Lack of foresight, thinking and planning. 

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

The one that surprises me out of those is 'Mid Dec' (if outgoing - BKK >> LHR) - perhaps thats just before the International Schools breakup and the mad 'Christmas Exodus'.... 

My GF and I flew on TG916 from BKK to LHR on 12th December 2023. Flight was about 60% full. We were in the front cabin of economy and each had 3 seats to ourselves. On a walk to the back of the plane, I would guess that there were at least another 20 passengers with 3 seats each. The TG916 is my favourite flight as TG910 is often much busier (horrible times too in my opinion) but for some reason, it's almost always full.

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

As mentioned we used the phone each time when trying to book... Tier status seemed to make no difference (although we're silver) unless they hold 'Award seats back for Gold Members'... 

... I'm wondering, at what time of year were your flights (and destination)... 

 

I suspect that all seats were taken on the dates we wanted flights because it was peak periods of travel..

i.e. Summer and Christmas school holidays (to UK) and Feb half term break to Japan... 

 

 I Imagine it to be easier to secure an award seat for a mid-march flight Dubai for example....

 

The issue I have with TG on this (just in case people haven't guessed by now !!!)... is that TG limit the Award Seat availability on flights whereas (some) other airlines do not.

Always on THAI  LHR-BKK-LHR route. Late October, mid December, mid January, February, March & mid April. Never during the UK school summer holidays. This has been my travel to/from Thailand for most of the last 20 years.

Some airlines such as Virgin Atlantic strictly limit award seat redemptions. I just booked the only 2 Upper Class award seats (per flight) from London to Male, Maldives for early November this year. They helpfully have a chart showing what is available on each flight. If only THAI would do the same!

28 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

What you have selected is a return Award Ticket using 85,000 Air-miles (42,500 each way).

You will pay £409.79 on top of this in fee's and taxes.

 

Booking the exact same flights directly (without Air-miles) is £860 - meaning TG are charing 47% in taxes and fees !!! 

 

THAI taxes and fees were nearly £900 GBP on a business class award ticket LHR-BKK-LHR (in October 2022 at least). They definitely ramped up paid ticket prices and charges and fees since Covid.

7 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Using ROP Airmiles is a nightmare...  they make it as difficult as possible. 

 

We tried to use them last year and in the Summer (booking 6 months in advance)... nothing available. 

 

We managed to use 'get ahead of the game' and use them this year...    They can be used up to 330 days in advance of the intended travel date.

 

Wife called up TG at 8am exactly 330 days before intended travel - All eco reward seats taken, only business left (which we took), not on the flights we wanted either, but at least the same travel day...  We then had to wait a few days to do the same for our return flights, which we managed to secure in Economy Class. 

 

It took numerous calls and most of the reward seats had gone from the very moment they became available - I suspect insider 'favoritism' of course... 

I have never had any issue using TG ROP miles for upgrades to business or for business class redemption in the last 10 years. Got the ticket I wanted everytime. Always by phone through their call centre/s. I am (still) ROP Gold so maybe that makes a difference. Expiring miles with Thai can be a pain when other frequent flyer schemes such as Virgin Atlantic miles never expire.

Travel insurance would not normally cover third party claims for damage caused by the policy holder riding/driving a motor vehicle. A claim against the rider/driver's motor policy would apply.

A toilet brush and 2 products are all you need. Vixol Smart (almost like acid) and Promax bleach. Look at the shine in the bowl. No turds!

On 1/14/2024 at 11:40 AM, KhunHeineken said:

This is why I set up a VPN to my router back in my home country.  It looks like I am still in my house access banking, streaming etc, but I could be anywhere in the world.   

I VPN via my Synology Diskstation in the UK. That way it uses a UK IP address which I need to login to two business websites that geo block anything from outside the UK.

If using a popular VPN provider (such Nord, Surfshark etc.) the banks may well see a large number of connections from the same VPN IP address or range which could trigger a block. If using an IP address that is dedicated to you, then they cannot tell whether or not it's a VPN. Nord VPN are now offering dedicated IP addresses for a monthly fee.

Corner unit of a low rise condo in Bangkok. Neighbours below, on same floor, and other parts of the building all lovely. All Thai but pleasantrys if meeting in the lift. Never any issues. Just one cockroach Australian <deleted> directly above me. Let's his two half Thai (young 5-8yr old) kids run up and down all night on their heels. GF knocked their door one night to complain. I did second time and he was a bit off. Then the <deleted> put a long letter in my mailbox telling me his wife doesn't like it when we complain and to text him instead. Well, keep your <deleted> kids under control, put them to bed before 9pm and respect your neighbours. He told to me to complain to Juristic, I wrote back that I reserved the right to discuss directly with any neighbour causing a nuisance and to expect another knock on the door if it happens again. Thankfully they seem only to be here 2 weeks a year just before Songkhran then they go upcountry for the holidays. Think he works in Phillipines from conversation with his Thai Mrs years ago when the kids were babies.

On 1/13/2024 at 12:19 PM, BritManToo said:

Don't know, as I never speak with neighbours, no matter what county I'm in.

Perhaps it's the neighbours who don't want to speak...

25 minutes ago, Vampyteuthis said:

Hi, thanks again. Yes, E-visa on phone. 

 

Would like to be sure the airline would help before taking a chance on it. It's Air Asia.

 

There will surely be either an airline office or other outlet at DMK that can help. There used to be a Post Office in the terminal. An alternative would be to cross the bridge into the Amari hotel who would surely help (they likely have a business centre).

Not meaning to be flippant, but isn't the idea of an E-Visa just that? It's an Electronic Visa so no need to print!

13 minutes ago, BrianStar said:

I have a house in Thailand and am considering mining BTC. My official residence is in the USA. Would there be any issues with the mining rigs being in Thailand but keeping all of the wallet/transactions on the US side for the sake of taxes?

Other than AseanNow/ThaiVisa, are you going to advertise your endeavours to all and sundry?

Ps. You might need some heavy duty cooling (powerful air conditioning) to keep things running. Let us know how profitable it is after paying all the electricity costs.

13 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Not going to effect many, as only for those with multi sims and verification can also be done online it seems.

 

From the government guidelines.

 

According to NBTC's instructions, the following steps will have to be taken:

• 8,000-plus people who own more than 100 SIM have until the end of January to verify their identities.

• 22,000-plus people who own more than 30 SIM cards have until the end of March to verify their identities.

• 380,000-plus people who own more than five SIM cards have until the end of June to verify themselves.

I suspect quite a few many, actually be legimate business or organisations.

4 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Good question, and the answer is, the latest JN.1 variant is a game-changer when it comes to transmission and evasion from older vaccinations.

What to Know About JN.1, the Latest Omicron Variant

"The older vaccines were based on SARS-CoV-2 variants that are very different from variants circulating now. That, combined with the fact that your immunity from vaccination or infection tends to drop off over time, means that you won’t get a lot of protection from COVID-19 if you are relying on the vaccines you received nearly a year ago.

...

You really need the newest COVID-19 vaccine formulation to be protected from severe illness from JN.1 and other recent variants."

 

https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2024/jn1-the-dominant-variant-in-the-covid-surge

 

The newest monovalent XBB-oriented COVID vaccine version that was rolled out in the West in recent months since the fall, but which, AFAIK, has not yet been made available in Thailand.

 

New variant, new jab. Rinse and repeat...

Im my experience, AirAsia=Ryanair. No thanks!

On 1/12/2024 at 1:35 AM, spidermike007 said:

Wrong. You would have to add in easy to attain regional helicopter flights, private jet flights and small plane charters throughout Thailand and the region, which Thailand does not have. Is this due to the Air Force being extremely greedy and possessive about the airspace? Is there another explanation for the lack of private flights here? 

I've often wondered that. Very little general aviation in and around Thailand. Rare to see any small biz jets on the tarmac or stands (did see a Spanish registered biz jet at NST about 6 years ago though - so rare to see, I look up the registration). Private personal aviation in Thailand seems non-existent. Maybe it's an SE Asian thing with it being so far from Europe and North America. Regionally, SE Asia is pretty well connected with flights already anyhow. Suspect that Thai military airspace regulations are the main reason for little to no private planes. 

My GF and I arrived back in Thailand on Monday. I did my TM30 online as usual and it took less than 2 minutes. My GF lives in Pattaya and cannot do TM30 online (her old landlady won't/can't do it). Therefore she went to Jomtien Immigration on Tuesday. Got there at 10:00am and was only seen just before 4pm. Total chaos apparently. She said she's never seen it like that before. Unfortunately I can't add her to my Bangkok address due to her residence being in Pattaya.

List it with as many agents as possible at whatever price and commission. You are not obliged to sell at any price. You will then learn the level of interest and likely value and cost of selling. Costs you nothing. Then you can make you next, informed, move.

Who really beleives that wine prices to the consumer will reduce?

1 hour ago, flyingtlger said:

This is Bangkok NOW....

 

Posted 58 minutes ago? At 03:35am? Really? <deleted> dark here now. 

I arrived in Bangkok yesterday morning at 06:00am. Was very clear view of the city lights on landing. Air seemed clear all day. I had no trouble breathing.