asanee

This SR is only there since a few weeks. There is also an outlet now at Phyathai ARL-link to BTS. Both do NOT sell foreign money, only change into THB, min. amount 1000 THB.

If you live in BKk anyway and are near to SR/near BigC and have a large amount, its OK.

However, as regular visitor to MY ive found that IN town moneychangers tend to give slightly better rates as SR does. f.e. lowest floor (near old carrefour, now JusCO) in MidValley mall or several outlets hidden in the backyards of the sentral train stesyen. As always, there is no decent rate at airport/new KLIA2. But you can pay for the fasttrain into sentral with card-not the much cheaper bus (35 vs 10 MR).

there should be an organised van-on demand, at least into Sukhothai-new city, but that is stil some 15-20 kms away from old town. This area is about dead after dusk.

Nearby Phi-loke now seems to have taximeters (quote in BKKpost some weeks ago), but I really do not know about availability nore situation in Sukh.

compare this price (no doubt you still call it cheap) with the price in BKk for same distance: 15 kms (seems highly unlikely to me compared to 30) in BKk should cost about 100-110 bt= less as 4 US$. I do not know-but you did not say either, if there would be any payable tolls there in VN.

From my last visit to HCMC I recall that I found taxi's there outrageously priced-nearly triple the BKk rate. As in general wages in VN are a lot lower as in TH, this looks like tourist-ripoff-pricing, thus with enough margin to discounting.

and for the (unlikely?) case you might have time enough and gusto for buses:

ask if they are willing to stop @DonMuang-use free shuttle from there. Tell them nicely you fly out from there.

If not-get off at Future rangsit and use citybus 554 or 555-but that will take some 90 mins (both also pass DMK). But further ride to Moch+transfer+taxi will also take 75-80 mins at least.

Other as so many here say, Mochit2 has NO direct bus to Swampy, but there is a van that may drop you of at main Lard Krabang rd some 2 kms (and an expensive ride via airport compound) away.

nothing new here-or you have not been at DMK since it reopened-this/these lanes have always been there.

do not expect much use from this site. use a forum that properly adresses such issues-there may even be already some threads with amounts, on sites like flyertalk.com

its for a taxi more the sixe of each as the weight. IF you ever have used BKk taximeters, you must have noted most of the backtrunk is taken by the gas cilinders.

Thai can easily get with 6-7 in a taxi, assuming you have double weight/size, 3 could also squeeze-1 in front-2+1 trunk backseats, 2 trunks, hopefully, in the back.

vans or other bigger thingies do have to be ordered advacne.

the best to do-as nearly always-is to do proper homework. Older guidebooks have nice descriptions

Another not that minor disadvantage of kl SnSaep is that you only see backsides of houses/buildings, IF you can see anything at all, as big tarpauklins are hauled up-for that stinky dirty water, and not much klong life. BTW this route runs from below Golden Mount=PhanFa/Wat Sraket -change near BigC Rajprasong toward Bangkapi-the Mall.

There used to be regular cheap klongboats along nearly all klongs west of the Chao praya into the Thonburi side-bar 1-2 in peak hours these have all been stopped-and the few that still run do explicitly not want tourists-there must have been some nasty incident some time ago, i assume.

The Central Pier is only called such as its at the BTS (as long as it lasts), but its not central at all for klong trips. For that the pier near the BMA Tourist info, Pinklao Brdige, close by Sanam Luang is best, Tha Chang could be Ok but is thoroughly spoilt tourist inflated now.

THINK before you let others do the work for you.

There are no Bali-specific visa, only for the whole of Indonesia.

Visa always, always vary with YOUR unstated nationality.

Visa for Indonesia longer as the standard paid entry 1 permit for 30 days ar never ever done at airports.

Me, me, me!!

Of course no consideration for the shop-owners, who pay rent, and which shop entrances they are blocking!!

Well done to the government to return the sidewalks to the pedestrians!!

nonsense from an ill-informed poster

1.those shops will also get their share of the ''rent'' by those occupying the sidewalk. besides-the large part of this market is at night-when the normal (mostly car/motocy parts) are closed anyway

2.its not the govmt (with the army) at all, its the BMA, acting with its Tessakit, which also has cleared some other streets/sidewalks and is planning to do more-like lower Sukhumvit-then read the outcry of all the know nothing but know everything regular screamers here

And for all the infuriating posters here, so afraid about their foreignership: its CHINESE vendors, from HKG and mainland China, including 1000s oif illegals, who are the culprit. But of course better to shout first without knowing much.

1.your prime Qs are answered in guidebooks.

2.there are No trains nor station at Sukh-(see1), so its bus anyway for last part from Phitsanuloke, or hirecar

3.even trains-but not all, have AC, extra fee payable, to get them out of heat

4.to circumvent all that and to give service to the many who also do not [1], there are tourist minivans (maybe only in hi season) between the 2-they will offer (bar a hirecar) the fastest connection, followed by the proud of Thailands roads: the VIP class 1 intercity coach

5.no, there is nothing really of interest for normal tourists on the rail between the 2, maybe except Lopburi, which is famous for rambling monkeys and thus not very visitor friendly Lopb other sites are quite far out of town and seasonal-the lake and the sunflower fields

6.alternative for those who value assumed noproblems more as money, is to fly on BKKair-but alas for this, they still use BKK=Swampy and not easier DMK. But hey-think roundabout-do it reverse then and get off at Ayut.

7.double think again: why go to see 2 towns which fame consist only of old but renovated= make look like new ruins?

define what nation-you are even unable to know that this is quite different for JPNese, Koreans, OZzies, whatever. never untill now discovered that british taste might be, uhn, a tad different from German?

and again more errors and noone with the right complete answer

BKK's citybuses are divided up between BMTA/Govmt and rot ruam=private join.

For some years now about half of the red BMTA non-airbuses are free-for anyone, as there is simply no check

On the others-red normal and orange AC mostly, there are discounts for THAI (or to be very precise those with a Thai ID) of over 60

IF you use THESE AC buses often, buy a sabtaa 7 day pass for 200 THB.

There are no discounts on rot ruam, except on some for students in uniform.

The BRT busline is now 5 bt/single and should be free for seniors 60>-it depends on the knowledge of the attendant to honor that or not for those holding non Thai ID

On BTS and ARL there are stored value discount cards for sneiors (and several other categories)-only on production of THAI ID. No discount at all on single fares.

On MRT go to window, show passpt or whatever with birthdate >60 yrs ago and get 50% discount--anytime.

SRT LOCAL trains are free in 3d cl, but only on official showing Thai ID, in practice for anyone looking ASEAN and able to pronounce Krung Thep.

The 2 free travel schemes are extended every 3/4 month or so and always threatened with withdrawal or adjustment.

the real cheapo do not go on www-its just walk in, as it ever always have been. Some have different rates for if they know you or not, or more likely for longer stays vs short, but in that real cheap sector (usually much dispised by TV-posters, so this is really not the best forum to ask for plus that newbees tend to be so overanxious or ignorant, they do not even consider the possibility of non-reservation) its the same price all year, low too. In fact even now still a lot lower as what on www hoStels ask for-just check the usual sites like hostelworld etc-daft easy to check prices that way for assumed low/hi-season too. The major hickup in busy times will be that the more populair ones are full, but the nr of accomm has mushroomed so much you always find something in the end.

there is a kind of minibus-shared, that waits at airport to pick up deplaning pax and sets them down to the best route (chosen by driver) and this service is thus also available for to go TO airport, but-just use brains tot hink- on prereservatiuon, which any HTL should know about, but allow plenty of time

In general tukx2 in UT a charge outrageous to farang-due to the many before you thinking it was cheap already. But if you cannot even fathom by yourself how to bargain them down, i think you are a hopeless case.

there is NO direct bus, (citybus) nor has there ever been.

BY default you could go to Mochit BUS=2 via a BKS bus dropping off pax at Swampy BUS-but thats always unsure.

Use brains: in general Mochit BUS is also dead @ nite and not that safe-better tell either where to go to finally-there may even be other links, or wait @ airport till morning.

there IS even a direct bus, run by the Royal Thai Airforce, recently changed to AC, but its all in Thai-also the numbers and not that frequent. But contrary to what it appears anyone can use it. In fact it circles DMK all around, starting from Sapan Mai makret, both ways, ends around 18.00

Its nonsense to have taxi waiting for you. The usual overcautious fear any possible fear farang thinking-but then TripAdvisor is likely the very worst in that, and that cassnu the very of all. Tn have at least name in Thai to show, boleslav. WHY do you ask this at any forum on TH?

part of above is not right-some routes actually do not run anymore and it mixes route via Sapan Mai (VERY slow!) with the faster ones along DMK/Vipavadee.

AND: when do you farang finally understand that this is done in seconds at the stop-the right one(which will also not appear on all those www) instead of half hours via this www? AND to state more exact if you can stand the openair bus, the vans etc-you TVusers always respond after so much trouble with: I take the taxi.

Fastest is the van-they run ev 3/5 mins-ev 2/3 peaks, and are labelled TOLLway-as thats what they will use. 30 bt-pay when asked.

For the big buses; Learn Thai-as many do NOT go that far-they have shields telling that. Mostly its the 29 and the 510 (AC only), in mornings some 29 run via expressway and NOT via Mochit-direct Vict.Monum.

523 has effectively stoped running since some 2 yrs. 522 is very frequent, and does NOT serve Mochit-it goes slow via Sapan Mai-then Kasert , Mall Ngam-then Exprway to Vict.Monum.

OMG-yet another of those unplanned khuru phaasaa angkrit. You have your own forum: ajarn.

I DK this district, so I guess its out of Pak Kred proper (thats what the Thai says) and too lazy to search for you.

To go to PKred proper: BTS to Vict.Mon, then-take time 1st time-you wont find it easy, as its on another of the 4 sectors of Vict.Mon: Expresswaybus 166 (mostly cream/blue, also some older free!!! red ones, BUT ASK: some do NOT go into PK, but to that new govt. centre), very frequent, often bumped, out of town not that many jams mornings. Then probably best to taxi/motosai first time and ask at school for any van/songhthaew or maybe the KST bus. 1st time count on at least 90/100 mins total.

Altern: BTS to MOchit=end, then VAN-learn to read Thai to find it-teachers can laern quickly, nah?

slower, much cheaper altern: Phetkasem, west of WWY-minibus 42- after corner Ta Phra change into 108-to Nonthburi, change after bridge into 32/505, both end PKred

ignore above, Mochit does not serve HHIn,as its south.

Always use brains a little more and tell any likes/dislikes-as most TV-users seem to thrive on specific ones.

Forget train, unless you also want to visit BKK's station for a few hrs-due to timings-you wont reach Hhin untill around 18.00

Quickest+cheapest-with some smartness, knowledge of Thai: MINIvan from main rd to Vict.Monu-via tollway, then a ditto van to HHIn, from hospital compound.

Alt. for the sureproof fulloffears people: taximeter to SaiTHai, then the big bus, but I noted last visit there that even these do not run hourly anymore-the vans have taken over.

For the detouring: free bus to BKK/Swampy (arr. at DMK also allows you in)< then the BELL tourist direct bus-hourly-more or less.

self-serve wash machines are not rare at all-about any, even the cheapest aprmts have them-but for communal use-mostly at 20/30 bt/turn-cold (or rather unheated) water as is the norm in Asia. Tipically near upmarket condo bldgs will be numerous do the wash+iron for you places-prices in line with rent. You farang cannot think out of your own box.

Its NOT a park as such-its simply an area in the BMA, but OUT of BKK proper (its Samut Prakarn) and the nearest larger is Prapradaeng (not as Oliver tells). There is also some eco-lodge there and a weekend-nite market with fireflies. Its not that much different from many other rural areas but just ahppens to be closest to centretown.

Take BTS till Wongwien Yai and catch bus 82 till far end-a major ferry+bus area, and either walk, taxi (but you then have to pronounce where you go) or dilapidated old bus 1010 from there.

Or expresswaybus 141 from along Ram IV (circles around Chula-MBK)and just after exit ex-way change into 82.

Highkly doubt TR will fly direct ex DMK-its a SINgapore based airline, with a large portion held by SQ. And till now TR only flies still ex BKK/Swampy to SIN.+more from there.

TR have flown: its just one of many all the same lowcostcarriers ala AirAsia- in SIN very long rows for manual checkin and slow too.

Maybe you confuse with the new planned routes of NokScoot? (another of SIN's LCC's-but moved to DMK as its teams with NOK now)

Diddy is wrong-its not a universal reqrmt. Note that LIONair is INDOnesian and THERE it DOES make sense-access to the terminals is often only via security who will want to check you are genuine passenger-even before you will be able to checkin. I assume its siply copied from their main website from there. What people had with other airlines hardly matters for this.

I have not flown ThaiLion (yet) but will do next week-and have a printout ready.

At least its nice to see that people already may realise that the need for having ''tickets'' has run out since e-tickets became the norm.

seems like you do mean cool as cold-and not some modern hype lingo. Then I have bad news: in that time of year its just as hot-if not even more oppressive, as here in TH.-along the coast. Just get yourself a guidebook-older ones will also do, along the coast beyond Ha Long bay is nothing really of interest for tourists and hard going, also beacuse there is no borderpost to China over there and thus no demand.

For cooler climes you have to go inland and up the hills-but exactly in that time of year is also no garantee-and it may also suffer from the ChiangMai style mountainfires. I cannot find any part of Vnam relaxed-mainly due to the incessant style of dealing of the VNese. Maybe change plans and swap for Yunnan-China-but of coruse no sea there, just a few small lakes. Eternal spring climate.