This will be my forum topic thread where I write about all trips to Bangkok (and maybe other parts of Thailand) this year in 2026. I am making at least four weekend trips and probably one long trip. I don't want to write them separately.

The first trip of 2026 is a January weekend trip to be with my guy before he goes back to Vietnam for an extended period of time. His visa expires Tuesday 13th so I planned a trip the weekend before.

I arrived on Friday late because there was a one hour delay due to engineers having to check engine of aircraft. Singapore Airlines 5.15pm flight from Singapore usually arrives by 6:30pm in Bangkok but due to delay plus long immigration queue, I only got onto airport train at about 8.30pm.

I had planned to check into Voco hotel then meet my guy and his friends for karaoke at 9pm but everything got pushed back. "No problem. I wait for you," my guy replied me when I updated him on my delay. "I am happy you come to see me." 🥰🥰🥰

10 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

 

The first trip of 2026 is a January weekend trip to be with my guy before he goes back to Vietnam for an extended period of time. His visa expires Tuesday 13th so I planned a trip the weekend before.

 

sounds romantic

Since I was late, I didn't go to hotel to check in. I went to the pool table bar below Freshboys where we had agreed to meet. Everyone had gathered already and was ready for karaoke. I hugged my guy tightly and happily. Our group then crossed Surawong Road to go to Voco hotel. I went to hotel reception with my guy to check in. The other guys waited outside the hotel and chatted and smoked.

Voco hotel holds special memory for me and my guy. 10 years ago in 2016, I had been with him here in the same building when it was known as Tawana Hotel. My guy was working at Soi Twilight then and we spent a few happy nights together. The reopening of the hotel is a serendipitous moment for me and my guy and I definitely had to book it.

It was nice that Voco management remembers the history of the building. It named its ballroom after Tawana Hotel.

3 hours ago, jason1975 said:

The first trip of 2026 is a January weekend trip to be with my guy before he goes back to Vietnam for an extended period of time. His visa expires Tuesday 13th so I planned a trip the weekend before.

 

Sweet. 🥰 Is he leaving because of the new visa rules? The latest I've heard is that there's no "reset" or fresh start of one's travel history to Thailand on January 1; the immigration officer will look at one's recent travel history and it's entirely at their discretion whether the visa exemption grace has been abused. We're going to have general elections in February and the rules may change yet again. 🤷 l hope everything works out for your guy.

4 hours ago, jason1975 said:

It was nice that Voco management remembers the history of the building. It named its ballroom after Tawana Hotel.

Apart from the spelling!

2 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Sweet. 🥰 Is he leaving because of the new visa rules? The latest I've heard is that there's no "reset" or fresh start of one's travel history to Thailand on January 1; the immigration officer will look at one's recent travel history and it's entirely at their discretion whether the visa exemption grace has been abused. We're going to have general elections in February and the rules may change yet again. 🤷 l hope everything works out for your guy.

No, he is building house for his parents in Vietnam. Away at least half a year. He aims to complete construction before storm season starts.

I dumped my luggage in hotel room and my guy and I soon joined the other guys outside hotel entrance. There were 6 of us including myself and I also invited a forum member to karaoke.

So 7 of us in total walked noisily to H.i.M. bar which used to be known as Sky Bar. The two biggest karaoke rooms had been pre-booked by other customers so we were ushered to a normal size room. Smaller but the sofa was stil long enough to seat 8 people  and there were two long tables for food and drinks. Every room also had an en suite toilet so all our needs were met.

In December, I had karaoke with  Myanmar guys. Tonight it was with Vietnam guys so all Vietnamese songs. 3 hours of singing and drinking. Bill was close to 8k baht. We started at about 10.45pm and ended at 1.30am. Forum member came and watched for a while. First time at karaoke for him. When karaoke was over, one of the guys went off to meet his girlfriend, three guys went to another bar to continue drinking while I went back to Voco Hotel with my guy and we would stay together for the next two nights until Sunday morning. 

28 minutes ago, jason1975 said:

I dumped my luggage in hotel room and my guy and I soon joined the other guys outside hotel entrance. There were 6 of us including myself and I also invited a forum member to karaoke.

So 7 of us in total walked noisily to H.i.M. bar which used to be known as Sky Bar. The two biggest karaoke rooms had been pre-booked by other customers so we were ushered to a normal size room. Smaller but the sofa was stil long enough to seat 8 people  and there were two long tables for food and drinks. Every room also had an en suite toilet so all our needs were met.

In December, I had karaoke with  Myanmar guys. Tonight it was with Vietnam guys so all Vietnamese songs. 3 hours of singing and drinking. Bill was close to 8k baht. We started at about 10.45pm and ended at 1.30am. Forum member came and watched for a while. First time at karaoke for him. When karaoke was over, one of the guys went off to meet his girlfriend, three guys went to another bar to continue drinking while I went back to Voco Hotel with my guy and we would stay together for the next two nights until Sunday morning. 

Beautiful and enjoyable post 💜

8 hours ago, jason1975 said:

No, he is building house for his parents in Vietnam. Away at least half a year. He aims to complete construction before storm season starts.

That's great! Hopefully by then the dust from the immigration sandstorm would have settled too.

12 hours ago, jason1975 said:

No, he is building house for his parents in Vietnam. Away at least half a year. He aims to complete construction before storm season starts.

I don't recall reading that you have visited him in Vietnam. I hope that you are able to do that but thanks anyway for your reports on your relationship in Thailand.

7 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Beautiful and enjoyable post 💜

You should take notes...

19 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Apart from the spelling!

Before the Tawana Ramada, that hotel had been a Sheraton. It was one of the few where you had to pay for joiners. They had a table set up by the lifts manned by a flunky with a room list. He would then check your key against the list. Can't recall how much the joiner's fee was but I think quite substantial compared to bar off rates.

19 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Apart from the spelling!

"Tawanna" may be the more correct spelling. Not that I know Thai, so maybe those members who do can chime in. But it seems to me that in Thai, "tawan na" seems more likely to mean something than "tawan a".

Sorry for going off topic...

 

21 hours ago, Keithambrose said:

Apart from the spelling!

It's ตะวันนา (ตะ-วัน-นา) in Thai so Tawanna is correct.

โรงแรมตะวันนาสุรวงศ์ Tawanna Hotel Surawong.

ตะวันนา (dtawanna) is derived from ตะวัน (dtawan) which means the sun and its usage is often literary or used as a proper noun. It is a very common person, place or brand name in Thailand signifying the glory of the sun. The common word for sun is ดวงอาทิตย์ (duang aathid).

Sometimes Thai words aren't transliterated exactly because an exact match with the Thai isn't possible or because it may not be convenient for foreigners to pronounce. Tawana is easier to pronounce than Tawan-na, which sounds more Chinese to me.

The reverse, ie transliteration from another language to Thai, is also true. In addition, slight adjustments are made if the exact Thai transliteration would sound inauspicious or vulgar.

1 hour ago, macaroni21 said:

"Tawanna" may be the more correct spelling. Not that I know Thai, so maybe those members who do can chime in. But it seems to me that in Thai, "tawan na" seems more likely to mean something than "tawan a".

Sorry for going off topic...

 

You are correct. “Tawan” like Tawan bar and Soi Than Tawan means “the sun”  or even that new bar Sol 

exact name in Thai is ตวันนา Tawan-na and there is a double “n” in the Thai alphabet

”na” can mean face or next, but in this case the translation is literally “sunny”

ChatGPT had this to contribute:

“In Thai, ตวันนา is not commonly used in everyday conversation. It has a literary and elegant tone, often chosen for:

Hotel names

Building or place names

Brands meant to convey warmth, brightness, or prestige

So Tawana Hotel essentially conveyed the idea of:

“A place of sunshine / warmth / radiance”

This kind of naming was especially popular for upscale hotels in Bangkok from the 1970s–1990s.”

Could be possible the other bars like “Moonlight” “Jupiter” all took their planetary names from the original Soi Thantawan 

Now I am wondering about the meaning of Bavana which in my head is an abbreviation of Brave Banana 

36 minutes ago, hank75 said:

Now I am wondering about the meaning of Bavana which in my head is an abbreviation of Brave Banana 

บาวาน่า? Again quite a common place name in Thailand. Possibly after an angel's or woman's name, derived from Sanskrit.

1 hour ago, mauRICE said:

It's ตะวันนา (ตะ-วัน-นา) in Thai so Tawanna is correct.

โรงแรมตะวันนาสุรวงศ์ Tawanna Hotel Surawong.

ตะวันนา (dtawanna) is derived from ตะวัน (dtawan) which means the sun and its usage is often literary or used as a proper noun. It is a very common person, place or brand name in Thailand signifying the glory of the sun. The common word for sun is ดวงอาทิตย์ (duang aathid).

Sometimes Thai words aren't transliterated exactly because an exact match with the Thai isn't possible or because it may not be convenient for foreigners to pronounce. Tawana is easier to pronounce than Tawan-na, which sounds more Chinese to me.

The reverse, ie transliteration from another language to Thai, is also true. In addition, slight adjustments are made if the exact Thai transliteration would sound inauspicious or vulgar.

Ok, but I thought that the old hotel was spelt Tawana, one 'n'?

3 minutes ago, Keithambrose said:

Ok, but I thought that the old hotel was spelt Tawana, one 'n'?

Yes the name of the old hotel was Tawana.

1 hour ago, mauRICE said:

บาวาน่า? Again quite a common place name in Thailand. Possibly after an angel's or woman's name, derived from Sanskrit.

Thanks for insight, I never looked this one up before but Bavana sounds a lot more suggestive than Tawana! 
 

2 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Sometimes Thai words aren't transliterated exactly because an exact match with the Thai isn't possible or because it may not be convenient for foreigners to pronounce.

Best example of this is Suvarnabhumi 

3 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Sometimes Thai words aren't transliterated exactly because an exact match with the Thai isn't possible or because it may not be convenient for foreigners to pronounce. 

Is this a reason for Rama IV being written Rama but pronounced Palam?

30 minutes ago, PeterRS said:

Is this a reason for Rama IV being written Rama but pronounced Palam?

Yes. Strictly it's Phra Ram IV. (Phra is an honorific denoting royalty). But in casual Thai speech, Rs tends to turn into L or N or disappear altogether.

2 hours ago, hank75 said:

Best example of this is Suvarnabhumi 

Suwannaphumi, pronounced as Suwannaphum is what happens when Sanskrit conflates with Thai. The word suwannaphumi is borrowed from Sanskrit (as many grand Thai names are) and in Sanskrit, the final i sound is pronounced. Suwar-na-bhu-mi. The r sound in the middle is also trilled. In other words, you say it as you see it. Easy right?

When adopted into Thai, the Thai spelling follows the way it is pronounced in Sanskrit but the pronunciation follows Thai pronunciation rules and the final i sound becomes silent. Therefore the transliteration is not wrong. There's some interesting trivia surrounding the naming of the airport, bestowed by the late ร. 9, which you can look up for yourself. 😅

Thai to English transliteration isn't an exact science - there are supposed to be some guidelines/standard somewhere and even these have evolved and not necessarily followed to a T. The final product really depends on the person doing the transliteration! I've never really bothered with it as I learned the Thai script from the start.

2 hours ago, mauRICE said:

There's some interesting trivia surrounding the naming of the airport, bestowed by the late ร. 9, which you can look up for yourself. 😅

Thanks, fascinating explanation I enjoyed reading it.

Don’t want to derail @jason1975’s trip report further but instead of naming trivia I’m curious about all those ghost stories from Suvarnabhumi….