daviddrinkell

Overall I find Bangkok's "Taxi Meters" very good. The only places I find taxi drivers refusing to use the meter are near Airport Express stations, Khaosan area (which I particularly try to avoid), bar areas like Soi Cowboy or Nana Plaza and of course touts at the airports and bus stations. I don't mind if taxi drivers will not take me somewhere if they are genuinely coming to the end of their shift. It would be nice to see a lot more female taxi drivers too.

I thought only Norwegian and U.K men were drunk.Must had a rough night.

Try Florida for "Spring Break". Drunken students everywhere.

How any sane person can commit such an appalling act is beyond me.

Tesco Lotus still safer than going to a movie or to school some in other countries.

Flight Centre (UK) website has a RTW journey planner which should give you some idea of costs.

http://www.flightcentre.co.uk/flights/round-the-world/journey-planner

King Canute springs immediately to mind. According to legend, Canute’s courtiers flattered him into believing that his word was so powerful that even the tide would recede at his command. Canute is said to have taken this compliment literally and had his throne placed by the shore and vainly attempted to command the waves to recede until he almost drowned.

New Tsunami warning issued 0.8 metre (31 inch) rise in sea level near Acheh Indonesia reported

Aftershock of Magnitude 8.8 recorded at Acheh Indonesia

• UK public sector net debt in February 2012 was £988.7 billion, equivalent to 63.0% per cent of GDP- (note this excludes financial sector intervention.)
  
• Source: Office National Statistics publications[1] (page updated March 20th, 2012)
  

If all financial sector intervention is included (e.g. Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds), the Net debt was £2311.6 billion (147.3 per cent of GDP. This is known as the unadjusted measure of public sector net debt.

The exchange rate was about 90 to 1 British Pound when I bought a motorbike in January 1998. Thailand was amazing value in those days.

If you enter on a foreign passport and leave on a Thai passport surely you will become an over stayer.

Download Google Earth rather than use Google Maps.

Can anyone recommend a decent inexpensive hotel in Singapore please? I've checked some online hotel booking sites but prices seem high.

Sounds a lot like London's Heathrow airport.

The Royal Thai Consulate in Hull http://www.thaiconsul-uk.com/

In person or writing

Royal Thai Consulate

Priory Court

Saxon Way

Priory Park West

Hessle

HULL

HU13 9PB

Monday to Friday 09:30 to 16:00

Tel: +44 (0) 1482 581668 Fax: +44 (0) 1482 628877

By Email: Email: [email protected]

If visiting in person and travelling by car there is free parking adjacent to the consulate - look for the flag.

VISA FEES

for applications received on and after 01 December 2011:

Tourist Visa = £25 per entry

Non-Immigrant Single Entry = £50

Non-Immigrant Multiple Entry = £125

According to the gossip in Swedish he's a "manager" connected to some really bad guys in Sweden.

There's something else in this story.

Stick to what you know as truth. Gossip costs lives.

If you're looking for a safer destination than Phuket then check this out http://www.wildfront...nation.jsf?id=4

Because the two places are completely different, and what is the point in discussing the price of taxi ride without counting the metre starting price?

Is it possible to travel 800 meters in BKK for 14 baht?

Of course you can't travel 800m in BKK for 14 baht. It would be a minimum of 49 baht and if you were on Sukhumvit at 5pm on a Friday and there was a rainstorm it might cost 300 baht or more

On Sukhumvit Rd there are plenty of cheap buses or the Skytrain. The fares on them are not dependent on the weather or traffic congestion.

At the height of the the "red shirt" troubles in Bangkok last year, Tuk-Tuk drivers were offering to take me anywhere in Bangkok for 25 Baht. It just goes to show how prices will drop when Tuk-Tuk drivers are desperate for customers.

Don't use Tuk-Tuks until they drop their prices considerably.

I've used Streetview on Google Earth and Google Maps in the UK. It's really good for house hunting or for locating hard to find addresses and familiarising yourself with unfamiliar areas before going to them.

Sales of alcohol will be limited to two periods. From 11.00 hrs – 14.00 hrs and from 17.00 hrs – 24.00 hrs.

Isn't this already in force in supermarkets?

200 baht equals approximately 4 and a half Euros. A German paying anything less than ten euros for such a trip in Germany would be lucky indeed. While this is not Germany, the foreigners come here expecting everything for cheap and to push people around, just like that German just pushed the tuk-tuk driver to the ground because there was an argument. We don't have the whole story, because as was noted, the German couple were drunk, it is possible they are putting themselves in a much better light than they have behaved, and the Tuk-tuk driver cannot be located because 200 baht is not an incredibly high price to pay for a taxi ride in the rain in the middle of the night.

Tuk-Tuk's would not be allowed on the roads in Germany unless they passed stringent safety standards. Drivers would have to pass a strict driving test, need expensive insurance cover and fuel costs, taxes etc are much higher in Germany. Thais living costs are much lower than Germans. That is why it is cheaper in Phuket.

200 baht equals approximately 4 and a half Euros. A German paying anything less than ten euros for such a trip in Germany would be lucky indeed. While this is not Germany, the foreigners come here expecting everything for cheap and to push people around, just like that German just pushed the tuk-tuk driver to the ground because there was an argument. We don't have the whole story, because as was noted, the German couple were drunk, it is possible they are putting themselves in a much better light than they have behaved, and the Tuk-tuk driver cannot be located because 200 baht is not an incredibly high price to pay for a taxi ride in the rain in the middle of the night.

Why should Farangs be expected to pay more than Thais?

Tuk-Tuks are a rip off, uncomfortable, unsafe, exposed to the rain and emissions from other vehicles.

They should be banned and replaced with Bangkok Style air-conditioned "Taxi Meters"

Don't use them and their prices will soon drop.

A couple of points about Nakhon Chai Air and Chan Tours:

Last I heard, NCA has 3 First Class busses daily (each direction) between BKK and KK. One leaving around 11:00 am, and two leaving around 11:00 pm. These busses have extra comfort from "shell-type" seating (like airline Business Class), although it is not a "lay flat" seat. It is also set up with wider seats, as it is 3-across (1-2) seating. These busses tend to get booked well ahead of departure time; many times it is days ahead. If you want to go this way, book ahead.

NCA has Gold Class busses going frequently throughout the day and evening. These busses are usually easy to get without advance booking. Seating is a conventional 4-across (2-2) format. I believe they have individual screens at each seat now too, although maybe that is not on the entire fleet yet?

NCA uses lower-profile busses that are single level. NCA does the trip between KK and BKK nonstop.

Chan Tours busses all feature the 3-across 1-2 seating. "S Class" is their answer to NCA's "First Class", though it seems more like a gussied-up conventional Chan Tour bus, whereas NCA First Class seems to have been designed from the ground-up as a unique product.

Chan uses the more typical tall dual-level busses. They look very high if you've ever driven behind one. They look like they could tip over easily. And I've had some Thai people (whom preferred NCA Gold Class even though Chan offered added comfort of 3-across seating) tell me they thought the NCA busses were safer as they were lower. I can't argue with appearances. But honestly, I've been on the Chan Tours busses several times and have never gotten a hint of a feeling that the bus was unstable or likely to roll over.

Chan makes a 10 minute stop each direction at the Korat bus station (Nakhon Ratchasima.) So their published times are longer. The stop is enough time to run into the biffy, and get something to drink or eat at the convenience store to take with you for the rest of the journey. Korat is just about half way on the trip.

Can't say I am impressed with either company's attention to non-Thai speaking people. Both seem to dig in their heels on offering any kind of English on their websites. I took NCA First Class once and seemed to be largely ignored by the hostess when my girlfriend was asleep. She wouldn't even look in my direction, apparently because I didn't speak Thai and she didn't want to try to communicate any other way.

Both companies advertise for their "S-Class/First Class" products that they have some type of GPS function. I've never seen a hint of that actually being on their video systems. As far as Video content goes, as a farang what's offered has never appealed to me, but the peace and quiet does (compared to a bus with a TV playing a Thai movie or music videos from a VCD, with the sound cranked up!) With video at each seat, it is quiet and I can play my own MP3 music through ear buds and actually hear it!

The GPS on Nakhonchai Air seems to be for tracking purposes only so that they can monitor the bus speed.

Getting accurate information at Mor Chit can be very difficult. Even official looking "Information Clerks" will try to steer you to a bus company that gives them a commission. They will whip out a little booklet with all the "Official" fares, usually about 40% higher than actual. Even the third floor ISAN section security guard got into the game trying to get me to go with a tout.

Since most of the ticket windows have signage only in Thai, it can be very hard to find the one you want, especially with voracious touts haunting you every step. Call and try to find out the window numbers in advance, it will save a lot of grief.

Thanks for the warning.

Is there a Nakhonchai Air sign? How about at their own bus terminal?