Baht discount for longer. On booking agencies like Booking.com price is the same, but they quote the usual bovine faeces rates which they 'discount' to give the impression they're offering you a bargain but which arrive at the same amount you pay if you book with the hotel directly.

8 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

New trend? No.

 

My preferred place in Pattaya always requested a 2000 Baht deposit.

They don't fancy to reserve a room in heavily booked high season just for a no show.

 

Sleep With Me requires full payment in advance at the time of booking so if you happen to book two or three months in advance like I do, the hotel already has payment and will make a handsome profit on the deal if the guest fails to turn up.

I also think that 1100 Baht for the airport transfer is way over the top. C&N just up the road offers a free airport pickup for just three nights stay provided the guest books directly through their site and not via Agoda or one of the other booking agencies. The return trip isn't free, but only costs 700 Baht. That implies SWM is making an extra 400 Baht over and above the usual fee they charge the taxi driver.

Even the 5 star Patong Resort which is opposite SWM (behind the buildings) only charges 900 Baht airport transfer.

Charging 1100 Baht just speaks of pure greed.

I was just perusing Agoda for hotel rooms and came across the one called Sleep With Me which is close to Jungceylon and the nightlife. But scrolling down to the Policies section I was intrigued to note that the hotel requires a 3000 Baht security deposit on arrival.

I know apartments and houses usually require one if the occupant intends to stay for few months, but I've never heard of a hotel doing it especially if the guest is only going to staying for a few days. Is this a new trend?

Maybe it goes hand in hand with the exorbitant airport transfer fee of 1100 Baht.
 

A police officer who shoots an unarmed man dead does not even get a reprimand.

Only if the shooting was ruled justified, which means that a crime was not committed.

Would it be ruled 'justified' in this particular case I wonder: http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/2015/03/family-releases-video-of-dallas-police-fatal-shooting-of-mental-patient.html/

The police were armed with stun guns, yet made no attempt to use them even though the black guy was only waving a pocket size screwdriver around.

Trigger happy cops if you ask me.

China a superpower? What, with only one aircraft carrier? And even that's a piece of ex-Soviet junk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_aircraft_carrier_Liaoning

They've only just managed to adapt the Shenyang J-15 fighter to land on it. So far just two landings were successful (no mention of what happened to the others - probably at the bottom of the drink).

Compare China's ambitions with the US current aircraft carrier fleet which are all nuclear powered and capable of remaining at sea indefinitely: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_C._Stennis

China a superpower in 2030 maybe, but definitely not now.

OK, you can all put your umbrellas away: the launch has been deferred due to some anomaly or other with the telemetry transmitters: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/science/irnss1d-satellite-launch-deferred-due-to-anomaly/article6959082.ece

Some more space junk is expected to re-enter the atmosphere at the beginning of April though: http://www.satview.org/decay.php

That thing in blue and the pig on the left look like they are laughing.

My thoughts exactly when I first seen the photo. You are right on the money. I dont see either of them looking heartbroken as one would expect. Husband died in front of you and one hour later laughing??????

Probably helped him draw up his Last Will & Testament before she stuck her foot out as he walked past.

A clutch of Somalis? what the .... is a clutch when referring to people?

I know my GF always wants to by new clutch wallets .... but not ones made out of Somalis, maybe from crocodile or python

@LuckyLew: I fully agree that referring to a group of people as "a clutch" is highly disrespectful & derogitory ! ! !

Incidentally; I have a small list of some of these typical expressions:

A Pride of Lions

A School of Fish

A Herd of Cows/Cattle

A Flock of Birds

A Clutch of Eggs

A Flock of Sheep

A Group of People

A Mob of Kangaroos

A Gang of Crows

A Raft of Seals

A Gaggle of Geese (if geese on the ground)

A Skein of Geese (if geese flying in formation)

A Flock of Geese (if geese NOT flying in formation)

A Wisp of Snipes

A Journey of Giraffes

A Murder of Crows

An Exaltation of Doves

A Congress of Owls

A Parliament of Baboons

A Congress of Baboons

A Camp of Bats

A Stand of Bamboo

A Cluster of Trees

A Bunch of Flowers

A Pile of Dough

A Wad of Money

A Stack of Money

A Fistful of Dollars

A Dash of Sugar

A Pinch of Salt

A Bunch of Bananas

A String of Beans

A Hint of Garlic

A Bail of Hay

A Skein of Wool

A Splash of Color

A Patch of Light

A Sparkle of Hope

A Tower of Strength

A Whale of a Lie

A Turn of Events

A Whisper of Wind

A Wisp of Hair

A Hive of Activity

A Bundle of Joy

A Stroke of Genius

A Shower of Rain

A Ray of Light

A Puff of Smoke

A Load of Rubbish

A Shred of Evidence

A Spark of Hope

A Lot of Fun

A grain of Truth

A Gut-full of Worries

A Rush of Thai Policemen

A bucketful of Russians.

A ditch of Chinese.

Some good advice here: http://phil.uk.net/thailand/girls_faq.html

Create a business plan and then take it to your bank and ask them for their opinion. See here for more info: https://www.gov.uk/write-business-plan

A business plan demonstrates that you're serious about your project.

Once you have everything down in black and white you can think about contacting whoever you think might be interested.

For US citizens, see: http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/death-of-a-us-citizen.html

For the UK: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/406094/Information_Relating_to_Deaths_in_Thailand_February_2015_-_lastest_edition.pdf

P.S. Love the heading above my reply which reads "Replying to my dead corpse".

You can send a motorbike by post, so I guess the Post Office should be worth a try: http://www.thailandpost.com/service-detail.php?sid=21&service=91

Put the PM's new hotline to the test: http://news.thaivisa.com/thailand/new-1155-and-1111-hotline-launched-for-foreigners/37642/

If that doesn't get a response, drop a hint that the house is being used for human trafficking.

EDIT: forgot to add the human trafficking site: http://www.humantrafficking.org/organizations/240

See: http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/dealer_locator/distributors.php/?distributor-country=219

You don't really need the Shockwave player a.k.a. Shockwave For Director. It's essentially a developers tool.

To play normal videos, just use Flash. If that's what you're using already, do the following.

1. Download the Flash uninstaller from here: https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html#main_Download_the_Adobe_Flash_Player_uninstaller
2. Download the latest version of Flash player which is 17.0.0.134 from here: https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html (download the 2nd one called "Plugin-based browsers" and choose the .EXE file)
3. Run the uninstaller which removes it from the PC completely.
4. Run the installer. Decide if you want to have Adobe update it automatically or not which you'll see on the menu.

If you choose to allow Adobe to check for updates, it does that every hour which I think is a waste of resources so I always checkmark the bottom one to "Never check for updates".

Adobe now aligns their monthly security updates with Microsoft, so every Patch Tuesday, or sometimes a day later. So all you need to do is to go to the same link in step #2 to check for newer versions.

The uninstaller remains on your machine so that you can use it again to update to a later version.

EDIT: close Firefox before you uninstall and before you reinstall Flash.

You might want to forget about then. There's an exploit on the web which bypasses even v5.2

Not mentioned in the advice, but don't use Windows Mail or Skype if you value your privacy:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/11/microsoft-nsa-collaboration-user-data

Probably done it before and got away with it. Serial suntan shoplifter.

What a dog, especially the one in red.

Quite a few flights in that airspace at any one time: http://www.flightradar24.com/11.22,94.38/6

The Title should read.."Long Term Estrogen-Fueled Thai Man Assaults Foreign Woman"

And that goes for every last one of them Kathoeys -- Dangly Bits or Chopped..

You'd be doing them a favour by subjecting them to a penectomy. They perceive themselves to be women and don't want a penis, but generally speaking can't afford the cost of having it removed.

But I don't think all kathoeys should be tarred with the same brush. Some of them are very pleasant individuals like the ones who work for PC Air: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/02/10/us-thailand-transsexuals-idUKTRE71915Q20110210

An Iranian man stole a woman's passport and then presented that to immigration?

Does the guy look like a woman then?

Or at least, I've never heard of a guy by the name of Mary.