PeterRS

Seems to me that quite a few Thais and at least one bf havent much clue what goes on at a Royal Cremation even tho the last one was only 10 years ago!

Very few hotels even at the top end of the range now routinely change bed linen and towels every day. I have stayed at quite a few Marriotts, Intercons and Hiltons etc. Each now has a notice either on the bed or by the bedside advising it is hotel policy to change bed linen every third day of a guest's stay. If the guest wishes daily changing, that will be done if the card is left by the pillow. Towels are replaced if they are put into a basket or left on the bathroom floor. Those left on the towel racks are not changed. Not chainging linens and towels after a guest checks out is a last warning offence. I find that Report not just highly suspicious. I suspect it was faked. How is it that only western managed chain hotels were targeted? What about the Chinese hotels - like the huge Beijing hotel? I agree with Christian. 999 times out of 1000 it is absolutely impossible to get the same room as a friend stayed in at least 24 hours earlier. With the exception of a few regular guests, rooms are allocated by reception staff as and when they become available after check-out of the previous guest and cleaning. How come they checked out presumably by noon one day and then were able to get exactly the same room on check in presumably around 2:00pm the next? It beggars belief. The only way I know to guarantee the same room is not in fact to check out at all but just to hand the key over to a friend. He then goes to the room a day later where the first guy only stayed one night, it is perfectly natural that linens and towels would not be changed as the hotel cleaning staff assumed it would be the same guy staying for two nights and had not requested linen and towel changes. The possibility of the cleaning staff making a mistake in such high end hotels is also difficult to believe. If you go into a room to clean it and find no luggage, nothing in the bathroom, nothing on the desk, nothing in the wardrobe, nothing to indicate there might be a guest coming back, either the room would be completely cleaned or at least the cleaner would check with reception.

Thai Lion has a good reputation. Skytrax gives it a better overall score than several legacy carriers including British Airways.

I think you are wrong. The structure has contained within it an oven like structure and it is in this that the body is cremated. It was exactly the same for Princess Galvani. Anyone doubting this can see it very clearly on youtibe. It has already been announced that parts of the wooden structure will be dustributed to temples around the country. If it all went up in flames, there would be massive danger to the dignitaries attending.d Th body is presently lying in state in the Throne Hall of the Royal Palace. It will be taken from there to the crematorium.

That used to be true but major improvements have been made. In the latest Skytrax poll Garuda ranked 10th Best in the World. Some years ago it was banned form flying to both Europe and the USA. Incidentally it also came top of all airlines in the Best Cabin Staff category and 4th in the Best Economy Class. No rankings I can see for maintenance and safety but they seem a lot better now.

I would be more prepared to pay the extra Skytrain fees if the BTS would just add one more carriage to trains on the Sukhumvit Line. It is ridiculous that one was added on the Silom Line about 2 years ago but not on the Suk Line. Why open many new stations and not increase space on the trains? Travelling at almost any time of day now the trains are quite packed. Rush hour often means waiting for 2 or 3 trains before you can get on. I also fail to understand the pricing of BTS fares versus taxi fares. In most cities the subway fare is a small fraction of the taxi fare. In Bangkok, two people can travel in a taxi (outside rush hours) for the almost same price as two Skytrain tickets. That is no encouragement to get people off the roads. Taxi fares are certainly extremely cheap. Perhaps the answer is to hike them considerably. but not before more carriages are added on the Skytrain system.

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Seems to me nuts that any establishment would limit its customer base by having a bar exclusively for whisky. In my experience not many ladies appreciate a tot of whisky. I also cannot understand the fashion for rooftop bars. Bangkok is so flat the view is liimited to streams iof traffic, the occasional interesting piece of architecture, the Chao Phaya and more of a breeze. There is zero comparison with similar bars in places like Hong Kong.

Funny. I read it as exactly the opposite, other than the possibility of a book eventually.

A relationship for however long or short requires compromise on both sides. Otherwise it is merely a friendly hook up.

One reason for part of the chaos is that the snake lines at BKK do not extend back far enough. It took them years to finally introduce them. No doubt it will take more years to extend them. If the space for passengers waiting in line is too small and they cannot extend it, the obvious answer is to find some way to increase the flow. More immigration officers will help - but for how long will they be there? Just until the bad publicity dies down, Ill bet. Thais already have their own lanes with a requirement for very few officers. Moving them over to the arrivals from other countries is a drop in the bucket. The new Immigration form will only make things worse. But giving arrivals from Hong Kong and Singapore automatic gate entrance definitely will up to a point. Earlier someone posted this will start in October. Bet it wont. Large numbers of Hong Kong residents and permanent residents dont have Hong Kong passports. There are at least four types of passport - Hong Kong SAR passport, UK passport, Chinese passport and British National Overseas passport. How will they differentiate between a Chinese living in Hong Kong but holding a UK passport (and there are many) from a Brit living in Britain with a UK passport? his will only work if they also check HK ID cards. If they restrict the automatic lanes only to the HKSAR passports, there will be howls from the other many hundreds of thousands of other HK travellers!

In my experience, the noon to 4.00pm period at BKK is always the worst for arrivals, especially at the the west end Immigration hall. Its a time when a lot of Gulf, North Asian and European flights arrive, all wide bodies including several A380s. About 3 or 4 years ago I noticed a couple of fist fights amongst some passengers trying to force their way forward from the walkway area through the bridge area and into Immigration. Around that time I asked to speak to a senior Immigration official. Not sure who I got but he blamed everything on the government for not providing a budget for more officers. I have never noticed more then two thirds of the booths manned at any time.

Not according to the sample posted by reader above. The departure card still needs to be filled in. It is very similar to the entry card in Japan. But why oh why do they leave such a tiny space for address? Anyone living here in Thailand will be quite unable to put in his full address (same on the present card, though)! Totally agree that arrival/departure cards are way out of date now. Sadly entry stamps in the passport are probably here to stay for years. Isnt it the only way if a cop can tell if you are overstaying?

He looks stunning! Will have to think about a trip now!

Today's Bangkok Post gives the real reason for these horrific delays. The Immigration Bureau Chief claims it was a result of an excess of flights on what is already a busy time. Other excuses have been floated. But thats not what one of his staff says - That is frankly unbelievable! How can the Immigration Department reduce its staff by a massive 50% over 4 years when traffic at the airport is increasing every year? The Bureau Chief states the number of officers will be increased by 48 next week. Isnt that interesting? Where are they going to come from? BKK? http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1301219/don-mueang-queues-due-to-staff-shortage

I did not know departure slots had to be paid for. But I did know that slots are allocated by air traffic control and frequently the actual departure time can not be dictated by that departure slot but by problems at the arrival airport which is too busy to take you. You cannot take off until the departure airport receives a signal from the arrivals airport. Still, that makes a nonsense of the fact that other aircraft can be late arriving and therefore also late leaving. If there is one thing that drives me nuts it is the announcement that departure has been delayed due to the late incoming aircraft. Why not be honest and tell us why the bloody plane is late? So these late arrivals can knock the system for six. How many times have you had to wait on landing because the scheduled departure from your arrivals gate has been delayed? So the gate is not free and airports cannot move entire planeloads of passengers over to another gate. This has happened to me several times at London Heathrow where sitting on the tarmac has lasted up to 30 minutes. And how many times has your aircraft left the gate only to spend up to an hour on a taxiway because so many aircraft are scheduled to take off at the same time? Thats happened to me several times at JFK, McCarran at Las Vegas and La Guardia seems about the worst. Flying today requires a great deal of patience and if you have connections also of flexibility. The worst is when you have to connect between carriers. Even when they are in the same airline alliance, expect little help and baggage that does not arrive when you do. I wish the controlling bodies would introduce the EU system of payment penalties for planes being late. €200 and more would make a longish delay a lot more bearable!

Since the automatic entry will be for Thais only, that still leaves 32 million of the new cards to be processed each year - and going up annually. I cannot believe the new card will reduce the amount of information required on page 1 of the present form. Since the info on the back page is only for the TAT and since Thais already have their own queues, I see longish queues for farang well into the future. Those manning the Thai only lines can of course be diverted on to the farang lines. But the Thai lines usually require only a small number of desks. So not much difference at least in the next year or two.

This has to be the easiest issue to solve. Every departing flight has to file a manifest of passengers which is then speedily sent to the arrival airport's computers. Air traffic controllers know exactly the route of each aircraft, its arrival time, number of passengers and their passport info. Predicting arrival surges should be a piece of cake if the various departments actually talk to each other. But it also depends on there being enough Immigration officers to cope with a surge. Bangkoks two airports have never had enough to handle peak periods. From my observation at DMK, another problem is that many incoming passengers fail to complete the TM form accurately. Instead of being sent to the back of a queue or a waiting area, they are permitted just to complete the form in front of the officer. That is plain ridiculous as it wastes so much time. Then there is the entry form itself. The basic info is the same as that required at many airports. But the info on the back of the entry form is totally unnecessary and only there because the TAT want some statistics. Little wonder many passengers complete it incorrectly. I heard the form is being redesigned. I certainly hope so. I cannot see automatic entry being extended to many more countries because of the need to check visas. Loads of passengers are eligible for short stay visas on demand. I suppose computers could be linked to automatic barriers but I cannot see that happening. After all, TIT. Last point. This weekend has seen chaos at several European airports due partly to more stringent EU security requirements. As at DMK passengers have been complaining about missing flights and connections. Anyone who assumes that they can make a connecting flight from international to domestic and vice versa on low cost carriers within about a couple of hours needs to think again. I dont think low cost carriers refund your cash if you miss a flight only because Immigration has taken 4 hours instead of 30 minutes. You then likely have to cough up or a new ticket. No matter what the minimum connecting time regulations state, I now leave at least 4 hours for connections.

Not sure when you are travelling but later this year one of the off ramps at DMK will be closed and replaced. Travellers to the airport are being advised to allow 3 hours to get to the airport from downtown Bangkok. A trial closure was held on the first three days of this week. The results will be discussed at a public forum on August 8. Sounds like vehicles using the expressway will not need to leave so much time but there seem certain to be delays. Best to wait till the authorities announce when and for how long the closure/repairs will take place. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1296891/don-mueang-off-ramp-closed-for-repairs

I cannot imagine anyone checking in a bag from anywhere to anywhere without it being as securely locked as possible. What happened at Swampy happens all over the world. Its not that long ago that London Heathrow was nicknamed Thiefrow. As a447a points out most of the zipper bags so popular nowadays are quite easily opened and then resealed. When you take it off the conveyer belt, youd have no idea it had been opened. Some of these bags are much more secure than most, but then these ones are also a lot more expensive. One of my beefs is the paltry amount of cover travel insurers allot to loss of baggage. For holidays that may not be much of an issue, although with some countries insisting laptops and pads go in hold baggage the value of the contents increases. I have rarely seen any policy that covers contents for more than about US$2,000 and then there is a deductible for each item! Require a couple of business suits, cold weather clothing, electric shaver, camera etc. for a 10 day business trip and even $4,000 is unlikely to cover it.

I doubt if anyone who lived through that particular crash can ever forget it. For years Asia had led an almost miraculous economic boom. When criticised about the regions crony capitalism, Singapores founding Prime Minister had been fond of admonishing the west for not recognising that democracies are not all the same. Asia adopts capitalism with Asian characteristics, he was fond of saying. When boom turned to bust he was forced to eat his words. When the Thai economy crashed it had been a disaster waiting to happen. Asian economies were propped up greatly by crony capitalism, property bubbles and unhedged low interest foreign currency borrowings to avoid high interest rates at home. I met one Thai in 1991 who had been a bar boy in the mid 1980s. By the early 1990s he owned three condos, all with borrowed money. The baht was fixed to the US$ at 25:1 but interest rates were high. So major Thai corporations and most wealthy individuals borrowed massive amounts of dollars and Swiss francs at something like 2% instead of the much higher baht rate. The Thai government could have stepped in to lower its rate or reduce the dollar peg. Crony capitalism meant that would not be allowed to happen.Those same government ministers were on boards of companies and had themselves substantial overseas borrowings as had their friends. So those idiots who should have been jailed opted to spend the countrys foreign exchange reserves to prop up the baht. George Soros and his colleagues had mounted an attack on the baht in the spring of 1997 which the Thais had managed to fend off. With almost no money in the kitty, when the next wave of attacks came at the end of June, there was no money left. In all 90% of the countrys foreign exchange was wiped out. The Thais were in shock. Few realized the austerity measures that were to come after the IMF loan was approved. Few realized the baht would lose 50% of its value in less than six months. With the exception of China every other Asian country devalued their currencies by more than 20%. Banks and finance companies around the region collapsed, property companies went bust by the truckload, stock markets collapsed, the government in Hong Kong at one time raised bank lending rates to 300% to fend of speculative attacks and would later spend over $100 billion purchasing its own shares when speculators went on a short-selling spree. The speculators retired bruised and very much out of pocket. What happened should have ben a wake-up call to the west. It remained asleep. So the 2008 world crisis occurred and many are still suffering. It is an absolute certainty it will happen again. Greed is universal.

There can only be two ways of creating those statistics. The Immigration form gives no possible indication of how much an individual is likely to spend. It only provides detail to show the type of tourist visiting the Kingdom. But its one use is the TM number. For many tourists, the biggest single item of expenditure is hotel and its associated costs. Places of accommodation take copies of that TM form. I expect they will also have to send on to some authority actual expenditure related to that form on certain items like rooms, meals etc. Since the average tourist never needs to show that TM card again (unless they have to visit a hospital for example), the only other way statistics can be measured is guesswork. And relying on guesswork is ridiculous! An Australian staying at the Mandarin Oriental might spend Bt.10,000 a night on accommodation and Bt. 4,000 on in hotel F&B. It might therefore be assumed hed spend another Bt.8,000 a day on shopping, outside eateries etc. Yet another Australian might spend just Bt. 800 per night for accommodation but the same Bt.8,000 per day on boys, booze, meals and shopping. On the other hand he might be a bit of a skinflint and spend only Bt.3,000. How on earth can any statistics department know?

Agree its a fun bar at least in my experience. But after chatting with a few guys there it was obvious that most dont want to do anything outside of the bar except chuck wow! Did I visit on an off night?

My breakfast is quite simple usually. Bran flakes with banana and blueberries, orange juice and then my espresso and croissants. I agree with Alex. The croissants in Laos were great. Those in Vietnam were also very good. Surely they cannot be difficult to make. Thats why I cannot understand why most Thai cafes and quite a few good hotels serve just thick lumps of dough.

I dont think I have ever met a money boy who was on time! In Bangkok 45 minutes is not unusual and some have been an hour late. Even business meetings I have attended in Thailand have rarely started on time. One or more attendees are always late, usually blaming the traffic. I am always tempted to suggest that as the traffic is permanently bad they might consider leaving their office or home 30 minutes earlier. But I am certain this would achieve precisely nothing. The Thais are like the Balinese in this respect. I heard many Balinese talk about their attitude to time as rubber time!