jumpybongo

If you don't want to pay for the flight, you could get the Lomprayah from cat to Chumpon & bus it from there.

Got to be better & faster than the Surat route.

will check that out. ta

My advice would be to book with them. I've flown several times economy with Etihad and find them acceptable.

However if you can find a flight with Royal Jordanian I would say they were better but the long stopover on the route to London might not suit even though a hotel room is provided. Probably an un necessary nuisance from your point of view.

Etihad are fine and have seat back TV's and decent enough service in Economy...seating is just OK.

hotel room? please explain further as i have an 8 hr lay-over on my return in november and not heard mention of this. ty

want to go to pattaya next week from samui.

agents suggest i backtrack south via ferry and bus 2.5 hours to surathani then bus it 14 hrs to bangkok then 1.5 hours south again to pattaya-this seems nuts to me!!

any other routes please or should i just pay the 4k baht to fly?

Ok right, so maybe I am worrying/overthinking about this too much, but my point was this: If try to enter Thailand on a 30 day excempt visa, but my return flight is more than 30 days away, will they make a fuss about this at the airport? Will holding another return ticket to Tokyo within 30 days of first entry help with this? Is there anything else to worry about? Digitalchromakey mentioned the airline might act funny, but I'm not sure why they would?

your main problem is likely to be at your eu departure airport.

i was advised by agents that emirates wouldnt allow me on a plane from uk on a 6 month ticket without a 6 month visa.didnt risk it, got a double entry 90 day toursist visa from thai consulate first.this was june 11.

however i did enter in nov 08 without any visas and did exactly as u plan to do.

your risk, but can be easily sort before flying.

Well, that pretty much describes just about all the hotels in town, except the 5-Star luxury resort properties. You might want to add in a few more particulars, e.g., near the beach, quiet location, gay oriented, in the middle of "the action," "entertainer" friendly, etc.

good points ty.

somewhere within 10-15 min walk of major facilities eg supertmarket ,beach etc

would rather not drive/hire motocy enjoy walking anyway

the three most important points are

1 a good sized pool

2 good in room wifi

3 smoking room

i guess a balcony would be a plus too.

looking forward to ideas.

tia

good recommends ty.

will check out smile house as im off up to check out choeng-mon beach resort.

all appreciated.

any recommendations for a monthly long stay in pattaya hotel or bb etc.

want a smoking ,wifi room with access to swimming pool.

max budget 20k baht ,.

cheers

47.97 baht to the british pound today, shocked to see it fall so low.<bangkok bank at 48.21 slightly better, but with the overall higher costs here, and a looming high seaon in july, this is one crazy expensive island  it seems.<br>

plumped for the amarina residence lamai beach 900 pnight got upgrade to balcony room so i can smoke !!

pool is tiny tho only a plunge pool in middle of receptio!

off to try a swim in the sea.

any updates/recommends still appreciated.

Pop in to a 7/11 or Family Mart. Both TrueMove and Happy have 49 bht PrePay SIMS.

tried family/mart phone shop thats where i got quoted.

will try some more and ask specifically.

thankyou

You are going to have to help us out a bit here. Samui is full of hotels, with pools, and free wifi.

So, are you bringing the kids/travelling alone?

Go drinking til 3am every night/retreating to the jungle?

Hate being by the beach/can't sleep without the sound of water?

Need to be able to walk everywhere/will rent a bike?

Have THB 10,000 a night to spend/THB 500?

Etc.

fair points.

single,smoker, on an exercise kick of 2hrs swimming AND walking per day. male 40s want to chill and relax and see best of wat samui has to offer. can easily find the nightlife if in the mood.

have looked at amarina residence and samui reef view resort online seem highly recommended and at under 1k baht per night cheaper than i expected

cheers.

visiting samui from monday next for 4-7 days where shall i stay ?

Love John Burdett, Wish he`d do more Bangkok series...

I`m currently reading "Escape" by David Mcmillan......Pretty good so farr...

just read 4th in series godfather of khatmandu a fifth scheduled for 2012 according to fantasticfiction.

currently in phuket just looking to get a pre-paid sim card for an unlocked phone, but being quoted between 150-300 baht just for sim alone.

must be some pre-loaded sims about surely ?

any deals appreciated.

There's a good used book shop in Patong, on 200 pee rd between Tony's resort and soi Kepsap.

will check this out and report back.

lots of shops listed in phuket town it seems, will try there too later/tom and update.

have used air asia many times before, but jumping thru so many hoops today on website to de-select all the extras i DONT require that are auto added hot seat , insurance,comfort kit etc, i finally gave up at a convenience fee to pay with a debit ca rd !!

booked bangkok airways instead, website 10 x simpler/quicker and 500 baht cheaper for a single trip to phuket !!

always other options online.

Well done to the online poker community and Rotary Club. Seems "Mad Yank" was an apt nic for this seriously sick guy. Hopefull he will get what he deserves.

seems your wish has been granted now then waza

can anyone confirm sentence handed down?

http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bolognanotizie.com%2Fsport%2F2011%2F06%2F08%2F40381%2Fpoker-player-condannato-a-morte-negli-usa%2F

got an e-mail at noon regarding a flash sale of 100 seats via royal jordanian air from flightcentre uk £1 return plus taxes.

yeah yeah i thought,here wo go again with some unfeasable offer .

however, 10 mins later im booked for june 21st returning nov 28th for £299 inclusive

just shows if u persevere and can be flexible deals do materialise.

cya all soon.

advised by travel agent that my plan for a 30 day visa on arrival in thailand is insufficient these days as i will be travelling on an open 12 month ticket.

they claim several customers been made to change dates of ticket to 30 days if they dont have approprite tourist visa.

i plan to fly to phillipines and malaysia o this trip as i did in 08/09 with no problem.

can anyone advise if rules have changed at all please?

and yes,have read all pinned topics and avidly read here daily.

tia.

Huuum. Same thread two different forums.

learn to read the baggage allowance for each airline.

can be v instructive.

or just man up and pay the excess if its sooooooooooooo important.

are u a uk account holder?

thanks for all the replies most helpfull.

You can't do a SWIFT transfer to a bank in Thailand ? Do they allow SWIFT transfers to other countries ?

of course you can. i am swifting since years from various banks to my bank account in Thailand. never swifted out though.

not via SANTANDER to thailand, i was very specific.have done many swift transfers via barclays.

any usefull info to add on the topic ie pre=paid credit card use in thailand please?

I've only had one PP card, but aren't they no-pin only? Would not do u much good at ATMs then and not so many places like or accept CCs.

http://moneybookers.com might be more helpful if you just want to transfer money

def come with pin double checked.

You can't do a SWIFT transfer to a bank in Thailand ? Do they allow SWIFT transfers to other countries ?

not via santander no. nigeria too they say,as if lumping the two together.

this was in person at branch, as a bank transfer was my plan b to pay for a TEFL course in thailand after my santander visa debit transaction was also declined as a TRANSFER.

hence me asking for anectodatal usage of pre-paid cards