jfchandler

According to the Thai Visa exchange rate page...

The rate U.S. $ to baht one year ago today was 33.89

http://baht.thaivisa.com/currency-rate-on-2007-11-22.html

The rate today, based on the TV site, was 35.12

http://baht.thaivisa.com/currency-rate-on-2008-11-22.html

March and April 08 got down into the 31s....but it was better both before and after then.

Last saw 35ish rates around March-April 07...and then downward after that...

It's always nice to see someone showing the place where I live...

But.... the video quality is really weak, particularly in low light or motion situations, very pixelated... Dunno if it's your original camera or the way you're encoding it for YouTube. But if you're going to do more, you ought to see if you can achieve a better quality video result.

Gotta give you credit, though. Eating fish with chopsticks in one hand and shooting video of it with a camera in the other definitely takes some skill...

So they weigh your turkey on a scale?

I'll be eating at Bully's about 2 pm. Girlx welcome to join. jchandler is the guy 7 foot tall.

6-7 or 6-8, depending on how I'm feeling that day... Don't exaggerate...please....

I know the Sports Corner bar a bit...just enough to have stopped by one night...and then went traveling onward...

But I didn't know anything, until checking/reading tonight after the post above, about Big John's food there.... As best as I can tell, Big John's is an Aussie guesthouse operator located out by Thong Lor who's branched out a bit into selling meat pies and such thru Villa markets and some other places...

Anyone have any experience with what Big John's does with an American Thanksgiving dinner.... No vegemite please...

Two year Yahoo finance chart on U.S. $ vs. Thai baht... So basically, we're back to where we were almost two years ago... not so bad... from a historical perspective...

Now, if only my stock portfolio would start following the same trend line...

I'd like to know...where the h**l do Thai teenagers get grenade launchers and hand grenades from??? ...

Certainly, it's hard to know if PAD's future plans for Thailand are the right ones, given the anti-democratic elements involved... But at least, since the original NBT fiasco, they have kept pretty closely to their non-violent civil disobedience approach against the government.

Clearly, the same cannot be said for their opponents....

I was also wondering where I could get my hands on some cat nip and rosemary essential oil. I have heard it is a great mosquito repellant as I hate the toxicity of the deet based stuff. Last night I was eaten alive having only spent two hours out side.

Thanks!

I'm sure there are other options. But re essential oils, I found a small open-air shop inside the Food Hall in the basement of Siam Paragon that was stocking like the 1 oz bottles of the various different oils. I was looking for, and they had eucalyptus, though it was a bit pricey compared to the USA. I'm pretty sure they also would have had rosemary, since they had at least a dozen different varieties. No name that I can recall... Just a small counter and table in the drugs/health section. I had to ask and a store staff pointed me to the right lady and location.

Sorry, I know it's BKK, not CM.... just in case...

If you look above, post #6 has a link to maps and addresses of all their locations....

So why do you have to eat Turkey just at christmas time ? I guess it is your tradition as well it is where I come from, I never ever had any turkey at christmas at all you just get ripped of I buy the turkey when ever I like to eat it.

In my family, by tradition, preparing the turkey et. al. -- and all the labor that goes into it -- is kind of a holiday gift the preparer gives to their other family members. My grandmother used to fix it when I was a kid, then my father (since my Mom was a lousy cook), then me in later years before I moved to Thailand. Kind of a family tradition that gets passed along to each generation.

As food, I like turkey for eating also, anytime. But if you're fixing it throughout the year, then, somehow, what you do at Thanksgiving and Christmas becomes less of a special occasion. That's probably why we don't, generally speaking.

Girl X... the Atrium at the Landmark Hotel is a perfectly comfortable environment for solos...

But their price is pricey for a single, whereas they have a 50% discount for a party of 4... Why not arrange a Thanksgiving pissup of like minded folks...

Roadhouse in Silom, likewise, would be fine for a single, though the poster above didn't mention their prices, and I've never been there for Thanksgiving, so I can't vouch for their offerings.

I'd say a single lady would be fine at the Bourbon Street buffet as well... since the old geezers there generally have different feminine companionship in mind...

It's more of a CHAIN than many of us might imagine...

See the list and map of their locations in and around BKK....

http://www.dininginthailand.com/13coinsmap.asp

Happened to come across mention yesterday of the new membership program (which includes dining and lodging discounts) from the Landmark Hotel in BKK. I was interested to see the details because apparently, in recognition of the current and future economics ahead, they seem to have reduced the price and some benefits of their package, but still have a potentially interesting offering.

I know we had some posts on this a year or so ago here, but I couldn't find them thru any manner of search terms. So I'm starting a fresh thread here.

If my memory serves, their annual card last year was 6,000 baht or more. The new version, called the Club Landmark membership program, is only 4,900 baht. It seems they have scaled back the free lodging and lodging discounts some compared to the prior. But the dining discounts offered remain particularly good, especially approaching the holidays.

Those include for the new program discounts of the following amounts at any of the Landmark's 7 main restaurants (including the Huntsman Pub): 33% discount for single party, 50% off 2-4 persons, and 30% off 5-10 persons, as well as 15% off all beverages.

The package also includes a free lunch or dinner buffet for up to four people at the hotel's Atrium restaurant and a certificate for a free birthday cake within the month after the cardholder's birthday.

There are also a variety of other discounts and certificates included as well, but I mentioned above the most useful/useable ones. Given that the holidays are approaching, and the Landmark has some excellent offerings such as the RR&B steak house, buffets at the Atrium Cafe and the Huntsman, it's an interesting offer.

Just the value of the free dinner buffet for four people in connection with the cardholder's birthday would cover most of the membership cost. And the rest is just cake....especially if you're doing any amount of entertaining thru the year.

Club_Landmark_4900b.pdf

http://www.landmarkbangkok.com/club.html

Two words for you....

"Want delivery"....

Vegas, re Bourbon Street, I checked their web site today and found, in addition to their regular eat-in Thanksgiving buffet, that this year they are also offering take-out Thanksgiving dinners.

http://www.bourbonstbkk.com/Thanksgiving_2008.html

ps- you'll need Adobe Reader software to open their menu/order form...

Todd...what are you doing...when the guy says... let's meet on web cam???

No... no problem... I'm OK for that...

But regarding the above dining promo from the Marriott, I gotta get out my international dictionary just to figure out what's for dinner... (Who do they think they are writing for....?) And I thought learning Thai was hard....

Let's take a quick TV quiz here:

Assiette??

ballotine??

Tian??

Veloute??

Hmm... at least I know... "crostini"....

And, for the luxury-minded, spend-free few among us (BKKJames, I'm referring to YOU!!!)...

Celebrate Thanksgiving Feast at Trader Vic’s

On Thursday November 27th, the traditional Thanksgiving Day is alive at Bangkok’s famous Trader Vic’s restaurant of Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa!

Trader Vic’s masterful chefs have created sumptuous 6-course special dishes to celebrate “Thanksgiving Day”. Choose from Assiette of Thanksgiving Turkey — Roasted breast, ballotine of leg and foie gras stuffing with brussel sprouts, Tian of Blue Swimmer Crab and Avocado — Cucumber carpaccio, chilled gazpacho ravioli, Veloute of sweetcorn and truffle — Baby purple basil and parmesan crostini and many more. Complete your Thanksgiving feast with Sweet Pumpkin Tart Tatin — Basil scented caramel sauce, Pecan nut ice cream, our recommended dessert.

The price is only at 1,350 Baht++ for dinner.

Trader Vic's is located at the south wing of Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa. An award-winning restaurant, it offers magnificent views of Bangkok's famous “River of Kings”, the Kreung Thep bridges, historic river rice barges and all the fascinating panorama of river life, as well as Trader Vic's own tropical gardens. Private dining rooms are available.

Operating hours:

Trader Vic's: 18:00 — 23.00 hrs

*Price subject to tax and service charge.

For more information and reservations, call 02 476 0022 ext. 1416

http://www.tivarati.com/news/2008-11-12/40580422/

And... a bit more detail regarding the very nice Thanksgiving offerings from Bourbon Street.....

On November 27 and 28, you can keep with a long tradition and celebrate Thanksgiving Day at the Bourbon St. Restaurant and Oyster Bar in Bangkok.

The Bourbon St. Restaurant hosts an All You Can Eat Buffet with Deep Fried and Roasted Turkeys.

On Thursday, November 27, the cost is 899 Baht per adult and 450 Baht per child under 12 years of age. On Friday, the price is 850 Baht per adult and 425 Baht per child.

For details and reservations, please call 02 2590328-9.

And... take home service as well...

Bourbon St. Restaurant is now accepting orders for take away Thanksgiving meals.

To place an order, open the order form PDF file and print it out.

Then, fill in the form and fax it to us.

Your meal will be ready for pickup on the day and at the time you requested.

Great Thanksgiving dining could not be more simple !

Bourbon St. Restaurant & Oyster Bar

Sukhumvit Soi 22 Washington square

Tel. 02 2590328-9

http://www.bourbonstbkk.com/Thanksgiving_2008.html

The following link is an Adobe Acrobat file, which requires Adobe Reader software to open....

Thanksgiving_Buffet_Menu_2008.pdf

Can't quite tell if this is for eat-in, or take out, or both....

Happy Thanksgiving Day at Numero Uno - Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa

"The tradition is alive at Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa. Between 23rd and 30th November, drop by at Numero Uno and enjoy taking away your Thanksgiving Goodies.

Our creative Executive Pastry-Chef Bernd Opiela really know how to prepare an American Thanksgiving day with all the traditional Thanksgiving trimmings include Roasted Turkey with herb dressing accompanied by cranberry sauce and all the goodies plus a great choice of desserts for all who wishes to join the event.

You are encouraged to place orders as early as possible and pick up your orders on the day that you designate. Numero Uno is located at the ground floor level of Bangkok Marriott Resort & Spa and provides both indoor and outdoor seating with views of the tropical gardens – the perfect setting for relaxing with friends and family or even informal business meetings. Open daily from 06.00 to 24:00 hrs.

*Price subject to tax and service charge. (No prices seemed to be mentioned here...)

For early-bird order and more information, call 02 476 0022 ext. 1416

http://www.thaipr.net/nc/readnews.aspx?new...m91bmQgZG93bg==

And.... from the Woodstock Bar and Grill, 44 Soi Thonglor 13, Klongtan, Wattana, Bangkok 10110

Tel: 02-715 0202-3. Price 855 baht.

"Book Now as Thanksgiving will be here before you know it. Again Khun Orn will be personally preparing a fantastic feast that one could only expect from a home cooked meal. That is assuming you or your wife or parents know how to cook. Anyway we look forward to seeing you on Thanksgiving at a time of new optimism with the election of a new government in America."

http://woodstockbkk.com/news.php?id=5

As mentioned above, Villa Markets in BKK are offering cooked turkeys... Saw a promo billboard in their Suk Soi 11 store the other day, with a phone number to call for more info... Someone has posted that number above here in this thread...

Also...from out and around on the Internet.... (never been to this place, but I'd imagine it would be pretty good, based on reputation...)

Thanksgiving Buffet Dinner @ Cafe De Nimes In Grand Sukhumvit By Sofitel

On Thursday 27th November 2008

No cooking. No dishes. No mess. At our traditional Thanksgiving dinner, you’ll have plenty of reasons to give thanks and enjoy the evening. We bring the gourmet cuisine of home cooking to our dinner buffet, with the traditional Thanksgiving carvery fare of roasted turkey, imported beef prime rib, baked ham, pumpkin pie, maple chocolate tart and lots more.

Dinner from 6.30 – 10.00 p.m.

at only Baht 790 ++ per adult and Baht 395 ++ per child

(Reservation recommended)

For reservation, please call 02 207 9999 ext. 5607 – 8.

For the economy minded among us (affectionately also known as Cheap Charlies... )

The Silver Dollar Bar in Washington Square is serving their Thanksgiving Dinner from 1 to 9 pm on both next Thurs and Friday. The deal is not a buffet, but is dinner servings of turkey with trimmings and desert. Price is 380 baht per person.

And don't forget, for a bit more, with the special "4 people eat for the price of 2" that the Atrium Cafe at the Landmark Hotel is having for their buffet, the regular price of about 1,300 baht per person ends up getting cut in half to about 650++ -- assuming you go as a party of four.

And I can attest from personal experience last year, they serve a great Thanksgiving buffet dinner at the Landmark's Atrium... Certainly a bit pricey at 1300 per person. But quite a deal if you can arrange the half price offering...

This may be what you are looking for....

http://www.railway.co.th/sarl/images/map_SAL.jpg

http://www.railway.co.th/sarl/

Swanky....for many women in Thailand, love and money are synonymous.... It's a very non-Western concept, but here, it's very deeply held, and not just among the poorest folks...

A couple of things...

1. I think it's perfectly fine to look for and initially get to know someone online. Why not? The problem/challenge is, can two people transition that to real life in a successful way. I mean, at some point, you stop the online chatting and gotta get real. Then it just becomes a regular relationship and how two people originally met doesn't really matter.

2. I've found, a good rule of thumb for the Thai online dating sites, at least from a man's perspective, is to quickly determine whether the woman has any true gainful employment, past and/or current. Not because I care about the money issue per se, but rather, it's a good indicator of whether the woman is actually leading her own life and really wants a real relationship, or, conversely, is just trolling the Internet looking for a "sugar daddy" or "daddies".

Of course, nothing is exact. I've also encountered a number of Thai ladies who have had real gainful employment (nurses, govt. employees, etc.) but whose main goal (it became apparent over time) was to augment the financial status of their family/relatives at various places upcountry. The lady may live in Bangkok, but Mom, Dad and the rest of the family oftentimes are upcountry and in "great" need....

PS.... I love Jetset's account of Internet trolling above (trolling as in... ardently seeking out). That's so THAILAND... and I think repeated thousands of times daily all over Isaan and elsewhere. But the part about the sister being 8-1/2 pregnant by the ex-Thai BF added a very special touch.... Can you use Photoshop to airbrush out the 8-1/2 month bulge???