The Travel Insider's Newsletter this week...

http://www.thetravelinsider.info/2008/email0523.htm

Homepage website:

http://www.thetravelinsider.info/index.htm

is reason enough for me to LUV Thailand even more...

The Editor just returned from a cruise trip which ended in Paris...
and his account of the charges at a Paris Hotel is..

Indeed...a good reason to LUV Thailand even more...

"One of the challenges of traveling is of course keeping connected on the internet.

On the positive side, internet access in hotels these days is very much better than it was,
even only a couple of years ago, with most hotels offering either Wi-Fi or regular Ethernet
connections to fast broadband internet.

But there are still quirks and inconveniences,
not the least of which are the terrible desk/chair combinations that seem common in at
least two out of every three hotel rooms (typically desk too high/chair too low, although today
I'm at a chair too high/desk too low hotel where I can't get my legs under the desk).

However, for true stupidity, one needs to look to France, and the Scribe Hotel in Paris,
where I spent a couple of days after the river cruise.

The first surprise was noticing that while the cost for Wi-Fi is тВм8.50 per 24hr period,
the price for wired internet is more than twice as much - тВм19.90 per 24 hours.
In what way is Ethernet superior to Wi-Fi? None whatsoever.

But this pricing incongruity is nothing compared to how access is granted to Wi-Fi.
When one first buys a 24 hour access pass, one gets access immediately the credit card
has been charged. Wonderful.

But if you log off and log on again later, you're then required to either buy another 24 hours,
or, if your past 24 hours has not yet expired, you enter your username and password.
Which sounds simple enough, except for the fact you were never given a username
and password when you first bought your 24hr access period.

Never mind. It turns out you were sent an email that was a combination receipt and also username/password advice. So simply open the email you received to get your
username and password to access the internet. Simple?

Not if your email is held on the internet on, eg, a Yahoo, Gmail, or Hotmail type email account.

Yes, the French require you to access the internet to get the information you need
in order to access the internet. Catch-22 is alive and well at the Scribe Hotel in Paris.

This hotel is also a close contender for 'seller of the most expensive drink' award -
тВм22 - ie, $35 - for a simple Bacardi and Coke."

(end of editors comments about Paris)

--------------

Ouch! 22 Euros for a Bacardi & Coke....
and a catch 22 internet system...at 8.50 Euros 24 hours...for Wi-Fi
and 19.90 Euros for 24 hours of direct line internet.

Thank You Thailand!

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