cutefarang

I have never had a bad slice there, but if you get one right as they take it out of the oven (or have them make a fresh one) they are fantastic.

No problem its been hell having the wife here with me and not being able to play much. Try to contribute in any way I can.

Recently my Condo was being worked on and I needed a place to stay for the night. I found this cheap guesthouse. PROS - Very close to Asoke. Right on the corner of Sukhumvit 18 - Cheap, no credit card required to check in, cash only - Girl Friendly - Awesome rainfall style shower - Plenty of food/shopping within walking distance - Soi Cowboy within walking distance CONS - Bed was two twins pushed together and neither was comfortable. - Can be very noisy during the day time - Rooms are on the small side - Wifi was very unreliable, lots of disconnects - No tea/coffee or minibar in the room just an empty refrigerator. - No room service or onsite restaurant. It was an okay for a one night stay but not something I would recommend long term. If you want to be close to all the action for not a lot of money this is a decent place for the price but there are better places with more amenities.

I have been staying in Bangkok for the past month but have not had much time to get on here because the wife is with me. My first week however I was alone and had a little bit of fun. I stayed at Pinnacle Lumpini the first week. PROS - Can always find great deals for 50% off or more for this hotel. - Very close to MRT Lumpini - about 150 m away - Very friendly staff - Only one stop from Patpong - Across the street from Lumpini park - Good buffet breakfast every morning - Decent room service - Free bottled water everyday CONS - Joiner fee after 11pm (565 baht)* - Wifi performance was up and down - Although it is close to Silom there isn't a whole lot close to the hotel, need to go to Silom for food - Lack of TV channels/bad TV reception While they do say they charge a joiner fee the one night I brought a gurl back no one said anything to me. I noticed while at the hotel it is very big with the gay crowd, lots of gay couples there so no one really looked twice when I was with a LB. I got a really good deal to stay there otherwise I would have never thinked twice about it. Overall it is not a bad hotel just not my first choice for being close to Patpong.

Most of the time they let me pick my own hotel, but this was a special conference where we had to stay there.

Best way around this is to get a 60 day tourist visa from your home country before you leave after 60 days you can go to immigration and get an extra 30 days before you need to leave the country.

This post is for anyone who plans on staying in BKK long term on Tourist Visas. If you have a tourist visa you are allowed 60 days in country and then can get an additional 30 by making the wonderful trip to immigration (relatively painless half day trip to the outskirts of Bangkok). After those 30 days you need to leave the country to obtain a new visa. One of my favorite places to go is Penang, Malaysia. I usually catch the overnight train to Butterworth (about $30 US). The train isn't as bad as you would think provided you bring something to keep you occupied, I usually bring a good book and a few magazines. If your going to take the train it is worth it to pay a little bit extra for a bottom rack. Penang is a wonderful little island/city that gives you a break from the hustle and bustle of the Big Mango. I always enjoy getting away from the city for a bit. There is a decent but small LB scene, mostly street workers and free lancers. There are a few LB friendly bars but they are nothing like we are used to here. Prices are roughly the same as BKK for ST (never tried LT). Most of the guesthouses in Georgetown will do all the visa work for you for a small fee. My guesthouse of choice is Banana Guest House. It's cheap, clean, comfortable and at night the LB's line up right across the street. My advice is to avoid them at first and head out to the bars first, you can usually find better looking ones in the bars around Georgetown. If you can't find one you like you can always grab one of the street workers on the way back to your room. I have also done visa runs to Laos and Cambodia. If anyone needs any advice of the current visa situation in BKK (or any of the surrounding countries) feel free to PM me. I do a lot of free lance work in the area so I have to stay up to date on the current visa situations.

Unless you can somehow bribe an immigration official (not unheard of in LOS) you are SOL. They always stamp the passport, depending on the official they may or may not staple the departure card.

I've made that trip by both train and minivan. It can be comfortable either way, depending on the minivan you take/train class cabin. Avoid the cheap government ones at all cost, they are cramped and the drivers all think they are Mario Andretti. If you go with a private one it may cost a little more but it will be much more comfortable. There is some amazing sight seeing in that area always good to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city as well.

I usually load up both cards on my last day with whatever spare baht I have. It is really convenient especially when I arrive on weekends or during rush hour, those lines can be brutal to wait in at times.

I bought Zithromax and a few other anti's at Boots, just walked in told the Pharmacist what I needed and she gave it to me no questions asked. A lot of the times you can even tell the Pharmacist what your problem is and they will recommend an anti for it.

http://www.condomdepot.com/product/detail.cfm/pid/2470 http://www.amazon.com/SALE-100-Condoms-Variety-Pack/dp/B0009AJK34 It seems most of the condoms in Thailand are either too small, too tight or just cheaply made. I usually order from one of the above sites and get it a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. When I am out mongering I never really have a plan (although like everyone I have a wishlist) so I never know how big or small my choice for the night will be. I usually take a few different ones just in case. Shop around though, just type 100 condoms or condom samplers into google can usually find some for less than the price of a normal box.

I just added one trip report about Cambodia. I may have a second one coming this week as I am slowly finding the hot LB spots in this city. Malaysia is a very nice country to visit, KL has a decent LB scene and Singapore is only a few hours (about 4) away by train, even quicker by private car hire. Penang is an excellent little city, the train takes you to Butterworth and then it's a quick 15 minute ferry to the island. It is a good place to get away for a bit after an extended stay in BKK, relatively compact city with lots of culture. I might do a generic Penang trip report, I have plenty of pictures of the city.

I don't know about Wotif but I know with other mystery hotel sites I used it was relatively easy to narrow it down to 1 or 2 hotels. If you compare the features, ratings, "regular" price etc. with similar websites. Trip Advisor is usually pretty good for this. Only problem I would have is if I guess wrong and it's not a guest friendly place.

Can't say I ever had that happen. I lived right off the MRT at Phra Rama 9 (Fortune Town stop) and used it almost every day it always charged me the correct fare. If your only going to be in town short time you can always buy the 3 day MRT card which gives you unlimited trips.

I have done Bangkok to Butterworth a few times on Visa runs. It is really not that bad of a journey. The train is entirely 2nd class sleeper cars, best to get a bottom rack as you have a little more room. Last time I went I believe a top rack was 1050 baht and a bottom was 1140. I always bring a book, some magazines and load up the laptop with some movies to pass the time buy. There is an ok food cabin which does serve cold beer as well as various vendors at each stop selling street food. All in all its about a 22 hour journey including about an hour at Malaysia/Thai customs.