Bangkok Reports

Hey guys, just thought that I would take the time to provide you with my views on the current situation here in Bangkok. This is just my honest unfiltered opinion for those who are interested in flying in for a visit. You should not have to spend a ton of money to come here just to find out how things truly are.

Getting straight to the point, Bangkok is nowhere near where it was. It would appear that it will take at least a year to get up and running. I am not even talking about getting back to where it was. There are whole sections of the city that no longer exist. The food court in Siam Center is gone. There are still some restaurants there, but the food court is gone. The outdoor market northeast of Central World, to the east of the Palladium is now just an empty lot. You would not even be able to tell that there used to be a market there.

In 2019, before they closed the border, Bangkok had over 25 million tourists. You can just imagine how much of an impact losing that many visitors would have on the local economy / infrastructure.

Entire hotels have been, and still are, shuttered. One of my favorite hotels in the area won't be open for business until August / September. It would appear that some will never reopen. I walked by a 10-15 story hotel today that is shuttered (very depressing.).

Getting a taxi (Grab), is a chore and more expensive. Before it was like $2-3 for wherever you wanted to go. Now, I feel that I MUST get a SUV (7/ trip) just to be sure that I will find something dependable / available. When I have tried to just get a car, I have received messages that there were no drivers available, or if I did connect with a driver, the driver stiffed me, and I ended up having to get a SUV anyway.

If you do not already have a credit / debit card added to Grab, get ready to have to pay for your taxi with cash. There appears to be some new law in place that prevents foreigners from using their credit cards. Bolt would only allow me to use cash. I eventually found a way around this for Grab, but it was not straight forward.

You no longer need to wear masks anywhere in Bangkok, except for public transport. HOWEVER, everyone still wears masks, and I mean EVERYONE. Although some of the major businesses, like Siam Paragon have signs up to let you know that masks are optional, they are not optional everywhere. I have been asked to put my mask on in several modern well-ventilated locations. Today, security in the Watsons pharmacy made me put on a mask. The Silom Complex has a sign at the entrance asking you to wear a mask throughout the mall. In short, the government no longer requires you to wear a mask, but business can still require it. It is hard to not feel like a "dirty farang", when you are like 1 of 1,000 without a mask.

In terms of the "talent", gone are the young, vibrant, spinners that I knew and loved. They have essentially lost 2. 5 years of recruitment and a lot of girls returned home, so that makes sense. I would also assume that those who returned home told horror stories of how they were not making any money. That would scare off some of the potential newer recruits. Bars will not be able to get in new talent until the tourists come back with a vengeance. There is not even enough tourists here right now to support those who are already working. All that will take some time. For now, you will need to deal with lower quality service providers.

All of that said, Thailand is still Thailand. The Siam vibe is still alive and well here. The food remains phenomenal, and truly mind-blowing gastronomical experiences can be found throughout Bangkok.

If you are planning on coming here, especially if you came here before, you would need to become more of an explorer as opposed to someone returning to known stomping grounds. Gone are a lot of the places that I used to eat at. However, I was able to find other places that are just as good.

[QUOTE=Vankee2010;2715032]Hey folks,

I will be traveling first time to Bangkok.

Please suggest good hotel to stay and near by some hot area to feel heat.

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]Lots of places on Sois 2 and 4. I've always been partial to Soi 2 since it's a quieter and less traffic, but it's still close to the action, such as it is, in Soi 4.

[QUOTE=Juanjo767;2715111]Hey guys, just thought that I would take the time to provide you with my views on the current situation here in Bangkok. This is just my honest unfiltered opinion for those who are interested in flying in for a visit. You should not have to spend a ton of money to come here just to find out how things truly are.

Getting straight to the point, Bangkok is nowhere near where it was. It would appear that it will take at least a year to get up and running. I am not even talking about getting back to where it was. There are whole sections of the city that no longer exist. The food court in Siam Center is gone. There are still some restaurants there, but the food court is gone. The outdoor market northeast of Central World, to the east of the Palladium is now just an empty lot. You would not even be able to tell that there used to be a market there.

In 2019, before they closed the border, Bangkok had over 25 million tourists. You can just imagine how much of an impact losing that many visitors would have on the local economy / infrastructure.

Entire hotels have been, and still are, shuttered. One of my favorite hotels in the area won't be open for business until August / September. It would appear that some will never reopen. I walked by a 10-15 story hotel today that is shuttered (very depressing.).[/QUOTE]Going to start off by saying, I'm a newbie to Bangkok but not to Thailand or SEA in general. I just went to other places cause my thought process was "big city = bigger prices". So far that has proved me right. This is my first time spending any real time in BKK and getting a feel for what it had to offer in comparison to Phuk and Patts.

Mask thing is weird just as he said. Masks everywhere as a Courtesy honestly. I don't mind it. I do remove mine when I'm walking or have enough space around people but on the MRT or Skytrain its mandatory. I've not been asked to put it on in Terminal 21 or any other mall or anything so YMMMV.

Janjo has not been the only person to express that a lot of talent left BKK and its plain to see. Shuttered Bars, Hotels, Gogos, Clubs, businesses everywhere. I have a friend that lives in BKK and he was showing me around all the "spots" like Si lom, nana, cowboy, soi 22 and a few others and you could see the quality just isn't what he claimed it used to be. My entire thought process while here for 2 weeks was "I'm not impressed". The bars or massage places all have older than I'm used to seeing ladies in them. Most looks to be mid-30's into 40's. The most good looking ones are as expected at the Gogos.

Price wise I was shocked. I am not sure it just after effects of COVID or if its always been this way. I was frequently being Quoted upwards of 3-4 k baht for ST and around 7 k for LT. Again I will preface this by saying some of the places we were going were not my usual bag. I don't usually like Gogos so I can't say that's standard but even there and reading some of the reports lead me to believe otherwise. My friend was not offered anywhere near those amounts but he speaks Thai and often did the negotiating for me. Bars weren't full, There was plenty of walking room even among the busy hours (8 pm-2 am) and there seemed to be a lack of "customers".

Tinder, TF, and Skout has been my lifeline out here for that kind of fun. I've been catfished once (she has good pictures but they were obviously pre-covid as she gained about 20 kg during that time). Many of them have said they used to work at the bars and clubs but since covid turned them down they turned to Camsites and Freelance work and its been well for them.

Food is Great. People outside of Gogo's are genuinely amazing. A lot of great conversations and people sharing experiences. Even the Taxi driver don't seem as pushy. (Pre-covid persistent Taxi drivers trying to take me to a massage was worse than flies on shit, now a simple "no I'm good" and they move along.) One night the friend of mind and I sat on the street with some locals and shared their liquor and chilled and ate food and shot the shit until 4 am. It was chill.

To wrap things up. As a essentially first timer to BKK I would say its still fun to be had. But if your expecting mindblowing experiences like the stories or expecting anything of "how it used to be" than shelf that. Things have shifted and its plain to see even to someone who hasn't been here. I'll be kicking down to Patts in a few days. From reports and my contacts, I'm expecting a much better experience. There is a lot of fun to be had. But make sure you check those pockets before you do. Always remember YMMMV.

[QUOTE=Juanjo767;2715111]Hey guys, just thought that I would take the time to provide you with my views on the current situation here in Bangkok. .[/QUOTE]Thank you for the update. This is exactly the info we all need. I have plans to go around February, so I'm hoping things liven up before then. My primary targets are the fresh slim cheerful younger providers, not the hardened 35-45 yo olds. Sounds like those are the providers still hanging around. Yes, I have had mind blowing experiences at Eden Club at the hands of "mature" providers, but that's not my fave. And Eden Club is gone, anyhow.

I have the option of hitting Pattaya or Phuket in addition to BKK (and maybe Chiangmai). Still trying to figure out which location will have the first fresh faces arriving from Isaan. Is the beginning of the pipeline Soi 6 in Pattaya and / or the Sukumvit Soi 22 and Soi 24/1 massage shops in BKK? Do they usually "graduate" from those venues to become gogo girls? Please tell me I won't be stuck looking on my phone on fiwfans?

Fiwfans advertises paying extra for.

Break / split face or mouth.

The google translation from Thai is correct. I've been into some kinky stuff, but never a punchup. Can anyone enlighten me as to what this involves?

[QUOTE=ShinyCrazy;2715175]Thank you for the update. This is exactly the info we all need. I have plans to go around February, so I'm hoping things liven up before then. My primary targets are the fresh slim cheerful younger providers, not the hardened 35-45 yo olds. Sounds like those are the providers still hanging around. Yes, I have had mind blowing experiences at Eden Club at the hands of "mature" providers, but that's not my fave. And Eden Club is gone, anyhow.

I have the option of hitting Pattaya or Phuket in addition to BKK (and maybe Chiangmai). Still trying to figure out which location will have the first fresh faces arriving from Isaan. Is the beginning of the pipeline Soi 6 in Pattaya and / or the Sukumvit Soi 22 and Soi 24/1 massage shops in BKK? Do they usually "graduate" from those venues to become gogo girls? Please tell me I won't be stuck looking on my phone on fiwfans?[/QUOTE]I suppose you are dead or not? But What Juanjo767 is pretty much the case. Give it a year or so IMHO.

The biggest issue with Bangkok right now is that Sunday to Wednesday is really dead in the clubs etc. Thursday to Saturday some places can get busy but most still struggle.

The issue is too few customers to really get the industry going at the moment.

[QUOTE=Vankee2010;2715032]Hey folks,

I will be traveling first time to Bangkok.

Please suggest good hotel to stay and near by some hot area to feel heat.

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE]Book Ruamchitt Hotel with double occupancy and stay alone. Best place and decent one considering you can take girls from Thermae cafe straight up.

Tip. Wait for closing hours of Thermae, guess its 11 pm, be there by 10:30 pm and can get some discounted prices.

Good luck!

Hi there,

Are soapies like Emmanuelle open? I read that someone else said they had reopened but wonder if anyone else can verify this.

[QUOTE=DanKey;2715178]Fiwfans advertises paying extra for.

Break / split face or mouth.

The google translation from Thai is correct. I've been into some kinky stuff, but never a punchup. Can anyone enlighten me as to what this involves?[/QUOTE]I guess that means cum on face / cum in mouth?

[QUOTE=DanKey;2715178]Fiwfans advertises paying extra for.

Break / split face or mouth.

The google translation from Thai is correct. I've been into some kinky stuff, but never a punchup. Can anyone enlighten me as to what this involves?[/QUOTE]It's probably related to CIM and COF rather than hitting the girl's face.

[QUOTE=DanKey;2715178]Fiwfans advertises paying extra for.

Break / split face or mouth.

The google translation from Thai is correct. I've been into some kinky stuff, but never a punchup. Can anyone enlighten me as to what this involves?[/QUOTE]Come on face.

I have read a couple of comments that masks are still mandatory on the MRT / Subway and the Skytrain.

My experience has been masks are no longer mandatory on the MRT / Subway as of July 1. There are no longer any signs illustrating or stating that masks must be worn. On July 1 I forgot I wasn't wearing a mask on the street, entered the MRT station at Sukhumvit (Terminal 21 Mall), passed all the masked security guards at the escalator, through the turnstile past the masked guards, down the steps, entered a train car and was three stations along my way before it suddenly dawned on me I was the only one not wearing a mask.

At my destination station, before I passed through the exit turnstile I walked up to a masked guard still without my mask and outright asked if it was ok for me not to wear a mask. He gave me a thumbs up and ok sign.

Same with all of the 7-11's and most of the malls I have walked into since July 1; Terminal 21, Siam Paragon, Central Chidlom, Central World, EmQuartier and Emporium. No masks required, not even in their food markets, since July 1.

Now, I am not sure about the BTS / Skytrain just yet. I have not had a reason to pass through a Skytrain station turnstile since July 1 without a mask to see what happens. But I can tell you that just like the MRT there are no longer any illustrations or signs indicating that masks must be worn in the BTS Asoke station entrances.

The closest I got to testing it was walking right up to the turnstile without a mask in full view of the various guards looking directly at me and none of them waved me back or pointed to their masks to indicate I ought to put one on. If I didn't have someone waiting for me in the mall at the time I would have run the test all the way into a train car.

This is one of the few more active boards in Thailand, so I apologize for asking a question like this. Does anyone know of an honest to god chiropractor (or Osteopath, which is similar) in BKK, preferably near Sukhumvit BTS line? I did try the 'search thread' function but it seems to say 'connecting to. ' but never connects.

BTW, I don't need a Thai massage, so no suggestions about that please.

Thanks for the help.

[QUOTE=EihTooms;2715340]I have read a couple of comments that masks are still mandatory on the MRT / Subway and the Skytrain.

My experience has been masks are no longer mandatory on the MRT / Subway as of July 1. There are no longer any signs illustrating or stating that masks must be worn. On July 1 I forgot I wasn't wearing a mask on the street, entered the MRT station at Sukhumvit (Terminal 21 Mall), passed all the masked security guards at the escalator, through the turnstile past the masked guards, down the steps, entered a train car and was three stations along my way before it suddenly dawned on me I was the only one not wearing a mask.

At my destination station, before I passed through the exit turnstile I walked up to a masked guard still without my mask and outright asked if it was ok for me not to wear a mask. He gave me a thumbs up and ok sign.

Same with all of the 7-11's and most of the malls I have walked into since July 1; Terminal 21, Siam Paragon, Central Chidlom, Central World, EmQuartier and Emporium. No masks required, not even in their food markets, since July 1.

Now, I am not sure about the BTS / Skytrain just yet. I have not had a reason to pass through a Skytrain station turnstile since July 1 without a mask to see what happens. But I can tell you that just like the MRT there are no longer any illustrations or signs indicating that masks must be worn in the BTS Asoke station entrances.

The closest I got to testing it was walking right up to the turnstile without a mask in full view of the various guards looking directly at me and none of them waved me back or pointed to their masks to indicate I ought to put one on. If I didn't have someone waiting for me in the mall at the time I would have run the test all the way into a train car.[/QUOTE]Mandatory or not Somchai the Security guard will tell you to put it on.