ThaiHard

Appreciate your reply, but as stated in my OP I'm not travelling light so a taxi is unfortunately unavoidable! It's not the biggest of problems anyway - the real problem was my eagerness to book my trip asap and subsequent failure to think through the days/times!

Thanks for the replies. Not the best planning on my part, though my hands were tied a little bit by commitments here. Perhaps I'll book a hotel next to the station on the Friday and check in with a LT early afternoon. That way I can both have fun until the last minute and a chilled end to the trip. Not the cheapest idea for a 5 hour stay, but possibly the least hassled. Thanks again, I appreciate the advice.

Thanks for your reply. Sorry, my post was not clear. I am staying on Soi 6 in Bangkok (Nana area) and will need to travel to Aphiwat from there to catch the train back up north at the end of my stay. I was wondering how much of a nightmare the traffic will be on a Friday evening between these two locations (the general Nana area and Aphiwat station). I am not familiar with Bangkok - my assumption is that it will be a nightmare and I will probably need to get a taxi in the afternoon and hang around the station, but I am aware assumptions are often wrong, especially mine!

For the first time I will be arriving in Bangkok by train, to Aphiwat Central (Bang Sue). All good so far, they even give me a bed to arrive on. I do wonder about my return journey, however (or, rather, the return journey to the station itself). The train leaves at 8pm on a Friday! I was going to organise either a late check out or book an extra day on Soi 6, in order to keep up the fun until the last hour or two. However, as I do not travel light, I will need to get to the train station by taxi. Does anyone know what I should expect regarding traffic at this time? Would it be better to reluctantly check out earlier in the day to avoid the rush hour altogether (and store my heavy suitcase at the train station etc.)? Any advice would be genuinely appreciated. Many thanks.

Previously, I had bought PrEP some years ago at Pulse clinic in Pattaya. A few weeks ago, after a successful negotiation with the wife for a P4P trip (Bangkok in August), I emailed Pulse and explained I couldn't come to Pattaya, but I had a negative HIV test and normal kidney function test - and then asked if I could buy the Teno-EM I had bought before online. They did not have that particular brand but a different generic Tenof-EM (!) and it cost 1,100 baht (with 200 baht for delivery). Took 3 days to get here (Thailand, up norf). I am not sure if that's the normal online price or if it was because I was a previous customer, but it's worth asking. Earlier, I had found a different price list online and was going to buy but the 'normal' Pulse website required a prescription. I emailed them direct and they sent back a direct link to the purchase page which did not require prescription upload.

I am dreadfully sorry to be that newbie... but.... Despite searching, looking and reading, I am struggling to find out the membership process/how to use the forum efficiently, despite the title of this sub forum. I have clicked on threads that include links to the very pages I (think) I seek; yet every link ends in a 'dead' page, telling me the original page no longer exists, or that I do not have permission to view etc. Back when televisions were black and white and I had yet to discover the world of ladyboys, I was a member of the Pattaya Addicts forum. If I remember correctly, you had to post 50 times to have another part of the forum open up to you. I am not sure what the system is here: I see posts mentioning 5 and some say 50 posts for a similar thing, yet other posts mention 'trusted members' and there is even merry talk of a far flung advanced member's section. Would someone be kind enough to give a brief explanation or point me to a workable link I might read, so that I might understand the processes/expectations better? I am already finding great information, but given I'll be in BKK in August I'd obviously love to be able to get as much information as I can before then. [I am also aware that in my earliest moments on the forum, and under a deluge of information, trying to take everything in, I may have read and forgotten the information I seek, those things that age sometimes does to a man - I don't think so, but sincere apologies if that's the case] Finally, if there is an initial post count, be it 5 or 50 or more, which opens up the forum - how are posts 'counted' i.e. is it only threads created/started? I ask because on my profile it states I have 1 post, though I have written 4 or 5. I am aware that newbie's posts require approval, so maybe the mods are just busy - though if I am doing something wrong I'd appreciate the heads up. Many thanks for your time reading this (and to anyone who replies) - it really is genuinely appreciated. And thanks for all the great contributors - I hope to be able to offer more to the forum during and post-August.

Hello everybody. Familiar with Pattaya but much less so Bangkok. Looking to discover the city in either August or September. Looking forward to reading the forum and learning what I can before then. Cheers!