build6

if you're not looking for "tourism" then Singapore looks even better for you.

"I just want to work" makes it sound like SG is a better option, honestly.

Infrastructure/services are better overall, government interaction is pretty smooth/fast.

Thailand IS nicer to be in than Singapore, but efficiency-wise... if you're gonna be doing a lot of flying, if the additional in-air hours to Singapore aren't an issue then you'll find your life much easier operating out of the Singapore airport than either of Bangkok's. I've never had much of a queue at immigration to enter Singapore; Thailand in contrast... if you have to do a lot of flying around the region I think it will wear you down.

Except if your trips take you further south to Indonesia or Australia, operating out of BKK will involve less in-air flight time, but I think this is outweighed by the overcapacity issues. Just thinking of some of my experiences of the waiting and crowds at Suvarnabhumi makes me blanch.

have you considered Singapore? costs are higher but their rules/regulations are more straightforward, govt services are pretty quick and potentially your frustration level will be lower.

The singapore airlines fleet of 5 A340 are still in service plying the ultra long haul routes. I beleave this is the only airline still doing so??

scheduled for retirement very soon. I was asked if I wanted to fly on the last flight, still thinking about it...

I actually didn't mind the ultra long flights, and it was fun to have the captain tell you "we're now overflying the north pole"

Book value matters. If they sell it for market price they must recognise a loss and this will have ramifications for their stock price as well as potentially issues with their bank loans. Their directors are probably fully aware that they're not going to have much luck finding a higher sale price but it could still make sense to just let it sit on their books than to take the loss now (since their other operations aren't going that well). $23m is a small sum that doesn't make that much of a difference to them - and if you're at the stage where $23m does make a big difference, you're in so much trouble it's not going to be enough to save you anyway.

ran into roadblocks on 4 and 419 earlier today (I went far west thinking I'd avoid the 41 blockage...). getting a bit difficult to move around in the south.

Anyone?

News reports generally not very helpful, more about the "excitement" of it as opposed to practically-applicable information.

All I know is that initially Highway 41 in Nakhon Si Thammarat was blocked in Cha-uat District (not a very precise location, but it at least narrows it down somewhat), but I'm hearing there's another blockage now "in Surat Thani" (not all that helpful!)?

(actual GPS coordinates/Google Maps links would be fantastic!)

EDIT: ok I'm hearing Phunphin District in Surat Thani, so if accurate that means the two road blocks are in:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cha-uat_District

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phunphin_District

I was told that phones actually use "A-GPS" where the "A" is for assisted, and that it relies on the telco network data connections to help work out where it is, so even if the maps are all downloaded etc., it's really happier having internet access to work things out, and that you're better off with a dedicated GPS unit. Personally my phone tends to ring at inopportune moments for some reason, so a dedicated GPS works for me

Does anyone know which of the VAT-exemptable stores sell Garmins? I am making a flight out soon and would like to take a nuvi out with me... (any department stores like at Siam Paragon carry it?). When I was at Amarin GadgeTrend, the lady either didn't understand me or definitively told me GadgeTrend couldn't do it...

all this talk of GPSes has made me hanker for a new one -

question: is there any place you can buy a GPS and do the VAT-refund claim thing at the airport? (I use the GPS when I visit Thailand but take it with me when I leave!)

also, does anyone know if there's a difference in the chipset used in the old Nuvi 40 and the replacement Nuvi 42?

harrry I'm pretty sure ESRI is still selling the Garmin nuvi 42, would this not mean at least that model of Garmin is using the ESRI maps? Which Garmins do not?

The Garmin nuvi. Right...Thank you.

Thats the information I need. And the price is OK I believe. I will look into that at MBK next time. I guess that is a good place to buy it?

I assume you're gonna need the GPS to work in English, in which case ...

I would go to amarin plaza to a place called gadget trend in the outdoor section. it is on the second floor, or the floor just above mcdonalds. thailand always has a different floor numbering system for every building. they served me well; have great customer service, good prices and a warranty, and map updates etc.

... I second the Gadgetrend recommendation. I got mine there and the lady was very helpful setting it up. I don't know if the new models no longer need this but the older model I have required some tweaking on the computer before it worked in English, which I would not have been able to do on my own and I am not sure I'd rely on someone in MBK to do...

and I find Amarin plaza very easy to get to since it connects to the BTS (heck the shop is even on the same floor as the BTS access!)

my understanding of budget airline pricing is that they lower costs as best they can in all ways, but especially by increasing aircraft utilisation (the aircraft doesn't need to sleep), the "low low low!" ticket prices attract a baseline number of people onto the aircraft to meet their running costs, but they don't actually make their real money from them - they get that from the "latecomers" buying tickets from the higher priced buckets.

A lot of people just assume that a "budget airline" is the cheap choice and go on them, even for last minute flights, when a lot of times the full-service airlines are actually about the same in price (and in my personal experience, can even be lower). The early-ticket buyers are the ones who pay for the running costs, the late ticket buyers represent the profit.

Speaking of AirAsia, I've actually met Tony Fernandes once (not that he'd remember me though!)

airline ticket pricing is an entire sub-field of economics (I vaguely remember a module entirely about it back in school).

basically the goal of the airline is to not have empty seats (within reason - my pilot friend tells me sometimes they deliberately have empty seats for weight/direction reasons) - once the plane takes off with an empty seat, that's a realised loss. All this is complicated with interactions with crew schedules, connecting flights etc.

in the US at least (don't know about other countries) you have to deal with shenanigans like the airline deciding that your particular flight isn't full enough to make money, and therefore they cancel the ENTIRE FLIGHT and bump you (and your fellow unlucky passengers) onto other flights that can then be full and make them money. If you were planning on connecting to a flight that's not theirs, well it's "too bad, you should've flown with us all the way".

basically, if you *know* you're going to have to fly on a particular date, then booking early gives you some measure of certainty (of course the fine print allows them to bump you off a flight nonetheless) you will be on that flight. That's all that's really on the table, it's not really a "money saving feature".

Ticket pricing tends to "spike" - if you book early, the ticket price might be high (airline management - "we need to squeeze the people who absolutely have to be on a flight that day for as much money as we can, while without scaring them off to other airlines/routes"). As the impending date of the flight approaches, and the seat remains unfilled, airline management decides they might be losing that game of chicken and so starts lowering prices. Then at some unspecified point in time they decide the economics works out better to squeeze the last-minute urgent travellers for more money, and the price climbs again. All this is affected by competition and demand for the particular route, time of day etc.

The airlines that play this game well make a lot more money than those that don't (so, now they all try to). (Hotel room pricing can also be like this)

If the ticket for the flight "tomorrow" is at the same price as what's booked long ago then it may be that airline management has decided they're more desperate for any revenue they can than hopeful some big-spending procrastinator is gonna show up.

the larger malaysian banks ought to have the "standard" internet banking options, though for the 2-factor authentication requirements they probably won't allow Thai phone numbers.

Seriously I think if the problem is "difficulty of going to Malaysia" then having money in a Malaysian bank really isn't a good idea under any circumstance, internet banking/access or no.

I'm hearing a lot of stuff about hot money exiting Indonesia (and Thailand too? nothing makes me more worried about a country's finances than having the finance minister say there's nothing to worry about), if there's an en masse exodus... hrm, Chinese Yuan?? Currencies... there's really not many good options. Euro risk seems to have tapered off *for now*, but the problems with Spain, Italy etc. haven't quite been solved, who knows if it'll flare up again... . Gold, US$, everything is bad.

Ok. Thanks for the advice. I think her main concern is the exposure to the myr and thb. As for access dont think she is to bothered about accessing that money in any great hurry. It just you know thai ppl and there money. 1% change in any rate and they think they will lose money so panic panic.

The main concern of hers is that it is a Malaysian bank account that she has no direct access to without making a trip to kl. I forget the name of that bank for now but its a small local malay bank.

I think she should move it to somewhere more accessible even if it is another bank in Malaysia.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

if the engines ever fail, because prop planes are designed for operation at slower speeds, they're better gliders. jets have to come in MUCH faster. engine failure = you're gonna be happier in a prop plane.