bangui

Gents, For those with a hankering for real deal Japanese while in the Big Mango, I highly recommend Ten Sui on Sukhumvit 16. The restaurant is in its own house with a large courtyard/garden. Step into the property and you feel like you are in Japan. They have regular seating and tatami rooms. Note: this is a high level joint and priced accordingly for some things, but I would match the quality against just about any Japanese I have eaten outside Japan itself. They cover all the basic Japanese "sub-cuisines" and specialize in Kaizeki and v. fresh sashimi/sushi. Those two will set your wallet back - you are starting at 3000 baht for Kaizeki or 2300 baht for Sashimi for 2 ppl. They are constantly changing the specials with the seasons and the ingredients are of highest quality. HOWEVER, more staple dishes like assorted tempura (B350), Miso Cod/grilled salmon (B380/280), udon/soba (B250) and others are much more reasonable (relative to Western or Hong Kong prices and even the rising prices in Bangkok HiSo restaurants). The lunch sets are a great option - starting from 330 baht you have a wide choice of lots of very good and very filling lunch sets. As a high end place slacks, shoes, collared shirt are necessary. As a comparison, I would rate this place far higher than the Japanese in JW Marriott (Tsu & Nami) at similar or lower pricing levels. See the very extensive menu at their website: http://www.tensui.co/ Some good pics at their facebook: https://th-th.facebook.com/Tensui16 どういたしまして！ Doitashimashite!

For those with a hankering for genuine Korean BBQ, I can highly recommend Arirang restaurant. Was there last night with my lady and a fellow BM and his gal. I go there quite frequently, usually just my lady and I - she loves it. It is located at the front of a "Little Korea" strip mall, right on Sukhumvit, between Sois 10 and 12, and directly across Sukhumvit from Soi 15. It is the classic BBQ set up with a grill in the middle of the table. Pork cuts range from 300-350 baht, beef from 400-550 baht. one order of meat is enough for 2 people. With the order you get 6 free side dishes called collectivley "banchan" (refillable upon request). They include different types of kimchi, veggie, mini-pancakes, and so on. you also get sauces and various lettuces to wrap the meat in. They have lots of the other classic dishes: soups, stews, noodles, pancakes and seafood dishes. Usually we get a meat for BBQ-ing, plus a soup with rice to share for 200 baht, sometimes a pancake or noodle - so you are looking at between 500 and 1000 for 2 not including drinks. Certainly a step up in price from street food, but I think it is great value for money for very authentic Korean. A side note - for those BKK residents who like to experiment with home cooking, there are a couple of Korean mini-markets to the back of the "mall" on the left. They sell all sorts of Korean staples, as well as a big selection of homemade kimchi. I have whipped up a fair Korean meal in the past after a buying spree at one of these shops! (well fair enough for non-Koreans perhaps...)

OTS, great to see you as well!

All, I have found a way into the forum that doesn't redirect to the url.info site. I had been having significant problems getting in until this method and it has worked so far. When I google "Bangkok ladyboy forum", the third main link choice is to www.bangkokladyboys.net Clicking this link is not to the forum itself but to what I guess I would call a "pre-forum page" - looks like a blog page type set up probably created when the forum was first started. On this page, there is a left hand menu with the second choice down being "Bangkok LB Forum". Click this link and you will go to the actual forum with no redirect. This method has so far not redirected ever for me. Please try this way and if it works for others, perhaps the mods can make a flashing headline of this method somewhere in the main forum so folks will know a route in that works (until the problem is fixed...)

Headed to Ten Sui for lunch today. My lady and I both had Baht 450 lunch sets: me, Beef Sukiyaki; her, three kinds of grilled fish. Both with salad, steamed custard, rice, miso, pickles, dessert, tea. Tasty and a nice chill atmosphere. Other customers in our area of restaurant were three separate Japanese families. Good sign. And with Asoke Junction now being cleared of protest stage, much easier to get to.

Jeimii, Completely ladyboy friendly. Cheers.

B-man, I am not sure what your definition of Go-Go is, but under mine they are certainly legal in Hong Kong. As a hold over from the Vietnam War days, there are a baker's dozen of bars in Wanchai that employ Filipinas from Papangas or some other Filipino rural backwater on 6 month special visas. This is a specific immigration loop-hole. The girls work every night and stay together in communal housing. While there is no nudity allowed in the bars officially, the girls all rotate to dance in bikinis on a raised platform, and when not dancing sit with customers at the bar, getting bought drinks, or sit on their laps and grind them in the booths (aka lap dance), or give the occasional BJ or HJ in the booths. The girls are available to take out of the bar at any time for the night, at a HKD 3000-4000 bar fine depending on the time of night. Then again there are also the lock down parties, where they lock the doors, full nudity comes out and all hell breaks loose. Do they provide strip shows, as in the USA, where they get fully naked to "Pour Some Sugar On Me" by Def Leaopard. They do not - but that to me is a strip club, not a go-go bar. The bars in Hong Kong are to me analagous to Go-Go bars in Bangkok where also full nudity is not "officially" allowed. Wanchai is a very limited and far more expensive Nana Plaza. Thus the term Go-Go bar. Maybe it comes down to a difference in terminology.

Intesresting development in Hong Kong. About 2 months ago, I was in my go-to GG gogo bar in Wanchai, having a casual couple of beers with my friends the Filipina mama-san and the local DJ (and cashier) at about 8pm. The place was empty but me at that early hour, and half way into my first beer, a group of three health worker volunteers entered. They plopped down in one of the booths and laid out their testing equipment. Turns out they come into the bar every month and test all the GGs in the bar. They do the whole range of blood tests and mouth swabs for a large number of stds. I had never seen this before in HK and the mama-san said they have been doing it for a year (and no positives to date). I jumped in for a quick finger prick and within ten minutes my negative results came back for HIV and one other disease I don’t remember. I hadn’t even realized they have testing that happens that quickly – although there is the warning about not being effective for the last 60 days, etc. In any case, I was happily surprised that the bar allowed them to come in and do this testing – protects the girls, protects the customers. Anyone hear or see this happening in BKK?

Tovex, Sorry for late reply. The bar is the Firehouse Bar, on the corner of Luard and Jaffe Roads. (a block closer to central from Lockhard Road). The filipina "Mama-san" is Maria. Definitely look her up if you go in. The two people running the DJ/Cashier Station are Hong Kongers - Stephen or his daughter Cat. Very nice people. Don't be afraid to say hi to them. May be of interest, and you have probably hit there already, but my favorite live band place is Amazonia (corner of Lockhart and Jaffe). Great bands and atmosphere. Bouncers are very nice. Also, Delaney's Irish bar is across the street to watch sports and have a pint. If you are there on a Sunday afternoon, I suggest the Wanch, a live band venue (historic, but a very small space) across down on Jaffe road from firehouse, on the opposite side of the street, towards Central. "Amry and Friends", a filipino band hosts an open mic session from 4-8pm. Very fun and welcoming as all levels of crooners try out their best rock/ballads.

I broke my time record last night getting from the plane to my apartment using the airport train. It took spot-on 50 minutes from stepping out of the plane to walking into my apartment at the top end of Sukhumivit Soi 11 (past Q bar) - 6:25pm to 7:15pm, Friday night. Some factors in my favor: - I had a complimentary upgrade (full flight), and was one of the first off the plane; - surprisingly, no line at all at immigration; - had Baht with me, so no need for an ATM detour; - the airport train local line left 2 minutes after I arrived on the platform (the express line would have been a 27 min wait); - I was only carrying a computer bag, no check-in or roller bags (important for taking a moto instead of a taxi after arriving at Makkasan Station). I am becoming convinced the train is the way to go. There is a beneficial cost element of course, but also there really isn't much time difference from an airport car/taxi. Even at times when there is absolutely zero traffic I might have been able to make the door to door trip in 40 min at best. The directions: - The airport train leaves from B1 at the airport. Upon exiting customs go right and take the escalators down at the middle of the arrival hall to B1. Heading toward the trains the express train leaves to the left, the local line to the right. The express train is 100 baht, and only leaves on the hour and half hour. There is a tv screen above the entrance advising the time to the next departure. Unless you arrive within say 5 minutes of the express leaving, the local line is the better option (and may be the better option in any case as it is only 5-10 minutes longer ride). There are ticket machines that tae cash - 35 baht for the ticket - keep a couple 20 bills in your bag from the previous trip. -When you arrive at Makkasan Station, follow the exit signs for the MRT (Petchaburi Sation). Likely most of the crowd is headed for this exit as well. Go down several escalators and you exit at street level. At this exit, there is a 12 person golf cart waiting to drive the first 12 arrivals the several hundred yards from the exit to across the street from the MRT station entrance. If it’s not there it is a short walk in any case walk. -The MRT station is across a street, walking away from Makkasan. You will see the above ground entrance with the MRT signage. You want to head to this entrance, but then keep walking straight past it to the next cross walk. What you are doing is crossing Petchaburi Road where it intersects with Asok Road. There will be a second MRT entrance just in front of you after crossing Petchaburi. There will be moto drivers waiting on this corner. The price to Nana area will be 50 baht. Just tell them Sukhumvit Soi Sam (three) or See (four), or wherever you are going. I find it easiest just to tell a moto driver the street and then point him to where to go once close to a destination. -The trip from this corner to Nana is very simple. You will shoot down Petchaburi and then take a left on Nana Nuea (Sukhumvit Soi 3) and that will take you straight to Soi 4. -See the Google Map link below. You will see Makkasn Station at the top and the 3 entrances to the MRT. You want to get the Moto on the lower left corner of Petchburi/Asok (southwest corner I believe). Caveats: -If you have more baggage than a computer bag and/or backpack or small roller bag, you’ll have to flag a taxi on Petchaburi as opposed to taking a moto. I haven’t taken a taxi from here, but am sure you can flag one down within a reasonable timeframe. -This route is best if you are staying in the Nana and surrounding Sukhumvit area. If you are farther away, say at Silom/Sathorn or elsewhere it is not as convenient, although you could still flag taxi from Petchaburi and take that to wherever you are going.

This past friday, I had a heavy roller bag with me, so went the regular taxi route, payment choice B, as there was no line at the taxi rank. It was rush hour so took me almost 90 minutes from gate to door. Thankfully, immigration line was nil, and i did not check in my bag. Got held up at the Rama 9 exit and at the Sukhumvit exit. All in all not bad, although I had one of the few woman taxi drivers, with a butch hair cut and wieghing about 230 lbs. And she drove like a maniac! My alphabetic system for transport from the airport. A: Airport taxi = 1100 baht B: Regular taxi = 50 baht airport fee + Taxi meter + tolls (70 baht), or about 400 baht C: Arrivals area taxi = about 300 baht D: Train = with moto after getting to Makasan station, about 85 baht.

Haha, the bulging eyes and tongue out emoticon is perfect for this forum! Well done KendoUK and Slam Man!

Dr D, Cost is not the key factor for me regarding the train option, although at 85 baht (35 for train and 50 for moto) you are saving 215 baht over the 300 baht all in tax option. Or almost two beers, lol. I included the costs for information purposes and because I know some board members try to be budget conscious when planning for a trip. It’s similar to the move from the 1100 baht airport “limo” to the 300 baht arrivals taxi option, albeit that is a greater savings. The key for me is the knowledge that I have the option of a guaranteed 50-60 minute trip from stepping off the plane to opening my apartment door. My very best time using a car is 40 minutes plus and it is normally the same time as the train. I travel to Bangkok from Hong Kong on average twice a month and have occasionally been in some terrible traffic snarls on the way in from the airport. Arriving at rush hour times, it is a throw of the dice on how the traffic will be towards the end of the expressway and down the exit ramp to Sukhumvit. Heavy traffic always gets me irritated - I have even once gotten out of a taxi half way down the exit ramped and huffed it on foot to Sukhumvit. And I have a story of an overturned flat bed truck in the middle of the expressway I could tell you about, that was a 90 minute delay! Depending on the time of day you land, you may be sitting at a bar watching LBs dance for you more quickly taking the train. I am also very comfortable with airport trains – don’t find them a hassle. Being Hong Kong based, which has a world leading airport train set up, I take the train every departure and arrival. On the flip side, I take a taxi to the airport when leaving. I’ve never had any traffic problems on the way to the airport and my apartment to expressway is never more than 5 minutes. One other caveat on the train option – if it is raining the moto ride will not be pleasant! In any case, it’s always good to have options.

CM, that is a good spot indeed. I really enjoy the option of the cheap street-side eats. Last night my girl and I ordered from the guy across the street from my apartment. Tom Yum mushroom, vegetables and pork belly with chili and bean sauce, chicken with chili and basil, fried egg, thai sausage and two rice - $6. Can't beat it! (of course I've had two sits on the john so far this morning but that is par for the course!)

Forgot the Google Link: http://goo.gl/maps/eooP

Recently went to Spanish on 4, a Tapas restaurant on Sliom 4. Silom 4 is the location of a couple of famous, old school, gay bars and B&Bs (not gogos) that has a very relaxed vibe. The restaurant itself was fairly standard Sangria and Tapas fare. Service is fine. The bad: tried to slip me the basic serrano ham, when I had ordered the good bit more expensive Jamon Iberico (Pata Negra). Called the farang manager out on it twice before I got the good stuff (he apparently didn't see the difference). You can't pull a fast one like that on a food snob like me! The good: they had a fantastic tomato and strawberry gazpacho on the special board which was top notch (and a great recommendation from the same manager). All in all I find the menu selection broader and the quality sightly better at Tapas Cafe on Sukhumvit 11, but if you are in the area and have a hankering for Spanish it is passable.

dd, There are ST rooms both inside Nana (third floor I think) and within the same complex as Guess bar (within Raja Hotel I believe). I don't know prices, but every girl would and I know they have been reviewed on this site - check the trip reports, or guess bar topic. There is a spot further afield called PB hotel on Soi 11, around the corner from where I stay. All the way at end of soi, take a left, round a sharp right turn and then a second left, it is half way down on the right - in spite of all those turns you will still be on Soi 11. If youkept going straight pas PB, you would hit soi 3, be forced to take a left (one way street) and just half a mile down be right back in front of Nana Plaza. Sorry, also don't know price on this one, but it is interesting in that it not only has normal hotel rooms, but also has curtained drive up parking spaces where you can access your room privately and directly from your car. Only in Asia! I am sure there must be other options along soi 4 or elsewhere close, but not in my knowledge base.

for me it would be a rice noodle soup with bits of pork and chicken that is called Kway Tsap. There is a spot I go to almost every weekend I am here, inside Chatuchak Market (exit the MRT and down the left side street about 30 meters on the right. It is an Isaan style place with fried chicken, som tam, larbs, sausage and so forth, but the soup is the star. If yo ugo to Chatuchak you HAVE TO try this soup. A bowl in the pic as modelled by my gal...

if its late, post bar close, the beginning of Soi 11 often has lots of gals munching down post work. Always a good sight on the way home!

For those with the late night munchies, and in the area of Sukhumvit 11, I highly recommend a chicken rice (Khao Man Gai) street vendor just inside of Suk 11, on the right side. The owner opens around 9 pm. Very moist chicken, tasty rice and great chicken broth. Had some last night on my way back from Gulliver's - it always hits the spot. Anyone have a favorite street food stall?

Cheyenne I have used Avis and Hertz in the past. I usually rent with Avis from the airport on landing and then drop the car off at Wireless road branch when done, which is a 2 minute cab ride from my condo. I'll do it a couple times a year for when my girl and I go to Khao Yai for an over night golfing trip or for two day excursions out of the city, such as kanchanaburi. I've also rented from Ubon Rachandani Airport a couple of times. Have never had any issues - I book online and use my Hong Kong driver's license and international license (though they usually only ask for my HK license). I believe there are some local companies, with airport locations, which will have cheaper rates than the international groups, though I haven't investigated those. All in all a very convenient way to do a couple day trip out of the big city. You should get an international license just in case the ask for it. Should be very easy to arrange wherever you are located.

A second recommendation if you are over by Soi 11 is the Old German Beer House about half way down on the left. 99 Baht for two eggs, german hash browns, 2 bacon, toast, a bowl of cornflakes, coffee and that terrible orange "juice" Also called the "American" breakfast and served with speed. I think the Australian bar (about 30 meters further on) also does a breaky, but I haven't sampled yet.

Gents, as I may not be as frequent a fun photo contributor on the board as others (although I’ll try to get better at that!), I’ll try to give my 2-cents on topics or issues I have come across having been in a 12 year relationship with my GF. I know that a lot of guys on diiferent forums often ask about information on visas to bring their girlfriends to their home countries for a vacation. Below are the experiences that my girlfriend and I have had in getting a visa to visit the United States. It may be useful for guys thinking of trying to get a visa for their girlfriends. As an American, I only deal with the US, and don’t know if any of the information applies to other countries, although I think it is safe to assume that there are some parallels with Eurozone countries, Canada and Aus/NZ. When my GF and I first applied for a Visa way back in 2000, I was fortunate to have a buddy in the Hong Kong consulate who gave me some basic advice for our application. Important! – The information I provide here is in no way official and I cannot vouch for its accuracy. It is just my opinion, based on my experiences. I think that getting a visa entails equal parts preparation and luck. Types of Visas There are a number of types of visas in two categories for which a Thai national can apply to go to the US. The two types are immigrant and non-immigrant. The immigrant visas are for people looking to move to the US permanently. Immigrant visas are for Thais with immediate family in the US, for Thai workers hired by a US company in a position which can’t be filled by a US citizen, or for fiancées of US citizens. None of these categories fit my girlfriend (and won’t fit most or all persons living in Thailand). The non-immigrant visas deal with Thais coming to the US for business trips, tourism or study. The most common is the tourist visa (B1/B2), and that is the visa I have experience with. For detailed information all visas, you can go to the US embassy in Thailand website, http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/. Applying for the Tourist Visa The application process is relatively simple but can take time. The Embassy suggests applying 6 weeks in advance of a trip, and many applicants now must have a face to face interview with embassy staff. The applicant must fill out the application (downloaded from embassy website) and provide significant amounts of documentation supporting the information on the application. In addition to having a Thai passport, the most important information to include in the application is anything which proves the applying person lives in Thailand and has good reasons to return after the vacation to the US. The biggest worry the consular officers have is that a Thai national will visit the US and then not come home, becoming an illegal alien. This does happen, and in the post 9/11 environment consular officers have been much tougher on issuing visas to questionable cases. To quote the embassy website: “The presumption in the law is that every visitor visa applicant is an intending immigrant. Therefore, applicants for visitor visas must overcome this presumption by demonstrating that: • The purpose of their trip is to enter the U.S. for business, pleasure, or medical treatment; • That they plan to remain for a specific, limited period; • Evidence of funds to cover expenses in the United States; • Evidence of compelling social and economic ties abroad; and • That they have a residence outside the U.S. as well as other binding ties that will insure their return abroad at the end of the visit. “ Who will be Immediately Rejected It is important to understand that if your girlfriend/lady gets rejected for a tourist visa, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to get a visa when applying a second time. The information must be radically different in the second application for a visa to be issued (i.e. new high level job with reputable company, or newly found immense wealth). Therefore when applying for a visa, make sure you feel there is a good chance of it getting issued, otherwise you may ruin the girl’s chances of going to the US at any point in the future. Better to take time to prepare for the application process, even if it takes years. I would say that if the girl you want to bring to the US comes from a poor family with no wealth/property of her own, no schooling, and has/has had no job other than working in Nana Plaza or Patpong, the application will be usually rejected out of hand (unless your extremely lucky). The consular officers are very aware of guys meeting girls on their travels and wanting to bring them back to the US for a visit. If they feel that is the case, they will likely reject. The officers don’t look at each application to find reasons to accept it but to find any single reason to reject it. It is my opinion (and only my opinion) that you will not get a visa for the person you meet a couple of times at a bar on your yearly trip to Bangkok. I don’t mean to be harsh, but to simply state what I see as reality. No education, no job (other than in a gogo bar), and no wealth will probably lead to automatic rejection. So How Does Anyone get a Visa? My reason for the automatic rejection above is that the person, in the eyes of the consular officer, will see no reason to return to Thailand. If she has no money and no real job, what is to stop a person from simply staying in the US? If the person wants to work in the gray economy, at the least she can get $200 for a screw session in the US instead of $25 in Bangkok, so why come back. If the “boyfriend” helps with the person’s application what is to stop the person convincing the boyfriend that she should stay in the US with him because he loves him. This is the thinking of the consular officer. No matter what the reality for the visit to the US is, these scenarios are always the first that the embassy thinks of. So, who gets a visa? I will give my opinions in two categories: the person applying by herself and the person applying with help from her boyfriend. The reasons for the two categories come down to money: can the person afford her own trip to the US, and therefore not need the financial support any boyfriend? The best case profile for someone applying for a visa is as follows: The person has a good job with a known company and can prove it, comes from a wealthy/solid middle class family or has a lot of money of her own and can prove it, perhaps owns her own apartment or home and can prove it, has all her family in Thailand and can prove it, and speaks good English. In this case, the person will be able to conduct an interview by herself and prove that she can afford the trip to the US including all expenses and hotels, and will definitely return to Thailand because she has a good job and owns property. The person in this case will have a letter from her company stating the length of employment in good standing, will have references from all previous jobs, will have a diploma from her university, will have a most recent bank statement, the title deed to the property owned, and records of family in Thailand. In this “perfect” scenario the consular officer will see someone who they believe really is just a tourist. Proof of previous trips to other “first-world” countries will also help. If your friend fits all these criteria, I don’t think she will have too much of a problem getting a visa. In fact in the “perfect” scenario it is better for her to state that the trip she is taking is to visit friends or purely for tourism as part of a tour package, and not to visit a boyfriend. Again, the big worry that the embassy has is that the person will overstay a visa. Having a boyfriend in the US only raises this concern. My Situation So what about the 99% of us who may have girlfriends who don’t fit the perfect profile? In most cases the biggest hurdle is money/job/property. Even if the person has a job or is a student at a known University (which can be almost as good as a job) often they won’t have enough money in their bank account to show an ability to support a trip to the US. This is where the boyfriend comes in to help the application process. If the person is being sponsored on the trip to the US, the sponsor must show his own financial ability to pay for the trip. Due to reasons previously stated this places the application under “boyfriend” scrutiny. My girlfriend’s application of years ago fell under this scenario. I will outline what we did to get a visa. Our situation was somewhat unique and I also think we got a bit lucky in our application. Her profile: My girlfriend is/was from a very poor family and had left school at 14 to work to support them. At the time of the application she had returned to school full time in Bangkok, and was not working. She had no financial assets to her name, and spoke poor English. My profile: I lived in another Asian country at the time and was the director of a small business in Thailand. I traveled to Thailand twice a month for work. I was financially able to support the trip to the US we would be taking together; we would be staying at my family’s home in the US. I was advised by friends in the HK embassy, not to help her apply for the visa. They felt that the boyfriend issue would lead to a rejection. Since she had no assets, no property and no job (although she was a full time student), we facing a double edge sword. However, I decided to chance it because I had to prove that I would support the trip, and because of her poor English I felt I might need to help her with the interview at the embassy. We took time to fill out the application in detail and gathered all of the documentation we would need. These included: a letter from her school proving her attendance as a student in good standing; full records of her family in Thailand (birth certificates and proof of residency of immediate family); references from her three previous jobs prior to returning to school and her bank statements (even though they showed a relatively low balance). For my part I supplied: proof of my residency in another Asian country; proof of my status as a director of a Thai company; that Thai company’s certificate of incorporation and corporate bank account statements; my own bank statements proving my ability to support our trip; and letters from me, my father (who we would stay with), and a brother, all stating our support for the trip including all financial support. At the time of the application we waited for our interview. The consular officer was a young American woman who reviewed our application in a very serious manner. I was worried that she might disapprove of the application simply because my GF was a ladyboy and didn’t speak very good English. Her passport and application state male, but she is totally passable. I think the fact that we were fairly close in age was. I was in my late twenties and my Gf was in her early/mid twenties. I do not want to be age discriminatory, but the fact is that consular officers question visas more readily when the man is much older than the girlfriend (ladyboy or not). This is especially the case with female consular officers, in my opinion. The second thing that fell in our favor was that I was able to develop a rapport with the officer. My GF and I were all smiles, and answered the questions she had honestly. I was even able to get in a bit of small talk about where she was from, how she liked Thailand, etc., etc. The officer told us to return that afternoon. Upon returning she said she needed more information. More details of the company I was involved with in Thailand and proof of my father’s financial standing, since we were staying with my parents in the US. She said that we weren’t rejected but that she needed more information to make a decision. We returned the next day with the proper info, including a copy of my father’s W-2 tax form showing his income. This info put us over the top and the officer issued the visa. The visa was for one visit only and my GF had to return to the embassy within 3 days of her scheduled return to prove to the embassy that she was back in the country. The first application for a visa is VITAL. As stated earlier, if you are rejected on the first visa it is tough to get another. However, if you are successful getting the first it is much easier to get the next. Imagine the young consular officer: the last thing a young career state department employee wants is some tourist, who they approved, to go illegal on them. Not good for career prospects. However if someone has traveled to the US before, they feel protected since someone approved the tourist before they have to. After my GF’s first trip to the US, she returned a second time for a trip with my family to Bermuda. For the second application she received a multi entry visa (as many trips as she wanted) which expired in one year. After that year she applied for another trip and was given a multi year visa which doesn’t expire for ten years – we’ve been to the US probably 15 times in the last 10 years. Basically, if your build up a history of visiting and returning, you build up goodwill with the embassy that you won’t go illegal on them. Since then we have also travelled to Korea, Japan and Singapore among others. Once a girl builds up track record of travels, I think each visa is easier. This year we’ll be going to Sydney and Rome – I don’t expect any difficulties in getting visas. This only emphasizes the fact that the first application is IMMENSELY important. Why Were We Successful? I think the main reason we were successful is that I lived in Asia and had business ties to Thailand. This gave reason for the consular officer to believe this was really just a visit to the US. My Gf and I were taking the same flights to and from the US. Also, we provided a lot of detailed documentation to support our case, including the financial info from my father and the support letters from the US. Frankly, I think we got lucky with the consular officer who handled our case; we were able to build a rapport with her. If we had a different officer, who frowned on ladyboys, or gays, or relationships between Thais and Americans, or simply got up on the wrong side of the bed with a huge hangover that morning, we would not have been so fortunate. Finally, we were applying for a visa in the Pre-9/11 world environment. Our biggest problem was that my GF did not have the financial means to support a trip herself, and therefore needed my support. If you meet a person who can support a trip to the US, than she is ahead of the game in getting a visa. If not, then you have to carefully weigh the options as to whether or not it is worth it to apply for a visa. If I had not been a resident of Asia, with a connection to Thailand, it would have been more difficult for my GF to get a visa. Conclusions I guess that in conclusion I would say that if you have just met someone from Cascades or Obsessions and want her to visit you in the US, your chances of getting visa are slim and not worth trying. However, if the person is able to show background in employment and school, you have a better chance. To return to an earlier statement I made: “Better to take time to prepare for the application process, even if it takes years.” If you really care about somebody you have met in the “industry”, it is far better to take a long term strategy: help them get into school or get a real job, and then after a year apply for a visa with good documentation to back you up. But even then it seems there are no guarantees. In addition to good preparation, the keys to a visa are money and property, a history of employment and school, and all family in Thailand. Having as many of these elements as possible, will help the consular officer believe the Thai national will actually return to Thailand after the vacation is over.

Last month I did the Sunday buffet at Rang Mahal, and it was good value for money if you have a big stomach. Food was varied and good - Rang Mahal also gets the endorsement of an Indian Expat buddy of mine who works in BKK. For normal dinners, I usually go to Mrs. Balbir's on Suk 11/1, which is near where I live. A very good option. For an "off the beaten path" side trip, you may want to consider little India. Many eons ago (maybe 1999?) my GF and I did the lonely planet walking tour of this area and hit up one of the local indian spots for lunch. It was my GF's first Indian food experience, and though she wasn't thrilled with it at the time, Indian has become one of her favorite cuisines. As you would expect, the restaurants there are far cheaper than on Suk, but inconvenient for a meal "in the neighborhood". Google for a "little india bangkok walking tour" and you'll find some decent overviews.