General Reports

[Mr Enternational]

Is a passport required to purchase a SIM card?.

The short answer is yes.

[BogieMaker]

Is a passport required to purchase a SIM card?

Thanks.

[Syzygies]

It's the King's anniversary today. Proper entertainment is not allowed. Will start up at midnight I guess.

[Syzygies]

Hi guys,

I have checked the forum but I am having trouble working out what a "Pumpui girl" is? Is it a chubby?

If it is a stupid question I apologise.

Thanks Rob.

ปุ้มปุ้ย bpoom! bpui! It seems to be a more polite way of saying someone is (a little bit) fat or chubby, perhaps meaning puffy, pudgy, or plump, not quite to level of "fat" I guess. So I would not use this term for quite fat people. Just those a bit over weight. Otherwise it would be a gross understatement, I feel. You hear this expression a lot. Very popular. LOL The 2nd of the two words literally means "chubby cheeks" and the first word means rather round shaped. However used together the meaning has evolved.

There are actually a huge number of different expressions for fat or chubby in Thai Language, most heard less frequently or never heard. A very common one to hear is "phoong yai" (ph is not an F sound) meaning more specifically a large protruding belly (or maybe beer gut). "mee phoong" means "have an obvious belly".

"moo uan" means fat piggy (Uan or Ooan = fat). That is one I used to be called before I lost a lot of kilos. Fortunately the GF changed my nickname after that. So now I am just a bit "bpum bpui!" A bit too old for a six-pack. LOL

[Allover]

Hi guys,

I have checked the forum but I am having trouble working out what a "Pumpui girl" is? Is it a chubby?

If it is a stupid question I apologise.

Thanks Rob.

Yes you have the correct meaning.

[Rob Jones]

Hi guys,

I have checked the forum but I am having trouble working out what a "Pumpui girl" is? Is it a chubby?

If it is a stupid question I apologise.

Thanks Rob.

[Banana Boi]

Stay in Bangkok night one it's too late to go to Pattaya unless your main goal are places like iBar / Insomnia. Day 2 go to Pattaya. If you enjoy it stay in Pattaya. If not, go back to Bangkok. On first trip keep options open. Some guys on here are pro BKK and others are pro Pattaya. You decide which you prefer.

[Kerrstar]

Personally I wouldn't go to Pattaya anyway if I was arriving at 9:45 pm. A taxi or train and BTS to Sukhumvit is much quicker and easier.

Agree. Getting in at 9:45 pm will probablymean about 45 minutes getting through immigration, it can be a bit crowded then. I'd go into BKK and get a room on Suk. He would still be in a bar somewhere by 11:30 or so and could then go to Pattaya the following day and go from there straight to the airport to fly out if he has a late flight out. I flew in a few month ago around that time, traffic is light if you take a taxi but if only hand luggage then the train is fine.

[EihTooms]

Personally I wouldn't go to Pattaya anyway if I was arriving at 9:45 pm. A taxi or train and BTS to Sukhumvit is much quicker and easier.

I agree. Assuming a five day stay means the person does not have a lot of luggage to deal with, likely only a carry-on, taking the Airport Train right into the area of Bangkok's primary P4P districts of Nana Plaza, Sukhumvit Road, Soi Cowboy and Patpong is the fastest, cheapest and smartest way to go, imo. Stay that first night in that area of Bangkok. If arriving at 9:45 PM, one could be set up in a hotel and out among the night creatures by midnight or so.

Then if the guy wants to head to Pattaya the next day he will at least have had a taste of Bangkok and some comparison to it in mind when he gets to Pattaya. That being the case, he might not choose to stay in Pattaya more than a night or two. Personally, I wouldn't. Pattaya might have it over Bangkok in terms of densely packed quantity around Walking Street. But if better looking girls who know how and actually will deliver much better service and likely at a cheaper price is important to a monger, I wouldn't bother staying more than two nights out of five in Pattaya instead of Bangkok.

[Allover]

I have been meaning to ask what is going on with the crowds on the BTS? The BTS was far more crowded during my visit this past September than in years past. It seemed to be ridiculously crowded at all hours. I was in BKK for about 10 days and there was only one day where it was not insanely crowded. There was more than one occasion where we had to wait for a second train going in our direction.

[Mogwai]

If you are asking for a place to stay near the airport then try Silver gold garden hotel in nearby Lat Krabang. The hotel will shuttle you there and back to the airport. Rooms cost about 800 baht, and you can pay for a breakfast as well. After breakfast the shuttle van leaves about every hour back to Suvarnabhumi. Its a good deal for those who want to use the low cost buses during the day to Pattaya, rather than take expensive taxis at night. Read tripadvisor reports for more details.

The bus to Pattaya costs about 100-200 baht (depending on which bus you take). A taxi can be had for about 1000-1200 baht. Are you really suggesting him to waste an entire night (out of only five!) just to save maybe 800 or 1000 baht?

Personally I wouldn't go to Pattaya anyway if I was arriving at 9:45 pm. A taxi or train and BTS to Sukhumvit is much quicker and easier.

[EihTooms]

Stickboy Bangkok is now reporting late King-related closure notices were sent to the bars on Soi Cowboy for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, Oct. 25, 26 and 27:

https://www.stickboybkk.com/news/soi...-october-2017/

No mention of the bars in Nana Plaza or elsewhere yet, but I assume they will be regarded the same as Soi Cowboy and get those notices too.

[Kurre]

I am certainly going with the most pessimistic assumptions and probably will stay home.

Assuming the worst is prudent and wise. I am basing my estimate on info I got from Thai friends visiting me this month. They are flying back and arriving in BKK on the day of the funeral. The info on free public transportation apparently came from a government website. As to the info on malls and businesses, online sources give contradicting information. Insanity, for example, might have uploaded their event calendar long time ago and not updated it yet. Anyway, I sent them an inquiry through Facebook about that day and will report back when I get a reply.

[Syzygies]

All things under the header of "entertainment" will be suspended for the day. That includes shows in shopping malls, parades and outdoor concerts. BTS and MRT will run as normal and will be free to use on Oct 26th as well as Airport Rail link. All buses and trains are expected to run as normal, but private companies make their own decisions. Malls should be open. A lot of people will take advantage of the free travel opportunities so expect transportation to be crowded.

With FLs its always the question of finding them. On some public holidays (ie. Makha Bucha) I have found company and beer (or even JD) served on some not so centrally located bars, for example near the corner of Soi 4 and Soi 6. Ban to sell alcohol will probably be in place and some club and bar owners have announced that they will voluntarily close for the day or even for the whole week. Insanity Club has a calendar of events on their web page and it shows business as usual. It might be good to check with the place beforehand by calling or messaging them through Facebook.

WeChat could yield results or you could set up a meeting with someone the night before.

The emotions of Thai people are running high on that day, for one reason or another, so if you find company or a place of entertainment, being discreet about might be wise or at least respectful. Especially noisy activities might offend some people.

I accept that some transport has to exist so some of the taxis will operate especially transporting people to funeral related things (which they may do for free even). Some will choose not to work. Personal decision perhaps. I expect a lot of businesses to close whether Entertainment or not. Even the supermarket could well be closed in my guesstimate. I don't see why Malls would open. Would be very unseemly for Thais to do that. I am sure Insanity would not dream of opening on the day being an entertainment venue. I am certainly going with the most pessimistic assumptions and probably will stay home.

[Blanquiceleste]

I'm arriving Wednesday and I'm clueless.

I've been trying to read reports but info seems scattered.

Arrive in BKK at 945 pm so by time get bags etc figure I'd stay near airport.

Then I have to split the next 5 nights between Bangkok and Pattaya.

I have no idea what costs should be, seeing 2500 Baht for an hour seems high for what I was expecting in Thailand.

Are there any newbie threads or a place someone can point me for a guide.

If you have 5 days to divide between Pattaya and Bangkok, I would suggest 4 days in Pattaya and 1 day in Bangkok. From a newbie's viewpoint this is advisable as pussy is readily available at all times in different formats and price ranges in Pattaya. And they are all situated relatively close to each other in an accessible manner.

The night you arrive, take your bags and head to Pattaya. You might arrive in Pattaya by 1 am but that is when Walking Street gets going. Gogo bars stay open till 3 am. Insomnia, I-Bar, Lucifer and other discos stay open till 5 am or even later with a reasonable selection of freelancers to pick from.

On your last day, head to Bangkok (if you must) and then go to the airport from there.