tuk

It's threesome friendly & rooms look good ...I will be staying there next week.

What specific food locations would you recommend on Sukhumvit Willow?
 
posting google street view links is probably easiest:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/11+Thanon+Sukhum+Vit,+Khwaeng+Khlong+Toei,+Khet+Khlong+Toei,+Krung+Thep+Maha+Nakhon+10110,+Thailand/@13.7402372,100.5562363,3a,75y,190.28h,85.71t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1scGFBu4kxEHjbsB7vp8cOeA!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x30e29edd79fb460d:0x4c8b558d39810a4e?hl=en

I've not experienced trains stopping at stations for any length of time.

Not sure if you can hop off at random stations then hop back on the next day or whatever ...but you could phone the train station and ask them as they tend to speak reasonable English.

Not been on the Chang Mai train before, but the sleeper to the Lao border is excellent.

Not been in LOS for a few years now, but always bought my tickets a few days before at the train station to get the best seats.

^^First time I went to Thailand was with my gf and several other couples(boo hiss), my friend( who was living in LOS ) booked us into the Federal Hotel at the top of soi 11 & picked us up from the airport etc, we were all very naive about Sukhumvit, none of us spotted the FLs, young girls standing around in short skirts are normal street furniture in western city centres, I remember one night coming out of the Federal and walking past this young girl who was standing around & my friend made some joking comment about finding another hotel further from the main drag which confused us...it wasn't until my 2nd trip out that I understood what he meant and the girl was actually a FL.  The gogo bars were more sleazy looking walking past, young girls sitting on an older western man's knee or calling out to passing tourists...it wasn't until he took us on a walking tour of Nana/SC where things became completely obvious ...you have to remember we look at things through the eyes of experienced mongers & FLs are much less obvious...almost invisible to uninitiated civilians.

You're right about the transition and how these Thai families will then support themselves, but lets remember a lot of these families own farms or come from rural areas so could easily go back to farming if there was no other option, they migrate to bkk for money if that money is no longer available they will simply migrate back to where they came, however a lot WGs speak good English and have a black belt in the way of Falang, so posses many transferable skills for working in a futuristic family friendly tourist zone as service staff.

I wouldn't worry too much about the Thai economy suffering, if nothing else the Thais are astute business people, they wont do anything to jeopardise their revenue streams, the resilience of the Baht is testament to this....when the Baht starts to devalue because of military actions/reforms that is the time for thais to worry.

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e2a: nobody really knows what's going to happen so we're only discussing various possibilities I'm glad to see we can do this without any bad vibes ...things seems to be getting a little heated on this topic/thread over on PA.

I really don't think they will go after the bars and gogos in full.

Jumping to conclusions? lolz, sry.

Beer bars are just girls in a bar drinking which you can join in with right? They are not hurting anyone.

 

Depends who you ask, most mongers might agree ...but families walking past with kids in tow might see older sex tourist preying on younger socio-disadvantaged girls who might even be underage, their only point of reference might be that documentary they watched about poor northern farmers selling/leasing their teenage daughters to Bangkok pimps, some others might see a western pedo scene of some kind, don't underestimate the power of appearances, venues like this would face resistance in most western cities for much the same reasons. ...bkk already has a bad reputation on a global level for such things.

Street walkers on the other hand are different and stick out like a sore thumb. I reckon by prostitution he is only referring to street walkers.

 

I would say the opposite is true, street walkers are way more discreet, sometimes you have to look twice to make sure ..whereas go go bars etc are way more obvious.

 

Imagine how many characters they would upset if they shut down all the beer bars and gogos.

 

Yeh, mongers, pimps, wgs, mafia ..but the majority of thai society would welcome it imo.

I reckon by prostitution he is only referring to street walkers.

 

Sounds like wishful thinking, the article does say, aiming to eradicate all prostitution ....but I guess we'll have to wait and see how that plays out.

Jumping to conclusions...

That might be you ...thats why I used the word "could"

I didn't read anything about them wanting to shut down beer bars or gogos.

Pol Col Suppatee Boonkrong, deputy commander of Chon Buri Provincial Police, who took over as acting head of Pattaya City Police on June 3 in the wake of the coup, said he was aiming to eradicate all prostitution.

 

This could be the pilot for the crackdown.

I get the feeling LOS is on the way out, all it will take is something like FLs being outlawed for it be officially over.

hmmn good point, I've made a reservation at the prez palace for a west facing top floor room..if it's noisy it will just be the one night only, glad I didn't pay up front now.

August 21, 2014

 

BANGKOK: Thailand´s junta-picked national assembly on Thursday chose coup leader General Prayut Chan-O-Cha as prime minister in a one-horse race that entrenched the military´s hold on power.

 

Nobody in the rubber-stamp legislature opposed the selection of the army chief, who ousted an elected government in a bloodless takeover on May 22.The move by the top general to shed his uniform and take the premiership is seen as cementing the military´s control of the politically turbulent nation.

 

The junta has ruled out holding new elections before around October 2015, despite appeals from the United States and the European Union for a return to democracy.

 

Prayut, who is due to retire as army chief in September, is seen as a staunch opponent of fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whose overthrow in an earlier coup in 2006 triggered Thailand´s long-running political crisis.

 

Thaksin, the elder brother of Yingluck, fled Thailand in 2008 to avoid prison for a corruption conviction.

 

Reform or repression?

The army rulers say they want to reform Thailand to end years of political turbulence and street violence, but critics see the takeover as an attempt to wipe out Thaksin´s influence.

 

The junta has vowed to remain in place in parallel to the future government, which will be nominated by Prayut as prime minister.

 

He was backed by 191 members of the 197-strong assembly, with three abstentions and three voters absent. No other candidate stood against him.

 

Prayut´s appointment must be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej although royal endorsement is seen as a formality.

 

The army chief, who is seen as a fervent royalist, was not present for the vote because he was attending a military ceremony outside Bangkok.

 

He gave a hint of his political ambitions when he swapped his uniform for a suit and tie to appear in parliament on Monday to oversee the approval of the national budget, which was waved through with no opposition.

 

Prayut is often described as the architect of an army crackdown on a pro-Thaksin "Red Shirt" rally in Bangkok in 2010 that left dozens dead.

 

Before seizing power, the golf lover and father of twin daughters had said he would not allow Thailand to become another "Ukraine or Egypt".

 

Thaksin, who is reviled by much of Thailand´s Bangkok-based royalist elite, lives in Dubai but he or his parties have won every election since 2001.Since seizing power the junta has abrogated the constitution, curtailed civil liberties under martial law and summoned hundreds of opponents, activists and academics for questioning.

 

He has also launched a "return happiness" to the people public relations campaign in parallel with the crackdown on dissent.

 

The United Nations´ human rights office on Wednesday warned of "chilling effects" on freedom of expression under the junta, following recent arrests and jail sentences for insulting the monarchy.

 

Critics say the royal slur legislation has been politicised, noting that many of those charged in recent years were linked to the "Red Shirts", who are broadly supportive of Thaksin.

 

http://www.thenews.com.pk/article-157430-Thai-army-chief-named-prime-minister

Take a look at my thread here also: http://www.bangkok-addicts.com/forum/topic/4410-7-10-days-bkk/?p=47771

I was also looking for a high floor at a reasonable price & booked with Presidential Palace after some extensive research.

http://www.presidentpalacehotel.com/

Today here's what's left of the Federal Hotel, a Soi 11 institution since the 1970's, making room for new Condos. I never stayed there but had breakfast in their coffee house once, and their website is still up.

 

http://www.federalbangkok.com/

 

DSC_4780.JPGDSC_4782.JPGDSC_4786.JPGDSC_4788.JPG

 

DSC_4771.JPGDSC_4773.JPGDSC_4774.JPGDSC_4775.JPGDSC_4776.JPGDSC_4777.JPGDSC_4778.JPGDSC_4779.JPG

So that's why they are not answering my calls, .....I feel a little choked up looking at those pic, lots of great memories from staying there.