monsieurhappy

If you take into consideration the UK is presently 6 hours behind Thai time and 7 hours in winter, is it really worth getting up or staying up into the early hours to watch the sort of rubbish being transmitted by the BBC etc?

Much easier to download what you want to watch from sites such as theBox.bz and view at your leisure !

Bernie Ecclestone and William Roache don't seem to have problems with the same situation !!

the best beer in Thailand you get in Tawandang http://www.tawandang.com/eng/home.html

but you can not buy in a store.

the best beer in bottles is Chang Export, but only if it is not older as 3 month.

Heineken is not a beer, Heineken is a chemical water or better nam klong

Thanks.

Tawandang http://www.tawandang.com/eng/home.html points to one of my most favourate beers, Weizen. I learned to drink that beer in Bavaria(Germany). I also miss their weekly small Weisswursts each Friday morning at work in Muenich. When I’m in the neighbourhood I will first try a glass or two in Tawamdang and then take a crate or two. It’s on my todo list. I sincerely hope that an old witch (or should I say bat ?) possibly flying around that place around the local cauldron does not angry me by confronting me with some of her tricks. My taste has been properly educated with our local Dutch village brew which is called De Kroon, currently brew of our maybe possibly mutual (my local village) friends of Bavaria(the Netherlands).

I am quite capable of understanding your statement concerning the condition of our national bath water. People who’ve studied beer ratings at www dot ratebeer dot com will not throw that little Thai baby out with my countries bathwater before having tasted that local brew themselves. Since none of HK beers are (not yet) present in the current top 50 list of “Best Beers of the Netherlands 2012”, your additional criticism (“nam klong”) is believed to be correct, but not really necessary, and, sorry I’ve to say that, is also a little bit unworthy of the true German business spirit I experienced in the environment of Muenich. Let’s hope you do not really represent those guys. High quality self selling products do promote themself during time. Their beers do not really need beer festivals or games of soccer but it is fun participating in some of them. After having had all those wars in the past it is a nice opportunity to make new friends and to learn to speak our languages, especially for our children for building long term relationships which already happen to exist more than 40 years now.

HK produces a large amount of beer, and, yes, their ratings seem to be rather low. I am probably the only figure fetishist over here in this thread who noticed that those very large “2009 HK” numbers which are mentioned earlier do deviate more than a factor 10 from the real 2009 HK ones (in 2009 125.2 mhl HK worldwide and only 2.2 mhl HK in the Asian Pacific region). Maybe that’s why it’s much more difficult to find a HK friend in Thailand than one in Europe. No need to go figuring again. My numbers have been double checked. Btw.125.2 hml HK equals almost 3 times the total beer production volume of China. People in China and also in Thailand drink as much litres of beer per person as the people in France do. When the Chinese should decide to start drinking like Germans do than those 125.2 mhl HK is just enough to serve only the needs of the Chinese. Those 2009 2.2 mhl HK beer includes China. Why HK did not approach the Chinese beer market, not only amazes me, but also others after the very first decade of this century.I haven’t studied their latest numbers yet.

I'll have what the poster's drinking !!

Don't expect it to shoot up towards 67 like it was 3 years ago, or even 55.

You must have been having a "good dream" 3 years ago because the baht/pound exchange rate was 52.46 according to the chart found on this forum !

I must admitt that when Heinekr@p first appeared in my local back in UK ( 1964 or thereabouts ) it wasn't a bad drink but then we had no other lagers to compare it with ! Then along came Carling Black Label, Fosters and XXXX etc. Still Heinekr@p came out on top ! Well, comparing it to Fosters etc. I'd rather drink Leo ! Anyway, even Heinekr@p started to go bad and the breweries realised we needed something half decent so - Stella Artois, Becks. Kronanberg (sp) and Carlsberg Export. There were others, just cannot remember the names. For me, bitter and mild started to lose taste. I drank lager for a few years until I realised that nearly every brand tasted the same and it wasn't as good as it used to be ! I still enjoy a "good" pint of lager but my needs went back to what I had been brought up with - Marstons Pedigree . I know there are other good beers around the UK but I came from Burton-on-Trent area and Pedigree was my local drink. I've found it in cans in LOS and if it's poured into a glass and allowed to settle for a few minutes it's nearly as god as I can remember. Unfortunately, it doesn't touch the sides ( a UK saying for drinkers ) so I need a 6 pack to start to enjoy. I know, I digress but the moral to all this is that lager is crap in hot climates and cheap lager is crap anywhere !!

sorry.

Don't be sorry, if it wasn't for the bl**dy tax on beer we'd all be paying 30 baht for a "good" pint !!

For pure flavour I don't think you can go past Heineken. Not that I want to drink it every day, but when the other beers start to taste a bit bland, I have a Heineken to wake up the taste buds. Pity they don't have the Heineken Dark here. Just about any ice-cold beer on a stinking hot day tastes like nectar to me.

Excuse me !! I know my taste buds arn't quite what they used to be but when did Heinecr@p develop a flavour ?

I think you'll find this on the international market but listed under "Toxic Substances" along with "Heinecrap and Singa" !!

On the other hand I would think any beer tastes better than the rubbish you guys drink !!

You could get that 'Spray foam' stuff (750b/m2) which would stop leaks and keep the house cooler but I know some people advise against it.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

DO NOT GET SPRAY FOAM !!

Do not expect spray foam to stop leaks in the roof! If the roof leaks, get it fixed from the outside because rain water will always find a way through spray foam and then you will not be able to find the spot where the rain is entering the roof. This is from experience.

The best way to catch rats in the roof space is by using traps. I couldn't beleive so many rats were getting in as we were catching another rat every week, sometimes 2 per week. I started looking round the house to see how they were getting in. I know rats can climb walls but look for overhanging branches from trees. They climb up the tree, along the branch and just drop onto the roof. Then look for holes in your roof. It's surprising where the rats can find a way in, look for holes or gaps under roof tiles. Get the holes filled up and you should get rid of the problem. Especially check if you have guttering as the rats can run around to another part of the house away from any trees before finding a way in! After you have all the holes filled it might be at least a week before you can be sure all the rats have gone as they in the roof for days.

Yes too much make me want to go every where

But cannot

You are right I don't want to see one place for one day then move. I want to relax so spend less time on the road or train or changing towns

And I don't want to go far or to other side of country to find same things I can find closer to Bristol or London. Maybe I include Oxford to the plan

Oh Monsieur I want to go this year. Next year is too late. I am not patient

I recommend Chapel-en-le-Frith. Nice little town that.

Next year?? Prices will be even more expensive!!

Smokie 36 - I know you mean well but this is just the thing I was telling MsClueless to avoid - a town that can be seen in a few hours!

Don't get me wrong, C en-le-F is a lovely place but unless you want to spend the days walking there is not a lot to do there. The whole of Derbyshire is a great place but you need a car to take you around as each town is too small to spend more than a day in each.

London is the obvious place in the UK to spend a few days, in fact a few weeks and you wouldn't see it all.

I'm not sure about Bristol although if you want to meet up with friends there I suppose it's a must. I must admitt it's a long time since I was in Bristol and I never explored the place.

York is one of my most favourite cities ( I have no connection with York ) The town is small enough to walk around without the need for transport although there are open-top buses. It has one of the finest railway museums in the world with plenty of interest for everyone. York has roots back to the Vikings and the Romans and museums that show this. ( the Jorvik centre is fantastic) There are boat trips on the river and lots of small lanes and passages to explore ( the Shambles ) In all I think you could easily spend 3/4 days there and it's only 1 train ride from London.

While heading north you might as well go on to Edinburgh where again you could explore most of the city on foot. When the "festival" is on you could spend a day or more just watching the artists around town.Another 3/4 days there and don't forget to get a bus to Leith ( sp ) to see the Royal Yaght Brittannia.

So if you are limited to a few towns or don't want to travel too much these are the places I would reccomend.

Of course it's like someone coming to Thailand for the first time and seeing maybe BKK, C Mai and Pattaya. Although it's Thailand, it's far from the "real" Thailand, or maybe not.

I hope you make it and have a good holiday.

Good bread in 7/11?

It's difficult to find good bread In Thailand, but 7/11 has probably the crappiest. Yuck!

You took the words right out of my mouth GS. 7/11 don't sell bread they sell bread shaped cardboard !

BTW if you are in Pattaya they have very good bread down in the basement at Central on Beach Rd. The walnut bread is the best I've found !

MsClueless - I think you have received too much information!

A lot of it has been good tips but some have made it confusing.

To spend 4000/5000 pounds on a trip to the UK you need to take more time with your planning so if you can you should

postpone your trip for at least a year.

Start by getting a map of the UK and highlight the places you would like to visit. Then, using the internet , find out about each place. Make sure you really want to visit any particular town or city. A lot of towns and cities have attractions but not enough to warrant time spent there. Choose the places that you can explore for a few days without having to move on after just a few hours.Once you have marked your map with the places you want to see you can then decide which direction you want to head off in and plan your route and means of transport.

You also need to remember that the weather in the UK can change from 1 day to the next, even 1 hour to the next so you will have to decide when it is best to travel and what clothes to pack.

Don't rush into this and waste a lot of money.

Well! I'm happy to tell MsClueless that I think her/his trip looks quite feasible! Now it needs some careful planning.

I was surprised to see how cheap a rail pass is considering we read nearly everyday that the rail companies are always putting up their fares. If you buy passes make sure you read the small print as for times of travel etc. I noted that the English pass is for use in England only so if you were to cross the border you would have to pay extra. I still think that a lot of the small, out of the way places will not be possible to get to unless a local coach trip can be found but considering the towns I mentioned before - London, York, Edinburgh, Liverpool & Bristol, the OP should find enough to see and do in each place to take up 3 or 4 days in each. The cost of the rail passes can be reduced by making London ( presumeably the arrival will be LHR ) the first or last city on the trip. So maybe a 15 day pass only is needed.

I have also been looking at cheap hotels in all the said cities, mainly this company Premier Inn - Book Cheap Hotels in the UK and Worldwide from 29 pounds Although basic with no meals, it's a big chain and will probably offer better value than searching for a little one off hotel. With London being a little more expensive and Liverpool quite cheap, I think you could easily average 50 GBP per night. Add about 50 GBP per day for food and you should be well inside your budget.

The rest is "up to you" remember Google is your friend.

I think that maybe you're trying to "wind me up" Mr. Tutsi but I'll bite just once more!

It may have been over 50 years ago that we got a box of apples from Wisbech and it's been a good few years since I was out that way but you may like to know they still haven't grubbed out all the fruit trees in the area.

Just take a look at what I found on Google:-

Fruitlink Great new apple from Wisbech | ShapeYourPlace.org Fruits-Apples-fresh produce-Wisbech-5 A Day Fruits

Hundreds flock to Willock Farm for apple day - News - Wisbech Standard

Perhaps those cans of cider were a little too strong for your constitution!

Unfortunately todays apple growers are being forced to grow for the needs of the supermarkets who haven't got a care for the lovers of apples!

Tasteless red and green "balls" that are there only to look good on the s/market shelves!

Many older varieties have been lost along with their taste and texture!

British apples are claimed to have a short "harvest" time so are only seen at their best for a few weeks of the year.

Years ago, this just wasn't true. I remember as a kid, my uncle used to bring us a box of apples from Wisbech in the east of UK. round about October time. Beautiful , crisp, sweet apples although I don't remember the variety. We used to wrap them individually in newspaper and keep them under the bed. We had no central heating in those days so they were kept cool all winter. Even the next spring those apples were just as good to eat as when they were picked.

Todays apples have been bred to look good and keep well but have lost the qualities of taste and texture!

How many of you have to peel off the "plastic" skin before you get to the tasteless flesh? Something you would never have done at one time.

Here endeth the lesson!!

I doubt you will ever make the grade as a travel agent !!

Nor you as a diplomat!

Anyway, why doesn't the OP just tell us how much he wants to spend on this holiday? That way we can tell him what is feasible and what isn't. Would have saved some of us a lot of time on Google etc. from the word "Go."

I think the OP is looking for a less expensive holiday than he is telling us!

He's mentioned less expensive hotels and meals. Some posters have been giving him false information as regards the costs of such like. Hotel deals do come up but are usually for out of the way places that can't sell their rooms at the normal price and are of no benefit to the OP. A hotel near where I used to live was advertising their rooms last summer for less than half their usual price. Why? Well for one thing there was the recession and another the place is out of town. The OP must remember these hotels are not going to be next door to the railway station or even convenient for the bus so without a car he's going to be spending time and money just getting to his accomodation.

As for travelling by rail! Cheap day tickets are available but it is a well known fact that buying rail tickets on the British rail system is like walking into a Cambodian mine field. There are so many companies involved with none of them helping the passenger to get the best fare. This has been well publicised in UK newspapers. One of the "horror" stories published recently was about someone who paid for a cheap ticket from A to C ( sorry,don't remember the actual place names) Anyway as the train stopped at station B which was closer to their home than C they decided to alight at B. They were instantly told they would have to pay the full fare from A to B which was much more than the cheap ticket they had bought from A to C. Sorry to digress!

If this is the case ( expenses ) the OP should choose 4 or 5 towns/cities he'd like to vistit and forget about anything in between. He could spend a week in London without seeing half of it although hotels will be a good bit more expensive.

York and Edinburgh are 2 cities where the railway station is in the centre and both have good hotels nearby. Then Liverpool and Bristol although I don't know if they are so easily accessable by rail. Finally back to London.

The OP won't see as much of the UK but he may be able to do it cheaper.

He could of course spend the whole 3 weeks in Blackpool where he may find a guesthouse for less than 30 quid a day, buy cheap fish & chips and tasteless pizza and spend all of his holiday walking up and down the prom. looking for shelter from the British summer rain!

monsieurhappy's statement re.'the best apples in the world are grown in the UK', is, wrong............

The best apples in the world are grown in NEW ZEALAND !!

As English apples are not normally available in other countries, unless you have been to the UK you cannot justify your statement.

On the other hand, because UK supermarkets buy only the cheapest of products from around the world we are inundated with 2nd. rate apples which are grossly inferior to our own, although I have to admitt that NZ apples come a close second. Then again they would because most of the varities come from English stock as do the population!

The best apples in the world are grown in UK but you'll never find UK apples in Thailand, why?

Golden delicious are grown in UK and they taste much better than the ones from France and are more crispy.

Coxs Orange Pippins are the ones I would like to see here, definitely the "King" of apples.

A reasonable apple that I think comes from NZ and is in shops now is "Jazz"

Good tasting and fairly crisp but has a thickish, plasticy skin.

don't know about that in Thailand...thais usually like their fruit very sweet and I think that pippin apples would be a bit too sour for their taste...but they are quite nice, I haveta agree...for cooking definitely superior; got to have a tartish apple for a nice apple tart...

You obviously have no idea what a Coxs Orange Pippin tastes like!

For cooking, you would use a Bramley.

If you can't afford a new battery, park on a hill. Put car in 2nd. or 3rd. depress clutch and release brake. Once the car is moving fast enough turn on ignition and take foot off clutch!

The best apples in the world are grown in UK but you'll never find UK apples in Thailand, why?

Golden delicious are grown in UK and they taste much better than the ones from France and are more crispy.

Coxs Orange Pippins are the ones I would like to see here, definitely the "King" of apples.

A reasonable apple that I think comes from NZ and is in shops now is "Jazz"

Good tasting and fairly crisp but has a thickish, plasticy skin.