you can fly to koh samui from BKK via Bangkok Airways and they have a monopoly on that route to the island so be prepared to pay a lot for the airfare. when i went there last Oct, the airfare from Bangkok to Koh Samui was just as expensive as my air asia ticket from KL to BKK.

you can also fly THAI airways to Suratthani airport. then take a shuttle transfer (1 hour) to Donsak Pier, and then a 1 1/2 hour boat ride to Koh Samui.....

i don't know whether Pelangi Air still flies direct to Koh Samui from KL....

This post has been edited by ihawk98: Feb 22 2007, 10:43 AM

thank bro

Hi guys and gals,

I've not read the , other pages, yet, so please don't flame me if I made a repeated question here:

1. Is Air Asia now landing at Bangkok's new Airport. No longer Don muang izzit ?
2. To Zenix: Hi, can help describe the situation in Bangkok now ? Is it like still suspicious quiet since the military take over ? I've been out of the news world for some time, so not up to date on these matters.

Coz I plan a trip to Bangkok in end of April till May, not sure if its a good idea or not.

3. Anyone experienced Arnoma Hotel b4 ?
4. Any place good for shopping besides:

a. Central
b. Emporium
c. Paragon
d. Siam Center/ Discovery Center
e. MBK
f. Silom
g. Chatuchak
h. Suan Lum Night Bazaar

5. Shopping centers like LYP and Sim LIm(singapore) ?

Alrite, as for my experience, I've been there 3 times, 2 short trips(2D/1N, 3D/2N) and 1 long one(7D/6N). Stayed in Nai Lert Hotel(free)--2D, Holiday Inn(RM1.5K)--3D and Asia Bangkok(3K)--7D. I like Nai Lert but too far walking to BTS, Holiday Inn was very warm and friendly and far from BTS. Asia Bangkok is worst but can't complain for a 3 Star hotel. Asia Hotel is more for those who are into shopping from day till nite and use the hotel just for sleeping. Nai Lert (a.k.a. Hilton) and Holiday Inn are of coz 5 stars and quite good. Just far from BTS. Asia hotel is linked to BTS, very convenient.

As for travelling to shopping, BTS will be good enuf. For sight seeing, I don't know much, I'll leave to others to explain. I like to use the BTS to travel to all their shopping centers. Very convenient as most of them are linked with the BTS. But prepare some Ketotop for ur sore legs, or else go for a foot massage which is common in Bangkok.

Foodwise, I find its really really affordable. It's up to their living standard there. Like here when I eat sushi king, easily I spend RM35 and above. But there, ordering the similar dishes, less than RM 30.

The last time I was there was for 7D/6N and b4 Thaksin was over-thrown, to be exact, 1 year ago. Quite nice the atmosphere there. The ppl do treat us tourist like 'Datuk or Dato' but when u buy stuffs from them, of coz can't expect much discounts. The secret is, to learn up some thai language and if u can communicate with them, u can get much more further discounts, from 30-60% sometimes.

Anyway, for those with some answers to my questions above, all your help are greatly appreciated.

Thank you and warmest regards.

1. Now is the new airport but might move back to DM coz new one probably done by "semi value"

2. Local news have reported troubles still in the south and suspect some might come to BKK to cause trouble but BKK city itself nothing much has changed. There are security checkpoints for MRT now.

3. There is a new Central at Rama III Rd I think, just tell the taxi Central Rama they know. Ate at Fuji Sushi, imagine 4 people eating below 4000THB.

But I feel out exchange rate has weaken since my last trip there so the 100THB = RM10 shouldn't be taken so lightly anymore.

a. Central (Silom) - one of the older complexes, Central is similar to the Metrojaya brand thus the stuff in there are slightly pricy.
b. Discovery Center - Lot 10 class shopping complex alot of boutiques the only shop i went in to buy something was Watson
c. Paragon - KLCC class shopping complex, the entrances are grand, there is one floor for just food and you can find 3 food courts in here, 10 over restaurants and dozens of stalls all in one place. Rest of the complex is beautiful too but pricy.
d. Siam Center - quite a boring complex on its own, KL Plaza class, boring but have expensive boutiques. Shares a common upper foyer platform with Paragon and BTS (Skytrain)
e. MBK - Imagine Sg. Wang class shopping in a building the size of Times Square (without the towers) there is one level where they sell all the stuff you can see on the streets from t-shirts, to handphone acc, to triangle pillow, etc. but in an aircond environment. It is big and messy, some shops can bargain.
f. Silom - side street market similar to the ones at Nana. Nothing spectacular, but beware of guys speaking fairly good english in private cars asking you to go for a turkish bath or massage. Most likely will bring you to a fish tank to choose girls for soapy massage and sex. His tactic will say prices start at 1000THB but it is actually 2000THB for any decent looking girls.
g. Chatuchak - only opens during the weekends, its like Petaling Street x5 without overhead cover, but sell everything from neckless, t-shirts, live plants, pottery, pets, cows, etc. Also there will be entertainers playing violin, dancers, ah kua clown, etc. One that touch my heart was probably a 5 yo girl wearing home made traditional dancer costume (i think the hat was made from paper mashe but looks the part), she was standing on this speaker and doing some dances for the crowd, she has an artificial right leg, with a box next to her saying "donation for education". She fell down once while doing her routine. Sigh. Will upload pix later.
h. Suan Lum Night Bazaar - I don't recall going to this one
i. Robinson (Westin@Asok) - Robinson is similar to Parkson here, the prices are cheaper than Central.

I usually don't ride tut tut's. But the newest Altis taxi's are usually try to be cut throat. Have to be clear with them or the pricing will be off your expectation.

hey i think i realize something now.. different between shopping in KL and bangkok .. you go to petaling street.. (pathetic place) you find moody and not friendly low class traders.. they sux!!.. you go to chatuchak or pratunam market.. you can find almost everything.. the traders there are considerate.. give good price, haven't found any moody traders too. lucky i have thai friends who can help me haggle with them if not i won't get cheaper!! you guys have been to Pantip?? was shock to find so many porno DVD/VCD there..


This post has been edited by johnnybravo: Feb 26 2007, 10:33 PM

hey, cowboy's better, with thai university gal uniform

I heard of Patpong for its 'glamorous' night life. Similar to cowboy or Nana ? I thot I passed by Nana, looks pretty decent to me. Coz I was walking out from Nai Lert Hotel to the BTS and the BTS at Nano looks decent enough.

But I agree with johnnybravo, the ppl there r really more friendly although they still manage to make a living out of the stuffs that they sold to us. Imagine, a nicely printed T-shirt for gals, only cost RM 15. Will try to upload some pics if my gf allows. The printing is like those good quality ones and really nice too. Here, the pasar malam here really starts to sell like shopping center's price too.

What to do la, our living cost here is dam high compare to there. If it weren't for their language, I'm sure my gf would have migrated there. haha.

Hey Zenix, serious about the Turkish Bath ? I got a few friend planning to go there soon, mayb I trick them into getting themself into uncomfortable position. haha, they r kinda nerd type, so gonna b funny though.

hi i am heading to BKK this Sunday with my family members, and staying at Silom Trinity, then i need soem advise here from the sifu who whent there before.

1. Airport Transfer - what is the fee now to get to Silom district in a cab ( taxi) and tracffic on Sunday morning.
2. Exchange Rate at BKK for Ringgit - i checked here MBB is at 9.7 , can someone furnish the rate at BKK.
3. How to get to Wireless Rd for Soi Polo Chicken..? Cab or BTS.
4. Finally, dinner for family of three. ( prefer local thai )

Looking forward for advise.....

MillionThx 1st

yes, patpong, cowboy & nana are all go-go bars. not sure about cowboy, but some bars in nana & patpong are ladyboy's bar. go try it, quite fun (might vary).


and here is my not so-good-experience when i going to sightseeing using private car that not attached to any company (freelance) that scattered around my area (sukhumvit). the offer i get is 1600 BHT for 1 day trip to Floating Market in Rathcaburi, Khaosan, Grand Palace, Chinatown, Silom & Patpong. after agreed with the places & price, the driver keep pushing us for those adult massage (since we 3 guys) at firs twe say no coz it not wat we wan...on the way to our destination, he still keep pushing & pushing finally we agree for him to bring us there coz he say its ok to just take a look & since we will pass by it

after finished floating market, grand palace & khaosan, we heading to the massage parlour, after visiting few parlours, he ask us which 1 we like, when we said no, his attitute start to change from very friendly to very unfriendly, keep murmuring in thai, and word only come out from his f**king mouth is dunno, dunno & dunno. i so pissed off by his attitute so after we reach chinatown by night, i pay him 1600THB and toll fees and call him to f**k off! after finished chinatown, we skip silom & patpong & get taxi back to sukhumvit and the action goes on...

the lesson i learned:
1. gotta be very careful when taking freelance driver
2. keep insist to the place if u dunwan to go
3. monday is a holiday to shop's operator in chinatown (at least 90% closed)

This post has been edited by wk_wong: Mar 1 2007, 10:37 AM

1. taxi from airport sure going to be expensive, gotta buy coupon at the counter if i am not mistaken.

2. the rate at the banks when i was there is 8.47 you can get better rates at those individual money changers. massage parlour/chicken house also got, sometimes can get good rate coz they don't check the exchange rate everyday if it is really late you can see if your hotel have this facility if not then goto 'hotel malaysia' they will exchange for you 24-hours but they got service fee

3. BTS will get you near but taxi isn't that much expensive (for us) if you're not too confident with BTS/MRT

4. Eat anything there is usually 30-40% than eating the same thing back here plus got more better stuff

true about those freelance taxi drivers.
it is much better to get at least a normal taxi driver or use taxi from place to place instead, the meter charges aren't that expensive.

they only say "see only" "very cheap 1000thb" but whenyou go there he and the OKT will not shiok when you dowan and they start the price from 3000thb.

my friend kena before. he haggle and make the driver take him to a few place before he settle for a girl. 1800thb but got hidden charges wan. the girl will ask for tips usually above 100thb, then the driver will want a beer or something coz he needs to wait usually 100-150thb.

after my friend finish his business he go out to find the driver, the driver gone already. so the fucker just take the tips from the OKT and cabut. this wan consider ok, some will do even worst things.

I just came back from BKK last monday. I stayed at Baiyoke Sky, somewhere at Siam area.

1. Airport Transfer costs me 450 baht (inclusive toll fees and 50 baht airport surcharge), gotta buy coupon kinda thing at the public taxi counter.
2. hm.. not sure how's the exchange rate. But, I changed RM2000, got 20150 baht.
3. Hm.. for me, taking taxi is much more cheaper... coz there were 4 of us, meter taxi from my hotel to Chatuchak ab 80-90 baht, however, for the same distance, BTS costs us 25 baht per person = total 100 baht (plus we have to take a taxi to the BTS station which is quite far - 40 baht).
4. for local thai food, i would prefer hawker stall at markets or along the street coz sometimes they taste nicer.

Guys and girls, taxi from airport to city should not cost more than 300/350 toll and 50 baht surcharge included.

One mistake you MUST NOT make is to take one of the limos [unless that's what you want specifically about 900-1000 bht into city].

Go down to ground level [1st floor] to take the public taxis.

For an example, airport to upper sukhumvit [soi1 to soi20 etc] takes me about 300 everything in.

Thing is, you should try to convince the driver to take the 'motorway' [the thais call it moterway] or else they'll take the longer route [bangna-trat highway].

But 'locals' like me know which exit to take to avoid unnecessary tolls and quicker routes. So the rule is, take public taxi, ask them to get on moterway, and you'll save money and time. Even if they take a slightly longer route, +-100 baht is not exactly a lot when you're on holiday !

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Added on March 1, 2007, 9:18 pmbtw what's on soi polo chicken?

This post has been edited by adad: Mar 1 2007, 09:18 PM

Very well said, brother!

The motorway is the best, especially if you are going towards town centre / Sukhumvit / Rama 9 vicinity.

If you're heading towards Rama 3 / Bangna / southern Bangkok, opt for the Banga-Trat route.

A note on the public taxi stands on the lowest level - there aren't any proper booths of counters, but merely tables where authorised airport personnel will assist you in telling the taxi your destination. They come pretty well equip with maps and English-Thai translations of well known locations within the city (especially hotels).

Sometimes, you might find one taxi stand queue too long. Don't be a fool and stand there waiting, but walk further on and find one that does not have such a long queue. I usually find that the ones on the left side of the airport (towards the end) are less crowded.

Another rule of thumb to remember is if you are approached by someone asking you 'taxi, sir' 99.9% they are trying to get you into the pricey limos.

Though I love the Thais, they'll usually not bother you unless there's something in it for them ...

Just smile, and get yourself down a couple of floors to find the 'real taxis'.

Another tip is to go upstairs to catch one of the incoming taxis dropping off passengers - but this is only recommended for seasoned travellers who are confident in shaking off the occasional taxi mafia patrolling the area to protect the interests of their brethrens. I come in and out Swamp-napoom airport very frequently so that's the risk/potential hassle I'm willing to take.

With that, you save THB50. Woo hoo!

(I sometimes do that too when I don't have any large suitcase)

btw is it advisable to driving around Bangkok?? how is the traffic there???

Should be OK but the toll price is ridicolous! imagine for a 25KM travel fromAirport top City u will be paying ~70bth or RM7!...avoid peak period...

BTW, taking tuk-tuk during day time sometime can be very cheap..u pay marginal of 20bth and they will bring u almost everywhere around the city provided u stop at 1 or 2 of their own specify destination (Normally gems store & etc) to collect petrol vouchers!....Well not really if u r rushing...but what the hack atleast u seen the gems factory on the way to your destination 10KM away for only 20bth Hehehe....

this is the famous kai yang and som tum at Soi Polo, near Lumpini Park. the entrance is on Wittayu (Wireless Road) before Suan Lum Night Bazaar.

Has anyone ever driven to Bangkok and carried on into Myanmar or the other surrounding countries?

hello guys/gals, would like to know how to:

1. call or SMS to thai no.(receiver in thailand) using malaysian no.(dailer in m'sia)...very confuse with the international code whether need to dail the extra '0'

2. call or SMS to thai no.(receiver in uk) using malaysian no.(dailer in m'sia)

3. call or SMS to malaysian no.(receiver in m'sia) using thai no.(dailer in thailand)

thanks in advance!