Ross77

Backstory
ToTo is visiting BKK as she is looking for wholesalers for her new Laos business and has also been invited to the WN04 Staff Trip later this week. @Behan suggested we take her to No Idea, which is a really nice restaurant on soi 18. 
I had visited No Idea with @Behan once before and remembered that it was a favourite of Iain's when it was located on soi 22. As Iain was a qualified chef, that was quite the recommendation.
There was a comical episode when I was trying to give the directions to ToTo:
ToTo: Where we meet?
SAG: No idea
ToTo: What name of restaurant?
SAG: No idea
ToTo: How I find it?
SAG: On soi 18.
ToTo: How I know I am there?
SAG: Stop at No idea
etc.
I finally managed to cut through the confusion, but must admit, it is a daft name for a restaurant!
The Restaurant
No Idea is situated about 300 metres, or a 5 minutes walk, inside soi 18, on the left hand side. It is set back from the road, with steps leading up to an outside area. 
The inside is spacious and feels very roomy, with a modern decor and tables far enough away from each other that you can have a private conversation.
There is also a bar area, which has a bar menu, and there must be 1,000+ bottles of wine on the walls. The cocktails and wine menu is extensive, 
What makes the restaurant stand out is that there are a lot of staff, who are very attentive and are well trained, with excellent English. 
The menu has about 8-10 starters and the same number of main courses and desserts. But what is quite unique about No Idea is that the list of specials is probably bigger than the menu itself. I have never seen so many specials and they definitely change from visit to visit.
The type of food is modern farang, and is probably most similar to the Wine Connection on soi 11, although the quality at No Idea is way better and the service cannot be compared.
If you're thinking that it is expensive, you would be wrong, I had the grilled chicken and seasonal vegetable, which was about THB 500 and the portions were very generous.
ToTo had the Wagyu Carpaccio as a starter and then the seafood pasta, which she seemed to enjoy. The carpaccio was THB 550 and the seafood pasta, which had a lot of seafood in it was 950. 
A sign of a good restaurant is that there is little to no staff turnover and I recognised three of the waiting on staff from the previous visit.
Summary
If you are looking for a nice place, that has very good food and excellent service, but is neither pretentious nor over-priced, then No Idea ticks all of the boxes. It is a perfect place to take a LB out for a special occasion, without her feeling intimidated or like a fish out of water.
If you set the benchmark at Wine Connection, then that place gets a 3.5/5.0 from me, as it is just OK food, with cramped tables and so-so service, as compared to much better quality food, way better service and a nice spacious layout. It is the difference between a corporate chain restaurant and an individually owned establishment.
I give No Idea a 4.5/5.0 and IMHO it cannot be faulted.
Highly recommended if you fancy some farang food and it has a highly extensive drinks list!
The customers were mainly farangs and it was a nice relaxed atmosphere.
Cheers
SAG
 

I have decided that if I am going to spend good money, that I will go back to my top pick from May, being Citichic Soi 13 Sukhimvit. It certainly made an impression. It has been renovated and completely made over. Made an impression on my girl who by the way has become a bit of a fixture. Soon as she walked in it was "wow, this is nice!". Mind you it may have been because I was standing in the buff and pointing at the bed!
I get a Genius 3 rate on Booking.com so save a little.

Agoda skips taxes and fees to make the price look lower. Be aware of the total.

Try Trip.com. When I compared the rates given on the hotel that I eventually booked, Trip.com quoted me lower prices than Booking.com. It might not be the case for you but it was what I noticed. I hope this will help you.

I've found Agoda usually has the most competitive prices, they're also owned by booking.com but they usually have better deals for SEA. Also contacting hotels directly can sometimes net you a discount off of any publicly advertised rate, I contacted Maison Stay on Soi 4 directly and they offered me I think what would be like 10 AUD less a night than anywhere else I could find, plus late check out.

Yes, I made the post right after my visit there 

I use to my e-sim and local sim ( The shop at T21 help to install it )as well , but now adays roaming pack  is so cheap cannot be brother anymore  

I buy a roaming pack from my local provider in Aus. It’s not too expensive and i know i might get a better deal with a Thai eSim but I’m too lazy to figure out how it works and if I have to somehow switch between two different numbers e.g. if I get 2FA texts to my home number etc.

Sim on arrival ... 1 month unlimited for 999 THB.
But that is basically because I am too lazy to get me an e-sim (top floor Terminal 21), which is more convenient if you make repetitive trips and a lot cheaper 

While I can see the value of this, I prefer a fresh start with a new number each visit. There's always a clingy few I never want to have contact with again.

So…I just checked out of Hope Land Soi 8 having stayed there 5 nights and am on my way down to Pattaya in one of Nam’s Taxis.
My hot take on the Hope Land:
* I really liked it. Location for me was perfect - just a short stroll down the Soi on to the Sukhumvit Rd. From there you are only a few mins walk from any of the Bars we often visit  (there is also that useful cut through to Soi 4).
* Soi 8 is a really pleasant, friendly street. Fairly busy at the Suk Rd end it gets progressively quieter and greener as you make your way along. Nice mix of commercial, hotels and private residences. It’s a dead end so no through traffic and it’s easy and comfortable to walk along day and night. Hope Land located approx half way along.
* Decent sprinkling of bars and restaurants along the Soi from cheap and cheerful to interesting, high end Thai eating. 
* Hotel: It’s definitely a little bit worn and shabby to be honest but nothing that some TLC, a few coats of paint and new room Ifurniture would’nt fix. On the plus side my One Bedroom Suite was huge and great value (booked on Agoda about 4 months ago and came in at approx 1900THB per night).

Loads of space in the rooms, AC very effective, shower hot with good power, everything was clean, really comfortable bed, small balcony (important for me) was useful and my regular companion insisted that we utilise it for some evening errr… activities. Wi-Fi great in living area, lousy in the bedroom (I ended using my hotspot there). Not a very smart TV was poor but I watched it for only about 5 mins so kinda irrelevant to me. As discussed above, in-room lighting is a bit crap with low wattage bulbs not helping. Lots of sockets everywhere though.
Good rooftop pool with all day sun, a few sunbeds and grassy area. Nothing fancy but OK for a 3 star in heart of the City. No idea about the Gym or Sauna. 
Front Desk Team continue to seem disinterested but that’s ok, unless I am a frequent visitor I’m not really there to make friends with Reception. They were though helpful and swift the two times I interacted with them - check-in and check-out.
Housekeeping, by contrast,  were cheerful and friendly. Room seemed to be cleaned within 20 mins of ‘please make up room’ tag going up. Tips help. 
No idea about breakfast there’s too many great options in Bangkok to be trapped into a Hotel breakfast package. 
Didn’t see anyone sleeping in / hanging around, the lobby area. Perhaps management have stopped that?
It’s not a scientific survey but most guests seemed to be Europeans and Americans (mainly singles, but also couples and families) and a few Thais, Koreans, Singaporeans etc. It seems unlikely that there are going to be big tour groups of Chinese or Indians staying (not saying this is a good or bad thing).
Entirely Guest friendly and no signing in or checking in of guests ever occurred (might be a risk-consideration if bringing back a Freelancer from Soi 4 at 5.00am….)
Complimentary golf buggy transfers down to end of Soi is back on.
So, all good. Downside? There is a freakin huge construction going up directly adjacent to the Hotel on its north side (Sukhumvit Rd side).  This could be going on for some time and it’s VERY noisy Mon-Sat if your room is on that side of the building. There are 7 floors of accommodation and best as I could see you need to avoid room numbers ending 19,18,11,10, 09, 08, 07, 06, 05 (ie 519, 518, 511, 510 etc etc)
I’d stay again next visit. 

The sea food joint on the corner of Sukhumvit and soi 11/1 is always very busy, often with queues waiting outside.
I've never bothered to go in there, but the Cambo girls from CS11 really rate it.
The Swan on soi 4 across the street from WN04 is also very good Thai food and great value. I've been there lots of times either before/after visits to WN04 and every time I have taken a girl there, they have always enjoyed it.
Finally, Kinaree in the New Business Inn on soi 11, near to Sukhumvit Road looks like a farang diner but has very good Thai food. In fact the Thai food is better than the farang food. Never had a complaint in the 10+ years I have been going there and it is open 24/7.
Cheers
SAG

Krua Khun Puk is on the corner of Soi 11/1 and Sukhumvit Road - i've been there many times. 50 Baht for a bowl of their braised pork noodle soup, most stir fries are 80 Baht.
 

Geez Rocco, you must be as skinny as a rake! I find I need at least 2 meals a day

Not much to say other than research suggests risk is very very low but not zero. Risk goes up if you have any open sores or cuts in your mouth (and, of course, she actually has to be HIV+ and not on PEP drug treatment). Some docs suggest you not floss or brush teeth within an hour before oral sex, as even brushing can create micro-tears on your gums. Within a short time those tears would heal. If you have good oral/gum health here's little to worry about.
Using mouthwash after oral sex is always a good idea. Nobody likes being around a dude with cum-breath  

It's been a very long time since I visited. The place was totally crowded with many, many girls (all GGs, since ladyboys weren't allowed in (they're outside on the sidewalk) 
It was that crowded that customers could only walk one after each other in a circle, passing all the girls. Nearly impossible to stop for a chat. This, combined with average quality of the girls and ridiculous prices they asked for, explains why it has been a very long time ago 
 

Yeah if I call the Mrs that I'm definitely sleeping alone that night, at best .

If she put you halfway inside her ass and you pulled out quickly, you really shouldn't spend much time fretting about it.
Slightly different matter if she shoved her bare cock in your ass. If it's a brief in and out, probably nothing to worry about unless it was very rough and painful. As most know, the virus needs a pathway to your bloodstream. Being a bottom and taking it bare is a much bigger risk than being a top and giving it bare, although the latter still presents some risk. Anal tissue tears much more easily than penile tissue, so the virus has an easier path to your system.
Reduce the risk: 1) Always have condoms with you. Never assume the LB will have any, and if she does they may be too small, and a too small condom is a condom that is both uncomfortable and is more likely to break. 2) Lube is your friend. Lube means a lower likelihood of tissue tearing and lower risk of a condom breaking. 3) PrEP is an option if you have a very low tolerance for risk, drink until you're drunk and don't trust your judgment, and/or you bottom very frequently. As a top, I don't mess with the PrEP drugs. They're pretty strong, and lots of guys have somewhat unpleasant side effects.
If an accident happens and you're anxious, get tested. The problem with testing is you won't have results until it is too late to prevent infection. The earliest you're likely to test positive if infected is 10 days after exposure. For the prevention drugs to work, you have to start them within three days of the exposure. If you're really anxious, start a course of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis treatment (link below) immediately.
https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/hiv-prevention/using-hiv-medication-to-reduce-risk/post-exposure-prophylaxis
I've had two broken condom accidents. In both cases I inspected myself, saw no indication of tearing or lesions, so I washed up thoroughly and carried on. I do test every few years and have always been negative and have always assumed that would be the case. Getting infected is not as easy as some people think.
If you practice rough sex and are a bottom, and have lots of partners into the same thing, sure...you're at risk. But the occasional slip, even if that slip means getting topped by a LB who cums in your ass, is probably not going to be the end of you. She'd have to be positive, not using PrEP or being treated for HIV and thus shedding virus, and you'd have to have some tearing of tissue. Odds are fairly low all that happens.
Stay calm and carry on.

Is there any good clinic that can remove an external hemorrhoid in Bangkok? If yes, what would be the cost (more or less)? I just want to have a beautiful asshole 
cheers
a.
 

Thanks for this. I love the Japanese restaurants off Sukhumvit between Phrom Phong and Ekkamai.
They can offer excellent value and there's also some good little bars as well as enough different types of p4p options to keep us deviants busy.
I'm not going to recommend any specific Japanese places just yet as I'll soon be back in Thonglor surrounded by those places so will have up to date information however there's one but of information I'll add to update a previous post of mine about Japanese restaurants in this area.
In this thread about Japanese Izakayas I sneaked in a recommendation for one of my favourite cheap Japanese places. It's called Unatoto and specialises in grilled eel dishes at very good prices for big portions of delicious food. 
I was really disappointed to read that it closed down 2 weeks ago before I could visit again to stuff my face (it's a place that makes me go into a feeding frenzy sometimes where I order a very optimistic quantity of food and somehow finish it every time). 
The good news is that they've now relocated to the new Dusit Central Park which looks pretty fucking impressive to me anyway so I'll definitely have another reason to check out those awesome views a few times now. If that eel restaurant Unatoto is as good as in the old location my Mrs might soon get bored of me pretending to want to do daily romantic strolls in the park.
As a quick tangent if any visitors or BMs haven't seen the new Dusit Central Park roof garden it's worth checking out, it looks pretty spectacular and it's free. The park is easily reachable from Nana as it's linked to Sala Daeng BTS.

Yeah, I'm really not expecting any joy with it, things could have been a lot worse and for some that really is the case. 5 more nights in The Big Mango with a rock solid reason for it....I'm definitely looking on the positives!!

I've stayed at City Lodge before, which was fine. Had a few nice STs in there. Good price, great location. My room wasn't noisy (apart from when my guests were visiting). I have a couple of days booked there again soon, happy to revisit again after my last experience.

Reminds me of the form given to guests at the Omni Tower (Soi Nana), if the person they are bringing back to their room is a LADY BOY.
This is real:

Alot of ladyboys when active tend to stick to a liquid diet. Hence why many are so thin. 
 
The bigger variety who do eat, tend to be very thorough with their cleansing immediately before doing the deed. Still some risks as shite can still push down after the clean if you wait too long. 
 
Of course you have rotters who literally don't care about getting shite on your stick. 

If you get caught out again, let's be honest it can easily happen, broken condom even, and you are not on PrEP and are concerned there is another option. A one month course of PEP, start ASAP after the exposure, less than 72 hours. The sooner the better. One pill a day, usually something like Biktarvy or Kocitaf here in Thailand, highly effective at stopping the virus taking hold. Only good for HIV obviously, nothing else but worth keeping in mind as a backup.