[Gordon]

davestat wrote:

Just got back to LHR from FAO. Nearest ever to missing my flight. Over 40 minutes in CE check in queue and only two agents covering all U.K. and IE flights. Hundreds of people in the queue. Worst still was arrivals. Queuing upstairs to get down the stairs and escalators to even get in the immigration hall. So chaotic and unsafe.

My 3 hour queue at immigration in BOG last December will take some beating, but any delays under these circumstances, is not a great start or end to a trip.

[Gordon]

Ahh – BA and IB musical chairs! Some are positive as in your case, but a lot are also negative, I have got into the habit of checking my bookings on a regular basis, just for this reason.

[Gordon]

@Wis – I’d stick with option 1, personally, you have enough time to use the Al Mourjan in Doha, also the Qatar flight would be a much better experience, worth paying the extra Avios and taxes.
Having said that, I have flown the BA11 to SIN, and it was ok.

In fact, I currently have a QR flight booked for Q4, LHR-BKK-LHR with a 50 minute layover in Doha, 150k Avios £620 taxes.

The cancellation will only be $25 for the QR flight, if you do change your mind!

[Gordon]

Norway seems popular, my neighbour is there for a week, the pictures he sent the skies look cloudy, and the last time I spoke to him, he was off to eat some pickled fish!

[Gordon]

I’ve observed that quite a number of the hfp community purchase from Amazon, so the below £5 off a £15 spend may be of interest, it’s not guaranteed to work for everyone, in my case luckily it did, but a few family members it didn’t.
Also for those who do not have a prime membership, check you account, as you may have a free 30 day trail to use.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/redir/98da0721

[Gordon]

@Guernsey Globetrotter – Thank you for the feedback, I’ll wait until the next ones come along then, as noise cancelling as good as it is, is not a priority for me.

[Gordon]

The Savage Squirrel wrote:

CB Root wrote:

As a second thought if in-ear is an option, I ended up using the newest Airpod Pro 2s (the ones that do hearing tests etc) for a long trip recently when my wife nicked my Sony over-ears. The improvement vs the first generation Airpod Pro in noise cancelling is enormous – they’re now really rather good. Come with 4 different size of in-ear attachment so should fit even unusual ears 😀

I have the AirPods Pro, I was looking at the new ones, are they that much better re sound quality?

[Gordon]

Guernsey Globetrotter wrote:

On the subject of BA’s Avios account tracking being off, has anyone else noticed that their Barclays Premier monthly 1,500 Avios never shows on their statement, even though they are clearly being accrued in the total number?! Neither mine nor Mrs GGT’s have appeared since the start of February 🤷‍♂️

My Premier banking Avios clearly shows on my statement at the beginning of each month, in my case, just checked, the last 1,500 Avios credit showing, was 2nd May!

[Gordon]

Just logged into the BAPP app, and the Avois earnt now shows to total Avios in the BAEC/Avios account, not the Avios that has been accumulated in that billing period, this was not the case when I logged into the app yesterday.

Not sure if this is a random IT error or not?

[Gordon]

@Jim Utd – we have visited the below sanctuary twice now in Chiang Mai, it’s run by a woman called Lek, she rescues elephants from logging companies etc. It’s a quite well known sanctuary, and very well run.

https://www.elephantnaturepark.org/enp/visit-volunteer

[Gordon]

@yorkshireRich – As long as you enjoy your travels, that’s all that matters, and opting for a trip in Thailand, you have chosen well.

[Gordon]

Aston100 wrote:

Gordon wrote:

Ok Maybe moat was not the best way to describe it, more like a body of water.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06eNTgy-N4rbcvkVUAswgubUA

An outdoor / open air bathroom?
I have the dubious pleasure of something like that in Ubud later this year.
Wondering how I’m supposed to go toilet in the night without getting swarmed by mozzies and presumably venomous serpents.

Embrace it! I can’t get enough of Asia and its wildlife wildlife, my favorite part of the world, without a doubt, my next trip in Q4 can’t come soon enough, I believe you are staying at the IC? I would be interested to know your thoughts, as I am looking at options for Bali.

[Gordon]

Ok Maybe moat was not the best way to describe it, more like a body of water.

https://share.icloud.com/photos/06eNTgy-N4rbcvkVUAswgubUA

[Gordon]

davedent wrote:

I love the Kimpton in Samui although for my money you need a pool villa. They rarely acknowledge status for upgrades tho and last time I stayed I had to be moved because there were snakes in the room. The Melia next door is probably better value but I would get a boat villa .

That reminds me, when we were staying in a valley view villa at Alila Ubud Bali a few years back, we had to call a member of staff to remove a snake we saw slither across the bedroom floor, it must of been able to bite, as he used thick gloves and a litter picker type tool, and put it in a pillow case, Our bathroom was basically in the middle of a moat, so I guess they fed on the small frogs that adorned the water.

[Gordon]

Froggee wrote:

Now I feel bad @yorkshireRich

You are more likely to get away with it in February than March. It all depends on your tolerance for such stuff. Mine is pretty low when the kids are involved.

I would say that Samui is a winner though.

Absolutely agree if children are in tow, we’ve always been to the north in November and December, and it’s been fine, Koh Samui is a nice location, if your into scuba diving, you can take a speed boat an hour or so out, to Koh Phangan, and dive in that area, weather dependent though.

[Gordon]

I would also add, be aware the burning season in northern Thailand in normally April and may, and the dates can sometimes move, it can get quite smoggy, and it’s not pleasant.

[Gordon]

yorkshireRich wrote:

Morning, read through many articles and forum discussions on here re Thailand and plunged ahead and booked the Kimpton Koh Samui on points for March. I have plenty of time to change my mind. It’s probably not my thing but the wife is insistent nowadays that wherever we book, it must be with the child at the forefront of our minds, and it seems to have a good kids club.

I’ve booked 7 nights there, so I may do chiang mai, chiang rai, koh samui then 2 nights in Bangkok, or Hua Hin, Chiang Mai, Koh Samui, Bangkok. I ended up being quite put off by some parts of Krabi by the end of my research.

I do have a companion voucher but not so easy to use for this trip, so I think Thai airways or Singapore airlines maybe the way to go.

I’m off to SEA in Q4 this year, for several months, on a grand tour! Have you looked at QR for redemption flights, Thai airways is a solid choice, and I also rate EVA, when we flew them many years ago, they used metal cutlery in economy, when most other airlines were still using plastic.

[Gordon]

I have a trip report on here, that might help, from when I had a 3 week safari in Kenya, Uganda & Rwanda in august 2024, All DIY.

[Gordon]

strickers wrote:

@Gordon I just quoted the T&Cs above, it clearly states one car. You also don’t get the cheap rate for the rest of the house during the charging slots.

From the FAQ:

Can I charge any car at home?

No, this is limited to one car only. If everyone starts charging their friends’ cars, then we wouldn’t be able to offer this add-on anymore, which would be a shame for all of us!

Charging will be for the car we connect to. So if you’ve connected to your car directly, then it will cover only this car.

Clearly not suitable for everyone, but there will be take up for the 700kwh allowance, as I said originally, this will be good for someone that charges regularly, there’s plenty of competition out there from energy suppliers, so there is loads to choose from.

Disclaimer – I myself are not looking for revenue from referral codes, just thought I would post as would be of some use to the forum!

[Gordon]

Rui N. wrote:

Octopus subscription is not limited to one car. But it is limited to 700kWh per month.

I don’t believe it’s one car, I haven’t looked into this yet!

[Gordon]

Stu_N wrote:

Morning from a very sunny central Scotland!

The Amex LNER offer has reappeared after a short hiatus. I have 10% off until 8 August on both my cards.

Not quite as good as previous rates but runs for three months.

Noticed this earlier on my BAPP card.

[Gordon]

@Yuff – we have 2 EVs and are also on IOG, and agree, it’s excellent, and their products will only get better as they evolve, with the launch of their latest £30pm subscription model being an example.

[Gordon]

Just found this from octopus, it may be of use to some,
Who have to charge regularly.

https://www.current-news.co.uk/octopus-energy-launches-30-a-month-ev-charging-tariff/

[Gordon]

Lady London wrote:

Gordon wrote:

@Lady London – Only those motorists that commit an offence have something to fear!

Sadly though Gordon, in London particularly Mayfair and the rest of Westminster, it’s easy to offend.

I can’t tell you how regular an occurrence it used to be in Westminster, for me to arrive back to my parking
space with 5 minutes still left on the meter, only to find a traffic warden with machine in hand standing by it ready to issue a ticket the very second the time paid expired. In fact I even caught 2 of them issuing tickets early (once in person before time paid had expired, once when I arrived back with time still left and there was already a ticket on the car) and I got both tickets cancelled.

It wouldn’t take much for an ordinary person to find themselves visiting the Westminster Vehicle Pound in that underground car park on the Hyde Park side of Park Lane, as cars began to be towed within a very short time of being ticketed.

I am not sure how long ago you are referring to, but I believe there was an overhaul of the unruly behavior of traffic wardens a while back, but yes, it is becoming more difficult to drive a vehicle in any part of London, not only Westminster, I’ve noticed more cycle lanes being introduced, with cameras, taking up 50% of the road, southwark in particular.

[Gordon]

phantomchickenz wrote:

Gordon wrote:

@Northernlass – Glad you had a good time in the big smoke, and you get back up north without too much trouble, not that you would have noticed, unless you drove under there, but virtually opposite ICPL, my claim to fame is that my company carried out the fit out to Hyde park underground car park, lighting and fire suppression system, quite a lucrative contract from Westminster city council, back in the days when they actually spent some money on the right things.

Was that before or after 2012? My claim to fame was that I was the Project Manager of that carpark when it was converted to a fleet depot for the Olympics – all the cars that whisked athletes and officials to their venues were stored there overnight. Things got really interesting when it started to flood with sewage from the events in the park above because of an illegal wastewater connection. At one point it was rated as the second greatest risk to the delivery of the Olympics! I never did find out what the top risk was.

Way before that, without looking at archive paperwork, around 2001, it was a dingy place, with a lot of leakage from the park above through the concrete ceiling.