Grawburg

..where?

I'm voting for Khao San Road as the worst area in BKK. Hundreds of wanna be cool kids spending mom & dads money to walk around and wish they were hipsters. Their crappy attitudes rub off on already slimy touts yielding some of the rudest tuktuk drivers and vendors I've ever come across in Asia. There's a crowded obnoxionsness to the whole area aggrevated by taxi drivers who only charge 100B to get you home (ok, unless you walk a few blocks and speak Thai, but don't bother me I'm on a roll) No - I don't want a suit, or a wood frog, or a massage, or a glowing helicopter thingy and when I say kab khun krup you could at least acknowledge it...

Runners up = NaNa & Cowboy

Honorable mention = Siam BTS

BNH has a list of their checkup packages on their website under promotions or packages. I did The Royal about 2 weeks ago and it took 3'ish hours. After 2 weeks all of the results will be emailed to you. Good service, nice staff, very efficient, and much less busy than Bumru.

I realize Lumpini Park is a bit crowded these days, but during the day is it open for jogging or are the tents in the jogging path too?

Thanks...I'll go with Mole's suggestion....no need to make it more complicated.

I typed "klang" but was saying "klong." American here....not Scandanavian, but I live in French West Africa so who knows where I was getting the sounds from.

Funny story....last night wife and I went to a Vietnamese restaurant here in Libreville (!) and I was trying to ask for a Vietnamese coffee (cafe sur dah) from the host who spoke French...instead of "avez-vous un cafe sur da?" I said - "mii cafe sur da mai?"

It took me a second to figire out why she gave me a weird look....ugghhh...8 days till I go back to BKK and already making the linguistic switch.

ok, so....kaw yaa 2 klang noi krub?

Hello all. If I am asking for 2 boxes of medicine, I believe กล่อง (klang) the right word for box, but what's the classifier?

As in kaw klang 2 (classifier) noi krub?

What's the classifier? Thanks.

Hmmmm...well according to BKK Post article, the area went to hell last night with shooting. Hope this clears out by March 19 when I get there.....Saladaeng Soi 1.

Thanks everyone...well, mostly everyone. I've managed to pick out the useful phrases.

As for the suggestion to use google translate, I encourage you not to. As I have to translate documents between French and English as part of my work now, I've tried to get lazy and google translate. It's close, but often not totally accurate. If I don't trust it for French I'm sure not going to trust it for Thai.

Back in a couple of weeks and wondered if anyone had any pics of this intersections? Is it blockaded like it was in 2010?

Gabonese women are hot! I hope you're taking the opportunity

Agreed... Apart from the pygmies.

please why not the pygmies?

Actually, they're not bad. This is a hidden monger gem....for those who are mongers....

Not so hot are the pygmies. I see them when I drive from Libreville to Lambarane. The forest pygmies have relocated from the jungle to the roadsides where they sell bushmeat and other supplies to drivers and road workers. Always a bit rough looking those pygmies.

Two different scenarios and am curious if the words are at all the same...

1) I have a guy I take pictures to get framed. I have two pieces of artwork and the art is actually a design made from butterfly wings. How do I tell him "be careful" "handle gently" "this is fragile."

2) How do I tell the foot massage ladies to not rub my feet so darn hard? How do I say "gently please" "not too hard"

Thanks...if you want to suggest full sentences that fine as I can speak some thai so I don't need to speak in fragments.

Anyone know of a music store where I can get a used trumpet for 3,000B or less? Preferably near Silom, but I'll take any suggestion.

There's a leather shop on Silom near the Saladaeng BTS on the Patpong side. It was right around the entrance the Beruit restaurant if memory serves....somewhere around there.

Lumpini Park at dark.

There is a little park next to the pier that serves Wat Pho that is nice, but it's small. In fact, get the river taxi to that pier and once the sun sets the walk from the pier down to the flower market is basically deserted. Then you can walk through the flower market (not quiet) and grab a taxi at the end of the market.

Sanam Luam (spelling?) late in the day.

Golden Mount area.

There is a sort of boardwalk "pier" on the Thonburi side of the river starting near the wat where you can feed the turtles...what's that wat called...ahhh...google it, but there's a boardwalk there along the river that takes you buy a Catholic Church and a cool Chinese temple. Been a while so memory is a bit fuzzy.

Walk around Wat Arun near closing time.

Curt1591- thanks. Cook chom looks like a winner. I was trying to find out what the Thai name of the place was so I could ask for it when I got off the pier, then I read the sigh behind him....cook chom! That should make it easy! Thanks again.

Can't find anything to my liking doing random searches. Anyone got an online link to nice nighttime skyline posters?

Looking for what people consider to be the best photo book of BKK....stuck here in West Africa for 2 years makes me miss BKK so I'd love a nice big coffee table book I can thumb through.

Prefer something 2012 or newer and some "then and now" pics would be cool, too. Any suggestions? Doesn't need to be in English as I'm more interested at looking at the pictures than reading the captions.

Hello folks. Coming back to BKK soon and I'm looking for a new place to eat alongside the river. I need to try something new and I need your help....here are my requirements.

1) Not at a hotel.

2) Not the restaurant above Arun Residences as I have been there 1,000 times and they need to change their menu up a bit...unless the menu has changed recently.

3) Someplace that I can take kids....in other words - not a bar.

4) The menu needs to at least have pictures. My Thai is good enough to get around town, but not read a menu.

5) Need good river view.

6) Close to one of the river taxi boat docks would be a plus assuming I can walk/tuk-tuk/taxi easily from there.

7) A mix of farang food and Thai food would be helpful with the kids - but NOT a place just for farang. If anyone has a really local place - that's great as long as there are some pictures of the food on the menu....(the kids can eat rice.)

8) Don't need a/c - outside is better.

9) Prefer the city side of the river, but if you've got something really great on the far side - let me know.

Thanks!

Boy I leave for a year and everything changes....just saw that O'Reilys on Silom is now Flann O'Brien. When did this happen?

It's probably too late, but if the old glass window pane with o'reilys on it is still around I'd love to buy it...or any of the old o'reilys signs. That used to be my watering hole so I have a special,place in my heart for that old bar.

I'd go to the bar and ask them but since I don't live in BKK anymore it makes it tough.

Not sure where you are in town, but in the parking garage area between Silom Center and the Starbucks on Convent is a wonderful wine store. I personally didn't think the wine prices were too over the top if you look around a bit. Come to think of it - isn't there a wine store inside Silom? Maybe that was before the place was renovated...but there is one in the parking area.

Don't forget, you're only a couple hours drive from Thailand's wine country near Khao Yai!

If I may pile on.....there is a translation service just up the road across from Lumpini Park. Leave the Embassy going towards Lumpini Park and it's on the right hand side near the pedestrian overpass. There's another one on Saladaeng just before or after Bangkok Burger Co. Good luck!

What happened to my beloved Mentos Air.....only found 1 mom and pop store and had to buy them out. 7-11 said they don't have them any more....

When I was back in town a few weeks ago I saw that it closed.....anyone know what happened?

Just got back from a 3 week holiday in BKK after having moved away 7 months ago (to work in West Africa..ughhh)...wow, was it great to be back! A couple of comments to share and some questions to ask.

1) Is it just my bad memory or were the last few weeks in BKK very hazy? I don't remember seeing that much haze in the street lights at night or looking out over the city. Has it gotten hazier or more polluted in the last few months?

2) Quite disappointed to go to 7-11 and find that Mentos Air/Strong are no longer on the shelves. When did this happen?? Because of a serious addiction to Mentos Air, I had to go find mom and pop shops that still had some left and buy them out.

3) The fountain at Lumpini Park is still broken? Come on!

4) Great to see the BTS extensions up and running...

5) Still amazed at the condos going up....still debating if I buy and hold....

6) So happy the low cost airlines moved out to DMK. I'll take DMK over BKK any day of the week. Made the CNX and Krabi trip so easy.

7) What happened to Jim Thompson restaurant on Saladaeng Soi 1? I asked the guard what happened, but got in over my head with the Thai....anyone know?

8) Found a good lunchtime kao soi at the intersection of Convent and Saladaeng 2.....40b and yummy.

9) Wow, did Silom Complex get a nice upgrade. It was closed when we left. Nice addition of restaurants....sure wish there was a movie theater down there.

10) As always, the Beatles cover band at O'Reily's on Friday nights was spectacular.

11) Did the tolls from BKK to downtown go up or just bad memory again?

12) Nothing like walking into my favorite bar 7 months after I leave and they still remember what I drink! The people here in Gabon can't remember my drink order 7 seconds after I place it.

13) Wow, speaking Thai came back to me a lot quicker than I expected!

Thanks everyone!