lumply

Whilst all sympathies go out to the OP it is highly unlikely that a Housing Agent or Owner will give any (negative) reason that will lead to the property not being sold or rented. They certainly would not be concerned about your children's safety, they've banked the dosh so it's not their problem.

Hopefully you are all safe and happy in your new place. Put it all behind you now.

The first time I ever visited Pattaya was about 25 years ago and that was on business. Since then I have been back many times both alone as a weekend break from biz in Bangkok, and several times with my Brit g/f on short breaks from the Middle East.

This is probably not a unique profile but many people could be quite offended by the possibility of being tarred by the 'sex tourist' brush when nothing could be further from the truth. I personally couldn't give a hoot what other people may thinking as I a enjoy a beer in WSt. Others are more sensitive and we have to respect that. It is wrong to regard everyone that goes to Pattaya in the way that was suggested earlier. At the end of the day, live and let live.

You want smokers to close the window and poison the passengers? Weird

Lack of action on all fronts of Jet Ski, Water problems, bad road surfaces etc.

But, life in Thailand is never going to be the same as 'back home' is it? So we move here, live here and make do. Is it not part of the adventure?

Close the window and poison themselves...preferable

......oh yes, plus an aeroplane ride that some people might actually enjoy.

Hope Nok can get a few slots to do the Hua Hin to Chiang Mai direct. Would be very popular.

Yes, I'm sure that the Chiang Mai route would make a lot of sense, but it takes me a little over two hours to get from the Bang Na Trad Road to Hua Hin via the Rama 2 link road/bridge.

Why would anyone want to spend two hours at the airport in advance of the flight, plus the flight time, and then the waiting time for baggage at the other end in order to avoid a two and a bit hour road journey?

Safety, more relaxing? Each to their own. Personally I prefer a Limo=comfort and a 'safe' driver.

Lots of views but no replies. What does that tell us? BTW AA does excellent work around the world.

I've tried to understand both sides of the story. As a long time ex smoker (the worst type), I am driven to take sides with the gym owner because he is sensible enough not to smoke. However, because smokers have a degraded sense of smell (and taste), perhaps we should encourage them to try to kick their addiction by somehow getting them to understand how much better they will feel by doing so. The difference in wellbeing and general health can be quite remarkable and starts to take affect within a couple of weeks of quiting. Seven years later comparing before and after X-rays indicated full lung capacity in my case. But then I was young and poor, but will power and common sense won over in the end. Slightly off topic I know but worth mentioning anyway.

Why should we attempt to fill some of our Thai friends with irrelevant (to them) trivia and worthless information? It is a relative issue. Most are largely content with what they need to know to put food on the table and lead a quiet life. By contrast we, who claim to have greater levels of common knowledge and general education, strive to become more knowledgeable about largely FA in the wider context, but that's the way we are conditioned. As I get older after a lifetime of working and competing, I somehow yearn for a simpler and less cluttered existence.

Flapless landings is a procedure that all pilots train for, regularly, even at Private Pilot level (admittedly in smaller aircraft but the physics is pretty much the same). A longer approach is called for and airspeed is higher but nowhere near 240mph. At this speed the tyres would burst and the brakes would overheat. Airport emergency facilities would have been alerted well in advance and a professional pilot with a few thousand hours in his logbook or less would not normally regard such an incident as career changing. Most unsavvy pax would probably not have noticed anything was amiss.

If indeed Qatar Airways operate the new Doha airport, then this is a recipe for disaster. QA should stick to first business principles; their skills lay in running an airline (apparently), surely not an airport. Still, at the end of the day it is the government (or those closely allied to the ruling family) that owns and operates big business in this part of the world and somehow they manage to overcome most problems by throwing money in their direction and blaming others to mitigate for loss of face.

Speaking of which, I bet my bottom dollar that the delay in the completion of the airport actually has nothing to do with Bechtel or DEPA, try looking at the payment record of the Client. On the matter of 'shifting the goalposts' the Arabs are past masters at that. Other than that I expect the end product will be most satisfactory despite the initial delays and bad press picked up along the way.

That pretty much sums up Aeroflot....Thai and BA are not far behind. I avoid flag carriers as they don't know what service is.

Some more advice..never fly Jet or any airline that routes via India.

The only time I'm happy to accept poor in flight service is when I fly myself.

Ah, spoken like a true (fellow) pilot. Piper Cherokee, fairly early model (?). Safe aviating

The devil I used to know...

There are three siginifican downsides to Grace...

1. They are usually full except for the crappiest and most luxurious rooms. It'svery difficult to just walk in and get a room.

2. The neighbourhood is very difficult to navigate as a pedestrian. Must be too much money in bribes to enforce Bangkok's civil rules about sidewalks as passageways

3. Front desk is often packed - more customers than staff

4. Doesn't matter how many years I have been coming here, I never get a discount.

But I tried the Ambassador and the warren is just too confusing and the receptionist, when I asked to be shown a room told me to look at their website.

The challenge in Bangkok is finding hotel rooms in 'downtown' locations that are crying for business. Seems they are a license to print money. There is a huge demand from tourists, especially the middle class from India and families from the Gulf states. And China, and Spain. It's as if the whole cosompolitan selection of the planet is in Bangkok (unlike Vietnam and Cambodia and everywhere in Indonesia outside of Bali)

Bangkok is no longer an affordable destination for me, and I just gave to grit my teeth if I come here for business. And pull out my credit card.

Ah, 1989, when Bangkok seemed like it was just being discovered by the rest of the world! Bangkok is now second world, not third. Hasn't been for a decade or more

Used to stay at the AMB then switched to the Federal, even when I had a generous company allowance, why? Because the last couple of times the AMB was inundated with Indian and Japanese tourist groups. Breakfast time was akin to a 'mutton grab' so I walked down the road to the FED and had one of their 100 Bt jobbies. The FED holds many happy memories and it is sad that it is closing down but it's had a good innings going back to Vietnam R&R times. From what I hear about the Grace I shall give it a wide berth. Oh well I suppose there's always Nana........NOT!

Correction please. In my 30+ years of living in the Middle East, including KSA, I have very rarely come across a Saudi or indeed a Muslim who eats pork. However I always remember Riyadh to the biggest boozed up place 'on earth', and Jeddah, a fair representation of a brothel. Don't need to go there any more pleased to say.

So, what with the disruption and palm trees going does anybody give a damn about the rats (the furry variety) who live along the beach walk? I think that powers that be should be more aware of their habitat, and conservation issues generally.

Is there any good in Pattaya. I used to be a regular visitor there for holidays with my Brit g/f and even thought about retirement there. Absolutely no longer. It's back Southern Europe for me. Have I over reacted? Have I got it all wrong? Someone please convince me otherwise as I have always enjoyed visiting Pattaya and Thailand generally, very much since my first visit on business more than 20 years ago.

Soi 11 is what it is, a tiny part of Bangkok that offers most of what people want when they hit the town for some fun.

Don't know about the overstay issue but the date on which you have passed through immigration you have technically crossed that country's border. At an airport it is akin to being in transit I.e. waiting for transport (a flight in the case of an international airport) to enable you to physically leave that area en route to another country.

No sympathy for the man himself although it's sad that a life should be thrown away in such an irresponsible manner. However, condolences are due to his family who will be left with the consequences of his recklessness for the rest of their lives.

Suicidal

About time to and with luck he will rot in prison

That may be preferable than a long drop that would decapitate him. But then he would not have been deported from the Nanny State if there was any likelihood of that happening...regrettably. So the UK taxpayer will presumably continue to support his family if they choose to remain there?

Five blank pages is more than enough for your proposed itinerary. You can apply for a new (EU) passport at any time for your future perambulations.

Let's hope the tourists who are not " quality " decide to take their money elsewhere and we will see how long it takes to affect Nana Plaza, Soi Cowboy, Pattaya and the like when the they are ignored by the quality arrivals.

This will never happen. I regard myself as a part time quality tourist in that a five star holiday and the trappings is more than an occasional occurrence, but with a NP night out sometimes. There must be plenty of other tourists and business people who dip in and out but still spend far more than the back-packers and hand to mouth expats put together, even when they choose to go down market.

Lordy me! I would have been long gone by now if I had ever needed my wife to look after me and to remind me to take my medication.

That was an expensive two nights in an hotel. I hope he got his moneys' worth-Bless!