You want to check how easy it is to start your pension and move OS straight away.

@Wayne ********

Also if you arrive at night, you just want to get quickly to your hotel. I would only take the train in the daytime or if I was taking only one train to my hotel. I have never been charged for luggage and never been cheated by a taxi driver.

@Barry *****

Several each day. Takes 3+ hours.

@David **********

If true it's crap. If you're Russian you get 3 months visa free entry. I'd be buggered if I would be getting a visa 4 months ahead of time with all the other strings attached to visa approval.

I can imagine you joining the line for BTS tickets in your bikini and sunnies, with your towel draped over your shoulder as you flip-flop your way to the platform to catch your train to the beach. (Sorry - just realised you're a bloke!). I am going to give Hua Hin a try this time after a couple of weeks in Bangkok. I think you'd be happier there too. It's the rainy season so you might be spending a lot of time indoors.

@Rusty ***********

It helps if you have a job that allows you to work remotely.

What is a khlong scam?

@Lynnette ******

I paid $A500 for a 30 day trip last year and have opted for cheaper insurance with the same coverage this year for $350 (which included removing the excess). $500 Australian for a month is a lot of money. I am 70 so no insurance is not an option. The cheaper policy will almost certainly not be as easy to claim on, but the policy I had last year is now $570, and I am not prepared to pay so much again.

Travel insurance is becoming as costly as air travel. Probably a necessary evil but I can understand why people travelling for long periods are reluctant to pay the high premiums.

@Don ********

How much Russian have you learned? Is vodka now your drink of choice?