mauiguy90

Time to send the hillbillies home

Hillibillies?

Not sure you got your geography right...

Photo taken yesterday in MBK.

I wonder how many thaivisa members have actually gone down to see the protesters? Take a chance and see the "angry mob" at work. Jingthing?

Most of them are just regular guys, some of them probably workers who served you dinner recently.

The redshirt faction led by Khun Arisaman, made a big mistake by storming Parliament! It gave the government the impetus for the emergency decree and the right to use force against the redshirts.

Yep, March Madness is here in Bangkok for the first time ever! Kudos to Truevisions who finally realized how popular the NCAA Basketball tournament is. Its more popular than the NBA playoffs because of the intensity of the competition and the ferocity of the fans.

Actually, kudos to Truevisions for bringing ASN into Thailand. It is ASN that has been bringing us the NFL games, NCAA football, NHL, college basketball etc. It is great.

I have to get this ASN channel on Truevision everybody is talking about. Sounds great! So far I've been following the tournament through internet streaming which works fine too, but I would love to have it on the flat screen.

Tonight, or rather tomorrow morning, is tip off for final. What an amazing end to a great tournament if Butler would win the championship.

Hope that you got ASN before the final since I don't think the CBS video broadcast was streamed locally. Again, many thanks to Truevisions for the great coverage of March Madness. Like others, I wrote them a letter requesting coverage but never believed there would be a positive response. Have to send them a letter of thanks now!

Anyone who enjoyed the program should write to:

Truevisions Attn: Kantima Kunjara, Director for Communications

Chulathai Salidupta, Senior Manager for Programming

c/o [email protected] to let them know so we can have continued coverage next year.

Try the M Sports drink made locally. Its cheap and good. Just avoid the yellow stuff and make sure its cold when you drink it, otherwise, it tastes horrible.

The blocking of the interesection is not shutting down any business.... it is the owners of the places who have shut them down of their own free will.

Many have accused the redshirts of shutting down the shopping center but as Levelhead pointed out so clearly, the owners shut the major shopping centers down of their own choosing. There are businesses that are still open and are frankly getting customers because other places are shut down.

The Yellow supporters always point out that the yellows didn't shut down the airport, but the airport management did. The red supporters say the airport management had no choice, so it was the yellows that caused it.

You can't have it both ways.

Interesting that you parallel the two situations. Apparently govt is not handling the situation in the same way as they did with the yellow shirts occupying the airport. I wonder why...

Its about to get very messy at Rachaprasong intersection!

...if the yellow shirts were protesting there, what would happen?

Put another way, did the govt force the yellow shirts out of the airport?

The blocking of the interesection is not shutting down any business.... it is the owners of the places who have shut them down of their own free will.

Many have accused the redshirts of shutting down the shopping center but as Levelhead pointed out so clearly, the owners shut the major shopping centers down of their own choosing. There are businesses that are still open and are frankly getting customers because other places are shut down.

Funny the Dems said nothing and were quite supportive with the yellows shenanigans and now they are pissed nothing was done against the reds? You reap what you sew.

Seems like the red shirts have finally found a way to get the attention of the Bangkok elite--hit them in their pocketbooks!. Funny how serious the tone has become since the protest has settled in the center of capitalism in Bangkok. If this is not a class struggle, why has the outrage about the protests gone up several notches since their occupation of the Rachaprasong area? At the same time, the behaviour of the protesters has been non-violent--a real democratic nation would listen to the needs of the protesters(not necessarily the demands) and enact laws to give the poor opportunities to gain economic success(i.e. buy a home, have quality health care, earn a decent living, etc.)

In a real democratic society, the democrats would enact laws to protect the rights of protesters and demand equal rights for all citizens. Here, the Democrats protect the rights of the rich and keep the poor in their place--servants to the rich! We have yet to see whether the Democrats will resort to violence to protect the pocketbooks of their supporters...however, the handwriting is on the wall!

Looking for a nice, reasonably priced breakfast buffet in Bangkok. Have eaten at the Fortuna before but there must be a place that serves fluffy pancakes, a good omelet bar and nice bacon for a reasonable price(300 baht or less). Don't force me to go to the Nana Hotel or McDonald's...

I was a View Talay 6 this past week. The pricelist from the front office started at 2.3 million baht and up for the lower floors. The office selling condos called Condo6 had a unit selling for 4.8 million baht. A studio priced at 1.9 million baht at a decent floor level sounds like a great deal. I'd appreciate if you PM me should you know of other units around the price range. In any case, seems like the building has a great location although I don't like the big empty lot sitting on the left side of the building.

Had a nice Indian set meal at Mrs. Balbir's food stall at the Robinson Food Court(Top's Asoke). They sell veggie sets for 100 baht and non veggie sets for 120 baht. Non veggie set included naan, butter chicken, dahl, a dish made with Indian cheese, rice and another dish. It was quite good and although not huge servings, filled me up nicely. It was a bit spicy so make sure you have lots of water. Best price for real Indian food I've seen in Bkk!

NipponTei always gets great marks for Japanese food. Several Japanese acquaintances have recommended Otooya to me. Although others may disagree, Otooya attracts many Japanese customers, probably because they seem to specialize in fish and traditional Japanese dishes. Downside is that they don't really sell sushi or ramen, which lots of foreigners enjoy.

Ootoya is an authentic Japanese chain, that's why the Japanese appreciate it.

NipponTei, the one and only time I went to the one in Emporium, was very average and very expensive - no different than Fuji except for price.

Actually the NipponTei at Chidlom is the recommended restaurant. Didn't realize there was one at the Emporium. If its in the food court, I'm not surprised. If it compares with Fuji, they ought to shut it down!

I checked the Nippon Tei website and they don't have an Emporium branch listed. You might be mistaking it for another restaurant or maybe Nippon Tei is embarrassed about the quality of their food at the Emporium (There is a restaurant with a great view of the park but I don't think it was a Nippon Tei.)

nippontei.com/B1_EN.html

I checked on the web and the restaurant you are referring to is actually Nippon Kai (very similar name for some strange reason). Next time I'm at the Emporium, I will check it out but it seems that the names might be intentionally similar. The place does have a great view of the park. It apparently has another branch at Siam Paragon.

NipponTei always gets great marks for Japanese food. Several Japanese acquaintances have recommended Otooya to me. Although others may disagree, Otooya attracts many Japanese customers, probably because they seem to specialize in fish and traditional Japanese dishes. Downside is that they don't really sell sushi or ramen, which lots of foreigners enjoy.

Ootoya is an authentic Japanese chain, that's why the Japanese appreciate it.

NipponTei, the one and only time I went to the one in Emporium, was very average and very expensive - no different than Fuji except for price.

Actually the NipponTei at Chidlom is the recommended restaurant. Didn't realize there was one at the Emporium. If its in the food court, I'm not surprised. If it compares with Fuji, they ought to shut it down!

I checked the Nippon Tei website and they don't have an Emporium branch listed. You might be mistaking it for another restaurant or maybe Nippon Tei is embarrassed about the quality of their food at the Emporium (There is a restaurant with a great view of the park but I don't think it was a Nippon Tei.)

nippontei.com/B1_EN.html

Just had a cheap Indian meal for 120 baht at Mrs. Balbir's in the Top's Supermarket food court. Wasn't bad for the price and altho' it was a bit spicy for my taste. Included naan, buttered chicken, some kind of dahl and a dish made with Indian cheese along with a crispy wafer. It actually was quite filling and enough to satisfy my Indian fix for a while. Definitely worth a try! Besides, the food court is getting busy again and the only available seats were by Mrs. Balbir's...

Next time plan to try the veggie set for 100 baht. Looks even better than the regular set.

Yes, I've eaten at Aoi. They are very good but quite pricey. For a very good lunch set at a decent price, try Honjyo which has daily specials for about 250 baht or so. Haven't made it down to Uomasa yet but heard the food there is great.

NipponTei always gets great marks for Japanese food. Several Japanese acquaintances have recommended Otooya to me. Although others may disagree, Otooya attracts many Japanese customers, probably because they seem to specialize in fish and traditional Japanese dishes. Downside is that they don't really sell sushi or ramen, which lots of foreigners enjoy.

Not sure if anyone mentioned Aoi (Silom soi 6, Emporium 4th floor and Paragon ground floor).

probably one of the best quality Japaense food all around you can get in Thailand.

for sashimi, try Uomasa at Japanese village in Thonglor (and Ekkamai).

Northern Iowa is the star of the tournament now! Yep, they beat Kansas, which is quite an amazing feat. Let's see what happens this weekend.

My pick, the Syracuse Orangemen got squished. The Butler did it!!!

Think about it, NOI beat Kan. Is there a more perfect team than NOI for folks in Thailand to root for? Makes this a Thai relevant thread, right?

Acute Realty is the sales branch of the Siri Group, which develops a bunch of condo developments. They are not the cheapest real estate company around, but they are quite well known and I think, probably among the more reliable companies around. Of course, if you inquire about purchase of properties, they will naturally gravitate towards projects of the Siri Group (and Plus properties).

Hi. They've only asked for the deposit (just a little under a month's rent). They've been nothing but helpful to me over email, so I just wanted to confirm they're legit before I go ahead and send them the money. Thanks for the help everybody!

Your talking about people that are mean with themselves here, the people that have large amounts of money but live their lives as if they were on the bread line, they go through their whole lives saving for the future, these people are never going to die, they will spend their whole lives living as a poor person has to.

Their bank books will have to be prized from their dead frozen fingers. it's very sad but they are the biggest loosers acquiring the money to enjoy themselves but never being able to do so

Hey watch it! You're talking about some of my best friends... Besides when the bank books are "pried from their dead frozen fingers", I plan to be the first in line!

Friend of mine had a girl overnight say she wanted money to buy shampoo and a few other toiletries. He instantly ran out of the room to the maid's cart, grabbed a handful of shampoo and soap, and then proclaimed "You don't have to go shopping. There's plenty of free stuff here."

Friend of mine jumped on the baht bus with me for a short ride. When the fare collection lady came around, he waved her off. He got off shortly after that without paying 8 baht. Think she let him go because he's an older guy. Now he denies ever doing it.

Hey Rex,

I walked by the apartment today. Its actually called SK Tower. Don't know if you'll find it on the internet, as I have tried before unsuccessfully. Here's their phone number: 02-712-4111. The place is fairly new and decent looking, altho everything extra costs money(they charge for fridge and tv too). Anyhow, check it out and best of luck!

Hey Mauiguy90,

Thanks very much for your reply and the info you have given me...I will have a search on Google to find out a bit more about the place you mention - SK Mansion. It sounds handy also being close to Thonglo BTS. Hopefully I can find a few pictures showing the apartments interior etc...I'm not too fussy as will just be there for the 6 weeks so as long as it is clean and in a decent location it should be ok.

If anyone else has any further tips on any other apartments complexes in the area would really appreciate any info.

Thanks again for your help.

The UNESCO building is actually located between Ekamai and Thonglo BTS station. At the Thonglo BTS station, there is an apartment complex called SK Mansion, which will rent by the month for about 8000 baht. This doesn't include water, electricity and other utilities if any. Also there is an extra price for tv and refrigerator rental. There are probably other places closeby, but I don't know of any that rent month by month. If I come across the telephone number for SK Mansion, I will post it however, its probably best if you go directly there yourself and take a look. You can also see it from the skytrain as you travel from BTS Thonglo to Ekamai, close to Sukhumvit 40.

Here's a map of the location from the website:

http://www.unescobkk.org/contact-us/ in case anybody else knows of a good apartment closeby that rents month to month.

Jayhawks are gone, huh...guess Obama will be disappointed.

My pick is the Syracuse Orangemen. I like Jim Boeheim and a friend of mine is from upstate New York. Plus I like the color--Go ORANGE!!! Hope they don't lose before the weekend is up!

Go Jayhawks??? They went, thanks to No. Iowa, perfect example why this is the best sporting event in the U.S. WOW

Check the post at the bottom of this page re:Tennis Courts and Coach Sukhumvit 13. There are several related posts listed there including mine. Should be enough to get you started. Prices for coaches vary however, prices for English speaking coaches are a bit costly.

Went there yesterday...like always a mob of people hunting for great bargains. Some good deals to be found but much better prices available in the US. However, as long as you don't have to fight the crowd to the bathroom, it is a fun shopping experience. Did see a cool pen that is computerized so that it records lectures as well as reads what you write at the same time...starting from about 5.5K baht. When the sales guy wrote the word "hello", he was able to replay the word in several languages as well.

Thanks, I will try them!

Not 5* hotels, but you should give them a try:

Minibar Royale

Crepes & co