KCM

Air Asia to KL can be very cheap and there are many flights each day so you can go and come back the same day if you are just looking for a visa run.

Self promoting of course but who cares if it's actually good, never tryed an american style baguel. Fancyed trying one whats the best to order?

Give them a chance but would not base your judgement of American Bagels on what they taste like in BKK.

What about Sandwitchs / subs etc? anything to rival subway in BKK from the italian - american scene?

The sandwiches at the restaurant in the basement of The Landmark Hotel are some of the best I've had in Bangkok.

I'm not sure what time they open but Dean & Deluca has free wifi, excellent food and is right beside the Chong Nonsi BTS station. I don't drink coffee but I have heard from friends who do that this is the best coffee in Bangkok. Their Facebook page doesn't show their opening time but I got their phone number there. It is 02-234-1434 if you want to call and check the opening time.

Good review. I have eaten there many times and have found the food to be very good quality and the prices are reasonable for what you get.

Have you tried the Salmon and Salad with a bowl of potato salad on the side...yummy....might walk up from Phuket tomorrow just for lunch

I just had the salmon and salad for the second there a couple fo days ago. It was great.

Good review. I have eaten there many times and have found the food to be very good quality and the prices are reasonable for what you get.

The Red Cross Snake show at The Queen Saovabha Memorial Institute on Rama 4 is interesting.

The last time I flew Air Asia I had a bag that I was going to carry on but it was about 10 kg. It was actually cheaper for me to check it than to pay the extra weight fee and carry it on myself. The person at the check-in counter told me the bag would be weighed again at the gate so I should check it since it would be cheaper. I did check it then when I got to the gate they weren't weighing anything. It seems strange that they charge less if you have them handle your bag for you than if you take it yourself.

I will try to make it tonight.

I'm in.

The snake show at The Thai Red Cross.

At Silom there is also Bug & Bee which is right beside Sala Daeng BTS station.

That's a good review. I have eaten there many times and think the burgers are very good and the desserts average at best. Hyde & Seek probably makes the best drinks of anywhere I have been in Bangkok. I tried two fish dishes there and they were not very good but if you stick with the burgers and some of the other items it's a nice high quality meal. By the way, I remember some fried shrimp or calamari dish on the appetizer menu that I would recommend too.

I would recommend Benjarong in The Dusit Thani Hotel. I have never had better Thai food than what I have had there. I used to live a short walk from Ban Khanita so I tried it a few times but I never had a meal there as good as Benjarong.

This is a very good new restaurant. Great food and a nice atmosphere. I have been several times.

I'm in.

Simon is away so we won't have the good ball. If anybody has a ball that's better than what Arsenal provides then it would be good to bring it.

Angus, will you have the shirts? Thanks.

I really like DC One on Yen Akart Road. The dentists I have visited there were very good and this place has state of the art equipment and a very comfortable environment. It's more expensive than most but to me it's worth it. Check out their website.

http://www.dc-one.com/

I will be there.

I'm not sure if they actually lose their source of income when they are caught. After reporting one driver using a turbo meter earlier this year I got a call a couple of months later from the taxi regulating agency letting me know that they had confronted the driver and gave him a 500 Baht fine. If that is the only punishment then it's really no incentive not to use these meters.

I take the taxi to and from the airport practically every week, and I've never had a problem with the meter. The fare to my home has always been 250 baht +-10

More often I see drivers being reluctant to put on the meter, but it's rarely a problem.

If the fare surcharge is as large as people report, it's silly on the driver's side: Inflate the price too much and he'll get reported quickly and stands to lose his source of income. If they would just add 10 or 20% to the bill, few people would ever notice it and it would still be a nice boost to their margin.

I only have a few minutes to spare right now so I can only give a few things that hopefully will be helpful for you although not as detailed as I would like.

Off Sathorn between Rama 4 and Narathiswat Rd. In this area you can look for places near Chong Nonsi or Sala Daeng BTS or near the Lumphini or Silom MRT stations. The first section of Sathorn between Rama 4 and Narathiswat doesn't have the terrible traffic you often hear associated with Sathorn. If you go beyond Narathiswat on Sathorn traffic will become an issue. This area feels less congested than Sukhumvit and for me is a more livable environment. There are many nice condos and houses in this area and lots of good restaurants. From Sala Daeng BTS you are only 2 stops from Siam and from Lumphini MRT you are only 3 stations from Sukhumvit/Asoke. You also have easy access to the highway from this area. If you are interested in joining a gym, the nicest gym in Bangkok is close by in The Ascott. This area is also close to Lumphini Park.

Other areas I would consider are Lang Suan and Ruamrudee. Both of these areas have many nice places to live with lots of good restaurants and easy access to Lumphini Park and the BTS line. Access by taxi could be a little bit of a problem at times, especially with Lang Suan since it is a one way street with access coming from Rama 1/Sukhumvit Rd.

Thonglor is a nice area to go out with lots of new places opening there but the traffic of that area would keep me from living there.

I know this doesn't specifically answer your questions but check out these areas online and see if it helps.

It seems the number of taxis in Bangkok using the illegal turbo meters is on the rise. This year I have had 6 different occurrences where the driver tried to use one of these meters. Normally it has been from the airport but it has also happened a couple of times in the city. On Monday, for the first time it happened with a taxi that was sent by one of the taxi call centers. I ordered a taxi Monday morning from 02-878-9000 to go to the airport and the taxi they sent had one of the turbo meters that runs up the fare very quickly. Once I realized the driver had a bad meter I told him and he immediately reset it at the normal speed without denying it because he realized he had been caught. Once at the airport I took a picture of the plate number and reported him to the tourist police.

Another taxi driver told me that he believes around 50% of the taxis that wait at the airport have illegal meters. After the third or fourth time that I got one of these bad meters at the airport I stopped getting taxis downstairs at the official taxi stand and now I either get a taxi at the top level after they drop off another passenger or I just take the train into the city.

There is a new restaurant at Tonglor between Soi 10 and Soi 12 called Serenade that kind of reminds me of To Die For. They have inside and outside dining as well as a small bar and the food here is excellent. The prices here for the quality of food and drinks is very reasonable.

If you are closer to the Sathorn area I would recommend a place that doesn't get a lot of attention but serves great food also at very reasonable prices with a very nice setting. Mango Forest on Narathiswat near Soi 13 would be a great choice. The upstairs section is set up very well for parties.

Last year I was away from Bangkok at Thanksgiving but two years ago I went to The Pan Pacific Hotel on Rama 4 and they had a very good spread. I heard that Dean & Deluca by the Chong Nonsi BTS station will be serving Thanksgiving dinner this week. I would imagine that they would do a good job.

I'm in.

It's been a couple of years since I had it but the high tea chocolate buffet at The Sukhothai was very good. You should call to make sure it is still happening but I do recommend it. There were plenty of non chocolate items to eat before moving on to the chocolate too.

That middle section where the new construction is happening now will be a covered walkway directly connecting the BTS with the BRT and will have shops. That part I understand from the drawing. I still don't know where the walkway in the drawing that goes over the canal leads to though.