There's a lot of space between the seats and the staff are friendly - too friendly in fact. The chubby woman who's the guide sees herself more as an entertainer and asks questions to the weary visa runners like a kindergarten teacher addressing her class - "Can anybodee tell me what is the full neme of the city of Bangkok?" though there are other classics such as "As you can see the light now come on insaye the bus so ip you wan you can dancing like a disco" and my personal favorite at the end of the 11 hour day as we are finally approaching Bangkok in the early evening, "Soon we will be arriving in Bangkok, is everybody happy? I can't hear you, Is everybody happy? Would you like to sing a song with me? Ok, let's sing to-geth-errr" - (cue rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow)
She also repeats everything she says in Thai's with an extra helping of 'Ka's' and 'Na kas' - who is this aimed at? How many Thai's will be doing a visa run for fucks sake?
It is all entertaining in an annoying 'I really just want to sleep/watch the end of the movie' sort of way, but you can't help chuckle inside (no one has the energy to do it on the outside) but just before we reach Asoke she hit's us with it.
"We would kindly appreciate if you can leave nice tip for the dri-verrr becos he took everybody back safe".
Now surely that's his job, to deliver us to and from the destination in one piece. And if a twice daily bus load of visa runners each paying 2,200 baht isn't enough to pay him a decent wage then perhaps I'm using the wrong service.
Granted everything is done for you and they look after you and there's meal, massage and movies thrown in - but what they don't seem to grasp is that for 2,200 - so there bloody well should be.