josephbloggs

Because it was was raving rip off so people looked at the prices and left without ordering anything.

Ding Ding Ding!! I was wondering how long it would be before I got my first typical Thai Visa reply. I was beginning to think it might not happen because I got a couple of sensible replies first, but well done, you get a gold star! I hope it looks nice on your backpack. Yes, people like you probably left without ordering.

The place was a little bit overpriced, but it was nice with good service so it was worth it in my opinion. Great view too. I miss it.

Two years seems a long time without it being replaced by anything, hence my question. There must be more to it than it being too expensive.

I used to go up there for last goodbyes before flying out. Never reopened after the occupation by the yellow shirt scourge. Was a good location, but a bit expensive.

Yeah, it was a little bit expensive but it was a nice place for a final beer and it was no more expensive than the dreadful rip-off places once you pass immigration. Sonthi, the BASTARD! Think it had closed even before those ridiclous selfish yellow <deleted> did their bit for democracy though.

Cost of keeping power and aircon running for the few customers that used it?

Well, yes, it was never that busy but it always had a few people in it. It was rare to get a seat next to the window. If it was always deserted I wouldn't have asked the question - it was usually half full.

I have to say that your visitors were exceptional in that after a long-arsed flight, they would navigate up 3 floors with baggage to meet you at the bar before navigating back down 3 or 4 floors to finally get ground transportation to final destination. You (and them) must have been the Sky Bars favourite customers!

Well we'd have to come up to the 4th floor to get to my car anyway so it wasn't too much further to come up to the Sky Bar where they'd have a cold beer waiting. Not too exceptional when you consider the rewards (cold beer) versus the sacrifice (er, nothing).

Hi folks,

I was at the airport today and something got me thinking: up near the far check in areas there are escalators going up to what used to be the Sky Bar. I used to really enjoy sitting in there for a few drinks and would tell arriving family members/friends to meet me there rather than fighting through the scrum downstairs. Then about two (more?) years ago it suddenly closed and it has never been replaced by anything,

So, I'm really curious if anyone knows why it closed, and why that space has been empty ever since? There must be a reason.

Now I know one of reasons we chose to live in Chiangmai.

Was it really?

I am guessing from the OP's screen name that he may be of Chinese decent or ethnicity?

"a Chinese woman around age 55 wearing good make-up asked me if I was Chinese and if I had some time and I answered yes." Er.......that may also have been a clue.

I tried to comment on The Sun website regarding his illegal act, and they have refused to post my comment,

So I felt duly bound to report this illegal worker to the Thai Immigration, why should we all have to follow the rules and regulations, and this person doesn't.

Hard to tell whether you're joking or not. If you are, fair enough. But if you're not you really need to get a life.

There are several piers, in addition to the one with the public ferry, along the water front in Ban Phe that offer speed boats to whatever beach you want to go. More importantly they also offer overnight parking for a small charge as well. We have been using one that two piers before the public pier. In some 10 years of leaving the car, we have never had a problem.

TH

Similar story here. I always use Chok Krisada pier which is maybe two or three before the main pier. They have good covered parking and I've never had a problem in ten plus years. They also have a good fleet of well maintained speedboats with helpful and courteous staff. I just came back from Ao Pai last weekend and paid 2,500 baht return for the speedboat.

Not sure why it's not showing, but click the square for a pic...

I have already bought a paper and sit and read there and watch till a set of 3 seats becomes vacant.

Bag them, and stretch out....

That's right, because you deserve those three seats! To Hell with the other people!!

Are you aware of that this thread is nearly 4 years old

Ha ha, no - I didn't notice. What a moron.

I have already bought a paper and sit and read there and watch till a set of 3 seats becomes vacant.

Bag them, and stretch out....

That's right, because you deserve those three seats! To Hell with the other people!!

From VM you are very close to the entrance to the tollway and a straight-shot to SBIA, so a taxi seems like a much better option? Or even the 551 bus? (The mini-vans are not a viable option given the variable length wait-times and location south of the BTS station.) Given the OP's 12:00 Noon arrival at VM, a taxi will have you at the airport by 12:40 PM, while the journey via the BTS and SARL will take a lot longer given the long walks, ticket purchasing, train wait-times. FWIW both the Silom and Sukhumvit BTS lines have been experiencing long intervals over the past week, in some cases up to 20 minutes (the new signalling systems is really bad IMO, even when working, as the train control is crazy variable), leading to packed platforms and trains, so getting on a BTS train at VM with luggage may be challenging. Additionally, and not specific to the OP's inquiry, I have seen MRT (subway) security pulling aside travelers with luggage and having them open everything up, adding to a potential delay.

Long walks? It's about a minute from the BTS station to the ARL concourse.

Ticket purchasing? Maybe another minute. It's never taken me more than that.

Train wait times? This is a valid point but you know even if you were really unlucky it won't be longer than 15 minutes.

Personally if I need to know I'll be there by a certain time I'd take the train. The OP is pushing it as it is because Air Asia has some horrendous check-in queues. Why risk a taxi with all the variables that entails? By your reckoning (40 minues in a cab) you may save five or ten minutes if you were really unlucky on the train timings and the traffic was good, but you could lose so much more.

I;ve used them many times and never had a problem,even leaving booze and fags inside the case.

If your worried have your bag wrapped in clingfilm.

cheers

Wow, here I was reading the OP's post thinking, "This will be full of replies from the usual Thai-bashing negative Thai Visa nothing-better-to-do-than-criticise sad life grumble bags that we always get on here". They'll be saying don't use it, everything will go missing (even though they've no doubt never used the service), what can Suvarnabhumbi ever do right (nothing, nothing I tell ya! That train that goes from the centre of town direct to the airport terminal in 15 minutes is a DISGRACE!!)?

But, wow, what a pleasant surprise! Are the normal posts to follow?

I don't remember many, or hardly any, people here calling the ARL a dismal failure or suggesting it be shut down...

Here you go:

"The Express train is an abysmal failure. They might as well dump it now, before they commit anything more to the service."

Posted by some misery guts on page 2. That was what stuck in my mind - an absolutely ridiculous statement I'm sure you'll agree.

If I started a thread titled: "The Sky is Falling" I swear 60% of TV would join in saying, "Of course it is falling, this is Thailand!" or "I knew it would, Thais can't do anything right!" etc etc. Sad.

Either we are all whinging, overly critical, complaining and ungrateful or the Thais have it arse about face once again.

Make your own mind up on that one.

I have. And it is obvious to me. (P.S. it is not the latter).

Pretty much everyone on here loves a good old whinge about nothing with some condescending comments about Thais thrown in for good measure.

I honestly can't believe there are people on here calling for the service to be shut as it is a "dismal failure". Then again, actually I can believe it....and it's sad.

Ok, so far, sounds like it'll be either Vertigo or Sofitel silom sky lounge. :jap:

Vertigo is by far the best I have been to. I would say the view and atmosphere there are miles better than Sirocco. I have taken a few people there over the years - it is the best place in town for a sunset "wow factor" cocktail. And the prices - whilst not cheap - are just about on the right side of acceptable. Sirocco is a blatant rip-off in my opinion. I don't see how you can beat Vertigo for an all round experience.

Also, I agree with the other posters about Baiyoke. If you get a nice clear day (they happen occasionally) then it is well worth going up to the viewing deck - but the bar and restuarant are both pretty shabby. Such a shame really because the view is fantastic.

Also where to buy those cool lights that look like tear drops: silver in color. Outside Ekamai Major.

Thanks too in advance:)

If you mean those cool strips of lights that "fall" from top to bottom that they have outside the Funky Villa complex on Thonglor soi 10, you can get them at the light shop on the corner of Sukhumvit 35. Just saw them in the upstairs window yesterday as I had been looking for them too. The shop was closed though so I don't know how much they cost.

It hasn't been set yet.

It was fireworks. I could see them and then heard them.

They were a lot more "rumbley" than fireworks usually are and did sound very much like thunder.

But it was definitely fireworks.

Yeah, I can confirm this too. They were very long and rumbly though - the first time I heard them I wondered what was going on so went to my balcony to have a look.

8,200 baht a month + accomodation + tips(?) plus you pay extra for their ID/Permits etc... Sounds like you are overpaying them to me.

I hope you are joking. You do realise you are talking about human beings that may have families. For here that is just about an ok salary, but to say they are getting too much? Seriously, where do you come from?

Pretty sure you must have been joking....

So, just out of curiosity, I read somewhere that the price was due to go up for the phayathai line, when is that, does anyone know?

From the 1st Jan 2011 it will increase to 15-45 baht depending on journey length (from the flat rate of 15 baht now).

The Express will increase to 150 baht each way, as opposed to 100 baht (same day) return now.

Really? How many international airports elsewhere in the world have a rail link and at the same time have a case of a terrorist blowing up an apartment building along with himself?

Airports with direct terminal-accessible rail links (heavy rail or metro/underground) that have had terrorist attacks within their home nation's borders in the last 15 years:

- London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted

- Manchester

- Birmingham

- Tokyo Narita (and a particularly scary terrorist attack as it involved releasing sarin gas on an underground train)

- Tel Aviv Ben Gurion (which I don't believe has airport-style security even though it is the most terrorist-at-risk airport in the world but happy to be proven wrong)

- Madrid

- Istanbul (via Light Metro)

- Atlanta

- Washington Reagan Airport

- Moscow's three main airports

These are just some that I can think of off the top of my head - I'm sure there are lots more. I don't think any have any serious security checks on them - but happy to be proven wrong. Plenty of developed countries in that list as well.

Quite frankly I think the OP's post is ridiculous. Being so condescending towards Thailand because it doesn't implement security on a commuter rail line that happens to include an airport stop? Come on...

Though perhaps we can all cobble together a few baht to help cover the cost in packaging him in bubble wrap for every trip on public transport he takes just in case he's in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bad people do bad things. This is reality. Security is a balance otherwise none of us would ever leave our homes. Bangkok has done nothing wrong in not implementing the ridiculous security checks the OP implies should be enforced.

So this is just a commuter line that happens to include an airport stop? Or was this a line built with the specific intention to link the city to the airport? Words twisting....tsk tsk.

All those cases you have mentioned were terrorist acts directed on to the train systems, and without any intention to take control (or part) of the airport area. As I have said, I am not considering the trains as the soft target. If this is so, I would have included the mass transit system as a whole.

And I doubt grade A or B movies would have taught a bomb maker how to blow himself up.

If you had follow the news with regards to the series of terror acts, the suspected source of funds, and the alleged training grounds, would the points that I have raised be ridiculous?

So, if I've got this right, you think we need airport style security on the train because some bad person/people might use the train to go to the airport and take it over?

It is still ridiculous, regardless of the alleged training grounds in Cambodia, or where their funds came from. In fact that has nothing to do with anything. The train is a form of transport that goes to the airport. So are buses. So are private cars. Some people could reach it by motorbike! Therefore we need security everywhere and on everything in case someone goes to the airport and does a bad thing there.

Really? How many international airports elsewhere in the world have a rail link and at the same time have a case of a terrorist blowing up an apartment building along with himself?

Airports with direct terminal-accessible rail links (heavy rail or metro/underground) that have had terrorist attacks within their home nation's borders in the last 15 years:

- London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted

- Manchester

- Birmingham

- Tokyo Narita (and a particularly scary terrorist attack as it involved releasing sarin gas on an underground train)

- Tel Aviv Ben Gurion (which I don't believe has airport-style security even though it is the most terrorist-at-risk airport in the world but happy to be proven wrong)

- Madrid

- Istanbul (via Light Metro)

- Atlanta

- Washington Reagan Airport

- Moscow's three main airports

These are just some that I can think of off the top of my head - I'm sure there are lots more. I don't think any have any serious security checks on them - but happy to be proven wrong. Plenty of developed countries in that list as well.

Quite frankly I think the OP's post is ridiculous. Being so condescending towards Thailand because it doesn't implement security on a commuter rail line that happens to include an airport stop? Come on...

Though perhaps we can all cobble together a few baht to help cover the cost in packaging him in bubble wrap for every trip on public transport he takes just in case he's in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Bad people do bad things. This is reality. Security is a balance otherwise none of us would ever leave our homes. Bangkok has done nothing wrong in not implementing the ridiculous security checks the OP implies should be enforced.

Phew, you and LakeGeneve have restored my faith in Thai Visa!! I thought I was all alone in this thread.....now it seems there are at least two other sensible people. Hurrah!!

Just to clarify, I am not against security - I Iove security!! I lock my doors, I have a safe, I think the more security you have inside an airport the better and I don't mind the delays because of it. Honestly, I will take off my shoes, belt, have a full body scan, whatever, if it leads to genuinely improved airport security. But people sneering because there are no security checks before boarding the train here because "it's Thailand, what else do you expect?" when there is no such thing on any airport train I have ever come across in my life is just ridiculous, condescending, and unfair. Seriously, I want to know what the poster who made that comment expects, and why he thinks the excellent system here is somehow behind the rest of the world.

I seem to recall that shoes was once never an item that was inspected in security checks... until someone was stopped from trying to set his ablazed. If he had succeeded, we probably will not be checking shoes even now because such an act is "just ridiculous, condescending, and unfair".

We're not talking about airport security here, we're talking about a train.

And the comment was ridiculous, condescending and unfair, because the poster was being derogatory towards Thai standards when the standards in this case are exactly the same as anywhere else in the world - perhaps even higher.

If I were you I would't worry about bombs on the ARL, but rather worry about when the first train is going to derail .

Why? What have you seen that suggests this might happen?

I don't think he is being condescending to Thailand at all, I personally would have thought in the current world security climate designing security features into a new system would have been sensible.

I know the MRT is not an airport train but they have security checks there, though I accept not on the BTS, are you saying that whilst the MRT is considered to be at risk the Airport Link isn't?

No, I'm not saying that at all. The "security" at the MRT stations is ludicrous - you may as well not have it. A cursory peek into your bag is not a security check. If you are in a hurry they don't bother you at all. And those metal detectors beep like mental but they never ever pull anyone over. So I don't consider it more at risk, I consider the pointless gesture they go through to be worthless. Likewise the metal detectors at shopping malls. Walk in through the carpark or (usually) anything but the main entrance and there is nothing. You have to love the entrance to Siam Centre from the Skytrain. There is a constantly beeping metal detector which you have to walk through - a stern man makes sure of it. Just to the right of this entrance is an escalator that goes about six foot to an entrance on the next floor. Here there is no "security" at all, and it is literally a few feet away.

Again, if you are going to have serious security on the train because it goes to the airport, then you need to also have it on all the buses that go there, and all the roads in and out. One of my favourite bits of pointless "security" is when entering the airport carparks. You have to open your boot, they look inside at a load of suitcases/boxes/bags, then wave you through. What is the point in that? If someone had a bomb then they'd just put it in a suitcase or a box or a bag. It is an airport carpark - of course people's boots are full of stuff!! Why do they want to look inside? Do they think a bomb would be labelled?

By the way they have trialed security checks on The Heathrow Express http://www.dft.gov.u...heathrowexpress

Yes, that was for about three weeks, nearly five years ago, when everyone was jittery after the awful July bombings.

Just to clarify, I am not against security - I Iove security!! I lock my doors, I have a safe, I think the more security you have inside an airport the better and I don't mind the delays because of it. Honestly, I will take off my shoes, belt, have a full body scan, whatever, if it leads to genuinely improved airport security. But people sneering because there are no security checks before boarding the train here because "it's Thailand, what else do you expect?" when there is no such thing on any airport train I have ever come across in my life is just ridiculous, condescending, and unfair. Seriously, I want to know what the poster who made that comment expects, and why he thinks the excellent system here is somehow behind the rest of the world.