Ricardo

2 minutes ago, JOC said:

Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan was the PM at the time of the coup...

Correct  ...  acting caretaker-PM to be precise.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niwatthamrong_Boonsongpaisan

I've seen adverts on the www which suggest, that a risk-free guaranteed 10%-14% return can be achieved by investing in Pattaya-condos, however I remain slightly sceptical.

Others appear to believe that far-higher returns are available by investing in crypto-currencies, they don't usually claim it's risk-free, but  ...  

...  reaches for 40-foot barge-pole.

I am reminded that, if it looks too-good-to-be-true, then it often is. 

Exercise extreme-caution, and don't-bet-the-farm, is my advice to the OP.

The Chinese-supported Malaysian ECRL-project will provide a land-bridge anyway, so those local construction-firms & important people supporting this canal-project are in-danger of missing-the-boat, so to speak !

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/01/15/china-projects-to-hit-singapore-the-giant-republics-aggressive-investments-in-ports-and-rail-links-i/

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/one-belt-one-road-malaysia-chinas-strategic-enabler/

The Thai government appears to have recognised this  ...

http://www.theindependent.sg/kra-canal-is-dead-says-thai-ambassador-to-kuala-lumpur/

The delivery-service where I live, a village near Mae-Jo, has been bad for the past six months or so.

Not one single Christmas-card has yet arrived, deliveries are less than one per-week, I'd say that at least a third of overseas-letters are currently failing to arrive here.

2 hours ago, Get Real said:

Not feel the need to read, due to that I have nessecary knowledge.

 

Most countries in the world accepts a copy of your passport first pages and a copy of your valid visa/stamp together with a receipt for your visa application. See, no problem!

I used to travel a lot on business to Africa, it was quite normal in our company to have/need a second-passport, one would be in-use while travelling while the second was off gathering visas for the next trip.

So billd766 is quite correct in what he says, IME.

I guess you learn something new, sometimes ?

21 hours ago, Srikcir said:

Obviously, no more "dragging" of Thailand's feet.

Yet only the first phase, of the three comprising the project, is yet supposedly underway ?

And why the need to break one project into three sections anyway, except as a ploy to string it out ?

I look forward to the signing of contracts, and financing-arrangements being in place, for the second and third sections  ...  but until then I believe Thailand is still haggling with China over the whole thing.

But I look forward to the deals eventually being done, and the opening of the Chinese railway, hopefully within 15-25 years or so ?

20 hours ago, yogavnture said:

let the 380 die

With several years' ongoing-production currently sold, and a working-life of over 20-years, they're going to be flying the busiest hub-to-hub routes for many years to come, thank goodness. 

I recently managed to fly all four legs of BKK-DOH-BKK return on A380s, in the frequent-flyer economy-cabin upstairs, it's much roomier & quieter than the jam-packed B777-200s/300s operated by the same airline.  A delight to fly, for us passengers, and I shall continue to seek them out where I can do.

The problem is that the economics for airlines have been changed, by the development of fuel-efficient long-haul wide-bodied twin-jets by both main manufacturers, which has enabled all sorts of 'thinner' point-to-point routes to be operated on reasonable frequencies at-a-profit.  Both Boeing and Airbus compete successfully in this market-niche too, to the benefit of the customers, and long may that continue. The A350-series is part of that trend.

I can see a time coming in the medium/long-term, as the number of Asian travellers soars further from the relatively-limited runways/airspace available, that these ultra-large passenger giants will be an important part of the mix.  Indeed Asian airlines are already finding that the A380 suits their longer-haul routes, China Southern & Thai International & Asiana & Singapore Airways & ANA & Korean Air all operate them.  While other airlines fly A380s into Asian destinations too, Qantas & Lufthansa & the Gulf-based three, for example.

I'm sure (too far back to remember personally !) that similar criticisms were initially made about the B747, despite which it went on to change the face of global travel, and still operates successfully on many routes. It heralded an age of affordable travel for the masses, that's me !

The A380 is not another Concorde, although some might argue that it was launched too far ahead of its greatest economic need.

1 hour ago, Cadbury said:

Just the other day they announced they wouldn't accept the loan conditions of the Chinese.

The haggling has been going on for some time, for example last August :-

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30323682

The Chinese need the whole line to get built rapidly, or the Chinese & Laos sections are less profitable initially, the Thais are seemingly dragging their feet and looking for better terms on the loans.  A sensible negotiating tactic IMO.

Since much of the economic-benefit will accrue to China, one can make a case that they should pay for (and build) the whole thing, but the Thais don't like that  ...  one can speculate as to why.

Then there is the memory of the Hopewell project, Thailand isn't as dependable a partner as it seems to think, but equally they don't want to put up valuable land or ports and other assets, only to lose them to China if poor management or lower-than-forecast traffic-volumes mean that the line runs at an unsustainable-loss.

It is unfair to give current-PM Prayuth all the credit, for effectively canning this silly project, as it has been a favourite of previous administrations too  ...  for example many will recall former-PM Yingluck announcing what the packaged-meals were going to be on this new route (to her home town), and saying that it would help speed agricultural-produce down to Bangkok.

Incidentally it was only going to be built half-way, with some unidentified/hoped-for private investor being expected to appear and complete it through the more-expensive moutainous sections, sometime way in the future & once it was up-and-running as-far-as Phitsanulok.

Prayuth can take some credit, for finally admitting what we've been saying on ThaiVisa for years, that it simply doesn't make economic sense as a high-speed passenger-only line.  So it's very unlikely to ever get built.  Unlike less-ambitious cheaper options, like the SRT track-doubling part-way, on the existing metre-gauge route.

The PM knows that Thailand already has serious challenges, in trying to finance the much-more-viable Chinese standard-gauge medium-speed heavy-freight (plus a few passenger-trains) route, for which that 3km test-track is supposedly being built, as part of the (first) Bangkok-Khorat section.  Note that there are still the second  (Khorat to Nong Khai)  and third  (Eastern Seaboard)  sections of that to ever be funded. 

2 hours ago, JAG said:

Are they still trying to flog those?

I believe so, although as long as the Board insists on a price which is far-higher than they're being offered, then they probably won't succeed in finding buyers  ...  OTOH they won't get blamed for having sold at below book-value.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-12/no-a340-buyers-so-thai-air-grounds-planes-even-with-cheap-oil

https://www.aerotime.aero/en/aviation-finance/finance/17302-thai-Airways-strives-to-sell-its-a340s

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/52952-former-thai-airways-intl-exec-urges-probe-of-a340-purchases

http://www.airfleets.net/flottecie/Thai Airways-stored-a340.htm   shows nine (out of the original ten) still there.

Although they did reportedly manage to transfer one across to the RTAF  ...

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/46388-royal-thai-air-force-acquires-an-a340

Will these replace TG's unused/unwanted A340s ?

3 hours ago, wavemanwww said:

The PM informed Gen Dunford of Thailand’s development road map and on how organic laws are being deliberated to allow for a general election and for democracy to strengthen in Thailand. 

 

Did not Prayut say to Trump laast year that elections will be called in November 2017 stating a date or am I suffering from Thai dementia  like Prayut?

I think you meant to say,  in November 2018, not 2017 ?

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2017/10/10/thai-elections-november-2018-prayuth-promises/

One can only hope that a military-leader of PM Prayuth's experience doesn't let anything delay his promised-election, no excuses and no further delays.

52 minutes ago, timbothaivisa said:

100k? add a zero and x4 for a rough number of illegals in the UK these days - they don't even check your passport on the way out

But you do have to self-scan your boarding-pass, just before the security-scan of your carry-on luggage, and your passport-details are on the ticket and have just been confirmed at check-in.

Also there's that funny little built-in electronic identity-thingy, sorry for the technical-jargon there, in your modern passport so perhaps that's being pinged & identified at that point, without your even being aware of it ?

No more excuses  ...  no more delays  ...  just keep your word and schedule the promised-elections.

It's not rocket-science.

Let's hope that the DNA-samples don't become 'accidentally' contaminated or mislaid.

10 hours ago, Ricardo said:

Overall the Qatar/Emirates/Etihad sales were all slightly-disappointing this year, IMO.  One can only hope for oil-prices, and airfares, to drop as the year progresses !

Lo-and-behold, one only says it, and then it happens ! 

I just got an email from Qatar, for a Thai-Sale on flights from their five Thai destinations, book by 11th February for travel up to 10th December.  Search via their usual website.  A quick check showed some sample-fares lower than their January-Sale !

And some new offers also from Etihad, some may come with 23kgs of luggage, rather than the usual 30 kgs.  Book until 18th February, for flights from 1st March to 31st July (although there may well be block-out periods).  To London from B23,580, Paris from B19,610, etcetera (with the usual caveats).

https://www.etihad.com/en-th/deals/view-more/?promotion_id=11748

I arrived into BKK on Qatar yesterday, and was similarly suprised, there were a lot of Russians onboard, perhaps Qatar is offering good-prices for former-charter travellers ?  Although I think it was also a code-share with S7 ?

And I can see how they might prefer UTP to BKK, given how popular Pattaya used to be, with that market ?

On 04/02/2018 at 8:15 PM, Khun Han said:

Return flights from BKK to Oslo with budget carrier Norwegian are available on selected dates October through to December for less than 13,000Bt when booked through an OTA. Hold luggage and sustenance are extra on these flights.

Now if only the LCCs could find a way to charge for air, en-route !

Overall the Qatar/Emirates/Etihad sales were all slightly-disappointing this year, IMO.  One can only hope for oil-prices, and airfares, to drop as the year progresses !

Etihad just announce that, for their very-cheapest  (Economy Deal)  fares issued after 31st January 2018, the allowance will only be 23 kgs, all other grades of Economy  (Saver, Classic & Flex)  remain at 30kgs.

https://www.etihad.com/en/before-you-fly/baggage-information/allowances/

"DEPUTY Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan would not be required to declare his extravagant watch collection as assets under the anti-graft law if the watches did not belong to him"

But surely he would have been morally-obliged (or even legally-obliged ?) to return a high-value borrowed-watch or watches, within a reasonably-short time after he'd died, to the estate of the lender ?

I do hope that the former-soldier PM's loyalty to his colleague is not misplaced.

Caesar's wife, or his deputy-PM, needs to be seen to be above suspicion, not untouchable.

1 hour ago, canuckamuck said:

This is basically what I took, only a month in advance so not many choices. Going to Beijing with air china, than off to Calgary via Van on Air Canada.  Return Air Canada to Korea, Korean air to CNX. 30,000 baht. Could have done better if I had more wiggle room on the trip and booked earlier

That's an interesting routing, for a reasonable price, did you find it online (where ?) or via a live travel-agency ?

Oh, and have a good trip, of course !

One oddity, all the other previous articles have spoken about the Eastern-Seaboard line to Laem-Chabang & Map-ta-phut as branching-off the medium-speed heavy-freight line at Kaeng Khoi, rather than only being the old meter-gauge line from Bangkok, as the map shows ?

And surely what the PM broke-ground on last month was just a 3-km test-track, near Khorat, the first real section from Khorat to Bangkok is still to be properly started, or " Thailand’s section is on the way" as the article prefers to phrase it ! 

Sale on KLM, book by 31st January, for travel between 25th January and 30th November, best fares seem (on a quick viewing) to be in May & June.

https://dream.klm.com/th_en?WT.ac=hp_carrousel_dreamdealswi18#!/

Fares to London 'from' B21,045 ,  Paris B20,999 ,  Amsterdam B20,899 ,  Munich B21, 948,  lookmuch better than the ones in the Gulf-airline sales this month,