tookwan cottage

Wednesdays only - lunch, half way down Patpong - left hand side coming from Silom.

It's actually THURSDAYS ONLY, and the place is called Derby King. Amazing flavour and still so cheap. Been going for many many years, highly recommended!

Thank you kindly for the correction and the name of the venue.

The very best place is down the road from Mayfair Suites Apartments on Yen Chit in Sathorn. The owner is from Chiang Mai, and it tends to get very busy at lunchtime. They do Khao Soi - and other Lanna style food.

http://goo.gl/maps/Pw71X

If you spent any time living in Chiang Mai - you DO NOT want the culinary disappointment of buying this in a food court or airport. I had the Don Mueang Airport concoction once - not recommended.

Thank you so much, as I live in Sathorn!!

And yes, I am very fussy with my khao soi—I would only visit the one venue in CM.

Fortune Mall, basement, not bad, Don Meung airport - quite good.

With this degree of desperation, I probably will end up making the trip to DM! Thank you kindly

Thank you everyone!! My gratitude is of the highest order

I am sure this has been asked before, but, please, if anyone knows of a place to buy decent khao soi in BKK, then I MUST know immediately. I was even considering traveling to Chiang Mai just to eat the dish again, which used to be my daily morning treat when I was living there.

But I now love BKK so much that I have resorted to the TV forum, of all things!

Please, please, if you can help, I will extend so much gratitude that you will be questioning your astrology sign.

Thank you in advance,

TC

They should perhaps start arresting the customers of prostitutes, both Thai and falang to cut down the demand. It's always the girls that get arrested never the sex tourists, adulterers and Thais. It is illegal after all.

If the girls are of a legal age and doing it willingly, why anyone needs to be arrested? If you have issues with hookers, don't use them. The OP is about the human trafficking and girls forced into prostitution - big difference!

Ah, unless you yourself happen to be a sex worker, the respectful term is "sex worker" and sex workers consciously and consensually work in the "sex industry." Simple, no? Thanks in advance :-)

Tip of the iceberg... If authorities would really want to fight against prostitution, they would start to clean all entertainment venues, starting by ALL massage parlors on Ratchada, Nana Plaza and Cowboy and so on...

Nonsense. This raid was all about FORCED prostitution. No one but puritanical prudes are out to stop sex workers from doing it because they rather do that than a lesser paying job. As was said before, anyone who is involved in FORCED prostitution should be put in chains in the darkest dungeon and left there for life.

I HOPE the raid was about "FORCED prostitution," as opposed to voluntary sex work undertaken by conscious and aware ladies. Unfortunately, the two concepts are inaccurately and unjustly conflated, and the results are typically disastrous. Faith-based NGOs are usually instigators of the disasters.

Juicetin,

Congrats on the job offer.

Living in Bangkok and the quality of your life depends on several things. What you expect and what you can afford are probably 2 of the main ones.

I've lived here for 5 years and came here after having lived in Hong Kong for 35 years. I've also had family living in Singapore for many years so I know it well too.

Rental costs are approx 1/4 to 1/6th of the cost of Hong Kong, so you may well be able to live in something much cheaper than you are used to in Singapore, or larger (or both). If your budget can extend to over 30,000 baht a month then you'll be able to live in a very nice condo. You can (depending where in BKK you want to live) find good condos for much less, it just depends what you want.

My first condo was 40,000 baht a month and because of the size (150 sqm) it was expensive to keep cool. I now live in a very good studio apartment with better facilities (pool and gym), close to the BTS (Bangkok's Skytrain) and I pay 8000 baht (315 SGD) a month..... so my advice is look for a good studio first and then perhaps upgrade if you really want (need) more space.

Are you a typical Singapore expat who enjoys drinking down Clarke Quay several nights a week? Or are you more of a quiet stay at home type person? Bangkok has abundant nightlife of all types, what type of place you frequent will depend on your income level and age..... When I first arrived here I was introduced to the beer bars where drinks are cheap, the staff are all bar girls and the other patrons were mostly older retired blokes..... I made some friends but ultimately that was so far from the scene I enjoyed in Hong Kong it got boring and I had no interest in bar girls... I now drink in bars which are just like the type you find in Clarke Quay or Hong Kong.... a vodka soda will run you between 250 baht to 350 baht (9.85 - 13.78 SGD) in those places, but you will be surrounded by beautiful, young people and the music will be better!

The other factor is where your office is going to be located, if you are lucky and its on the BTS (Skytrain) or MRT (underground) then you will not need to use taxis much or need a car. I live outside of the main heart of Bangkok, but I live next to a BTS station and my commute is only 20 mins. Being a bit outside of course keep my rent cheaper. The train journey is 40 baht each way (1.57 SGD)

Food here is affordable (even imported) simply because you and I being from Singapore and HK are used to much higher prices for imported things.

I hope that help, obviously I don't know what is important to you so if you have any questions feel free to PM me

Regards.

Can I ask where you found a good condo, with pool and gym, near BTS for 8,000b?

Please, can an answer be provided to this excellent question?? I can understand that one would want to keep such information under wraps, so to speak, but in the interests of altruism, a response will be much appreciated :-)

Fully aware what a speedball is but usually only shot up not taken as a pill or chased. Usually drug users/addicts prefer either going up or down, there are some duel habit users but they are a minority. A bag of H may sometimes be used to take the edge off of a rock session but as a rule you usually devote your life to 1 or the other.

Like I said originally, unlikely to catch on.

You seem to know a lot about it.I hope you aren't one of these druggy losers

Oh, you must be one of those "druggy winners", who uses caffeine every morning, maybe smokes cigarettes throughout the day, and then drinks alcohol from lunchtime onwards. I may have the timeframes wrong, but you probably also take paracetamol the next morning to assuage the hangover or dehydration headache.

Wow, I feel honored to meet a "druggy winner"!!

Can't see how that will work out, yabba is an upper and heroin a downer. Can't see people queuing up to stay the same as before they took it, only with a horrendous comedown.

JeremyBowskill, like 90% of the human race, it would be worth your time to understand what the actual definition of a "drug" is, rather than the misinformation you have been spoon-fed by governments throughout the world.

Nicotine (yes, that's right—it is a "drug) is a stimulant, while alcohol/ethanol (Wow, how about that? It is also a "drug") is a depressant. Both are consumed together, at the same time, by many, many people. You could probably walk to the 7/11 now and encounter this seemingly contradictory practice.

Yes, I sound pompous, but the drugs concept is actually quite straightforward and yet the vast majority of people approach it like a person diving head-first into shallow water. Seriously, the brain is an amazing, amazing thing, and I am perplexed as to why it is so under-utilized. Really.

BangkokWilliams2, please speak with the:

PSI Thailand Foundation

Q.House Convent Building Unit 12A
12th Floor
38 Convent Road
Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Thailand
Phone: + 66 (02) 234-9225(-29)
Fax: + 66 (02) 234-9230

Make sure you ask for Pascal.

I guess I should have expected people to discredit my post as another of "my friend told me".......... etc etc.

So, it never happened to you - so it obviously never happens (ed). Have I got news for you !

Just for your information; I took the phone call myself from the girl who was locked in a taxi being driven to the far outskirts of Bangkok, I was on the phone when the taxi driver hit her and told her to be quiet - but I don't need to prove myself to anyone.

I was walking (with the same girl) in Sathorn near Chong Nonsi BTS when a motorcycle on the pavement rode up next to us and stole her handbag, I gave chase, of course but lost them. But I don't need to prove myself to anyone.

I was walking together with her on Sukhumvit when a passing male grabbed her innaproriately as he walked past.

I was the one, yes me, myself who was stopped 9 times by the police in the 2 years i lived in Bangkok, always in the same district and even consulted a lawyer because it was getting ridiculous.

Are these "first hand" stories enough for you?

But maybe I am, as you said either not "street smart" or just very unlucky.

But then 'I guess everyone sees things differently' !

I just wanted to pass on my experiences 'first hand' and let people see beyond the 'rose tinted spectacles' - thinking maybe Bangkok is not always how it seems.

Perhaps when my friend has finished trying to replace her bank cards and ATM cards and get a new sim card this morning - I will ask if she is sure it really happened? or tell her maybe she was 'just unlucky' to be robbed at knifepoint last night is Sathorn. Bangkok is such a lovely calm and safe place - apparently !

Get a grip. I have never been treated so well in a country over the last year in BKK. I have, however, come across farangs who don't think twice about conveying their inflated sense of self-entitlement and the degrading, stereotypical tropes of Thais/Asians they refuse to let go of. Not only is it evident when they are vocal, but also in their body language—when walking along the street, waiting in queues, etc. A recent favorite was seeing a very large farang inappropriately clinging onto a motorbike taxi rider (using both arms in what could only be described as an "intimate embrace"), and it was abundantly clear that the rider was not pleased about it at all.

Anyway, I obviously know nothing because your experience is the final word on the matter. I hope your circumstances have improved somewhat.

Having lived and worked in Asia for 13 years, I now realise I have led a sheltered life.

I have never heard the "slope" expression used before and if some sensationalists hadn't written this drivel, I would still have been happily ignorant of it's meaning.

+1, a shitstorm about buggerall by the PC brigade as usual!

I am going to bet my next 12 months salary that you actually have no idea what "PC" or "politically correct" actually means, and are just using it in this context because you are accustomed to use certain terms in particular situations due to social conditioning. It is like when people use the term "semantics" because they have trained themselves, based on positive reactions in particular situations; when in actual fact, they do not have the faintest clue of its actual meaning. If you think I am mistaken, then please explain to me the accurate meaning of "PC" without using Google or any other search engine first, okay?

Thanks for yet another tip!

The OP knows what is going on. I have recently had the chance to rigorously compare gmail, yahoo, and outlook, and gmail is the clear winner.

I am not a Google clone or employee, but they simply have the best system—with the best spam filter—and I only keep the other two for work purposes.

Houk & Bank at Pantip Plaza

1st Floor, Room 167

M: +6683 826 9995 or +6683 242 8338

Hauk has a good command of English and is the best to deal with, as he holds the most authority.

If you did not have unprotected sex with your partner, then either blood was exchanged during sex (where there was an open wound on BOTH partners' bodies), or you shared a syringe during a drug-taking session. The latter is often more likely, as people are scared to ask for syringes at pharmacies and there are no needle & syringe programs in Thailand yet, so they share equipment (esp. if the other person seems "clean"). BTW, pharmacy staff have been trained in this area of public health and should always be consulted for such matters.

Of course, you may have contracted hep B prior to traveling to Thailand in your native country.

Blood does not have to be exchanged. Contact with any body fluids (including vaginal secretions) can do it if there are tiny abrasions on the skin where you come into contact.

Hep B is far more easily transmitted than HIV.

Condom use definitely reduces risk but does not totally eliminate it.

Fortunately there is an effective vaccine.

Fair point about the sexual fluids Sheryl and I apologize for my remiss response. Two other points also worth considering are that the amount of viral load is also a factor, so the variables are numerous, and the vaccine is not effective for every single person who receives it, so make sure you are not in that vaccine-resistant minority.

If you did not have unprotected sex with your partner, then either blood was exchanged during sex (where there was an open wound on BOTH partners' bodies), or you shared a syringe during a drug-taking session. The latter is often more likely, as people are scared to ask for syringes at pharmacies and there are no needle & syringe programs in Thailand yet, so they share equipment (esp. if the other person seems "clean"). BTW, pharmacy staff have been trained in this area of public health and should always be consulted for such matters.

Of course, you may have contracted hep B prior to traveling to Thailand in your native country.

Thank you kindly to impulse and Familyonthemove for the prompt and helpful replies. I never thought I would ever say this, but the Thai Visa Forum is becoming a useful resource for me!

Dear TV readers:

I urgently need to make a purchase from a business on Rama IV road, about 400 m. around the corner from Sala Daeng BTS.

Can anyone tell me if the businesses in that part of the city will be open tomorrow (it is a large pharmacy) and whether it is safe to quickly pop in and out of the area?

Thanks in advance,

TC

I've used several different Apple repair facilities, and I recommend "UFicon", located in Pantip Plaza.

Thank you kindly for this hhgz!

Thank you ubonjoe. So much for my claim that I would never engage on TV forums ...

Thank you kindly uptheos. And yes, "Resentment is the poison you swallow hoping the other person will die".

Thank you for this. Will the location information be on the immigration office's website?