The question is who supplies this information? Do hotels fill out a questionnaire and perhaps pad the description to attract customers?
Or....is the info collected from customers. I doubt any of these booking agencies sends staff around to check each establishment.
Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Surely, if a customer complains that there is no elevator, no indoor swimming pool nor an on-site golf course, Agoda has some duty of care to investigate. These are major claims, we are not looking at there being no coffee sachet, no toiletries or no drinking water.
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle 
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Yes, they have to. Any booking agency should. I'm just curious about how they get the info to list in the first place as that's they key to these errors.
The advantage using these people I guess is a centralized place to compare properties and prices. Some prices perhaps lower than booking with the hotel directly because they've negotiated something.
The advantage using these people I guess is a centralized place to compare properties and prices. Some prices perhaps lower than booking with the hotel directly because they've negotiated something.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
I guess a hotel sends a series of submissions to several booking agencies at the same time. I've checked the listed facilities on BG's Booking.com, and there's no fantasy there. So why would they send false information to one agency, and not the other. IMHO it's either a keying problem, or the computer has thrown a wobbly. I don't have a problem with that, but don't intimate I'm another Cheap Charlie Farang, trying to get something about nothing. Check it out and rectify it.
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Tomorrow's installment will probably be late due to World Cup Football at silly o'clock tonight. So to keep you amused until I wake up, here are just a few observations:
Part 4
An observation about driving in Buriram…….
It is probably the worst driving I have encountered in Thailand. Motorcyclists have no fear, whatsoever. They just cut diagonally in front of cars, expecting the car to stop. Yes, this happens in Hua Hin, but with nowhere near the Buriram frequency. Red lights are there to look pretty. I cringe at the Bangkok Hospital lights in Hua Hin. In Buriram, red lights do not seem to mean stop – a few times I had been stopped at a red light with other cars and motorcyclists just passing either side of me (the only other place I’ve seen red lights ignored like this was New York over 40 years ago). It is fortunate that Buriram is like any other Isaan town – very little traffic, so it is manageable. On the night of the match, I caught a taxi to the game, and of course, we encountered some awful driving – the taxi driver explained to me that all of the bad driving in Buriram was by people from Surin. Personally, I don’t believe ALL of the bad drivers were from Surin, but with the ‘me first’ attitude in Thailand, Buriram people may see people from Surin getting away with it, and think ‘I’ll have a piece of that’. Buriram's police were as prevalent as Hua Hin’s police – nowhere to be seen. Probably monitoring speed camera screens, making easy money.
Whilst on the subject of bad driving, I had been driving around Buriram for 3 days, crossing unmarked level crossings without looking first. I think this is probably because the crossings were reminiscent of my working days driving through Naval Dockyards, constantly going over rail tracks. If there ever was a train coming, it would always be going so slow, there was never a problem. It suddenly dawned on me that these were real railway tracks that carried real trains – I did start looking after my lightbulb moment. Sure enough, as we were leaving Buriram on the final day, there was a train, which would most likely have taken us out if I had not started looking. Scary, but why so many level crossings with no barriers?
Part 4
An observation about driving in Buriram…….
It is probably the worst driving I have encountered in Thailand. Motorcyclists have no fear, whatsoever. They just cut diagonally in front of cars, expecting the car to stop. Yes, this happens in Hua Hin, but with nowhere near the Buriram frequency. Red lights are there to look pretty. I cringe at the Bangkok Hospital lights in Hua Hin. In Buriram, red lights do not seem to mean stop – a few times I had been stopped at a red light with other cars and motorcyclists just passing either side of me (the only other place I’ve seen red lights ignored like this was New York over 40 years ago). It is fortunate that Buriram is like any other Isaan town – very little traffic, so it is manageable. On the night of the match, I caught a taxi to the game, and of course, we encountered some awful driving – the taxi driver explained to me that all of the bad driving in Buriram was by people from Surin. Personally, I don’t believe ALL of the bad drivers were from Surin, but with the ‘me first’ attitude in Thailand, Buriram people may see people from Surin getting away with it, and think ‘I’ll have a piece of that’. Buriram's police were as prevalent as Hua Hin’s police – nowhere to be seen. Probably monitoring speed camera screens, making easy money.
Whilst on the subject of bad driving, I had been driving around Buriram for 3 days, crossing unmarked level crossings without looking first. I think this is probably because the crossings were reminiscent of my working days driving through Naval Dockyards, constantly going over rail tracks. If there ever was a train coming, it would always be going so slow, there was never a problem. It suddenly dawned on me that these were real railway tracks that carried real trains – I did start looking after my lightbulb moment. Sure enough, as we were leaving Buriram on the final day, there was a train, which would most likely have taken us out if I had not started looking. Scary, but why so many level crossings with no barriers?
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
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Ginjaninja
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Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Big Boy wrote: ↑Tue Nov 29, 2022 8:05 am...They started practicing their English as I was going up. Usual Thai sayings regarding my masculinity, confirming how hansum I was, etc. When I turned to go back down again (planned from the outset) they did not know what to do. They continued up the steps towards me, looking away from me in dead silence. As we passed, I just said good afternoon girls. I think they wanted the ground to open and swallow them up...
That made me chuckle.
Thanks for the report B.B. Will need to get the locations saved on my phone next time I'm back at class.
GN.
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Amazed the traffic was so light there, the Issan cities I've driven through have been jammed solid (especially Khon Kaen). I'm pretty sure atrocious driving is a Thailand-wide scourge though! I presume they're telling the difference by the license plates, not just because they don't like Surinians!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Compared with the likes of Hua Hin, traffic was negligible, except on match day. Motorcyclists all seemed to have a blindspot - cars 
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Day 3 - 24 November 2022
Part 5
Khlong La Lom
Well, the promised bad weather arrived through the night. It really hammered down, and woke me up a few times. Morning weather was very overcast, puddles everywhere, but not raining…………..yet. I’ve been told another severe weather warning has been issued for the area. I went to load the wheelchair into the back of the truck, but it was like a swimming pool. I had to drive the truck up a significant ramp, slamming the brakes on as I went up to shock the water out. I did this several times before returning to pick up the wheelchair. Anybody watching would have thought, “Crazy Farang, or a driver from Surin.”
There’d been no further news from Agoda regarding my compensation claim, but I was guessing that would go on for some time. Meanwhile we still have to traipse back to our booked hotel for breakfast. I’m surprised we are allowed in because although Agoda guarantee anonymity, who else has been dumped in a cheaper hotel because of their inaccurate advertising? However, it is all smiles from the staff as I struggle up the very steep wheelchair ramp.
We then had to decide where the day’s adventure would take us. I had 2 main options – the Botanic Gardens, which I believed were undercover (they weren’t) and the beach. Yes, the beach – although Buriram is landlocked, somebody has built a beach. I just wanted to see it – no intention of using it. Time to start searching my mate Google (we never actually made it to the beach when I realised it was a 2 hour drive away – my desire to see it wasn’t that great).
Somebody had also recommended we walk around Khlong La Lom (recommended as Buriram Moat). This was only 2 miles from our hotel, so we thought we’d try it first. I couldn’t find any information on the ‘What to Do’ sites regarding Buriram. I found it on the map, and drove there.
What a fantastic recreational walk in the centre of Buriram. Largely wheelchair friendly, although there is a road to cross half way around which was a challenge to an able-bodied person. It was nigh on impossible for a disabled person to cross without a little helper. This walk puts my daily walk around the lake at Khao Tao into the shade, although we were the only people taking advantage of the facility. I would imagine this is a runner's paradise early morning and evenings.
The walkway was very well looked after, and was very clean – a pleasure to walk. Unfortunately, I sustained a minor toe injury (I had no idea how it had happened at the time, but repeating the injury 2 more times, I realised I had run myself over with the wheelchair when reversing). I’ve almost lost this toe a couple of times, so we needed to abort the day’s proceedings to go back to the hotel, where we had the necessary medication to treat it. It doesn’t look much, but special care was needed.
Tomorrow, I’ll continue our Day 3 tour, with a visit to the (shocking) Botanic Gardens.
To be continued………………………………………../
Part 5
Khlong La Lom
Well, the promised bad weather arrived through the night. It really hammered down, and woke me up a few times. Morning weather was very overcast, puddles everywhere, but not raining…………..yet. I’ve been told another severe weather warning has been issued for the area. I went to load the wheelchair into the back of the truck, but it was like a swimming pool. I had to drive the truck up a significant ramp, slamming the brakes on as I went up to shock the water out. I did this several times before returning to pick up the wheelchair. Anybody watching would have thought, “Crazy Farang, or a driver from Surin.”
There’d been no further news from Agoda regarding my compensation claim, but I was guessing that would go on for some time. Meanwhile we still have to traipse back to our booked hotel for breakfast. I’m surprised we are allowed in because although Agoda guarantee anonymity, who else has been dumped in a cheaper hotel because of their inaccurate advertising? However, it is all smiles from the staff as I struggle up the very steep wheelchair ramp.
We then had to decide where the day’s adventure would take us. I had 2 main options – the Botanic Gardens, which I believed were undercover (they weren’t) and the beach. Yes, the beach – although Buriram is landlocked, somebody has built a beach. I just wanted to see it – no intention of using it. Time to start searching my mate Google (we never actually made it to the beach when I realised it was a 2 hour drive away – my desire to see it wasn’t that great).
Somebody had also recommended we walk around Khlong La Lom (recommended as Buriram Moat). This was only 2 miles from our hotel, so we thought we’d try it first. I couldn’t find any information on the ‘What to Do’ sites regarding Buriram. I found it on the map, and drove there.
What a fantastic recreational walk in the centre of Buriram. Largely wheelchair friendly, although there is a road to cross half way around which was a challenge to an able-bodied person. It was nigh on impossible for a disabled person to cross without a little helper. This walk puts my daily walk around the lake at Khao Tao into the shade, although we were the only people taking advantage of the facility. I would imagine this is a runner's paradise early morning and evenings.
The walkway was very well looked after, and was very clean – a pleasure to walk. Unfortunately, I sustained a minor toe injury (I had no idea how it had happened at the time, but repeating the injury 2 more times, I realised I had run myself over with the wheelchair when reversing). I’ve almost lost this toe a couple of times, so we needed to abort the day’s proceedings to go back to the hotel, where we had the necessary medication to treat it. It doesn’t look much, but special care was needed.
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Tomorrow, I’ll continue our Day 3 tour, with a visit to the (shocking) Botanic Gardens.
To be continued………………………………………../
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
I drove someone to Buriram hospital a couple of times and there wasn't any traffic either, it was very easy.
One thing I've just remembered is that opposite the hospital entrance, there was a guy selling coffins so I asked the person going there if he was sure it was a good hospital!
One thing I've just remembered is that opposite the hospital entrance, there was a guy selling coffins so I asked the person going there if he was sure it was a good hospital!
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
I too saw a lot of coffins on sale at various places, which did surprise me because I thought these coffins were decorated refrigerators and only rented.
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Thanks for the photos and report. Looking forward to more
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Water in the truck bed moved to Motoring/Pick-up Truck topic. It could turn into a long discussion.
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Day 3 - 24 November 2022 continued
Part 6
Botanic Gardens
After my toe had been treated, and we’d had a slight rest, the weather was still good, so it was back out again. This time to the Botanic Gardens. This time I was actually disappointed at the lack of wheelchair friendliness. Yes, there was a decent wheelchair friendly path that went all of the way around the gardens.
To see any of the side attractions, which were most definitely worth seeing, it was either very difficult or impossible with a wheelchair. The first side attraction was a good luck tunnel that ran half the circuit of the garden. It had square paving stones laid with big gaps between stones. This made pushing a wheelchair impossible. I had to leave Suphannee, and take the good luck for myself, and boy, did I need it? The gaps between stones were irregular, and I was prone to my foot dropping into the gap, twisting my ankle – the good luck worked, and no serious injury. I was pleased to leave that sort of good luck behind me.
Next feature was a covered area with some attractive coloured flowers, and a stream flowing through. This time it was long paving slabs, which were fine until they turned corners, and the gaps became difficult to maneuver. Quite a few tricky bits, but we got there (but a further injury to the toe).
Finally, we went into the cactus house. Most of the slabs were laid OK, but there were still difficult moments.
I think the gardens were sponsored by the Karma Sutra, judging by the exhibits on the circuit of the path. This is a place they take kids, and I think the exhibits were a bit too ‘adult’ for kids. I was not expecting a sex education lesson. OK, the images were only stone carvings, but left very little to the imagination. I had to wonder about the appropriateness to the exhibition at a location where school children regularly visit. Yes, I’ve used the word, “Shocked.” Probably surprised would have been more appropriate.
One creepy bit………… I was taking an interest in the carvings, and was taking photographs. One of the local workers started tagging along, and was doing his own interpretation behind the stones as I was concentrating on the front side of the stone. I hate to think what might happen when young kids took an interest. This happened for about 4 consecutive stones, and I was glad to divert into the Cactus House.
Our luck was holding, but as we left the gardens, which are most definitely well worth a visit, the heavens opened. We needed our wet weather gear to get us back to the car.
Day 3 Hotel Complaint Update
Investigation has completed. I am the bad guy, supposedly demanding a full refund, and insisting on a room upgrade. In layman’s talk, I was a Farang Cheap Charlie, trying to get my stay for nothing.
Of course, I went ballistic. At no point have I asked for any money, and most certainly have not asked for an upgrade. All that I have done is pointed out that the information being published by Agoda is not correct, and I have been overcharged for the room I have been accommodated in. I have asked for compensation (not cash) for the inconvenience, and that they rectify the false advertising to ensure the problem does not happen again.
Being as diplomatic as I could, I invited both the hotel and Agoda to re-open the case, and actually go back and read everything I had said again. Of course, I had been writing in English, and the hotel were replying in English. Something may have been lost in translation.
Tomorrow, we go shopping, and it’s the day of the big match.
To be continued………………………………………../
Part 6
Botanic Gardens
After my toe had been treated, and we’d had a slight rest, the weather was still good, so it was back out again. This time to the Botanic Gardens. This time I was actually disappointed at the lack of wheelchair friendliness. Yes, there was a decent wheelchair friendly path that went all of the way around the gardens.
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To see any of the side attractions, which were most definitely worth seeing, it was either very difficult or impossible with a wheelchair. The first side attraction was a good luck tunnel that ran half the circuit of the garden. It had square paving stones laid with big gaps between stones. This made pushing a wheelchair impossible. I had to leave Suphannee, and take the good luck for myself, and boy, did I need it? The gaps between stones were irregular, and I was prone to my foot dropping into the gap, twisting my ankle – the good luck worked, and no serious injury. I was pleased to leave that sort of good luck behind me.
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Next feature was a covered area with some attractive coloured flowers, and a stream flowing through. This time it was long paving slabs, which were fine until they turned corners, and the gaps became difficult to maneuver. Quite a few tricky bits, but we got there (but a further injury to the toe).
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Finally, we went into the cactus house. Most of the slabs were laid OK, but there were still difficult moments.
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I think the gardens were sponsored by the Karma Sutra, judging by the exhibits on the circuit of the path. This is a place they take kids, and I think the exhibits were a bit too ‘adult’ for kids. I was not expecting a sex education lesson. OK, the images were only stone carvings, but left very little to the imagination. I had to wonder about the appropriateness to the exhibition at a location where school children regularly visit. Yes, I’ve used the word, “Shocked.” Probably surprised would have been more appropriate.
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One creepy bit………… I was taking an interest in the carvings, and was taking photographs. One of the local workers started tagging along, and was doing his own interpretation behind the stones as I was concentrating on the front side of the stone. I hate to think what might happen when young kids took an interest. This happened for about 4 consecutive stones, and I was glad to divert into the Cactus House.
Our luck was holding, but as we left the gardens, which are most definitely well worth a visit, the heavens opened. We needed our wet weather gear to get us back to the car.
Day 3 Hotel Complaint Update
Investigation has completed. I am the bad guy, supposedly demanding a full refund, and insisting on a room upgrade. In layman’s talk, I was a Farang Cheap Charlie, trying to get my stay for nothing.
Of course, I went ballistic. At no point have I asked for any money, and most certainly have not asked for an upgrade. All that I have done is pointed out that the information being published by Agoda is not correct, and I have been overcharged for the room I have been accommodated in. I have asked for compensation (not cash) for the inconvenience, and that they rectify the false advertising to ensure the problem does not happen again.
Being as diplomatic as I could, I invited both the hotel and Agoda to re-open the case, and actually go back and read everything I had said again. Of course, I had been writing in English, and the hotel were replying in English. Something may have been lost in translation.
Tomorrow, we go shopping, and it’s the day of the big match.
To be continued………………………………………../
Championship Stoke City 3 - 0 Plymouth Argyle
Points 48; Position 20
Points 48; Position 20
Re: Buriram Trip Report with Photos
Those carvings are truly bizarre for a country/state that is so prudish and censors pretty much everything sex/nudity-related.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson