Keithambrose

Circus for me. You can also sit outside Banana bar and pop in to see the show!

In fact I seem to recall that one or two of the SkyTrain stations, perhaps Saphan Thaksin, only have space for 4 carriages! That would be typical Thai planning! Difficult to expand Saphan Thaksin due to river, etc.

I think our last resignation, on a point of principle was Lord Carrington, foreign secretary, taking responsibility for the Falklands debacle. 1981 or so. Of course Churchill resigned after the Dardanelles disaster, 1915, and went to fight in the trenches. Can't see any Thai generals following suit!

Another excellent summary! On the widebody front I think they have every version of the 777, plus A350s and 787s!

Yes, good idea. A friend of mine does that. Clearly white hair is not enough!

As I said, I'm sure it's all been carefully planned in advance. Interesting though that the the generals agree with a pardon. I am assuming they do, as otherwise it would not be possible to go through with it. Mind you Thaksin is a very wealthy man!

I see that a request for a Royal pardon has already been submitted! What a surprise. I wonder what the agreed period is before it is granted!

Unheard of, indeed.

Fair point, but I don't think the planes were necessarily slated for sale originally, and in any event easier to sell a plane in good condition. PeterRS has given a good summary.

I think the stations on SkyTrain are built for 5 coaches, and the trains have 4. Don't know about Metro. If I am going downtown from Sala Daeng in rush hour, I go back to National Statium, and get on train there, which is where it starts!

Excellent summary. Corruption was a big issue years ago, as you say. Thai bought significant numbers of every possible type of plane from different manufacturers. All competing against each other. Not just maintenance issues but training and personnel. One further general point. Thai business class lagged behind other airlines for years. Fairly recently I was in a Thai 747, Sydney to Bangkok, business, seats from 20 years before, limited recline, only. I vowed never to use them again.

Why does SkyTrain only have 5 carriages, when most if not all stations were built for 5 carriages? Let alone the bottleneck at Saphan Thaksin!

I notice, when you drive in to Suvarnabhumi, there are rows of Thai planes just lined up, including A380s and 747s. There have been there so long, without any maintenance, that the fuselage colours have faded! Let alone the fact that Bangkok is one of the worst places to store aircraft, humidity, rain, etc. Just shows incompetence of the airline.

However despite our hopes, I have been formally notified, by Bangkok Airways, that my flights will be to/from new airport.

I'll do my best, but I doubt it will be up to your standards! I don't have your stamina. However I stay at Viroths hotel, which is a 5 star hotel owned by a gay couple!

Unfortunately not, Romanian the police said!

Thanks very much!

I hope so!

As I mentioned in May, the land is owned by various government personnel, who bought the land for a song, and decided this was an excellent way to increase the land value many times. Also yes, Chinese money. I am due there in January, and expecting at least a two hour journey to my hotel. Absolute scandal, and what do they think tourists will think? The Chinese also get transported in Chinese owned buses to Chinese owned hotels!

The only place I had my phone stolen was Copenhagen!

I found plenty of amateur masseurs on Grindr, professional at sex!

I am planning to be in Siem Reap in January, so your driver would be useful. What's the best. Way to contact him. The new airport now open, so will take a day or two to get to the hotel! Will need several massages to recover....

Thanks!

Sounds really exciting!

Thanks!