dddave

There are a couple of shops selling transformers of all sizes directly under the Phra Khanong BTS station...inbound side. There is a diagonal soi running from there to Rama 4 and the shops are on it.

Just in case you were also asking about a direct bus to Vientiane from Udon...You have to have a Lao Visa in advance to take the direct bus. If you do not have an advance Lao visa, you will have to Exit Thailand on the Thai side, take the B20 shuttle bus across to the Lao side and enter there. $35 or B1500 so better to have US$$. There will be many taxis and cars available as soon as you exit the Immigration area. I suggest always checking the vehicle the driver is offering. If you want a car, make sure he isn't driving a Tuk-Tuk. Some drivers also will not make clear they have a van and intend to wait until it is full before departing. Usually B200-300

Also, just to clarify, if you are out of the country, there is no 90 day report requirement. When you re-enter Thailand, your 90 day clock starts anew from that date,

BTW, just a suggestion. Calculate what your 90 day date should be before passing immigration and check the stamp you receive before leaving...I have found that they sometimes make date errors which can cause difficulties later....best resolved then and there.

Thailand has been having a problem with Vietnamese criminal gangs, especially pick-pocketing teams who work major events and tourist areas in Bangkok.

It can be safely assumed that Vietnamese entering from Cambodia at a land crossing such as Aranyaphratet also crossed and entered Cambodia from Vietnam by land.

This is the cheapest though most time consuming route from Vietnam into Thailand so it is not unreasonable for the Thais to suspect that some of those travelers might not have sufficient funds for a "holiday" and could possibly be planning to either work illegally or participate in illegal activity.

I say the Thai Immigration officers were properly doing their job.

There are some less expensive rooms down the far ends of both Suk. sois 22 & 24. You might also be able to negotiate a rate near your budget at the Premier Inn on Soi 20.

There are budget rooms also 50 meters past the Thong Lo BTS station on the even side of Sukhumvit.

On Nana/Soi 4 a friend rents a room at the Omni short term for B16,000. Nana Condo may be similar. On the small Soi opposite the 7-11 (Tavern Bar on corner) there are several small hotels where monthly rates can be negotiated.

I suggest you book an inexpensive hotel in the area for your first few days and do some legwork. Most cheap apartments will have a phone number prominently displayed.

Three month leases or rentals are available during low season but expect to pay most of it up front.

For the commenter that said LAX Is bad, you might want to fly there now, new international is modern, star alliance lounge has showers, shops have high end brands. I wish all US gateway airport terminals follow LAX' example.

555555!!! Three months ago, it took me four and a half hours to clear Customs & Immigration at the new LAX-Delta terminal. Two hours after deplaning, we were still being held in the hallway preceding Immigration. After finally clearing Immigration took an additional one and a half hours to clear customs.

The facility may be new but the CBP staff are the same plodding functionaries.

So far, all the Bangkok Bank ATM's I've used have still been B150. Last transaction two or three days ago.

I always buy my tickets online (usually UK sites) and I always use my UK credit card and I always get e-tickets. No one has ever asked to see my card but of course the name on the card used has always been my name anyway. Maybe they are aware of this at the airport and so see no need to check.

I've noticed that some ticketing sites have an option for specifying that the card holder will not be travelling.

When you are traveling on your own credit card, there is no issue. The OP was was describing a situation when a traveller is flying on another persons credit card and that person is not present at check-in.

I fly as an air courier with my tickets always purchased by a 3rd party online. More often than not I will be asked for a back-up credit card at check in with enough credit to cover the flight cost. Cash is also acceptable. I should point out, with some airlines, this occurs only when the ticket was purchased within 72 hours of departure but some go outside of that time frame.

You can however go to an official ticket office of the airline involved in the UK and show them the credit card used along with her itinerary and your personal identification. They can then fax a copy of the card and a release form to Bangkok and she will be all set.

The fly in the ointment is on several occasions, when this has been done more than a few days in advance, the copy can not be found in Bangkok and they will steadfastly deny having received it. It is imperative you do this as close to her departure date as you can to minimize the chance of loss but more importantly, get the name of the person you deal with in the UK so when they start denying in BKK, you have a name to give them and the phone extension as well.

Usually, after ten or fifteen minutes more, the check-in agent will get a call and everything will suddenly be OK

Tell her don't wait for somebody to come out and apologize for not noting the release on her booking or for the inconvenience just caused her....they don't like people who point out their errors..

Since I despise walking around in the afternoon heat, bags in hand, seeking a room, I always book at least the first night in a new destination. If it' low season I can try for a better rate on subsequent nights and if that is not successful, get back online and book the rest of the nights I need.

Of course the danger is that there will be no more online rooms available but in low season you are generally safe. Also, on some islands, even getting online can still be difficult

SIDEGRA is a Thailand manufactured Viagra copy (Sildinifil Citrate) now available in most local pharmacys for less than B200 for a pack of 4. Even my very straight local pharmacy in Phra Khanong sells it OTC for B160. Available in 50 & 100 mg strengths.

I'm 70 and without it, it just isn't going to happen. It's not a medical condition, the body simply stops producing whatever it is that causes the blood to do it's job.

These very helpful blue pills undoubtedly prevent a far worse condition: siting in front of the TV all night watching the trash on True.

TG was rather generous in regard to the Sheraton. It is the most expensive of the 3 at the airport. I was just at the Hilton Garden next to the Hilton. 89 euro for a decent room and a peaceful view over the forest. It was as good as the BKK Novotel which costs more. this is the benefit of flying TG. Had it been a LCC , everyone would have been on their own.

FRA is an expensive airport to layover in, but oh how I love it. It's a wonderful airport. Clean and organized and friendly customs/immigration. No forms to fill and off you go. Took me 3 minutes to clear immigration. Hello- how long will you stay, well ok , have a nice stay all with a smile and I don't have an EU passport. For all the bad stick Germany gets, they have polite immigration and customs people. BKK could learn from that. If one was to be stranded, I suppose there are worst places to be than clean and safe FRA. At least they clean the lavs in FRA and it doesn't stink of piss like at LAX or CDG. I shudder what would have happened if my flight from FCO Rome would have caused a delay. Another dirty nasty airport.

One of the few airports where I want to have an extended layover.

The Lufthansa Star Alliance lounge there is one of the best. First class private shower rooms, fully supplied with soaps, lotions and shaving gear, a dorm style room where you can nap on a real bed, very comfortable lounge area with a wide variety of seating choices and an endless supply of very decent food and beverages; including great sausages

Beware of "Cialis" or the generic "Apcalis" sold on the streets of Bangkok or any of the local pharmacys. Genuine CIALIS is made with Tadalafil as the primary active ingredient,

Viagra and it's clones contain Sildenifil Citrate as the active ingredient.

Most of the "Cialis" and Apcalis sold at anywhere but the reputable chain pharmacy's such as BOOTS actually contain Sildenifil Citrate...same as the Viagra clones, just molded and colored to look like genuine Cialis.

I thought the UA premium economy product was the absolute worst of the various airlines now offering it. They merely took the first ten or so aisles in coach, marginally increased pitch and seatwidth but not so you'd really notice, served the same substandard food in minuscule portions and were no more attentive to premium passenger needs than any other,

About the only benefit is boarding before the rest of economy.

Not worth the additional fare nor air miles unless they are about to expire anyway.

Never get an upgrade. Flights nearly always full, no empty premium or business class seats available....or so they tell me.

As somebody else suggested: You Tube has dozens of tutorials for the Note-3. Some of them are total trash but those will become obvious quickly...just cut the poor ones off'

The good ones really do help...make liberal use of the pause and back buttons and you will learn a lot in an afternoon.

I've had TRUE VISIONS "GOLD" for the last five years but I'm done. Each year seems to bring diminishing content. What was included last year: "GAME of THRONES", "JUSTIFIED" and more now has been moved to "Premium Content" or Platinum.

I've found myself staring blankly at brain deadening offerings like "Pawn Stars" and "Storage Wars". Even found myself watching "Duck Die Nasty" one sad day,

Several days can now pass by without even turning the TV on, except to watch things I've downloaded off the 'net.

Sure as hell not worth B1800/Mo.

I'm sure they'll miss me.

I've flown Delta, BKK-LAX coach about 6 times in the last year...dread it every time., though they did improve to the point where they are a touch better than United.

Check in is always very slow...very strict security, many questions, extremely slow baggage inspection.

The flights always seem full...FA's really busy and not attentive...very understaffed compared to CX, EVA, Korean or Asianna and with a Wallmart attitude.

Food service is slow. You will be charged $7 for anything alcoholic besides beer and wine. You will also be charged for "Premium Content" on IFE

Leg room and seat width is slightly better that UA...but not saying much.

C&I at the Delta Terminal at LAX can be a breeze....or an absolute catastrophe. I've been through in as little as 20 minutes but 3 months ago it took 4 1/2 hours...after the first 2 hours, we were still in the hallway before Immigration....I missed a connecting flight in which I had built in 4 hours between flights. CBP could not have cared less and went about things as though there was no line at all...Ho-Hum.

If it were up to me, I'd never fly them again...but it's not me who's paying.

At least the Thai woman will have the opportunity to write an interesting article comparing her prison experiences in Thailand Vs. Argentina.

Can somebody post a "Changing DNS Servers for technologically challenged individuals (dummies) " tutorial. I haven't a clue.

There's a free utiility called Dns Jumper v1.0.6 which is perfect for 'dummies'. It makes it very easy to change or flush your DNS server as the traditional way to change DNS in Windows is a bit challenging for 'technologically challenged individuals'. It's a portable app so you can put it on a USB memory stick to change the DNS server on other computers without installing.

Thanks...that sounds like it's something even I can do. Uhh..what's a memory stick?? (Just kidding)

Initiate a dialog with the seller. Ask him (or her) to send a photo of himself with the item and with a very recent newspaper headline in view that is readable so you can be absolutely sure it is current.

I used to do this when buying collectible cameras from unrated sellers. This at least confirms that they have the goods they are advertising.

Air France/KLM can be variable to put it gently...certainly not the flag bearers of understated elegance they once were. I have had nice flights (BKK-CDG) and some not so nice; KLM: BKK-AMS, really disappointing.

Can somebody post a "Changing DNS Servers for technologically challenged individuals (dummies) " tutorial. I haven't a clue.

I have a Windows 8 non-touch screen laptop using "Classic Shell" to give me a Win-7 environment.

If I download the latest Windows 8.1.1 update will I loose Classic Shell and have to re-install it?