sydney69er

Very very cheap including breakfast, great location. Great intel that their WiFi sucks. Definitely a pass if their internet is not good.

TIT. I had heard this before about crossing the land borders. I usually fly. A big fat Aussie doesn't do well traveling on mini-buses/road in Asia!

Definite good news for me. I am planning to have extended time off work later this year. Had been planning a month in Thailand, then a visit to Laos for first time visit and to do a visa run, but can now spend more time in Thailand with the 60 days visa on arrival and could do a visa extension but probably will do visa run just to explore more of SEA.

@Unavowed Nice one! Thanks for sharing your thoughts in Grand Hyatt. I used to stay there (been maybe 5 years since last time). It is definitely a Grand hotel and only 1 stop on the BTS down to Nana so not too far from the action.

Crazy stuff! Atrocious service. I booked my flight in November for an April departure. In January I got an email from Thai Airways titled Seat Change. The wording in the email: Dear Valued Customer, Due to operation reason THAI would like to inform that your seat has been changed from 51K to 51K on TG475. WTF? That doesn't look like a seat change. Then 3 days later I got an email titled with my name and reference number - totally different email format, with the message: DEAR CUSTOMER, WITH REGARDS TO YOUR FLIGHT TG475. WE REGRET HAVING TO INFORM YOU THAT THE AIRCRAFT IS CHANGED DUE TO TECHNICAL REASON. YOUR SEAT ASSIGNMENT IS CHANGE FROM 50A TO 52A. I changed from a Valued Customer to just Customer. Not sure how my seat changed from 51K to 50A...then to change to 52A? Makes no sense, and this is about 4 months before the flight. Do they know about technical issues with the plane so far in advance? Makes no sense. Thai Airways - TIT

I finally got thru to Thai Airways customer support. Went through the same number. pressed 9 for English but listened to the Thai (I know next to no Thai but I do know numbers) I heard neung, then later heard Song, so presume they were giving me options to press. 1 for x, 2 for y. I pressed 1 and got on hold music. Within 1 minute someone answered in Thai, I asked if they could speak English They just said hold on. More on hold music. 30 seconds later girl answers in English. Took minutes to read out my flight confirmation number, her mistaking every letter for a number and every number for a letter. 'Reference number is '3' she says did you say P, no 3, the number, Sam. Oh Sam OK sir. Then next letter is F. She said did you say S? on and on through 5 digits. I even used the Phoenetic Alaphet which is standard in aviation industry. F is for Foxtrot. She had no idea what I was saying. She finally repeated back and found my flight details. She then said she would check my flight conditions. On hold for 2 minutes. Came back and said I could cancel but cancel fee 6000 Thb = A$250 Aussie dollars (fuck that's 3 STs!). OK. Think the flight was only about $750 so atleast will get $500 back. Better than nothing. She then says it will take up to 180 to get the refund. 6 months seriously? How can they bill your card in seconds, but refunds take 6 months? Things that make you go hmmmmm. Last year I had ANA cancel a flight in Japan, was due to Thyphon. Called their call centre. Did take 15 minutes to get through but that day many flights had been canceled. They gave me options to either reschedule, get a credit or get refund. I went for refund. Money was back on my credit card next day. No fee. I guess it is different as ANA cancelled that flight, and I cancelled this flight but seriously, it has been a mission to contact them, zero responses to emails. I'm done. Thai Aiways. BANNED. You are on the No Fly List! Makes me remember, more than 20 years ago, I was at Lumphini Stadium to watch Thai kick boxing. Sat next to an American guy who lived in Bangkok. He was telling me all the stuff the Thai Governement own, told me back then Thai Airways was actually owned by the Thai Miliatry. Any profilts went to feed their Generals. hahahahaha. TIT.

Think they'll definitely make it to my No Fly list! I could just imagine the Thai employess having no idea what to do! many airlines just go into melt down when a flight is cancelled.

I have been trying to cancel a Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Sydney. I guess I am not surprised that a SEAsian company has very bad customer support! I also had a Qantas flight from Sydney to Bangkok booked using Frequent Flyer points. That took about 1 minute and a few clicks to cancel. Just logged into my account, click click click, cancelled. The frequent flyer points were back in my account next day less 6000 points Cancel Fee as expected. Thai Airways! I have flown them a few times and it is a nice airline when things go well. First of all, I am a Royal Orchid Plus account member but only basic status. In my ROP account, I cannot see my flight booked. So unable to cancel via my account. When I go to Manage My Booking from the original flight email confirmation, there is no way to Cancel a flight. I can Modify Flight and choose a different flight but no Cancel Option. I emailed service@thaiairways.com as per instructions on their website. Still waiting for a response to that email after 10 days. I tried emailing the Sydney Thai Airways office at customer.service@thaiairways.com.au - no reponse so far. I called the Sydney call centre. They said they cannot help as the flight leaves from Bangkok, I have to call the Bangkok call centre. They did say I could also email contact@service.thaiairways.com. I tried that email, it doesn't exist! Great work Sydney customer service! I have tried calling the Bangkok call Centre 3 times. Supposively open 24 hours a day 7 days a week. When i call I get a long message in Thai. It then says for English press 9. I press 9, then get a long message in Thai then it disconnects. I will keep trying but the way things are going Thai Airways will be added to my No Fly List: 1. Malaysia Airlines - had same issue getting refund for a flight they cancelled - Business class ticket only a few hundred dollars, from KL to Bali. Never got a refund. Long long story, many calls, long waits in queue, many emails. Waste of time. BANNED. 2. British Airlines - attrocious service and food (but have not flown with them for over 20 years). Got snapped at by one of the fat pasty English bitches for asking for a 2nd drink during the meal from London to Singapore. 3. United Airlines - flown them 4 times Business Class between Sydney and US. Business Class only has cranky, old American bitches and terrible food! Never again. 4. Thai Airways TBC

Most will be versatile if you are paying them! But they will have their preference, so ask first. Best to go to the bar, talk with them to make sure you have a connection, tell them what you want to do, they will let you know if they are OK with it. Don't be shy! They have heard it all before. I think for a first timer, Cindy's has a very relaxed environment for your first experience. Not sure about rooms at $50 (USD or A$ should be too hard to find). Start looking for rooms close to Soi 11 Sukhumvit, best location for access to the LB scene. ENJOY Bangkok! Hope your share your experiences!

I saw a few shows in Patpong back in the 90's. Ping Pongs, razors, bananas, opening beer bottles and shooting the darts out to pop balloons tied to the roof. Very educational. Saw one girl squirt half a banana out and a guy in the front row caught it in his mouth and ate it. Quality entertainment.

I stayed at the Hilton Millennium probably about 8 - 9 years ago. Really nice hotel. As you mentioned, only thumbs down from me is the distance from the Sukhumvit nightlife area. Really not that far, probably 25 minutes in a taxi late at night. I do prefer walking distance these days. I tried 4 of the restaurants in the hotel, Buffet breakfast is sensational. The Chinese Restaurant for Dim Sum very good. American steak restaurant very fancy smancy, top quality steaks at very expensive prices. Best of the bunch was the Thai restaurant right at the top of the building. Was a set course (think 8 courses) and they had a traditional Thai performance, dancing etc which was very entertaining. My room had a fantastic view straight down the Chao Phraya River. They had a free barge that took you across the river, directly out the front of the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel. I brought a few GGs back to my room during my stay, no issues so definitely Guest Friendly

It's been more than 5 years since I stayed at Grand Hyatt Erawan. Since Hyatt Regency opened in 2018, corner of Soi 13/Sukhumvit, I will only stay there. Best location in the LB triangle. Grand Hyatt was nice. Only 1 stop on BTS to get to Nana station, so easily accessible to the good stuff. Spasso was an awesome pickup joint and a fairly decent Italian restaurant, sad to hear that it has gone.

Red Lion has some good English Breakfasts too. Last time I was in town they had a Baht Buster deal 129 Baht for an English Breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, hashbrown, tomato, baked beans, mushroom, toast, coffee, juice. Not a bad feed.

How much? Any pics?

Not stayed at the Capella. I do like a nice 5 star hotel but not at A$900 per night. Few weeks back I saw a list of Top 50 hotels in the world from some travel company in the UK. They had 4 Bangkok hotels listed: 3. Four Seasons Chao Praya River, Bangkok 21,000 Thb per night A$900 per night 10. Mandarin Oriental Bangkok 34,000 Thb to night A$1463 per night 11. Capella Bangkok 21,000 Thb per night A$910 42. The Siam, Bangkok 19,800 Thb per night A$856 per night Other than the prohibitive price, I probably wouldn't stay in any of these hotels as none are in the LB Triangle in Sukhumvit