craigt3365

Make sure it's fully cleaned out. You'll be amazed at how much stuff comes out from the cleaning. We do ours every 3-4 months, never open the widows, use the bedrooms AC a lot, and it's pure black in the bucket after the cleaning.

AA Insurance brokers are quite good. Last time I got travel insurance, I got it with my ticket through the airlines.

Seems like some good films!

Finding oneself while traveling: it's a classic literary theme from Siddhartha to On The Road, and a somewhat overused trope in contemporary page-turners-turned-blockbusters.

But the process comes full circle when film adaptations inspire further adventure. Books such as Into the Wild, Lord of the Rings, and Eat, Pray, Love prompted spikes in tourism to Alaska, New Zealand, and Italy, respectively – and Wild, the film of Cheryl Strayed's memoir about walking the Pacific Crest Trail, which bagged Reese Witherspoon a Best Actress nomination at the Oscars, has scores of viewers rummaging in the hall closet for their long-lost hiking boots.

Seeking a little cinematic inspiration before planning your next trip? Here's what to watch on the silver screen this year.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/film-and-television/best-of-film-and-television/content/travel-tips-and-articles/films-to-fuel-your-wanderlust-this-year

BANGKOK, 24 February 2015: Exo Travel, a regional tour operator with offices throughout Southeast Asia, has removed tour content from its brochures and websites that offered visits to schools, orphanages and other child welfare centres.

The company said in its February newsletter to travel trade partners that the decision was made, following reports from child welfare organizations on the negative impacts.

The company has also removed tours and sightseeing involving elephants in Siem Reap and the Angkor temple complex.

More here:

http://www.ttrweekly.com/site/2015/02/exo-retires-suspect-tours/

Not 100% sure, but am sure it's not wifi. They stream to their TV and I doubt that would work very well.

Angkor wat is absolutely amazing. Shianokvill is snooky. Not sure of the spelling. There r some really nice islands oof the coast for diving.

I would ask him what he wants to do. Mountains, beaches, big city. 5 days is not much time. A great trip would be angkor wat for a few days, boat to PP, then down to snooky for a day or two on the beach, easy to get back home from there. Could do the same thing with phuket or samui.

My friends in VT 2B constantly complain about the poor Internet service there.

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I recently crossed at Mae Sai into Burma. Big sign there saying "no more visa runs". Plus, a man in a green uniform keeping an eye on everything....

I have an email account that is only used for one bank and social security. I got the same notice. I never get spam with this email account. I haven't checked out the links, but I'd say it's legit.

Nice you could get to it without a VPN. I find that it's possible to do this, but only during certain times. Normally very late at night!!! LOL

The stuff in the meat and fish "balls" is lots of chemicals and sugar. Yummy!

If someone opened a street noodle soup stall and offered a completely naturally done soup with manually cooked broth from bones and veg, without added chemicals or too much salt and sugar and charged double the standard price, would they have many customers?

It's clear today's standard Thai noodle soup is suspect. There are so many easy shortcuts and naturally they are all taken. I'm curious to know what similar dishes were like 100 years ago before the food technology industry was available to create the mess we've got today.

There was a short segment on Thai television about 6 months ago warning about white noodles. They recommended eating the yellow noodles instead. Some of the yellow noodles I've seen look like fresh noodles. As opposed to the brittle and hard white noodles. I'm guessing they are fresh egg noodles????

As far as MSG goes, I don't put salt or sugar into my soup. Don't want MSG either. And I don't use fish sauce.

Many noodles are actually quite bad for you, especially the cheap ones you get on the street.

http://www.thestreet.com/story/12945986/1/ramen-noodles-may-be-bad-for-your-health.html

http://www.westword.com/restaurants/the-top-five-reasons-why-ramen-noodles-are-tasty-little-death-traps-5768068

Tragic for sure. And not the first one like this to happen. But, this is already running in another thread in the news forum. So, let's close this one and use the link below. Thanks for reporting this!

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/802433-around-the-world-cyclist-killed-near-korat/

I think you answered your own question! Travel agents run into the same thing. Without some dates to go by, the fares can vary drastically.

One thing I've done is when a promo fare crops up is to call the airline directly. Then ask them when is the lowest fare, regardless of date/time. I've had luck with this in the past. But you still need to give them a bit of a window.

Asia Rooms lets you book in advance, but pay the hotel on arrival. They do however require a card (which is not charged) to secure the reservation so it may not solve your problem.

booking.com often offers the same

But I think the price is higher, right? I booked a hotel this past week. Tried 2-3 different sites, then went to the hotel's site. They had a special that beat all the other offers. Doesn't always happen, but it's worth checking. Also, they tend to put you in "better" rooms. We got an upgrade for 200B/night that would normally be 800B if done via a website. We did this during the checkin process. I just asked!

A few off topic posts have been removed from view. Amazing how the US gets brought into topics (negatively) that have nothing to do with the US.

This does have something to do with the US...

No arguments, but the hidden post was 100% off topic.

Sorry, but English language only, please.

Russia actually has very little debt, their economy is OK despite low oil prices, unlike many western countries.

Please explain how having your entire economy based on oil production is anywhere near a sound fiscal position?

The Russian government has put price controls on Vodka suppliers as the cost of goods has skyrocketed. Which school of economic thought describes an economy with price controls as "OK"?

You must be crazy if you think that 9% is "...entire economy based on oil production"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Russia

Russia is unusual among the major economies in the way it relies on energy revenues to drive growth. The country has an abundance of natural resources, including oil, natural gas and precious metals, which make up a major share of Russia's exports. As of 2012 oil and gas sector accounted for 16% of the GDP, 52% of federal budget revenues and over 70% of total exports.^[25][26]

Thanks Anthony5 for the feedback.

That is where I went some years ago to buy my turf. The trouble is, from where I live which is about 10 km north of Pattaya, I think it is a 60+ KM round trip though and I only want 10 Square Metres - so I was hoping to get it from North Pattaya market instead. I have also read about the chaos on the Sukhumvit due to the new underpass construction so I would much rather stay this side of Pattaya if possible.

If I went to the market at around midday, do you think they would still have some turf left, or would it be better to leave it until next Friday?

If you are only 10km away, give it a shot! You never know. Worst case, you can get it next week.

Not too far north of you are lots of garden shops also. I can't remember the turn off, but it's a major one. Laem Chabang? It's to the right and I'm pretty sure the exit has a highway overpass going that direction also. Can't remember specifically, but there are lots of garden shops along that road. Maybe somebody else can help out?

Which other western country's ? I've only ever heard it's the us

Many, with the exception of those offering tax havens. The UK has been very aggressive lately. My buddy is about to sell his condo here as he's afraid his home country will find it and tax him on it...for all the years he's owned it. He's from Scandanavia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_secrecy#Actions_by_European_countries

Actions by European countries

European countries had long complained that banking secrecy provisions in countries such as Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Switzerland favored tax evasion by their citizens, particularly the citizens of countries such as Belgium, France, Germany and Italy which border one or more of those countries. In 2009 tensions reached a height and concerned countries (supported to some extent by other countries) raised the issue at the OECD and the G20. As a result, essentially all countries agreed to implement tax treaties that would facilitate the exchange of banking information in case of suspected tax evasion.^[15][16]

In 2013, Swiss President Ueli Maurer defended banking secrecy, and declared it is "comparable" to medical confidentiality, and that "the state must absolutely respect the private sphere" and should not know "what there is in your bank account".^[17]

In October 2013, the Swiss government stated that it intended to sign an international agreement sponsored by the OECD that, if ratified by Parliament, will align Swiss bank practices with those of other countries and in effect end the special secrecy that clients of Swiss banks had enjoyed in the past.^[9]

Looks like Uncle Sam is very interested in overseas accounts !

It's not just the US, many other western countries are doing the same thing. They're all looking for extra revenue!

Never stayed at the Baan Pictory, but the navy beach at Sattahip is great.

Taking the old train up to Ayuthaya is fun with kids, spending a night or two then coming back on the river. Staying on the khlong at Amphawa in Samut Songkhram also good. Chok Chai farm and few places around Khao Yai also make a fun weekend if you can get out of BKK before the traffic on a friday. Or definitely check our Suan Peung in Ratchaburi for something different.

My friend who lives in Bangkok went to Suan Peung with his kids not long ago. They loved it. Farms are all over the place I guess. Seems like a good place for kids.

A few off topic posts have been removed from view. Amazing how the US gets brought into topics (negatively) that have nothing to do with the US.