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ARI23

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  1. Sad
    ARI23 reacted to Thanks in Monsoon in Soi 8   
    Empty Monsoon during Covid-19 lockdown

  2. Love
    ARI23 reacted to Desertsandman in Dynasty Inn, Sukhumvit Soi4   
    ARI23 you gave a very fair review of the Dynasty Inn. I usually stay there when I visit Bangkok and I fully agree with your review. I also request a non-smoking room at the back and I very rarely hear any noise from outside. Another good point about staying at the Dynasty Inn is that they operate a daily transport to their sister hotel in Pattaya. The deal used to be that if you stayed at the Dynasty Inn for at least 3 nights then the transport to Pattaya was only 500 Baht, but the last time that I stayed there the transport was free. The electronic safe is fine for storing valuables but is not big enough to take a laptop. There is also an in-house hair dresser on the mezzanine level, that I once saw a ladyboy working there. I have stayed at this hotel about 5 times and I have no complaints.
  3. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from Desertsandman in Dynasty Inn, Sukhumvit Soi4   
    Dynasty Inn,
    5 4 Sukhumvit Road Soi 4 Nanatai Klongtoey, Bangkok, Thailand, Bangkok 10110
    I was at the Dynasty Inn hotel 3 nights at the beginning of August 2019.
    I didn't find any review about this hotel which seems little discussed in this forum, contrary to the Dynasty Grande.
     Why you (and I) would choose this unassuming little hotel (around 60 rooms)? To be in the heart of the action. At your right, count 60 meters to Nana Plaza via Hillary 4 and the Stumble Inn. If you take on your left, Hillary 2 is at 30 meters.
    The reviews are good (8.3 on Booking) and this hotel is of course guest-friendly. 
    I asked for a non-smoking room at the back of the hotel (quiet rooms). 1 680 baht a night for 2 people. I didn't take the breakfast.
    At the entrance of the hotel, the front bar gives you a look at the scene. Very useful to give a rendez-vous to a lb, take a drink and evaluate the chemistry. At night a few ladyboys stand on the sidewalk.
    Food from the restaurant is known to be good. I didn't test it.
    At the front desk, the hotel staff is friendly and helpful. It's a big plus. The people make the place. No walk of shame. Your guest will let its ID at the reception.
    At the check-in they ask for a 500 baht cash deposit for the key.
    The back annexe seems to face the rear of Nana Plaza but in the room there is no noise of music or whatever.
    The room is quite new, clean and large. 26 square meters. 
    Aircon works well, a bit noisy. Comfortable big bed, safe (laptop friendly), fridge, ... Fast wifi.
    Complimentary water, coffee.
    Bathroom is modern and clean with a hand hose.
    All lbs of Nana Plaza know the hotel and will be happy to make the short walk for a session. So no short-time room to pay.
     
    All in all I was positively surprised by the quality of this 3 star hotel, clean nice room, friendly staff, located in the heart of the action. I was pleased all the time I spent in that room, feeling well.
    Recommend strongly.
    Note: Dynasty Grande, on Soi 6, belongs to the same owner and has pool and gym. Around 300/350 baht more expensive by night. Same kind of rooms. Better lobby, front desk not so friendly.
    Pictures :
    - the entrance of the hotel from soi 4, see the bar. 
    - The room with the bed, flat tv, safe. The bathroom. The mirror (ladyboy not included in the package).






  4. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from Desertsandman in Dynasty Inn, Sukhumvit Soi4   
    Dynasty Inn,
    5 4 Sukhumvit Road Soi 4 Nanatai Klongtoey, Bangkok, Thailand, Bangkok 10110
    I was at the Dynasty Inn hotel 3 nights at the beginning of August 2019.
    I didn't find any review about this hotel which seems little discussed in this forum, contrary to the Dynasty Grande.
     Why you (and I) would choose this unassuming little hotel (around 60 rooms)? To be in the heart of the action. At your right, count 60 meters to Nana Plaza via Hillary 4 and the Stumble Inn. If you take on your left, Hillary 2 is at 30 meters.
    The reviews are good (8.3 on Booking) and this hotel is of course guest-friendly. 
    I asked for a non-smoking room at the back of the hotel (quiet rooms). 1 680 baht a night for 2 people. I didn't take the breakfast.
    At the entrance of the hotel, the front bar gives you a look at the scene. Very useful to give a rendez-vous to a lb, take a drink and evaluate the chemistry. At night a few ladyboys stand on the sidewalk.
    Food from the restaurant is known to be good. I didn't test it.
    At the front desk, the hotel staff is friendly and helpful. It's a big plus. The people make the place. No walk of shame. Your guest will let its ID at the reception.
    At the check-in they ask for a 500 baht cash deposit for the key.
    The back annexe seems to face the rear of Nana Plaza but in the room there is no noise of music or whatever.
    The room is quite new, clean and large. 26 square meters. 
    Aircon works well, a bit noisy. Comfortable big bed, safe (laptop friendly), fridge, ... Fast wifi.
    Complimentary water, coffee.
    Bathroom is modern and clean with a hand hose.
    All lbs of Nana Plaza know the hotel and will be happy to make the short walk for a session. So no short-time room to pay.
     
    All in all I was positively surprised by the quality of this 3 star hotel, clean nice room, friendly staff, located in the heart of the action. I was pleased all the time I spent in that room, feeling well.
    Recommend strongly.
    Note: Dynasty Grande, on Soi 6, belongs to the same owner and has pool and gym. Around 300/350 baht more expensive by night. Same kind of rooms. Better lobby, front desk not so friendly.
    Pictures :
    - the entrance of the hotel from soi 4, see the bar. 
    - The room with the bed, flat tv, safe. The bathroom. The mirror (ladyboy not included in the package).






  5. Haha
    ARI23 reacted to Thanks in COVID-19 Health Issues   
    So until then we better wash our hands regularly, with soap, I assume: 
     
  6. Like
    ARI23 reacted to mespicy in Mercure Hotel Sukhumvit Soi 11   
    I stayed there in November last year great hotel big rooms and beds, good walk in showers, pool area and gym are also good would definitely use again.
  7. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Danum99 in Adelphi Grande Sukhumvit 41   
    This was was an 11 day at Adelphi Grande which was very good. It was great to be recognised by all staffers. Breakfast could be improved as it seemed to be pork heavy, what with the strong numbers of Japanese clientele. I especially like the on time housekeeping service, the washing machine/dryer, good comfy bed and pillows. 
    Very-guest friendly and they do not fuss with ID and even send them up to the room. I am a regular so I don't know if this applies throughout. 
  8. Like
    ARI23 reacted to ethanhunt in What's ur fav Thai dish ?   
    The obvious one is the signature dish 'kapaw moo', minced pork with basil & a fried egg. Apart from that, there's yum moo yor, massaman gai & tom yum phamuk (squid).
    Also the Thai bar-b-q or mookata buffet as they call. Absolutely, gorge on those 55.
     
    Tom yum squid:
     
    Mookata
     
     
     


  9. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Danum99 in Baan Khanita - Sukhumvit 43   
    I had wanted to visit on a number of occasions but had to put it off due to my limited number of days here. But this time I forced myself to make the effort. This was a half an hour walk from my hotel and I arrived at 12nn. Tak, the waitress greeted me and showed my table. I was the first one in. I ordered the Tom yum goong, pomelo salad, river prawns in garlic and pepper and a mango sticky rice with a pineapple frost. In the next 5 minutes I was served with the most excellent Mieng Kham I have ever tasted. This was complimentary. And I could not get enough of it. While still enjoying this, my pomelo salad arrived, followed closely by the Tom yum. I reluctantly pushed the meing kham away (it was almost finished anyway). The pomelo salad is typical Thai dish - salty, sour, sweet and held with a good dose of chilli. And there were slivers of chicken meat in-between. The tom yum goong was delightfully sour and delicious. But there was chink in the armor - the prawns were just short of mushy. In the midst of this the garlic pepper prawn arrived. 4 reasonably large prawns, fried in some kind of batter before the garlic and pepper was added in. Here the prawns was fresh. I informed the waitress who took the tom yum away and informed the captain who told her to change it or something. He brought a fresh dish in record time and said that this is fresh prawn. I refused the dish and told him that it should be that way from the onset. I decided to cancel the mango sticky rice. The captain brought the bill on request and pointed out that they did not charge the Tom yum. I said obviously. With nary an apology!! Service from Tak was excellent. The bill was 1318B. I would like to visit them again to try some other dishes.
  10. Haha
    ARI23 reacted to Danum99 in Baan Khanita - Sukhumvit 43   
    Yeah! I just saw that. I edited it with another review. Forgive me.  I'm getting old. 
    Cheers. 
  11. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Thanks in Using Plus Codes in Google Maps   
    I don't know about you, but I find street addresses in Thailand confusing...
    For example, house number 10 might be located right next to house number 64, which doesn't make any sense to me...
    Also, Sukhumvit Soi 22 for example isn't really near Soi 21... And Soi 7 isn't the same as Soi 7/1....
    Even taxi drivers who are unfamiliar with a certain area seem to struggle to find the destination quickly. I therefore often print out the location map of a hotel and give it to the driver.
    One feature in Google maps that can help you  save time finding a specific place in Bangkok are plus codes.
    Plus codes work just like street addresses. You can use a plus code to find or share a place on Google Maps.
    Plus codes consist of the short code and the name of the locality (e.g. city). Example:
      PHP3+M7 Short Code   Bangkok, Thailand Locality  
    Example for Android devices:
    If you enter:
    PHP3+P7 Bangkok
    in the search box of Google Maps you'll be directed to an address in Bangkok.
    If you're near the address, for example in the same district, you don’t have to include the locality code.
    To find the plus code for a place on an Android phone, you open Google Maps and touch and hold a place to drop a pin on Google Maps.
    At the bottom, you tap the place of interest to you. Then scroll down to find the plus code, such as PHP3+P7 Bangkok, Thailand. 
    These plus codes are particularly useful in places with addresses that are not easily located through conventional descriptors like street names or house numbers. That's half of the world's urban population BTW...
    Taxi drivers in Bangkok often use Google Maps. If you give them the short code, you might get quicker to your destination...
  12. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from OneTrueSaxon in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    Big Dogs : same reason as OTS and Bwana_lb
    Bus Stop : in the morning  for the breakfast and the cute waitress
    Hillary 2 : I feel good there moving around bodies, enjoying the live music and the drinks, having fun with a ladyboy after or before a session, watching the players at pool
  13. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Fancysam in What's ur fav Thai dish ?   
    Tom Saap Moo.  Hard to find anywhere but if you ask they will make it for you and will be impressed that you know what it is.  Great isaan food.  Not on menu as far as I can remember, but they always make it for me at Pattaya Beer Garden, not the best I have had but acceptable.
     
     

  14. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from OneTrueSaxon in ❎ Poll ➡️ What are Your Favorite Pubs, Bars and Restaurants on Soi 4 Nana? ❌   
    Big Dogs : same reason as OTS and Bwana_lb
    Bus Stop : in the morning  for the breakfast and the cute waitress
    Hillary 2 : I feel good there moving around bodies, enjoying the live music and the drinks, having fun with a ladyboy after or before a session, watching the players at pool
  15. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Danum99 in What's ur fav Thai dish ?   
    While Bangkok is absolutely great for food I must ask you guys to give Cozy Italia a try. Its just in front of CIB and they usually order dinner from there  
    Their chicken cashew nut is very good and different from other places. Great Som Tum and Tom Yum Goong. 
    Nara restaurant also serves a wonderful fried prawn in garlic dish. It is out of this world.



  16. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Youngone in The 5th capital sin...   
    ShyguyUK and myself had our traditional New Year's lunch this Friday at Artur, a very traditional steak house with a lot of classic French dishes on the menu such as frog legs, burgundy snails, sole meuniere, pan fried foie gras, bisque d'homard, home made sauces such as an excellent Bearnaise etc etc. The last few years we had always opted for Le Normandie, but we decided to mix it up this year around and we sure as hell didn't regret that decision. The food was more than excellent!
     
    Artur ( https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/ARTUR-Restaurant-330562996849/ ) is located in Soi Ton Son, in between Phloenchit and Chidlom BTS stations. I exited at Chidlom and it took me about 5 minutes on foot to get there. I had the Bisque D'homard ( lobster soup), sole meuniere and tarte tatin accompanied by some wines recommended by the Thai female chef ( who speaks fluent English and French). Full marks all around and the return factor is very high!
     
    Very quiet for lunch, for a more lively atmosphere it is recommended to go for dinner.

     
    Amuse bouche, very tasty!

     
    House white wine

     
    Bisque d'homard

     
    A light red recommended by the Thai female chef.

     
    Sole meuniere, the beurre blanc and the home made bearnaise that came with it were more than excellent.

     
    A glass of the recommended red wine and a glass of Sancerre to go with desert.

     
    A raspberry bavarois on the house.

     
    Tarte Tatin

     
    The least pleasant bit of the afternoon  

  17. Like
    ARI23 reacted to KendoUK in Artbox Sukhumvit Soi 10 Chuvit Garden (CIB)   
    The BTS Skywalk from Asok station is currently being extended past Robinson/Times Square mall, and now reaches all the way to just outside Artbox on Soi 10.
    Very handy if you don't like dealing with Bangkok sidewalks and crossing Sois. 
    It probably only leaves about 150m between the furthest Asok and Nana BTS exits. 
  18. Like
    ARI23 reacted to mangatanga in Citrus Suites Sukumvit Soi 6   
    Citrus Suites has lived up to the hype! It’s a great hotel, easy access to the NEP. The suites are massive and extremely comfortable. The staff has been absolutely professional to me and my guests.

    For those of you who care about the walk of shame through the lobby, it’s a mere 20 feet from the hotel entrance to the elevators. And the lobby is a ghost town after 1am.

    The morning buffet is a bit weak in my opinion but maybe my expectations are a bit out of scope here. Nonetheless, the buffet is sufficient. Orange juice ain’t so great.

    The beats restaurant is adequate as well. And I received a daily 100 baht voucher to use at the restaurant.

    As far as reservations are concerned, I’d recommend using their mobile site. It was cheaper compared to using a desktop browser. Interesting to see that difference. I saved 5000 baht for my 7 day stay. I booked 5 days prior to my stay.

    Here are some pics of my suite.



  19. Like
    ARI23 reacted to elfy72 in What's ur fav Thai dish ?   
    My favorite is Massaman curry but it varies quite a lot between places, can be too sweet in some. I found a great one in the Emporium Food Court a few years ago but the past few times I've looked I couldn't find it. Best one I did find  on my last trip was at Lengkee in Pattaya. They also do great duck dishes there as well, Duck with Pineapple was a revelation, did not expect it to taste so nice. 
    Massaman at Lengkee 

    Duck & Pineapple at Lengkee

    The Green Chicken Curry at Sanguan Sri on Wireless Road in Bangkok is one of the best Thai dishes I've had. Found out about it on Mark Wiens blog (https://www.eatingthaifood.com/sanguan-sri-restaurant/), not far from Nana so I had a walk round. Only open 10am - 2pm and mainly full of office workers. The sauce was amazing, the chicken is on the bone but really tender. Keep going back to try it when I'm in Bangkok
    Green Curry from Sanguan Sri

  20. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from Knobby in Citrus Suites Sukumvit Soi 6   
    On the soi 6 side. 7th floor, no problem with the noise from the street. 
    Breakfast is not a problem in itself. You won't starve here. But, and Mangatanga also noticed it, the breakfast is weak. For westerners especially. Few viennoiseries. Few fruits. No omelette station.
    It is marketed for asian people.
    Have you been to the Monsoon breakfast (Adelphi Suites) ? Not on the same level.
    Coffee (brewed) is good though and that's not common in BKK.
  21. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from Knobby in Citrus Suites Sukumvit Soi 6   
    I am in the same kind of room as Mangatanga was in April (see pics above). 
    Only problem is the shower. I had 2 different rooms because I asked for a quieter room - the first one was close to the lift -  and each time the temperature of the water was changing all the time during the shower. Not cool.
    Otherwise, comfortable. 
    Breakfast is a little weak. 
    Many chinese people though the hotel is quiet. I have seen 2 children (we are not on the same schedule).
    Personally I prefer the Adelphi Suites. The design is better. In Citrus Suites the rooms are all in length. You can see it in last Mangatanga picture 
  22. Like
    ARI23 reacted to SAGuy in Samed Cabana Resort, Koh Samet   
    1-8 December I took 3 LBs to Koh Samet for some R&R. (I had been in BKK and Isaan for 2 weeks).
    The rationale for Koh Samet was that I wanted a beach break and was tired of flying.
    Koh Samet ticks the boxes, its a quiet island, about 3 hours car ride from BKK and about 15-20 minutes by speedboat.
    ***Tip - don't wear shoes, as you may get dropped off on the beach, rather than at a pier, depending on where you are staying.
    I didn't want to stay at Sai Kaew, which is the biggest and busiest beach, as I had heard reports of hordes of Chinese tourists and non-stop noise from jet skis etc. 
    I chose Ao Wong Duean as it seemed a good mix of some amenities, but not too busy There was a choice of 3 resorts and I chose Samed Cabana.
    I was happy with the choice and took 2 bungalows on the beach, which was well worth the premium over the bungalows set further back.
    The resort was about 85% Nordic types and 14.8% farangs with their teeraks, plus 1 farang with 3 LBs in tow!
    The resort was good value, a little bit tired, but I enjoyed the stay and so would recommend it.
    Breakfast was a bit repetitive, but the staff were very helpful and friendly.
    For dinners there are about 7-8 options on the beach. My favourite was a pace called 'Nice and Easy' towards the far end (300 metres away?) as it was the best value and had very good service.
    They had the usual fire shows on the beach and Chinese tourists were brought in just for dinner at some of the other restaurants. 
    There were 2 mini marts in close proximity, so useful for beer and ice runs etc. 
    ***Tip - take plenty of cash as very few places take cards.
    We went out a few times. The LBs liked a beach called Ao Phai which had 3 high end resorts. I preferred the laid back atmosphere at Ao Wongdeuan.
    One evening we went out to Naga restaurant, which is joined to Naga Bar and is very well known. The restaurant is a BBQ style joint, with all you can eat for THB 189/person, which was a great deal. The bar next door was busy with tourists painting themselves with effervescent paint. (Whatever floats your boat?)
    There's a number of tours you can take. I chose a 6 stops all day boat tour, which became much of a muchness, so would avoid the 9 stops version, as 1 beach becomes like all others after a few hours. The snorkelling was good fun. 
    Getting around is by scooter (THB 100 per day) or the pick-up Songthaews. We rented one for a few hours and rode around the island. THB 1,500 for 2.5 hours.
    If you go into main town of Koh Samed from a beach resort you will need to pay the National Park Fee - which was THB 50 for Thais and THB 300 for farangs for 5 days.
    ***Tip - if you go island hopping or travel around on the land, make sure that you take your national park tickets with you. The park rangers jump out from behind bushes to inspect your tickets! If you don't have one, then you need to buy them all over again!
    In summary, if you want a nice relaxed break, this resort fits the bill. If you want a romantic get away, maybe Ao Phai would make more of an impression. 
    I'd definitely go back to Koh Samet and probably this resort.
    ***Tip - take a few bottles of booze to drink on the verandah of your bungalow, as the prices on the island are 20-30% higher than on the mainland.
    ***Tip - take mosquito mats with you. The hotel provides one, but 2 in a room is more effective. 
    ***Tip - ask the beach restaurants for mosquito coils under your table, as otherwise you will get bitten
    ***Tip -  you can get to Ban Phae pier on the mainland by public bus, van or car. I chose the private car option and it was about THB 1,800 each way from BKK.
    ***Tip - you can get over to the island by public ferry, which only runs when it is full. Speedboats cost about THB 350/person
    ***Tip - if you don't like fish, then maybe not go!
    ***Tip - try and avoid weekends and public holidays - it gets noisy as that's when the Thais visit
    Cheers
    SAG
  23. Like
    ARI23 got a reaction from mike746 in Dream Hotel   
    Rules are : you leave the room at 12, you get in the room at 2pm (see above the reason).
    If you are nice, ask very politely, meet the right receptionist and are lucky, sometimes you will get the room at the check-in. It has happened to me a few times.
    You absolutely want/need the room at the arrival ? Take the early check-in (if available). Around 50 bucks. May worth it.
  24. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Thanks in The 5th capital sin...   
    Good news: Gaggan has just opened his new restaurant, called, well..., "Gaggan Anand"...
    It's located on Sukhumvit, but waaay up on Soi 31... Address: 68 Soi Sukhumvit 31.
    https://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/bangkok-restaurant-reviews/gaggan-anand

  25. Like
    ARI23 reacted to Bwana_LB in The 5th capital sin...   
    Heartbreaking that Gaggan has closed. It was exceptional (although I never felt it was a top 10 in the world restaurant).
    I come to BKK frequently, and generally avoid Pattaya. The main reason for preferring BKK is restaurants. BKK has so many fabulous places for food. It's become a foodie vacation destination. Nothing beats having a world-class meal followed by a world-class LB for dessert.
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