1st time in bkk! suggestions on where to stay/things to do

[Alexx]

For what it's worth, I only know one person who ever got something stolen from a hotel safe. That was a gay farang who took a Thai guy to his room in Phuket. It's a bit unclear if the farang forgot to lock the safe or if the Thai was "somehow" able to open it without a trace. About 20,000 baht gone, he left the passport and ATM card behind.

[vinapu]

I left boy alone in the room with 7000 baht unsecured in my open day pack, nothing missing but boy was kind of my regular.

 

I carry cards but rarely use them preferring to operate in cash economy, use cards only for big purchases if any or to withdraw money if I  run out  of my cash. Since dollars or euro are more portable than baht   I exchange only what I think I need daily so never big wad of bahts.

 

Koko, while there's logic in your thinking about padlock somehow it works for me , I don't look high roller or gem dealer perhaps and don't use fancy luggage either. Crude padlock shows my lack of sophistication  and so far thieves are staying  far from me.  

[Up2u]

I remember a friend who missed a flight years back when he was staying at the Malaysia. He had an early morning flight but left his passport in the security box at reception. The night staff had no access to the security boxes so he had to wait until the day staff reported to work.

[Bravo]

4 more days! so excited can't wait haha..

 

what's the rate to go from airport to silo area? do we ask for flat fare or let the meter run?

[vinapu]

Meter should be about 350 plus toll fees if drives takes highway, if you are landing during day  / 6-24 / use train to Phaya Thai and then swicht to BTS / elevated railway /, more fun and eye candy

[Bravo]

which of the bars have good shows =)

[Bravo]

and i saw somewhere that stated that the clubs now close at 2am+ because of the curfew? what's the legal curfew now? up to 2am?

[vinapu]

which of the bars have good shows =)

GoldMember reported good show at Dreamboys , soi Twilight, check his thread " Brief report - BKK and Pattaya", 

 

few mentioned  good one at X-Boys, Pattayaland soi 1

[GoldMember]

which of the bars have good shows =)

As Vinapu said, the show in dreamboys was good. Also, my favorite is TAWAN - for muscle lovers. though dreamboys had it share of hot muscle men as well. 

 

 

and i saw somewhere that stated that the clubs now close at 2am+ because of the curfew? what's the legal curfew now? up to 2am?

I don't know why, but it is that way (was there last week). DJ closes at 2 (I think that was always it's closing time) but G.O.D closed at 2:30 instead of the early morning. Yeah that kinda sucks... 

[vinapu]

 

 

I don't know why, but it is that way (was there last week). DJ closes at 2 (I think that was always it's closing time) but G.O.D closed at 2:30 instead of the early morning. Yeah that kinda sucks... 

Junta thinks that nation which spends nights  sleeping well instead drinking and dancing  is a happy nation 

[Bravo]

but its not like against the law to walk about after 3am or something right? there's no official curfew for walking around on the streets?

[vinapu]

2 a.m. closing has the same moral overtones like 1 a.m. closing of bars in soi Twilight.

 

you are free to wander at night , curfew was short lived and lasted maybe 2-3 weeks after the coup in May.

 

Speaking about night wandering, one of my little joys is to watch how Patpong night market  folds down at night, quite a spectacle with all those half naked,  sweaty, muscled bodies working hard. And you may still catch some Soi Twilight and soi 6 go-go's still hanging around so you may land a body warmer without off fee.

 

Bangkok is very safe city but at night take usual precautions and don't take short cuts through dark alleys as you may disrupt sleep of homeless parked there for  a night sometimes.

[Guest]

The only curfew I've experienced was in Laos.  

 

The big advantage of that was guaranteed silence when trying to sleep, irrespective of hotel location.

No noisy motorcycles @ 4:00 am.  Therefore Laos citizens and visitors have the freedom to sleep in peace.

[vinapu]

The only curfew I've experienced was in Laos.  

 

The big advantage of that was guaranteed silence when trying to sleep, irrespective of hotel location.

No noisy motorcycles @ 4:00 am.  Therefore Laos citizens and visitors have the freedom to sleep in peace.

I rather have noisy motorcycles at 4 than curfews  

[Guest]

I rather have noisy motorcycles at 4 than curfews  

Motorcycle noise at 4am can be avoided by careful choice of hotel and room location.

 

However, all permanent residents and visitors should enjoy peaceful conditions when sleeping.   Ideally that would be achieved by having and strictly enforcing motor vehicle drive by noise rules for new and older vehicles.  ie Combining freedoms with some responsibilities towards others.

If that's not possible, I would prefer the curfew to the 4:00 am noise.

 

Sorry for taking this off topic.   If anyone has hotel or entertainment ideas, please continue to share them.

[Alexx]

I'm glad that South-East Asian nations aren't nanny states. That has its advantages and disadvantages, an almost complete and utter lack of noise control obviously belongs to the latter unless you're the one wanting to make noise.   For me, such complaints are pretty amusing.

[vinapu]

Motorcycle noise at 4am can be avoided by careful choice of hotel and room location.

 

 

You are right and at times even hotels on busy streets / Om Yim , BBB Inn / are surprisingly quiet.

 

For me worst noise offenders are  actually not  a streets but adjacent bars and discos so this is what I would be looking for when picking up location although I found Cafe Royale / Boyztow3n /  and Pavillion Place  / right above Screwboys / quiet as well likely to a room position facing walls in the back. 

[fedssocr]

Meter should be about 350 plus toll fees if drives takes highway, if you are landing during day  / 6-24 / use train to Phaya Thai and then swicht to BTS / elevated railway /, more fun and eye candy

 

I always have too much luggage to want to bother with the ARL.

 

Taxi is the way to go unless you are arriving during morning rush hour. Tell the driver to use the meter. And you'll have to pay the highway tolls in addition. 

 

I typically just arrange a car transfer in advance. Costs a couple hundred more baht but the cars are more comfortable and drivers a bit more cautious.

 

4 days isn't a huge amount of time. For sure the Grand Palace/Wat Po complex is a must-see. You can take a taxi or as noted you can take BTS to Saphan Taksin and then take one of the river buses.

 

Beyond that it kind of depends on the sorts of things you like to do. There's a temple about every 10 feet if you are into visiting them there are many to choose from. 

 

Le Meridien is a great choice for the gogo bars. And it's a relatively short walk to the BTS. And it's just a very nice hotel in general. For that area it is the top choice IMHO.

[vinapu]

for those staying in Silom are who want to sample  Thai temple thare's huge Wat Hualampong , short stroll of  few hundred meters from soi Twilight along Rama Rd away from Suriwong. Wat even has resident  live cows. Temple grounds  can be visited till late , I was there around  midnight and still people were milling around..