kopite

I've never gone through immigration at DMK so not sure how bad it gets. I've flown in there on an internal flight through and the whole 'grab a ticket and wait for a cab' was a pain. So I may pre-book a taxi. Slightly off topic but does anyone know if they have SIM cards for sale at DMK? I've never noticed before as usually get that at BKK.

Thanks for that. I've just made a reservation. I'll be arriving at just before 9pm, so I want to try and get to the hotel quick enough to be able to maybe grab a girl for the night. 555 Edit: they've come back to me and advised they have been told to suspend fast track services from DMK. Bugger.

Do any of these agencies service Don Mueng? I'm going to be flying in via Air Asia in the evening so want to try find a service which offers the fast track and taxi to Sukhumvit.

Sometimes when having a pad Thai I'll start off with chopsticks but by the end when it's mostly small bits I'll switch to a fork and spoon.

I stayed in Mercure on my last trip and they loved it. Great vibe being in the middle of soi 11. The restaurant/bar next door is great. There are actually quite a few decent bars on soi 11 includIng Oskars. Nice sized swimming pool too. Obviously they are gf, although I didn't once get asked to sign the girl in. Literally walked straight up.

The patong scene has changed a lot over the last few years. Less and less p4p in your face on lower bangla now and more general bars to cater to all demographics. The main blow has been the slow death of the tiger bars. I remember going to patong for the 1st time in 2011 and tiger was heaving front to back with bars. Still plenty of fun to be had. Especially in the discos. The one thing which puts me off about phuket though (and Samui to an extent) is how greedy the tuk tuk and taxi drivers are.

I'd be interested to hear your findings. I try to learn written Thai, but it's at snails pace for me as I have 101 other things going on in my life. But I do enjoy trying to decipher what the girls say on Facebook without typing it into my dictionary to translate. A lot of them talk slang/improper. Makes it harder for me ha.

I've seen a few Thai girls use use กู when posting stuff on Facebook. My dictionary says it's a 1st person pronoun which is 'old' and not used much now. Have to say I wasn't aware of it being impolite. I figured it's some slang version as I never see the girls on Facebook starting with ฉัน. How rude 5555.

Not sure why but I really fancy the view from this hotel. But I'm wondering what will the drawbacks be. Shopping and massage joints nearby? How much of a pain will it be getting back here from lower Sukhumvit after a night of partying. Has anyone else stayed around the riverside before?

I wouldn't bother tbh. That's not to say you can't have some fun though. Why not just book a room near the airport and get the girl/a girl to come To you. Some hotels might even allow you to book half a day.

No. But you may find a few girls willing to offer extras for massages.

Sounds promising. I've got 6 days booked here for June and can't wait. Did you manage to check out the pool? I usually stay around Asoke so looking forward to a change of scenery.

I've booked there for June. Was considering the Sofitel over by Lumpini Park for a few night, as the view is spectacular. Or maybe I'll just go there for lunch one day instead.

Why not just pin a topic warning any newbies that doing that sort of thing will result in a ban?

Most of what I said in the chiang mai thread applies here. Some differences to bear in mind. Koh Samui is more expensive. A lot more. A cab from the airport in chiang mai will probably only be 150-200 bhat max. Depending on where you are staying expect to pay between 500 and 700 bhat on Samui. You can of course take a shared mini van with other tourists for less. The bar action is in chaweng (more lively) and Lamai (more laid back beer bar type scene). Think there are some bars in Mae naam but I've never been there. I generally find the locals more hardened and unfriendly in Koh Samui vs chiang mai. I'm talking about the taxi drivers, touts and other folk who are more dead set on wanting your money. Deffo hire a bike (plenty of places around) as it will make it easier and cheaper to explore the island. Or find a girl with a bike.