KhaoYai

According to the experts, fuel prices are only a small proportion of the recent increases. Airlines cashing in on increased demand due to people being able to travel once again is generally given as the main reason. They did of course go through a very tough time during the pandemic but many of us did too. I doubt we'll see £450 flights again but I think they'll return to competetive pricing before long. If the empty seats on the Qatar flights are anything to go by, the rush seems to be over.

You're quoting prices from BKK not to BKK,

Try finding one now. Depending on how late in September you travelled - £706, whilst good in the current climate, is not particularly cheap. I flew with Etihad in June/July for £459 yet just a month later I had to pay £1677 - not so long ago you could get a business class seat for that. Of course, that was in school holiday time - always one of the most exepensive times but never £1677. I'm checking flights every day and yes, ocassionally a cheap flight with decent timings will show up but its the exception rather than the norm. Plus you need to be flexible - not every body can be.

Part way through the booking process on the Qatar website you are offered the option to choose your seat. All the sold seats are greyed out.

Yes but you need to have funds available in that currency - if not you need to transfer and exchange rates for the £ are not good at the moment.

Update: Still haven't booked. Prices for my dates which have changed (14 Dec - 2 Jan) are varying daily between £1400 and £1500. Interestingly, looking on Qatar's website and going part way through the booking process reveals that all 4 legs are little over 25% full. That confirms my suspicion that people are simply not booking at these prices - Thailand is going to be the loser in this. I will have to book soon as I have a court date in December and I can't take the risk but if this was my normal travel and I could be flexible, I'd certainly be waiting - surely they won't be wanting to run those flights half full or even 25% full if things don't change? Out of interest I also checked prices for October when they are usually low and all the flights that came up, with reasonable flight times were over £1000. At that time of year I'm used to paying between £450 and £500. Not sure when this will end but its not doing Thailand a bit of good.

If the forks are not pitted you can usually refurbish them relatively cheaply. Springs, seals, bushes and oil should be all that's needed but you might consider replacing the headstock bearings at the same time. That is of course, subject to the parts being available at reasonable cost.

The conflict in Ukraine is entirely different to any other in terms of its potential and given the announcements from Putin today, the potential for escalation has increased dramatically. Should NATO be drawn into this, as seems increasingly likely, Thailand will have to decide where its loyalty lies. It will have to do that whilst giving due regard to its relationships with both Russia and China. As for it being a business decision as it clearly is, once again its a bad business decision. Western tourists have been the backbone of the Thai tourist industry for many years - we were there long before the Russians, Indians and Chinese yet its those groups that Thailand has repeatedly targeted with promotions, extended visas ect. etc. This time they are doing exactly the same, instead of putting on charter flights to Europe or the US, which would probably force the regular airlines to reduce their currently ridiculous prices and therefore enable hundreds of thousands of Western tourists to visit again, they decide to do that for the Russians. Western economies may well be down but think what its like in Russia right now. I'd hazard a guess that this will be a very short term project, only a limited number of Russians will be able to travel. Long term, something Thailand doesn't seem to have the ability or brains to consider, all this is going to do is p... off Western tourists who will find alternative destinations. Tourists are creatures of habit, once they find somewhere they like, they tend to go back time and time again. They might also take the time to consider the feelings of their own people towards the groups they continually target. Thai people have far better relations with Westerners than any of the groups the authorities have targeted over the last few years. How many times have you seen hotels or bars with signs outside saying 'No Russians' or 'No Indians' for example? I've seen both. Hotel and Condo owners hate the Chinese for their trickery and multiple occupancy of rooms intended for 1 or 2 people. So overall, in my opinion, the long term negative effects of this decision will far outweigh any short term benefits.

Don't forget children - women are third class to them.

If the one on the left is 21, he must have had a long paper round.

Have they no shame?

Because it used to - and it still should in my opinion. I was aware that it had evolved to include serious injury but to my mind that is stupid. If you 'Execute' someone, they are dead - there are no half measures - thus its the 'cute' portion that previously indicated death. Its one thing for the spelling or even the pronunciation of a word to evolve but changing its entire meaning is just daft.

Lets not forget that whatever the circumstances, a young woman is dead, please consider that when commenting.

Someone told me that if you sell off the assets and just stop sending in tax returns - the authorities close the company eventually. Not sure if that could lead to prosecution though.

I seem to remember reading that once a Thai Ltd Company is set up, its difficult to close. Is that true? If so, what's the difficulty if the company has no debts?

Correct but the next step depends on how his relationship is now. He's either going to need her to visit the Land Transport Office with him or get her to sign a Power Of Attorney document (+ signed copies of her Tabien Bahn and ID Card) so he can transfer the bike into his name.

Totally different situation but it might give you some hope on using the income method. A few years back a friend of mine who has a business in Thailand with his wife and a work permit was told by the then 'boss' of Korat immigration that his 40,000 baht income must come from outside Thailand - how could it? His income was from the business! He was told that as his income was not from outside the country, he needed to have 400,000 in the bank. He called Immigration Head Office in Bangkok and was told that Korat were wrong and earning 40,000 from a Thai business was in accordance with the rules. He asked if they would call Korat and advise them of their 'mistake' - not a hope!! Running out of time he hastily arranged for 400,000 to be placed in his bank account. The following year, anticipating the same problem he used his lawyer (a well known Korat lawyer) to make the extension application and got it using only his Thai income - no 400,000 in the bank. I'm told that the lady in question has now left Korat Immigration but I can't confirm that. So once you get the other issues sorted, you might want to contact a lawyer to actually make the application.

I did when I edited it - you replied too fast ????

Its perplexing how you have the gaul to say 'what a load of rubbish'. In order....... 1. 'Crimea chose to go with Russia' - you actually believe that? 2. I said currently. 3. It may surprise you to learn that the West involves far more countries than just the USA. 4. Iraq and Afghanistan needed dealing with (the reasons used may have been false). 5. You don't think China is an 'evil pox on the world' then - even with its concentration camps? 6. I have little knowledge of Ukraine other than its genuine desire for change - illustrated by the Maidan uprising. Change doesn't happen in a day you know? 7. Gangsters??? You talk about gangsters in Ukraine? Russia is run by a bloody gangster!!

Although I'm not in agreement with introducing the tourism fee - this has got to be a joke right? 300 baht is nothing compared to the ridiculous prices the airlines are charging at the moment - that is definitely damaging Thailand's tourist industry.

Yes, he's thrown the world back 100 years, this sort of <deleted> should just not be happening now - not that it ever should. He showed his true colours by not having the courage to tell his people he was taking them to war - 'Special Military Operation' - clearing the nazis from Ukraine........what a load of tosh.

A lot of fighting and rudeness going on as usual. Having been in the same position myself, I can only say what happened to me - I lost the return leg too, as it seems the OP has now learned. Those smug ones on here that think they know the rules for every airline are quite simply wrong. All airlines will have their own rules so the only way to know for sure is to contact them. The norm is that you lose all subsequent flights if you miss the first leg but nobody can say that is the case with every airline. Unless of course, they have called every airline and obtained a copy of their rules.

A few years back - done by myself. Yellow/Purple is not everyone's cup of tea but it didn't have to be - I did it for me and I liked it. Having said that, I built the bike from a write off using secondhand plastics that were all different colours.

Just to make you aware, if you're not already - the stickers you mention are often laquered over so changing the stickers alone is not possible.

In keeping because as usual, the Thai government wants to ride both horses. When do they ever have a firm opinion on the actions of other countries that may possibly be able to be of use to them?