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When does it lose its appeal? Very good question. For me I don't think it has - though it has been a while between drinks. From 2000 until almost 2010 I did a fair few trips whilst to-ing and fro-ing between Aus and the UK via Thai Air and later just between Aus and LOS thanks to cheap flights at the time. All sh1t aside I would have been lost without the info gathered from this board combined with Stick's site - I was in my 20's and my entire internet experience in the late 90's/2000 was reading about LOS and travel in general! That's a good thing but probably also a bad one as I definitely let one or two really nice girls slip through the cracks due to suspicion. I have never had the desire to live in Thailand though - I remember reading an article that resonated well. Something about drinking champagne every day and no longer appreciating it. Short or extended holidays from my point of view is a good balance. At least for me. Laos though - that was pretty cool. Reckon I could live there though that amazing beer would knock me for six. So now in my (very early) 50's, settled down and kind of looking at retiring here in rural Oz. Yeah I'll be back at some stage but it no longer grips me. Back in the day I'd be planning the next trip before boarding the plane home! Working out leave with work, dollars, where to go and who to see. Now not so much - but definitely look forward to a return trip at some stage. Last reunion trip was about ten years ago - some of the original London Contingent got together and had a great time, and hopefully will again soon. Last I heard we were all upright. There was another trip with the better half a few years later which was pretty amazing as well. Good thread - very thought provoking.

Ekkalak Paenoi sentenced to life in prison for Lim Kimya's murder but his widow wants to know who ordered the killing Anne-Marie Lim, centre, holds a photo of her late husband Lim Kimya outside the courthouse earlier this week. (AFP: Chanakarn Laosarakham) In short: Ekkalak Paenoi has been sentenced to life behind bars for shooting dead Lim Kimya in Bangkok. He faced the death penalty but the court reduced his punishment because he confessed. What's next? Lim Kimya's widow is questioning who ordered her husband's killing. A Thai gunman has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Cambodian opposition politician in Bangkok, with the former MP's widow left questioning who ordered the killing. French national Lim Kimya, a former opposition parliamentarian in Cambodia, was shot dead on January 7 by Ekkalak Paenoi as the ex-MP arrived in the Thai capital with his wife. Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country's powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting, and Lim Kimya's widow called this week for a full accounting of who was behind it. Ekkalak faced a potential death sentence in Thailand for premeditated murder, but a judge said on Friday that the Bangkok court reduced his sentence to life imprisonment since he confessed. The Thai man was arrested in neighbouring Cambodia a day after the shooting, and admitted to committing the murder in a live-streamed video. The trial began just three days ago with an examination of witnesses, including Lim Kimya's widow, Anne-Marie Lim. Nadthasiri Bergman said her client still had questions she wanted answered. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa) "Anne-Marie is probably satisfied with today's verdict, but she is still questioning who ordered the crime," her lawyer Nadthasiri Bergman told reporters outside the court on Friday. "She wants authorities to get to the bottom of it." Ms Lim, who is also French, attended the opening of the trial on Tuesday, telling AFP she wanted to know the "reason for this crime and who ordered it". Suspects still at large Ms Bergman said that they knew there were additional suspects in Cambodia, and the Thai government "could help push the extradition process to bring them to justice". The judge did not offer details about the killer's motive or a possible mastermind behind the murder. Ekkalak Paenoi was handed over by Cambodian authorities to Thai officials earlier this year. (Reuters: Chalinee Thirasupa) Thai police said in January that they were also seeking to arrest a Cambodian national believed to be behind the killing. They identified two Cambodian suspects: Ly Ratanakrasksmey, accused of having recruited the gunman, and Pich Kimsrin, the alleged lookout who local media has reported was on the bus alongside the victim and his wife. Days after the killing, following media reports that Ly Ratanakrasksmey was a former adviser to Hun Sen, Cambodia's ruling party released a statement saying he was dismissed from the role in March 2024. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet, who is the eldest son of Hun Sen, has denied any official involvement. The former premier led Cambodia for nearly four decades until 2023, and Western nations and human rights organisations have long accused his government of using the legal system to crush the opposition. Am Sam Ath, operations director of Cambodian rights group Licadho, told AFP the life sentence for the Thai gunman offered partial justice for the slain politician. "Since Lim Kimya is also a Cambodian, we want to see that Thai authorities and the Thai court conduct further investigations in order to render full justice for him," Am Sam Ath said. "We want to see an investigation into people involved (in the killing)." Lim Kimya was an MP in Cambodia from 2013 to 2017, when his party, the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was banned by the country's Supreme Court. He then withdrew from politics and returned to France, his wife's lawyers have said. The Bangkok court on Friday also dismissed the charges against a second defendant, Thai national Chakrit Buakhil, who was accused of driving Ekkalak to the Cambodian border after the shooting. Mr Chakrit's lawyer Natchapong Moosakopas said he was "only a driver and did not know what was happening". Some Thai media reported this year that Ekkalak was paid 60,000 baht ($2,800) for the killing but police said he claimed he did not receive payment and took the job "to pay a debt of gratitude".