richard_smith237

IMO the best Thai restaurant in Bangkok for Value for Money Vs Quality of food and authenticity is Ton Krueng on the corner of Thonglor Soi 13.

It's not particularly touristy it just serves good quality Thai food.

If it influences your decision... There are no PS3 'cheap' games as was the case with PS1 and 2, so expect to be playing full price for games (B1200 to B2500 depending on the game)

The Xbox can be chipped to play cheaper games. A friend did this and his xbox kept over heating, I believe this is a common issue.

I believe the PS3 to be better than the Xbox and that was my choice last year (I'm not a heavy gamer using the PS3 once every couple of weeks or so. As such I didn't really look into the issue too deeply).

Thanks Rigsby...

My wife called up and spoke with True Visions - Prices were quoted as per all of your information. We were not told that the commentary would not be in English (something I guess we specifically should have asked). I was in two minds whether or not to go with the HD service, my mind is now made up not to after reading this thread.

I hope the matches will be on True sport so I can watch at home (and put up with the oh-hoooorrrrr... geng-maaak... ai-yaaaaa commentary)

I've tried the internet radio stream and never had it work before for Rugby and football, its always cut off due some form of proprietary rights.

If anyone does come up an internet radio stream that might work I'd like to know about it.

I remember listening to David Campese and Will Carling on Talk Sport commentating from a pub (latest Rugby World Cup) and that was the best I could get at that time.

I don't mean this as a sweeping generalization, just an incident: Not long ago I was standing in line at a Subway sandwich shop in Beijing and heard two ladies speaking Thai. I spoke to them in Thai, which they responded to for a bit, then stuck their noses in the air and turned their backs.

Hi-so, or hi-so wannabes, who remembered that I am farang kee-nok and reverted to form, even in a foreign country. Trying to play face games in a nation where the women are taller, whiter and intelligent (China). I don't know about the intelligent part with the two Thais I met, but they didn't hold a candle to the Chinese girls around them in line. And the Chinese girls are friendly in a wholesome way.

It also has to do with what accent we give off. For some it is clear where and from whom some of us have learnt our Thai.

On one of my first vists to Bangkok I had a friend who had picked up a lot of Thai as a result of a lot of something else he'd been picking up too...

I managed to get chatting to some uni girls when my friend rolls up, impresses them with his Thai, thier response was that he speaks Thai like a bar girl.

On Topic: No I don't acknowledge Thais in overseas or Foreigners in Thailand unless our paths cross for any particular reason. My reason being is that most of the time I'd prefer to keep myself to myself and assume others do too.

To be honest, anyone who comes up to me (unless they are asking for help) just to chat always appears a little freaky to me. A nod of the head is harmless enough and I have no issues acknowledging this, however doing this to a Thai overseas would probably also seem very weird to them.

I don't give a monkey's if all these helpless morons on this thread think I'm bang out of order for leaving a taxi's door open for refusing my custom. They are here to provide a public service and are licensed to do so. And being licensed does not mean that it's up to them, they are obliged to take a patron from A to B regardless of the traffic being buggered or it's not on their way home. Failing to do so, is in breach of the terms and conditions of their license and contract to their operators.....So there!!

No, there are not there to provide a public service. There are there to do their job and make money. While in a traffic jam the meter only ticks off at 2 baht every other minute. They are losing money. Ideally a taxi goes from one 2km 35 baht passenger to the next. They make the most money getting their passenger to their destination as quickly as possible and getting a new one. A series of really bad traffic jams means that they will lose money for the day. They don't get their taxis for free ya know, they rent them per day. They also have to bring them back at the end of their shift, which means they have to search for passengers that are heading towards their taxi depot. Leaving the door open because he doesn't want to go to your destination just means you're a jerk.

As I understand it, as in the UK, its against the Law for a meter taxi here to refuse a fair. That said, if they don't want to take me, I understand that its probably not going towards their area at the end of their shift or into an areas of peak traffic.

There are always more who will take you in Bangkok. However it does get very frustrating to have a succession of refusals.

I also do the 'leaving the door open childish get my own back thingy'... but usually in more extreme circumstances...

e.g. 1: Taxi Driver wouldn't close the window and turn on the air-con, told him to stop got out and walked off (left door open).

e.g. 2: Taxi Driver wouldn't go my way. After telling him that I've been driving in bkk for 10 years and know the short cuts and at what times some roads are busier than others in my area he didn't want to take me. I got out, walked off and left the door open.

I've done it a handful of times when I guy really gets up my nose... 90% of the time though they are ok, and get a tip.

Back on topic: Most baffling service, Most of it. In a restaurant, the fact that even when Thai's order in Thai there are so many mistakes when the food arrives.

You'd need to provide an altenative social welfare system then...

As its stands at the low end, with little education the legal options are to join the Police, join the forces, become a Monk.

If wages were increased there would likely be less jobs available and more people turning to crime.

At the moment the system appears to be run with a 'Job Creation' ideal. As soon as that is replaced a better social welfare system has to be created and people will complain that their tax supports lazy buggers !

There's a happy medium in there somewhere, but as society matures the cheats, liers and scam artists learn to abuse the system.

Some of his points appear to be valid IMO, however the opening post is exceedingly Trollish...

I very much suspect that this is an impostor. I can't believe someone relatively well known as GM would post such personally damaging opinions.

And this happened to me.....

Knowing I will be withdrawing B100,000 (of B20,000 each time). After two withdrawals I have let the person behind me go and re-joined the cue behind them, only to have to wait while they took an exceedingly long time withdrawing more than I.

What wound me up was that I had given way to them, but they couldn't give two hoots - Sometimes Ignorance is bliss and I wished I had blissfully taken my time and not noticed that I may have been inconveniencing them in the first place.

There are people who simply can't give a F£$K about others, I think that sums up the whole quite conveniently.

I took a speed boat at dusk a few years back (Phuket to Phi Phi). We hit a log, the propeller was damaged.

The pilot jumped out had a look at the prop, it was ok to limp on to Phi Phi.

At the time I never wanted to take a boat at night but was persuaded by others that we should get to the Island rather than spend an extra night before getting there.

Never again, I won't go in Mini-vans either but thats for a different thread.

The normal ferry takes 45 mins or so and there appeared to be plenty of people taking that option combined with the Songtaiw (shared pickup taxi) when I went to KC in Feb.

Overnighting in Trat and taking in the night market would be the smart choice IMO.

I have seen MTM TT's for the same prices as the standard TT import (a couple of years ago) - The MTM (which is similar to what Alpine do to BMW and Brabuss do to Merc's) looks fantastic.

The Nissan 370Z would tease me away from the Audi however.

I know plenty of TG flight attendants and one of the things that seems quite common is the fact that they dislike the India flights.

I think they just get 'India'd out'... I'm told there are a lot of requests, demands and the flight is generally a lot more hassle than other regional flights: Dubai, Singapore or Vietnam etc...

It seems that each nationality have created their own inflight stereotypes and unfortunately the Indian one is not a positive one. It's my guess that this unprofessional flight attendant was at the end of her tether.

The flights to mainland China also have a reputation for being more tiring than other regional flights. Flights to Pakistan are known as some of the worst. I've been told the passengers are often verbally aggressive and abusive.

When combined with what I have seen over here as a general negative stereotype of Indians I'd guess that a Chinese woman would not be treated in the same manner quite so quickly. Of course I have no proof of this.

IMO suggesting that this response from the TG flight attendant contains elements of racism is not such a stretch. A lot more effort could have been made to handle the situation more delicately.

I rarely see the flight attendants telling business men to sit down or to turn their phones off while the plane is taxiing.

In addition to the above comment: The flight attendants have to deal with an awful lot of crap, I'm often amazed at how they hold it together regardless of it being their job to do so.

I can't speak for some silly grumpy moaners...

But for my wife, friends and I escaping the hassles of Bangkok last week we drove past Glitterman. I'd read about him in this thread but never really knew what or who he is.

Needless to say, we were stressed after having to get out of Bkk because anti-g'ment protestors had blocked our road and started shooting nearby, passing glitterman seemed to take the edge of all this, we had a laugh and a chuckle.

Glitterman cheered us up - Thanks GM. The occasional extrovert is a pleasant thing, far more pleasant than the grumpy buggers complaining about them.

Oh, and I don't think he'll ever have an accident while on his bike - He's impossible to miss - Safest bike out there.

The government, the "elite", the army have always wanted only one thing from Thaksin, to go away and shut up.

If he had quietly gone away, then he would have been allowed to live in peace, anywhere in the World.

But alas he didn't, he shouted, he showed off to the press, he wanted the limelight and that made the "yellow" people, army and government mad as he kept drawing attention to their illegal take over and the new puppet government.

All previous "dictators" in Thailand were allowed to leave on the understanding that they made no further trouble whilst in temporary exile, all complied in the past, except Mr.Thaksin, so life for him is getting to be more and more problematic due to his refusal to keep quiet.

He shouts, the Thai government shout back, a neverending game which is now putting Thaksin in a more delicate position as more and more countries are afraid to be seen talking to him, hence the circle grows smaller.

Thaksin is his own worst enemy, I know he was wronged by the military stealing his job, but history shows that those "bad" prime minsters that left and stayed quiet were all allowed to come back without repercussions years later.

Good points... IF Taxin had not made himself richer in the process of premiering the country, would many people now have a differing opinion of him?

By facing off against the 'Elite' and the military the shift in popular understanding of the way the country is run seems evident given the recent protests.

Would the 'elite' ever be able to accept the greater good ?

Is there a greater good in someone like Taxin backing off ?

Thai History appears to teach that the consequences are only there for the poor.

On the Subject: Interpol know exactly where he is, has been and quite likely where he is going.

Have a good game... I'll be away for a few weeks.

Qatar promotion:

From Bangkok to:

Abu Dhabi from THB 37,400* Book Now

Amman from THB 52,000* Book Now

Berlin from THB 63,200* Book Now

Frankfurt from THB 63,600* Book Now

London from THB 68,400* Book Now

Paris from THB 65,900* Book Now

*Terms & Conditions

Offers valid on qatarairways.com/th Travel Validity: On/before 30th June 2010

Return flights including all taxes & fees Seats are limited and are subject to availability

Sales Validity: On/before 31st May 2010 Other conditions apply, please review terms at the time of booking

Etihad 70k + tax. book before 31st may, travel before 15 JUne

I always explore and book online, no need for getting screwed by travel agent.

Etihad B70 k is good (about B83 k after tax I guess) - Unfortunately I'll be traveling in August.

I follow the same routine as you, I always check online then see what my travel agent can do. Six Stars travel have always come in cheaper than the Internet in the past few years by as much as B10,000 per ticket.

The best option I currently have is Kingfisher at B95,000 (from Six Stars - B98,000 online)

Next best Etihad at B108,000 (from Six stars and B118,000 online).

For the life of me I cannot understand why people want to pay business class prices for the sake of a bigger seat for 12 hours.

Its clear the OP is checking the costs with different airlines so obviously money matters.

Whats wrong with a premium economy seat at half the price.Im 6 foot 4 and theres plenty of room for me.

Its for a lie flat bed, not simply a larger seat.

If premium economy has a 180cm+ flat bed then there is nothing wrong with it. I'll chose to fly on the best priced flat bed I can locate.

Of course money matters, I'd be pretty foolish if I wasn't considering costs. I can handle B140,000 each for my wife and I, but I'd prefer to be spending less where I see better value for money.

Please note that I don't see value for money in a B40,000 economy seat because having done that before, halfway through the flight I always wish I'd paid for a flat bed, and at that point in time when I am unbearably tired I'd pay there and then just to upgrade. I've made myself the promise to always attempt a reasonably priced flat bed seat before any other option.

Look at China Airways via Amsterdam. Business class is not fantastic, but cost is normally in the region of 65,000 Baht.

The Travel Centre in Norwich acts as a China Airways agent and may be able to book for you.

Another useful suggestion, thanks..

B73,000 to Amsterdam. I can't get their website to work for BKK-LHR (which I gather connects in AMS with a local flyer)...

Beds look the same as TG and Qatar.

Try Oman Air.

I didn't consider Oman Airlines. Thanks for the idea.

Looking online they are B108,000, but with a 5 hr layover on the way out (I look more to see if they have better scheduling on other days). Their seating looks good, I'm looking for some reviews online now.

http://www.flatseats.com/ doesn't have any comments about them yet.

Try Finnair ( www.finnair.com ). Superb service, ultra clean including the toilets and possibly the best airline food I have tasted and that includes most major airlines first class service. It is not direct of course as it is a change in Helsinki. Leg room and quality superior to BA and Quantas. Of course TG's business class is a joke.

103,800 THB last week BKK - LHR return.

TG a joke in what way?

I don't think TG are a joke and locally they offer a good service. I don't think their prices are competitive on longhair flights however.

i.e. Qatar have exactly the same type of seating, with a better service (5 star) at B40,000 less than TG. For some not having a stop over may be worth B40,000, but not for me. BA at a similar price would be a better option IMO because of the 180 deg flat bed, thus making TG less competitive.

Given the current competition and pricing and routes, TG would do well to place themselves and offer their business class seats for about B120,000 thus splitting the stopover vs non stop flat bed dilemma...

Thai Business class is like Qatar Airlines - Slide off flat beds...

From what I gather the Kingfisher flat beds are 180 Deg and wider... and B40,000 cheaper than Thai.

My wife and I rather enjoy Indian food, so if we choose Kingfisher I'd be looking forwards to the curry-fest.

I'm really wondering if anyone has found some good value for flat bed travel back to Europe.

I've noticed the costs of flights increasing rather a lot this summer...

Has anyone observed any decent business class flight deals ???

I thought I was getting Etihad - BKK-AUH-MAN return for B75,000 and I nearly took our travel agents arm off, only see that the new guy at the travel agent made a mistake...

The prices I have seen so far.... For dates in August.

Etihad - B118,000 (includes chauffeur drive within 100 miles of airport)

Emirates - B140,000

British Airlines - B135,000

Thai Airlines - B140,000

Kingfisher - B98,000 (appears to be the best deal I have found)

Qatar - B104,000

Austrian - B94,000 (seating is reportedly poor).

Kuwait - B71,000 (I’ve not seen a good report)

I don't mind the stop over....

And who is responsible for the worst political situation? The government? No way, it is Thaksin and his paid slaves all by them selves. In any other Country in the world that would have been finished a long time ago, but the Prime Minister who has my full respect and that of all my friends how he has dealed with the situation. If it gets nasty now TRT = Thaksins Red Terrorists have to blame themselves for it.

Working class People? I did not see many of them there, all what could be seen the same drunken stupid bastards you will find everywhere spending the little money they have for moonshine boost.

Talk with the working class people and you will know what they think about the TRT Garbage.

Yes things have to change and they will change, just remember or if you can not look at it who has brought Thailand out of the 1997 crisis? It was the Democrats und Chuan Leekpai. And not as many claim Thaksin, all he did put the money the democratic government of that time has saved in to his and his croonies pockets.

Thaksin gives a dam about the poor all he did put money in their pocket so they would vote for him.

Your aptness to render such ambivalence and myopic presupposition interpolations is clear evidence you are a perfidious purveyor of deception with your load of pernicious trash the quantum of your comments; with its denigrating imbalance, prejudice, saliciousness, you make nonsensical ramblings with disturbing alacrity and vexatious intent.

Your comments are so naive they are completely nonsensical and stretch credulity to the outer limits all for your own aberrant fulfillment!

The current Government is so corrupt. They attempt to assassinate a Red Shirt leader and then deny the shooting !

You might get your point across more readily without the thesaurus !

The part about many Thai people helping you....

I would say 9 times out of 10 Thai people only help others and are "nice" to others just incase they need them for something later on. Or they feel like they owe them because that person has helped them in the past (or has helped their mom or dad or something like that..). I've been told this by MANY of my Thai friends when I ask them if they hate/can't stand someone, why do they fake being nice to them, or still talk to them??

Correct!

A woman told me the reason why she does things for the kids in her area is because when she gets older and needs something in the future, she wants them to help her. Almost as if the saying "it's nice to be nice" is not in the vocabulary. Nothing seems to be done without expecting something done in return.

TheWalkingMan

Called Naam Jai I believe...

And I've heard this many times before... Not being nice because that's how we should be, but being nice because we may get niceties in return.

There are idiots in every culture, from every background and country.

I feel less sympathy for the idiots from my own culture as they have had every opportunity (or more opportunity) to know better. So in a lot of cases, when they get into trouble in a case when they 'should know better' I do not feel sympathetic.

However, I see that over here there are many people (Thai and Western) who are very creative when it comes to pilfering a little extra for themselves.

Almost as if the unwritten law is - 'You will get screwed over to the amount you let yourself get screwed over'..

Blame is the similar, by sticking up for myself, I find very little of the brown sticky stuff rolling my way...

Is it snobbery ? Perhaps the same people who are attracted to the Thai Chinese ladies are more attracted to their level of education, presentation and the the fact that they can see beyond their next som-tam.

In exactly the same manner in which the same people would not find a shell-suited, chain smoking uneducated woman back home attractive.

Speaking for my friends and those I know - their choice is not specifically Thai Chinese, its specifically someone who they can be with on a level of equality and mutual respect... for many people I guess this criteria varies, but for the most part I'd assume that social economic equality helps and it just so happens that most of the socio-economic equals that my friends living over here have ended up meeting, dating and marrying are from a Thai Chinese background.

Also, I guess people don't see Thai Chinese ladies in gogo bars, so many are avoiding that stereotype too.