Xircal

I'd advise you to register with the FCO LOCATE service That way, they'll have all your details already on file which cuts down on the amount of time you'll have to wait.

Jeeeeeeez, what a claw, are you half human/ half aardvark?

Yes, my toes are a funny shape I must admit. But they grip the road when I'm walking.

I believe the "disinfectant" is Betadine or a variant thereof. It is a broad range antiseptic containing povidone-iodine. It's been in use since 1955.

So not only do thais enjoy ripping people off financially, they also love to torture them too.

Go to Google Maps and then copy/paste the following syntax in the brown font into the "Search Maps" field: hotels loc: Si Chomphu, Khon Kaen 40220, Thailand

The first hotel in the list which appears in the menu includes the word "resort", but I don't know if it's the one you're looking for.

If it's a PC you're using, simply install a second hard drive and install Win 7 on that. That way, you'll have a dual boot system.

If you're using a laptop, you can remove XP, install Win 7 and then shrink the partition by 40GB and reinstall XP on that. Again, you've got dual boot system at your disposal which might be useful someday.

Personally though, I will not be destroying my beloved XP Pro until my motherboard gives up the ghost. There's just too much unnecessary scrolling for my liking on Win 7 when navigating the menus, primarily because Microsoft removed the classic menu option which is still available in Win XP.

Neither do I like the Win 7 control panel. It's a jumbled up mess and requires you to claw your way through 4 columns of data and read from left to right across each column which is complete madness in my opinion. It would have been much better to list each column alphabetically, but oh no, why make things easy when you can make them difficult. That's been Microsoft's philosophy from day one and it continues to this day.

Their server is located in the US: BahtSold

According to Whois, their offices are located at

Registrant:

Daniel Newman

1954 Cinnabar Drv

Nanaimo, BC V9X 1B3

CA

Domain name: BAHTSOLD.COM

To fix your problem though, load a command prompt and then run ipconfig /flushdns which will clear the resolver cache which stores the DNS entry for that particular IP address among others. Best to run it as Administrator if you're using Vista or Windows 7.

In Firefox, you also have the option to clear the cache via Tools | Options | Advanced, click the Network tab and then click the "Clear Now" button (see picture).

Are you having problems connecting to any other site, or just that one?

Fridays close. 30.34 USD 47.50 GBP 40.59 EUR

Those are rates for the exchange of banknotes which is always lower than the rate maintained by the central banks. For example, the market rate for the Euro is currently 41.192 Baht

Still abysmal compared to 2009, but at least it's following an upward trend at the moment. The Thai interest rate hike planned for December which will take the rate from its current level of 1.75% to 2% will knock the bottom out of that though, and right in the middle of the peak season holiday period.

Buy an external (USB) hard drive and then move the bulk of your own personal data to that. Any time you want to access the data on it, simply plug it into a USB port and and it will appear in Windows Explorer.

It looks like a scam. They quote themselves as receiving the "Lawyer of the year 2010" award on ACQ Magazine, but on examination, there's no record of them on the ACQ site; primarily I think because there are still 3 months left to run this year. The awards for 2009 (see picture) don't include any law firms in Thailand at all and a search for them by name draws a blank.

The Whois record lists their US offices at a different address than the one mentioned on their site and the site itself was only created in March this year.

Also, their site is hosted by sites.google.com which is a free web site provider. A reputable firm would have their own server I would have thought.

There's a photo of Diane Sittimalk here, but she appears to reside in Saint Kitts and Nevis, so it might be a case of identity theft.

So you're going to Paris, but your parents will remain in Thailand?

Out of curiousity, why did you choose to live in Thailand in the first place?

you wanna try shopping at theiftrow sorry heathrow airport........................

i think most airports are super expensive not just thai

Airports tend to charge the 'recommended retail price' less VAT. They have a captive audience and they know it, but charging three times the normal price is just pure extortion.

So, you had a good holiday then?

haha... yes. I also managed to stub my toe coming out of the bathroom after not noticing the concrete lip. That became infected (see picture) and I ended the week going to Wattana Clinic to have my toenail removed. They didn't use an anaesthetic either which made the whole ordeal quite excructiating. What on earth is that brown disinfectant that they use in Thailand? The nurse insisted on cleaning the wound with it afterwards. It's nothing like Dettol and when they applied it, it felt like they were amputating a limb or something.

Another example of how Thais screw those 'super rich farangs'.

One of the shops at Phuket airport which sells AIS 1-2-Call SIM cards charges 300 Baht for the "Max 99" SIM. According to the AIS official site this card sells for, as you've probably guessed, 99 Baht. The shop in question is located near the meeting point at the domestic arrivals hall.

I suspected as much at the time, but I'd arranged an airport pickup from the hotel I'd booked, but they hadn't turned up. So I wanted to call them to find out where my driver was but didn't have a SIM card which worked in Thailand.

I eventually gave up when I couldn't get anybody on the phone who spoke English and took a taxi-meter cab instead which turned out to be a lot cheaper at only 480 Baht. The hotel had quoted me 650 Baht.

As a sideline, the hotel in question is called "White's Patong" and is located in Soi Sansabai, Patong. It's described on their site as a 'boutique hotel', but turned out to be little more than a glorified backpackers hole. The power shower only supplied enough water if you turned the heating down to lukewarm and the windows weren't double glazed. Even with a room at the rear of the hotel facing the Jungceylon shopping centre, the noise at night from the bar at the end of the Soi on the corner of Bangla Road which plays live music until 5 O'clock in the morning was virtually intolerable. If you didn't manage to get to sleep before then, you were guaranteed to be kept awake when deliveries to Jungceylon began at 05:30. The only positive thing about the hotel was the bed which was very comfortable. But you'd expect that anyway if you were paying 1,800 Baht a night. The stairs are plain concrete with just a pebble dash effect and were grimy with beer and food stains which look like they'd been there for a millenium. There's no lift either. There's also a permanently open window in the bathroom which means you'll be plagued by mosquitos both day and night, airco or no airco. Avoid at all costs unless you've nowhere else to go.

Well, that's weird because none of the links work for me. By that I mean the list of destinations on the page I linked to. I've attached a screenshot to illustrate what I mean. Clicking any of those links should take you to the page where those prices are applicable, but nothing happens when I click any of them. I've arrowed 3 of them as an example. I would be booking within the time periode ringed in blue above that list so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

I ran Firefox in Safe Mode which disables all the add-ons in case one of those was causing the hiccup, but the problem persists.

As for phoning them, I'm in the Netherlands. Phoning from within Thailand probably does work, but my phone line runs over a VoIP connection and that may possibly interfere with the connection. I'm not going to use my cellphone to call them. At €2,75 a minute, it's no joking matter hanging on an international phone line while you're waiting in the queue.

Those aren't supposed to be links to those fares. It's just a list of sale prices. You have to use the regular search feature to look up prices. You can spend all the money you want calling in, but they're probably going to tell you the same thing. Try searching for different dates and see if you can find better prices.

Don't think so. I used the link option just a couple of weeks ago to book a couple of tickets from HKT to BKK. On that occasion, they were offering a 20% discount. But you had to click the specific link in a list similar to the one I've referred to on this occasion. If you merely did a search like you've suggested, then various options became available, but at all standard rates.

Slightly off topic, but I was looking earlier this evening for a one way flight from HKT to BKK on 18 October. If you want to leave on the 12:50 AirAsia flight, they'll sting you for 2027.48 Baht plus all the usual extras like their "convenience fee" (how are you supposed to book online without a credit card?), 200 Baht for a miserly 15Kg luggage and another 50 Baht if you want to book a specific seat. Bangkok Air on the other hand offers a flight departing at 10:20 for just 1955 Baht inclusive. So much for AirAsia's "budget" image.

Seems to working fine, I have just tried it using your link and it worked perfectly. You will be aware that you use the normal search engine and if Offer/Promo fares are available they will be shown in the first column, if not then the standard fares are shown. I just carried out a ghost booking on the route you mentioned and it offered me fares of 74 MYR each way, which totalled 213 MYR for the return trip, so pretty near the headline fare you quote.

I went to Krabi from Bangkok this week, the trip was booked last November on a 0 Baht promotion and like you mentioned the original flights were cancelled and they sent me alternative flights by SMS, the flights didn't suite so I called their Bangkok flights and I changed my flights in less than ten minutes and without charge.

Perhaps I'm just lucky.

Well, that's weird because none of the links work for me. By that I mean the list of destinations on the page I linked to. I've attached a screenshot to illustrate what I mean. Clicking any of those links should take you to the page where those prices are applicable, but nothing happens when I click any of them. I've arrowed 3 of them as an example. I would be booking within the time periode ringed in blue above that list so I don't think that has anything to do with it.

I ran Firefox in Safe Mode which disables all the add-ons in case one of those was causing the hiccup, but the problem persists.

As for phoning them, I'm in the Netherlands. Phoning from within Thailand probably does work, but my phone line runs over a VoIP connection and that may possibly interfere with the connection. I'm not going to use my cellphone to call them. At €2,75 a minute, it's no joking matter hanging on an international phone line while you're waiting in the queue.

I don't think I've ever had so many problems booking flights as I do with AirAsia.

They supposedly have a Special Offer running from 3 January to 31 March 2011 provided you book between 21 September and 3 October this year. A flight from KLIA LCCT to Vientiane, Laos for example only costs RM 99 which is about 985 Baht. Compare that with either Thai Airways costing 18,780 Baht or Lao Airlines @ US$654 and you'll understand why I'm interested.

However, none of the links in the list work. I tried it in both IE8 and Firefox 3.6.10, but to no avail with either of them. Using the "Book Now" button above the list merely produces normal flight prices.

This company really needs to get its act together. Past experience has taught me never to consider a flight to be booked even when paid for well in advance. I've often received an SMS to tell me that the flight has been cancelled and my booking has been moved to an inconvenient time. I can never get through to their English helpdesk either and have had to consider my booking as money wasted when that happens.

Slightly off topic, but I just read on Wikitravel that Singapore imposes caning as a punishment for overstaying your visa by 90 days. So I suppose we should be thankful that Thai immigration doesn't use that kind of deterrent.

Verry strange talk on this topic. what i don't understand is why people talk bad or think bad about the people who overstay. As if they are criminals!? why should people who overstay do this for a bad reason.. i always overstay because i simply dont see the need of going to the embassy in my country, takes time and that time i dont want to spend on bureaucracy. i arrive and get a 30 day visa. then i have a wonderfull holiday of 60 or 90 days. i pay my 20.000 bath (that is the punishment i get) and i fly home. Why is this so bad?? i dont care the 20.000, and for thailand it is 20.000 extra. if all would do like me, thailand would allready be a rich country. but people on this blog seem to think that they are very nice and honest people by doing a visa run. Sounds more like saving a poor 20.000 bath and not willing to support this beautiful country with a 20k goodbey gift when they leave for going to work at home again.

Individuals like yourself who abuse the system are the very same people who cause laws like this to be implemented in the first place.

Also, it only takes two days to obtain a Tourist Visa and you can apply for one up to three months before you propose to arrive in the country. So please, let's not have any silly excuses that you don't have time.

I would imagine that this change of heart by Thai immigration whereby the hapless individual unexpectedly gets to extend his or her vacation in the Bangkok Hilton for a few weeks has come about because the 20K fine doesn't cover the administration costs involved. Either that, or the numbers abusing the system are so colossal that immigration simply doesn't have the manpower available to process them all efficiently.

....we are not allowed to commit suicide in Canada... even if we want to.

What's the penalty for commiting suicide and how do they enforce it?

Bring cash and open a bank account and use there card. No charge. and if more is needed transfer funds from your bank at home to account in Thailand.

I understood that you needed to show a rental agreement contract before you could open a thai bank account. Is that not the case then?

I live in the Netherlands, so I'm stuck with the Euro which has been going up and down like a yo-yo just lately.

But I'm about to embark on a three month trip to LOS and was wondering whether to take a sizeable amount of funds in cash, or just stick to withdrawing funds from an ATM as and when I need it.

Looking at the current exchange rates in Thailand @ Bangkok bank exchange rate for cash at 40.53 and comparing that with the ECB exchange rate of 40.955 it would seem to be more favourable to withdraw cash from an ATM.

However, as we all know, every Thai bank is going to sting you for 150 Baht every time you make a withdrawal. Couple that with the fact that my own bank charges me 1% of the sum withdrawn calculated over the whole amount means that for every 20,000 Baht I withdraw, I'll be paying €8,55 in bank charges. That effectively wipes out any advantage I had using an ATM and adds an additional €3,00 to the overal cost.

Taking cash would only seem to be a better idea if the banks were to abolish the 150 Baht charge. But is that likely to happen before Christmas? I heard some rumours that they were considering the idea, but will it ever become a reality, and preferably before Christmas?

I imagine VOA and Visa Exemption are not the same.

U.K. passport holders receive 90 day permission to stay stamp with no visa necessary when entering Malaysia in the same way they would receive 30/15 day stamp on entering Thailand without a visa, so don't panic, you'll get 90 days as I did a few days ago.

OK, I misread it then.

I'm a bit confused by the announcement on the AirAsia(dot)com site today which states the following:

Visa on arrival (VOA) will no longer be issued in Malaysia

AirAsia & AirAsia X would like to inform our guests that the Malaysian Immigration Department will no longer be issuing Visa on Arrival (VOA), effective 15th August 2010.

If you were able to obtain a VOA, you will now need a valid visa before you fly with us. Please comply with this new ruling to avoid being denied access to board.

I checked the Brit FCO site, but they seem to think that VOA's are still valid for British citizens.

Anybody experienced a problem entering the country without obtaining a visa beforehand just lately?

I always pay by Mastercard.

Don't forget to allow for the infamous "Convenience Fee" which is the charge for using a credit card to book a flight in your calculations. At the time of writing, that was 100 Baht one way.

According to Firefox v3.6.10 which is the latest version at the time of writing

Latest version ?

I have Firefox v4.3 installed.

For me every page of http://www.thaiair.com open perfectly

That's the BETA. Actually, you're a bit out of date since the current BETA is v4.6 released on 14 September.

This link is only for the benefit of the member I'm replying to. Mods, feel free to delete as appropriate. https://wiki.mozilla.org/Releases

By the way, you would have to book a flight to see where the problems occur. Apart from the page which is transmitted only partially encrypted, the site also deletes the original data you entered for your contact phone / fax numbers and substitutes them with the figure "599".

Anybody know the head office address for Thai AirAsia?

They've just revamped their website and of course several things don't work properly. For a start, on the page where you have to enter your credit card details, the page is only partially encrypted. According to Firefox v3.6.10 which is the latest version at the time of writing, this means that the data can be read by third parties while in transit. That makes me feel wonderful.

And then on the page where you can send feedback, it tells me my email address is invalid even though I just logged in with it!

So I want to send them a complaint by snailmail, but need their address details. The only addresses I can find on their site are regional sales offices.