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[QUOTE=Giotto; 1213950]. I will continue to give updates on the flood (my POV) whenever I find it necessary, and I encourage others to do so, too. Different opinions and profound facts will then allow readers to make up their minds.
Giotto[/QUOTE]Please do so!
Having been a recent visitor to Livingstone Lodge I can vouch for the usefulness of all the reports on the flood situation.
I was traveling all over SE Asia using Bangkok as a hub and the availability of general and personal reports was most helpful.
Yesterday 4/11 the traffic was light from Soi 33 to Bangkok Airport (my driver said the Expressway was not necessary) and I had.
A fast ride out. No water.
Thanks guys.
[QUOTE=PinkPearl;1213872]With all you guys speaking up for Giotto along with his own defense of himself re The Pros' comments, I'd like to offer a little perspective on the comment above. Giotto, of course, runs a business, and constantly advertises it here in his posts. Sometimes he makes negative comments about his competition, namely other hotels in BKK. Since you want to speak about "facts" in your post, what I have just said are the facts. So I would suggest that his followers who are on his cock might want to consider that when they presume to know another person's motives in a situation like this, how susceptible are they to P4P TGs lines of "I love you too much", and the rest of their white magic? Of course if one is around these type of girls all the time you don't think he is an expert at knowing their ways. So, please, stop being so gullible.[/QUOTE]Factual information about the floods is very useful. If someone writes lies or gross distortions, I question his motives.
He he sticks to information that is useful, why do I bother to question his motives?
It's a waste of time.
Opinions have very little value. Factual information (or as close to the truth as is possible with the media related stuff) is what will always be valuable on this forum. That's just my opinion (which may not be worth much to some).
In view of all the negativity going around, Giotto would wisely stick to useful information, and that will be always be appreciated by most. I just don't give a shit about all this "motives" oriented stuff. You can't read people's minds.
[QUOTE=Giotto; 1213950]Interesting, what's coming up here. .
I am really not a friend of Nana Hotel (seriously) , but I usually do not comment on the quality of other hotels. I rarely stay in hotels here in Bangkok except my own. Anyway. Nana hotel is NOT FLOODED right now![/QUOTE]But Nana Hotel could still use a carpet change and the ladies at the front desk could use an attitude adjustment. I used to religiously stay at Nana because of the mongering history and free breakfast until I finally wised up. There are much better hotels to stay in for the $40 that they want at Nana.
[QUOTE=Capitalized On;1213722]The only thing I can add is Thank God for making Thai people- have you heard any whining and complaining to the world? No. If this was New Orleans with fat dumpy lazy americans waiting for 'the gubmint' to come save them we would hear no end about how they were suffereing.[/QUOTE]Yeah well people died in New Orleans TOO and I see no reason for you to make light of anybody's suffering. You might alsoconsider that people in crisis NEED help. You should probably just stick to the pussy topics because your big head does not appear to work.
Anybody know a good short time hotel for daytime trysts?
Clean and cheap.
Something you can take a non-bargirl to
[QUOTE=Syzygies; 1214006]Factual information about the floods is very useful. If someone writes lies or gross distortions, I question his motives.
He he sticks to information that is useful, why do I bother to question his motives?
It's a waste of time.
Opinions have very little value. Factual information (or as close to the truth as is possible with the media related stuff) is what will always be valuable on this forum. That's just my opinion (which may not be worth much to some).
In view of all the negativity going around, Giotto would wisely stick to useful information, and that will be always be appreciated by most. I just don't give a shit about all this "motives" oriented stuff. You can't read people's minds.[/QUOTE]With Bangkok being dead now as far as business is concerned, I'm sure Giotto has tons of free time to play on his PC and find articles that most of us could if we had the time to do so. From the responses here it looks like future business will be profitable. Who could have forseen this?
Who's to say what's factual about all the articles and links that are being posted? Speaking of "opinions", they too are full of it. Where are these "facts" you speak of, I'd love to see a list of them and, in particular, anything that is "useful". Not being in Thailand at the moment, however, and not planning to till next year, perhaps, while all this flood talk is interesting, entertaining and sad, I personally wonder how any of it could be "useful" to those such as me, or well over 99% of ISG members.
I offer you the following "factual" evidence. A guy posted "Giotto's report about water being in front of the Chaophya Park Hotel was most appreciated because that is where I have stayed for several years. I doubt I could have picked up on that information at this early date from any other source without spending a lot of time." Yet this same hotel has email, fax and telephone contact info as well as a contact page on its website. Those are just the pure unadulterated facts. Are all simple forms of easy communication under water in Thailand also.
Here is another "opinion" I read somewhere, take it FWIW, & BTW I don't have any business interests with these establishments:
"Luxury hotels situated on the bank of the Chao Praya river have battened down their hatches with the best precautions baht can by, and have reassured guests that that the flooding is, for the moment, not a problem. When questioned, staff at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel reported that the hotel was well-protected with sandbags, and that if necessary guests would be evacuated to a sister property in a safe location further towardsBangkok's center. The Landmark Bangkok's representative assured us that the hotel was well protected and had a generator to maintain electricity in the case of blackouts. Best of all, the Landmark is now offering spectacular deals to guests! We were quoted a rate of 2, 000 baht per night for a party of two (a third of the usual rate) , but such discounts are of course subject to negotiation."
[url]http://www.thailawforum.com/blog/thailands-new[/url]
Looking forward to hearing Giotto's "opinion" on those hotels, also, and if I'll need to rent a helicopter to get there.
As for "motives", from time to time it's "useful" to be reminded about what books like "Bangkok Private Eye" say. It's not only TGs who are capable of such things as described therein.
But it's all good, even bad publicity, so this comment will also serve the cause. Mai pen rai.
Re travelling to Bangkok for mongering there lately and the unforseeable near future, I doubt that I would even if I could, considering the risks re the flooding, etc, but others, like The Pro, perhaps, are obviously more venturesome and less conservative in that regard. If I were a hotel owner of integrity or not, I would have agreed with Giotto's advice, or recommended that my customers delay their trips and come later after the dust settles. It would be a disaster for business should I publicly tell people it is safe to come and then it turns out to be otherwise.
"Bangkok in the near future is going to be an incredible aquatic city."
[url]http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/264811/protesters-block-sluice-gate-closure[/url]
Came across these pics. I am sure some of you may have seen these, but still interesting. Since we are discussing the flood I guess it belongs here. I especially like the 3rd pic.
BTW Dr. G, keep up the good reporting.
[quote=gentleboner; 1214036]anybody know a good short time hotel for daytime trysts?
clean and cheap.
something you can take a non-bargirl to[/quote]peep inn, sukhumvit soi 33,
playboy hotel (pb) , sukhumvit soi 3
star inn hotel, sukhumvit soi 7/1
This is ONLY for non Thai punters. Consolidated report from 5 days of BKK tour.
1. Travel.Thai Airways is Good and mechanical from Bangalore, but now Bangkok airways giving cheaper tickets. Free Visa days over, keep BHT 1000 ready with you (there is new counter near Visa window and they exchange Indian currency)
2. President Solitaire. Very GF, clean, good services, Avg Breakfast spread, small pool, but fun part is in big Jacuzzi tub. Girls love it.
3. Soi 11. Place to stay and party and eat. Loved Australian pub, watched Rugby world cup there. Good food, some hot chics serving you beer. Good place to relax. Man U Cafe, President Palace hotel. Another favorite restaurant, watched few Premier league matches here. Great young crowd, again good food, value for money, and free wifi. Good place for date lunch or something like that. Q Bar, Bed club all around, Insomnia walking distance, Villa market near by. Only downturn is Traffic jams late nights. Very annoying (bird is sitting next to you and you can't wait to reach room and jam to spoil the mood)
CM2. As usual filled with CIS girls. Going rate was 5K for LT and 3K for ST. Picked girls on two nights. Lot of girls, few punters.
White Lioness. Russian Strip club on Soi 12. If you like real hot fit naked bodies pay a visit to this place. 500BHT entry for one drink, Private dance for 2, 3 songs is 2K, Lady drink 600. Very expensive over all. I had a good time there as I knew one of the dancers beforehand and she had advised me. Also was lucky enough to bed three dancers from this place. Difficult to lure them for sex but god was kind on me I had some of the best sex of BKK this time around.)
Floods. Never faced any problems. Travel was smooth, never faced problems of food and water etc etc.
Since it was a business tour had no time for soapies. (
[QUOTE=GentleBoner; 1214036]Anybody know a good short time hotel for daytime trysts?
Clean and cheap.
Something you can take a non-bargirl to[/QUOTE]WTF. Bangkok is a huge city. Maybe giving us an idea of the area would help.
[QUOTE=PinkPearl;1214097](snip) Who's to say what's factual about all the articles and links that are being posted?- (snip)[/QUOTE]Hey Pink Pearl ("Not being in Thailand at the moment") ,
I think a lot of ISG guys read this forum because they just like coming, (or hope someday to come), to Bangkok & Thailand. For them, it's the fun part of their year that they look forward to the most. For some, like me, it's my adopted home.
Regarding the current situation, for what it is worth, I'll give you my opinion. I live in central Bangkok, and, right now (today) feel very, very fortunate my neighborhood has not flooded.
However, I am reminded of it everyday as I can see the swollen Chao Phraya River from my apartment, and am two BTS stops away from it. On the downside, I live within 100 yards of two khlongs (drainage canals). Almost every building in my neighborhood has either sandbags or concrete walls in front of it now. There are flood warnings posted in my elevator.
About 10 days ago, I met with another ISG member to rent a hire a longtail boat. We cruised up and down the river for a couple of hours, exploring some side canals and along the riverside. Yes, there was a flood in Bangkok then. I saw it with my own eyes. And, from what I can surmise from TV news reports, newspapers reports on the internet, photographs on flickr, maps, etc., it is getting a lot worse.
There are literally tens of thousands of people living in Bangkok's flooded areas. Why? Because they don't want to leave their homes for fear of thieves, and, or, just fear of leaving their homes and flooded cars. Many of these people are elderly. Many of these areas have been inundated for weeks now and the water is a filthy concoction of chemicals, human waste, garbage, etc. There are highly venomous snakes and crocodiles on the loose. Get the picture?
Bangkok is quieter right now because some businesses are closed, people have chosen to leave due to fear or displacement, people cannot get into the city due to the flood, and some people have lost almost everything. Yesterday, I went over to Siam in the afternoon. Funny, there are still a lot of people out shopping. For Thais, it must be a stress reliever.
The shelves in my local stores have been about half stocked for several weeks now. I haven't seen beer for sale at my local "7" for at least a week. Yesterday, a busy Saturday at the Siam Paragon food court, you could not buy a bottle of water. Going shopping for food has been a nerve racking experience lately, and it is not getting better.
In my opinion, today - right now - in all of Bangkok, there is a very serious situation that should not be considered lightly. In the bigger, extended picture, Thailand will never be the same after this event. There is a lot of finger pointing going on, most of it directed at the new government, and Thai governments are unstable even in good times.
As far as Giotto goes, I respect his willingness to share information with the rest of us. I've met him personally, and I will vouch for the fact he is an intelligent person, with mainly good intentions for the rest of us ISG monkeys.
Translation: In this time of seriousness, Giotto just wants us to be safe and have a good time. And, if we are here, or still are coming here, and will spend a little money at his place, all the better. I stopped in at Livingstone's last week. The beer was cold, the girls pretty, and the pool cues straight. Nothin' wrong with that!
And, I'm especially glad that The Pro can go out and find a willing P4P provider to stroke his needs (for a "fair" price). That is just about as hard to do right now in this city as buying a top-up card for your mobile phone! His nonchalant attitude concerning the flood should be shared with the many thousands who are suffering, and with those working hard at organizations to help out their fellow countrymen (like the Red Cross on Rama IV Road). Maybe he should sit down with six or seven Thai Muslim guys in Miniburi and chat a bit?
A good friend of mine was in town last week on a work assignment. Hearing all the news, he was getting nervous about the rising waters. On my suggestion, he left four days early rather than risk being caught up in a bad situation, but not before, he made it Akane, Tulip, and a few other places. So, his trip was not a total loss. Funny thing, he was in a Typhoon in Tokyo, and a flood in Manila, before he got to Bangkok.
My personal opinion and conclusion. This is a very, very serious situation without a clear future. Central Bangkok included. However, if it were me, and I had a trip planned, I'd still come. But, it would be wise to be prepared for the worse.
For those of you who are interested, there is a flickr group with flood photos taken by local Bangkok photographers:
[url]http://www.flickr.com/groups/thailand_flood_2011/[/url]
[QUOTE=PinkPearl; 1214097]With Bangkok being dead now as far as business is concerned, I'm sure Giotto has tons of free time to play on his PC and find articles that most of us could if we had the time to do so. From the responses here it looks like future business will be profitable. Who could have forseen this?
Who's to say what's factual about all the articles and links that are being posted? Speaking of "opinions", they too are full of it. Where are these "facts" you speak of, I'd love to see a list of them and, in particular, anything that is "useful". Not being in Thailand at the moment, however, and not planning to till next year, perhaps, while all this flood talk is interesting, entertaining and sad, I personally wonder how any of it could be "useful" to those such as me, or well over 99% of ISG members.
I offer you the following "factual" evidence. A guy posted "Giotto's report about water being in front of the Chaophya Park Hotel was most appreciated because that is where I have stayed for several years. I doubt I could have picked up on that information at this early date from any other source without spending a lot of time." Yet this same hotel has email, fax and telephone contact info as well as a contact page on its website. Those are just the pure unadulterated facts. Are all simple forms of easy communication under water in Thailand also.
Here is another "opinion" I read somewhere, take it FWIW, & BTW I don't have any business interests with these establishments:
"Luxury hotels situated on the bank of the Chao Praya river have battened down their hatches with the best precautions baht can by, and have reassured guests that that the flooding is, for the moment, not a problem. When questioned, staff at the Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel reported that the hotel was well-protected with sandbags, and that if necessary guests would be evacuated to a sister property in a safe location further towardsBangkok's center. The Landmark Bangkok's representative assured us that the hotel was well protected and had a generator to maintain electricity in the case of blackouts. Best of all, the Landmark is now offering spectacular deals to guests! We were quoted a rate of 2, 000 baht per night for a party of two (a third of the usual rate) , but such discounts are of course subject to negotiation."
[url]http://www.thailawforum.com/blog/thailands-new[/url]
Looking forward to hearing Giotto's "opinion" on those hotels, also, and if I'll need to rent a helicopter to get there.
As for "motives", from time to time it's "useful" to be reminded about what books like "Bangkok Private Eye" say. It's not only TGs who are capable of such things as described therein.
But it's all good, even bad publicity, so this comment will also serve the cause. Mai pen rai.
Re travelling to Bangkok for mongering there lately and the unforseeable near future, I doubt that I would even if I could, considering the risks re the flooding, etc, but others, like The Pro, perhaps, are obviously more venturesome and less conservative in that regard. If I were a hotel owner of integrity or not, I would have agreed with Giotto's advice, or recommended that my customers delay their trips and come later after the dust settles. It would be a disaster for business should I publicly tell people it is safe to come and then it turns out to be otherwise.
"Bangkok in the near future is going to be an incredible aquatic city."
[url]http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/264811/protesters-block-sluice-gate-closure[/url][/QUOTE]Hey Pinky! Are you still waiing the bargirls?
Bangkok Post: Bangkok situation still 'critical'
[url]http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews/265012/bangkok-is-still-critical[/url]
Giotto
Thai Flood Relief website:
[url]http://www.thaifloodrelief.org/2011/11/thailands-worst-flood-situation-update/#.TrahKENKOrt[/url]
Bloomberg: Thailand’s Floods Edge Closer to Central Bangkok, May Last for Three Weeks
[url]http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-06/thailand-s-floods-edge-closer-to-central-bangkok-may-last-for-three-weeks.html[/url]
Video (old, 03.11.2011):
[url]http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/nationvdo/showvdo.php?id=5525&cateid=13[/url]
Crocodile found in house in Ram Inthra:
[url]http://annozijlstra.wordpress.com/2011/11/06/a-crocodile-found-in-villa-ramintra-soi-10-on-koo-bon-rd-27-in-bang-khen-district/[/url]
Giotto