westexpat3

go to any branch of Healthland Massage & Spa chain throughout Thailand and you will be able to have a straight massage by an accredited masseuse.

and quite reasonably priced as well.

agree with posts above it was a rat infested shit alley but it had its own character. Getting sanitized like everything else in bangkok. Replaced with new expensive condo. Im feeling old and wishing i had seen bangkok 15-20 years ago. 

Bangkok seems so quiet and dead compared to say 2 years ago. So many of the markets are gone now and places to eat and places to people watch.

i really like the se pharmacy near sukhumvit 15 on the north side. close to asia books. Good prices legit stuff. quick tip don't buy drugs from the hospital they are usually more expensive than the pharmacies. Ask them to write down what you need and buy them later.

love scene on soi 23

thanks for the suggestions. i liked the westside of the river. took a tour by expique in thonburi. Nice urban escape with a more relaxed pace to life.

if you're over 50 probably the best is the retirement visa. If you are only staying 4-6 months probably the double tourist visa. 

If you are looking for serene i would suggest Koh Phayam off ranong. But at this time of the year it will be almost shut down with the storms. One of the few islands left that has not be changed by tourism. February is the best during the cashew festival. Surfing, diving whale sharks. No Russian but full of germans. 

I've used the Red Cross clinic a few times. It is good although not the fastest place since there are always lines. Usually 2-3 hours start to finish ( with a 1 hour wait for the HIV test ). They do all the basic tests and you have a choice for HIV testing of either 1 hour for more money or wait a couple of days and they will contact you. I think i wrote a report about it a couple of years ago, maybe do a forum search. They have a pharmacy onsite that is actually reasonably priced if needed.

in my experience in rural thailand i found that massage girls, hair salon girls, and especially karaoke is where you find the girls. Usually around the bus stations. Every Karaoke bar i've been to in rural thailand has p4p girls. 

never had a problem with getting them to use the meter. chai meter. I have not used the taxis since they put in place the new system.

I read that chillis or something like that at the end of soi 11 close to q bar is good for thai food. soi 8 is always ok. Love scene is good especially with a friend from Cowboy. The donair guy is good and was better before he hired staff. The restaurant in foodland on soi 5 is actually really good and relatively inexpensive for sukhumvit. always busy though. 

same place just reno'd is it not?

corner of suk soi 11 along sukhumvit is ok for that. although i would not call it the best pharmacy. Se Pharmacy near Soi 15 is one of the best for legit drugs but they don't touch illegal stuff in thailand.

3350 that seems pretty expensive. Last time i went to the Red Cross clinic for men near lumphini park. They do all the regular tests and hiv for about 400. It opens at 12pm and you get the results back a couple hours later. It gets pretty busy so get there as soon as you can. The clinic is very clean, professional. The complex is part of the UN study of HIV ( one of 5 in the world i believe ) so alot of money has been put into the complex. Last i heard they were close to having an a shot to prevent HIV. Going there today so i will report back on the place with updated info.

I have a friend that rides a 125 click in bangkok all the time. Only 1 accident so far. Only real problem is getting stopped for bribes especially around thonglor. The police in bangkok make up alot of laws against foreigners and expect their 100-300 b tip. One law for thais and another for expats.  good luck

nice pics. any suggestions on finding a good place to get a boat? Heard about bts at taksin but seems a bit expensive at 1500+ for 2-3 hours. Not interested in seeing all the tourist traps either.

White Orchid hotel 1&2

On scott street just off soi 4 opposite annie's massage.

Hotel Name : White Orchid 1 & 2

Girl Friendly : Yes but check for id

Rates Per Night : 500 to 800

Way of Booking : Internet Booking thru Agoda

Review of Hotel :

This place is pretty cheap and very basic. But they do have cable tv, with new lcd flat screens. They have a/c, fridge and 2 bottles of water. The bathroom is nothing special and small. Skip the rooms with balconies. They only thing you get with a balcony is 3 ac units right outside your window.

This place is all about location for the price. It is about a 60 sec walk to annies. and about 3 min to nana. The soi is very small but very quiet. There are some nice hotels on the soi and a nice little bar.

I think this room was 700 bt if i remember correctly. They have some larger rooms for 800 on the lower floors that are ok given the location.

Omni towers.

Hotel Name :Omni Tower

Girl Friendly : Yes but check for id

Rates Per Night : THB about 1200 to 1500 per night

Way of Booking : Internet Booking thru Agoda and own site

Review:

I would pass. The regular area of the hotel was full but the monthly rental area had suites available. The suite was big but not worth the money they ask. It smelled pretty funky in there. The place was very dirty. The taps in the bathroom would not close fully. All and all it was very tired and in need of a major cleaning.

I would not rent this place on a monthly or even weekly basis. 1 night was enough.

Location was ok, a bit far to walk to nana but not too far. The sights always make for an interesting walk anyways.

She would make any place look nice!! +1 from me!

I only spent one night at the Swiss Park. I wasn't too impressed with their buffet, my 'room service' was much tastier.

 

Where did you find that delicious mango, certainly not at the buffet i was eat at! And swiss park does look a lot better.

a few pics i dug up.

Additional images for narry Nana hotel.

I found that each room is setup a bit different but all have glass showers. Makes for a nice bedside show!

room shown is basic deluxe. On Agoda the price is 1092bt last i looked ( in march 2013). Walk in price is much higher. and they will not come down in price. but if you book 1 day with Agoda and then extend your stay they will match the price of Agoda. Go figure?? kind of strange policy but then it is thailand.

I use Agoda as well with mixed results. It is the first one i booked through and has a good reference map to see other hotels near by. I like the comment section at the bottom of the page. Good for finding tips about the hotel, and area. What i dont like about Agoda are the deceiving prices listed on the website. They increase the regular rates substanially and then display discounted rates if booked through Agoda. Agoda also tacks on extra charges usually 17% so In reality most prices are only a few dollars lower on the site than what the hotel offers. You can get some good deals if you look around the site but not as many as they suggest and during low season I suspect you could get the same price or lower by contacting the hotel directly.

I have recently looked at bookings.com and found that they are more transparent with their pricing and show the costs on the front page and not at the end of the checkin process like Agoda.

This hotel is one of my favorites in the nana area. I really like the location. Just a few meters to the nana bts. Right next to soi 11.

The hotel is modern and the on-line price is ok given the area. If you book on-line the price is 1162b for a std room. The breakfast is not included. If you walkin or call in the price is 1900b. I walked in and said i would pay cash if they honored the on-line price that i paid for last time1162 but the said i had to pay 1900 unless i went on line. I don't understand that reasoning especially given that last time i booked 2 days online and extended to a 3rd and they did it for 1200. IF some could explain why it is more attractive to book a room online through a third party instead of cash i would like too know.

The rooms are pretty small but the beds are nice and beside the bed is a frosted glass shower so there is lots of fun to be had if you have a will partner.

They don't charge for a guest but they ask to copy their id card. The restaurant is really over priced but there are lots of better food options in the area. The far side of the hotel is next to a new construction project so it can be pretty noisy at 730am on a week day.

I would stay again and good place at a good price.

I booked white orchid hotel by mistake on the last trip to bangkok but it is not a bad place if you are looking for some place to stay on a budget.

It is on scott street right across from annies and 7/11 on soi 4. There are a few hotels down this tiny soi and the location is great if you want to be around nep. The price is right at either 700b a night for a/c and tv or 850b a night for a/c tv and balcony and a bit bigger room.

Honestly the extra 850b was not worth it i just did not want to walk up 3 floors. The room is not any bigger and the balcony means that you have 4 a/c units humming all night long.

There is a steady flow of freelancers in and out of there all day and night but it felt pretty secure.

I would stay again to keep things on the cheap.

If you want something nicer there is diplace next door with prices from 770-1000 and up

Dabed was 750 but the rooms were in rough shape

another white orchid inn

and che inn a modern boutique hotel for 1500.

I stayed there about five years ago. Even then, it looked run down and in desperate need of a refurb. I never tried breakfast. I do remember been asked to pay 500bht for joiner fee. Things seems to have changed with the joiner fee, but sounds like the rooms havent been cleaned since. For 1200bht there are many better options than this place.

any suggestions on places. Narry next door looks ok, looking for a place 900-1200bt a night in sukhumvit or silom area.