Bangkok Reports

[NicFrenchy]

In these types of guys who import their western concepts of value from their homeland to Asia, that has created a void in members contributing actionable intel, you don't want your favourite girls / bars etc suddenly going from 1500 baht to 7000 b because he thinks its good value and can't be bothered to haggle, which is expected in Asia.

Exactly that. All it achieves is it teaches Somying and Somchai that it is ok to overcharge the Foreigner, because they don't know and they will pay.

[Flash Bkk]

10+ years ago the Eden Club was amazing, so many doable girls. Last time I went in there about 2 years ago there was not even a maybe.

Reminds me of Akane Fashion which was great fun more than 10 years ago, but year by year lost any ability to roster cute young girls.

[MutantChicken]

Who gives a damn about American value in Bangkok? Would you pay 7 K ST because that's ok with American standards?

That makes no sense whatseover.

In these types of guys who import their western concepts of value from their homeland to Asia, that has created a void in members contributing actionable intel, you don't want your favourite girls / bars etc suddenly going from 1500 baht to 7000 b because he thinks its good value and can't be bothered to haggle, which is expected in Asia.

[BionicMan]

. One thing I never understood in Bangkok and even cities with worse traffic like Jakarta, only a very few taxi drivers use Google maps to avoid traffic.

They can care the less. The meter runs also when they are at a stand still so it brings money in. Better than rushing you to destination in 10 minutes and not be able to catch a customer for the next 30'.

The meter will charge by the distance plus the stops. Win-win.

[Banana Boi]

That was for a taxi? You did well.

Yes, a metered taxi. It was at around 1 or 2 am though so traffic wasn't that bad. We were on the way to The Club on Khaosan.

Agree ET. Driving in Bangkok can be confusing with having to use totally different routes on your return trip. One thing I never understood in Bangkok and even cities with worse traffic like Jakarta, only a very few taxi drivers use Google maps to avoid traffic.

[NicFrenchy]

I have noticed more activity since November 1. The bars / resturantson on lower sukhumwit are seeing more activity of farangs and girls arriving. It is still at less than 5% normal levels, but it is nice to see the start of life. If it continues to pick up it might be at say 1/3 capacity levels by March.

One thing I am not looking forward to is all the kids going back to school, traffic in the morning will increase by a factor of at least 5 (if not more).

Sukhumvit is getting busier, especially in the evenings. Traffic is already back to 1/3 or what it usually is.

[EihTooms]

I recall paying roughly 85 baht from thermae (same area as cowboy) to khaosan. Obviously it's not about the money it's about a taxi driver wanting to take advantage of farang by charging 4 or 5 times more because he believes that you are a stupid unknowing farang who will pay 400 baht.

Hi, BB.

Not to defend Bangkok taxi drivers gouging on stated flat fares or those who will unnecessarily choose a longer, more round about route when they are on meter, especially when taking non Thais to or from red light areas. But I finally decided to buy a motorbike several months ago and have to say the bowl of spaghetti mess of to and from routes on the streets around here is weirder than I have personally experienced driving a vehicle in any other city.

It is common to be able to go from A to B on a fast and relatively direct route and not be able to return from B to A by simply retracing the same route in reverse. Even following a presumably impartial GPS Map app on my smartphone from, say, Soi Nana to Chatuchack Weekend Market in Mo Chit will result in exactly the kind of seemingly endless left, right, in and out of a maze of alleys and side street experience that used to have me scratching my head in the back seat of a taxi wondering WTF is this guy doing.

Also, the GPS route I followed was a parade of other lone Thai and farang motorbike riders so I doubt in that case there was a much better route we all should have taken instead.

Later, to return using that same GPS Map app? Forget about seeing anything familiar from the earlier ride to the Market.

And all of it can depend on the day of the week, time of day or night, what I might already know or the GPS Map app knows about current traffic jams, construction issues and so on.

After getting my bike, I discovered a leisurely ride from the corner of Sukhumvit Soi 4 to Patpong 1 took me less than 10 minutes even during high traffic times of the evening. Of course, that's on a two wheel vehicle that can split traffic lanes and I will sometimes cheat like all bike riders do by turning left or right when the coast is clear whether I've got the traffic signal go ahead to do it or not, making a U-turn on a main road where it is not permitted, driving a short while going the wrong way on a One-Way street because doing so cuts my travel time in half, etc. Things automobile taxis dare not do very often if at all.

And, as I am sure you already know but some might not, it can really matter and make a big difference in terms of travel time and fare cost to your destination if you hail and hop into a taxi on one side of Sukhumvit, Asok or wherever vs the other side to start with.

Anyway, just saying now that I know, for example, how close Patpong is to Nana Plaza if you can ride a two wheel vehicle as directly as possible but also now being more aware than before how an automobile can't possibly do it that way without getting stuck in even worse traffic and so on, I realize I was wrong about this or that taxi driver just trying to rip me off when it seemed like we circled the city for 40 minutes to make that same trip on a Friday night during normal times.

[Member #4753]

100 is about right now for Soi cowboy to khaosan. That is during covid times where traffic is very light.

When things return to normal and traffic thicker, the price will probably be 120. It is quicker getting bts or mrt to other side of town and then quick 50 baht taxi to khaosan. I prefer this as I do not like dealing with taxi drivers or spending too much time in these death traps.

I have noticed more activity since November 1. The bars / resturantson on lower sukhumwit are seeing more activity of farangs and girls arriving. It is still at less than 5% normal levels, but it is nice to see the start of life. If it continues to pick up it might be at say 1/3 capacity levels by March.

[NicFrenchy]

Then the last time I was there, I tried GRAB. First time I saw a lot of taxis passing by before my Grab taxi finally came. Not bad but not much cheaper. I tried it once again. Firts he couldn't find me. Then a kind of ambulance (small type) arrived. I was shocked. But well, I had been waiting 20 minutes, so I got in. I saw a lot of Bangkok. Went to the wrong hotel. I complained. Well, we will drive you to the right hotel but you got to pay extra. Why?? I declined. He drove me anyway but I will not forget about that. He broke all rules but just drove too fast to cause a serious accident. Never again.

First, if it's not Raining, I always use Grab Bike. It's cheap and gets you where you need to go quick.

Second, I never use Grab Taxi, you get the same rundown cabs with the smelly farmers driving and trying to pull one on you.

Use Grab Car, they're regular folks, men or women using their own clean car to get you right where you want to go for a fixed fee. You can choose to pay via credit card or cash. It's easy.

Only pickle is they follow the GPS religiously so if you have a preferred route, best to tell them, unlike the taxis, they listen and follow.

[NicFrenchy]

400 baht. Roughly $12.

Soi Cowboy to Khao San Rd roughly 6 miles - 20/25 minutes.

That actually seems about right in American value.

Who gives a damn about American value in Bangkok? Would you pay 7 K ST because that's ok with American standards?

That makes no sense whatseover.

[Aster14]

They are processing based on earliest flight date.

Thanks, makes sense. Not sure how lively things will be but couldn't pass up the rates at SGS and Hilton in Pattaya.

[HorseTrader]

I recall paying roughly 85 baht from thermae (same area as cowboy) to khaosan.

That was for a taxi? You did well. About 1.5 years ago my Thai non-P4P girl arranged a tuktuk from Khaosan to Terminal 21 during rush hour. If I recall, I paid 100 baht. That was one wild and crazy ride that I won't repeat!

[Banana Boi]

400 baht. Roughly $12.

Soi Cowboy to Khao San Rd roughly 6 miles - 20/25 minutes.

That actually seems about right in American value.

I recall paying roughly 85 baht from thermae (same area as cowboy) to khaosan. Obviously it's not about the money it's about a taxi driver wanting to take advantage of farang by charging 4 or 5 times more because he believes that you are a stupid unknowing farang who will pay 400 baht.

[SexInStl]

400 baht. Roughly $12.

Soi Cowboy to Khao San Rd roughly 6 miles - 20/25 minutes.

That actually seems about right in American value.

[Explorer8939]

What's your average wait time for a Bolt car in Bangkok? In Pattaya?

Are Grab cars more readily available than Bolt?

I use Bolt a lot in Pattaya. They usually come in a few minutes, unless there is flooding.