I was quite disappointed yesterday, when I passed by the departure tax counter at Check-in Area 1 of Suvarnhabumi airport... the little lectern is still there, but no more do I have to pay 500 baht for a square piece of paper with a hole punched through it... just to immediately throw it away for no purpose whatsoever.

I hope they've found alternative employment for all the hole-punchers... And I'll miss the days at Don Muang where european layabouts with greasy dreadlocks somehow managed to buy air tickets, accomodation, transport and food for a long holiday in Thailand, yet couldn't afford 500baht to leave the country and so begged to the nearest gullible passer-by.