craigt3365

Just back from the trip. UA was fine. Probably like flying United or AA. Older plane, food was fair, but it was just fine. No problems at all.

Came back on Norwegian Air. Brand new plane with all the latest tech innovations. Impressive. I'd fly either of them again, but liked NA a lot more!

On the way here, was interesting to see the plane's route. They had to go out of their way by a bunch to avoid Russia and the problem areas in Ukraine. Quite a bit south.

Let's keep political discussions in the news forums. They don't need to be here. There is a topic running on this here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/808997-has-anyone-flown-with-ukraine-airlines-recently-uk-to-bkk/

So let's close this one and use that one from now on. OK?

Topic closed.

Just a thought. As you mentioned, add in the costs of these water parks and you are at the cost of Centara. Which IMHO, is a fantastic resort. You have your room nearby, the beach nearby, and plenty of distractions for the kids.

Just a thought...Centara is a really nice resort. But not cheap!

Centara Grand in Nakula has a fantastic water park for kids. Amazing. But it's not a cheap resort.

There is a Cartoon Network water park down near Bang Saray. I've never been, but heard it's expensive.

I'm not sure central Pattaya is a good family destination. IMHO.

Pinnacle has an OK pool. It's on a relatively OK beach. A few restaurants nearby. But you are not in Pattaya. Maybe others can help with the water park question?

My friend stayed there and said it was great!

Hmmm...Pattaya is an "interesting" destination for a family. What are you trying to do? Relax on the beach? Find a nice resort and relax for a few days? As you may know, the beaches around here (including the other side of the gulf near Hua Hin) are not picture perfect. But! You can find some nice places.

Central Pattaya would be good if you want to go out and party. If not, I'd avoid this area. Best to focus towards Naklua or in Jomtien. Perhaps even better if you can go south of Jomtien. You've got a car, so that should be no problem.

I don't know the prices, but the Pinnacle runs discounts from time to time. Huge resort, right on the beach, OK breakfast, great car park. Nice resort. Bang Saray is pretty good, but very busy on weekends. Heck, the whole Eastern seaboard is busy on weekends with people from Bangkok.

Another option might be Cha Am. Pretty decent beach, great restaurants, fair beach. But many relatively inexpensive hotels.

Just some thoughts.

Wifi is relatively inexpensive to get for your PC. You can get a dongle and for not much, have wifi in the comfort of your hotel or apartment! Though sitting in Camel Pub does have it's advantages.

We've been finding the local market to be more than Makro. Plus, who knows how the fruit was grown. Pesticides, etc. Same can be said with Makro, but I'd think they'd have a bit better quality control. Quite a few articles not long ago about dodgy fruit and veggies in fresh markets. I guess they were spraying them with something to keep them looking fresh.

We got in Monday around 6:30am. There was a line, but it wasn't bad. Moved very quickly. I've been there when it's taken 30+ minutes to get through. But that was always late at night. First time I've arrived this early.

Not sure SE Asia is past it's due date, but the global economy is hurting. Europeans are staying closer to home. America still hasn't 100% recovered from their economic disaster. Isn't the Aussie dollar down a bit? All these things add up.

Plus, it's definitely more expensive here. Not as financially attractive as it was 10 years ago. IMHO.

So how are you going to get from KL to the southern Thai border? I'd perhaps recommend a few different options.

1. fly to Samui (it and the surrounding islands are beautiful), spend a few days, fly to Bangkok, enjoy this magnificent city, fly to Chiang Mai and spend a few weeks drinving around there.

2. fly to Phiuket. It's a magnificent island, excluding Patpong for families. Then do as recommended above.

Could also do Kanchanaburi out of Bangkok. Hire a driver for a few days and it's a great place to explore for 2 or 4 days.

Could also get a car out of Bangkok, do Kanchanaburi, head to Sukhothai, Ayutthaya, then up to CM. Great road tirp. You could easily burn 2 weeks cruising in and around CM.

Why are you starting so far south? Any connections there? It's a loooooong drive up from there. Just curious. You could spend a month from Bangkok north and barely touch the surface. I think it's best to limit yourself to a smaller area. I spent a month driving from Pattaya to Hua Hin to Samet to Khao Lak and back and didn't dally around! Did pretty much the same from Pattaya to Khorat to Issan and back.

A car is the only way to go. Driving can be a bit stressful at times, but not too bad. Don't drive after dark, have a good GPS, and have fun! Can your wife read Thai? A huge help.

What's most important to you? Beaches? Mountains? Countryside? That will make a difference also.

If you've got the time, do the research yourself. I seriously doubt you'll find a travel agent who's been to Sri Lanka. Get a guide book, do a bit of reading, hit trip advisor, search numerous sites for the best air fare, and go! Problems may well arise, but that's all part of the experience. LOL

The add on's are not cheap. But IMHO, the food was much better. I'd be willing to pay for food if it is this quality. What I get in cattle class on many other airlines is barely edible.

I chose these guys due to a very cheap one way fare. Not all airlines allow you to do this at such a low fare. Allowed me to easily do an open jaw trip. Which was for me, a huge cost savings.

The bill for booze can really add up. I guess it's a good thing. Didn't drink that much!

We do not think they are the best.

They are witty, clever, incisive, entertaining, salient, funny, have a certain charm; and they are effective, as they intend to be.

Completely unlike the long faces on Faux and the dimwitties who parrot the extreme right wing media.

I think the two videos are very good. And the info is spot on. Thanks to the members for sharing.

Craigt3365!!

I wholly agree with you, have done that trip several times and has never been let down.... Good service, good airtrip and an overall positive trip I must say....

We have had a LOT of nej-sayers in i.e. Sweden who cannot stop complaining, but these guys are complaining about everything new that comes along!!!! We called it the "jante-law" in Sweden and it is typical for us.....sory to say!!

Glegolo

It would have been an even better experience if we could have used the other terminal. Not sure the number, but man, is it beautiful. And when I was there, deserted! The terminal we used was PACKED! But, had a great draft beer, plate of smoked salmon and a shrimp salad before we left. Awesome.

Can't help you with the biz seats, but economy were better than most. And for the price, tough to beat. Service was very good. And I've flown many budget airlines around the world. This one was the best. IMHO

What extras did you have to pay for.

I do Oslo-Bkk regular and they never much cheaper than Emirates or Qatar so not thought it worth it with the add ons.

Nice to know they ok though in case i need to use them.

Extras were checked bag, assigned seat andnfood. Didnt add up to that much.

What meals did you have and did they serve alcohol?

We had an option of 2 meals. Chicken pasta or beef curry, both were very good and had a few side dishes. We pre ordered it, came with a beer or wine. Can't remember the price. Breakfast was a ham and cheese sandwich, cookie, juice, and coffee or tea. I ordered a bottle of wine off the seat front system. Used a credit card and it was there quickly. Not cheap, but pretty much the same for all budget airlines.

It is the rainy season and KC is pretty much the wettest place in Thailand. I've been to KC twice in august. Never again.

Koh Larn is totally over run with tourists now. Water Quality is getting bad. Been reported on many news sites lately.

Just got back from Stockholm on Norwegian Air. I have to say we were impressed. We flew cattle class, but that's the norm.

The planes are really state of the art. Larger windows with push button dimming. Very good seat back entertainment system. USB and 220v chargers. Food that's available was actually very good. Staff was OK also. Nice seats.

The plane has some sort of lighting system that is automatically controlled. After dinner, it slowly went into a night time mode and as we were getting ready for breakfast, the lights slowly started to get brighter. Until just before service when they came on 100%. The pressurization is also suppose to be better, I guess simulating a lower altitude.

Very cool. And at $350 one way with reserved seat, food and checked luggage, not bad!

That video is fantastic! I'm still laughing.

My friend works out of there. His wife runs ASAP chandlery. He's pretty good. Built that huge gold cat. Id also check with them. He works out of the big building on the left as you leave.

I know of another place, but not 100% sure of the location. Will find it in the next day or so.

My father had a rare form of blood cancer. He needed platelet transfusions every month. Which requires a lot of blood donors.

Interesting article on how much blood is needed for patients like this. A lot.

http://www.haematologica.org/content/92/7/996

Is Advocate cheaper than Frontline? It's expensive!