Thanks

Yes, perhaps even only 2 minutes. And she doesn't have to fly there...[emoji196]

Sunday quizz: the mystery girl works at a bar where she doesn't need to purchase a ticket from an airline to be there in 3 minutes from where the picture was taken...[emoji574]

Recent reviews on tripadvisor and booking.com don't mention any road construction in front of the hotel. Give it a go if you get a room for 2000 B or under. Sign up for their loyalty program and you might get free breakfast.

Yesterday, August 24th, was Gaggan's last day of operation in Bangkok. The 4th best restaurant in the world is now history... Alternatives to Gaggan's are for example Gaa and Sorn. Sorn seems to be fully booked until October...

Morning and Night Bar, the popular Sukhumvit Soi 4 hangout for many of us, is celebrating its 17th anniversary tonight with a big party: Cheers!

The MRT Blue line extension from Hua Lamphong (currently still the main train station in Bangkok though that will change) to Tha Phra was opened today for a two month trial period to celebrate the new King's [emoji1242] birthday. The ride is free of charge for the trial period. However, currently one cannot travel directly from, say, Sukhumvit station to the Chinatown and Old Town stations. During the trial period one must change trains at Hua Lamphong station [emoji579] which is no problem however as the other train will be arriving at the neighboring track. The trains for the Blue Line extension are also brand new Siemens metro cars Made in Austria. I've traveled this morning to Tha Phra and what can I say, it was sheer madness! Long queues, TV cameras, and a huuuge crowd of curious Bangkokers made the journey a memorable one... For visitors to Bangkok it's now so much more convenient to travel from lower Sukhumvit to Chinatown. Wat Mangkon station is particularly well designed: Image above: wall painting at the new Chinatown station. Below: long queues at the five new stations for the inaugural service: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/29/c_138267285.htm

Beginning this Saturday (24 August 2019), two more stations will be added to the Blue Line extension past Tha Phra: Bang Phai and Bang Wa. At Bang Wa, the MRT connects to the BTS Silom Line. The BTS green line (Sukhumvit line) was recently extended too and trains will be going past Mo Chit now and go till Ha Yaek Lat Phrao, next to the large shopping complex. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30375051

If you're having a meal right now you might want to skip this post...[emoji615] Do you have any suggestions for an effective yet easy on the stomach OTC antidiarrhea medicine in Thailand? I sometimes use Imodium (loperamide): but I'm not sure if I wanted to take it longer than one or two days in a row as it's very strong. They are not available at convenience stores, only at pharmacies (about 50 b). Charcoal: is better for the stomach I guess but it's not quite as effective as Imodium... At convenience stores in Bangkok they sell a purple colored pack of "Antidiarrheal": but I don't know what the ingredients are and how effective it is... Seirogan toi A isn't available at convenience stores, only at pharmacies: Any suggestions (other than skipping Thai food, drinking lots of water or not drinking orange juice and similar)? Thanks :-)

The prices for cab / taxi [emoji596] rides in Bangkok will go up as of next month, says the Bangkok Post. [emoji438] The airport surcharge will increase from 50 to 70 B. The first two bags will still remain free of charge. However the third bag will cost 20 B. Instead of a maximum of 9 years, cabs can be in service for up to 12 years now. And: taxi drivers no longer are allowed to reject passengers! Technically, a new app will control this, says the Nation. We'll see what happens...[emoji448]

The Thai 'equivalent' I think is called 'Gastro Bismol', available in pharmacies / drug stores / chemists throughout Bangkok: Alternatively:

Thanks for your guidance, Robert!

They now have Gayle Ale [emoji304] for sale at the Art Box Bangkok: I didn't try it so cannot comment on the taste... Gayle - Brewed With Love Pty is an Australian brand & company with a subsidiary in the UK based in Fulham.

Pulse clinic [emoji541][emoji382] seems to be on an expansion path: In addition to their Silom location and the upcoming Nana / Asok location, they also have or are about to open new clinics in KL (Kuala Lumpur) [emoji1157], Hong Kong [emoji1125], and HCM City [emoji1264]:

Can somebody please advise if (and how) it's possible to see the Line ID of an existing Line contact (and therefore already know the contact's Line display name - which can be different from the Line ID) without asking the person in question directly? Has anyone tried Line Pay to pay a girl for her services already? Apologies if this is a stupid question or if it has been already asked and answered somewhere else before... Thanks :-) --- and a happy world tequila day!

I think what he meant to say was that if you have 2 sim cards you can set up two Line accounts... One regular one and one for "other" stuff...

[emoji24][emoji32][emoji741]

What has worked in my case is the following: Go to the search box (click on the magnifying glass). Enter a letter, if possible the one that is most likely the first letter of the Line ID. In my case the app suggested possible accounts / friends (auto complete) and one of the suggestions was indeed the one I was looking for... But there must be an easier way to get hold of someone's Line ID or Phone no. ...???

And how do I see the mobile number? Usually they either enter their Line ID manually or they scan that stupid QR code... [emoji24]

That's an easy challenge, Drew! You just click on "Click to choose files" and then select the folder on your computer or phone where the picture is that you want to upload, select the picture and attach it to your PM... Once the picture is uploaded, you can click on the plus sign and the picture will be inserted into your message... If you picked the wrong image, you just click on the trash bin symbol... No need for a PhD in computer science... Even a computer idiot like myself can do it.

At Suvarnabhumi airport they now have biometric fingerprint scanners in operation. You first have to put four fingers of your right hand on the scanner then wait for the green light and then the display tells you to put four fingers of the left hand on the scanner. It's important that you don't put your fingers all the way to the top of the scanner as the system then will not be able to recognize the fingerprints... Finally the display tells you to put both thumbs on the scanner - and then you're done. The whole process took about 2 minutes... I think the scanner also automatically takes a picture of your face for use in their facial recognition system - at least I didn't have to stand in front of the old "webcam" type of camera at the immigration booth as I used to have to do... When leaving Suvarnabhumi one has to scan only four fingers of one hand. Don't know if one has to scan all ten fingers again the next time one arrives at BKK airport or just the fingers of one hand...

Seems Bangkok will get a third airport by 2026. It'll be located west of Bangkok: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1715903/third-bangkok-airport-proposed

"Suvarnabhumi is hell" wrote the - apparently - famous Aussie English teacher Andrew Biggs in a Twitter post after he was faced with a long queue on arrival recently: Twitter replies from some Thais were a bit unsympathetic it seems: "That's OTT - Thailand has given you a good living now you call us hell" said one person... And a spokesperson for the Thai immigration service explained: "Immigration officers have to do 8 things in 50 seconds," he said. These are passport check, visa check, face recognition, blacklist check, scan, interview, take a picture and stamp." Full story on TV (Thai Visa). So despite the new fingerprint scanners there's obviously still a chance you have to wait a hellish long time until it's your turn to give the immigration officer your passport...

Perhaps... But on the other hand, the new Dang 2 is located in the brand-new, 300 rooms large, 5-star Nikko hotel***** They have several large conference and ballrooms: Nikko is a Japanese luxury hotel chain that apparently is particularly popular with Japanese tourists traveling abroad to destinations such as Waikiki, San Francisco (Union Square), and now also Bangkok... Should somebody be looking with disdain at me because I'm 'gaijin' (farang), I'd retaliate by being extra polite and respectful and greeting that person with a friendly "konnichiwa?" However, one of my favorite live music places in Bangkok is a venue called "Twilo" in Silom that is very popular with Japanese party folks. I found the Japanese crowd there overall to be very friendly and never had any issues...

Was it in the same location were the Mambo ladyboy show used to be? Or were they located in Suk Soi 22? BTW: The new Mambo ladyboy show I think is located somewhere in the middle of nowhere in Bangkok and I haven't gone there yet... http://mambocabaretbangkok.com/ I guess Playhouse on Yaowarat has closed for good? Thanks :-)