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Back in US
I was in LL about couple of weeks ago and had the pleasure of meeting 1Ball and Piper. Even though the meet was a short one, it was well evidenced that these two are professional mongering bestards. My hats off to them.
Centaurus, no need to be afraid of the free stuff. i am sure the naked 1Ball will take care of you in his room (or is that in the hallway?). And Pipers banging will keep your head nodding to the tune. Don't know about the rabbit though. :)
On a more serious side note, I got involved in a minor accident en route to the LL. I had stopped the taxi (on Suk) next to the 7-11, and just opened the door (curb side) when a motorcycle crashed into the door. Blood all over the door. The moto driver had smashed his right hand. Luckily for me the driver told me to sit tight inside and not to come outside. He than had the moto driver follow him as we turned the corner and into the Novotel. (I had mentioned Novotel as a landmark and he thought I was staying there) He was a little disappointed when we stopped at LL. ( guess he thought I was a big mark).
At the LL I called Auntie, explained the problem and the ever consummate Guido told me get inside and invited the taxi driver and the moto guy in to the hotel and offered them drinks. The receptionist, (bless her soul) negotiated on my behalf. Regardless that the moto cycle was at fault, I guess the farangs are always responsible. A settlement of 9K Baht (4.5 to taxi for a minor dent and the other to the moto guy) was deemed reasonable by effervescent AG. He said I got off cheap as I was able to get to the hotel and able to negotiate.
My sincere thanks to AG and the lady receptionist for helping a lost soul out.
Such is Thailand!!
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[QUOTE=Duniawala]...My sincere thanks to AG and the lady receptionist for helping a lost soul out.
Such is Thailand!!...[/QUOTE]Such is life.
The ones from the "blessed" countries are always responsible for all idiots' mistakes.
It won't be long and I will have withdrawn all business from corrupt Thailand and luckily won't have to return there.
I get tired of having to save every loser's arse. Let them double their ridiculous prices to everyone else, I am out.
OTH paved my path. Kudos to him.
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[QUOTE=Tiger 888]Such is life.
The ones from the "blessed" countries are always responsible for all idiots' mistakes.
It won't be long and I will have withdrawn all business from corrupt Thailand and luckily won't have to return there.
I get tired of having to save every loser's arse. Let them double their ridiculous prices to everyone else, I am out.
OTH paved my path. Kudos to him.[/QUOTE]
So, I guess that means............ welcome to Indonesia? The number 2 corrupt country in the world !!! :D
Duni, it was nice to meet you. I can see why you didn't want linger poolside with us tired hungover animals, since you had that nice looking lady next to you. Your story makes my blood boil. You opened the door [b]curbside[/b], and they still pushed you for money. I guess that was an expensive box of condoms at 7/11 ;)
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[QUOTE=Duniawala]I was in LL about couple of weeks ago .....
On a more serious side note, I got involved in a minor accident en route to the LL. .....
My sincere thanks to AG and the lady receptionist for helping a lost soul out.
Such is Thailand!![/QUOTE]
Somebody was recently saying LL is too expensive. I think one has to bless an expensive hotel that takes care of its guests even if the accident has nothing to do with the establishment.
It is priceless ( I do not know about the tip, though, but I am sure we'll have tons of mails coming on that... to tip or not to tip?)
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Bionicman,
I am sure Duni gave Auntie and Emmie a very "special" tip. :eek:
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[QUOTE=Giotto]Centaurus,
We are well aware about this problems.
The immediate measures are:
- no free wifi any more
- no free coffee refills
- free room downgrades
- Mr. Ball was hired as naked security guard for the night shift
- The Rabbit moved to Bangkok and lives on his balcony now
- Pipeman started a new business in Bangkok, residing at the Lodge for the time being
And Emmy will for ever be your private "Mobile Service Center" :), if Auntie Guido doesn't take all of your time ... we know, he can be quite jealous.
Giotto[/QUOTE]
Shit... how am I on the balcony of room 119???? I not even get a whirlpool anymore?
I take a few days off for sex and I find I'm kicked out to the balcony now.. Damn... that will teach me...
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[QUOTE=1Ball]So, I guess that means............ welcome to Indonesia? The number 2 corrupt country in the world !!! :D...[/QUOTE]
Well, I am not yet sure about that. But I have to admit I am attracted by Indonesia, because in Thailand a smile comes from the front of her face, in Indonesia from the midle of her heart. At least more often than not.
At present I am quite ok in Hong Kong. You earn more, you pay more. But things ar more reasonable here.
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[QUOTE=Duniawala]
On a more serious side note, I got involved in a minor accident en route to the LL. I had stopped the taxi (on Suk) next to the 7-11, and just opened the door (curb side) when a motorcycle crashed into the door. Blood all over the door. The moto driver had smashed his right hand. Luckily for me the driver told me to sit tight inside and not to come outside. He than had the moto driver follow him as we turned the corner and into the Novotel. (I had mentioned Novotel as a landmark and he thought I was staying there) He was a little disappointed when we stopped at LL. ( guess he thought I was a big mark).
At the LL I called Auntie, explained the problem and the ever consummate Guido told me get inside and invited the taxi driver and the moto guy in to the hotel and offered them drinks. The receptionist, (bless her soul) negotiated on my behalf. Regardless that the moto cycle was at fault, I guess the farangs are always responsible. A settlement of 9K Baht (4.5 to taxi for a minor dent and the other to the moto guy) was deemed reasonable by effervescent AG. He said I got off cheap as I was able to get to the hotel and able to negotiate.
My sincere thanks to AG and the lady receptionist for helping a lost soul out.
Such is Thailand!![/QUOTE]
I of course don't know anything in regards to the exact circumstances, level of damage/injury etc etc - but to me, since you had opened the curb-side door when the accident happened, it should be the moto guy who is at fault.
On the other hand, if the taxi driver had stopped his taxi very far away from the curb, AND you had told him where to be taken to/dropped off, then it is the taxi driver's fault for stopping in the middle of the road.
The only way I think that YOU would have been responsible would have been if it was you who just jumped out in the middle of the road without giving the taxi driver ample instructions etc
Anyway.... you stated ".....Regardless that the moto cycle was at fault, I guess the farangs are always responsible...." and THAT would have made it hard to accept if I were you. I mean THB 9K is still close to US$300 - and if you thought you were blameless for the series of events, I would have stood my ground and insisted that the police etc be called in. Thailand may be a bit less "organized" but you insist on calling the police, I would think that it would have made the "negotiations" more fruitful.
Just a thought and IMHO - and with due apologies for butting in.
SEAJ
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[QUOTE=Bionicman]Somebody was recently saying LL is too expensive. I think one has to bless an expensive hotel that takes care of its guests even if the accident has nothing to do with the establishment.
It is priceless ( I do not know about the tip, though, but I am sure we'll have tons of mails coming on that... to tip or not to tip?)[/QUOTE]
The thing that people do not understand, is if Auntie, the staff, Giotto, Mamasan, the waitresses, the front desk staff etc... know you, they take care you. It DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU ARE STAYING THEIR OR NOT. These are good people, good staff, if anything they care too much about others and do not care enough about profit / loss statement (with the economy it is definitely in the loss column for a while now). It is the type of people they are. I posted in the BKK general thread a note to the Pro at LL so won't rehash those details.
If you KNOW the staff at LL, then you would not be surprised to see how Auntie and the staff handled this. This is what the people at LL do for you and THESE are the reasons people go to LL, post comments about them, etc...
It isn't ISG, it isn't the bar girls, it isn't Giotto, etc... it is the entire staff and how they treat people that gets people to go back. (don't get me wrong the girls don't hurt the establishment :D ) Some people hang around and experience this, some people do not.
I'll tell you that my hotel is not as friendly, warm, welcoming etc.. as LL is. I get a better reception at LL for dinner then I do at the hotel suite that I'm staying in for three weeks.
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[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]
Anyway.... you stated ".....Regardless that the moto cycle was at fault, I guess the farangs are always responsible...." .
SEAJ[/QUOTE]
This is how I think the locals in Asia see it, SEAJ.
If you had not got on a plane, and flown all the way to...(insert SEA country of your choice), you would not be there. You would not be in that taxi, the taxi would not stop where it did, you would not open the door, and the moto driver would not hit you.
Therefore, you are 100% to blame. If you had stayed home, none of this would have taken place.
This is..(insert SEA country of your choice).
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[QUOTE=1Ball]Therefore, you are 100% to blame. If you had stayed home, none of this would have taken place.[/QUOTE]
Not just foreigners, my TGF ran into a Taxi on a motor bike. The taxi driver tried to get her to pay for a dent that was way higher then her motor bike. Unfortunatley the taxi driver did not know she was a first class biatch when she get's mo ho so they ended up getting the cops involved. The cops ended up making the taxi driver pay a bribe to get my TGF to drop the issues and let him on his way.
It is a issue in many countries not just Thailand like this. But if you are different nationality then open pocket book as you have cash and they do not (if it is true or not it doesn't matter). And if police got involved in this it would cost a hell of a lot more then what it did. And to be fair, that was a low amount IMHO. And if Duni was a pale rider then it would have cost more most likely, again IMHO.
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The accident
One thing is clear that being a brown farang (read Indian) probably cost me less than if I were a white one. That the moto driver was at fault was never in doubt. There was just enough space between the curb and the taxi to squeeze by. I had opened my door only a couple of inches. Also the fact that I was staying at LL and not the Novotel helped in my favor. (Sorry, Dr. G)
If I understand from past discussions on this and other boards, it would have been a bad thing for the police to be involved. Probably I would have had to pay extra for their courtesy call, no.
For some 9K baht would not be much, but it is for me. Think of all the bar fines I could have gotten. :)
At the end of this, I have mixed feelings. I was depressed not only for unexpected expenditure, but also the fact that the guy had his hand smashed because I did not look before I opened the door.
One thing is for sure. That guy is probably not going to drive between the curb and parked cars any more.
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A Question
Got a question - what would have happened if Duniawalla just coolly left the taxi and moto drivers?
I mean, here they were at LL - (a bit of so called home advantage?) What if he just went ahead and checked in, bring his luggage up and slammed the door?
What could the drivers do/what would they dare do? It WAS a vehicle accident and all that Duniawalla was, was an "innocent" passenger.
I've witnessed several similar incidents in the past in Hong Kong, when a taxi pulls up next to a private car (most times, this is precisely what happens as HKG is so crowded and there's hardly any other place for a taxi to stop to allow the passenger to disembark), the passenger swings the door open and hit the private car.
The private car driver (who is usually still in the car waiting as he's actually parked illegally and is just waiting for his boss/wife/kids etc to come back) gets out screaming inspecting the dent on his car and the taxi driver just ignores the ruckus and the passenger who actually caused the damage just blithely walks off!! And the taxi driver would then also just drive off!!
Anyway, what would have happened if Duniawalla just walked off and washed his hands clean off the whole saga? Just a question
SEAJ
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[QUOTE=SE Asia Joe]
Anyway, what would have happened if Duniawalla just walked off and washed his hands clean off the whole saga? Just a question[/QUOTE]
My guess is that then the boys in brown would have been called in and it would have cost more than the 9K.
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[QUOTE=Duniawala]One thing is for sure. That guy is probably not going to drive between the curb and parked cars any more.[/QUOTE]
Don't count on it, Duni, they are not the sharpest knife on the drawer.
SEAJ, great question. Anyone? OTH ? Coma boy?
