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Rocco

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Posts posted by Rocco

  1. Posted

    17 hours ago, gainsbarre said:

    The fun part about the blue elephant restaurants is that the original one was in Brussels and started in 1980 by Thai people who later came back to BKK to set up the one on Sathorn.

    Unfortunately the restaurant in Brussels did not survive COVID, and is now permanently closed, but the catering division still exists where they started the whole range of products that you can still find now in most of the big supermarkets. I think the actual manager of the whole chain is still a Belgian guy, i met him a couple of times here in BKK during Chamber of Commerce meetings. Not relevant for the quality of the food but a nice story. 

    I definitely remember eating at one in Moscow sometime around 2009

  6. Posted

    On 2/9/2025 at 6:05 AM, sydney69er said:

    I rate Vesuvio as the best pizza in Sukhumvit and I've tried quite a few different places. I had their excellent Diavola pizza which is a bit spicy.

    20230820_172856.jpg

    I also tried their Deliziosa pizza for 480b.

    20241231_134703.jpg

    Just along Soi 8 on the next little laneway there is Otto Pizza which is very good, just not as good as Vesuvio. This is their vegetarian pizza

    20241027_180649.jpg

     

     

    I pretty much always order the Diavola and even add a little hot sauce! Love Vesuvio!

    SAGuy reacted to this

  10. Posted

    31 minutes ago, sydney69er said:

    Not an English fry up but more like an American breakfast, I went into Breakfast Story which is in the same laneway as Cindy's Secret off Soi 11, they serve breakfast all day long. Had their Breakfast Story special of eggs (scrambled or fried), bacon (crispy or not crispy - I ordered not crispy but it still came out crispy), a 3 stack of pancakes with butter and maple syrup, country style potatoes and a tiny bowl of fruit to make it feel healthy!). 300 Baht which is not cheap but still much cheaper for the same thing back home! This was a very good feed.

    20241026_123004.jpg

    I go to the Ploenchit and Asoke locations quite often. Love their breakfasts!! They actually have 4 locations now. 

    sydney69er reacted to this

  14. Posted

    1 hour ago, CanadaVisitor said:

    Good tip about the mini bar, but at this point I'll just ignore the stuff in there as there was room enough in it to put my own supplies.  Condoms were one of the items you could buy, 200 baht for 1, lol...definitely only for the desperate! 

    Breakfast...the buffet is pretty good.  Not sure how much it costs as it was another perk from my status.  I find the buffets here in Thailand are exceptional compared to N.America ones. Fresh egg station, lots of western, and Asian choices. No coconut water though (that costs extra here), but lots of fresh fruit and the pastry section was pretty big.  I don't usually eat any bread or baking while I'm here though.

    Laundry service...I was putting all my dirty clothes together until I realized it was going to cost 2500 baht,  so screw that. I did let them dry clean my dress pants for the party tonight (400) and dropped the rest off at the laundry on the same alley as Cindy's (300).

    I'll review the gym next as it's overcast today and kinda cool outside to go for a swim.  I did go do some laps yesterday and was uninterrupted for over an hour as I did my thing.  I'm guessing the pool isn't heated, but the cold water shock quickly went away after I started.

     

    IMG_1368.gif

    CanadaVisitor reacted to this

  17. Posted

    On 11/16/2023 at 11:53 AM, abcdef said:

    Planning a trip in Jan next year with the family, apart from the shortterm room on top of the bars , does anyone know any good short time hotels around if i pick someone off the street?

    any help will be appreciated, thanks

    Asoke Place, just outside of Soi Cowboy

  20. Posted

    Are there any retired expats that can recommend what health insurance to buy? Mine is coming up for renewal, but price has gone up to almost 100,000 baht per year, due to my age. Current coverage is thru AIA.

    Everything I’ve read indicates health insurance is mandatory, but I’ve never been asked for proof of coverage when renewing my retirement visa.

    Thanks!

  21. Posted

    2 hours ago, Knobby said:

    Update.
    Booked with Air China.
    All the other airlines still to much for me.
    EVA dropped to £700 but still a high price.
    Air China £556 and the seat selection (4 seats) free!
    17 hours going , 20 back.
    Flight times work for getting the train both ways to Heathrow and back.


    Sent from my SM-A805F using Tapatalk
     

    Good luck, hope it doesn’t disappoint!

    Knobby reacted to this

  22. Posted

    Based on 20+ years of flying worldwide while I was still working, I can safely say there are no bigger pigs on a plane than Chinese people. Use Air China at your own risk! The comment about hacking and spitting are spot on.

    Knobby, Bimale75, katana57 and 1 other reacted to this

  23. Posted

    4 hours ago, SAGuy said:

    Background

    I was at Bangkok Hospital earlier this week and the doc was a very chatty fellow, with good English. He asked if I'd had the 'flu jab yet and I advised I had it in SA in March. It seems that they are expecting a much higher prevalence of 'flu this year in the LOS and have imported extra supplies. In the northern hemisphere the 'flu season is the winter, but in the LOS it coincides with the rainy season, which will start in the next few weeks. (He advised always get the 'flu jab between Jan-May each year, as it takes up to 4 weeks to become effective).

    The conversation then moved on to Covid-19 and he advised there had been a spike up to 1,000 new cases a day during Songkran and so they are also expecting an increase in the rainy season. He advised if you are 60+, haven't had a jab, or haven't been infected in 6+ months, then you should also get a booster.

    I did some Googling and found this article:

    https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40027083

    The Experience

    They are also running the same scheme at CentralWorld, but the times are 1500-2100. I decided that MBK would be a better option, as hopefully there would be less people during the day.

    MBK is very easy to get to from the 'Combat Zone'. Take the BTS to Siam. Change trains and take the train to National Stadium. Then follow the signs to MBK and there is a direct walkway which takes you onto the 2nd Floor. Take a lift or escalator to the 6th floor, which is spookily deserted. Walk to the far end and you will see the temporary vax centre.

    Present you passport. If you are a local or a resident visa holder its free. I was the only farang; but there were quite a few Asian tourists and they have to pay a nominal fee (THB 490? I'm not certain).

    You fill out a form, in English (that was impressive) and then walk in. You take a seat and then called to another room and get jabbed. Then on the way out you have to hand in the form and are directed to a "recovery room" for 30 minutes. Don't skip this, as I was tempted to. This is where they print and give you the certificate.

    I visited today and it was a 50 minutes process - 20 minutes for the actual execution and 30 minutes for the 'recovery'.

    I deliberately chose 10.30 to avoid crowds, and it was not busy.

    The vax is intended as a booster and is the Moderna version with the Omicron strain. All of my previous 3 Pfizers were for the previous strain, hence why I went.

    I'd recommend doing this if you believe in the vaccination route and the process was well organised and ran smoothly. They are geared up for large volumes, so it was a pleasure today.

    They are running this daily until Friday 12 May, 0900-1500 and then for the 2 weekends after the election. If you have a full time job, CentralWorld is doing the same days, but 1500-2100, so that may fit better for you.

    Cheers

    SAG

     Thanks for this!! I’m heading there tomorrow for my 4th jab.

    SAGuy reacted to this

  24. Posted

    7 hours ago, Victortheo said:

    Visiting Bangkok again but this time with a set of folks. Can obviously visit CIB but if I like to try some FL, which are good options for ST- there used to be a PB hotel earlier?

    Is it still operating? Any others? Thanks for the help.

    Also have seen Agoda offer by the hour bookings. Anyone tried that? Not for all hotels obviously.

     

    Yes, PB is still open

    Victortheo reacted to this

  25. Posted

    17 minutes ago, gainsbarre said:

    Come to Belgium
    Not so many LB but the best fries you can get anywhere in the world.

    Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-A536B met Tapatalk
     

    I’ve had them there before (in Brussels), and agree that they are amazing.

    gainsbarre reacted to this
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