Bangkok Reports

[QUOTE=El Greco]If you want to do some shopping at much cheaper prices than downtown then you have to go to Chatuchak, or weekend market as they also call it, open on Fridays through Sundays included.

Take BTS or MRT to Mo Chit and then follow the crowds. Use light clothing because it gets hot and humid in there. Apart from computing, furniture and designer cloths you can find almost everything there at discounted prices compared to downtown shopping areas. That’s where the locals go shopping.

I was short in cash and tried six different ATMs but no one was giving me the requested amount of 20.000 Baht. I thought that this was the normal max limit. Either I am mistaken or they have a lower limit on weekends. Anyway I changed some hard currency at the banks there that they were open to accommodate the shoppers.

Now you want to read something about mongering right? Well I saw many nice young ladies there both Thais and foreigners. How about that? LOL

Well I was feeling hot and dirty after shopping so I took a cab to Chaopaya II on Sri Ayutaya road. It was once the biggest place in BKK with about 300-350 girls maybe more. It is on the decline now.

I really love soapies. I love to be in the hot bath tub with a naked woman servicing me. That’s what I really like in BKK.

I picked a big girl today. Having been to China, Hong Kong and Macau recently I wanted to try something bigger. I choose #16 her name is Nok. She is tall and a bit on the heavy side. Not a good provider though. Something rather unusual for that place.
Don’t do this don’t do that finally a lame service after all. It took her a lot of time on manual gear in order to complete her job. That was my revenge for her bad service. She is already on my avoid list. Damage was 1.700 Baht for two hours with no tip of course.

Well you can’t win everyday. Yesterday I had a very good time again with Tulip’s superstar DAO. I was avoiding her for my last three visits there but yesterday I wanted a super naughty provider and she is one of the best in that sense.

Tomorrow is another day In BKK before I go South to Pattaya for a few days.
Let me hope for something better then.[/QUOTE]

just a word on shopping at chatuchak..while there are a few bargains to be had, for the most part i find prices there higher than elsewhere..i went yesterday and was pretty stunned at how many tourists were there...stopped for a bowl of kanom jeen noodles..went to pay and the lady pointed at a sign in english that said 45 baht..i pointed to the thai menu at the sign that said 30 baht...she pointed again at the english menu and said 45 baht..i asked her if she could read thai and pointed at the thai menu...she took my 30 baht...if you want cheap clothes, Bo Bae market will be half the price of Chatuchak, as will Pratunam...

[QUOTE=Oldian]just a word on shopping at chatuchak..while there are a few bargains to be had, for the most part i find prices there higher than elsewhere..i went yesterday and was pretty stunned at how many tourists were there...stopped for a bowl of kanom jeen noodles..went to pay and the lady pointed at a sign in english that said 45 baht..i pointed to the thai menu at the sign that said 30 baht...she pointed again at the english menu and said 45 baht..i asked her if she could read thai and pointed at the thai menu...she took my 30 baht...if you want cheap clothes, Bo Bae market will be half the price of Chatuchak, as will Pratunam...[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the info but I don't go there for clothing. Actually I don't buy any clothing in Thailand. I use USA's XL size so they are too small for me.

Thanks anyway.

[QUOTE=Oldian]stopped for a bowl of kanom jeen noodles..went to pay and the lady pointed at a sign in english that said 45 baht..i pointed to the thai menu at the sign that said 30 baht...she pointed again at the english menu and said 45 baht..i asked her if she could read thai and pointed at the thai menu...she took my 30 baht..[/QUOTE]

Only way is to learn thai, but even then you will pay more, after reading stories here and in the expatforum. Sometimes Im thinking, how stupied do the thai think we farlangs are, or do they just dont care how low their scams are?

Im out with my lady for some fun, taking a cab back to her place and let her out. 45 bath on the meter in this moment. Then the crazy driver starts the meter again when he drives away with me to my place. Im saying, why you stop meter and start over agian? He like: "eeeh, you lady say it was okey". I say: "no, why would she do that, she just say I pay for the whole trip" (because I told her I would).

When we stop at my place the "new" meter says 55 bath. So I giving him 45 + 20 (55-35) = 65 bath. Then he starts shouting about 110 bath and a girl from street open the door and tries to mediate. Im calm but say that this is ridiculous, why start the meter again just for let my lady out of the car? Its stupied!

Some more bla bla bla but Im thinking better pay and walk away then end up on hospital or something. For me it was not about the money, it was about the bad try to scam me. But, before I get out the car I ask: do you think you will earn more in the long run with this behaviour? I dont think he understod me. No matter if he were good or bad in english.

[QUOTE=Oldian]if you want cheap clothes, Bo Bae market will be half the price of Chatuchak, as will Pratunam...[/QUOTE]
Oldian, after a Google search, I found Bo Bae. It says it is a wholesale market, and things have to be bought by the dozen or so. Is that in fact true? I don't need 12 pairs of shorts, or a dozen pairs of shoes.

Can goods be bought in quantites of 1 and 2 ?

thanks
1ball.

[QUOTE=Kid Icarus]

but Im thinking better pay and walk away then end up on hospital or something. For me it was not about the money, it was about the bad try to scam me. [/QUOTE]
Yah, this is usually the smartest choice. If you spend enough time in LOS, you're gonna get scammed, overcharged, etc. Consider it part of the experience. If you invest a significant amount of time here and begin to understand how things work and maybe learn some Thai, then these instances start to go away.

But in the end, after all that, it's still only all about 2 dollars...

[QUOTE=Amjeck]Yah, this is usually the smartest choice. If you spend enough time in LOS, you're gonna get scammed, overcharged, etc. Consider it part of the experience. If you invest a significant amount of time here and begin to understand how things work and maybe learn some Thai, then these instances start to go away.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Rjsss212]But in the end, after all that, it's still only all about 2 dollars...[/QUOTE]

Sometimes its about the behavior and not about 50 cent, one or two or ten dollars? In this case he tried to scam me in a stupid way and even using my girl to get thru it. In another case I was waiting for my girl and talked with the taxidriver that was supposed to take us to the Siam towers from her place for 20 minutes. He even went looking for her when she was late. Normaly its like 60 bath, but this time he charged me 100 without meter. I did not care, it was a "scam" but I payed without saying noathing because he at least gave some service.

The more stupid the scam is, the less im willing to pay. If the scam is made with at least some little intelligence...

In this case, it was just plain stupid.

So, do you also scream and yell at cracks in the sidewalk for the potential harm they may do to you!?! Because there are probably about as many weasel taxi drivers as sidewalk cracks in BKK and neither will ever change (and it’s really a coin toss on which has more sense).

So enjoy your new found wealth (invest it wisely, but I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that) and be sure to post about further conquests over taxi and/or sidewalk cracks…

RJSSS212


[QUOTE=Kid Icarus]Sometimes its about the behavior and not about 50 cent, one or two or ten dollars? In this case he tried to scam me in a stupid way and even using my girl to get thru it. In another case I was waiting for my girl and talked with the taxidriver that was supposed to take us to the Siam towers from her place for 20 minutes. He even went looking for her when she was late. Normaly its like 60 bath, but this time he charged me 100 without meter. I did not care, it was a "scam" but I payed without saying noathing because he at least gave some service.

The more stupid the scam is, the less im willing to pay. If the scam is made with at least some little intelligence...

In this case, it was just plain stupid.[/QUOTE]

Once I was charged for a extra ladydrink in a Nana bar. I mentioned this to the waitress and she came and said the bill was correct. The guy sitting next me asked me to complain to the manager and refuse to pay.
I told him I am on vacation and do not want to spoil my demeanor by
getting into a fight about few dollars. Looking back that is the best decision I made. When you are on vacation you are going to get scammed starting from taxi drivers, street vendors,bar people, restaurent people etc.
The best advice is enjoy your vacation. As far as I know there are all kinds of scams in any vacation destination you go and more so in poor countries.

[QUOTE=Rjsss212]So, do you also scream and yell..[/QUOTE]

Haha, nice try :D

So far I have never screamed or yelled at anyone in Bangkok. Just talking calm. Or did you get the feeling I have done it?

One poster talked about the thai price and farang price, and I filled in with a taxi story from Bangkok. One from maybe.. 50 scams so far? This one was the most stupid of all (so far) in BKK and I wanted to share that one.

Now im heading to a MP, you can read about that later, or I can give you another taxistory via PM if that sounds better? ;)

Cheers!

Only if you sprinkle in a few ATM fee stories to really spice it up...

[QUOTE=Kid Icarus]Haha, nice try :D

So far I have never screamed or yelled at anyone in Bangkok. Just talking calm. Or did you get the feeling I have done it?

One poster talked about the thai price and farang price, and I filled in with a taxi story from Bangkok. One from maybe.. 50 scams so far? This one was the most stupid of all (so far) in BKK and I wanted to share that one.

Now im heading to a MP, you can read about that later, or I can give you another taxistory via PM if that sounds better? ;)

Cheers![/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Rjsss212]Only if you sprinkle in a few ATM fee stories to really spice it up...[/QUOTE]
If its a stupid fee or something els interesting with the machine, I can for sure put it in my report (or PM you), because I need to get to one before I go to the MP :D (if I now dont find a place that gives me what I want for 465 bath).

No, no PM! It would be unspeakable to deprive the forum of such treasure...

[QUOTE=Kid Icarus]If its a stupid fee or something els interesting with the machine, I can for sure put it in my report (or PM you), because I need to get to one before I go to the MP :D (if I now dont find a place that gives me what I want for 465 bath).[/QUOTE]

I just wanted to report that last night I had an encounter with what must have been the hottest ATM on all of Sukhumvit. I spotted her from across the street and immediately headed over -- just as I came near, another man suddenly stepped in, approaching quickly and looking like he was ready to close the deal. Japanese too. Damn! But as chance would have it, he searched his pockets and I guess realized he wasn't as ready as he thought he was to consumate the deed. Must have left his card up in the hotel room. That was my chance. With confidence I casually stepped up to her. She looked me straight in the eye and smiled -- you know that look -- at first I didn't know if she spoke any English, and with my Thai it was going to be tough. Fears melted away as she said, in perfect English, on her screen: "Insert card". That I did. "Please type PIN number and press ENTER". I said ok darling, I think I will, as I placed my hand on her side and carressed her lovingly. "Please select type of account -- Savings, Checking, Credit, Current." Oh no, I thought, is it Checking or Current? What's Current? It's definitely not Savings. If I get this wrong, will she eat my card? What do I do? OK, relax. Don't lose your cool. A moment like this, just fake it. She'll never notice. "Current" I said. "Choose amount" she replied. Ah, phew, I'm in. I guess I don't need to tell you what happened next. Let's just say it was a completely fulfilling experience, and to think 2 hrs earlier I was sleeping on a plane. Man, I love Bangkok.

Now that's better! I felt the little head starting to stir. Nothing better than a good ATM story..... except of course a good free breakfast story...but thats it, I shot my load...

[QUOTE=Wendella]I just wanted to report that last night I had an encounter with what must have been the hottest ATM on all of Sukhumvit. IAh, phew, I'm in. I guess I don't need to tell you what happened next. Let's just say it was a completely fulfilling experience, and to think 2 hrs earlier I was sleeping on a plane. Man, I love Bangkok.[/QUOTE]