Private Driver and other Phuket, Thailand Transportation Tips

'Mode': AROUND
Category: Car/Motor Home
Getting TO/AROUND: Whenever we are in Phuket we use the services of a driver who has a clean, air-conditioned car which can seat up to 8 passengers (at a squeeze - 4 is best). He is prompt, reliable and speaks English well. He helps us with everything you can think of, from great meals at the most incredibly cheap prices to picking up things for us, picks up and drops off our laundry which he gets done at bargain prices, shopping on our behalf to give us new tastes and experiences at the markets or festivals. He also gets us 'Thai prices' when we're out shopping.

He is friendly, fun and incredibly helpful. Having him makes Phuket like a second home for us because we have easy access to anything at any time with local knowledge.

Mai is available for airport transfers at a quoted price, but usually 600 baht, then usually 1,500 baht per day, as fuel costs have risen and he now drives a large commuter van. Longer distances may incur a little extra, but Mai will give you a price up front.

Mai's wife, Nuch (pronounced Nooch) has an email address which she checks every few days. It is listed below. I will include her telephone number as well, as she takes the bookings. If you call Thailand, be prepared to hear a beeping sound, the phone does not make a ringing sound that you are probably familiar with. It does not mean the phone is disconnected or engaged, just hang on.

Mai now has two vehicles, as he has purchased a minibus which can seat 11-12 passengers so he can accommodate group bookings or smaller ones.

Please note the change of email address, the other account no longer works.

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Phone: +6641 134 809
Other Contact: hknuch@hotmail.com

'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: We were very surprised by the extreme difference in standards between Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways. We were flying Business Class and our experience began regularly enough, we got onto the plane and were seated, but unlike Singapore Airlines, no pre-flight drinks were offered. The staff seemed unreceptive with few smiles. When the stewardess offered us reading material, she offered it to my partner and not to me. She did this with water and he had to ask her on her way back for a drink for me (a couple of times). When our meals had been served (mine came with a tea cup with a chip about 3cm round on the lip), the trays were not removed for at least 30 minutes after we had finished our meals. I needed to move in my seat as my hip was hurting, but was unable to. My partner was sitting in the aisle seat and reached across to the centre seats (unoccupied) to place our trays there. Meanwhile I could see a stewardess sitting down reading behind the curtain on the other side of the plane. Another surprise was the poor standard of food offered, especially when it was served in tin foil containers.

No drinks were offered on the trip other than the tea/coffee after your meal. We felt like having a champagne, so we requested one each. When we had finished our glasses, we waited for about 10 minutes, but still no one came to ask us if we (or anyone else) would like another. We pressed the assistance button and waited for 5-6 minutes. I could see the steward in front of the curtain with his legs crossed and reading the paper. I undid my seatbelt, picked up the glasses and took them to him, asking for a refill. He did not apologise or seem to care that I'd had to get up.

At around AUD$6,000 for 2 for a flight from Perth to Phuket, you'd think the standards would be quite high, so it's disappointing to know we could have saved several thousand dollars and flown Economy on Singapore Airlines for at least the same standard of food and better service, just closer chairs.

Part 2 next tip.

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'Mode': TO
Category: Airplane
Getting TO/AROUND: We left at 11.45am, to arrive at the airport at the required time before our 1.55pm flight, so with the packing and travelling we did not eat lunch. The food in the Phuket Business Lounge consists only of awful sandwiches and pastries, so we did not eat anything there, thinking we would be offered food on the plane. All we were offered was the dry mango pastry shown. The flight was short, but we could have been offered something decent to eat. Neither Steve or I ate it.

We sat in the lounge at BKK and tried to find something to eat as we were very hungry, but the food again was pastry or awful sandwiches. I can't eat much pastry as it upsets my stomach, apart from being unhealthy. We made do with carrot & celery. Another couple came to sit with us as there were no seats left. They were from Switzerland and were also very unhappy about TA.

The BKK-Perth flight was far better. We decided to watch the featured movie, but it wasn't on. We then decided to watch Miss Congeniality 2, but reception was so bad we couldn't view it. The Flight Mgr had been told about our problems by one of the staff. He asked why we weren't watching anything and we showed him the problem. He fixed and restarted the movie so we could watch it.

We got into the Perth terminal at around 7am, very tired and eager to get home after flying all night. We waited for 40mins for our "Priority" luggage. Only one case arrived and was not tagged with priority tags. We then had to go through the process of reporting lost luggage. We were at the airport for 1hr. We were extremely unhappy as toiletries, phone chargers etc were in that case. We eventually got it back the following day.

After being totally ignored on my first letter of complaint, I again took it up with TA in Perth, as they'd also refused to hand over my points to the Star Alliance, as we'd thought, so we lost 11,000 miles each. I did get a very patronising response, but of course, no kind of reparations.
We will never fly Thai Airways again.

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