OM3N

Hello. I have been looking around at apartments and stumbled upon something that really seems too good to be true. The Lotus on SuanPlu is right where I need to be, and looks very nice. http://www.mybangkokapartments.com/en/serviced-apartments/Thailand/Bangkok/Studio/Classic-Studio---The-Lotus/1447#overview

Has anyone been/stayed here before? I can't find anything on tripadvisor. Any info would be much appreciated!

Hello. I have been looking around at apartments and stumbled upon something that really seems too good to be true. The Lotus on SuanPlu is right where I need to be, and looks very nice. http://www.mybangkokapartments.com/en/serviced-apartments/Thailand/Bangkok/Studio/Classic-Studio---The-Lotus/1447#overview

Has anyone been/stayed here before? I can't find anything on tripadvisor. Any info would be much appreciated!

It is. Actually run by a good buddy of mine. If you go down soi 34 (Emporium soi) and reach the Davis Hotel, take a right, it will be on your left. Tell Seamus Jesse sent you

Hello. I plan on ordering a book set weighing around 40 pounds and costing around 450 dollars from Amazon.com. In the shipping window Amazon reminds me that I may be charged extra by customs in "my country of residence".

Has anyone ordered large and expensive items from Amazon (or similar online retailers) and encountered issues with customs?

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

Please stop using the word pizza in the same sentence as 'The Pizza Company'

It's as bad as 'military intelligence', 'French bravery' and 'Italian Razor Companies' !

verified here.... of course.... Not a pizza

Haha gotta love NTN.

Fantastic game! Been playing it for a week now....so much to discover ...so much to do.

Never played the earlier games. Would I be disappointed compared to Skyrim if I went back and played them now?

Sadly you will probably be underwhelmed with the previous games.

Not to say that thwy were bad (800++ hours in morrowind) It's just the fact thAt Skyrim is so much better

Just D/Led Skyrim from Steam yesterday (25 hour download! hate the internet speed here.)

As a fan of the Elder Scrolls Series for nearly ten years (since Morrowind) now I found this to be the best iteration yet. I played a solid 14 hours! hahah. The game just loses you in it's beauty and immensity.

Anyone else been playing this game (on PC?)? I can't wait to see what the amazing modding community comes up with in the next years. They basically changed Oblivion and Morrowind into barely recognizable games with the amount of custom content they created.

Just D/Led Skyrim from Steam yesterday (25 hour download! hate the internet speed here.

As a fan of the Elder Scrolls Series for nearly ten years now I found this to be the best iteration yet. I played a solid 14 hours! hahah. The game just loses you in it's beauty and immensity.

Anyone else been playing this game (on PC?)?

here is a great video of flooding in BKK circa 1942.

Huge downpours and intermittent power at KluayNamtai/Sukhumvit 42.

Was recently on a moto taxi from Carrefour Rama 4 (now Big C those bastards!)going to Kluaynamthai in full business attire midday. 2 motocops pulled us over, usually this is due to helmet infractions, but I had one supplied by my driver. I was pocket searched, and when asked where my passport was I replied in uber-polite Thai that I don't make a habit of carrying it around with me daily, as I don't want to risk losing it. They seemed satisfied and went on their way. I asked the motorcycle taxi dude if that was a common occurence and he replied "Those two cops always bother me." HAha such is life here. Was pretty strange though.

L'Opera Soi39...or Basilico on Soi33....Limoncello has gone downhill imo the last couple of years.

L'Opera is great, but I would choose Giusto on Soi 23. By far the best Italian I have had in Bangkok.

Just started a new job Near Sala Daeng, been doing the rush hour commute from Ekkamai and back daily. It is absolutely miserable. Something must be done, but alas probably won't.

Loved my kindle until a few weeks ago when I took it out from my laptop bag and found the screen frozen at the top half. The bottom half of the screen functions fine, but the top half is stuck on the "screensaver". Was not dropped or jarred at all. After some research this seems to be a pretty common issue. Be careful, they are damaged very easily.

Thanks again!

It is only open 06-2400 and has a higher charge than normal immigration fee from reports I have read - but yes there is a desk available for exiting pax now to obtain a re-entry permit.

Thanks for the quick reply! Any idea what the fee is for single re-entry? Normally 1000 TBH right?

So I have heard that there is again a re-entry counter at the airport. Can anyone confirm this? Thanks for any help!

Sorry to resurrect, but this is a great thread.

I have been here nearly 7 years now (27 at the moment). I remember coming here at first and having a double take at the language, I wasn't sure of my long term plans at this point, but Thai just fascinated me for some reason.

I grew up in Kathmandu as a small kid, and spoke mostly Hindi/Nepali till I was 4 ("Can we go to the "Stupa Market" (Super Market) was a favorite with my mom). After arriving in California and the absolutely lovely American public education system, I had lost it all by the age of 6. I basically cannot speak either anymore apart from normal greetings and food stuff.

To me it is very interesting how young children are programmed to learn language. It is simply another step in evolution I guess, but it occurred much more quickly than the previous major steps in evolution.

Anyways, I dove in head-first to learning Thai. I went to Thong Lo Thai Language school and studied 2 hours reading/writing + 1 hour speaking a day with a 1-on-1 teacher(An extremely attractive lady I might add) 3 times a week. I did these 9 hours a week for 3 months, 87 hours total. I came out able to read pretty well, although I couldn't necessarily understand everything I was reading.

Over the next few years I slowly added to my vocabulary without ever picking up another book. I read things and tried to learn from a purely contextual standpoint. I would see a new word and remember it, then ask someone who knew how to translate it, usually a friend from University. This continued for a long time. I sometimes got lazy, but I always had my radar up for new and interesting lingo.

So here I am now. I can read absolutely fluently and understand 80% of what I read in the newspaper. My speaking is still not perfect, I still have trouble with tones at times. And I cannot write well at all due to my peculiar inability to memorize the tone of each consonant (read laziness).

Anyways, I would say to the OP to not give up, just loosen up a bit. Perhaps find some friendly Thais to have a beer with and let the conversation flow, gesticulations and all. Language not need be simply verbal, and a lot of times it is more enjoyable that way.

Good luck to everyone studying Thai out there.

Military presence is already ramped up around lower sukhumvit, as reported by a buddy. Are they planning to stage at Rachaprasong again, or where.

I cant see a repeat of the last madness happening, but have a feeling it's not gonna come up roses. It'll be an interesting weekend.

The major difference in Leo is the brewery in which it was brewed. Bottles come from either the Pathum Thani or Khon Kaen Brewery. The Khon Kaen bottles taste FAR inferior. This can be checked on the label, but it is obviously only written in Thai. As far as I know the cans all come from Pathum Thani.

The more you know.

PS: two weeks without a drink here, sigh.

I just arrived with an unlocked IPhone. Which GPRS service is the best? I would prefer to keep my current number if at all possible.

Edit: I am looking for an unlimited data plan.

Sorry for the bump. I know there are some serious foodies here, someone must know something.

I just bought a beautiful and expensive Japanese Chef's knife, and am scared to ruin it by sharpening it myself. Does anyone know of a good knife sharpening service in BKK?

Any help much appreciated.

I heard the explosions and gunfire yesterday from my balcony (Suk. 89.). Walked to lotus this morning, every phone booth and bus stop on the way was shattered. One bus stop was hit by a molotov. Bangkok Bank branch near Soi 83 had front windows shattered.

Are you both mad. Embassys are telling people not to go to Thailand never mind Bangkok and you are arriving soon.Braindead comes to mind

What do you suggest I do then? You know nothing about my situation, so I don't see how you are in a position to comment about it.

So I take it you don't know what the situation is like around Sukhumvit, so your comment is even more worthless.

FO advice is always over the top. If part of a city is unsafe, they will advise not to go to any part of the city. That is just not good advice.

I have also read of Brits who live there and still feel very safe. If they feel safe, there's no reason that I shouldn't feel safe.

All I'm asking is what it's like in a particular area.

OK, to answer the questions (and obviously this is a purely personal assessment and any travel plans that you make will be on your own best judgement):

Sukhumvit Soi 2 is close to the Ploenchit perimeter. There have, apparently, been some issues in The Nana area already, and I have seen that some of the smaller businesses around Soi 3 and Soi 4 have decided to close down as a precaution. My fear would be that if there is a 'crack down' then the Sukhumvit/Ploenchit interchange might become an overspill area for the troubles. There are plenty of other tailor shops and bars further up Sukhumvit, as well as several hotels to choose from.

Soi 23 is very quiet right now, although it is relatively close to the PM's house. Everything is open here; the only real difference is the drop off in customers, and the reduction in the numbers of 'street people' and motorcycle taxi drivers loitering around the Soi Cowboy area, so actually a bit of an improvement. BTW, I live on 23, so have little choice in the 'should I stay or should I go' stakes.

The overall situation in Bangkok remains unpredictable, to say the least. Sukhumvit has been the scene for several Red motorcades in the past weeks; these are probably a thing of the past, but who can tell?

It is up to you whether or not you still want to come to Bangkok. As one respondent said, Pattaya might be a better option (it is extremely hot here, in addition to the political and safety issues, so the beach might be better). If you do come to Bangkok, any avoidance tactics should be at the personal level. Simply stay away from any known trouble spots, and don't interact with any demonstrators from any of the factions. Some visitors seem to believe that the demonstrations are a form of tourist attraction, or even that they themselves can contribute to the cause. That is their prerogative, but I would NOT encourage any such activity.

Finally: One of the other respondents on this thread raised a very valid point. Many of the bar and service staff in both Nana and Cowboy and beyond are Red-aligned or even -activists. A good move is therefore to avoid discussion of the current political situation when you are out and about, even within your group of friends, and especially don't try to debate the topic with any locals that you may meet in these areas. There is no point. Just try to live with this temporary restriction on your Freedom of Speech, and talk about something else (e.g. how nice Thai food is, football, etc., etc.). This advice also covers any interaction that you may have with taxi drivers.

I hope these opinions are in some way helpful to you in your making your own decisions. Stay safe!

Thanks for the real info mate! It is very meaningful!

There is huge black plumes of smoke I can see from my balcony about 30 minutes ago (Sukhumvit 89).