well, i've been living there my whole life, i consider a very livable place, everything is convenient and reachable using the BTS and MRT trains. very easy place to get around. food is undoubtedly great, ppl are friendly. problems are its pretty damn congested most of the day, so driving is a hassle. though i have to say its been getting better these past years, new governor is a hard worker. regarding crime, you read about it in the news, but i've never seen anything violent happening to anyone i know in 20 years. mostly pick-pockets in crowded places. i've never heard of these 'snatch thefts' like i do here though. other than that its the usual rape/murder cases. but in general? everyone seems to feel safe roaming the streets of bkk, night or day, simply because its a city that never sleeps !

as for the bombings last night, i doubt it'll happen again. they were all planned to coincide with new years, to discredit someone regardless of who. most my friends are still going next month though, they dont seem to care. it is however up to the individual person. some are more daring and adventurous than others

original games in thailand are in ENGLISH. the only thing in thai is the box and manual....with the exceptions of a few games usually EA games, but u can always change the language. check the following sites..personall i recommend the i27 store in mbk 4th floor.

www.zest.co.th
www.i27games.com

generally games DVD version original are around RM60-75 which is much much cheaper than KL!! go bkk gaming!!!

dude where were you!??! i've lived in kl for 4 years, and i can say that food in bkk is much much cheaper. chicken fried rice for rm17!?!? nan @rm4!??! seriously, i think you just went to the wrong place man. of course food that price exists (anywwhere for that matter, even kl) but there are also much cheaper ones!! ask for advice next time you go!! this is the purpose of this thread i think.

btw i'm still in bkk. till the 7th of july most likely. if anyone needs help or wants to meet up let me know!

my relatives own an awesome place near the oriental hotel...next to chao phraya...its on bangrak/suriwong area. right next to "harun mosque". very nice place, thai food + some indian even. very very affordable trust me. let pm me if u need help, i'm in kl now but i can pass u my brothers' number.

alrite then. i'll let u know if i find out about any in that area. tbh if u just walker around there are a lot of halal hawker food as well if u want to exp bangkok's street food (which is awesome btw). they have a big halal sign up on their cart usually. btw, not only KFC but chester grill as well as a&W are halal.

a close relative of mine is an executive (VP i think) of KFC in thailand. he told me that its halal. they used to have the certification. but after 9/11 some dumbass muslims said kfc is american so they burnt one down in some countryside (in teh south i think) and kfc got pissed so didnt renew the license. but the process and source of chicken is the same. oh and if u go to the supermarkets, "CP" brand chicken are also halal. they're from the same slaughterhouse if i'm not mistaken.

btw xploding its "khao mok gai" but u were close

hello- sawasdee krub
thankyou- khob khun krub
how much- thao rai krub
rong ram- hotel
hong nam- toilet
pom yaak gin kao- i want to eat rice (or just want to eat also the same phrase)
pom yaak pai.... - i want to go to....
mai aow- dont want
yindee krub- your welcome

hope this helped! anything else just ask

i beg to differ on some of the things u mentioned. no doubt electronics like cameras can be found for a cheaper price in most cases in KL. but with video games ( i assume u mean pc games too) prices for ORIGINAL stuff are much much cheaper. also cheaper are original DVDs. dunno about the pirated stuff since i dont buy those. for example you can get an original COD4 for RM55 in bangkok. here is around 120 i think? double the price right and original dvds i've found for RM25 only if you check out some stores in MBK like maang pong.

as for the clothes, i think ur the first to tell me u can get it cheaper here. have you checked out the prices of clothes in pratu nam? chatuchak? sam paeng/pahurat? i know ppl who go to bangkok just to shop and come back here and sell @ higher prices, while its still cheaper than KL. maybe u can give some direct comparison of stuff that are cheaper here than there and still provide so much variety (which to me is important...pointless to have just one small joint that sells cheaper stuff if there is hardly any to pick from).

even for original brand clothes, the sales @ central branches and robinson are sometimes cut-throat. you can get original luigi batani or valentino shirts at these places for as low as rm35 if you go @ the right time (i'm talking about mall shopping here, not street/bargain shopping).

anyways maybe our experiences differed or you just know more places than me in KL since in my 4 years here i have yet to find a place that can satisfy my shopping needs like bangkok does maybe others can give their input

never tried, but from what i've heard its VERY nice and luxurious hotel. 5-star category i think ur not that far from siam area either so its in quite an ok location.