… and good luck in the future.

I am fairly sure, as are the one or two commenters who aren’t knuckle-dragging troglodytes, that this video was shot in Khlong Toey. Bangkokians are the masters of creatively efficient use of space.

(Thanks to b for sending me this similar video clip.)

Arriving into Krabi Airport, I was told that our bags were missing. After explaining to the baggage staff what the bags looked like, I was told that they would be delivered to the resort later on that day. Anyone who has visited Krabi knows that they have one of the most expensive taxi rates in this country. A 25 minute trip costs 500 baht and the boat from Ao Nang to Railay is 100 baht (if you have 8 other passengers in the boat, if not the cost goes up).

So we arrived at the resort with the clothes on our back and nothing else. This was ok as we were told that the bags would arrive later, this was lie #1. When I called at 4pm, I was told that the bags were missing but they were still arriving that night and could we make our way back to the airport (cost, another 900 baht one way). Upon arriving at the airport we were told:

- They couldn’t find the bags
- They are being delivered in the morning
- They are lost

The lack of any customer support or acknowledgement that Thai Airways lost our bags wasn’t forthcoming. They even had the cheek to say that we must have not put them on the plane or even caught the flight, which didn’t make sense as we had the baggage tags and also were in Krabi. So after spending 2 hours banging our heads against the wall, we went back to the resort, another 900 baht. The customer service lady told us they would be delivered at 9am to the resort.

9am came and went and when we phoned we were told the bags were on the way, or lost, depending on who you spoke to. Eventually after spending 30 hours in the same clothes, we made our way back to the airport (another 900 baht down the drain). We were met with the usual excuses of the bags not being found, on the way or delayed and when we mentioned we had nothing to wear, we were informed we should just buy new clothes. This made me loose my cool as I was sick and tired of Thais assuming that Foreigners are made of money and have thousands to throw around.

Eventually we had enough and decided to walk back into the baggage arrival hall, only to see one of the bags going around on the conveyor belt. This bag was “lost” according to Thai Airways staff.

We eventually got the backs back on the last day, 4 days of wearing cheap imitation clothes and still Thai Airways refused to admit they had done any wrong, saying we must have written our names wrong so therefore the bags were not put on the plane (err hello, ticketing is all digital now darling)

This post is meant to be a warning to all visitors to Thailand, DO NOT give in to the shoddy customer service that some companies try to give. Fight all the way and make them realise that if they want to function in a growing economy of tourism, they need to start accepting blame for their mistakes and fix them as quickly as possible

Top “Must See” Attractions in Bangkok

- Chatuchak Market
- River cruise including floating market
- Vertigo for drinks (and possibly dinner if your budget can afford it)
- Sukhumvit and Silom for the culture and experience of Bangkok
- Lumpini Park and (hopefully Suan Lum Night Bazaar if it’s still around)

great concept, easy to use site and one that we will be using more and more as the weather hopefully gets cooler (or does it?)

The name “Bangkok” actually came from the original name “Bang Markok”, which is made of 2 words, Bang and Markok.

Bang is an old Thai word, meanings village or suburb, and Markok means olive, the green type that is.
In the past about 200 years ago when the city was built, it was believed to be full of Markok (green olive) everywhere near the river, canal ..

So Thai people called this area “Bang Markok” which means The land of Markok (olive) and it became “bangkok” as we know now.

Having been told by many that Khao Sarn road was the best place to experience it, we heading down there armed with the necessary stuff to ensure camera’s were kept dry and other useful items.

First thing you noticed when you got out of the cab was the sheer amount of people present. It was damn near impossible to walk into the Soi, let alone stroll. Within 5 minutes we were totally drenched and painted white with plaster (i’m sure it does wonders for the skin, at least thats what i hoped).

Security was tight, for obvious reasons, but it was refreshing to see that the Police and Army were taking part and were also full of plaster and water. Try and do that to a policeman in the US or the UK and you would be arrested for assault.

Overall we totally enjoyed ourselves, it was fantastic to see everyone enjoying themselves.

“Since Google has rejected our repeated requests to withdraw the clip, we can’t help blocking the entire site in Thailand,” said Sitthichai.

“When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban,” he said.

YouTube aired a 44-second clip ridiculing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch, who is revered by all 63 million Thais.

This acting government is doing more damage than good. Firstly banning any political parties and now going beyond what is democratic. It does worry me about the way Thailand is heading, from a political point of view they really are making it hard for anyone to take this caretaker government seriously.

You want to keep a nice souvenir from Bangkok or just being lost in the City ?
You can celebrate the centenary of the birth of Jim Thompson through March 22…
Website : http://www.jimthompsonhouse.com/events/Lost_inthe_City.asp

Nota : admission free.

From 9 March and during one month, we can see how 4OO Thai artists portray themselves into the little space of The Silom Galleria.
Colorful, inspired and, sometimes, just amazing.

Nota : the Silom Galleria is also known as Number One Gallery.