billyhouston

The world reaction to this is shameful and none more so than that of Douglas Alexander MP, UK's Secretary of State for International Development. To start by saying that nothing should be done to offend the 'Burmese' government is just plain stupid and will have Than Shwe and his thugs laughing all the way to China. The only thing this odious lot understand is being negotiated with from a position of strength.... not weakness. The West must insist that aid goes in preferably with, but if necessary without, the cooperation of the Burmese military. Getting around the delta is difficult at the best of times and will need helicopters that the Burmese do not have; nor do they have a heavy lift facility. Their only concern is hanging onto power and they could not care less of a few hundred thousand people die as a result. The people of Myanmar deserve much better.

Had a similar problem a couple of weeks ago returning to UK, in my case at the Thai end. At about 1100 the immigration area was packed tight and it was difficult to get in. There was a little more room at the 'Thai Passports' end but only half the booths were staffed. Similarly the air-conditioning was inadequate and people could easily have missed flights. Peak periods are pretty easy to predict, most of the time, and this sort of thing shames Thailand.

Having discovered PJ's Place a couple of years ago, I see that in five visits since November 2007 I've spent 47 nights there. I can only confirm what others have said about the hospitality of Peter and Jiab, the friendliness of the staff and the excellence of the accommodation. It really is worth persisting in trying to get a reservation, you won't regret it.

What I find particularly annoying is the grandstanding of George Bush and Gordon Brown who are going to 'tighten sanctions'. If they don't know that the generals don't give a monkeys, then they jolly well ought to. Only China has real influence with Than Shwe and his thugs... short of a few tomahawks lobbed into Naypidaw.

I read this last night and was simply lost for words. Later I tried to imagine what it would be like if my friend had his life ended in this fashion but it was too horrid even to contemplate. Nothing I can write will ease the pain and anguish, but you have my condolances nevertheless.

Perhaps this is a good time to remind others stuck in the UK that they can take their pleasures vicariously:

The title of this article should really be: "Dollar at its weakest level since 1997".

Do bear in mind that this company only gets around to adding taxes and charges at final checkout.... which is why I will not use them. The prices they quote are consequently 'markedly cheaper'.

FD is Thailand Air Asia. Excess baggage is Bht80 per Kg with 7% Value Added Tax on top. Where possible I fly NokPlus which allows 30kg.

Now 1 USD = 37.2 THB, again TIT

Dollar rate is now reported at 1 USD = 37.8 THB, as oppposed to 37.2 at the start of the day.

No 5 above is a real pain in the neck. I'm a tourist, I do not work but I'm constantly in and out of LaoPDR and Myanmar over the winter. This really makes it awkwardfor people who move around a lot. Making life difficult for tourists is not the way to increase arrival numbers.

In Thailand it's 1-2-call and the Bht 300 card I bought in March will expire in Dec 2007. The 25,000Kip M-Phone card bought around the same time also expires in Dec 2007. Once you use the Bht 300 card it adds 30 days (or maybe 28) activation time to any you already have as well as giving you Bht 300 credit.As far as I am aware the SIM (number) does not expire, that's why they need to go to 10 digits Different value cards add different activation periods but I cannot remember what these are. I normally use Bht 300 cards. Coverage in Lao is not great

I'm not sure that's entirely true. When I leave Thailand I make sure to buy a top up card and, when I next arrive, simply do the top up at the airport. Any unused credit expires after, in the case of a 300Baht card, 30 days as I recall but the number is reactivated as soon as you next top up. In Lao PDR, on the other hand, when you top up after being away for any time, the credit is reinstated. Likwise I buy a top up card before I leave so as to be ready for the next visit. That's 1-2-call in Thailand and M-Phone in Lao, by the way.

Although others have been very satisfied with Bangkok Air, this has not been my experience. Their prices are generally high (very high if you fly to Samui, where they own the airport.) so you can save money if you fly AirAsia

I too would recommend NokAir to Udon Thani, it's just a pity that they are so late releasing their timetable and seats. They have also had a problem with International credit cards recently, necessitating a phone call to Thailand. In spite of that they are my preferred airline. Dragon Lodge is great and very central. Villa Ban Lao is a little way out, maybe 2Km from town and I prefer to be in the Temple District of the old town. Sayo Guest House is a great old French house though far from visitor friendly. Don't like Bangkok Airways because, for one thing, they are expensive (look at the cost of flying to Samui) so I fly from Luang Prabang to Chiang Mai with Lao airlines. Visit LaoPDR a couple of times each year and spend perhaps 5 weeks there. It's a fabulous laid-back country with wonderful people. [some people who need to exit Thailand in order to get a new 28-day visa use Lao PDR for a 'visa run'. If that's all they do, they are missing out]