Thread: Short Trip to Bangkok

The Wife and I went to Bkk for three days & nights recently, first time I’ve been there actually for about eighteen months. The reason was business, as I had to get a new Aussie passport organised and get a document notarised at the Filipino Embassy.

I was viewing the trip with some trepidation as I got kinda burnt out on Bkk over the years- the congestion, difficulty getting around, pollution , weather, not to mention the cost. Anyway managed to catch up on a few old haunts, and quite enjoyed the trip.

Here’s a few observations & experiences.

DAY ONE- Arriving on Easter Monday by bus, it made sense to pop into the Filipine Embassy on the way into Soi 8 from Ekkamai, as the Embassy is at Soi 30. Not to be- Filipino’s are busy getting flagellated and crucified over Easter, so the Embassy was closed. Not only that, but the Embassy would only be open only two days this week, being Tuesday and Wednesday- then closed for the better part of the next week for Songkhran. So a two day window to get a Filipino document notarised (which I was told could take 3 days), and a new Oz passport organised. Not a great start, and what a world class combination of professional dedication and efficiency- a Filipino Embassy in Bangkok! Those of you that have been to the Fil’s will know what I mean- I assume you already know Bangkok!

So, onwards to Soi 8 and check in. We stayed at the recently renovated Siam Inn, Soi 8, close to Sukhumvit. 900 Bht a room, pretty reasonable for Bkk. It’s the little things- shower had decent pressure, clean room, TV had BBC & HBO, modern quiet aircon. Good thing really, ‘cus the room was little too, but no complaints at the price.

After settling in, we walked across to Soi 7 (Soi Eden) for a couple of beers before a late lunch. Now boy has this Soi changed -it’s got a load of bars now, there were only about two a couple of years back, nice Soi actually. In those days, most of us went to Soi Eden for one reason only! Anyway, had a quiet couple of beers at the Downunder Bar (?), can’t miss it- it’s the one with the ‘Roo statue out the front- then onwards to Soi Arab (3/1) for some much missed Mid eastern food. Schellers Inn has been a fave of mine for some years now- it’s basically a pilgrimage whenever I’m in Bangkok. Not today, because the verandah area was getting torn up! This day was just getting better. Ended up going to another restaurant around the side Soi, that takes you towards Gullivers on Soi 5. Decent enough Mid east food, though not quite as good as Schellers, and a bit more pricey. Nice people though, we had a pig out, and they brought us a pot of Turkish coffee to drink afterwards on their pleasant verandah, gratis- say what you will about the Arabs, they have a good tradition of hospitality. Then into Gullivers for a quick pint- very quiet actually, though kept myself interested looking at the sporting matches. A full gut and a coupla beers, so back to loom for Siesta.

After a couple of hours rest, wife and I decided to just have a drink in Soi 8 that night, firstly at the Pub there called Soi 8, which I think you’ll agree is a startingly original choice of name. Nice enough bar, but the real entertainment was provided by a mangy Soi dog out the front, which absolutely does not like taxi’s, nor for some reason older falang men. The dog must be a bit of a fixture there, as the staff and several punters knew it’s name. Anyway, it sure got stuck into a few taxi’s and terrorised a few elderly falang gentlemen. Didn’t bother me though, and fun to watch. Wife was tiring now, so she went off to sleep and I walked down the Soi about 100m to another bar- I forget it’s name but it’s open fronted and done in cane and wood inside. Pleasant place actually- friendly people, amorous girls, and a few people there enjoying themselves. It was all going quite well, and I even bought 3 girls a drink which is pretty good for this cheap Charlie. LD’s very reasonable too- I think they were only 80 Bht. It went slightly awry though when I offered to buy one of the girls (the cutest one) a second drink, and she promptly tried to load my bill for two more drinks. Very clumsily done, easy to spot, and in true Thai style they tried to bullshit me about having ordered them earlier and all that crap. That somewhat detracted from the sanuk, especially when I gave the loaded tab’s to the bar owner, causing some loss of face no doubt. Anyway, it was by now 2a.m. closing time, and a big day ahead. I left happier than the girls- don’t know why they try that BS when caught red handed, why not just own up and laugh it off rather than making it worse?

DAY TWO- Destined to be a busy one, firstly off to the Flipper embassy in Suk Soi 30, then to the Oz Embassy in Sathorn Rd (usually a bad ride in Bkk traffic). So let me start with an aside- Songkhran is a good time to visit the Big Mango! A whole lot of the population leaves town and goes back to their province, so the Roads are much quieter, the paths less congested, even the smog ain’t so bad. Must add we were lucky with the weather too- maybe the one thing you miss is there aren’t so many of those gorgeous Bangkok office girls around but you can’t have everything. Anyway, in and out of the Filipine Embassy in about twenty minutes, and told that we could pick up the notarised document at 3pm! Not exactly a snip at 1250 Bht though, but a good start to the day, especially when one is expecting the worse.

Hopped a taxi to the Oz Embassy in Sathorn, the traffic was not bad (for Bangkok), another relief. My Passport photo was not up to scratch for the Oz passport these days though, so had to go to the Kodak 300m up the road for shots. It ain’t like the old days, it’s worse. Now they photoshop you, remove flashlight reflections from your retina and all that rubbish. Took about twenty impatient minutes, but all went smooth back at the Embassy.

Time to celebrate- lunch at Zanotti’s in Soi Sala Daeng! Now this is one of my favourite Italian restaurants anywhere in the world, and of course if you know Bkk it’s quite close to the Oz Embassy. We rolled up there about 12.45. They have a great lunch special too- a choice of two or three courses, plenty of choice of food, and the two course deal is only three hundred and something Bht++, in the low three hundreds I think, that is great value for food of this quality, and a restaurant of this standard. Highly recommended. Wife and I had our various choices from the two course daily lunch, but we started with a small antipasta plate to share, which was superb, as always. This one even had some foie gras’ with it- I guess the kitchen was using it up before the Songkhran holiday. Had a nice Chianti too- the Ferrari Club of Bangkok anniversary bottling or something like that, good drinking for 1200 bht. Man I love this place. Anyway, meal and wine, washed down with coffee, came to less than 3000 Bht including tip. You won’t find this sort of value many places in the world nowadays, for the quality anyway. Highly recommended for a splurge- budget minded, do the lunch special.

Feeling good, back into taxi, even better ride back to Sukhumvit where my wife dropped me at Soi 20 to meet an old friend, while she kindly went and picked up the document from the Fil Embassy. Jan’s her name, I’ve known her for years, she now works at the Sports bar, on the left about a hundred yards into Soi 20. Hugs and kisses all around and a few beers. Wife got back in about 30-40 minutes- Bkk traffic and the Fil Embassy had excelled themselves.

Well time goes quickly over a few beers (I did have to shoot off for an hour to see an old biz acquaintance at the Westin), and soon it was 9p.m. Soi Cowboy seemed to be the order of the night as it’s just a short walk away from Soi 20. On the way though, there is this English style Fish n’ chip shop I had heard of and wanted to check out- I think it’s just called the fish shop. Anyway, it’s on the Soi as you walk up towards Cowboy at the other end from Asoke. Well recommended- we shared a tasty red snapper n’ chips (they have cod too) and a mediocre Cumberland sausage. Even has that real English fish n’ chip smell about it. I’ll certainly be back- it’s quite reasonably priced too and a good size piece of fish. Then popped into some GoGo on the way, but the real destination was another old Bangkok haunt- The Long Gun, which has been a favourite GoGo of mine now for well over a decade. Not tonight it wasn’t- I’ve never seen such a mediocre show there. I guess most of the showgirls were out of town for Songkhran. I won’t give up on it for this reason, but it sure wasn’t the Long Gun of old that night. So a couple of beers then back to loom.

DAY THREE- This was a feel good day, as all of my business had been done, and I just had an arrangement to meet an old HK pal at The Office Pub at 4pm. Now you are probably getting the idea I am a creature of habit, and you are right, because after a lazy morning lying in bed watching TV we went to another old fave of mine for lunch, the Bourbon St Cajun restaurant in Washington square. Had a nice meal there as always, although I don’t think it’s nearly the bargain it used to be. I splurged on a blackened rib eye steak for 600Bht, and it was good. Wife had the beef brisket with a beer gravy for 290 bht- it was actually even better. This was washed down with a few glasses of house wine (they have a good Aussie house wine there imo). Short stroll from there to The Emporium shops where wife wanted to pick up some cosmetics and stuff. Then an easy saunter over to Sukhumvit Soi 33, where the Office Pub is located. Got soaked in a sudden shower on the way too, heck we’d done pretty well for weather so far so no complaints. I’d forgotten how good a pub the Office was actually (it’s in a side soi off 33), and it made me think- what is it about Pattaya? In Bangkok, the Pubs that show sport tell you what they’re going to be playing and when, and display it prominently. In the Office, you can watch just about any sport (well I think they specialise more in Aussie sports, which just goes to show what a good pub it is!), and you know whats going to be on in advance. Not so Pattaya- at least for the Aussie rules and Rugby. It seems the bar owners in fun city only know how to have fun, and have forgotten how to work and organise themselves! And, sure enough my old business Pal was trying to draw me back into the business world after several years of early retirement. It was kind of flattering. Then, after he left, wife and I ended up walking back onto the Soi, and basically picked a bar at random, called The Hangout. Turns out this is a hostess bar, so I spent the next few hours getting pleasantly oiled and molesting the ladies. My wife is very tolerant about this, bless her, but I think I dropped a fair wad of baht in there, which is easy to do in Soi 33. Back to the cane and wood bar in Soi 8 for a couple of nightcaps, then off to bed. Actually I was quite pissed when I went to bed, and had a heavy head the next norning.

Yes, I enjoyed my three days in Bangkok.

i'm not really a big fan of the office,

during daylight hours its dark and huge, i prefer somewhere like the roo bar or the old bustop - open air sunshine beers and sports - just feels wrong in the office

and during evening hours, the girls dress up the music goes on and theres no listening the the sport of choice u wnated to watch!

According to MtD the down under bar has moved from soi 7 to 33 or is there now two of them?

what would MtD know about aussie bars or sprts?

If anyone likes pool - there is a place on Sukhumvit, even side of the road, with the Asoke BTS over it. It is a bit behind the street - but tons of pool tables, nice ladies and cold beer!

that would be the reicarnation of the After work bar on soi 19.

its called players i think, i agree with yer recommendation also.

it where the Korean BBQ resterant used to be - just inside a small alleyway, and there is a food vendor out the front who sells fish and chips with mushy peas - can order from teh girls inside.

not too bad at all.

Originally Posted by kingwillyhggtb

that would be the reicarnation of the After work bar on soi 19.

Yes, that is the bar I am talking about. Never knew there was a bar there until the beginning of this year when I walked by it. Sometimes find myself there for hours and not even realise it!

On the other hand, has anyone been to a bar right after Soi 5 (Sukhumvit) - its a all blue coloured bar. I think, in my opinion, that this bar needs a bit of a spark - bad service, not too pretty girls, etc. The place itself is nice but the other things are lacking..

Originally Posted by sabang

I’ve never seen such a mediocre show there. I guess most of the showgirls were out of town for Songkhran. I won’t give up on it for this reason, but it sure wasn’t the Long Gun of old that night. So a couple of beers then back to loom.

I hate to break it to you, but Long Gun has been like this for more than 2 years now. It used to be my favorite bar also, but now it's gone. Nana is where you want to go.

It will come back eventually

In no order-
This place on Soi Eden was very Aussie themed (kangaroo out front and all that). I think it was called Down Under, but if not something equally down under like Outback. You can't miss it anyway.
Re- Office Bar. Horses for courses i suppose. I liked the place. It wasn't full, but it had a nice buzz going on. I think it's a good after work spot. Wouldn't mind seeing a game there either.
Long Gun- Thats tragic. It always used to be reliable, if not the best always. I'll put it on watch list.
Think we mean the same fish shop on Soi whatever, it's about thirty metres or so before the Old Dutch pub on the corner of Soi cowboy.

Originally Posted by sabang

Think we mean the same fish shop on Soi whatever, it's about thirty metres or so before the Old Dutch pub on the corner of Soi cowboy.

Its a bit inconspicuous of a place but the food is good. Not that I am a connoisseur of fish and chips but its pretty good in comparison to British standards. If I remember correctly, it is before the construction bit and right near (just before) the seafood restaurant....