anddy

for me it did work perfectly, I have not had to newly log in ever since I made that post.

that's interesting and funny and typical lol. Read some other reports elsewhere about problems with the new systems leading to long delays - no surprise at all. On the other extreme, a friend topped up on the 14th and asked about the new rule, the cashier didn't have a clue what he was talking about LOL. Just in case and to avoid any inconveniences in the near future I topped up 2k a couple of days before the 15th. As I hardly ever ride the BTS that will last me forever (almost)

dunno for TRUE, but AIS prepaid SIMs extend each time you top up money. For smaller amounts 1 month, for bigger amounts (nit sure, something like 200 or 300 and up) it's even 2 or 3 months. The extension is always added to whatever the latest expiration date was. So what you can do is top up 10 baht twelve times and you get 1 year validity which is the maximum. Such small top ups can easily and conveniently be made at the top up machines outside many 7/11's or family marts. I heard though,t hat SOME of those machines take as small fee, while others don't, so get the right one. @ChristianPFC is using these machines (I never have) and can advise more

must you rub it in?

couldn't agree more, my worry with this arrangement as well

I would venture to defend his deposit policy and guess that it's probably due to too many now shows or very short notice cancellations from unreliable customers. It's not like he is a shop with multiple staff, so if he is in such high demand, he has to be sure how to manage his time and bookings. I understand that, though it is obviously rather unusual.

so has our massage guru @DivineMadman tried him?

emphasis on "JUST ONLY" LOL! The only bar that has closed is x-size if I'm not mistaken, so everything else is as it's always been. Well and Dick's has closed, but that's not a bar.

ah ok, that makes sense! What one grows up with always has a special place

correct, I meant taste-wise. No idea what you might like about it @ichigo, but obviously personal tastes differ wildly (be it in boys or food lol) I usually found it bland, with no spices, and generally lacking any hint of finesse, including the supposedly "best" dish Chicken Adobo. I remember very well one meal on my last trip to PH when I thought I go for a simple but hopefully safe bet, a spaghetti bolognese. While that can also differ wildly in quality and flavor anywhere in the world, there they managed to make it particularly bad and bland. Oh well.... Thanks for the additional Muse pictures. Looks nice in a kinda old-fashioned style

great report, sounds like you already know how to get fun if no food poisoning gets in the way. I NEVER had any serious food poisoning in Thailand, the worst just getting the runs for a bit, but after one or two sittings all done and out. Certainly not from mango shakes, I have those and other shakes (coconut is a fave) ALL the time, and everywhere from street to proper restaurants to shopping malls. BUT it seems a fact that some people are more sensitive with these things than others, so you'll probably have to be more careful in the future. Takes away some of the great pleasure of food&drink sampling from a trip, but better safe than sorry and having fun time taken away. Muse hotel must be nice, never stayed there but looks nice and supposed to have a really good steak house. Sounds like a long and busy trip that's coming up. In the Philippines brace for the worst food in all of Asia lol. Seriously no good food to be had there. Anyway, should you have some time in BKK, let me know...

I see small independent coffee shops everywhere these days, too many to remember. Some have their own roasteries as well. Since I make my morning coffee myself using a very old fashioned, simple drip coffee machine, I am always looking for good beans. Among others, I have bought from these, where you can of course also get a coffee to drink: Blackberry Coffee shop on Saladaeng, about 50m in on the left hand side (it's basically a whole in the wall, no seating, just take away) https://goo.gl/maps/Q8CRZ32tWck Roastology Coffee Roasters on Saladaeng Soi 1 https://goo.gl/maps/nD8L8tsBuuT2 https://www.facebook.com/roastologybkk/ Wawee Coffee (already mentioned by ceejay) from their BigC Ratchadamri branch, opposite Central World, easily accessible directly from the skywalk. Accidentlally stumbled on this a few weeks ago. https://goo.gl/maps/mcypDbKAs852 currently drinking a nice arabica from Chiang Rai from Alto Coffee Roasters, bought from their small coffee bar inside Zen department store (4th floor) in Central World http://www.alto-coffee.com

gotcha. True, a dispatcher might be helpful. With labor being as heap as it is they could easily afford to pay for that from their takings of the 50B airport surcharge.

I've eaten at Ruen Urai a few times over the last year, sometimes it was busy, sometimes not so much. So as so often, it depends on the day, the season and the constellation of the stars. If in doubt AND able to plan in advance, a reservation is certainly advisable, especially if for more than just 2 people. @floridarob seems we missed an opportunity to meet...

well, it may just be that you DID get the next in line. Note that there is no taxi LINE in front of the building, presumably to avoid congestion due to slowly departing taxis when passengers have lots of bags to load, for example. Instead, they have introduced the bay system, which makes sense IMO. The cab's wait in a VERY long line on the side of the terminal building and then enter the bays as the bays become free and are allocated to them. So the cab in the first bay next to the ticket machine may have gotten there AFTER the one in the bay far away. Hence the far away cab is far away but still the NEXT IN LINE. pity, they used to actually have really good food in the lobby restaurant. The best feature of all FOR ME of Tarntawan of bygone days when I still used it as a visitor was the availability of a la carte breakfast 24 hours a day. Best invention ever for long sleepers.

I looked at my pictures taken from the MahaNakon observation deck. The 2 Iconsiam towers do look lower than the camera's vantage point, don't they?

The taxi thing from the hotel makes sense, because the ones standing in front of it will almost certainly not turn on the meter but ask for some way inflated tourist price. That may in part be for the convenience of waiting there to be ready to go, and also they may pay someone a "commission" for the privilege to park there to wait for passengers from the hotel. So better to flag down a moving taxi willing to turn on the meter. Same is true of all or most stationary taxis, like at night along Silom or Surawong to pick up night owls. As for getting there, the Iconsiam shuttle boats are clearly the best option. They run very frequently (every 10 minutes from Sathorn pier, according to the website) and are quite large, so are quite efficient. Even if there is a long-looking queue at the pier, that entre queue will most likely fit on just one boat. The condo building at Iconsiam being taller than the MahaNakon surpises me! I'll double check that too... Not knowig this I didn't pay attention to it when on the rooftop of the MahaNakon, but no building seemed as tall as my vantage point, not even close. Where did all the people go? No surprise here on a Monday MORNING before noon!! Who goes shopping at that time? Afternoons and evenings (think dinner) will be more crowded. I do agree that the lower level is rather unique for a shopping mall and nicely done. Prices for the "street food" are of course higher than in the real street, but quite reasonable I find. As for the luxury shops: The huge glass front facing the river with all those super expensive super luxury brands are the crown jewels of the mall, to be prominently showcased the way they are. But that gives a false impression of the mall overall. For one there is the aforementioned large Thai-style area on the ground floor just behind the luxury shop area. Then behind it, there is the huge expanse of the actual main mall, which houses all the normal shops you'd expect, such as H&M, Uniclo and the like. Nothing special, of course, but not just the high-end stuff none of us is interested in. You can buy normal stuff at normal prices there.

I was going to suggest to buy a Rabbit card too. If you stay longer than a day or two I believe it is worth it for the convenience gained ESPECIALLY during high season and and peak times in any season. It is true, when it comes to ticketing, for public transport Bangkok is hopelessly inefficient. There was supposed to be a combined card for BTS and MRT (and supposedly even buses) called "Spider Card" but that has been announced for several years now, and kept being delayed. Very Thai indeed LOL. Heard some limited numbers were rolled out last year (maybe a test run), but then never heard anything again lol.

just made in interesting observation regarding my own post above, which presumably and hopefully solves the login issue for all: When you are still logged OUT and go to the end of any thread you will find a "Please sign in to comment" notice instead of the familiar reply box. If you click "Sign in Now" from there, an in-screen sign-in window pops up which DOES have the "Remember me" tick box that I mentioned in my post above. So will see how that works....

Pulse is my place to go, too. I THINK - though I'm not sure, so DivineMadman might correct me if wrong - Pulse is broader in scope than the Red Cross, i.e. you can get tested for a whole host of other STIs besides the all-dominating HIV. AND you can get treatment there right away if needed, which I also THINK (DM?) the Red Cross will not provide but refer you to other hospitals or clinics. So essentially, Pulse is a one-stop shop for ALL gay health needs. And besides that, it is a cheerful and friendly place. I had a friend from the US who wanted to get a bar boy tested beofre his next visit to Thailand, so I took the boy to Pulse (boy had no issues with the request) and had ALL imaginable STI tests done. Several fairly obscure (yet harmless) STIs tested positive and were immediately treated and cured with antibiotics. When my US friend arrived for his visit happy fucking ensued, needles to say LOL

I find the requirement to newly login every time when accessing the site/forum quite cumbersome, too. And I don't understand the security argument at all. Gazillions of sites, including Facebook and email services such as Gmail and others allow for a "perma-login", usually my checking a little tick box "keep me logged in" when logging in. This sets a cookie containing the login credentials and removes the need to re-login. I don't see why this couldn't be done here. The only sites that in no way shape or form allow that are online banking sites, which are obviously not comparable to a humble board like this.

offended by such naughty words, in THIS forum, joke of the day or month or year hahaha

glad to hear that.... mostly straight yes, like in the general population. But I've seen enough gay guys there, one really hot Burmese guy (unfortunately with bf already), an Indonesian guy I had sex with already a couple of times, another one whose nationality I forgot whose nationality I forgot has hit me up for sex (through Line, not in class lol), and several others... So don't give up haha

the building also does a sort of light show every night with lights in the bitten-off parts ascending or descending or flickering, and whatever else. I see it every night from my balcony lol. Not particularly impressive, but draws attention to the building, which is the purpose I suppose

not common? I can't confirm that. At least 3 guys I know immediately spring to my mind who are totally into it, one MB and two non-MBs. I have poor memory on individual encounters (especially at saunas lol) but it happens often (both ways). Of course, boys will be selective who they will do it to, as am I. This particular practice is not something one does with EVERYone, as Vessey has alluded to as well.