2 minutes ago, ThailandRyan said:

If you have it spend it if not then go on the cheap.  I can spend what I want and still will have money left over when I pass on in 30 or 40 years.  A lifetime Pension that pays out an unsightly amount to some, is peanuts to others.  For someone who started his posting days complaining about loosing most of his money as the stocks and so on started to fall I understand your need to be frugal...

I can stay in 10,000 baht rooms. Just dont see the point. Same room almost. 

38 minutes ago, josephbloggs said:

In other words you're a cheapskate.

Agree that business class doesn't make a lot of sense for a three hour flight, but for longer than that it does and it is not about a bigger seat - it is the whole stress free experience.   

Let's say you fly Emirates business class, you get picked up from home in a Mercedes, you do not have to queue at check in, security or immigration, you get to wait for your flight in a lounge with full meal service, lots of food and drink choices, champagne, wine, whatever you like.  Depending on which airport you're at you can board the aircraft directly from the lounge, no queuing.  You get a glass of champagne at your seat before take off.  You have tons of space and tons of privacy, a big screen TV, amenities, you get proper food (three courses served in order, on plates), high quality wine and drinks.  You can convert your seat to a fully flat bed with mattress and blanket if you want to sleep.  Or you can chill in the on board bar if you want to meet people.  You arrive fresh as a daisy (or drunk as a skunk), you are first off the plane, your bags come out first, you have a driver waiting for you to take you to your final destination.

To me that is well worth the money.  If business class was just a "better chair" it wouldn't be.  Once you try it you realise flying can be something to look forward to rather than something to be endured.  And you can't go back to economy.

Me? Cheapskate? Absolutely! I'll try to pay as little as I can get away with it. That doesn't mean I'll try to get something for nothing,  I just won't pay for anything which is not aligned with my lifestyle and values. Business class flights is one of these things.

 

Everyone is different, in my books any hours spent in a metal tube is anything but good experience no matter what. For me "unbelievable experience" is for example cycling the mountain bike in the Indonesian jungle with wild boars and monitor lizards running in front of me.

2 minutes ago, gearbox said:

just won't pay for anything which is not aligned with my lifestyle and values. Business class flights is one of these things.

I flew bc before. Nice but its a chair. When you see homeless etc u realise western luxuries are a to..

8 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

I flew bc before. Nice but its a chair. When you see homeless etc u realise western luxuries are a to..

I hate the whole experience of flying, from packing to queuing up to dealing with <deleted>ty immigration officers (especially in the west).

 

Business class takes a bit of that edge off. Premium booze does the rest lol. And I usually start work on arrival, something that would be a struggle if I had to fly cattle class.

2 hours ago, Gweiloman said:

There are many expats in Thailand that don’t wish to be here but don’t have the choice to live where they like. So they vent out their frustration by bashing the country, the people, the food, the government etc.

 

 

Hey I take offense , leave the food out of it... Thailand has some yummy food...

Nasty Condom? Never heard of them.....

3 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I hate the whole experience of flying, from packing to queuing up to dealing with <deleted>ty immigration officers (especially in the west).

 

Business class takes a bit of that edge off. Premium booze does the rest lol. And I usually start work on arrival, something that would be a struggle if I had to fly cattle class.

U drink single malt?

4 minutes ago, Gweiloman said:

I hate the whole experience of flying, from packing to queuing up to dealing with <deleted>ty immigration officers (especially in the west).

 

Business class takes a bit of that edge off. Premium booze does the rest lol. And I usually start work on arrival, something that would be a struggle if I had to fly cattle class.

So you are starting work drunk when you get back.. hummmm. Must be a government job.

What a load of Codswallop. TAT will believe this nonsense.

Just now, BarraMarra said:

What a load of Codswallop. TAT will believe this nonsense.

Believe or not it is good publicity for them.

10 hours ago, webfact said:

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is pleased to report that in the just-announced Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards 2022, Thailand was named No. 3 on the ‘Top Countries in the World’ list and Bangkok No. 4 on the ‘Best Cities in the World’ list, while many Thai islands, hotels, and resorts also placed highly on other ‘best of’ lists

 

1 minute ago, gearbox said:

Believe or not it is good publicity for them.

From 1 - 10 who has heard of this Condo company. TAT should stick to trip advisor for publicity, not a company no 1 knows has heard of.

Just now, BarraMarra said:

From 1 - 10 who has heard of this Condo company. TAT should stick to trip advisor for publicity, not a company no 1 knows has heard of.

I think it was posted already somewhere in this thread that this is rather large publisher with millions of readers/subscribers.

Condé Nast Traveler is a luxury and lifestyle travel magazine published by Condé Nast published in New York.

So it is not surprising that San Miguel de Allende, Mexico was No.1 beause many US pensioner live there (pleasant climatic conditions at 1900m attitude).

And Victoria, Canada is popular with US tourists.

By the way the magazine distinguishes between small towns and big cities.

And among the major cities, Bangkok ranked second behind Singapore and ahead of Tokyo.

Wait for it in the next few days TAT will roll out a Spokesman saying thanks to the Conde Nast survey we are expecting 2 Million visitors before December.

15 minutes ago, Gknrd said:

So you are starting work drunk when you get back.. hummmm. Must be a government job.

No. A couple of glasses of Royal Salute followed by a great meal with some very good wine, some port with the cheese board and a couple of brandies puts me in the right state of mind for a stretched out sleep in a fully reclinable real leather chair.

 

Upon waking up, an ablution in a clean, good sized closet without 20 people in front of you sets the stage for a hearty full English with fresh orange juice and a few double espressos.

 

Fast track through immigration and no wait time for my luggage allows me to literally bounce out of the airport, ready for that day’s challenges.

 

No cushy government job for me, sadly.

1 hour ago, ThailandRyan said:

You can not take the money with you, so if you have it spend it and enjoy the nice rooms, the view, and what comes with it.  If your ok living cheaply because that's all you can afford well then what more can I say....

You sound like my Thai GF who can't get a good sleep because if she dies tomorrow her money won't be spent...

 

I don't like nice rooms, don't like swimming pools, don't like to mix with the two week millionaires in any places. Sleeping under a bridge will create much better memories.

 

I'm going to leave all my money to my kid, who I'm 100% sure will use it much better to contribute to the humanity than myself flushing it down the toilet because I can't take it with me.

Hahaha, top 3 countries, talk about totally deluded.

Unsophisticated folks haven’t heard of the number one travel magazine in the world. Have been reading Condé Nast since I was a girl. 
Thialand is heaven compared to anywhere else. You are lucky to live in Thailand. You should be respectful of your host country. 

5 minutes ago, Adventurer1 said:

Unsophisticated folks haven’t heard of the number one travel magazine in the world. Have been reading Condé Nast since I was a girl. 
Thialand is heaven compared to anywhere else. You are lucky to live in Thailand. You should be respectful of your host country. 

So what are you now,  a Bloke.  

11 hours ago, webfact said:

Thailand was named No. 3 on the ‘Top Countries in the World’ list

For marijuana, sex tourism and boozing??????

Amazed how many people haven't heard of Conde Nast. Vogue, GQ and Tatler are among their publications. As stated above, Conde Nast Traveler is aimed at the luxury traveller, just the sort of tourist that Thailand wants, so they probably pride this ranking above many others (and there does seem to be a new one every week!).

 

Of course, this is published at a time when long haul travel is still slowly recovering so I'm not too sure where the results are compiled from.

5 hours ago, Enzian said:

I for one never get tired of looking at naked women, and I'm a scholar and a gentleman. I guess I could do that elsewhere, but it would probably cost more.

More? Don't know about Europe, but single friends tell me an hour with a tinder gal in LA is $800. That is around 30,000 baht at today's rate. And you would likely end up with a decent looking gal, with a lot of rules and regulations, who was not much fun. Reasonable here? You bet it is. Fun? Oh yeah. 

20+ years in online and social media consultancy has taught me something: The ones who are willing to pay most for this sort of rankings will end up higher in the list. These sites have 0 meaning. A simple Google Analytics search will show you that they hardly have any traffic going through them. 

 

Nice job TAT. ????

2 hours ago, Sparktrader said:

Yes eco is fine

Not when you fly week-in and week-out for 20+ years, like I did. Besides, the client was willing to pay for it and with the miles I racked up was able to book first class for my personal travel - without ever spending a dime. 

5 hours ago, jaywalker said:

Or countries with the most Soi Dogs. Gotta be Numma 1 for that.

Agree...totally

27 minutes ago, DBath said:

Not when you fly week-in and week-out for 20+ years, like I did. Besides, the client was willing to pay for it and with the miles I racked up was able to book first class for my personal travel - without ever spending a dime. 

You want a medal?

17 minutes ago, Sparktrader said:

You want a medal?

Yeah sure, but not from you.

9 minutes ago, DBath said:

Yeah sure, but not from you.

Ask the airlines

1 hour ago, Orinoco said:

So what are you now,  a Bloke.  

Easy to arrange here in Thailand.......