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.

Lets talk Thai Visa - edited

Visa, yup, you gotta have one to visit Thailand.  Though it's a simple deal for us Americans and many other citizens of other western countries staying less than 30 days. Really all that is required is showing up at the immigrations window with proof that you'll be out of Thailand with in 30 days and a completed immigrations form.  Normally the airlines supplies the forms on your flight but if not you can pick one up at the immigrations counter.  This visa is refer to as an "on demand visa" and it's free.

The official tourist visa is one you have to apply for through the Los Angeles Thai consulate or another consulate outside of Thailand. Roughly what is entailed is you need to send them your passport, along with two passport sized photos, a completed visa application, the visa fee of what ever it is at the time and include a self addressed/postage affixed return envelope. The fee change can change at any time but at the time of writing this it has been waved through March 2011. This type of visa gets you 60 days in country and for 1900 baht you can extend it 30 days through a Thai immigrations office in Thailand.

Note, on the original visa application it will ask how many entries you want, think all you can get is two but write in something of at least two entries. 

While allowing your original visa with in 7 days of its expiration to be rolled over into another 60 days plus as before it can be extended for 30 another days after another visit to Thai immigrations and the payment of 1900 baht..  Though in order to get this second edition you must leave and reenter the country.

I'll relate my recent experiences with obtaining a visa extension and the second visa:

Recently I visited Chaengwattana road immigrations and paid the 1900 baht to extend my 60 day tourist visa  the extra 30 days.   Though as the clock ran down on my extension I could see it wasn't going to do it so decided to make a trip back to Thai immigrations and see if I could get a little more time as I really didn't want to go to the trouble of leaving the country. 

So got out the maps getting ready for a little adventure (time before I had a Thai helper), decided on using the BTS to get as close as I could, which was Mo Chit.  Once out of the BTS terminal at Mo Chit I flashed the note saying where I wanted to go, that a Thai friend wrote for me in Thai. One of the waiting van drivers  pulled me into his van and was on my way again, only to be drooped off, with a lot of pointing and waving, in the middle of nowhere. After wondered around a bit, a taxi guy found me and promptly took me to the wrong immigrations office. Then on my own I visited a couple more wrong offices and while at last wrong office a nice lady directed me to pay 20 baht for a motorbike or take my chances on a bus that doesn't always show up to get me where I needed to be. Went with the motorbike guy and before I knew it I was zoomed directly to where I needed to be.

The Chaengwattana road Thai government building is big, but it's easy to locate the immigrations/visa office inside and start your process by jumping right into the que for the form lady, where I tried my darnedest to explain that I just wanted a few weeks extension on my visa but ended up with a form for reentry and told it would cost 1000 baht. OK, so I fill out the form and que up for the form checker/number dispenser lady - missed the whole back side of the form but guess she felt sorry for the stupid, old farang guy me, as she gave me a number anyway and passed me on to wait for my interview with the immigrations officer. As I a waited  I filled out the rest of the form the best I could even though the questions didn't fit what I wanted. Now I'm up  and it's getting late so the immigration lady is trying to step up the pace by handling a half dozen people at a time and then I show up.  She half listens to my request and gives me that look and sits me aside in her office. Then after she clears all the people out of her office she turns to me and patiently explains on how I have to leave the country, walk across the border and return  through Thai immigrations for a second  60 day visa, no money or forms required. Oh, should add the immigration officer who helped me in the end was really nice, giving me this warm and fuzzy feeling that she (Thailand) truly wanted me to stay in her country as long as possible, so why is it is hard?

I had already had plans in the works to go up to Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai so I Incorporated a day trip up to Mail Sai and across the Burma border to Tachilek for a new visa. What an easy deal, no lines no waiting. Pass out of Thailand and into the Burma immigrations, they fill out the forms and take your photo, smile and joke with you as you pay then 500 baht. They ask if you want to go right back to Thailand or shop in the border area in Tachilek. I chose shop, they held my passport and gave me a paper receipt with my photo on it. When I was finished walking around, passed back through the border immigrations and traded the paper for my passport, then it all a matter of jumping in line for Thai customs and my second entry visa entry was in effect..

Note - used a bus from the bus station in Chiang Rai to Mai Sai and then a sawngthaew to the boarder - bus at the bus station was marked and once in Mai Sai a guy with a sign was standing by his pickup (green color not blue as in my photo) saying "to the boarder and immigrations". Total trip to the border took less than 2 hours.

Welcome, handsome, young man






   

 soi Nana bar complex

  A pack of lovelies lean out of the bar signing the siren song of "welcome, handsome, young man". While your handsome, young man days may have long ago slipped by, the girls now have you thinking, those 5 sit ups last week really did help trim my belly, ah ha the 3 days of stubble - very manly, yup, my shinny bald head, just as I suspected, really is sexy. However, the clincher is looking much younger than your age, yup I'm glad someone other than me can finely see it. OK, so welcome to Amazing Thailand, land of smiles, beautiful women and ten bazillion bars to sweep you away from the realities of life..



 You hesitate in front of the bar and one of the young lovelies takes your arm and guides you to a seat. Then, here is the drill, the beer you just ordered cost around 100 baht (30 baht 1 $) but your new love is thirsty too, girl drinks are around 110 baht for Thai whiskey or 150 baht for beer. If she likes you or is just a drunk she will offer to drink Thai whiskey. Keep in mind she is the entertainment committee and part of her pay comes from her commission off the drinks your buying her. Also keep in mind that even though you are buying her drinks she has a choice in deciding if she wants to be with you or not, so be nice or be alone.

So now you may be wondering about her pay thing, not sure of totals but it breaks down to something like this: commissions + monthly salary, based on the number of shifts worked + bar fine up charges + what ever she hustles up on her own (like room cleaning,(sex). Whatever she gets for room cleaning (sex) after you bar fine her out of the bar is between you, costing somewhere between 4 - 10,000 baht.  Also, if you find a girl you like and just want some company and a guide you might be able to bar fine her out of the bar to go clubing with you.

soi Cowboy, Bangkok

For some girls the ultimate goal is finding a falang boyfriend or several, its status with the other girls and generate a steady income for her and then, just maybe, one will marry her.  

Many of the girls working in bars come from the poorer areas of Thailand and this may account for the not so very sophisticated thinking of some. However, they are very clever and make up for short comings by being fast learners and absorb knowledge from there international clientele very quickly. While life for them in some ways is much the same it was back home in the country side, as it's still basicly a day to day existence, as they send much of there earning back home to support their families, which may also include a kid or two of their own and any extra left over being frittering away on stuff or gifts for others so they never get ahead.

However, what I find really interesting about their spending habits is that even thought they earn their money by what seems at times like heartless hustling, they might buy food, loan money or even buy drinks for bar customers they really like.

So when you hear the siren song of the Thai lady, don't pre judge her, be nice and be careful.. While keeping in mind you and her both have somewhat similar but conflicting goals, hers is to entertain you while  maximizing the money her and the bar make from you and yours is to be entertained while paying as little as possible, without looking cheap. Remember face is important here, so always be cool you "handsome, young man".