RhinoTusk

After 12 weeks I returned for my second AstraZeneca jab. The vibe was much different this time, much more upbeat, and more people in the hotels. I booked the Sofitel and they gave me a corner room on the 25th floor with lots of windows. The governor of my province had outlawed the sale of alcohol until the end of the month in an effort to reduce the covid spread, even in the 7-11s, so I came a few weeks early. The lobby was a nice place to hang out for afternoon tea I tried the 24-hour room service for Khao Soi, actually a Lanna dish, but listed as a specialty of the house. Usually it comes with a chicken drumstick, their version had Boston Lobster. I also dined in with a carry out 350 g Rib Eye from El Gaucho Steakhouse on Soi 19. Alcohol was still forbidden in restaurants and I wanted some wine with my steak. I also tried the Belgian rooftop restaurant, which was expensive. I ordered baked cod and enjoyed the views from the 34th floor. I was grateful for the direct access to the BTS since I could get to Terminal 21 in the rain using the skywalk and not get wet. A few freelancers hanging around Thermae next door but mostly ladyboys. Room included breakfast buffet, here smoked salmon eggs benedict with bacon, mushrooms, mixed nuts, imported cheese, dark rye, passion fruit, dried fruits, fresh juice, and coffee. What a way to start the day! I went over to the Sportsman's Pub for a change of pace for breakfast, in the Trendy Condo where I lived seven years. They had baseball, basketball, and football all on concurrently. Another change of pace was a visit to Bourbon Street on Soi Ekkamai for crab cake eggs benedict for breakfast. Since I was in town three weeks, I visited many places I like to hang out, like IconSiam. Caught the free river shuttle from the Sathorn Pier, which only runs on the weekend now during covid. I paused for some Pad Thai on the 6th floor pavilion overlooking the river. Another place I visited was Lumphini Park. These two didn't get along well, I didn't realize monitors fight amongst themselves to show who's boss. There were a few beer bar areas open. I spent some time in them until the cops started raiding places, like Crazy House (2nd floor) where 61 were arrested, and another place on Soi 12. These were indoor places where the risk is greater but since they were arresting customers as well as staff I didn't wish to chance it. I sat around Soi Nana awhile, out in the open, where I thought less likely to be arrested drinking 'coffee'. I don't know what happened to the huge crushed coke cans at the entrance to Nana Plaza. They were gone the next week. Soi Cowboy has food vendors in the afternoon But it was eerily quiet at night. I stopped at the Shell station on Soi 23 to fill up my McLaren. ? I went over to Rachada to check out the soapies but were all closed as I expected. Supposedly, Poseidon will be converted into a hotel. ? I opted for the full service massage shops. I participated in a few photo shoots to pass some time. Another place I spent an afternoon was Benchasiri Park The view through the dirty window at Emporium food court. I went over to the EmQuartier mall across the street The food court had a place called the Smoked Joint. I haven't done that in years. ? I tried the brisket, smoked 14 hours, the meat was so tender you could cut it with a plastic fork and the smokiness was overwhelming. It was expensive for what you got, only 120 g, but very tasty. Definitely a cut above what you find in most food courts. I went over to El Gaucho for lunch when I could get wine in a glass. The lunch special includes a complimentary starter and potato, here is the beef soup, which was really good. Followed by a 250 g USDA Prime NY strip loin and a nice glass of red. Bill came to just over 2000. Finally, November brought the return of fully vaccinated alien tourists and alcohol was legally available in restaurants until 9 PM There was a changing of the guard Soi Nana was a-buzz again At 9 PM, they changed your drinking receptacle Happy Days are back. Hopefully, GoGo Bars open December 1st. Cheers!

Beverly Hills Cop

Nice to see all the smiles ?

I’m ready for the reopening

I’m ready for the BJ bar

I'm glad my visa is Non Imm O-B. They'll probably forget about guys like me. I deserve a break for paying taxes six years.

All Good Things (in honor of Robert Durst)

Burt Lancaster

The Irishman

Hal Holbrook

Katharine Ross

As long as I came all this way via taxi, intercity buses aren't operating, I thought I'd spend a few days at the Banyan Tree on Sathorn Ave, about a 30 minute walk to the main entrance of Lumpini Park, halfway between the German and Malaysian embassies. I booked the VIP package including breakfast, thousand baht per day food and beverage credit (excluding alcohol), early check-in/late check-out, daily fruit plate, and room upgrade. Most impressive was the huge bathroom, as large as the living room. Nice view from the bathtub You could see the Chao Phraya River in the distance from the 23rd floor. They included incense, both stick and liquid, next to the bathtub. It was very relaxing to burn the incense while taking a hot bath. Another interesting feature were emergency alarms scattered throughout, I suppose they could save your life in case of a heart attack. There was a switch beside the bed and pull cables in the bathroom, next to the bathtub, in the shower, and next to the toilet. I almost pulled one thinking it was for the flush. Breakfast was included, served in-room due to covid restrictions. I was disappointed with the food credit because of limited choices and I thought the food was just OK. Here's an example: Chicken Cesar Salad with Fettuccine Bolognese and Chocolate Mousse, also included a pot of green tea not pictured. I still had to pay 17% for service charge and government tax, and I supplied the Bordeaux. The hotel lobby was nice, included a grand piano, but no one was there to play. Took a walk over to Patpong, about 15 minutes away. There were some hot cars in the neighborhood. And some nice upscale restaurants The locals queued up for street food on Silom Road. I found where I could buy some wine First, I took a stroll down Soi Thaniya Remember this guy? The Japanese do. Some places were open for carry out Henry Mancini's bar with Inspector Clouseau, closed. Oh well, if you've seen one Stradivarius, you've seen them all. Le Bouchon also closed, not even carry-out. Dragon Bar was open but not serving. The bartender directed me to a discreet open bar 'manned' by ladyboys, but I wasn't that hard up for a drink. Here's a nice concept. All the signage has been removed from the famous Star of Light BJ Bar, an institution for decades. Patpong will never be the same. I've been a customer at King's Castle I (and Pink Panther) for 30 years. Haven't tried the pizza at Madrid yet, and I'll have to wait a while longer. It wasn't long ago this was a steakhouse, and they had a fine Aussie tenderloin. I ordered Crown Royal here once, they said they don't stock it. The way back to Silom Road. I never went into Bar Bar, not my scene, but I miss the hawker that was always out front. This hawker is still out. Then I went over to Lumpini park, the entrance was open but the cops chased me out. A sign said 10:00 - 11:00, so I guess those are the hours now. I was thinking about coming back in the morning but stayed in my room instead. Took a taxi home, an orange zone where I can still eat in a restaurant. Passed through a police checkpoint, had my travel document ready but they didn't ask to see it, just spoke to my driver and asked for his identification. Expect I won't be back to Bangers until it's time for my second covid jab, but I enjoyed the journey and I'm glad to have some protection. Cheers!

Terminal 21 was open in the basement for the grocery store. Over at Soi Cowboy, people seemed happy to see a farang. Carry Out at Pala Some freelancers about but I don't think I wish to partake in any p4p until I've been fully vaccinated, just thinking about all the viruses I've collected from the girls over the years. Construction next to Q House progressing briskly. Across the street on Soi 7 it's lagging behind Still nothing is happening at Chuwit Garden. It's my understanding that a mall will eventually be built on this spot. SOI 11 Australian has fielded temporarily to Sugar Club Wine connection is becoming my Go2 place Old German Beer Haus is closed on Soi 11 ...but open for carryout on Soi 13 Across Sukhumvit on Soi 8 Soi Arab (i.e. Soi 3/1) Soi Nana Since I came for the vaccination, I wanted to be prepared for any adverse effects, and collected several remedies with progressively ascending alcoholic concentration: 4.9%, 13%, 35%, and 50.5% respectively. Turned out overkill because I awoke only with a cotton mouth and felt slightly lethargic, but the beverages didn't go to waste. My appointment was for AstraZeneca at MedPark hospital and I was in and out in an hour. NEXT: The Banyan Tree

Came to town for my first Covid jab, hadn't been in Bangers for four months. Since there's a 9 PM curfew I knew I would be spending most of my time in the room so I booked a nice crib. I don't think they had many guests because the girls at the front desk knew my name before I handed them my passport at check-in. The hotel has direct access to the Nana BTS Rooms are decent size, the hotel opened about two years ago. Rates were 7000 per night when it opened, about 5600 pre-covid. I enjoyed the 60-inch TV but wasn't impressed by a lack of desk, they only provided a pair of tables, not that I planned to do any work. Some nice views of lower Sukhumvit from my room on the 22nd floor, looking west in the direction of Nana Plaza. The pool was open but only one guest at a time because of covid restrictions, so you had to make a reservation with the front desk in advance. It was an outdoor pool on the 6th floor. That's Q House across the street on the right, where condos start at 30 million baht. There were a pair of jacuzzi pools as well, it was a nice place to hang out for an hour. You could swim to the edge of the pool and look down over the Sky Train, most noticeable was how clean the air was. The exercise room had the same conditions as the pool, one guest at a time and reserve in advance. Breakfast was included in the room rate and was quite robust, I had to save the yoghurt and muesli for lunch. I went over to Villa Market on Soi 11 for some liquid refreshment, the Kentucky rocket fuel that inspired Hunter S. Thompson. Fear and Loathing in Bangkok. The main reason I wanted to stay at the Hyatt Regency was for six years I watched it being built from my window at Trendy Condo across the street. Construction noise really wasn't too bad and before I could see the Baptist Church across Sukhumvit on Soi 6. This photo is from 2014. Conversely, here's a view of the Trendy Condo from near the elevator on the 22nd floor. My condo at the Trendy was on the 10th floor. In 2016, there was a small fire but the fire department quickly extinguished it. Construction on the external structure completed in 2018 but there was still much work to do. The sign announces a grand opening in Q3 2018 but the hotel didn't actually open until January 2019. NEXT: AROUND TOWN

I had an appointment today at MedPark hospital in Bangkok. I got AZ and was in and out in an hour. Second appointment is 12 weeks from now.

I received an appointment in august from this Bangkok hospital https://www.medparkhospital.com/en/page/covid19-vaccine-expats

Yeah, I'll be on their website at 9 AM. Don't let Bullfrog know you jumped the queue

I managed to register at Samitivej Hospital, one of the top hospitals for medical tourism, for a free jab in September. The next day they closed registration until next month.

The BIG Lebowski, dude

Sorry to hear, a very stressful time for business owners. I hope he’s well soon.

Chu’s, in the Exchange Tower, one of my favorite places for breakfast with their smoked salmon eggs Benedict, has shut down permanently, another victim of the pandemic. I featured Chu’s on the first page of this thread. For lunch and/or dinner, the pasta dishes were good too. Chu’s will be missed, it served fine meals for twelve years. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/coronavirus-curbs-shutter-thousands-bangkok-restaurants-2021-06-03/

But not Gogo bars

By the looks of things, bars in Pattaya will be opening before Bangkok, and not for a while yet. Soapies are closed where I am so I’m heading back to Koh Chang for a few weeks. I’ll do a week on Koh Kood as well. There’s been only one covid case per day being detected in the Trat Province, very few tourists, and room rates are currently lowest I’ve seen. Escape to paradise. ?️

They need to open up the bars. Here’s a water monitor in a 7-11 store looking for a 6-pack of Chang.

Can I ignore myself?