Sporting Dog

Thanks to all for the info...think I'll try the Rachawadee Resort this time.

I am going to Khon Kaen next month with my wife for maybe up to a week.

We usually stay at the Sofitel but have been looking thru some websites and am wondering about a couple of otther places to stay.

Has anyone any info/comments or stayed at the Castle HowChow - it looks huge but is it more a 'conference' place.

Any info about the Rachawadee resort?

We'll have a car and though we've got some business to do we probably will kick back for a few days. The Sofitel is fine but I wouldn't mind staying somewhere a little less 'hotelish.'

Price up to about 3000 a night max

Any info much appreciated.

I thought planes usually dumped fuel before landing soon after takeoff.....?

I have found sawadee.com (and r24 which is affiliated) is often cheaper than Agoda (they are often a killer because they add the taxes after the initial price quote). I always check both sites to compare as sometimes some have special deals (stay 5 pay for 4nightrs etc). The variations in price can be surprising. Also latestays.com can have really good prices if you are booking within two weeks of staying. I have used all three sites numerous times and never had any problems with credit cards, or reservations when I've got to the hotel

I also always check the hotel website, very occasionally they have the best deals.

I also use tripadvisor.com/ - they have reviews of nearly every hotel there is - from past customers. Can have some useful info about hotels, locations etc.

My wife is just about to do the same thing - we are from Australia.

We have been told to get the marriage certificate translated and then certified (we will do this in BKK), back to the local Amphur for the ID card and then back to BKK for the passport...then fly home. I still haven't figured out what I need to do to get her visa into the new passport - perhaps the Aus Embassy has to do something as well.

I am a bit concerned about trying board the plane back to Oz with the wife - new passport in a different name, visa in her old name in an old passport. I can already see the looks of terror on the faces of the checkin girls. (I think I will need to talk to Aus immigration and/or start a new thread here).

Hopefully it will all work out.

Thanks for the replies.

We have already registered with the Thai Consul. The problem is that no-one can really say when the embassy will do a 'passport' visit and I'm not keen about my wife not having a valid passport while in Australia despite having a valid visa. Also her temporary visa is due to convert to permanent in October so I don't want to risk that happening because she doesn't have a valid passport.

I guess we will have to start thinking about a trip back to LOS - doesn't cost much more than a trip to Canberra (and a hel_l of a lot more fun too).

Thanks

Doing an MBA at an Australian Uni and there a few Thai students. Did some group work with a couple of them and was pleasantly surprised at their knowledge and commitment. (I have worked at a Thai High School so I was initially a bit suspicious about their work ethic). But I guess they need to be committed because the course fees work out to be quite a substatial amount of Thai Baht!!

All of the work I have seen them present has been of acceptable standard and I know they all work BLOODY hard to keep up. I don't know where they got their UG degrees. The biggest problem they have is participating in the class discussions and interactions (which are pretty important for most of the units) but slowly they are getting over the Thai reticence to speak in front of others (tho' my former boss in LOS had no problem public speaking - every school occasion we'd get monologues of up to 3hrs!!!)

^^ get back there with a video and I'm sure you'll be pocketing a large chunk of the 200G baht!!

If you go for a number 1 and 2 , is it 8 bht?....is it possible to sneak in a free 'urine' when you have the 5bht 'excrement'!!

My wife's thai passport expires in August - we live in perth.

She has spoken to the Embassy in Canberra and they told her they will be doing a 'passport' renewal visit to Perth before August - when questioned further, they said they 'probably' will get to Perth prior to the expiry date - but it didn't matter if her passport expired because her (temporary) visa is valid until October.

I have two questions:-

1. Is it OK for my wife to be in Australia with a valid visa but expired passport (I will probably end up ringing Aus Immigration to get the 100% correct answer)

2. The embassy told my wife that the only alternatives if she MUST get a passport prior to its expiry, are to travel to Canberra, or to travel back to Thailand. Passports cannot be renewed any other way. Is this correct? I would have thought she could courier all the documentation to Canberra and then get a new passport sent back.

Also we want to change my wife's surname to my surname now that we are married - the embassy told her that it can't be done in Australia, we must take all the certificates etc back to Thailand for a name change.

Anyone else had these sort of problems? Any solutions/advice?

Thanks!!!

Get rid of the laptop and you'll be right.

Thanks for the info.

It makes having to pay the extra for the BKK - CEI flight worthwhile, particularly after the flight from Australia.

Cheers.

I have stayed at the Somerset Park Suan Plu which are more like serviced apartments (though its no problem to stay for a few days). Last time I stayed in a two room apartment - they may have bigger. I know from previous experience that it is quite difficult to get accommodation (particularly via the web) for 3 people up.

They aren't the cheapest lodging - but I found that for two adults plus two kids they weren't any more expensive than booking two normal rooms in a hotel.

They had two bathrooms, TVs in each room plus lounge room/dining, and also had a kitchen.

I'm staying there again in a few weeks - 4500++ per night I think.

http://www.somerset.com/thailand/bangkok/s...rk_suanplu.html

or just put somerset park suanplu in google. The website has floorplans.

The company also has a couple of other apartments around BKK. I found their website had the cheapest prices for the accommodation.

The missus and I are arriving at Swompompom via Sin Air and catching a TG flight to Chiang Rai about 3 hrs later.

Had to buy business class tickets for the TG flight (no cheap ones left) - will these get us into the Business Lounge?

Is there a Business Lounge in the domestic part of Swompompom? Am I dreaming?

1. Minburi

2. Kantang

3. The 4th floor MBK,

no sorry I meant 3. Aranyapathet

I've flown Perth - Thailand heaps of times with Thai, Singapore, QANTAS, and Tiger. Sometimes means a stop over in Singapore or Phuket, and maybe a change to Air Asia, or tiger. (onward with SQ though)

I have come to the view that I'll fly with a full fare from now on.....Singapore Airlines as 1st choice.

Singapore because - good planes, Changi International is easy, lots of connecting flights and the price isn't THAT much different (and you get a few points). Thai is OK but old planes and schedules not so good ( and they used to stop in Phuket anyway so no difference in flying times).

For flights less than a couple of hours I'm happy to use the budget airlines - any longer I need the better cabin, leg space, service and check in. And reliability.

I'd have to save at least 40-50% to go with Tiger again from PER-SIN-BKK - horror scheduling and crappy terminal in singapore.

I've been to Samet a couple of times and I think its very ordinary - it would have been nice a couple of decades ago but now its overpriced and overcrowded.

There's some nice places south of Phuket and Krabi, not hard to find if you make a little effort to look.

The pictures in this thread of koh Wai look wonderful.

It certainly got worse since/because I left.

More importantly, have you found a good asian food supplier (you can get real frozen catfish in Vic Park for the naam pha dok foo), where the closest temple is (nollamara, or the one in serpentine which my wiff prefers), where to find the friends that will be able to make the best massaman or som tum. THESE are the important issues!! Until my wife came here 18 months ago I didn't realise there were so many thais in Perth - its a mafia!!

I believe its safer than bungy jumping in Cambodia or Burma......if that helps.

In bed with me socks on!

I suspect that my wife will shoot me in about 20years time when she catches me in bed with a beautiful young Thai virgin girl. By then I will be in my mid 80's.

Of course the scenario may be the same but she may die laughing instead saving me the job of looking for a younger wife as she will be in her 60's by then.

:D

Reminds me of the time I was walking down the street and this old bloke about 80 stops me and says "Last night I shagged an 18 year old virgin"

"why are you telling me that!" I asked!!

"I'm telling everybody!!" he replied

...what about getting a passapor for people in West Oz?

Does the the consul do them?

half way thru the 'act', tell her that you've been shagging her sister, that'll spice things up!

Aren't you allowed to shoot him....it being in NST and all that.

I stayed at the Somerset Park in May last year - 2 bedroom apartment, very nice.

I booked directly thru their website - they have a number of properties around BKK. It was the cheapest option at the time.

I've also used latestays and never had any problems.

It'll be a snap - just hitchhike....those long-distance truck drivers are always on the lookout for a bit of company. You'll be driven home before you know it.