RhinoTusk

"Across the pond" at Billabong

I was there last night too (but didn’t get a token). Most impressive was the exterior.

JFK

Tonight it’s Soi Cowboy, tomorrow night is Nana. If you see me I’ll buy you a cold one.

I typically visit GoGos 5 nights a week. Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy are doing a fantastic business, busy every night. Even Patpong is making a comeback. The night market has re-opened on the southern edge of Patpong 1. More popular is the food court that occupies the northern half of the street. Unfortunately, it's right outside Kings Castle I. On Patpong 2, mamasan has raised the price to 500 in order to close the curtain, still cheaper than a bar fine, and I've managed to shoot my load in every booth with some very attractive ladies. Mamasan lines them up whenever I come in, whether I'm ready for a BJ or not. A new music bar has opened next to Le Bouchon. It was acoustic night with 200 cover, included a drink. Over on Soi 7, the Beer Garden has been very quiet for a long time, nowhere near it's hey day 15-20 years ago. The adjacent bar area has an official name: 7 Center Point She beat me two games but I hadn't played in 15 years. On Soi 11, there's a cool new bar called Orange, across from the Ambassador Hotel, tastefully decorated with wooden pallets and industrial drums. I really like the retractable roof. I can see where I used to live at the Trendy Condo (top right) Although we've lost Carl's Jr. and International House of Pancakes, we've gained a Red Lobster, in the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. Huge place, took a while to find the restaurant I ordered one of their signature dishes, which was quite pricey. I was the only customer, but there were no events and not many people were about. There were some unusual times covered in this thread. I spent much of the covid lock down on Koh Chang, which was paradise without international tourists, but I came to Bangkok for vaccinations and spent time in luxury hotels since many places were closed. What I remember most was how clean the air was, particularly now that it's been so bad the past few months, and I'll never again see hotel rates I paid. I recently read Bangkok hotel rates are now at an all-time high. For comparison: currently what I paid Hyatt Regency 9000 3800 Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit 8400 2000 JW Marriott 8000 2350 Banyan Tree 7500 3500 (inc 1000/day F&B credit) Sofitel 7000 1700 Lebua 5800 4000 Royal Orchid Sheraton 5600 1850 Landmark 4000 2150 Rembrandt Suites 2350 930 Majestic Suites 1100 590 Fortunately, I rent a condo now and don't have to pay these rates. I'll do a Nana/Cowboy update later. Cheers.

I had the opportunity to join the Darkside Crawl, organized by Hammer, which was excellent. Really enjoyed the attention from the ladies and the camaraderie with board members. Otherwise, again stayed at LK President. Think I'll choose a guesthouse next time so I won't have to cross Third Road. Facing south this time, from the 16th floor. Easy access to Soi Pothole Which becomes Soi Puddle after a rain Went to Hopf Brew house but they were so busy I gave up waiting to be served. Many places are having problems hiring enough staff. So, went over to Robin Hood for an Aussie Tenderloin. The waitress was excellent, very well trained. Steak was good but wasn't impressed with the wine. \ Still prefer Patricks for a tenderloin. I rarely order steak in Bangkok, not the case when I come to Pattaya. Hooters also had 50% off between 3 PM and 4 PM, so I took advantage with fish tacos and blue whisky for 410 baht Enjoyed a walk down Beach Road in the unseasonably cool weather. Found this colorful place on Soi Yamano Then, over to Soi 6. Short time 1000, and great service. What a bargain! The Soi 7-Soi 8 area has been quiet for years. The exception is Sailor Bar, which amazingly does very good business. Visited most of the GoGos on Soi LK Metro. Hottest girl was #194 at Lady Love, same as last time. New Years celebrations A spill-over crowd at Billibongs When did they stop giving free popcorn at Sugar Sugar? On Walking Street, visited Baccara, Pinup, Palace, Xs, Sensations, and some others I don't remember. Lots of Russians Good to see Iron Club reopened, but didn't have the opportunity to stop in They were out of crab at Nong Nual, so I settled for rock lobster Cheers ?

Field of Dreams ⚾

I’m staying at LK President for about 1300. Alternately, Hard Rock Hotel is around 3000 and Wave is about 5000. I review all three in this thread. I also liked Residence Garden, stayed there several times.

In honor of Burrito Tuesday, let's list some places still around for tacos ? and burritos ? Slanted Taco on Sukhumvit Soi 23, just down from Soi Cowboy, with a mango margarita Alternately, you can dine outside in the beer garden with a Verdett Sunrise Taco La Monita Taqueria, I like their NZ ribeye steak burrito Salmon tacos at the Spotted Pig, near Lumpini Park Shrimp tacos and fish tacos at Hooters Nana, half price between 3 PM and 4 PM Half price nachos at the Oasis on Soi Cowboy on Fridays only 115 baht Taco Bell! Chiang Mai Fish Tacos in Pai El Barrio on Koh Chang Sorry, can't think of a place worth mentioning in Pattaya

RIP The Mexican. Free pool, Annies right next door, but they don't serve women. I remember Coyote on Soi 11 and wasn't impressed. It didn't last long at that location.

those look good, and there are good Mexican restaurants in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, even Koh Chang, not so much Pattaya.

I’ve never seen a burrito served with French fries. ?

The BIG Lebowski

Steve Buscemi

For desert, I had a Santa Belly from Krispy Kreme ? Could have done without that.

...back on topic When I lived in View Talay 6 I would frequently do the weekend buffet at Beefeaters. Don't do buffets anymore, but thought I'd do this again for the nostalgia. Last time it was 195 baht but that was 10 years ago, now 345. They used to have decent ground beef for the tacos, now it's more like powered beef (just add water). The sour cream is gone but they still offer some grated local cheese. BBQ chicken is now the mini-drumsticks, but the ribs were OK. I didn't go back for seconds and won't be doing this again. I found better tacos at the new food court behind the McDonalds in Central Festival. These 3 chicken tacos (2 hard,1 soft) were 190 baht.

I think it was nearly full, and there were four elevators, so not really a problem.

LK President represents good value in an accommodation IMHO. The building is only a couple years old, you get a large room with a nice view, HBO and two Cinemax channels, they do have a pool (I haven’t tried it), and the room rate is one-half of the Hard Rock Hotel and one-third of the Wave Hotel, the other two properties reviewed in this thread. I’ll probably stay there again my next visit, I think it’s better than Areca Lodge, for a slightly lower rate.

Came down to Pattaya for Christmas, been a long time since I spent Christmas ? in Pattaya. I had to ditch the mask ? after a few hours, I was the only farang wearing one. Most people are wearing masks in Bangkok, so I was accustomed to wearing one in public. It felt like the first shave after a full beard. Again, stayed at LK President on Third Road at Soi Pothole/Soi Lengkee. It's beginning to be my GoTo place, based upon value and location. Biggest problem is crossing Third Road, which can be very dangerous depending on time of day. There's no median so it can seem like standing between high speed trains moving opposite directions. (I think there's a term to describe that but I can't think of it) ?. They really need a traffic light ?, but there won't be one until someone is run over ?. My objective is to make sure it isn't me. The view from Soi Lengkee Nighttime view, looks like the hotel may be fully booked. My view from the balcony, lower floor this time That's not my Porsche SUV parked in front. Buffalo Bar and Castle, I think that caters to S/M, were a block away but didn't go there. Haven't been in Buffalo Bar ? in nearly twenty years and didn't even realize it was still around. On the doorstep of Soi Pothole. There may not be the best looking girls, but they're very polite. High Rollers have a good happy hour, probably another ten years before I venture into Maggy May's again. Triangle bar also had live music Wide-angle view of the "Triangle" ? Soi Bouchao very quiet in the early morning, gets progressively more busier as the day goes on. I took a stroll down to Walking Street. Road construction on Second Road make the hike easier. ? Walking Street looked great, lit up like a Christmas tree. I visited Fahrenheit, Club Electric Blue, Sapphire, Pin-Up, Palace, Baccara, Sensations, Xs, Windmill Club , and Dollhouse. Like old times, I was fortunate to get a seat in Palace at 9:30 on a weekday, and Pin-Up and Baccara each had a few stunners. Looked like a massive mismatch in the Ring On Soi LK Metro, I visited Kink, Lady Love, Showgirls, Crystal, Champagne, Pulse, Sugar Sugar, Queen, and Paradise. The hottest girl I saw all week was #194 at Lady Love ?. She told me her bar fine was 1700, and she only went short time. Unfortunately I was too mao to fully enjoy her talents so I passed, although I'll wager she was worth it. Added her to my 2Do list. Walk down to Kung's on Soi Lengkee for breakfast, the small one is just 109 baht. ? Someone came by actively vlogging ? while I was having breakfast, I could hear his baritone voice from across the street, it was that chocolate ? man. Healthy breakfast at Irish Rovers, fruit and yogurt with muesli ? Americanized version of the baht buster, 129 baht Dinner at Patrick's in the Kiss Arcade, 250 g Nebraska tenderloin. ? I enjoyed it so much I went back and had another, this time with baked potato. ? Topped off with Creme Brulee and sobered-up with Irish Coffee ☘️☕ Took a walk through the Made In Thailand market, looked like newly tiled floors. A visit to Pattaya wouldn't be complete without Soi 6 Perched out at Ruby Club There were lots of sweet, young things to play with and the short-time rooms were still 350. Later I found out Santa put coal in my stocking. Some lunch at Terminal 21 before heading back home to Bangkok for NYE. I could tell how much things were back to full swing by the long lines at the Bus Station ? Happy Holidays! ⛄

I have a theory that the Loch Ness monster was actually an Asian Water Moniter transplanted from Southeast Asia by a merchant seaman. There was only one so it couldn’t reproduce, but people saw it and thought WTF? Mystery Solved. BTW, I’ve been to Loch Ness in 1989, didn’t see any monitors.

Lol. Yes most in Bangkok wear masks voluntarily. I do too, so I don’t look like a tourist. ?

I thought so too, but I resize all my photos with FastStone anyway

It was unseasonably cool ❄️ yesterday, so I went for a walk in the park. I took the Z6 ? with one lens, a 28-300 mm (for some reach) which I used through the FTZ adapter. There were lots of people in the park, with food and crafts. It was the Red Cross Fair ??????? I guess that explains the shooting range This guy passed out from exhaustion ? The children were playing A lot was happening in the lake The Monitor Monsters were out in full force This guy kept laughing at me. I don't know what was so funny. This guy made the catch of the day ? He started to get pissed off the birds were attempting to steal his meal as soon as he looked away. But he was willing to share with his buddies This one started to come after me, so I got the hell out. You don't want to mess with these guys! ? It was a nice afternoon to spend in the park. After that, I tried a new fusion restaurant called "The Spotted Pig" ?, across the street between the MRT stations Here are the salmon tacos ? Quesidella with a cold Corona. It was a pleasant Sunday before heading over to Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. Cheers.

I took a walk down Soi 11 yesterday, my old neighborhood. I took along the Nikon ZfC, my street photography camera, and everyone thought I was a tourist. ? I knew it was only a matter of time before "Happy" Pizza ? ? came to town. I haven't ventured up to the 5th floor lounge yet, I've been trying to watch my weight. Everywhere you look, more dispensaries are opening. This is a new and emerging market with modest entry costs, so many players are testing the waters. Eventually it will reach market saturation and the less savvy will fall by the wayside. This is how the free market works, in all it's glory. I'm already beginning to see prices starting to drop because of competition, so support your local 'budtender' if you're inclined, it's free market capitalism in action. There have been some recent changes outlawing cannabis trucks, smoking lounges, online advertising, etc. I took a look when the ordinance took effect and all the cannabis trucks were gone, only to reappear a week later, although about half as many. Evidently, "arrangements" ? were made. The beer bar area on the former location of the Cheap Charlie cul de sac has filled in nicely, serving food and drink with ladies to provide company if you wish. I would walk down this lane, past the Park Hotel, as a shortcut to the Soi 7 Beer Garden. Now it's all filled in. You can go back and review the thread to see how it looked before. Unfortunately, many of the older photos were 'shrunken' from a forum software upgrade. The images are still the same size on disk, only the HTML needs correction. I took a table in back and ordered a large Heineken. I asked the waiter if it was OK if I smoked. Venturing further up the Soi we see some old favorites as well as some new businesses. Haven't seen this place before, will have to try their quiche A new fast food burger place, there are now many options for a burger near the Soi 11 'T' They still haven't fixed the unsightly wires The view from "The T" Looks like a reopening of the Chilli Culture restaurant is coming soon, it's about time! Chaidee Mansion has expanded and taken over what was a Middle Eastern restaurant next door. I inquired about Chidee Mansion when I moved into the neighborhood (10 years ago) and couldn't believe how pricey it was, but I think I know why. It's a comfortable place where you get a clean shot to Bumrungrad Hospital in an ambulance ? any time of the day without having to worry about being stuck in traffic. Great location for those on medical tourism. Insanity Nightclub The sign says "We Are Open" No, they're not. Here's a new bar. Firehouse burger restaurant used to occupy this space. Plant Pioneers, another new business. This is a vegan restaurant, it has nothing to do with ganja (and you can see my reflection in the mirror). Lastly, Villa Market, where I did most of my grocery shopping (back when it was located next to the Ambassador Hotel). One thing that draws me to the area now is the pig roast every Saturday at the Old German Beer House, starting 4 PM. They offer small (215 baht) and large (395 baht) plates, with sauerkraut and fried potatoes. This is the small plate, all I can handle. Alternately, the Old German Beer House over on Soi 13 has the same offer on Fridays. The advantage of the Soi 13 restaurant is they have Paulander Oktoberfest, a seasonal brew that I really enjoy. I don't understand why they don't have it on Soi 11. Top off the meal with an ice cold Jägermeister Thanks for joining me for this stroll down Sukhumvit Soi 11. Hope you enjoyed it. Cheers.