Bwana_LB

Just spent 8 nights at the Mercure on Soi 11 and thought I'd offer up my take. I had a King room with shower and bathtub, one of several options. It's not their largest or their smallest room, but was plenty large for my needs (photos below). I arrived at midnight, and check-in was quick and simple. I purchased a room without the breakfast add-on, as I like to explore various breakfast options around town. I booked well in advance, while prices were still depressed by Covid, so got a rate of about $86/night. When I checked in, the rate being offered at that time was about $112. My room was on the 16th floor and away from Soi 11, so as quiet as a room will get in that part of town. I had no issues with noise A funny moment: I was only interested in sleeping after a 27 hour trip with a 15 hour time change, but could not figure out how to turn off the room lights. I searched everywhere (I thought) for the switches, finally calling the front desk to send someone up. The control for the room lights (nearly all of them) was in the middle of the bed headboard, hiding behind a stack of pillows. Description of room: The room was plenty spacious, and had pretty much everything I would want. The king bed was comfortable and the bed linens were high quality. Four large pillows. There was a desk with two chairs, and an additional two guest chairs with a small table. Opposite the bed there was a small storage unit with two drawers for clothes, and a flat screen TV above it. TV worked fine and was decent sized, but I never watched any TV. To the left of this, towards the door to the room and the door to the bathroom, was a platform to set luggage on, a small fridge (not a minibar), and then a closet with a decent sized safe (big enough for a laptop). Across from the closet was the door to the bathroom. As mentioned, the bathroom had both a glass-enclosed shower, with adjustable/handheld shower head and a rainfall shower head. Across from the shower was a full tub with an adjustable/handheld shower head (for some reason, many Thai girls seem to prefer to shower in the tub...I don't get it). Tub had a wall mounted soap dispenser, shower had wall mounted soap, shampoo, and conditioner dispensers. Next to the shower was a toilet with the essential bum gun, and next to it a shower and sink with ample room for storage of toiletries. Pros: Comfortable bed Good AC that was easy to control air speed and room temp Great hot water. It was easy to control, and never ran low. Two large bath sheets and two smaller bath towels Plenty of seating for guests. Chairs came in handy for sex as well. Housekeeping was responsive to requests for extra towels, hangers, etc. I tipped daily. Good reading lights by the bed. Cons: Lighting was hard to control. No dimming, and ceiling lights were either all on or all off. No power outlets next to the bed! Charging phones had to be done at the desk or on top of the fridge. This was a nuisance. Aside from liquid soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, there were no other amenities in the bathroom. No plastic hair cover for the girls, etc. Fridge was on the small side. Room for a few drinks and not much else. The Hotel: The lobby is nothing fancy. From the driveway you walk through sliding glass doors, across a seating area with a concierge stand, past the elevators (one left, one right), and to the actual reception desks. One of the two hotel restaurants (Lily Fu's) is on the ground floor to the right of the hotel entrance, and can be entered from inside or outside the hotel. Another restaurant (Gaucho Argentinean Steakhouse) is loosely affiliated with the hotel and is just to the left of the hotel. The hotel has a parking garage (4 levels), a pool, bar, and gym that sit above the parking garage, and 16 floors of rooms (1-16, minus 13th, plus a Penthouse level). I spent a fair amount of time at the pool. One of the better pools I've used. There are actually two pools: a smaller and very shallow splash pool for kids and a larger pool, still fairly shallow (1.2 meters) for swimming. The pool is surround by ample seating of various sorts with shade for the sun-averse. The bar sits at one end of the pool, and has a decent drink and food menu. Neither cheap nor overpriced. The gym, glass enclosed and looking out over the pool, was also very good, with plenty of cardio and weight machines. Pros: Lobby easy to negotiate. It's a decent walk (of shame?) to the elevators, but you have the option of skipping the desk and taking your guests straight to your room. Elevators require a room key to get to a particular floor, so no surprise guests will appear at your door (as has happened to me at other hotels). Breakfast buffet at Lily Fu's is excellent, at 299 baht. Egg station, all the usual options for American/English breakfast, tons of Asian options, good selection of fruit, juices, breads and pastries, coffees and teas, etc. One can sit open air in the front of the restaurant facing Soi 11 or sit back further inside or at the bar. In the evening, Lily Fu's is a bar/restaurant and is pretty active. Good drink options, reasonably priced, and usually quite crowded. The food is primarily pan-Asian and good, but there are better options, so I only had a quick meal there one time when convenience was key. Gym was great and never crowded. Pool would get busy, but there was always ample seating. Cons: The hotel is definitely a family hotel. Not exclusively so, but if you're a shy monger just know that you'll be dealing with lots of couples on vacation, families with kids, and so forth. The clients were incredibly diverse, a little United Nations. Didn't bother me at all, but I know some here prefer hotels that cater primarily to mongers. I'm afraid there are fewer and fewer of those, and they are generally not the best hotels. Pool area could get noisy when a few families with kids would show up. The pool is my reading area, and shouting kids are distracting. Come on the early side for breakfast. At least while I was in town the restaurant got quite crowded by 9:30. Fortunately, I'm an early riser. Conclusion: Depending on the rate I can get, I'd definitely stay again. Did I mention that Cindy's Secrets is about 100 yards from the hotel, and that it's a short walk to Check In Bar? And that Soi 11 really has lots of options for food at any time of day, and plenty of nightlife. By 9 pm freelancers show up along Soi 11 closer to Sukhumvit. I definitely preferred staying here over Soi 4. Soi 11 is now also the hub for the mobile marijuana dispensaries. There were at least ten vans selling marijuana along Soi 11 (and tons of dispensaries along Sukhumvit), including two vans parked in front of the Mercure in the evenings. Didn't imbibe. I liked getting in walks to the skytrain from the hotel (maybe 5 minutes), and Terminal 21 is just a 10 minute walk. The morning I left, at 5 am, there were four girls from Cindy's sitting in front of my hotel, so I went out and chatted with them. The street was still pretty active, but mostly filled with bargirls and freelancers ending their nights by getting something to eat or drink. I don't think Soi 11 ever sleeps.

I'm not sure why one would book through Agoda. I have an upcoming trip and checked both with Agoda and directly with Mercure. For the same setup (Deluxe King, advance payment, no breakfast) Agoda charges $138/night all in, Mercure charges $121.25/night all in. I've almost always found booking directly with the hotel a better deal than through any of the consolidator companies. I've also done the same comparison for another hotel I'm considering (the Samala Hotel on Soi 15) and Agoda is closer to the Samala direct price but still a bit more expensive.

If she put you halfway inside her ass and you pulled out quickly, you really shouldn't spend much time fretting about it. Slightly different matter if she shoved her bare cock in your ass. If it's a brief in and out, probably nothing to worry about unless it was very rough and painful. As most know, the virus needs a pathway to your bloodstream. Being a bottom and taking it bare is a much bigger risk than being a top and giving it bare, although the latter still presents some risk. Anal tissue tears much more easily than penile tissue, so the virus has an easier path to your system. Reduce the risk: 1) Always have condoms with you. Never assume the LB will have any, and if she does they may be too small, and a too small condom is a condom that is both uncomfortable and is more likely to break. 2) Lube is your friend. Lube means a lower likelihood of tissue tearing and lower risk of a condom breaking. 3) PrEP is an option if you have a very low tolerance for risk, drink until you're drunk and don't trust your judgment, and/or you bottom very frequently. As a top, I don't mess with the PrEP drugs. They're pretty strong, and lots of guys have somewhat unpleasant side effects. If an accident happens and you're anxious, get tested. The problem with testing is you won't have results until it is too late to prevent infection. The earliest you're likely to test positive if infected is 10 days after exposure. For the prevention drugs to work, you have to start them within three days of the exposure. If you're really anxious, start a course of Post-Exposure Prophylaxis treatment (link below) immediately. https://www.hiv.gov/hiv-basics/hiv-prevention/using-hiv-medication-to-reduce-risk/post-exposure-prophylaxis I've had two broken condom accidents. In both cases I inspected myself, saw no indication of tearing or lesions, so I washed up thoroughly and carried on. I do test every few years and have always been negative and have always assumed that would be the case. Getting infected is not as easy as some people think. If you practice rough sex and are a bottom, and have lots of partners into the same thing, sure...you're at risk. But the occasional slip, even if that slip means getting topped by a LB who cums in your ass, is probably not going to be the end of you. She'd have to be positive, not using PrEP or being treated for HIV and thus shedding virus, and you'd have to have some tearing of tissue. Odds are fairly low all that happens. Stay calm and carry on.

(Copied from elsewhere. No indication of how long approval might take or cost, but this is a huge improvement on the best PrEP available now) Gilead, a California based pharmaceutical company, announced on Thursday (20 June 2024) that it was ending the phase 3, blinded clinical trial of its new, twice-a-year shot for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against HIV, lenacapavir, because it is too effective. In this sort of clinical trial, some participants are randomly assigned to the new intervention that's under investigation (i.e. lenacapavir) and some are randomly assigned to the current standard of care (i.e. Truvada or Descovy, PrEP pills that must be taken every day). Why? Because it would be unethical to use placebo when we know that once-daily PrEP pills do prevent HIV. The trial is also "blinded" to prevent investigator bias from influencing the results – to the maximum extent practicable, the investigators carrying out the research do not know, while the trial is being carried out, which participants are getting which treatment, nor do they know how effective those treatments are. But an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC) has access to all of the data. The IDMC can see, while the trial is ongoing, which participants have gotten which interventions, and they can see how effective those interventions are. The IDMC saw that none of the 2,134 women who received the twice-yearly injection of lenacapavir developed HIV. 0 cases of HIV in any of the participants assigned to lenacapavir. There were 16 cases of HIV in the 1,068 women assigned to Truvada. There were 39 cases of HIV in the 2,136 women assigned to Descovy. At that point, the IDMC has an ethical duty to recommend the blinded trial be stopped, and all of the participants assigned to Truvada and Descovy be offered lenacapavir. Why? Because they know lenacapavir works, it is superior to either Truvada or Descovy, and once that fact has been established, it would be unethical to deny participants the option to receive the more effective PrEP option of lenacapavir. Lenacapavir is not the first injectable PrEP agent. FDA approved "apretude" in 2021; it must be injected every other month. The game changing nature of lenacapavir is that it only requires two injections per year in order to achieve 100% efficacy.

Be wary of any injectables offered in Thailand. First, the newest are NOT available in any generic formulation and so will be quite expensive. And second, Thailand's CDC has not approved any of them for use, so what may be available is an unapproved generic from India that has not been tested. Thailand tests new PrEP drugs in Thailand before approving them.

I've seen very few Indians in the Mercure (topic of this thread). My LB friend who works at the Solitaire on Soi 11 ays the clientele there is heavily Indian. The company that owns the Solitaire also owns the Aria, Eleven, and Nysa hotels on Soi 11, and the have a new one opening in September on Soi 11 called the Pipa Hotel, almost next door to the Mercure.

@Denbosch1971, your experience mirrors mine. I was shocked at the indifference to customer service, as in virtually every other hotel I've stayed at in LOS the service has been impeccable. At the Mercure I asked for extra towels ("yes sir"), extra clothes hangers ("coming right up"), early cleaning ("she'll be there at 10am"), extra bottled water ("will 4 bottles be ok?"), etc. Last stay I left a coat in the cab I took from the airport to the hotel. The next morning the hotel concierge tracked down the cab and got my coat returned by that evening. Same level of service at the former Majestic Grande and at JW Marriott. Even Citrus Suites Soi 6 was very good about honoring my various requests. @SAGuy has a point. The Thai and Filipina staff are very service oriented.

https://blueelephant.com/restaurant/blue-elephant-sukhumvit/ There are a few restaurants in those beautiful old homes scattered around Bangkok. Blue Elephant/Monkey Pod is the most recent. Great review, @gainsbarre! A favorite of mine is The Local, which is located just a few blocks from Soi Cowboy. The house is over-the-top elegant, with teak and silk fabrics everywhere. The food is as good as the setting. I've never taken a LB here. It's definitely a Hi-So kind of place, dressy, and on the expensive side. http://www.thelocalthaicuisine.com

From United Airlines: "United will be the only U.S. airline to offer daily flights to Bangkok starting October 26. The flights will operate on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner." The flights are not non-stop, but out of LAX the flight is "direct" with a 2-hr stop in HKG. United flights from other cities will connect with the flight originating from LAX. I normally don't book this far in advance but there was a very good fare available. The LAX flight leaves in the evening (roughly 11:00p) and arrives in BKK at about 11a. Seems it will be possible to get a good sleep overnight on the HKG-bound portion. Luckily I have an upgrade that will get me into business/Polaris for the entire trip. I haven't seen anything from Delta or American as to whether they plan direct flights to BKK.

My cousin's hubby is an exec with Alaska, and he says while BKK is possible, it would be several years out. They are focused on other locations in Asia for now. They've just started flying to Tokyo and will start flights to Seoul in October. Nothing else is set, but they are looking at locations other than BKK for their next expansion in Asia. My money is on Delta as the next US carrier to fly to BKK. They definitely want to compete with United in Asia.

Just got that news from United. They credited me 25k miles for the fact that when I traveled home from Europe the Chicago lounge was closed and the LA lounge was so overcrowded that they sent many of us to the United Club. I think 25k will get me a free Tapas Snackbox.

It probably should be noted that almost no one is required to get an e-visa. Virtually all of us meet the qualifications for "visa exemption." If you're from any of these 93 countries you just need to complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card form either online or at the arrival airport (they encourage the former). The 93 countries eligible for the visa exemption scheme include: Africa: Mauritius, Morocco, South Africa Americas: Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay East/Central Asia: Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam Europe: Albania, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom Middle East: Bahrain, Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates Oceania: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga

Typical Thailand. This is correct--no mention of funds on the e-visa application.

I'd been wondering about this hotel. I had lunch in January at their restaurant, Mariga, and it was fantastic. Hmmmm, another option.

Hang out in the restrooms at the rear of the plane and you'll find out.

Unfortunately, the Chicago Polaris Club has been closed for a while for renovations. Returning from Europe last month I connected at ORD, and we were directed to the regular United Club which was completely overcrowded due to the closing of the Polaris Lounge. It looked like they were many months away from reopening it.

All three major US carriers suck. Who sucks the worst depends on the day of the week. I had an excellent business class flight on United from SFO to Amsterdam last month (on a 787-9), with access to their excellent Polaris Club in SFO. Three weeks later I flew to Rio on United, again in business, but on a particularly horrible 767, and the Polaris Club at LAX was so crowded I couldn't even find a seat, and finally went to the regular United Club. My only option for a direct flight from LAX to BKK is United, so that's what I'll take. In the past I had to fly United to NRT and either ANA or TG on to BKK. 22-24 hours, whereas the new route through HKG will be 20 hours. Still a long, long flight.

A new hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 11, the place looks quite nice. They opened this month, and have some great deals for people coming in the next month or two. BTW, in response to an email query, they indicate that they are guest-friendly, asking only that guests leave ID at the front desk. https://www.airahotelbangkok.com

Well, it's FAR from "not the cheapest" (that's what "substantially more" means). As far as I can tell, it's one of the most expensive, charging almost double what the discount pharmacies charge. For years many have recommended Chula Bhaesaj Drug Store on Rama IV. I've used it and found it to offer both the largest inventory and probably the lowest prices. You can find pretty much any drug there, things that the little Sukhumvit pharmacies won't have. The only drawback is that the lines can be a bit long, as it's not far from a major hospital. https://www.thebigchilli.com/feature-stories/bangkok-pharmacy-with-a-cure-for-a-tight-budget It's a short walk from the Sala Daeng BTS station, and convenient to Patpong

Pulse was charging *substantially more* for PrEP prescriptions than almost everywhere else.

While I can see the value of this, I prefer a fresh start with a new number each visit. There's always a clingy few I never want to have contact with again.

Hmmmm. The restaurant and pool are the two main reasons I stoped booking at Citrus Soi 6. The pool is tiny, has inadequate seating, and is in the shade much of the day. The restaurant is as average as average can be. I like the exec rooms just fine...lots of furniture to put to creative uses with the girls, and the showers are large enough for two to play in.

I'm a bit shocked at how high prices have climbed at Citrus Suites Soi 6. I'm always in town during January and February and have typically paid about US$85 for an Executive Suite. Now they are going for close to $120. Similar climbs in prices elsewhere, though. I did get a good price at the Mercure on Soi 11 for this January, but since my reservation prices have increased by about 30%.

I've never heard of a pharmacy declining to sell w/o a prescription. LB Pharmacy on lower Suk certainly will sell you any basic prescription.