Razzler1973

Nearly always use booking.com. Quite clearly the number of rooms left refers to their own allocation but i believe it to be true. If it is not true they would face the risk of being caught out and also how would booking.com make a decision on which hotels to declare only had 1 room left? Also if not true it could potentially lose them Business for groups who want 2, 3 or 4 rooms.

What I wonder is, does these allocation things change day to day or week to week then? i.e. they have 4 rooms but come back in a week and they got 6 now (for the same dates a month ahead you were checking?)

It is literally every single one though, can have like 15-20 right clicked tabs open and they are all having a warning of varying seriousness! ... usually with a 'last booked' date an entire week before, yet today, right now, everyone is viewing it!!

Why would you get irritated? you must know that it is just a sale pitch(bullshit) This is Thailand,chill out or you die of a hearth failure

To all the literal fellas out there, I should be clear, I am not pacing up and down genuinely angry but rather midly perturbed and then roll my eyes at the volume of pop ups and 'warnings' when I am viewing the sites. It doesn't actually affect my day but I didn't think a thread titled "who isn't actually that bothered about those booking sites but have you noticed how they do this thing" would get much attention

The OP is me!

I don't mind exploring, for sure and I'll look around but I meant if I am drinking on the main strip, was wondering about parking, safe to leave the bike there, etcI

I'll no doubt have a few drinks there as well as having a mooch around

The Voice has the same formula in pretty much every country it's in

I wouldn't put too much stock in 'they made all the judges turn around'

Someone will come on and look the part or be semi famous already and *shock* no one turns around. It's really about their voice, you see, got to hammer that home!

Then someone will come on, one leg, two heads ... wow, everyone turned around cause it's not about looks, you guys, it's about the voice ... blah blah someone wins and human interest stories along the way

KL airport can be a bit of a bugger, they have that train thing to get from gates to terminal, I am sure that's enough time but think you definitely need the exit stamp and then come back through passport control and then on that train thing again

You should have no problems at all.

If you do come across tuk-tuk or taxi guys that tell you not to park in a certain spot, although you may be in the right, don't argue or make trouble, wish them a nice day and find another spot.

Yeah, no probs with that, I try to park somewhere where I don't think they'll be any beef with the bike. I don't mind a short walk as long as I feel that part of the road is ok to park on.

Generally speaking, if you come down to the beach in the afternoon for a couple of hours swimming is it ok to leave stuff parked in the beach road itself or better to park in the road down to the beach, bit more out of the busy section? Or, not matter really?

On the beach road itself where you see other bikes is fine.

Easier yet is Hat Napparat, 3kms of open parking along the beach. I prefer it over there to Ao Nang main drag.

Bit of a trek to come back to the main strip for food/drinks though, isn't it?

My general feeling is if vendors are selling food I like them and if they're not then they're 'in the way'

You should have no problems at all.

If you do come across tuk-tuk or taxi guys that tell you not to park in a certain spot, although you may be in the right, don't argue or make trouble, wish them a nice day and find another spot.

Yeah, no probs with that, I try to park somewhere where I don't think they'll be any beef with the bike. I don't mind a short walk as long as I feel that part of the road is ok to park on.

Generally speaking, if you come down to the beach in the afternoon for a couple of hours swimming is it ok to leave stuff parked in the beach road itself or better to park in the road down to the beach, bit more out of the busy section? Or, not matter really?

In theory, that makes sense but I look at some stuff with '1 room left' and '5 people viewing this' and 'we expect to sell out in 14 hours' and all that but go back the next day and the next and the next and they're still there at the same price

Granted, stuff does sell out but it is every single damn thing I am looking at .. just once, I want to look at a room and read the reviews without all the pop ups

Check out Pai Canyon, see how much it's worn down since you were last there.

I still like Pai even though it's changed massively and is loaded with dopey, rich Bangkokians and Chinese in search of the ole je ne sais quoi. Shouldn't be too busy this time of year though and you'll get better rates.

Ran and On at Beung Pai Farm have a nice place, though a bit out of town (towards Tha Pai Spa and the hot springs).

Dunno about eating as haven't been for couple years, but there are myriad places along the main drag, down towards the river along 'walking st' (where the bus station is), coming back along the small road parallel with the river in yellow (some nice little eateries here) and then back up towards the main drag on the route that crosses the river, completing the square... see map.

pai.jpg

Bamboo Bar (over the bridge and on the left) used to be a great late night watering hole.

Have fun.

Cheers, river to 'town'/walking st is easily walkable, right?

I don't mind staying a bit away, 20 minutes or so walk in and out of the main drag isn't an issue, wouldn't even need the bike, I guess

Be aware they are keep to law regarding drinking there. So if you feel like relaxing in the afternoon with a cold beer, you can't outside of regulated hours! A great way to attract tourists!

That's pretty much the same across Thailand these days. Even on the islands they wouldn't sell it but in small shops they were ok with it, just asked where I am going to drink and say 'back at my room on the balcony' and they were ok with it

I do like an afternoon beer from time to time but it's cool, stock the mini fridge or something instead or go whizz about on a bike

I will awkwardly be left with an extra few days after my GF leaves and haven't been to Samet in absolute ages, thought I may check it out for 3 nights, not too far

Damn, places seem to have got expensive for what you get. Also, not a lot of vacancies on the booking sites, I'd be turning up on a sunday, not sure if that affects things

It's Samet or Kanchanburi, can't decide

How's the distance between the most popular beaches, walkable or bike?

I remember turning up just as this was ending a year or so ago, pure chance, had no clue about queues but getting there was fine. I found it odd that the ferries were just coming and going and coming and going, never ending but no problem, got on

Songthaew to White Sand though I saw the huge lines from the pier all the way to the first turning out of White Sand Beach. Insane

1. Dont expect to get a drink after about 11.30. I was there a few months ago and the boys in brown were rousting customers out of bars and restaurants by that time, AND were forcing the street food sellers to close up and go home even earlier!

2. Be careful at Pai Canyon. The edge is literally crumbling and theres no health & safety evident at all. Quite fun watching the Chinese with their selfie sticks literally teetering on the edge to get what they see as a good ( but dangerous!) shot.

3. Unless its improved/ been completed recently, allow about a couple of hours more than you think its going to take to drive there, the road improvements are taking forever and nowhere near completed!

4. Compared to the old days, Pai is worth about three nights max these days, not much in the way of restaurants and bars.....not much to do daytime ( apart from watching the Chinese seemingly trying to kill themselves on motor cycles, at the canyon, etc!)

5. On the other hand, if you just want a total chill out for a few days without the horrendous Chiang Mai traffic, Pais your place!!!

Cheers, I am weighing up 3 or 4 days in Pai. I will be in Chiang Mai for a night and then Pai the following day. If I stay 4 days in Pai I'll have 2 days in Chaing Mai before my flight back to BKK. Obviously 1 less day in Pai is more more in Chiang Mai as I won't be going anywhere else. I'll probably stay 4 in Pai, as you say, more a chill out thing, see how it is now

I don't mind a few early nights either, if I have a place with a decent view I'll have some drinks on my balcony at my own place anyway, don't need to be bopping with the kids!

The drive in is that bad then? I will probably aim for an early as possible bus from Chiang Mai to hopefully beat any kind of traffic

Cheers

Reverie Siam is lovely.

Looks good but looks like booked up on main booking sites for when I am going

Check out Pai Canyon, see how much it's worn down since you were last there.

I still like Pai even though it's changed massively and is loaded with dopey, rich Bangkokians and Chinese in search of the ole je ne sais quoi. Shouldn't be too busy this time of year though and you'll get better rates.

Ran and On at Beung Pai Farm have a nice place, though a bit out of town (towards Tha Pai Spa and the hot springs).

Dunno about eating as haven't been for couple years, but there are myriad places along the main drag, down towards the river along 'walking st' (where the bus station is), coming back along the small road parallel with the river in yellow (some nice little eateries here) and then back up towards the main drag on the route that crosses the river, completing the square... see map.

pai.jpg

Bamboo Bar (over the bridge and on the left) used to be a great late night watering hole.

Have fun.

Cheers, river to 'town'/walking st is easily walkable, right?

I don't mind staying a bit away, 20 minutes or so walk in and out of the main drag isn't an issue, wouldn't even need the bike, I guess

Take some motion sickness tablets. You'll need them on the road up!!

I am generally pretty decent with travel stuff, will skip breakfast just in case

Apart from 'it's ruined' etc, yep, it's ALL ruined, everywhere!!

It's been 15+ years since I have been there so thought I'll check it out

I will probably get a bike, what should I be seeing?

Any particularly good food or drink places for atmosphere, view worth checking out?

Any recommendations on places to stay, by the river, I assume? Probably looking at 700-1000 baht

Cool, cheers

I expected there would be parking but nothing worse than driving into town only to spend half an hour looking for one spot, about 20 minutes walk from the place you want to go!

If there's plenty up and down then that just saves a load of hassle, just keep a bike every day

Simple question really, going to be in Ao Nang for a few days and looking at staying a little back from the beach (seems to be where the best deals are)

I don't have a problem getting a bike for the short drive to the beach area and general exploring, like it actually.

Just wondering if there's plenty of free, streetside parking around Ao Nang (low season anyway) or will I be cursing what is the point of having a bike if you can't park?!?

Is this a frustration around there at all or a 'don't worry about it' thing?

its a marketing tool, so what? why does it bother you?

also each hotel gives the hotel booking sites an allotment.

just cause it says "ONLY 1 left" does not 100% mean its true.

there alot more things to spend time on than something like this

Errr cause it's misleading

Just 'being a marketing tool' doesn't mean you can just out and out lie, you know. There are regulations

You're the guy that used to work at Agoda, right? What a surprise you have no issue with this.

If they're not giving me correct information then don't give me any information at all. Customers tend to not like being mislead. I ignore it but that doesn't mean it's welcomed

Travel sites only get limited slots.Book direct,cheaper

I have had mixed results with booking direct

Some places have said yeah, come do it, no need to pay the booking site and got pretty much the same price. One place I got for 1000 instead of 1500 going direct and that's emailing them, not even a walk in

Others are 800 or 900 baht but walk in and it's 2500 or something insane

I mean, jeez, I get drumming up hype and getting people to make decisions but surely this is bordering on misleading

I actually googled it and came up with some results about some booking sites having to remove this as it's a marketing tool and misleading well ... not sure they listened

I will be around and about and checking 3 or 4 different cities and towns for places and pretty much every single hotel I check it's 'only 1 more room' or 'room booked 5 minutes ago' and all that guff

What is quite amusing is '5 people looking at this now' and '1 room left' and then 'last booked' date is like 3 or 4 days ago. So, no one booked for 3 or 4 days but RIGHT NOW the whole world is looking at the exact hotels I am looking at!!

I tend to right-click and open many many tabs and they're ALL like that, jeez, so much for low season, eh

Of course, return next day and the rooms are still available

I generally ignore it but it's a bit silly, isn't it?

Having read the other replies appreciate the response and think it's made my mind up, will definitely give them a shot

Thanks all

Used their service Chiang Mai to Don Muang and return about 8 round trips, adult Thai son, his wife and two kids used them I guess 3 trips. No negatives whatever, no delays experienced.

Website easy to use.

No fee add on for 1 suitcase check in.

Insurance available on website.

Can pay by CC on the website or at 7/11 etc. (Takes less than a minute to pay at 7, the receipt gives all the flight details: date, flight numbers, times etc.)

Check-in focused and professional, in my experience good English every time, staff seem to always listen carefully and give clear answers.

Cabin crew focused and polite and quick to answer any requests, well focused on safety routine etc.

All passengers get a small plastic tub of water and two wrapped cookies, similar to Oreo.

New aircraft very clean.

I know most of my schedule several months in advance and I book early and get great prices.

Good luck.

Cheers

1 bag, free 15kgs like the other budget airlines, isn't it?

I have no issue with Nok Air but Air Asia have tried my patience a few times. I just googled cheap flights and this lot came up, vaguely recall hearing their name so thought I would ask, seems all positive so far

Some TV poster's wife

not hiso or chinese enough