lumply

Has it warmed up a bit yet? Hope so, I'll be in Pattaya in late Jan. with my g/f. Shall I cancel my visit.....ha ha?

Well done Gippy, as being the only person who actually answered the question! RTFQ

Having lost my job after 18 years in the Middle East at the end of 2009, I furkled around HKG, Oz and for the umpteenth time Thailand where I used to visit on biz. When I popped back to the UK I just could not believe how bad things were, then the phone rang and I'm back in Dubai. Bad press and it's own form of recession, yes, but the locals (25% of the population) and the expats just get on with it and things are improving markedly. I've decided to stay for another 3-4 years, then back to BKK.

Let me tell you that if you're looking for a place to stash some serious cash (although Dubai is an expensive place to live), and you can get a job all found, flat or house, car, petrol etc. your 40-50 grand sterling tax free per annum is worth the effort of the move. Not so easy when elderly parents and children have to be considered back home but it's all possible.

Sewage with a slug of diesel fuel....Ugh! Make sure the youngster does not have any open sores

Live and Let Live

Highly amusing semantics. Well done that man (the auther)

I am pleased to say I've never been mugged or hassled in Pattaya. Adopt common sense precautions, jewelry not on show, expendable watch or no watch, no wallet bulge in trousers, valuables in hotel safe and cash only for a few drinks and some fodder. Certainly don't flash big notes when making a purchase. This may all sound rather obvious and restrictive but it does reduce the likelyhood of problems. By contrast, here in the Gulf (Middle East) the consequences of a mugger getting caught, jailed, then deported are so lifechanging for the culprit and his family that 80% of the population that is made up of expats, is pretty well behaved.

Once in BKK after having over indulged I didn't check out the goods thoroughly enough until we got to the hotel room. He/she generously let on, I said thanks, handed over B300 and we parted the best of buddies.. sort of anyway. Physical mugging is very traumatic and since it happened to me in Istanbul, I have never wanted to return again.

Nice one Samran

Yes they do! TIT

Wow....there would be riots if this was introduced in the UK!

There are riots in the UK even without it....

Thai Airways would have done their homework on load factors just like Emirates (EK) did on their short haul Karachi/Bombay routes out of Dubai (large sub continental workforce etc). It makes perfect sense to use large wide bodied aircraft on short medium routes where capacity, both pax and cargo, show attractive operational returns.

Pilots will already have done their type conversions on to the A380, most probably in Europe or wherever there is availability of suitably qualified type instructors and simulators, so their training is a totaly separate issue to route allocation for specific aircraft. Thai Airways sees BKK HKG BKK as high capacity, profitable sectors for the A380 and having flown them many times as a passenger, admittedly in lower capacity aircraft, I can see why. I wish I was still young enough to get my hands on a 380, alas I had to make do with rather smaller aeroplanes! I wish Thai all the best.

Big company big x's. Just used to do it for a laugh, 3 star hotels instead of 5 sometimes.

Anyway thanks for the advice guys

The trick for not getting ripped off by tuk-tuks is to avoid them altogether. Since your company was reimbursing you for fares, why didn't you opt for taxis in the first place, I wonder? Small company? ;-)

Apart from that, there is no "standard fare structure" for tuk-tuks. They'll try to squeeze you for as much as they can, and as long as you're comfortable with the quoted fare, then that's that.

Get a metered taxi and save on headache pills.

As a regular user of tuk tuks on company expenses I was never that bothered about how much I was charged. My next visit will be as a tourist so I'll be stumping up out of my own pocket! So what is the rule of thumb not to be totally ripped off on pre agreed rates, assuming I have a fair idea of distance/time to be travelled?

My doctor was surprised about my lack of reaction to " knees to the chin" jobby. He nearly fell over when I suggested it was because of good old fashioned public school dorm activities as a Boarder (no tv's allowed in those days), so how else could we get our kicks?

I have been doing the BPH annual medical 'specials' for about 5 years now. It's great to have a consistent medical checkup history and see how you are doing with cholesterol and the like. Good value too.

Regards the fallibility of the PSA test; it is not essential to have the 'fudgy finger' test as they also use ultrasound to measure your prostate size. So if PSA is elevated AND it looks enlarged on the ultrasound, THEN it's time to "relax, lie on your side with your knees drawn up to your chest....".

If for some reason the very thought of the traditional test makes your bum clench, maybe enlist the help of one of Pattaya's many, many back door street masseuses for a trial run beforehand?

No shame in not having travel experience as you are suggesting. People surely don't want to be intimidated away from Thaivisa by such inferences. Maybe you actually meant something else(?)

as of yesterday: some do it again, but not all-due to fewer tourists. ANY takes bookings-if they see that there are not enoug, they simply put you in another boat-same as airlines do. You do not need to worry about ''where to board;'' as about anywhere you book will provide transport-or at least give you ample leaflets in Thai for the taxi. If you worry about those feeble things, you lack travel experience.

The pheT (not K) nitnoi is als a complete nonsense to ask: these boats only cater farang-as any tourist restrt-and they get simply provided by the kitchens of the HTls they belong to-to farang tastes. Most of the dishes are only ''Thai'' in the idea of those farang. Nonetheless, many still enojoy it enough.

One above raises an indeed valid point; deafening music is a thing that Thai cannot understand as such-for them it is: the more you pay, the louder the music, as we have to show how much money we paid for this costly music set!

Seems to me more a case of insufficient travel knowledge.

I went on a Chao Phraya Princess dinner cruise earlier this year and swore never to go on a Chao Phraya Princess dinner cruise again.

The boat and the food were ok but there were too many people and the singer and music were extremely loud. There was absolutely no "ambiance" - it was more like being on a cattle boat!.

I haven't done one of the rice barge dinner cruises but for my next dinner cruise a rice barge will be my choice.

I normally get a taxi but next time I will try one of the many bus services. Arriving BKK at 8 am or thereabouts, what is the best/most comfortable service along with price please for departure, say 10am BKK-Pattaya

So you can book with confidence because your holiday is protected with a money back ABTA guarantee. So what? By the time you get your money back, if you do at all, your holiday plans and dates have been F#***d. Its hardly a reason for booking TC when there are so many other choices in the net. People don't want the hassle.

I wish TC well in its' fight for survival but please Mr. Chairman and you travel pundits, don't use the money back argument. Give us Joe Public the benfit of some common sense!

I too have often wondered why there is so much griping and there are valid arguments in most of the posts. I have never lived in Thailand but I have been visiting for more than 30 years. I've been ripped off and left feeling frustrated just like many others. But I have worked and lived in Saudi and Dubai (currently) and HKG for a good deal of my working life and.....what do I find myself doing? Yes having a good old moan about many things. There are places that you would be locked up for talking out of turn; at least in LOS you have a very high element of freedom! With all its' problems Thailand is a great place and when I retire there in the forseeable future (hopefully), I too will join the ranks of the moaners! Please forgive me.

I am planning a visit to BKK in the second half of Jan. for a spot of R&R from the Middle East. I normally stay in the Soi 11 Suk area. Will this and surrounding areas be relatively flood free/undamaged during this period all things being equal?

C'mon chaps, no need to lose one's sense of humour. As bad as the situation is with rising stress levels as well as water, joking should be a means of releasing tension, indeed, just like the much talked about sluice gates

On first thought, I was also going to joke about it... invoking emergency laws to prevent beer shortage to happen... but then I remembered the hundreds of thousands of people really affected by the flood and so I refrain from joking around...

yet, you basically still told the joke...

i'm not having a go at you, just found it amusing

I DON'T find it amusing that you DO find someone's (curtailed) amusement, amusing .

Runways are not used for parking purposes flooded or not, unless they are inactive. Runway surfaces are coded in line with recent precipitation, ice formation etc. to alert Pilots of breaking efficiency and hydroplaning speeds. Ramps however can flood in extreme circumstances. So let's get the terminology correct, ramps are aircraft parking areas, runways are for departing and arrivals (landing and take off). The aircraft shown is obviously not airworthy with most of its' empennage missing!

I first visited BKK in 1979 on business and holed up in my hotel room for 9 nights. Wow what kind of place is this? Scary. Fast forward to now and countless visits mainly on biz but always with long weekends thrown in. Escaped the worst effects of a runny nose but that was carelesness on my part. Now in Dubai nearing retirement and with a busted marriage, I need to settle somewhere, maybe with my Chinese g/f(?) Aw well, maybe not. I would just about be able to live decently off my diminishing pension but never have the same lifestyle in the UK or Dubai although the latter has everything to offer as well. So, walking street Pattaya here I come!

Surely there is enough information on line these days for most people to make up there own minds about visiting BKK without being 'advised' not to do so by the FCO or well meaning friends? Government warnings are, in,my experience of earning a living in the hotspots of the Middle East for the past 30 odd years have shown that personal research is best, unless of course FCO directives are likely to nullify insurance cover, if that is relevant in the decision making process.

When airlines stop flying into places then that's the best indicator not to visit. Having said that Beirut was pretty hairy even with the airport open most of the time towards the end of the civil war. The floods are tragic and are causing terrible hardship to the ordinary Thais yes, but for most people the water is not life threatening. How did the stoic Thais cope with the floods of 50 years ago? Your friend should go ahead with his visit and spend lots of money to help the country!

Maybe an acceptable element of proof would be photos whilst the water levels are good and high(?). Get one of you standing waist deep outside your apt. That would mean enlisting a dear friend who doesn't mind getting wet. My genuine sympathies to all Bankokians from an arid Dubai.

Even after the airport closures of 2008 they were still charging overstay at the airport once it was open so doubtful any lenancy will be shown for a few drops of rain...surely there must be a way to get to the airport and fly out and back

Not if you could show that you had a flight out of the country during the time the airport was closed. They wanted proof and if you had it no overstay was charged.

You're welcome here in Dubai ..oh BTW there is a dress code for most bars so the sleeveless shirt brigade would have to go thirsty.

Despite the rising waters, Yingluck said the government would not to move its flood relief centre, which is located on the second floor of one of the airport buildings.

Another statement that will prove to be false in the next couple days, FROC will abandon Don Muang like rats from a sinking ship anytime now. Maybe they would like to relocate to Dubai, I hear it's still dry there.

Just a quickie, does my Chinese g/f need to pre-apply for a tourist visa for Thailand. She will travel from Dubai and intends staying for 14 days or so.