Horizondave

Will send pm later when out of bed.....

Just sent some money at that very rate. Hoping for the upward trend for all those of us who fund their trips in Sterling.

If traveling Finnair business class they have a lounge (non Schengen) which has showers. It is by gate 52. There is also an Aspire lounge, which offers facilities to anyone willing to pay. I looked online and the latest figure I got was around £22 to enter, although I think there is an extra charge for a shower at 10 Euro. The time for a shower will obviously depend on your connection time. As MCT (minimum connection time) is 45 mins for most flights, it should see enough time for a shower on most connections, but again, depends on your own flight timings.

I am a Finnair groupie, I like their service and I really like the quietness and ease of moving around that Helsinki airport. The lounge is really great, but I nearly complained when I was there; for some reason they had a program about 600lb women and the view of them taking a shower and sitting in their beds was not an image I will readily forget, especially while eating my food and guzzling quality wine.

Appreciate these regular currency pics.

Great pic, I have highlighted my house below in Horizon with the blue dot, loved my time there. It was where my daughter grew up for her first 4 years. It was quite funny sitting in my condo (just 1 year) watching my old house a short distance away. I would consider living there again if I returned.

That would be Horizon as Condo 88 was to the west of my house. There was quite a lot of noise when they built Condo 88. In fact I can see my old room on the top floor at the north end of the building looking east. I used to love sitting on my balcony with a beer while watching the lights of Hua Hin and seeing flights coming up from Phuket. Krabi etc., on their way to Bangkok.

It runs out on the 06 April 2024. Value 90 Euro. If you want it I will send the voucher to you by message. It has the voucher number and pin number to enable use. If you actually then use it, just send me £20/25. I will not use it. PM when needing voucher. Edit. as per Finnair: Finnair gift card is not personal, so you can give it to someone else or purchase flights for others as well. Finnair gift card is valid for one year. Please buy your ticket before the expiration date marked on the gift card. Travel date can be later (max 360 days from the day of the purchase). Unused vouchers or a part of them are not redeemed.

Not sure but that looks like Horizon on the right and Condo 88 on the left. If it is then both of my former Hua Hin residences are in view.

Your blood pressure seems low to me, maybe that is why they are calling you in. Obviously sounds better than high blood pressure but hypotension is also a concern to doctors I believe..

Not stayed at the Hilton although have been inside and used the downstairs club and bars. The Hilton is obviously more modern with the Centara maintaining an older style charm offering a very historical feeling to a stay. For me I would still book the Centara as you feel so immersed in history, the gardens and facilities are beautiful, the grounds and restaurants are amazing. Just having afternoon tea there is an event. I have stayed then and never ventured outside, I just wanted to savour the atmosphere of a premier class hotel. The hotel has beautifully finished rooms once inside, they are large and extremely comfortable. You have a feeling of being in a 'colonial old hotel' which I particularly like as it comes with great service, you feel part of history. Not sure of the costs of either hotel, would need to look that up but maybe the wifey would get a better rate for you if she called the hotels.

Decided bed was preferable to listening to my wife talking to her Thai mate on the phone. 95 minutes ago we were meant to be watching a movie together, but that's when her mate called. She is still on the phone and my patience is wearing thin. She is seeing this Thai girl tomorrow at 10 am, couldn't she just talk to her then. Beginning to realise I can't compete with her phone. Personally wish they would both leave home.

A nice cup of tea and a slice of Barra Brith with butter in Neath Leisure Centre. Lovely.

Could confuse some, the Hilton is obviously another hotel, but very close by to the Centara. Great pic. Still need to go to the Sky bar in Hilton, never been. Centara on the other hand is one of my favourite places to visit when in town.

Waiting for the wife, who is about to arrive in Wetherspoon from her work. She wants Coors, I have Jemima's Pitchfork. Paler than my normal choice, but a great session beer. The Welsh don't go out on Mondays so pretty empty in here.

Will add a video if I find one. The last Ziggy tour was great, I will say the sound at Hammersmith Odeon was amazing, especially as I was at the last ever Ziggy concert on 03 July 1973, when Jeff Beck came on as surprise guest to jam. Great days, I looked at my t shirt which had the ticket price on it, ranged from £1.50 to £2.00, amazing value back then.

My brother was staying in Flaine, he had a drink of that beer just before an afternoon session of skiing. Just the one though, pretty strong at 6.5%, lovely though.

My brother gave me this bottle, brought back from his skiing trip to France. Very nice 750 ml at 6.5%.

Got to be pretty pissed to eat those eggs, have indulged on quite a few occasions. Did enjoy the balut sisig in Gerry's Grill in SM Angeles once, was pretty good.

Well, I managed to download, not great sound as just copied off a phone but live, it was great, the sound in the small venue was very atmospheric, I even moved my feet a little. The lead guitarist's solo (Andy Marr) on Moonage Daydream was amazing, although I will always say the Mick Ronson live solo on 03 July 1973 was my favourite..

Last night, I went with my brother and nephew to see a cover band called Absolute Bowie. Their first set was all Ziggy, and after the break they changed to more modern attire to play most of Bowie's later songs. Small venue but great night. I wore my Bowie 1973 Ziggy concert tshirt which, amazingly, got a few ladies complimenting me. Even got a kiss on the cheek from a lovely lady as I was leaving, a bit of a shock but didn't take it further, must be getting old. Hampton Hub is small but perfect for cover bands. Will add videos if I work out how to make it less than 19mb, maybe somebody here can tell me how to do that as the two videos I want to put on are 50 and 80 mb.

Good food and excellent service always, love the place and so convenient for drinks across the road as well. Turn left and the new complex towards the railway is also a great option after.

Depends if you order small or large. Pretty sure I had the large cod at less than 300 baht, it was lovely. The small portion would be enough for some.

I would agree with you. I think the article refers to anybody coming in on a visa exempt (visa free) entry. It is also stated in the link about this 56 countries offer visa free entry but it is still considered a 30 day visa by immigration as they make the decision on entry to stamp you in. As the link below stipulates it is actually called a Por 30 visa. https://thailand.go.th/issue-focus-detail/009-006 It is just visa free......for 30 days and can be extended. It also looks like an interim measure before the 300 baht fee comes in although that appears, not too soon.

Enjoyed your report until you slagged off Finnair's crappy plane lol To be honest for a 2.5 hour flight in business on an Airbus 321 connecting to a brand new business seat on the A350 sounds like a better deal than you possibly experienced on 3 of your legs. I probably would prefer to go non stop, if in business, or via the middle east if guaranteed an A380 but for cheap Charlies like me who can't afford the the more popular airlines, then Finnair works for me. My journey on Finnair was most enjoyable, but it was also the great lounge at Helsinki and a wonderful smaller sized airport departure area, that made my vacation special but then again I am only 68 lol My last trip on Qatar was not a great experience and the airport itself really didn't float my boat but yes, if the flights that you had booked actually had given you the customer service and product you had paid for, it might have given you a more positive experience. I get discounts on Qatar as they are part of IAG, but I would still prefer Finnair if and when I travel back to Thailand, probably not before summer 2025. Just wondering, also, what the comparable fares are for when booking business ex Thailand as opposed to booking the journey ex UK, is there a great difference. I used to use Gulf Air business when in Thailand as they were very competitive but the ex UK journey was way above my pay grade.