Bangkok Reports

[NicFrenchy]

Yeah that sums up the place fairly nicely!

Both times I have been there the girl who has gotten me off has been one of the younger, cuter ladies, with an old hag helping out from time to time.

I thought the youngest was the 46 years old Bartender? LOL

Ok, only kidding! at night there are young ones coming to help out/

[BionicMan]

Some cab drivers told me they take this road because its quicker and cheaper. I remember once that I had to pay just over 200 THB.
As all Thais I guess they expect that you give them a nice tip because they serviced you correctly.

of course ! and THEY expect to be tipped because they make YOU saving money and they want IT!

[Pita123]

You don't know this place??? OMG it is a MUST Try in Thailand.

I can think of some other MUSTs that I've had the pleasure of avoiding.

[Somewhere15]

quote:
originally posted by bunky
it has been awhile since this topic was updated, so i thought i'd post a trip report. hopefully it will be of some use to future visitors arriving at bkk for the first time.

as your flight nears bangkok the airline will provide you with an immigration form to fill out. take your time and complete it neatly and correctly. (don't forget the back side.) government bureaucrats the world over hate sloppy paperwork.

when you get off the plane your first stop will be immigration. follow the signs, taking the moving walkways as needed. hint: try to get off the plane first, and walk fast. if you get to immigration early the lines will be much shorter.

when you approach the immigration checkpoint there is a confusing sign that says "visa on arrival 140 meters" with an arrow pointing in a direction that is away from the immigration checkpoint. at the bottom of this sign it says in small letters "aot." this is a company that offers high-priced car service, along with "special handling" through immigration. don't fall for this scam. follow the overhead signs to the official immigration checkpoint.

discussion of thailand immigration law is beyond the scope of this report. so do your research and make sure you know what will be required for entry. i am a united states citizen, so i qualified for a 30-day "visa on arrival." officially the thai authorities reserve the right to require proof of financial solvency and evidence that you've booked "onward travel." my inspector didn't ask about those things. in fact, he didn't say a word. he stamped my passport with a visa indicating i could stay for 30 days, and he stapled to one of the pages a form i'll hand in when i leave.

after you pass through the immigration checkpoint you'll be in the main baggage claim area. rep001tered among the carousels there are booths to change money. they all offer the same rate. you can get a better rate in town, so don't change too much. make sure to get some hundred baht notes so you can pay the taxi fare.

finding the correct baggage carousel can be tricky. there are monitors showing all the incoming flights, but instead of listing the flights by city of origin they are listed by arrival time. even more confusing, if the flight originated in, say, chicago and connected in tokyo the origin may be listed as chicago instead of tokyo. also, many airline flights these days are "code share," so a single flight may have three different airlines and flight numbers associated with it and the monitor displays all three in rotation. i had to stand there for a good five minutes, forcing my jet-lagged brain to figure it out.

while you wait for your luggage, read the signs explaining the customs rules. most travelers will qualify for the "nothing to declare" line. near the baggage carousels there are free carts. very nice. load up your stuff and make your way to the exit, which is located on the opposite side of the hall from where the immigration inspectors are located. if you have nothing to declare, look for the green signs. the authorities reserve the right to inspect your luggage for contraband, either by hand or via an x-ray machine. i was waived through. i've read elsewhere this is common for western travelers.

once you clear customs follow the signs for "public taxi." you'll pass numerous people who work for car services who will try to sell you an expensive ride into town. unless you're made of money they are generally a bad deal. if you arranged with one of the independent taxi services (mr. t or mr. toom, for example) for a ride to points distant (like pattaya) look for your driver in this crowd.

if you're just going into bangkok via public taxi, you'll have to descend to the lower level. they have these nifty moving ramps that are a cross between an escalator and a moving sidewalk. very handy if you have a heavy baggage cart. at the bottom of the ramps you'll see door number four.

exit through door four and you'll see the taxi dispatcher. you'll also see a sign explaining there is a 50 baht surcharge for airport pickups. once you tell the dispatcher where you are going she'll fill out a form. one part goes to the driver and you keep the other half. all the major hotels are well known, but if you're headed someplace off the beaten path now is the time to ensure that the driver knows where's he's going. my hotel e-mailed me a map with the streets labeled in thai, but the dispatcher and the driver said that was unnecessary.

most of the taxis are toyota corollas with the "limo" package. as far as i can tell, this adds room to the back seat at the cost of a smaller trunk. if you're traveling alone there will be plenty of room for you and your things. (i most definitely do not pack light, and i was fine.) but if you're in a group or you have tons of baggage you should probably tell the dispatcher so she can rustle up a large vehicle.

once you get started the cab driver will ask: "highway?" tell him yes. he'll use the toll road, which is much faster. there are two tolls between the airport and downtown and you have to pay both. at the first toll plaza give the driver a hundred baht note. he'll pay that toll and hold on to the change. at the second toll plaza he'll pay that toll and give you some coins back. if i recall correctly, the tolls were 80 baht in all. so the added cost to save time is well worth it.

i was staying at the grand millennium, which is located near the intersection of sukhumvit and asok. the fare on the meter was 315 baht. with the surcharge it was 365 baht. tipping is not expected, but i gave the driver 400 baht.

so all in the taxi from the airport to downtown bangkok cost 480 baht. at the current exchange rate that's about usd $16. that's definitely a bargain compared to the car services, which charge thousands and thousands of baht. and i'm proof that a first time visitor who doesn't speak a word of thai was easily hire a public taxi.

hope this was helpful.

bunky

great post and useful information, thanks. one additional tip: if you take the expressway as bunky suggests, when you get to the first toll booth (25 baht) the meter should read approximately bt141, give or take a couple of baht. if it's significantly higher than that (remember, at the *first* 25 bt booth, not the second 45bt one!) then the meter is rigged.

let me share my experience with this.
i stayed many times in soi 19 (one roaad next to the grand millennium who is at soi 21).
if the car driver takes the earlier exit (i believe exit asoke, the opposite way of the grand mercure / shopping mall fortune) you can be on your place within 25 minutes and just for around 250 thb including the first highway tol gate. he has to know this because he has to go earlier from the highway. later if you see the big purple grand mercure building on your right side driving on the highway you are too late and have to take the sukhumvit exit.

i always take a cab from the departure zone (one level up from arrivals). two reasons for that. first you can choose the cab you like (and let the older pass away) and you only pay the starting (standard) fee of 35 thb.

when leaving soi 19 i had many times cab drivers who drove into the direction of the grand mercure/asoke/fortune shopping mall and who take the (lower) parallel way instead of the higher highway.
this route is even faster (off course depending on the time of the day) and cheaper.
some cab drivers told me they take this road because its quicker and cheaper. i remember once that i had to pay just over 200 thb.
as all thais i guess they expect that you give them a nice tip because they serviced you correctly.

[Ozztraleearr]

You don't know this place??? OMG it is a MUST Try in Thailand.

Basically, you go in and immediately get attacked by its Stench, but being a fighter, you make your way to a sofa/seat and girls Join you. You buy them cheap 60thb whisky and they will do anything you want, in the bar. HJ, BJ, FS...

After a few drinks, the place and its seediness grows on you and you can't help but feel more and more at home... a pair of tits in your face, a mouth on your dick and a sloppy Grin on your face. Think of Wild Country as a bigger version of the Naughty Boy Corner @ Afterskool in Cowboy.

Girls aren't that great looking but let's say an hour in this place with drinks for 2 ladies and tips can be about 1,000 thb. Cheap, cheap.

Yeah that sums up the place fairly nicely!

Both times I have been there the girl who has gotten me off has been one of the younger, cuter ladies, with an old hag helping out from time to time.

[NicFrenchy]

Wild Country?

You don't know this place??? OMG it is a MUST Try in Thailand.

Basically, you go in and immediately get attacked by its Stench, but being a fighter, you make your way to a sofa/seat and girls Join you. You buy them cheap 60thb whisky and they will do anything you want, in the bar. HJ, BJ, FS...

After a few drinks, the place and its seediness grows on you and you can't help but feel more and more at home... a pair of tits in your face, a mouth on your dick and a sloppy Grin on your face. Think of Wild Country as a bigger version of the Naughty Boy Corner @ Afterskool in Cowboy.

Girls aren't that great looking but let's say an hour in this place with drinks for 2 ladies and tips can be about 1,000 thb. Cheap, cheap.

[Mouse1]

I was wandering around Chatuchak market last week and came across a new-looking club called the Hareem Club. There was a sign outside seeking to recruit 'coyote dancers/models/waitresses' as I recall. The entrance was minaret-shaped which indicated a middle-Eastern theme perhaps? It was over the road to the left of ChCh market as you look at it from the main entrance.

Somebody bored with the usual haunts may want to check it out one day...?

[Pita123]

Nice postings bro.

When we catch up next will go to Wild Country off Soi 22 - it is an eye opener.

Wild Country?

[Franco Cozzo]

Nice postings bro.

When we catch up next will go to Wild Country off Soi 22 - it is an eye opener.

I'm heading back to the Nanatai today. When are you back in town (I know it is around same time as me)?

[Franco Cozzo]

You will have a lot better time if you don't drink so much.

You fell asleep in a bathroom?

You may wake up with your nuts chopped off if your not careful.

Luvpuss - not so much fell asleep as became comatose, and I already gleaned the drink less = more fun sometimes from Ozz (as I mentioned).... although I am young, so do plan on a few more crazy drinking nights.

[Ozztraleearr]

Nice postings bro.

When we catch up next will go to Wild Country off Soi 22 - it is an eye opener.

[Luvpuss]

Thanks for your encouragement fellow ISGers, I was definitely happy not to have to negotiate for my first Thai tryst.

Ok, so my P4P story continues on Monday. Sunday was taken out by a trip to the gym and swim in the pool. That turned into drinking too many beers and a few bottles of gin next to the pool at the Nanatai with 2 expats and another seasoned Thai traveller. That ended with me disappearing from the table and passing out in the pool's bathrooms for the night and cracking my head. What? I'm on holiday, I'm allowed to do excess excessively OK!

Anyway – back to Monday: After deciding I was never going to drink again, I made my way back down to the pool to try and turn my pasty white flesh a slightly darker hue, ordered myself some food, and decided to have a relaxed, quiet, no funny business kind of day.

That plan was (THANKFULLY) shattered upon the arrival of fellow ISGer Ozztraleearr (the person who recommended the Nanatai – which again, I can't recommend enough, great rooms and facilities for budget price). It is from my experience heading out with Ozz that day that I think someone should pitch the idea of the Thai government buddying up more experienced, and newbie mongerers, in order to stimulate the Thai economy.

First point of call: Golden (Ozz – feel free to correct any places I mix up/ get wrong), where we hung out with some of Ozz's ladyfriends – he is very popular in this bar, and spent a while drinking, talking and joking with the girls. We were drinking mainly soft drinks. The wisdom I gleaned straight away from Ozz is that the drinks you are having with a lady do not necessarily have to be alcoholic – bar tabs are cheaper this way, and you are less likely to do something stupid (like pass out in the toilets of a pool).

After this we went for a wander down to the new bar that opened on Soi 4, on the same side as Nana hotel, a little bit further towards the Tobacco Monopoly from Golden (although I can't remember exactly how far). The bar was having an official opening the next night, there was cardboard on the pool tables and the toilets were only half finished. However, the main bar girl had an amazingly sweet and innocent face (which I like), and seemed to have a gentle personality, so we stuck around for a drink or two. The drinks here were significantly more than at the Golden, and I was feeling fragile still from the excess of the night before, so after asking the girl if she would be around at 9ish, I headed back to my room at the Nanatai to slip in a nap before heading out for the night.

Sleep was escaping me, so I decided I needed some relaxation first, and after being told by Ozz that the room service massage girls don't only massage, I ordered myself up a whole lot of relaxation in the form of June. And that will be my next report, I will try to fit it in between my (hopefully more successful than last night) mongering in Danang, Vietnam tonight and my journey back towards LOS over the next couple of days.

You will have a lot better time if you don't drink so much.

You fell asleep in a bathroom?

You may wake up with your nuts chopped off if your not careful.

[Franco Cozzo]

Thanks for your encouragement fellow ISGers, I was definitely happy not to have to negotiate for my first Thai tryst.

Ok, so my P4P story continues on Monday - Sunday was taken out by a trip to the gym and swim in the pool... that turned into drinking too many beers and a few bottles of gin next to the pool at the Nanatai with 2 expats and another seasoned Thai traveller... that ended with me disappearing from the table and passing out in the pool's bathrooms for the night and cracking my head.... What? I'm on holiday, I'm allowed to do excess excessively OK!!

Anyway – back to Monday: After deciding I was never going to drink again, I made my way back down to the pool to try and turn my pasty white flesh a slightly darker hue, ordered myself some food, and decided to have a relaxed, quiet, no funny business kind of day.

That plan was (THANKFULLY) shattered upon the arrival of fellow ISGer Ozztraleearr (the person who recommended the Nanatai – which again, I can’t recommend enough, great rooms and facilities for budget price). It is from my experience heading out with Ozz that day that I think someone should pitch the idea of the Thai government buddying up more experienced, and newbie mongerers, in order to stimulate the Thai economy.

First point of call: Golden (Ozz – feel free to correct any places I mix up/ get wrong), where we hung out with some of Ozz’s ladyfriends – he is very popular in this bar, and spent a while drinking, talking and joking with the girls. We were drinking mainly soft drinks - the wisdom I gleaned straight away from Ozz is that the drinks you are having with a lady do not necessarily have to be alcoholic – bar tabs are cheaper this way, and you are less likely to do something stupid (like pass out in the toilets of a pool).

After this we went for a wander down to the new bar that opened on Soi 4, on the same side as Nana hotel, a little bit further towards the Tobacco Monopoly from Golden (although I cant remember exactly how far). The bar was having an official opening the next night, there was cardboard on the pool tables and the toilets were only half finished... However, the main bar girl had an amazingly sweet and innocent face (which I like), and seemed to have a gentle personality, so we stuck around for a drink or two. The drinks here were significantly more than at the Golden, and I was feeling fragile still from the excess of the night before, so after asking the girl if she would be around at 9ish, I headed back to my room at the Nanatai to slip in a nap before heading out for the night.

Sleep was escaping me, so I decided I needed some relaxation first, and after being told by Ozz that the room service massage girls don’t only massage, I ordered myself up a whole lot of relaxation in the form of June... and that will be my next report, I will try to fit it in between my (hopefully more successful than last night) mongering in Danang, Vietnam tonight and my journey back towards LOS over the next couple of days.

[BKK Dreaming]

......... say goodbye and head back to my room to start another day that ends with me ending up in a very drunken state and funny/ crazy situation, but does not involve P4P, so is not a story for ISG.

sure if its Funny and around Bangkok write it up
, we would like to hear about it......

BK

[BionicMan]

An excellent report, Franco, well done sir. I like your semi-inebriated commentary - your description of how you were treated as an ATM seem spot on. This is a fairly common M.O. - girls put on the act of not being in it for the money, and when it comes right down to it, they coyly ask for some cash. No harm done - I think this is the best way to do things. As I read your report, I was afraid you would have cheaped out and tried to get away without paying the girl. While this is tempting, it really is not the wisest course of action, IMHO. Others may disagree, but that's me (and you too, it seems).

Looking forward to your next report.

I perfectly agree with your thoughts.
Especially as the girl left the amount option open, she was given a fair sum and she accepted it with no mind games or starting to be a pain.
Was it more than what she expected? less? Doesn't matter.
As usual we pay them to go and this worked out exactly that way
Seems Franco got his share of pleasure
So... "you happy me happy" could be the title of the story!