-top 10 dirtest hotels in Asia and some good picks in Thailand by Doug

,

A few places I've recently stayed at in Thailand that aren't scruffy but fit into my "inexpensive but good" category. The rates are what I payed, booking through Agoda. With The exchange rate being around 32 baht = 1 dollar. I keep thinking about the old days, before 2008 when it used to be in the 40's to a dollar,these places were really a steal then. 


Yes, that's the Doug above reading the latest of a series of John Burdedt's detective stores based on the goings on of the fictional Bangkok detective Sonchai Jitpleecheap. Just finished it, "The Godfather of Katmandu" and before that it was "Tattoo" and "Bangkok 8" all of them are the kind of stories that draw you in and make you feel a part of the action.





Bangkok:
Sukhumvit area
St James Hotel 18 Soi Sukhumvit 26
$33.00 without breakfast $44.00 with breakfast Breakfast, which is a tad on the expensive side but excellent and wonderful service that makes you fel like the special person you are.

Bangalapoo - Khaosan Rd/Grand Palace area




Siamese Views Lodge
211/21-23 soi Damneon Klang Nuea
Ratchadamneon Klang Road, Note: Hidden down a short soi have your taxi guy call then at (+66) 2 629 1441 $37.00 - $50.00 including breakfast



Chiang Mai - close to the action and night markets

Raming Lodge17-19 Loikroh.rd.
T. Chanag Klan A. Muang ...............$37.00 including breakfast




Vieng Mantra Hotel
9 Ratchadamneon
Soi 1 Tam bon Sri Phume
Amphur Muang............................$46.00 including breakfast

Note: Check back in a few days and I'll add some photos...

 Tripadvisory.com's -  

 The Top 10 dirtiest hotels in Asia

Beyound Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok

                                                

This morning I figured out I was exactly two years, 5 days and 16 hours away from 70.  Which might seem old but to lessen the impact of this age thing I've decided to start thinking of age as just  an generic marker. For example if your two years five days and 16 hours from 70 and in good health your probably living a youthful existence but while a person in bad health is old, so who cares about the age number. You see I've given this age thing a lot of thought ever since, Dad at 39, died of a blocked heart artery while taking a shower in the next room from me where I was watching TV, so there you have it.  That was when I was 13, but my know-it -all sister says 14, whatever, what’s important is that is the day I decided to pack as many experiences as possible into my life, just in case my fate was the same as Dads. 

Staring out by ditching the bus and instead hitch hiking the 35 miles to school, skipping school and going on mini adventures around town and in the outdoors by our house, spending the summers sailing on the Great Lakes on a big sailboat, winters, skiing and then after getting out of high school (I did graduate) drove my 1959 VW to Aspen and spent my time ski bumming, then there were several failed attempts at college (just took too much time), a year in Vietnam, off road motorcycles, my long fling in the fast paced, newly evolving plastic business ("one word, plastics my boy") and two ex wives, a .com start up that went bust but evolved into a sales rep business. It was about this same time I also picked up an ASA degree and finished off a 10 year stint at single parenthood. My freedom back I returned to Vietnam, 32 years after my first visit when a two week visit turned into a two month stay. Twelve years have passed since and time has brought a lot of changes in the world, Vietnam and Doug.

Out of kindness to my reader I'll skip Doug's view of the changes in the world and Vietnam and stick to youthful Doug approaching the generic marker of 70. As you may have guessed I'm the type of guy that has put a lot of faith in leeway pulling me through some good and bad times but as time goes on I’m finding leeway isn’t what it used to be. For example, at 20 when I got drunk, fell down the stairs maybe I would end up stumping around with a cast for a few months, now if got into the same liquored up state I would be lucky to make it to the stairs.  Anyway, hope you get where I'm going.

Also, I'm finding out that now sickness is not such a big concern in it's self because it has mostly been replaced by having a condition.  It has been my experience that conditions aren’t normally medicated a way, like the dose of the clap my buddy was treated for back in the day.  Bad example, how about chicken pox?

Another recent example of the condition thing is my stomach problem I had in Saigon that the Columbia Asia clinic diagnosed as a arterial blockage to the heart (just like dad), not stomach gas but a condition, though unlike Dad I would survive but the condition will always be part of my life.

Then there is that money thing, back in the day I never took money seriously but my ex did and now the aging Doug realizes that he should have been paying closer attention. While thinking “why is it I'm always the last to know these things”. Then there was that great plan that corporations pushed through which resulted in the  closing out of my retirement plan and allowing it to be invested on Wall Street in a 401 k and we all know how that worked out.

Two years, 5 days and 16 hours away from a youthful, generic 70 puts me way ahead of my dad, which is a very good thing. Then there is my condition but I still ran/walked 15 miles this week as I do most weeks. with no ill effects.  Money, yup a lot harder to come by now but with a bit of finagling I’ll still be able to spend the winter in Asia bumming around no matter how Wall Street conspires against me.

Thanks for listening.

.

Bangkok, Vietnam and a German Biker Bar in Phnom Penh

Returning to Vietnam in 1999 after being away for 30 years and like the Lemming kept coming back, staying a little longer each time. After a while I felt the need to see more of the region and headed to Thailand and a couple short trips into Lao.  Meanwhile, there sits Cambodia, ever so close but always just below my radar. However, in those days Cambodia was still a pretty raged place but had heard it was starting to change. It was becoming more assessable with a stronger and more stable government but still with an the edge of a developing country and ripe for a visit from Doug.

Though, always in the back of my mind were the stories of my Cambodia born friends in California. They told of the forced labor camps and harsh times their families endured under the Khmer Rouge rain. They were just children but very brave and much older than their years, fleeing on foot across Cambodia to Thailand, enduring the hardships of life in the Thai immigration camps.  Then one day their luck changed and the opportunity to immigrate to the states opened up to them.

Along with those accounts, Cambodia had gained a reputation among expats as a pretty rough place. The Khmer Rouge did more than kill millions but destroyed the previous government and killed most of the leadership along with any potential leaders.  All this in their attempt to recreate their vision of the utopian agrarian society of Cambodia’s past.  So in the 80's when the Vietnamese toppled the Khmer Rouge they left behind a country in shambles. Inn turn Cambodia garnered a reputation as a place where the rule of law could be flexible, depending on how many guns and how much money was involved.

It was about 6 or 8 years ago when I made my first visit. One day on a whim I booked a bus trip to Seim Reap from Bangkok.  Which turned out to be one of the harder bus trips I’ve ever taken, spending the morning on a crowded un-air-conditioned minibus to somewhere across the border from Poipet, Cambodia.  Where after floundering around with bag and baggage I found the border crossing and was passed through the chaotic and disorganized Cambodian immigrations.  
                      Welcome to Cambodia!

Once across the border I located the booking office for the second stage of my bus trip to Siem Reap. After a tense wait for the bus, "yes, soon bus" - hour later, "soon" boarded ah, ha, a full sized bus. Full size yes but a bad sign is when only after a short time our bus was already having mechanical problems requiring quick  repair stops. However, I came to look forward to these little mystery stops as a welcomed break from the pounding of the rough and bumpy road.  Then there was that bridge, so decrepit that the driver and his helper laid planks over the holes so we could proceed. The buses movement over the bridge created an eerie creaking sound as though the bridge was trying to warn us not to cross. Meanwhile, the water was rushing in torrents below us. OK, not sure of the torrents of water but I guarantee that even through closed eyes the bridge was very high and the water below was treacherous.
Oh ya, and it didn’t help being stuffed into a cramped seat holding my bag on my lap with no air-conditioning in very humid 38 degrees temperature.

On to Phnom Penh where I faced the historical sites that gave credence to the stories I had read and heard about, Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek.  I was blown away and kept thinking what a tragedy this was, with so much killing and destruction, how could this happen?  Furthermore how is it that the USA or any western country never came to the rescue of the Cambodian people.  Just how is this possible?

To think that in just  three years, eight months and 21 days the Khmer Rouge killed upwards to three million babies, kids, adults, grandparents, teachers, doctors, attorneys, visiting foreigners and anyone wearing glass (yup, you read that right, glasses)..   

The converted school compound of Tuol Sleng is where people were photographed (detailed records were kept), tortured then sent out to be murdered and ultimately to be buried in mass graves.
  

To save on expensive ammunition, hoes and pic-axes where turned into killing devices and used to bash in skulls, throats were slit with knives and the gruesome practice of swinging a baby by its legs and smashing its head against a tree was used and you can still see the tree.  

I've visited numerous times since and still find it emotionally upsetting but never on par with the the intense emotions I felt on my first visit.  Tuol Sleng is about the same as then but the killing field has been redeveloped to make it more tourist friendly. When I first visited it was if I had just found it, stacks of human bones piled against trees, fabric from the clothing of the victims poking its way out of the earth, the strange sight of a locale kid bathing his water buffalo in the pond which now is fenced off to the outside and has a walking path around it.  

During this first visit I learned how the executions were carried out mostly by young people.  This really got my mind working and being this nervous guy I am couldn't help but think if killers survived they would now be around my age. So that normal looking Cambodian walking down the street could be in fact one of the killers. However, most executioners were killed off by executioners so that none gained any power, allowing the Khmer Rouge in there paranoid leadership style to keep the killers in check. However, now that the international war crimes tribunal has been created to ferret out these criminals and put those criminals on trial. I'm guessing these murders if they still are still walking around will probably not fall back ito their old habits and will be keeping a very low profile.

Cambodia has changed a lot since my first visit and is now coming into its own with improved roads and with and most bridges not requiring you to bring your own decking. The bulk of this is a byproduct of Cambodia's recent opportunities in international trade, bringing a slew of new condos, restaurants and some very nice hotels, while leaving Cambodia as a place that is still interesting but with still a little edge to it and an inexpensive destination to visit.
 
One thing that still hasn't changed much, is that Cambodia, Phnom Penh in particular still offers a no holds barred night life. Bringing us to Phnom Penh’s, German Biker Bar, which in name is the Lone Brother Bar.   The place is an open air affair, with big guys in leathers, even in the 35 c degree heat, big bikes out front and friendly ladies at the bar inside.   $3.50 for a girl drink of rum and coke at the bar and you become the most interesting and sexy man in the world.  Anyway, with the girls at the bar. 


 

That's all I got for now but always thinking of you... 

     Doug    

 

Saigon Thao's to a German Biker Bar in Phnom Penh by Bus - part one

Pham Nu Lao - across the street from SAPACO office

Thao is the Thao of " Thao's Rooms for rent" on Le Thi Rieng in Ho Chi Minh City where I've been renting a room for my monthly plus visits to Saigon over the past half a dozen years. Thao is a lovely Vietnamese lady who has also become a good friend and a great help in dealing with stuff I can’t get done on my own, including getting a good seat on the bus to Phnom Penh.

I had been in Thailand for a few months and now in Saigon close to a month and found myself in need of a vacation from my travels so Thao booked me a seat on one of SAPACO's buses to Phnom Penh at a cost of $ 10.00 us. Eight or nine years ago their wasn't many choices of buses to Phnom Penh from Saigon, especially ones that carried you through the boarder with out a bus change. Now there is a gaggle of bus companies offering buses to Phnom Penh and all carry you through the boarder. SAPACO  was one of the first to ply this route that offered a comfortable buses and reliable service and  is still a good choice even with all the competitors. However, their travel office on Pham Nu Lao isn't the kind of place where you will find your new best friend but  is where you don’t go to get one of their clean, safe and efficiently run buses.  So what you do is, ticket in hand that you had someone buy for you, skip the office and head across the street to where their big red buses are and ask around or just be cool and stand by a bus and let them find you.

Saigon traffic

Back a few year ago bus schedules to Phnom Penh were comprised of a bus leaving at 7:00 AM and another at the late hour of  9:00 AM.  Though "the times they are a changing" (Bobby D.) and yup the first bus still leaves at 7:00 AM but after that their are buses leaving every hour through the morning and every couple hours in the afternoon until 5:00 PM.  However, let me pass along this suggestion  you all that have your heart set on a front seat, like the premo A1, front left allowing you too shoot photos of the countryside as it bounces by the window or maybe your a little anti-social  like me and like your stuff close, make a reservation a couple days in advance and book two seats.  Then again if you’re the laid back sort who is just glad not to be walking, just show up and they will find you a place for you or maybe I'll sell you my extra seat. 

Cambodia boarder bus stop

Don't forget take along your 

into Cambodia

passport and you'll  need a Cambodia visa.   The required visa can be got many different ways, travel agency in Saigon,  the internet through the Cambodian Consulate website or the easiest way is to have the bus drivers helper take care of it for you at the boarder. Buying a visa direct from the Cambodia Consulate is $20.00 (US) or once aboard when they come around to collect your passport - stick $25.00 (US) in it and the bus drivers helper will handle filling out forms and move your passport with your new Cambodian visa inside through immigration while you wait.

Welcome to Cambodia

However, when you arrive at the boarder you  have to leave the bus taking your bags with and walk through immigration and customs.  You and your bags head into the building and wait for your name to be called.  Then retrieve your passport with Cambodian visa added and  properly stamped. Moving through immigration/customs leaving Vietnam and entering Cambodia .  Oh, but here is a new twist, you now have to have your fingers scanned and according to the attending official this devise is part of a 10 million dollar US supplied system.  Note: 60 year olds and older get a pass, guess we old guys are not thought to be a danger.   Anyway, the whole boarder process takes about an hour and a half - decent rest room just inside the building and people treat you pretty good so it's a nice break.

Then you re-board your bus and your on the road again, not a bad road but it's Cambodia and good by Cambodia standards but not as smooth as the Vietnam portion then it's a lunch stop. It’s not you when you feel confused in ordering your food because the reality is that there is no rhyme or reason to the food service it’s just every man women and dog for themselves. Open Khmer kitchen with waiters wondering around but never seem to see me, so I normally just go to the kitchen and point at some things, eat and leave some money (55,000 dong this time, about 2.50 us) on the table.  Open air restrooms in the back, clean and basic.

on to the ferry

the ferry

Half an hour later we are back on the highway again and all we have is one ferry ride and then we are on the home stretch to Phnom Penh. You stay aboard for the crossing while being entertained by the colorful vendors selling all sorts of eats outside your window.

mango lady

junior egg vendor

 - Ferry vendors -

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh traffic as we approach

As we pull into Phnom Penh after 6 plus hours on the road and climb off at the SAPACO travel office we are greeted by bevies of  moto and tuk tuk guys vying to  haul you across town to your lodging.  Bargain with them but be nice, this should end up as a win, win kind of deal - a good starting point is to offer half their starting price and work up from there. Sometimes I just hang back or walk of on my own and wait for better deal.   Have a price set and your destination with the address before you climb aboard and don't let them take you anywhere else.  I write a destination with address and phone number on an index card and say it and show them the card  to minimize confusion.

Ok, we know about Thao and the bus ride to Phnom Penh but hey what's with this German biker bar in the title, my apologies but I need a rum but promise it will all come together in part two.   

Sex 'trade', not 'traffic'
SUBHATRA BHUMIPRABHAS
SPECIAL TO THE NATION



Thailand's sex workers are off the streets, in safe workplaces. They don't want to be 'rescued'

BANGKOK: -- Being a sex worker these days isn't what it used to be, at least for those whose rights are backed up by the Empower Foundation. Much has improved - no more pimps or mamasans, and fewer punches thrown their way. Being "rescued", though, causes them all sorts of problems.

Most people remain unaware of the dramatic new context in the flesh trade, Empower director Chantawipa Apisuk said at the recent release of a report, "Hit & Run: Sex Workers' Research on Anti-trafficking in Thailand".

"We have now reached a point in history where there are more women in the Thai sex industry being abused by anti-trafficking practices than there are women exploited by traffickers," she said.

The government and the agencies that abet its efforts to "help" prostitutes have, in many ways, gone too far in enforcing the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act.

The modern sex worker has work tools apart from makeup and condoms, said Chantawipa, who founded Empower in 1985 to safeguard their rights. They have cell phones and the Internet. Rather than greedy pimps, their support network is centred on a trusted tuk-tuk driver or the local motorcycle-taxi guy who takes them around and protects them.

These people have designated workplaces - restaurants, massage parlours, go-go bars, beer bars or karaoke clubs. Their work might also entail dancing for or drinking beer with the customers.

More than 20,000 sex workers make use of Empower's contact points in 11 provinces in the North, Northeast and Central region, including several on the Burmese border.

Empower has seen the industry develop continuously through three decades and 10 governments. Sex work is now widely regarded as a quasi-legitimate profession, with its own form of employers and self-employed workers.

Inevitably, though, prostitution remains a crime in the eyes of many, and those plying the trade are treated accordingly.

But the kindlier view, that they are victims of human trafficking, isn't a great deal of help either, Chantawipa said. Legislation aimed at stopping the trafficking of people has had a serious adverse effect.

The "Hit & Run" report is an effort to assess the state of the profession. More than 200 sex workers helped the foundation conduct a survey over the course of 12 months, in bars, restaurants and brothels across the county and even into Burma and Laos.

"We trained them in legal rights," Chantawipa said, although some were already university graduates and several even had law degrees. "We call them our 'high-heeled human-rights defenders'."

It's a play on the term "barefoot lawyer" - a solicitor who cares about justice rather than fees - explains Liz Hilton. She's worked with the foundation for nearly 20 years and helped coordinated the project and the associated Rapid Action Training for Sex Workers.

"The first round of training was done in 12-month blocks in 2008 and 2009. There were 23 sex workers - men, women and transgender people."

The survey determined that more than 50,000 sex workers have been involved with Empower since it started, including migrants mainly from Laos, Burma, China and Cambodia.

Migration, it was noted, is part of the "culture" of sex work, and the brokers involved in transporting people are generally seen as helpful. Most don't charge exorbitant rates for their service.

One of the "high-heeled rights defenders", Sasumi from Mae Sai in Chiang Rai, said she often helps fellow sex workers with legal matters when they're arrested. She's been in the business since she was 20. She's now 27. "I've seen a lot of improvement in the workplaces," she said.

"We're better off there than taking a risk waiting around on the street. If better choices are available, then naturally we choose them."

Nang from Mukdahan, who also helped with the survey, said few women arrested under the anti-trafficking legislation know what it is. "They're just going to work, they think, so why are they being arrested?"

Mala moved to Mae Sot because she couldn't earn enough money there for her family. Muay moved across the border to Mae Sai, convinced that whatever Thailand offered had to be better than what she left. Picked up under the anti-trafficking law, they both got sent back.

"We came to build new lives for our families, not to be sent home empty-handed and ashamed," explained Dang Moo, another Burmese sex worker in Mae Sot.

Kiaw from Laos pleaded for understanding among the Thai public and authorities that sex workers prefer not to break any laws. "We aren't criminals. We're just honest people trying to build better lives." The women might build a house for their parents or put a kid brother through school.

But the anti-trafficking law regards sex workers as victims, so those who enforce it believe they are "rescuing" the prostitutes. That just makes things worse, say the sex workers.

"Before I was arrested I was working happily, had no debt, and was free to move around the city," said Nok, a Burmese. "Now I'm in debt, I'm scared most of the time, and it's not safe to move around. How can they call this 'help'?"

Once "rescued" and after a period of detainment, the foreign workers are deported (only to return at the first chance) and the Thais usually have to undergo vocational training.

"Thai society still looks at sex workers in the old context," Chantawipa said, and even the government's "modern" view of sex workers as victims is outdated. The aim now is to get the government and other concerned parties to stop using the word "victim", to stop putting trafficking and sex work in the same category.

Riddled with loopholes, the anti-trafficking law meanwhile is undercutting women's efforts in other areas, Chantawipa said. It confuses the organisations opposed to trafficking about sex workers' true status - are they criminals or the victims of criminals?

NEW CONTEXT

Empower's survey has determined that:

- Today's sex worker provides enough income to take good care of the family.

- Their workplace - usually an evening entertainment venue - has regulations, covering work schedule and monthly salary paid according to skill level. Thus, sex workers are employees.

- Gone, for the most part, are the days of random arrest, regular violence, pimps, the prostitution mafia and the "green harvest", when girls are recruited upcountry. In their place are helpful "older brothers" - the motorcycle-taxi or tuk-tuk driver, the bar manager.

- Sex workers now have hi-tech tools like smart phones and the Internet, and they're also skilled at using them.

Nighlife's tapestry

Empower launched its research project last month with a one-day exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, displaying the "Mida Tapestry", sewn by migrant sex workers as a way to document and show the impact police raids have on their lives. It carries a second message in that the detained sex workers are regularly forced or offered sewing lessons as a cure-all for social ills.



-- The Nation 2012-03-06

Bangkok my new home?

Bangkok Chao Phraya River

              

BTS skytrain - Thong Lo

Most of us  frequent visitors to Thailand end up thinking of our home in Thailand as the hotel or guest house we are staying in. Either hanging out solo or if your lucky with the latest soul mate in Bangkok or maybe up north in Chiang Mai, over in Isan or down in Pattaya or Phuket. Anyway, like me we end up spending enough time wherever we end up that we start feeling as comfortable in Thailand as at we do in our home country. On day I started thinking about this and  wondered if I really lived in Thailand would it feel the same as in my long visits.  My normal Thailand visits had me bouncing around for a month or so or until my visa was used up and then had me zooming back to the states to get ready to do it over again.

So in order to get a better idea about what it felt to live in Thailand I decided to spent 3 months, mostly in Bangkok, (I like Bangkok) at the same hotel. To really get the feel for long term living in Thailand I would do a visa run and would give me the feel of life as a locale. However, my hotel had me staying in the lower Sukhumvit area, eating in mostly farang orientated restaurants and street food. Along with that I was living like a tourist, drinking and spending a lot of money at the glut of bars populated with mostly farang customers. So I came to realize my stay, even though it was longer than my normal visits probably wasn’t the way life would be if I really lived in Bangkok. So made I made the decision that on my next trip I would get out of the touristy area, rent an apartment and try to get by shopping at the market for my daily needs, preparing the food I purchased, doing my own laundry, get a haircut, recharge my phone minutes and so on. My goal was to replicate my day to day living as in the states and to get a real idea of what I would be up against if I moved to Bangkok for good.

In planning my next trip I found a serviced apartment via the Internet, pricey, but partly because I could only stay for two months as most apartments rent out for a minimum of 4 months, so I was paying a premium for my short stay. Also the place, Viva Garden was newer and very, very nice, on par with a 5 star hotel. I wanted a serviced apartment opposed to just an apartment, as I need a place that was furnished and thinking it would be nice to have someone with cleaning supplies to clean the room, and kind of look after things, including me,  much like a hotel. Things like soap and cooking supplies were the sort of things I could handle.


Lesson one: To have a good selection of serviced apartments at a good rate you need to make a year lease. A security deposit will be required, equal to two months’ rent, along with a payment of one month’s rent in advance and possibly an advance payment on monthly utilities. Thailand is cash based so you’re going to need a good stash of the stuff. Just for reference – studio or one bedroom is in the range of 20 – 30,000 baht a month.                
                                                                                                                 

my helper

Viva Garden had a laundry service which did a lovely job but was far too expensive for long stay. So I set out to use their coin operated washer and dryer. Stopped cold in my laundry quest when I found out it was up to me to supply the laundry soap. So I stuffed my dirty clothes back in the bag and heading down to the 7/11 for soap. Only to find everything labeled in Thai and clerks unable to do English. Now I’m scouring the store for package labels with laundry related graphics, zoomed in on likely looking grouping while activating my innate scientific judgment and picked the nicest looking package. You have probably heard enough about Doug’s Laundry but one last thing – the machines are intimidating due to their jumbo size, flashing lights, multiple buttons buzzers and directions in Thai.


Lesson two: This ain’t Iowa, so that English I struggled through in college ain’t gonna be of much use in Thailand. Can I learn to speak and read Thai? Alternatively, finding a cute long haired dictionary might be an option but with my track record with women is probably not a long term solution. Anyway, whatever this language thing is a very real problem and if I’m going to live here I’ve got to figure out a way to deal with it.

On Nut night market beer garden

Tesco Lotus super market - On Nut

After a week or so in the apartment I came to the conclusion it was probably cheaper to buy prepared food on the street or in the market than make it myself. Of course figuring out what I was buying, even with prepared food was an ongoing problem. So I started favoring Tesco Lotus which is sort of like Costco in the USA and 7/11, yup same as the US. Except unlike the state’s 7/11 they seemed to have the best prices and are located everywhere. Both had prepared food but Tesco being a larger store had a better selection but with meats and vegetables it was Tesco or back to the wet market (open market that sells meats). Even at Tesco it was hard for me to figure out what meat I was buying as a lot of it is self serve in bulk. However, the meats that were packaged, along with many other products and signage in the store were in both English and Thai and everything perishable was refrigerated. Overall food cost me more than I thought but this was just after the flood so maybe food prices were inflated. As an example of pricing at Tesco – hamburger 129 baht a kilo, bacon 130 baht a kilo, Bacardi 598 baht and Havana Club 595 baht (OK, so I’m not a health nut).

On Nut night market

Lesson three: It’s hard and confusing work living alone in Bangkok and it costs more than you might think to get by.


My apartment was conveniently located on the BTS line, adjacent to Bangchak station at about soi 62. A much different area than lower Sukhumvit, though still not all that far from the heart of the farang action but far enough so that you know you are in Thailand. For close by entertainment it’s a Thai open air beer garden at the On Nut Market with draft beers, food vendors and live, mostly Thai music and very little English spoken.


Oh ya, got a haircut, like everything else it cost more than I thought but it was good enough cut. Bought some clothes at Tesco Lotus, shirt was cheap but good, pants were cheap. Recharged the minutes on my phone, easily enough but tried to ask a question and didn’t do so good. Spent a half a day and visited two bank offices to reestablish an account I had set up years ago and never used.


Conclusion: Maybe my choice of Bangkok as my new home base was ill conceived as it’s a major international city and the simple and inexpensive life I seek is hard to find there.Though it's a really cool place with loads of stuff to offer an expat.  Then I wonder about how to handle the visa issue, how to handle medical emergencies, what house hold goods do I move with me and how about duty and how about my credit cards and my mail,  so many things.


As I put the finishing touches on this I’m winding down my 11 or 12 th annual Asia trip in Ho Chi Minh City and was in Phnom Penh, Cambodia last week still without coming to terms regarding a new home over here. However, I kind of liked Phnom Penh, I have people in Saigon and I still get excited over Thailand,  so stay tuned.

little ants driving me crazy in Saigon

Damn, these little ants. Lay my glasses down on the desk, pull am back on and their they are, little ants racing around in front of my eyes.
Hide in between the hairs on my arm and other places. I see them running around on my laptops monitor then dash across the key board, driving me crazy these little ants.

Man are they fast, these little ants, just driving me crazy!

Recommend in Bangkok -



sun rise over Bang Chak BTS station - taken from my bed

                                                   

A serviced apartment, that is what you get at ...  As in a good hotel, Viva Garden has a friendly and welcoming staff looking after you but with the added benefits of the comforts of a homes. 

In this case I've taken a studio and which has a compact little kitchen area, including a 2 burner stove, full size frig, a very sophisticated microwave that does much more than I'll ever require of it and all the cooking utensils you need for cooking or eating. My unit has a nice sized flat screen TV with cable, connected to a high quality system that will play Cd's or DVDs.  A good bed, small couch with coffee table, a desk to sit your lap top on with WIFI. On the other side of the glass wall is a usable 

sized balcony with a couple nice chairs and a table. Oh ya and unlike my home Viva Garden offers daily maid service. There is a jumbo sized outdoor pool and in the same area is a gym, a play area for the kids, along with a do it your self laundry or they will do it for you.Also available are single and multi bedroom units.

yup, Doug feet

 The location is a ways out Sukhumvit but it's right by the BTS route and just minutes from the Bang Chak station so all the major city center stuff is available.  One station up at On Nut is a Teco Lotus grocery/ discount  department store along with a slue of western fast food outlets connected to it to cure that craving for a bit of Americana when it hits ya.

However, considering you went to all the trouble to get here you also might want to forgo western fast food and check out the Thai open, wet market directly across Sukhumvit from Viva Garden..  Where a good precooked meal can be pieced  together for less than a couple bucks..

Speaking of food - going to take some of my own advise and get me some of that cheap but oh so tasty Thai food in the market across the street.







Saigon, cornucopia of craziness!

Saigon - noisy, hot and steamy, untidy and more crowded than ever, streets overflowing on to the sidewalks with motorbikes but like a giant jigsaw puzzle it all fits together in a cornucopia of craziness, embraced by most Saigonese and myself.


However, change is afoot, many of the old school family run shops have closed and the buildings torn down. The party line (no pun intended) is that Saigon property is so much in demand that the rents forced the occupants out. Which I’m sure is true to a point but … Anyway, for myself I can’t figure out who will come to visit the multitude of new designer shops and chic western style restaurants and wonder if uniqueness of old Saigon will be lost and many will never know about it.

So I’ve taken it on myself to share some of my favorite, unique, still standing, old school spots but hurry who knows how long they will be available.

The following are a few of those -

Rooms for Rent - 3621 -36/23 Le Thi Rieng, Ben Thanh Ward, dist 1 thanhthao775@yahoo.com

Thao rents rooms in two houses down an alley – many expats take rooms here along with a smattering of Vietnamese and tourists. No frills kind of place but clean, safe and Thao will quickly become your new best friend. Rooms start at about $15.00 a night and I’m thinking long stay rates can be negotiated.  I rent a room here and have done so for about 5 years now.

Pho 32 32 Le Thi Rieng, Ben Thanh Ward, dist 1 (around the corner to the left from Thao’s) 

Traditional Vietnamese breakfast – beef noodle soup – pho they serve pho and will get you a coffee (from the upholstery shop next door) just walk in a point to a bowl as not much English here. Make sure you get here before 9:30 am because as soon as the tub of Pho is finished their finished. About 27,000 dong for a bowl of pho and a café sua da (iced coffee with milk).  When in Saigon I make a point to eat here every morning no matter what.

Bristo 48 48 Le Thi Rieng, Ben Thanh Ward, dist 1 (around the corner to the right from Thao)

Vietnamese French fusion – interesting place, menu in English with photos, casual dress but with table cloths, silverware and great food, speedy service and all at a reasonable price..  When in Saigon I eat here at least once a week.

Quoc Bao 1 Le Thi Rieng, Ben Thanh Ward, dist 1 (at the roundabout, about a block from Pho 32) Not much English spoken here but the menu listing drinks is in English and the staff are pretty laid back and very friendly. 

Downstairs is an open air coffee shop, loud music served with coffee, fruit drinks, beer or ruhm. You can find me sitting at the bar a few nights a week, drinking Saigon beer or ruhm and messing around with the owner and wait staff.

Upstairs is a beauty salon, great guy haircuts, be sure to get the shampoo, face wash and head message. Costing around 100,000 dong for the whole deal.


LUONG SON QUAN-BÒ TÙNG XẺO
31 Lý Tự Trọng, Dist.1

Table top bar-b-que - a small charcoal grill is set in the center of your table along with plates of meats (you ordered)  for your bar-b-que pleasure.  Loud, open air and still smoky but inexpensive, tasty and fun..

Moc Lan Restaurant 20 Bui Thi Xuan street, Ben Thanh Ward, dist 1 phone: 0982-135-270

Vietnamese BBQ and hot pot – fun and interesting!

Mogambo 50 Pasteur Street, dist 1

Best hamburgers in Vietnam or maybe anywhere, Australian beef steaks and a mix of other food stuffs, along with a bar serving ice cold beers cute and friendly bar staff and a good selection of wine. American and Vietnamese owners along with the cute bar staff will be you new best friends. Its draws an International mix of expats living in Saigon so the bar is a great place to eves drop on the latest business goings on in Asia. Kind of like Ricks in “Casablanca” but this is the real deal and for the price of a drink you can be part of it.

Number 5 bar 44 Pasteur Street, Ben Thanh Ward dist 1

Next door stuffed with beautiful and friendly bar staff clad in miniskirts and tank tops working a large horse shoe shaped bar. Cold beer, hot Vietnamese ladies, oh ya and super hot ladies. Food maybe, music I don’t remember but the bar staff, ok, you got my point..

17 Saloon 193 A Pham Ngu Lao dist 1 (on the edge of the backpackers area across from 9/23 park)

The building was created to look like an old time American West Saloon and inside the staff dresses in cowboy and cowgirl outfits. It’s not American country western being played inside but loud American rock performed by a very solid Pilipino band. Drinks are a little pricey but considering the music, the nightly show of the juggling of flaming booze bottles and the gorgeous wait staff and bat tenders it’s money well spent.

Xuan Hong (Western Medicines) 154 Bui Vien Street Pham Ngu Lao Ward, dist1

While not really off the tourist trail, it’s in the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker’s area, but a good place to seek medical advice or get a foreign prescription refilled. A formal doctor signed prescription signed by a doctor is not need in Vietnam, so tell them what you need and they can probably fix you up. No idea what meds you need or if you need any, tell either one of the ladies about your condition and she will fix you up.

Giay Thanh Dung 150 Ly Chinh Thang (YEN DO CU) Phone: 08438586

Handmade shoes or sandals, he is the guy but located along way of the tourist tract and speaks little English. I’ve used him for custom sandals, inexpensive and good quality if your patient. Because of the language issues you really need the help of a Vietnamese who understands English and what you want to help you here.

Lovely lady - serving soft drinks, beer and coconut juice on the street from a display cabinet, with a folding table and a few plastic chairs and stools for her customers.   Great place to kick back, take a break while watching the  going on of the market and chat about life.

 Located across the street from Ben Thanh market, on the side towards downtown.   You may have to look around a little to find her, though if you get close she may find you .



That's all I got for now but always thinking of you...      Doug    

Violence continues against Thai Civilians in the south of Thailand

Mar 7, 2011

pattani.reuters

Buddhist monks comfort each other as family of another monk grieve over his body in a hospital in the troubled southern province of Pattani March 5, 2011. Gunmen killed a Buddhist monk and wounded two others as they were collecting alms in Pattani. --    PHOTO: REUTERS

THAILAND - VIOLENCE flared up in the deep South on Sunday, leaving a retired policeman and a monk dead and many people wounded. In Pattani's Yarang district, masked men on three motorcycles opened fire at people shopping for food or working out on a local road in the morning.

Police Sgt Sanan Sangkasunya, 64, succumbed to his injuries at a local hospital while the other four victims, including Muhammad Isris Pathan, 18, were seriously hurt.

Mr Muhammad's father Yula said the insurgents should not have attacked the general public.

In Pattani's Panare district, two men shot a man and his mother while they were travelling on their motorcycle.

Nattakorn Jantip, 23, was killed instantly but his mother was not hit. She just sustained minor injuries from falling off the bike.

In Pattani's Khok Pho district, a 32-year-old soldier was shot and seriously wound while on patrol. Almost at the same time, unknown men launched an M79 grenade at a checkpoint on 418 Pattani-Yala Road then opened fire. After three minutes of fierce exchange, the attackers withdrew. No one was wounded. -- THE NATION/ANN

In Vietnam and don't have access to facebook

Saigon wired - infrastructure - oh ya!

Unless you live under a log or maybe here in Vietnam where the news is not news until the guy in charge decides it to be, you would know the world has some more immediate problems than global warming.

Just spent a few months in Thailand - border dispute with Cambodia that over the past few months has destroyed property and cost up to 8 or 9 lives, in the south of Thailand Muslin terrorists have killed over 2000 people since 2004 which 90% were civilian, than you have the red shirts and the yellow shirt protesters causing disruptions in Bangkok. Not to forget loss of life and property due to natural causes, like flooding and sever cold weather in the north of Thailand.  However, in Thailand's case it's possible to visit and be total unaware of these happenings.  Though, Tourists are fickle lot and so just the negative news has had an effect on potential visitors which is another blow to the countries economy.

Then there are the major conflicts in other parts of the world over government leadership that I witnessed from Thai TV that are taking place in parts of the Mideast and once again protesters on the streets of Greece.  Of course then we have the ongoing economic pressures on the USA and other parts of Europe that are impossible to ignore. However, it's better than it was, it's still a long way from what you can refer to as a stable economy in these areas.  Then there is the catastrophic loss in live in Mexico due to the on going strife with the drug Mafia types. Australia with the loss of property and lives due to flooding and New Zealand with it's recent earthquake.  Anyway, I'm sure I missed a lot of other bad stuff but suffice to say the world is a mess and even more messed up than me and so I might be better than we all thought, or maybe not.

Lets get back to where I am and as we know that's Saigon, Vietnam and they have there problems too. Though here in Saigon as I'm looking at all the new construction you would never know it, things are looking up.   However, even as Vietnam manufacturing and production has increased at a rapid rate, the worlds financial difficulties even have moved in on this new growth and has also taken its toll. For example inflation has caused the government to devalue the dong several times, at present leaving it around 20,000 dong to a dollar , the normal rate is around 15,000.  There have been price increases in the government controlled commodities of gas and electricity which surly won't help with inflation but...........  

Then being the negative guy I can't help but look at all the new mega high rises and wonder how the infrastructure of the country can support them, guess it falls under the - you build them and it will all work out, theory. Along the same line more high class designer shopping areas with hotels and restaurants are being built on the ground where my favorite little mom and pop shops were, and I wonder about who the customers are now they have lost me.  So sad to know I that un important.

In finishing this I want to tell you that I'm feeling like that guy under the log but not because I crawled under it, but because someone dropped it on me and all I really wanted was facebook and a medical information web site.