Do it yourself.

Taxation is by calendar year.

@Graham *****

immigrations is telling people who are "at the edge" of entry to get a tourist visa, so their travel history can be weighed upfront. Doesn't take away their discretionary right to overrule this upon entry, but will they do that? No, they won't.

Telling people only about the very extreme case isn't always the best help. People with a tourist visa should be able to trust that they can enter.

A visa is like an entrance ticket. An entrance ticket to an Ed Sheeran concert also normally gives you the right to enter it. Can the security refuse you still? Yes technically, and if you carry eighteen stilettos in your pockets they might. If not, they'll let you in.

If you have a tourist visa you should be ok. Your entry history has already been weighed in. If it were too much, you should not have been given the visa.

@Jo *********

it's well-known that hotels are not as flexible Jo. If you didn't know this after 25 years of traveling then that's a shame.

FYI, 25 years ago hotels were even much less flexible than they are today. It is thanks to booking platforms that the flexibility we know today even exists. Back then all bookings were final. The strategy to offer flexibility is how Booking originally penetrated the market.

@Jo *********

no, that's not the case. You can book fully refundable with Agoda and fully refundable means fully refundable. If you don't book fully refundable, they still have leniency policies and can sometimes give you a refund regardless. We had this when cyclone "Pabuk" struck, a couple years ago. Direct bookings are not as flexible.

@Jo *********

I have the opposite experience. Direct bookings are often less flexible. Agoda has great refundability conditions if you use those.

@Jo *********

why not? They're very good at hotel bookings.

I had mine within a few days.

I used them when AirAsia's own website didn't work, and had no issues. Also used their counterpart, Booking, for the same reason as yours. And used other third party booking sites as well.

First off, you can trust a company like Agoda. Unlike AirAsia, they make sure their systems work properly. However, as holds with any third party booking site: they take away your flexibility, if any. You can't change or cancel your ticket. Service packs, as they call it, are always too expensive to even consider, so you're kinda forced to book the least flexible option. If you book an AirAsia or other budgeter flight, this doesn't matter, because that's just the same with direct bookings. But if you book e.g. Etihad, you'd have the option to cancel or reschedule at a somewhat acceptable cost, which you'd lose if you book with a third party. Or, if anything goes wrong, you may want to deal with the airline directly, instead of a third party.

And one last thing: if they don't allow you to book baggage, don't do it. It is not possible to book baggage later. Or well, at penalty fare then. That's the scam: not allowing you to book baggage upfront, they collect a penalty fare. Usually more than your ticket (i.e. forfeiting your ticket and rebooking the exact same ticket but with baggage at the airline booking desk is cheaper). I believe Thai Lion scams people this way. Although having said this, I kinda remember that Agoda also didn't allow me to book checked baggage that one time I used them. Not a problem then as I planned to fly without, but if they really don't allow you and you need it, you know what to do.

All in all: if your plans are set in stone, you may book via third party websites such as Agoda. But if you can't find an option to book baggage (and you need it), abort, and book direct.