bkkguy

under recent Australian law changes the retailer is now free to charge extra fees for credit card purchases and the practice is increasing bkkguy

last night (Friday) about 11:00 there were about 10 guys there and most of them made the Robinson corner guys look good! and yes I am sure it was the right place, so it obvously does have its off nights! bkkguy

aren't these the bars certain posters here keep recommending as great places to go? wasn't one of the last threads removed because a venue owner was upset about posters alleging certain activities at said bars still I am sure now that the druggies and underage have been carted off yet again the places will be back to being bastions of morality - for at least a few days! bkkguy

with ice cream dripping all over the keyboard I will have one last stab at this! I have never posted that I wanted to stay at the hotels mentioned, and indeed I have no desire to - they were simply offered as examples of how one could use words like "luxury hotel" and "new" in a reasonable way and to put you out of your misery Steff - the subject for the original post had 4 words in it and my post queried 3 of those words - indeed the whole post was an obviously too subtle dig at poor ear wig for whom it is a sterling effort to get 1 word out of 4 correct in his typical posts and yes I know there are always new people visiting the forums and Chiang Mai, I just don't think they are well served by the overblown hyperbole of posters like ear wig/LMTU/[insert latest persona here] now I will get back to my ice cream, you two can get back to your ridiculous assumptions about my hotel preferences and the rest can get back to making well-deserved recommendations for the non-"new" non-"luxury" non-"hotel" PJ's Guesthouse bkkguy

I think I should just go suck an ice cream and leave ear wig, Steff, et al to their own devices, linguistic or otherwise! bkkguy

Different Strokes for Different Folks. The Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Hotel is a "luxury hotel" in Chiang Mai - its 5 star rating would not be questions by most people The Tea Vana is a "new" hotel in Chiang Mai - it opened in November 2006 PJs has been open for 18 months (and has been discussed many times on various forums) and is a guesthouse - albeit a very nice one - and thus is neither "new" or a "luxury hotel" this is not different strokes for different folks, this is basic English usage bkkguy

it's not new, it's not luxury and it's not even a hotel - I suppose 1 out of 4 ain't bad! bkkguy

http://www.truetv.in.th/en/ and I think you will find the prices here are for the TV content, you need to buy ADSL Internet as a separate package if you want it and no, it is not cable, it is via phone line bkkguy

a shame really - farmed seafood never tastes quite the same as the natural variety and how do they "cultivate" thier salt? bkkguy

I was particularly impressed with the "aesthetics" of the dirty windows, the stains on the canvas sails, the marks on the floor, the cobwebs in the ceitling in the arrivals area, the useless air-conditioning, the seats that you only appreciate the beauty of because there are so few of them .... but yes from a distance, and even up close if you don't look too hard, it can be quite beautiful - such a pity it is so disfunctional. perhaps it will help Bangkok become a hub for form over function! bkkguy

au contraire, I often feel the need for instructions on where to buy the rose-coloured glasses needed to find the pattaya described here! bkkguy

... basic photoshop skills :-( bkkguy

studies show that 78.26% of all statistics quoted in discussion forums are made up on the spot! bkkguy

you are obviously here for the culture and the stimulating social intercourse bkkguy

I know the serach box says enter "keyword or phrase" but I didn't really expect it to be so picky! if you try search for just a number - for example just enter the digit(s) 6 or 608 in the search box - you get an error message: "Sorry, an error occurred. If you are unsure on how to use a feature, or don't know why you got this error message, try looking through the help files for more information." but if you include some text with the number - for example "6 months" - it works OK I was trying to seach for the polic order number 608/2549 which I was sure had been mentioned here before and kept getting this error bkkguy

try the official Immigration Bureau web site: http://www.immigration.go.th (and click on English in the top right corner!) they have a translation of Order 608/2549: http://www.immigration.go.th/nov2004/en/ba...&section=notice both wrong - there is no limit on the number of entries, the limit is on the number of days from the order: "shall be permitted for multiple entry into Thailand, by permission of which must not exceed 30 days per entry with a total period of stay not exceeding 90 days within 6 months from the date of the first entry into the Kingdom." I have seen this translation posted on many of the forums (including I thought here but search seems a bit broken?) so I am surprised that everyone still seems obsessed with limits on number of entries there was even a post (I think here) from some Immigration offical suggesting the new visa run habit will be 3 border runs/entry stamps then a trip to Penang to get a toutist visa which gives 60 days entry and can be extended by a month in the country then your 6 months is up so start again with three border runs .... risnse and repeat ad infinitum bkkguy

yes, I agree, I have always thought most of the sanctimonious crap that goes with the use of "guest" in relation to Thailand is fairly half-baked and hard to understand when I am in my home country, and hence not a "guest", I still have obey the law or face the consequences, so being a guest is obviously not the issue here - though being under martial law or on an easy to have cancelled visa may affect my risk assessment when deciding to break the law or not while I am in Thailand when I am a "guest" in a hotel I am not expected to give up all rights to having an opinion and expressing it or offering criticisms, and how the hotel responds to my comments depends on how well I match their target audience and how valid they consider the criticism to be, and I rarely see an attitude of "if you don't like it go home" or "stop complaining, you are a guest" if I invite a "guest" into my house and he makes insensitive comments about my religion or culture or whatever I am unlikely to invite him back because I don't like insensitive people, whether they are my guest or not yet when I am a "guest" in Thailand .... bkkguy

I hope we all remember we are guests and should obey the law the next time we consider offing a prostitute from a bar or speeding on the motorway or ... or perhaps it is not that guests have to obey the laws, they only have to obey the laws that they might get in to serious trouble for? or get caught for? bkkguy

from wikipedia: This well-known saying is part of a phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli and popularized in the U.S. by Mark Twain ... Recent research indicates that neither Disraeli nor Twain actually coined the phrase. Alternative attributions include the radical journalist and politician Henry Du Pr

and probably part of the 75.04178% that don't understand the principle of not implying more precision than can be justified who was it that first talked of "lies, damn lies and statistics"? bkkguy

no that is not what I said and it is not what the (more carefull) officials are saying - the limit is on the number of days (90 days in a six month period starting from the first entry stamp), no limit on the number of entry stamps - but as most people stay 30 days per entry stamp most examples talk about three entry stamps! it was interesting that the offical quoted in the other thread seem to "officially" endorse the concept of staying for an extended period by using three entry stamps, a tourist visa and extension, then three entry stamps then a tourist visa and extension ad infinitum so it would seem the situation has not really changed much, just a few slightly longer and more expensive consulate trips a few times a yearin between the border runs! bkkguy

this "three times in six months" has been mentioned often, but does not seem to be what the posted regulations say: which seems to say no limit on number of entries (or perhaps "several" was "three" in the original Thai?), the limit is on total time per stay and per 6 months - for those doing monthly border runs the difference is irrelevant but for those worried about coming in for a day and having that counted as 30 days it is significant bkkguy

As I posted above, BBB Inn is now X Suites, but their current rates (ad in Sept issue of Variety magazine) are 1,100 overnight and 450 "day use" bkkguy

it is now X Rooms "serviced rooms" and 1,400 per night bkkguy

I have the same problem, but in other forums using the same software (eg thaivisa and baht-stop) the function seems to work there is a "mark all read" link on the main forum index page that does work OK bkkguy