THAILIBAN

AirAsia is setting up a new Airline in Vietnam within a few months, its 3rd subsidiary after ThaiAirAsia and Indonesia Air Asia. Will be Called "VINA AIR ASIA". for sure they will do domestic flights in VN as well...... and finally smash the Monopoly that VietnamAirlines (including PacificAirways) has..... Good news again !

anybody knows of a centrally located and reliable laundry (Lower Sukhumvit down to On Nut, or Rama 9, Ratchada, Lat Phrao, Ramkamhaeng) that has facilities to use HOT water.

my laundry here doesnt do it. thanks

1) the long-haul-flights are being served by AIR-ASIA-X and will not be found on the regular airasia-website

2) Thai AirAsia's delays are past. since the other domestic airlines moved back to Don Muang, almost all airasia-flights are AHEAD of schedule. never had any delay since Don-Muang reopened, had 6 flights with them since then. 5 of them ahead of schedule (10-25 minutes), 1 just right on time.

3) THAI Air-Asia is NOT using "fresh" aircrafts. their aircrafts are quite old, none is less than 15 years old, most are 20-22 years old. only the Malaysian Air-Asia got new Airbus 320 already. most of AirAsia Malaysia's international destinations are being served by the new Airbus 320, while they still use some B737-300 on their domestic routes (particulary those aircrafts based in Borneo).

The THAI AIRASIA is expecting the first brand-new Airbus320 to be delivered around October. I am sure they will announce that for promotional purpose in the press

dont book such long-haul flights at the airline's websites! in 90 % of the cases its cheaper through an agent. BKK - KUL - Buenos Aires will be around 50.000 Baht plus Taxes.

The redrosehotel (dot com) says on their website, they would offer free internet..... call them to find out....

apart from that, in my opinion there is no other place or area in LOS that suxxxx more when it comes to internet than Chiang Rai (an actually lovely place).

even the internet cafes s+ck and close very early.

and almost impossible to stay connected to MSN LIVE MESSENGER anywhere in CRAI. Yes I am there RIGHT NOW :-(

PYIAROM SPORTS CLUB at Sukhumvit near 101/1 (Bangchak) has an excellent 50-meter-pool and its entire sporting and Gym facilities are probably the best to be had in bangkok.

Not really a Cheapo, though

And you're right, I didn't trust anyone when I was over there, let alone the Government, who ripped me off at the airport for an already paid departure tax when I was leaving.

dont blame the Vietnamese government, when in fact u ripped off urself or being scammed by your (probably THAI ?) travel-agent.

since all times, the airport Tax in Vietnam had to be settled in CASH prior to departure. same as in Indonesia, Philippines....

said that, I as well dont like the Vietnamese goverment..... kinda paranoia going on there.... but then still u can live there without being harassed as its usual in the "land of the Free" these days....

of course it is available. but it can not be used to get a work permit. it is meant for business travellers from OUTSIDE Thailand who travel to Thailand a lot of times. and you can only apply at the EMBASSY, not at any CONSULAR OFFICES.

not really sukhumvit, but IBIS HUAMARK has rates starting 450 Baht (!!!) a night at the moment, plus 17% service fee and VAT, but still an unbelievable cheap rate. to be booked through the accor-hotel websites only

so basically looking at a porn website is against the law?

I guess so...... though until today, nobody here was able to explain what is actually considered PORN in Thailand, and what is illegal or legal.what if you chat with somebody on camfrog, and he/she suddenly shows u his/her "secrets" on cam.

then he/she has turned u into a criminal within one second, I guess....

you can easily do that and I did that more than once, when I was in desperate need to go shopping for some ROCK-CD's which can not be found anywhere in LOS (so HMV RECORDS at ORCHARD is like paradise for me here in Asia).

taking the first flight with Air Asia is the best option, to return to BKK you might as well consider flying JETSTAR, as they often have seats at 29/39 Singa-$ plus tax if u book early in advance, and they allow you to check in 20 KILO of luggage. that might be important if u plan a shopping orgy over there.....

oh SH*T, I kinda miss SINGAPURA

I wanna go tomorrow, sunday. anybody joining ?

surprised to hear that obviously NOBODY here knows about the wonderful products of PNMAP.

they publish the best detailled maps one get in Thailand. I just bought the MAP OF CHIANG RAI PROVINCE about 10 days ago at a tiny book-stall on the second or third floor of FORTUNE TOWN.

it costs just 90 Baht, and is awesome value for money. ISBN-Number 974-7745-71-2.

they even list every kilometer of the road, so if somebody tells you "turn left at KM 27,5 of Road N 3672" then u will be perfectly able to locate that small junction on the map.

I guess they publish such maps of ALL Thai provinces. Apart from the Chiang Rai map (which comes with an excellent map of Chiang rai Town on the backside), I own those for Chiang Mai and Udon Thani.

If you really wanna explore a province with ur own transport, this product is second to none.

its bi-lingual, though more towards Thai customers.

its probably not available in your usual ASIABOOKS - shop (maybe they will even deny that this product EXISTS), as to sell a 90-Baht-only cheapo-Map is not what they are really eager to, even if the product is great....

try SE-ED instead or any other book-store that caters for Thai customers...

if you have somebody who can read Thai, here you go: www.pnmap.com

thanks for the recommendation, though I doubt that many visitors to KL would like to stay at PJ far away from the city centre, when there is decent accomodation for the same price or less (45 Dollars is certainly not cheap) very near to Bukit Bintang, Chinatown or near KLCC.

Bangsar does have some small inexpensive clean guesthouses as well, and the nightlife is at your doorsteps there...

I think one main reason - and this particularly applies for Pattaya - is, that many retired older folks live there. They did not learn foreign Languages when they were young, because the school education was not very much focussed on that these days, other than nowadays.

For them, it is difficult to adopt a new language (be it Thai or English), and probably many of them are just too lazy to do it, which is their good right.

As for me, yes I do like to mix with people of my own nationality once in a while, because even if my English is acceptable, I sometimes feel inferior when between a bigger group of english-native-speakers and often I cant express myself properly due to the fact that my vocabulary is somehow limited.

In the end, it's everybody's very own choice to learn a language or not (though I agree, if living in Thailand for 20 years+, it would indeed make sense to learn at least some basic Thai).

A thing I dont like about some (not all, of course) native-English-speakers is, they like to point their fingers on people who dont speak English well. then if you ask them, which other languages can THEY actually speak, the answer is ZERO usually (or a blank face).

so better dont blame others....

just my 25 Satang of words....

....... an almost complete lack of greenspace and parks.

Have you ever been to Bangkok?

Have you ever been OUTDSIDE Bangkok in your entire life ? at places such as Singapore, Hanoi, HongKong, Kuala Lumpur ?

that must be a joke indeed..... I know at least 20 cities with a population of 2 million plus, half of them in Asia. And for sure, Bangkok is the LESS greenest of all of them. what is tiny Lumpinee or tiny lovely Rama-9-Park (by far the most beautiful place in Bangkok), compared to the size of the city.

even nasty man-made Monsters such as Jakarta or scary apocalypse-like Manila have more green space within their city limits.

been to Asia Books Paragon this evening, they indeed did have something, but it was the CIVIL and COMMERCIAL code in Thai / English, about 2000 pages I guess, and a 3 Kg-Monster at 1.200 Baht. unfortunately, the penal/criminal-code was not included and the stuff told me "no have, no can".

any hints ? or maybe some websites have it online in English somewhere ?

SUNBELT for sure knows about that, but haven't seen Khun SUNBELT posting here for quite some time..... maybe he is in his holidays....

if only ONE of those girls shows her nipples on your screen, then you committed a crime and will be subject to deportation.

yes sounds like a joke, but in fact it's reality.

Amazing Thailand, amazing THAILIBAN government

the Taxes are a FIXED amount usually, so of course the percentage of the Taxes is higher if the actual fare is 99 Baht than if it would be 2.000 Baht.

so, may I ask, where is the scam ??? thats absolutely nonsense.

u think its scam because they charge u 99 Baht plus Taxes instead of 2.000 Baht plus Taxes ? well, then go for the 2.000 baht ticket and scam urself and be happy.

Though, I do agree with the "publicize end prices" thing.

but that doesnt mean, to sell a ticket for 99 Baht (and there are PLENTY of them available, its not just a promotion-joke) is scam....

too late, flightcrew1 !!!

I was quicker, please be patient while waiting for take-off

but I must admit, they dont have much information about using Suwannaphum on their website anymore. At least not easy to find. Maybe they think that everybody already knows. which is stupid, as there are always new customers who are not familiar with the scene....

all AirAsia flights, be it domestic or international, leave and arrive at SUWANNAPHUM, which indeed can be easily found out from their website

its still good news..... and good news are rare in the Kingdom of Siam in the year 2550....

Just got back my visa run to KL. Air Asia was okay although the seats are a bit cramped. The express boarding worked okay and I think it is worth paying the extra 200 baht as you are first on the plane, get a front row seat thus ensuring that you are one of the first off the plane and straight through Immigration. I took a Taxi downtown to the Concorde Hotel (Hard Rock Cafe) and it took 1 hour 15 mins from the LCC Terminal, cost 95 Ringit.

For people going to make a visa it is worth considering making a payment to the security guard inside the visa building who issues the queing tickets. I didn't arrive at the embassy until 10am and the embassy was packed with people and was told that I could be waiting for up to 2 hours. I give the security guy 50 ringit and hey presto 15 minutes later my "new" number was called. The collection the next day is a piece of cake and only takes a couple of minutes.

It has been a couple of years since I have been to KL and couldn't believe how expensive the beer is. I was paying anything from 32 to 35 ringit for a large (pint) glass of beer.

Cheers......

I think you did most things right. though, the Bus from the LCCT Terminal does the run in 75-80 minutes as well (arriving at KL sentral from where you can get a voucher-Taxi to any downtown destination at a very reasonable price) and costs only 8 or 9 RM, instead of the 95 u paid. but maybe its no problem for u to spend a little more.

about the EXPRESS BOARDING, for a flight of 2.45 hrs i think its well worth to pay the 200 baht extra. You already have listed the advantages....

about the beers: dont know where u had ur drinks but I usually dont pay more than 15 RM for a Pint. though, still expensive compared to Thailand. for Cheapo booze u have to go to the duty free islands of Langkawi or Labuan, where the prices are almost same as in Thailand.

you were asking for other alternatives to do ur Visa-Run from CM. TIGER AIR is flying nonstop to Singapore, and the fare is usually very reasonable if u book early in advance. and I heard, the Thai embassy in SG is okay to deal with as well....

With all the new laws (new internet law, for example) coming into effect recently, one might think it would be good to understand about the Thai Penal Code, to avoid any problems.

is the THAI PENAL CODE it available in English ? and maybe the BUSINESS LAW ? printed as a book ? or at least accessible online somewhere ? what is considered a CRIME ? what is considered a regulatory offence only ? how can I make myself familiar with the new internet law ? and where can I get a definition what is considered PORN in Thailand ?

so many qustions..... but better be safe than sorry nowadays......