game4shame

minivan/bus.

ask any travel agent. it's cheap as chips (approx 500-700THB inclusive iirc) and includes boat and usually includes transfer from hotel.

let's be honest - who gives a <deleted>? samui is dead, and bangkok airways has alot to do with it.

..............

bkk air want (iirc) 3380THB one way for the very cheapest fare and up to 5000THB+.....

and the locals and expats wonder why the place is so dead......

you certainly have no idea about Koh Samui at all. Hotels 3*+ are overbooked. Samui is in relation amount of hotels/tourists the best booked place in the country.

this is not the jokes forum.

I was going to suggest a hotel until I read that you would prefer to avoid patong.

in that case, try www.ratestogo.com. excellent for last minute bookings.

No mention of bus transfer but assume it is included.

Currently running a special promotion price of 990 baht each way.

GREAT VALUE .

price sounds good but it's just too much f**king about if you ask me - transfers, boats, backpackers . the real problem is the direct flight costs BKK-USM and these 'deals' are just papering over the cracks.

plus there's a few un-answered questions re the nok deal:

are transfers included - airport to hotel and vise versa? (I'd be surprised)

will flights be held if the boat/bus is delayed? (probably not)

will nok air provide accommodation if you miss the flight? (definitely not)

are you provided with gas masks and earplugs to avoid smelling/listening to the backpacker passengers? (I can only dream)

I've holidayed in samui since 2003 and just this month chose for the first time to return to krung thep via URT instead of USM (as I refuse to pay bangkok air prices to/from samui anymore).

I definitely saved money but it's the hassle of: transfers from hotel to nathon, then another bus on to the ferry, then back on the bus to surat, then (in my case) a night in surat thani (as I was getting the early airasia flight), then an early alarm, then a taxi to URT, then sitting waiting in a miserable military airport.

I would do it again purely to avoid giving bkk air any of my custom on the USM route. I happily fly bkk air BKK-HKT or BKK-CNX and vice versa but I just do not accept their ridiculous USM fares.

I am still undecided if I will return to samui as it's just too much hassle getting there, when I can have the choice of 5 competitively priced airlines flying BKK-HKT which also opens up other doors to the beautiful andaman coast - krabi, phi phi, similan etc.

I really fear for the once great koh samui.

Miserable Surathani airport, smelly backpackers, "just too much f**king about if you ask me", remboursement for delay, Hong Kong, etc etc:

You should only travel in first class, linousine service and 5 stars hotel. Sorry to upset you with our cheaper useful flights...

I'm not having a go at anyone on this thread - my point is that I don't like the fact that greedy bkk air force us to go to these lengths to get to samui when there's a perfectly good airport on the island. bkk air keep pumping up their USM prices when farang currency is struggling against the baht.

it's not good for anyone on samui other than bkk air. the bars are empty, the hotels are empty, the clubs are empty, the place is dead.

PS I dunno what you're on about re hong kong.

No mention of bus transfer but assume it is included.

Currently running a special promotion price of 990 baht each way.

GREAT VALUE .

price sounds good but it's just too much f**king about if you ask me - transfers, boats, backpackers . the real problem is the direct flight costs BKK-USM and these 'deals' are just papering over the cracks.

plus there's a few un-answered questions re the nok deal:

are transfers included - airport to hotel and vise versa? (I'd be surprised)

will flights be held if the boat/bus is delayed? (probably not)

will nok air provide accommodation if you miss the flight? (definitely not)

are you provided with gas masks and earplugs to avoid smelling/listening to the backpacker passengers? (I can only dream)

I've holidayed in samui since 2003 and just this month chose for the first time to return to krung thep via URT instead of USM (as I refuse to pay bangkok air prices to/from samui anymore).

I definitely saved money but it's the hassle of: transfers from hotel to nathon, then another bus on to the ferry, then back on the bus to surat, then (in my case) a night in surat thani (as I was getting the early airasia flight), then an early alarm, then a taxi to URT, then sitting waiting in a miserable military airport.

I would do it again purely to avoid giving bkk air any of my custom on the USM route. I happily fly bkk air BKK-HKT or BKK-CNX and vice versa but I just do not accept their ridiculous USM fares.

I am still undecided if I will return to samui as it's just too much hassle getting there, when I can have the choice of 5 competitively priced airlines flying BKK-HKT which also opens up other doors to the beautiful andaman coast - krabi, phi phi, similan etc.

I really fear for the once great koh samui.

I believe that Leo is Singha's cheapskate brand, for people that can't afford to drink

SC

oh, that is class! you've been in thailand too long before you're judging social class by beer choice.

I would happily pay more for a leo than a singha.

I was 450 to patong at the end of last month with meter taxi. kata's a good bit further so I'd say about 600 would be fair.

scandos usually have awful dress sense.

Just change the bar you drink in! Not like there aren't choices out there.

my point is that so many of the bars play the same 5hite - so even if I changed bars it's likely that my ears will still be poisoned at the next establishment.

I forgot to mention ANYTHING by james blunt.

is it mandatory to play the same pish songs in the bars every night? of all the songs the world has ever produced why is it always the same 5hite playing.

eg

Kesha - Tik Tok

''Don’t stop, make it pop

DJ, blow my speakers up

Tonight, I’mma fight

‘Til we see the sunlight

Tick tock, on the clock

But the party don’t stop no

Woah-oh oh oh

Woah-oh oh oh''

Taio Cruz - Break your Heart

''I'm only gonna break break ya break break ya heart

I'm only gonna break break ya break break ya heart''

Justin Bieber - Baby

''And I was like

Baby, baby, baby ohhh

Like baby, baby, baby noo

Like baby, baby, baby ohh

I thought youd always be mine mine''

Anymore that grind you down whilst you're trying to enjoy a drink?

aussies are generally easy to spot - billabong shorts, vest and cap....and usually remain within a 5 kilometre radius of bangla road.

yanks are easy too - usually like to be heard, but few want to listen.

europeans are easy to spot but hard to pin-point exact country.

tbh, you can usually tell where someone comes from by things like clothes or the area they holiday in.

A seriously large English Breakfast

agreed.

but it would have to be an english breakfast - not that ABF 5hite (7/11 sausages, ham, salad...I mean...who the <deleted> adds salad to a cooked breakfast??).

yip, the full english would go down a treat - big cumberland sausages, bacon, fried eggs, beans, fried mushrooms, fried tomato, fried bread etc. so unhealthy but so good at the same time.

it's hardly surprising that samui has power cut problems.

eg I remember sitting upstairs in pizza hut in chaweng and looking out at the adjacent electricity cables running along the beach road - a total mess is an understatement. a very dangerous total mess at that.

let's be honest - who gives a <deleted>? samui is dead, and bangkok airways has alot to do with it.

bangkok airways wants to shaft everyone left, right and centre to the point where people are going to all lengths to save money getting to samui. but there comes a time when enough is enough. if cheaper direct flights are not in the pipeline then I really fear for the sustainability of koh samui.

<deleted> 'em I say - I was a returning visitor to samui for many years but with alternatives like phuket easily accesible at a fraction of the price, I cannot be ar5ed pricking about with samui anymore.

bkk air want (iirc) 3380THB one way for the very cheapest fare and up to 5000THB+.....

and the locals and expats wonder why the place is so dead......

I can't think of anything more awful than going to "The most hottest and hip place" on Samui. Full of posers saying look at me. I'm hot and I'm hip.

agreed.

ark bar in chaweng is a prime example. promotes itself as a 'cool' beach hangout bar but in reality it's just a pile of wank full of backpackers drinking buckets whilst jumping around with their tops off.

lamai's swing bar is even worse - it's aiming for the same theme but it's never busy as lamai's ST's and sexpats are are only interested in cheap slags, not supposedly 'cool' bars.

I discussed this with a friend just the other day. apparently, it's a combination of ridiculously high import costs and a thai brew monopoly.

personally, my beer of choice in thailand is leo but even it's hard to find in bars as it's got a reputation as a cheapskate beer and the big boys (singha/chang) want the fame to theirselves.

leo is the best beer by a mile IMO - light and crisp whereas singha leaves me bloated, chang is full of <deleted>, san mig leaves a minging lime aftertaste and tiger made me spew my ringer once.

heineken is a readily available farang beer but I believe they have a local brewery so avoid the import costs.

it does get a bit draining when I go into a bar and ask for a leo, then when I get the 'no have', it's the usual <deleted> that's offered - singha, chang, tiger, san mig & heineken. yawn.

Thanks for all the replys.

I finally booked. Before I booked, I opened about 10 windows and searched for the same hotel, same room, and same dates as I wanted. I search all the other websites recommeneded on here.

Here are some of the results:

Agoda $435.06 AUD

Hotel Travel $424.92 AUD

Direct Rooms $396.00 AUD

Hotel Bookings $416.50 AUD

Hotel 2 Thailand $427.00 AUD

There was alomst a $40 difference, with Agoda being the most expensive. As we all are aware, different websites come in cheaper sometimes, so, I guess with the times and hotel I wanted, Direct Rooms had the best deal - so I used it.

PattayaParent

Checked DirectRooms for a 2 days stay at my favourite hotel in Bangkok and they were 56% more expensive than the real rate.

^ the lib dems have made up some ground on the opinion polls so it's level pegging atm, but I reckon labour will hang onto power. the same rumours were flying around last time (re the tories) and labour still came out on top. as my dad once said - labour are f*cking useless, but the tories are worse.

anyway, back on the topic of sterling trends: I am by no means an expert but I imagined that the political instability in thailand is WAY worse than UK so if the pound does weaken then I'd expect the THB would too?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8621407.stm

all scottish airports were closed from early this morning.

closed until at least 18.00 BST I believe.

bankgog airways? a new airline perhaps? oh, bangkok airways......silly me.

well, bangkok airways is (IMO) the best domestic carrier by a country mile - nice aircraft, nice lounges (available for all passengers), minimal disruptions etc etc......nice FA's too if you're lucky. basically, they're just better than the rest.

their samui prices are controversial but they occasionally do a good price to other destinations.

as the OP is comparing flights to CM I would 100% choose bangkok airways if the prices are similar.

yes, airasia can come up with total bargains but sometimes - as in the OP's case - the difference is not worth writing home about. also, airasia is a no thrills budget airline - no lounges or free snacks or any of the bangkok airways perks.

One of the main reasons i choose Air Asia over Bangkok Air is that Air Asia flies out of Swampy and that is closer to where i am based in BKK . Don Muang is further to travel.

errrrrrrm, ok. possibly the aforementioned 'bankgog airways' fly from DM but 'bangkok airways' fly from soo-wanna-poom.

i am english what does Irony mean

it means to smooth with an instrument of iron.

:D

seems like there's more scots on this forum than I expected....and they're coming out of the woodwork on this thread!!

I must admit the food I miss most when in thailand is cheese....I mean, readily available decent cheese.

there's plenty of that plastic crap but not the real stuff.

yes - buy a thai SIM. as mentioned previously, they can be as little as 50THB. you'll save a fortune on international calling (use the prefixes mentioned - 008, 009 etc) and have the advantage of a local contact number.

I use a DTAC happy SIM and have done for the past 4 years - I can't remember exact cost but I think it was approx 300THB.

I'm only in thailand for 2 months a year but because DTAC happy have good extensions on the SIM expiry date I've never needed to change my number.

if you want to keep the same number for a long period of time then choose your SIM wisely - some SIM's will expire quicker than others.

i am english what does Irony mean

it means to smooth with an instrument of iron.

The Bossy Bar is the new Boss Bar. They moved from one place to the other. So Bossy is the club. You was at the right one. But you also can go to Spicy Ruan Muang behind the MBK Shopping Center and also the Climax at Soi 11. All open until 6am and 10am.

anyone who parties till 10 am needs a head examination. I got brought to all 3 places before, it pissed me right off.

agreed - as soon as there's even a hint of sunlight...I'm going home!!!

and it's got nothing to do with not hacking the pace etc......I just don't like feeling like a tramp, hanging around in the daylight whilst off my trolley.