jfchandler

For natural beauty (beaches etc.), honesty of local people, and night life of one type or another, ease of doing business, other destinations are far better.

Re ease of doing business, for a foreigner, I'd concur Thailand isn't easy and certainly isn't getting any easier with time...

But for natural beauty, especially nightlife, and honesty of the local people, pray tell where is this heaven that would outrank Thailand (and BKK)???

I'd argue BKK is one of the world's great nightlife cities; that the range and variety of natural beauty in Thailand is vast, and that for the most part, normal Thai people are pretty honest in their day-to-day dealings, especially if you avoid those who make it their business to try to make a quick baht off unsuspecting tourists.

I'm not convinced that Khun Thaksin was corrupt.

And you also believe the world is flat not round, and that man landing on the moon was just a hoax, right???

It wasn't PAD who launched a half dozen or so criminal corruption cases again Thaksin.... It was Thai government prosecutors. It wasn't PAD who convicted Thaksin in the first case and sentenced him to two years in jail. It was Thai courts and judges.

To those who keep talking about "water cannons" being used to disperse the PAD protesters....

1. they are usually truck/vehicle mounted, and I'm not sure at all how they could be used on crowds inside the two airport terminals.

2. And even if authorities had a way to use that method in an indoors location, I doubt the AOT folks would be real happy with the interiors of terminal buildings getting soaked and sprayed with what inevitably would be large volumes of water.

If that were to happen, I could imagine it could take a long time to dry the places out and ensure that all the various electronic systems in the terminals had not been water damaged.

Nice that the OP decided to grace us with his first-ever TV post on this heady subject...

I can't wait to see what pearls of wisdom will follow in post #2...

Here's a better link (in English language) re the flights that EVA is running in and out of U-Tapao for the imminent future... two flights daily between U-Tapao and Taipei on Sat and Sun... nothing listed beyond then.

http://www.evaair.com/html/b2c/english/eva...gkokFlights.htm

It's getting increasingly difficult to abide with PAD's actions and methods here...

But, were it not for PAD, what else would stand in the way of the current government amending the Constitution, pardoning or otherwise letting a bunch of politician crooks off the hook, and welcoming back to Thailand with open arms the biggest one of them all??? And no, he won't ever be volunteering to serve his jail sentence....

Durianfan... I was wondering about that. I also had a great Thanksgiving buffet on Thursday at Bullys....

Are you saying they offered it again today/Friday??

It was so good, I was thinking about going back also.... But their ads only talked about Thursday, and made no mention of Friday.

For those still hankering for more turkey etc., I noticed the Texas Lone Star Bar in Wash. Square today had turkey sandwiches on their board specials menu. I'd guess those might continue at least for a while...

Anyone know of other places that will continue to offer Thanksgiving type meals even now that the official holiday is over???

I don't mind leftovers at all... At home, usually, the second day meal always seems to taste better than the first.... I think the extra day gives the bird time to settle...

Ya, the Subway on the even side of the street surrendered to high rents... But the other Subway on the odd side of the road near Soi 7 is still in business same as always.

OK.. then obviously they've undergone some changes there, based on what you and BKKJames say...

Last year, I met and talked at length with the Atrium's manager then, a mid-30s Thai guy who was absolutely professional and congenial. And he had an assistant manager in a similar age Thai woman who took great care of me thru the evening...

Last Thanksgiving, there wasn't a farang manager or staff anywhere to be found in the restaurant...

Bonobo...sorry to hear that.... My experience there last year was flawless, and I don't recall them being short of anything that time, especially turkey. And they had a very large selection of deserts (pies, puddings, cakes, etc)... I couldn't even begin to try everything that was on offer.

Was it very busy/crowded when you were there?? Last year, the day before by phone, they told me I'd have to come later like 9 pm because all their early reservations were filled. Then on Thanksgiving Day afternoon, they called me and asked if I wanted to change to come earlier, basically at their opening time. I said sure and arrived at the start. Probably for the first two hours, it was very quiet as groups/families kind of trickled in... But after 2 hours, it had pretty much filled up and people were lining up at the food tables. By then, I was already finished...

I'd agree... I've used electric crock pots a lot for cooking.... great way to prepare many foods and wonderful for slow cooking meats...

You do want to have your contents decently fill the pot you're using. I think you don't want to use an oversized cooker and then have your ingredients only filling the bottom of the pot. I think that could lead to overcooking and maybe burning on the bottom...

Buy the size that fits with your normal cooking quantities.

It's been alluded to above...but more directly here.... I think you might begin to worry a bit about a Thai "GF" who refuses to show/tell you where she works.... Ya think she might have something to hide????

Besides, I think most Thai women would look freakish sporting a pair of DDs.... Their body shape and size just don't fit with that. Believe me, if "many" Thai women were doing it, I would have certainly noticed it by now....

Yes, Majestic Suites in located there...and a very nice place to stay. But it's a ways up from Subway and has its own regular hotel entrance, nothing to do with a tailor's shop entrance.

There is a Parkway or Parkview Inn there also, closer to subway and not much more than a sign on the street in terms of a visible entrance. I'm guessing that's the place the OP is recalling.

WOW...nearly unanimous sentiment here.... See....this crisis is bringing us (ex-pat) folks closer together....

But, I do have some sympathy for the OP... If I was stuck in the Ambassador City hotel in Pattaya, I'd be putting out a call for someone to come rescue me as well.....

On the other hand, if I had been placed into Secrets in Pattaya, then I'd just be kicking back and enjoying it... Closed airports... Who cares....

But like all feasts it is just about food nowadays...

There's a reason Thanksgiving is "about food", because that's what it is commemorating...

History of American Thanksgiving

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

Historians have also recorded other ceremonies of thanks among European settlers in North America, including British colonists in Berkeley Plantation, Virginia. At this site near the Charles River in December of 1619, a group of British settlers led by Captain John Woodlief knelt in prayer and pledged "Thanksgiving" to God for their healthy arrival after a long voyage across the Atlantic. This event has been acknowledged by some scholars and writers as the official first Thanksgiving among European settlers on record. Whether at Plymouth, Berkeley Plantation, or throughout the Americas, celebrations of thanks have held great meaning and importance over time. The legacy of thanks, and particularly of the feast, have survived the centuries as people throughout the United States gather family, friends, and enormous amounts of food for their yearly Thanksgiving meal.

Thanks for the info.... I had a letter bound for the U.S., and was wondering if it was going to be stranded.....

I asked this question during a visit yesterday to my local Post Office, and got an unknowing answer from the clerk there.

You'd think folks like FedEx and DHL might be making alternate, temporary arrangements to fly out from Phuket and/or Chiang Mai.... But I haven't checked with them.

So does anyone know, what's happening to inbound and outbound international mail and parcels right now???

Here's the updates/announcements web page that Thai Air is using to post in English and Thai...

http://www.thaiairways.com/Homepage/announ...a_situation.htm

And here is the latest announcement they've posted there...

THAI Flight Los Angeles-Bangkok Landed at U-Tapao Airport

Following the announcement of the Airport Authority of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT) to close both Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok) and Don Mueang Airports until 18:00 hours today, THAI therefore canceled all scheduled domestic and international flights operating to and from both airports on 27th November until further notice.

THAI’s Corporate Communications Department announced that THAI’s flight TG795 operating from Los Angeles to Bangkok landed safely at U-Tapao Airport at 07:00 hours (local time). The flight carried a total of 126 passengers. THAI staff assisted all passengers through all airport formalities and arranged for transit passengers to be transferred to nearby hotels and accommodations. Thai passengers living in Thailand were transferred to THAI’s Head Office, on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and expected to arrive at noon today.

THAI requests all passengers who have made reservation to travel or wish to travel with THAI to check flight movements via public media. For those who wish to make flight reservations or change travel plan please contact THAI office at Tel: 02 356 1111 or for news update at Tel: 02 545 4000 or via THAI’s website www.thaiairways.com

Added comment... 126 passengers on a Thai Air flight from Los Angeles to BKK is pretty bare... Dunno if that's a sign of the general decline in tourism lately, or that passengers somehow decided not to come at the last minute...

I know it's a bad situation...but after reading the above posts, I'm sitting here dying of laughter....

We already had a government in exile with Thaksin. Then we had a government here in BKK on the run. Now a government in hiding in Chiang Mai????

Then, both the airports are shut down by PAD. So some of the big shots are supposed to take a military transport northward, but they're late and the transport leaves without them??? I mean, it was a 10 am flight and it only takes an hour to go to CM... The plane couldn't have waited a bit longer for missing Cabinet members of all people???

And then, the military plane that just left...has to return back because of an engine malfunction.... So everybody gets off and has to take a different military plane... Couldn't quite tell, if that meant the original missing Cabinet members caught the plane on its second departure...

It has all the makings of a Saturday Night Live skit...

Note to Thai Air Force - gotta remember to check those engines before takeoff time...

Unless, of course, you're a conspiracy theorist who might imagine that the military folks deliberately..... Nahhhh.... couldn't happen in Thailand...

Indeed, all of this IS because two opposing factions (the PPP coalition vs PAD) can't come to any resolution over pretty much one subject: that an exiled, convicted, fugitive ex-PM wants to come back home and run the whole show again just like before 2006.

And, if anyone's making bets on the likelihood that Thaksin would ever voluntarily serve a prison sentence in Thailand, please step up with your money in hand. I'd be happy to cover that bet.

OUCH!!!! That really hurts, when the govt spokesman for the PHs of all places...says that your country is lacking in political maturity...

The PHs, of course, hasn't had their airport closed lately. But they do have Muslim extremists kidnapping and ransoming Westerners, ripoffs and scams again Westerners rife throughout the country, gun-toting guards in front of every mall and fast food outlet, police who actively engage in extortion against tourists, and, let's not forget, regular bombings including the recent one (apparently) where the whole shopping mall got destroyed. And the list could go on... including the long-running campaign to impeach President Arroyo.

Interestingly, I was looking thru an airline safety web site yesterday that tracks commercial airline crashes with fatalities, and saw that PH Airlines had had quite a few fatal crashes in the past couple decades. And when I looked at the details, I was surprised to find they had had about a half dozen or so episodes where people had planted bombs on their planes that exploded inflight, taking the jets down and killing everyone onboard.

Yes, the current situation here is crazy and stupid, caused by the inability of the two warring sides to come to any resolution. And why is that??? Simply because one exiled billionaire wants to come home and run the whole show again. If it wasn't for that, this whole thing would vanish.

Getting back to the subject of the airport, and this thread...please!!!!

Just checked EVA's online flight status system...

And, they had a flight due out at 12:30 am Wednesday (now) to Taiwan that shows canceled...

But they also have a 1:30 pm flight Wednesday out to London that still shows on schedule.

I'm guessing they're keeping it on that status, hoping that things will clear up by then... But then changing its status later if they don't. It doesn't sound like the PAD folks at the airport are likely to beat a hasty retreat...

Based on what we know now, I wouldn't be rushing to catch any morning flights Wednesday at Swampy unless something drastic happens overnight.

I've read every post here, and I can't make sense of the flight arrivals issue...

In one news report recounted here, the AOT dir is saying that ALL arrivals and departures are canceled as of tonight, and arriving flights will be rerouted to Phuket and Chiang Mai. But then it talked about those airports closing at 9 pm, which was about the time the Swampy closure took effect. How do you reroute flights to closed airports???

Then there were other items that talked about flight arrivals at Swampy still occurring tonight...

What the H... is going on out there???

I needed to be taking some Vitamin B, so I've been shopping around BKK for that...

Went to the GNC store in Silom Road near the Saladaeng BTS station the other day, and found they carried their own store brand B -- bottle of 100 tab for 1250 baht or about 12 baht per pill. I'm not sure on all the details because I didn't stay to write it all down, but it seemed to have a broader composition that that listed below.

Separately, went to a local pharmacist in lower Sukhumvit where I often buy medications, and asked about Vitamin B. They produced 10-tablet blister packs of Vitamin B tab that they sell for 10 baht each, or 1 baht per bill. Their brand is labeled Medic Pharma SAMBEE and has 100 mg of B1, 5 mg of B6, and 65 mcg of B12.

Back in the U.S., a 100-tab bottle of Vitamin B would be easy to grab from any store for $3-$6... But GNC here in Thailand is asking $30 for the same thing.... Something doesn't sound quite right here...

Update on Bully's Pub Thanksgiving Dinner, near Sukhumvit Soi 4

They had their Thanksgiving signboard out yesterday: 590 baht from 1 pm to 10 pm on Thanksgiving Day.

Advertising turkey, ham, and various of all the trimmings.... I believe it is a buffet.....