My Swampy experience

[vinapu]

2 hours ago, fedssocr said:

aren't most Thai guys flexible?

one should never mix work with amorous stuff

[maump]

6 hours ago, 10tazione said:

Suvarnabhumi immigration queue:

saturday noon: 50 mins

thursday noon: 55 mins

 

is there a website with queue info?  I arrive sat 12/10 at 8 am after 30+ hours in travel.  too early to check into hotel.  wait at airport does not seem to be a terrible option but....  Im thinking I will stand there and wait...

[PeterRS]

13 hours ago, macaroni21 said:

Of course there are many reasons why a departure is delayed, thus depriving an incoming flight of its assigned bay. But one possibility is that with a shortage of baggage handlers, loading the departing aircraft's luggage was taking longer than planned.

But as I thought I had clearly stated, the Turkish Airlines jet was not departing. It was merely being towed to some far off part of BKK as it would not be departing for Istanbul for at least 6 hours. It had picked up no passengers and no luggage. The plane was empty! The only passengers waiting at that bay were China Airlines passengers. So Turkish Airlines was obviously late in arriving and then had merely to offload pasengers and luggage. There were several vacant bays in that part of BKK. Clearly Turkish had been assigned the same bay as China Airlines. But given that Turkish had clearly arrived very late and this would have been known to the air traffic controllers and the ground coordinators many hours beforehand, I fail to understand why Turkish could not have been assigned a nearby empty bay to unload its passengers and cargo. I am sure all the passengers waiting to fly to Taipei on the incoming China Airlines plane wondered the same thing!

[10tazione]

2 hours ago, vinapu said:

who says admission to paradise is supposed to be immediate ?

For paradise I can  even wait 2 hours!

[vinapu]

59 minutes ago, maump said:

  I arrive sat 12/10 at 8 am after 30+ hours in travel.  too early to check into hotel.  wait at airport does not seem to be a terrible option but....  Im thinking I will stand there and wait...

for early arrivals or late departures I'm trying to find some cheap hotel and book the room there precisely in order  I don't need to wait for check in time  or being forced vacate room at prescribed time , I rather pay up for whole day and don't use it in full but at least have an access to shower e.t.c.

[vinapu]

6 minutes ago, 10tazione said:

For paradise I can  even wait 2 hours!

not that I had any doubts

[BiggusDikkus]

On 11/25/2022 at 4:29 AM, BiggusDikkus said:

The problem is I know he's going to ask me to let him stay with me in my hotel, and to stay with me for my entire trip.

Apologies for not finishing this story earlier, but I’ve had an excitement-filled week with little time to devote to this story.

The short version is this friend, let’s call him Baht, never asked me to share my vacation with him.

I handed him an envelope with some cash in it and apologized for not being able to help him more during the pandemic. We made our way to a tiny specialty coffee roaster that was on the end of a sub-soi off Soi Convent and had a nice catch-up. He invited me to join his friends at Fake Club that night. I demurred as I had some shopping to do on Silom Soi 4 and Patpong, and had already wasted my first night in Bangkok catching up on the sleep I failed to get the night before my flight left. But I had always wanted to go to Club Fake and knew I’d never go to a place like that alone. Still, though, my shopping expedition beckoned so I told Baht to text me later, I might change my mind.

When he finally did text me it was from Fake Club itself and the news wasn’t so great. They only sold bottles of whiskey or vodka. No tequila, but they’d let you bring a bottle of tequila inside the club and charge a 300 baht “uncorking” fee. I think I was supposed to take care of the tequila but didn’t realize that. I don’t know where to buy bottles of tequila that late in Bangkok, and Baht had made it sound as though it were something he could handle once I showed up.

That happened at about 11:30. I got to the table only to find whiskey. Baht poured me a glass of whiskey and soda despite my protesting that just the smell of whiskey makes me wanna throw up. Then he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

He didn’t return for a long time —almost an hour — and as his absence stretched I grew more determined to say my goodbyes as soon as he returned. 

It ended up that Baht had commandeered a motorcycle taxi and told him to go to every liquor store and convenience store still open until they found one with tequila. As the clock ticked almost to midnight — Thailand’s legal cutoff time for sales of alcohol — they found one last convenience store. It had a bottle of tequila. He texted me a photo of it. It was almost exactly midnight.

When he got back, well after midnight, he must have had to travel far, Baht plopped my prize down on the table and told me of his adventure. Well, I guess I can stay another half hour or so, I thought.

I ended up having a great night. I had not drank like that in almost three years. The music was really fun and I found out that despite no practice since the end of 2019, my body can still dance. We ended up polishing off that bottle of tequila and staying till the very end. When the bill came, a little more than 5,000 baht, I took it from the waiter, who shined his flashlight on my wallet so I could see what I was doing. As I was counting out 1,000-baht notes, I noticed all eyes around the table were on my wallet, riveted with suspense. Would I go all the way? If I did, would I leave a tip? I got to 4,000 and hesitated. Surely Golf and his friends could take care of the rest and add a tip. I glanced up, all eyes, even the waiter’s, were still glued to what my fingers were doing in my wallet. There was also a sense of desperation in those eyes, so I counted out two more bills and a jubilant celebration erupted as if I — or they — had just scored the winning goal in a World Cup game. The waiter actually broke into tears he was so happy. He gave me a big hug, showering me in thank yous. I’ve never hugged anyone so bone thin. I was happy I had left him a generous tip. He could obviously use the money.

Edited December 2, 2022 by BiggusDikkus
Took care of some poor phrasing

[vinapu]

did you tip yor drinking friends as well ? just curious, no need to answer

[zoomomancs]

I too get more generous after midnight. But I don't like to feel I've been invited just to pay the bill. Anyway you had a good time. 

[maump]

21 hours ago, vinapu said:

for early arrivals or late departures I'm trying to find some cheap hotel and book the room there precisely in order  I don't need to wait for check in time  or being forced vacate room at prescribed time , I rather pay up for whole day and don't use it in full but at least have an access to shower e.t.c.

I asked trinity silom about early checking , they said ok for 500b (now) or I could wait and see when I arrived and maybe for a slight fee.  I thought I would let them have my luggage and go to the health club they join you to when you stay there.   we will see.

[BiggusDikkus]

9 hours ago, vinapu said:

did you tip yor drinking friends as well ? just curious, no need to answer

I think you're being facetious but I'll answer anyway. Nope, the thought didn't even cross my mind.

It turned out that Baht and I were heading to Pattaya two days later, on Sunday. I had more shopping plans for that night but Baht again texted me to join him in Jomtien Super Town — is that what they call it? — to start drinking with another group of his friends and later head with them to a Pattaya nightclub that Baht was eager to experience. Baht had mentioned this on Friday morning in the coffee shop, and I was definitely interested. I've had such great times in Pattaya night clubs. I love the clientele mix. Gay, straight, sex workers from all over Southeast Asia, sex tourists from all over the world as well as plenty of locals and gay and beach tourists pulled to Pattaya by draws other than go-go and host/hostess bars. On one of my first nights in Pattaya, back in the mid-90s, I remember going to what I believe was Marine Disco. It was on Walking Street, and the sexual tension was off the charts. The music and music system were outstanding. There was so much energy in that place. Through the decades other Pattaya nightclubs would open and close, from Hollywood, near Sunee Plaza, to Christine's to Dave's and NAB. I had so many great nights in every one of them so I was eager to try a new Pattaya disco.

Trouble was I had asked Baht the name of the place because I had just read a long Stickman's column about a few new happening nightclubs in Pattaya and thought it might be one of them. It wasn't. Instead it was one that had just been raided by police, one from which the customers rather than wait to be booked and locked up broke free and ran away, one that had been closed down by the humiliated police.

Now it's Sunday night and Baht and his friends are getting excited about moving to a Pattaya venue. Baht still refuses to believe me that the place he intends to go to has been closed down by police. So he asks a friend working at the bar we're drinking at. The friend says, yeh, it's still open, and Baht shoots an “I told you so” glance at me. But at that point the bar's other waiter pipes in and says police have closed it. No matter. There are other Pattaya nightclubs.

But at this point I'm not really in the mood. I had been working the apps, chatting to some promising locals before heading to Jomtien and wanted to get back to that. I also didn't want to put myself in a situation where I would be expected to subsidize the drinking of six more strangers. So I paid for my tequila and left.

The next morning when I woke up I noticed Baht had tried to call me twice, which is odd for him as we only ever text. I texted back, thanking him for introducing me to his fun friends, telling him I had a great time at Fake Club and again in Jomtien and wishing him a safe drive back up to Chiang Mai. They had planned to leave when they woke up that day — after for what for them were three straight all-nighters of binge drinking.

Baht has yet to reply to that text, nor to even read it. I hope he is OK.

[bkkmfj2648]

On 12/2/2022 at 12:24 PM, BiggusDikkus said:

He didn’t return for a long time —almost an hour — and as his absence stretched I grew more determined to say my goodbyes as soon as he returned. 

It ended up that Baht had commandeered a motorcycle taxi and told him to go to every liquor store and convenience store still open until they found one with tequila. As the clock ticked almost to midnight — Thailand’s legal cutoff time for sales of alcohol — they found one last convenience store. It had a bottle of tequila. He texted me a photo of it. It was almost exactly midnight.

When he got back, well after midnight, he must have had to travel far, Baht plopped my prize down on the table and told me of his adventure. Well, I guess I can stay another half hour or so, I thought.

I ended up having a great night. I had not drank like that in almost three years. The music was really fun and I found out that despite no practice since the end of 2019, my body can still dance. We ended up polishing off that bottle of tequila and staying till the very end. When the bill came, a little more than 5,000 baht, I took it from the waiter, who shined his flashlight on my wallet so I could see what I was doing. As I was counting out 1,000-baht notes, I noticed all eyes around the table were on my wallet, riveted with suspense. Would I go all the way? If I did, would I leave a tip? I got to 4,000 and hesitated. Surely Golf and his friends could take care of the rest and add a tip. I glanced up, all eyes, even the waiter’s, were still glued to what my fingers were doing in my wallet. There was also a sense of desperation in those eyes, so I counted out two more bills and a jubilant celebration erupted as if I — or they — had just scored the winning goal in a World Cup game. The waiter actually broke into tears he was so happy. He gave me a big hug, showering me in thank yous. I’ve never hugged anyone so bone thin. I was happy I had left him a generous tip. He could obviously use the money.

compliments - I LOVE your writing style.  I was laughing SO hard and also at the same time your suspense was killing me.....

I myself have been in this situation - with ALL of the eyes on your wallet as you pull out each baht to pay the group bill.

The best is to do it slowly - it keeps them on the edge of their seat.  Even better, to not have enough in your wallet but to have enough somewhere else in another pocket without them knowing it.  During this hesitation as you fuddle to see if you can find more bahts - just to see if any of them will jump in to help you out.

It is GREAT entertaining theatre......

[BiggusDikkus]

3 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

seat.  Even better, to not have enough in your wallet but to have enough somewhere else in another pocket without them knowing it.

oh my god! You're a genius! I wish I had thought of that. But as soon as I'm finished typing this, I'm gonna rearrange the contents of my wallet. Thank you for the nifty trick!

And very kind of you to compliment my writing style. Thanks so much!

[ChristianPFC]

How did Transferwise steal 500 from you? I have been using them for many years, never a problem nor heard of problems from others.

Early check-in (many times I arrived at hotels 8 or 10 am) has never been a problem for me.

[Tartegogo]

3 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

How did Transferwise steal 500 from you? I have been using them for many years, never a problem nor heard of problems from others.

Same here.
Been using Transferwise for at least 14 years, if not more (can’t remember when I started) and never had any issue. 

[spoon]

On 12/1/2022 at 10:23 PM, macaroni21 said:

To add to my "torture", the driver assigned to me is very good looking. But I see a wedding band on his finger.

Many working married guys still work the scene to provide for their wife and kids hehe

[macaroni21]

12 hours ago, spoon said:

Many working married guys still work the scene to provide for their wife and kids hehe

No doubt you are right, but it would be a bad idea to mix the slut me with the professional role I am supposed to play. Oh well....

While on this subject, and since I cannot resist a bit of gossip, he drove me to a simple roadside restaurant for lunch one day, and I invited him to eat with me. (It was more for my benefit than his, since I needed him close by to do the ordering). The three waitresses at the restaurant were nearly throwing themselves at him - he seemed to know them from before - and he had a hard time telling them to lay off. I don't understand what he said, but the body language indicated that he might have said, "My boss is watching".

Not only was I watching, I was ready to shoot darts from my eyes. Lay off my driver! If anyone were to have him, it would be me!

[Will7272]

Great experience yesterday. Arrived from Sydney Australia at 4.30pm, through immigration immediately and waited 10 mins for bag. In the car within 20 mins of getting off the plane. Then 40 mins to Crowne Plaza. So just over an hour which I was very pleased with. 

[Londoner]

Interesting; my experience, as already mentioned was the same and I too arrived at that time. Are there good and bad times to arrive? I always thought that late afternoon was a busy period.

[Patanawet]

Have lived here 22+ years and never heard a local refer to the airport as 'swampy' (or Pattaya as 'Patters'). Maybe I should get out more.

[thaiophilus]

2 hours ago, Patanawet said:

Have lived here 22+ years and never heard a local refer to the airport as 'swampy' (or Pattaya as 'Patters'). Maybe I should get out more.

Literal translation of Nong Ngu Hao "cobra swamp", which is what the airport site was called before its current name ("Golden Land") was bestowed.

[reader]

From National News Bureau of Thailand

Major Expansions Set for Bangkok’s International Airports

BANGKOK (NNT) - The Ministry of Transport has confirmed the expansion of Bangkok’s international airports to handle the increasing number of passengers after the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, Airports of Thailand Plc is planning to solicit bids for the expansion of Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueang International Airport early next year.

Saksayam stated AOT would hold a tender for constructing a new 10-billion-baht passenger terminal on the east side of Suvarnabhumi International Airport. A master plan is also being drafted for Suvarnabhumi’s future expansion, which includes the addition of two new passenger terminals: one to the west of the main terminal and one to the north.

Meanwhile, the AOT intends to hold a tender for the third phase of the Don Mueang airport expansion, which will have a budget of 36 billion baht.

The minister said the construction proposal will likely be presented to the AOT board of directors in March 2023. Once authorized, it will be forwarded to the National Economic and Social Development Council for review before being submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

The bidding is expected to be held in the middle of next year, and the project winner will be selected within 12 months, with construction starting in 2024.

[vinapu]

8 hours ago, Londoner said:

 Are there good and bad times to arrive? I always thought that late afternoon was a busy period.

To Thailand? any time is good to arrive I guess, even with longest airport lines. Swampy is always busy but long lines are building up when 3-4 big planes arrive one after another and all of the sudden 1000 people are marching form all angles toward gates of heaven i.e. immigration

[vinapu]

1 hour ago, reader said:

 

Major Expansions Set for Bangkok’s International Airports

 

it would be good if they included in those multi -billion projects rail line linking those two airports and Pattaya

[reader]

The cost of the project was estimated to be over 200 billion baht, of which the Thai Government would fund 123 billion baht and the private sector estimated to contribute 90 billion baht. The project was approved in October 2019 as a public private partnership between the Thai government and Charoen Pokphand/China Railway Construction Corporation. The assets will revert to state ownership after 50 years

From Wikipedia

The Don Mueang–Suvarnabhumi–U-Tapao high-speed railway, officially known as the High-Speed Rail Linking Three Airports Project (Thai: โครงการรถไฟความเร็วสูงเชื่อม 3 สนามบิน) is the second high-speed rail line project in Thailand, being due to open in 2026 between Don Mueang International Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport and U-Tapao International Airport. It will be operated by Asia Era One Company Limited, a special-purpose vehicles by the consortium of Charoen Pokphand Group Company, Limited (CP) and partners Ch. Karnchang PLC. (CK), Bangkok Expressway and Metro PLC. (BEM), Italian-Thai Development PLC. (ITD) and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC).

===========================

Will it actually happen in four years? I'd like to think so but TIT.