Scouse123

BritmanToo, Just the thought of it or potential dangers and constant begging just doesn't appeal to me at all. I also hear the Filipino food was lousy and that view was reinforced when I watched a documentary featuring my favorite chef and travel writer, Anthony Bourdain, when he visited there. I have met many Filipinos in Thailand, Cambodia and the UK, and of course, on cruise ships and they were all great, friendly and lovely people, I just don't fancy the place and why is it they all want to work outside the country for years and years at a time? Well, all the ones that I have met and it isn't just for financial reasons.

Having to be very careful of what districts you go in and any mistake can lead to problems. Guards with machine guns at shopping malls, armed guards at hotels, guard stations so people can deposit handguns! Street urchins that are both vicious and feral, thieving is a constant worry as are armed muggings. This isn't just dangerous, it says a lot about the mindset of many of the "rogue elements" of the Philippines and the lawlessness. Add back severe problems and terrorism in the Muslim Southern enclaves and islands. It doesn't sound like much of a holiday to me!..............................far too many horror stories! The Philippines is one of the few countries where nearly every Filipino or Filipina I have spoken to is desperate to get out and work in the West and just send money home to look after family. Small wonder they don't mind not returning for years and years.

I have already paid for business class, I am bloody 60 and I am only going because it's necessary. Economy on Qatar was over 1,000 GBP and another 200 GBP for the legroom seats, so that's 1300 quid. I will definitely be on the Red wine though, and plenty of it as I am getting collected so no driving required.

I have a mate who is a frequent visitor to Thailand and arrives yet again at the beginning of December and he swears by Emirates business class.

I get your point but I have just paid nearly 3,000 GBP for business and it';s only for one leg of the journey then you are back down to business to Manchester, so it seems an anti climax.

Thank you, You have been helpful, I am looking forward to this sit at the bar experience on the A380! I find Q suites a bit claustrophobic as well but they are OK if you want to be totally left alone. I had a couple of guys talking to me in Doha whilst awaiting the gate to open, bitterly complaining regards economy class in Qatar and said they were moving back to Emirates. Whenever I have traveled economy, I pay extra for exit row seats.

The fault lies with outfits such as the ECHR which makes it nearly impossible to get them out. If we are out of the EU we should be out of this also.

Guys, I am travelling to the UK this week and the first leg from BKK-DOH is on the big A380 reintroduced by Qatar air. The DOH-MAN will be on the 787-8 Dream liner. I am travelling in business class and I have been on a A380 before but only downstairs at the front of the plane in economy. They are offering me an upgrade to first class for this leg of the journey BKK-DOH from Business to First at an extra 50,000 baht, ...........an offer I will NOT be taking. I know there is a sit up bar on this plane in the upstairs business cabin. How does it compare to the 777 Q suites experience apart from being the largest passenger aircraft in the sky?

They can't be applied due to cutbacks in manpower and services within the Customs and Immigration departments as well as Border force and the Police. Has it occurred to you that all the criminal gangs do not apply for resident permits, they even throw their passports away and refuse to disclose their country of origin. The UK does not have the detention facilities to house all this influx of illegals, boat people, criminal gangs so they usually go to court, get conditional bail and then abscond and disappear into the community. If it wasn't so serious it would be a joke. The UK taxpayer is paying in excess of 7 million pounds a day to house these people in hotels, and they are not bloody refugees, they are economic migrants.

It looks to me that the vast majority of serious crimes committed in Thailand such as murders, drugs, kidnappings, extortion, racketeering, romance scams, gambling dens etc and rapes are being committed by certain groups from China, Korea, Nigeria, and of course, Thailand. I don't see "many westerners" in these groups with the exception of the 0.01% who they dramatize and repeat over and over on the TV to deflect from their own failures and inadequacies as a police force. Westerners seem to be in the silly category as in bar brawls, road accidents whilst DUI or no insurance, skinny dipping or not following etiquette in temples and of course, overstays.

I get what you are meaning but what the OP was saying would require a reciprocal agreement to each others CRC databases and I can't see the UK agreeing to anything like that especially with the corrupt environment of the Thai police. I have known Thai guys get busted for Yaba pills, not serious players but those that use for consumption as opposed to the sellers, and after prosecution and the inevitable fines and suspended sentences, the Police offering to remove their fingerprints and details from the police database for a ' fee '

Go to Cambodia and combine it with a trip to Vietnam.

Yeah, and also remember the ' boat people ' and all those entering by criminal gangs and other means don't go through immigration or passport control

I wouldn't fancy going there as a UK or USA citizen at the moment, with or without a visa.????

Tell me a European country that would carry out such ridiculous and extreme measures as you are proposing just to go on holiday! There would be an exodus, all the way back to countries that didn't enforce such nonsense. Where do criminal record checks start and finish by the way? When are they considered minor? When are they considered ;' spent ' convictions? When you have convicted drug traffickers who served time in Australian prisons, (a country with a strong rule of law and order and a good respectable court system) in the present day Thai government, how is that going to work? Many of the Thais wouldn't be able to leave Thailand if such proposals were put in place by other countries as a reciprocal agreement to such a proposal.

Singapore has ' real governance ' and proper management of its infrastructure and amenities.

What about those in established relationships without children both with Thai women and Thai men? The first thing the Thai Elites do is to buy houses and land in countries such as Canada, Australia and UK, especially London. It's a worldwide problem that forces locals out and prices them out of living in popular areas. Look at Sihanoukville now, it's a Chinese enclave, the local Cambodians cannot afford to live there, but not allowing foreigners to buy here in Thailand or then imposing ridiculous archaic conditions. He needn't worry, with the conditions imposed on land ownership and the amount that needs to be invested, there will be few takers except some ' corrupt Chinese mafias ' I think a lot of it is just headline grabbing by the government to try retain ' foreign interest ' in the country.

I wonder if a certain individual who spewed venom at Brits yesterday will be doing the same today against ALL " Scandinavian people? " How ridiculous would that be? No Brits involved or to be seen in this misdemeanour. Shall we flog him and deport him for daring to do this in Thailand? Because of course Thailand and its citizens always follow the laws of the land both here and abroad. It shows you that silly behavior is not the sole reserved pastime for British people

What a load of unjustified cow manure and ridiculous, biaised, racist comment against all the English, Irish, Welsh, and Scots people as a collective. You have one clown skinny dipping and you want to attack 4 nations? You need to get a life.

Whose attacked them? Certainly not me! Why you trying to use vague generalised comparisons which don't exist?

Usually if he is convicted by the provincial court and if he pleaded ' not guilty ' he will get bail whilst it goes to the Appeal court, if he loses there, he will apply for bail until it goes to the Supreme court. This can go on for anything up to 12 years or more with backlog, delays and stalling. I have just checked and found a link on the Bangkok Post which states he pleaded ' not guilty ' thus entitling him to bail.

I think the noble present leadership will sell the assets and buy computers, Sports equipment and much needed safe transportation for the poor kids at school in Isaarn. You know, share the ill gotten gains for a good cause that will benefit rural Thailand. There again, maybe not, I've heard there's a Rolex watch sale coming up!

That would definitely be us lot!

He will be out on appeal for sure right up to the Supreme court and that takes years and years.

Well I always was asked. From " Do you want to sponsor our football team " and we can do your extension this morning...to " I am going on my lunch, if you want quick service, speak to my colleague " Even worse, come back tomorrow! So, we may have different experiences, but don't imply mine was wrong. I hated that office. And " for balance" this has never occurred in Kalasin!