Three Sixty

The Millennium Hilton Hotel on Chao Praya River’s Chonburi side is a marvel of cutting edge design. On the 31st floor is Three Sixty with unparalleled vistas of Bangkok. And drinks are moderately priced so a visit won’t break the bank.

The Long Table

Long Table is a hidden gem found in Sukhumvit on Column Tower’s 25th floor. It features superb panoramic views of the city and house music. Smart dress is a must with no flip flops or beach wear allowed.

Sky Bar and Distil

The State tower is Bangkok’s second tallest building and has the award-winning al fresco Sirocco restaurant up on the 64th floor. The Sky Bar’s counter changes colour constantly and it is a favourite for celebrities and wannabes to hang out.

Gazebo Khao San

Gazebo is a rooftop club and bar that feels like a plush Moroccan loft, with soft lamps, plump cushions and shisha pipes. Entry is 300 baht after midnight by Khao San Road.

Nest

The Nest is the airy alfresco hangout on top of Le Fenix hotel in downtown Sukhumvit. It features soft beats, slouchy furnishings and cool evening breezes with Cuban cigars on offer.

Moon Bar (Vertigo)

This sophisticated, stylish and romantic bar has great views of the city and great seafood barbecue grub. Found in the Banyan Tree Bangkok hotel, smart casual dress code applies.

D’Sens Bar and Restaurant

This three Michelin stared restaurant is amongst the best places to eat in the city. You can just come for a quick drink at the bar but this is a place to dine with great views of the city. Situated in Dusit Thani Bangkok.

The Rooftop Bar

The Baiyoke Sky Hotel is Thailand’s tallest building and rises 88 storeys over the city. The vistas here, obviously, are unsurpassed with professional bands and singers performing nightly. There’s also a revolving roofdeck on the 84th floor.

In tourist hotspots, pimps can often be rude, persistently trying to invite tourists to attend an erotic show. Resolute saying ‘may ow!’ normally shakes them off.

Bangkok is notorious for its severe traffic congestion and it’s not rare spending a few hours sitting in a cab; luckily their fees are inexpensive but it surely does wear on the passenger’s patience. Avoid joining traffic before 10:30 and between 16:00 and 19:00. Make use of the underground metro or BTS sky train instead.

Bangkok becomes incredibly humid and unbearably hot in the summer, between February and October. Air-conditioned shopping malls can be found throughout the city; do not be too ambitious with your Bangkok sightseeing plan as it might leave you dehydrated.

Getting around on foot in Bangkok is an inconvenient and dangerous option, with vendor-laden, disrupted sidewalks, huge holes everywhere and hazardous situations created by undisciplined motorists.

Common crimes reported by tourists include fake jewellery scams. Be cautious of any person offering you ‘the greatest deal’ on semi-legal goods. Numerous tuk-tuk drivers offer visiting tourists ‘free’ trips which include several stop offs at tailor and jewellery outlets.

Cooking hygiene may be a problem at the very cheap, road-side noodle stalls. Just because Bangkok residents are able to stomach a 25 baht bowl of noodles does not guarantee you won’t become sick. Sticking to the licensed eateries, which have been inspected for safety and health, is probably the most efficient way avoiding getting ill.

Locals at touristy locations tend to shamelessly overcharge naïve visitors who assume everything in the country as relatively inexpensive. Learning how to bargain is a must, insist on using metered taxis, ask for bills, and verify rates.

There is of course also the tendency for Bangkok to flair up with political protests that can turn ugly, as happened in November 2009, when the airport was closed. This can occur at short notice in the current climate and we advise you check up to date travel news on sites such as asap.co.uk

More on Bangkok airport

As for the most ideal visiting time, Bangkok can be visited any time that suits you the best. However, try to avoid visiting this hectic city in April because the heat might reach unbearable temperatures. Between July and October there’s a change that heavy rainfall may have a negative effect on the quality of your voyage. The period between December and August is probably the best time to visit Bangkok. During this period Bangkok welcomes the most visitors but if you want to escape from the huge crowds you may wish to visit the city in September, May or June.

Knowing how to get the best food is another main concern for travellers visiting an unfamiliar destination. The tourist guides or locals in Bangkok would happily assist you in where to find the city’s tastiest food spots. In the Thai capital you’ll certainly find the finest and tastiest dishes of your choice. Bangkok features a wide and varied range of national as well as international gourmets and cuisines. Apart from the restaurants you can also sample some of the mouth-watering Thai cuisine at one of the many street stalls who serve very cheaply priced and nutritious rice and noodle dishes. Bangkok travel facts

Finding a suitable place to spend the night is another thing you won’t have to worry about. Bangkok is crammed with good guesthouses, hostels, serviced apartments, hotels and resorts. Some of the most reputable names include: the Artist’s Place, the Grand Hyatt Erawan, Majestic Suites and the Landmark Hotel.

Be impressed by the famous Thai hospitality of the Bangkokians while you enjoy your stay in the best first-class hotels which are internationally acclaimed for their competitive rates and exclusive suites. Another great thing about ‘the city of angels’ is that you can find plenty of ATM services conveniently positioned throughout the entire metropolis.

Complete Thailand travel and tourism resource

Soi 4, several city blocks of bars and nightlife venues, is one of this area’s most popular locations. Some pub hopping on soi 4 should not be missed and it is quite easy to pop into more than ten bars in one night while the beverage’s prices are very reasonable. In addition, there no cover charges at any of the area’s venues. However, none of these bars are special, and you might find yourself to be rather an oddity as a foreign visitor in this location, so it may be more enjoyable to meet a few local buddies to step out with as the majority of the Thai people frequenting this entertainment area tend to be in bigger groups all washing away plenty of watered-down cheap whiskies.

Positioned on the other side of soi 4 you’ll find an incredibly popular dining facility named Pad Kung Pao. This spacious outdoor Chinese and Thai seafood market remains open until the early morning hours. The range of the served, cheaply priced dishes is extensive. Sample a bowl of Tom Yum Kung, which is truly delicious.

Also positioned on Ratchadapisek Road, halfway down the nightlife strip, is the well-established Emerald Hotel. This establishment houses the outstanding ‘Sparks’ nightclub offering great techno music, and here you’ll see a lot of young Thai people with maybe a little more than solely alcohol in their system. This venue as well is mostly visited by Thais.
Having a special cultural experience is possible by checking out ‘Mirage’, located across the road from the Emerald Hotel.

Your first impression may be that it is a massage parlour, but actually this venue is a big club visited by wealthy Thai business people who pay a certain amount of money to have woven garlands created. These garlands are then gently put around the ladies’ necks onstage, while these girls are lip-syncing some popular songs.

However, Ratchada is perhaps most reputed for featuring several excellent massage parlours. These establishments offer all the types of Thai massages. There are more than 20 massage shops located along this street, many of them are owned by the now notorious Davis Group.

The multi-story ‘Poseidon’, which is located nearby the strip’s end, is one of the favourite parlours here. This establishment stays open until 01:00am and welcomes Thai as well as customers coming from many other Asian countries. Poseidon is not for member only but, according to Thai standards, the fees are quite costly. Nonetheless, experiencing a treatment here is definitely worth the price.

On the first and second floor of the building you’ll find the “fish bowl ladies”, who are cheaper compared with the sideliners. Staying for one-and-a-half hour in a themed guestroom with a lady and Jacuzzi will usually not cost more than 3,000 baht. Beverages may also be ordered during your time in the room.  The Thai body massage experience
On the VIP floor there’s the availability of a cigar bar, and obviously cigars are being sold here. In this well-stocked bar you can view a photo album, which contains images of numerous pretty and sexy girls. You have the option to select a lady out of the album, or choose the girl in person. If needed, the assistance of a few mama sans is available as well and they aren’t pushy at all. It is even possible to just enjoy a drink here without being hassled or pushed to pick a girl. The price for foreigners is around 5,000 baht.

The on-site restaurant serves Japanese and Thai cuisine. Whether or not this is the kind of action you’re looking, it is absolutely top of the line as far as the Thai capital’s famous massage parlours go. If by now you’re curious and plan on visiting, the most ideal time would be on weekends around 7:00pm. Whether you are an expatriate or visiting tourist, Ratchadapisek Road is definitely worth a visit. It might be a rewarding and unforgettable experience.

Klong Toey slum

It doesn’t happen often that foreign government officials visit Bangkok’s biggest slum, Klong Toey. But the Australian minister, Stephen Smith absolutely wanted to meet the 76-year-old nun whose work with the needy has won her a small amount of fame in Perth, where he and the nun originate from.

Since 1992 Joan Evens has worked and lived in the slum community, helping to educate and feed the poor people. Smith’s visit was a fast show of encouragement and support, which was highly appreciated by the sister, who receives frequent donations from expatriates in the country, the embassy, plus Western Australian supporters.

More than one million Bangkokians live in slums.  More on Sister Joan Evens

Today the residents – young couples, young professionals and singles demand more comfort and quality of daily life. They wish a rapid and short rail trip to work and the fastest access possible to fancy eateries, spas, fitness centres, huge shopping malls, museums, theatres, sidewalk cafes and cool spots to hang out. Advice on getting around Bangkok

The presence of convenient inner-urban transportation and higher travel expenses push Bangkok to change in other means, with cultural and social shifts away from large families to create the new way of life. Mom and dad will allow their unmarried sons and daughters, leaving their nest to stay in modestly-sized city condos or studios on working days and return back home on weekends.

A reputed professor from Thammasat University and well-known Bangkok lifestyles researcher recently declared that the demand for apartments located nearby mass-transit is still increasing, with the main group of buyers containing young middle-income urbanites. The one-and two bedroom condos are the most popular properties costing between two-and five million baht.

BTS Skytrain station

The professor’s research also explained that condo units have become Bangkok’s highlights in terms of the city’s real estate market, with inner-city transport costs and the urban lifestyle quickly changing as the main reasons creating the boom. Developers lure young buyers with a slogan of “new modern living”. The functions, location, amenities and even natural atmosphere are all designed to suit their customers’ lifestyle. Bangkok real estate guide

The city not solely provides the availability of units for young working people, but there are condos as well for mid-aged executives whose kids have already become adults. They prefer to live more independently but not wish to spend much time on transport. Research showed that many rich retirees are living in city condos. Their financial situation makes it affordable to purchase a condo as a second home. Often they let their children live in their original home.

The Agency for Real Estate Affairs in Bangkok did research, which showed that almost 50 per cent of the 117 residential property projects, which’s building activities in Bangkok started during the year’s first two months, will be condo complexes. The developers built nearly 53 percent of the condos along the Skytrain. Sukhumvit Soi 65 is a good example of a booming residential area, housing mainly young professionals with straightforward access to the Phetchaburi and Sukhumvit roads.

Taxis, cars and motorbikes lower their speed to watch the young girls, usually wearing mini-skirts and hot pants, sashaying around. Once one of the motorists has made a choice, his vehicle stops, a short conversation follows, and if they agree, the girl jumps on or into the vehicle and off they go.

The common rate for the provided services is at least 500 baht, not included the travel and hotel costs. The local police are aware of these shady deals but experience difficulties on cracking down. As soon as they see a police officer coming near, the girls quickly jump on the back of their lover’s motorbikes and together they speed away. Just a small fine is paid by some of the arrested girls who get back doing their usual business again right after.

Police officers can’t do much…

Nearby Saranrom Park, within a short distance from Sanam Luang there are many politely dressed young men doing similar business. Calling himself “C”, a 19-year old boy said: “If a customer is neatly dressed and looks decent I will go with him.” “C” also charges 500 baht for his service, plus the hotel room rate. The boy said he’s selling sexual services because making money this way is quite easy and lives like a common young man during daytime.

Bangkok travel articles

Thailand is full of wonderful people. Regular people like you an me that went to university and have good jobs and come from good homes and are financially independent and looking for a nice guy (or girl) who is going to be romantic and interesting and treat them like a lady and have more to offer than a full wallet (which back where he came from would be an empty wallet!). It’s the same as anywhere really, Bangkok is full of these sorts of people, and if you are a guy hoping to meet such as girl there are loads out there – the thousands that those posh hair and skin care products are aimed at on TV. 

But where ARE they really? You might see them on the skytrain or shopping but how do you actually meet them? If you are here for a few weeks, doing the tourist areas then forget it – all you’ll meet are br girls and simple working class girls who are quite sweet but not really on your level and certainly interested in you from a financial perspective. Sure they find you genuinely handsome and they can be fun and lovely, but their judgement is clouded by their need to be taken care of by someone well off. They will put up with all sorts of mismatches to make it work. Guide to living in Bangkok. 

So, back to the professional working girls; the sales and marketing execs, the PR girls and accountants, the media types and teachers and lecturers, service agents and so on. They are all so well presented, speak good English, are professional at work, well behaved with good breeding and… single. They are smart and mature but looking. They don’t rush into anything because doing so would make them look like bar girls, but believe me, underneath it all they are dying to fall deeply in love.

I’ve seen it often. I’ve met girls who are all professional and guarded and befriend you on a professional level (usually ‘can you help me with my English presentation’ it isn’t a ruse, they simply want a farang friend but don’t want to be too forward). Often they’ll even throw you off the trail by matter-of-factly stating they aren’t interested in romance. But it doesn’t take long for them to get to know you and like you. 

There’s just one catch. Apart from the patience to create a social and work environment where you get to meet these sorts of girls, they tend to be shy and give you a painstakingly slow courting game. Expect to date them for months with her friend coming along, and sitting there making small talk. You’ll be expected to take them for endless meals (which they will always insist on paying half) and uncountable phone calls and sms’s, before you even get them into a situation private enough for a kiss they might act with surprise. Meeting Thai girls. 

This once happened to me with a very cute but shy girl I met at a club/bar in Bangkok. I was actually eyeing here rather capricious and flirtatious friend who did a typical Thai girl thing and set me up with her friend Aom. Her friend was unfortunately with another guy, but Aom was intelligent, mature and chatty. She’d been to uni abroad and like to party but was from a conservative background and a modern Moslem. So we started dating, but she really tested my patience and took liberty with my time. She was a pretty low key girl, but fun to be with, confident and certainly interested. Yet, no matter how I tried I just couldn’t get further than simply hanging out. 

Three months went by, she pissed me off a few times – took liberties with my time and then suddenly invited me to go away to Hua Hin for the weekend. In typical fashion it was well into the afternoon before had finished mucking about and finally on our way – with a handful of her best friends in tow. To cut a long story short I spent the evening sitting with a group of immature Thais surrouded by a spread of food and constantly calling up their mates back in Bangkok to update them on all the gossip and fun they were having. No one spoke a word of English, my Thai wasn’t very strong and there were no couples. I was bored to tears.

Eventually it was bed time – were in the same room with twin beds. I’d had enough and tried to give her a kiss. No reaction. She smiled and seemed to be pleased but really didn’t know what to do next so she put the light out and got into the other bed and went to sleep. The following day, after she had been driving at 100kph down a busy highway recklessly for 45 minutes and all while on the phone I decided I’d had enough and dumped her.

I moved to Chiang Mai and we lost touch. Six months later I was in Bangkok for the weekend and wanted someone to come with me to the Ministry of Sounds so sms’d her on the off chance. She called me immediately, sounding pleased and promised to come over the next day to my hotel. She arrived at noon unexpectedly and gave me a big hug. We went shopping together and hung out all afternoon, her acting completely in love. She was a changed woman. The bad habits were curtailed; she made a point of hanging on my arm, trying to hold my hand, buying me things like clothes. 

Back at my hotel room we had plenty of time to kill before heading for the club so we lay there watching TV, she said she missed me, she cuddled up to me, next thing we were smooching and before long at it in bed! I couldn’t believe it. I no longer felt much for her but with the background, her sudden change of heart was such a turn on.

Well, off we went to the club and the next morning I had to make my excuses because I had to meet friends for lunch and couldn’t bring her. But she lay there in bed in the morning with a massive grin of post-coital satisfaction and said ‘hmmm you’re my boyfriend now’.  

Ooops? What! Double check! I hate doing this. I hand no intention of getting together with her, now that I was living in Chiang Mai, and should’ve known this was coming. She said she was even planning to come up to Chiang Mai the following weekend (a pre-planned trip apparently). Sure enough the phone rang the following week, she was at the station waiting for me and had come to stay the whole weekend. 

Disaster! I was just getting things going with another nice local girl I had me a few weeks earlier. What a risk. Well, I broke the news to her that day and there were plenty of tears, but I made a big effort to entertain her discreetly taking her to romantic out of town spots so that we weren’t spotted and making the effort to give her an enjoyable weekend in CM. Despite the bad news it didn’t stop her wanting more action and I suddenly had a horny Elvira that had been let out of her conservative family straight jacket back in Bangkok. I couldn’t stop the poor girl from wanting to shag!

Aaah! What can a man do. On the one hand you’ve go this girl, who knows the score, throwing herself at you, and on the other you realise you shouldn’t be letting her hurt herself anymore. Eventually I despatched her back to Bangkok and never heard from her again. 

Chiang Mai scene 

For example, a friend of mine was lamenting recently the difficulty of running his company with his wife involved as the bookkeeper. I think she has a background of accounting and dealing with tax authorities and so on, but it sounds like many of their actions are for minimising cost and avoiding tax, which seems sensible if it is all legal, but the inconvenience causes as a result really leaves my poor friend wandering if all the effort is really worth it. He was hesitant to ask all his staff, many part timers, to open a new bank account with the same bank as his company.

The reasoning was that they could save 30 baht per inter-bank transaction when paying them each month. Well, when you are paying people 20,000 baht a month, 30 baht amounts to 0.15% of the wage, which would seem like a reasonable banking expense to be swallowed by the company. Of course, his wife sees it differently, 30 baht x 10 employees x 12 months = 3600 baht which then becomes a significant figure. But relative to the company’s turnover it represents peanuts and should simply be included as part of operating costs.This kind of small cutting of corners is typical of Thai thriftyness, while we foriegners tend to write it off and look at the bigger picture of keeping people happy.

He tried to explain to her that it was unreasonable to expect part time employees, some of which came and went within a few months, to open multiple bank accounts. As he explained to me, the cost in time of going into the bank and the fee for a new bank card, plus the wasted time and paperwork of the bank employees was far greater than the saving the company would make. But she couldn’t see the logic. As far as she was concerned they were the pay masters and it was their priviledge to inconveniece everyone for the sake of saving expenses. If they refused, she said, then they should find another job. It was, she explained, the Thai way that all companies in the country did things and employers are all used to it.

So, we have a situation where the 22 million strong work force changes bank accounts every few years in order to please their new employers. Effectively this means you have no choice in who you bank with, and the company’s choice of bank dictates who everyone banks with. Considering many of the Chinese family owned businesses traditionally remain with the ‘family friends’ bank, this becomes quite critical to the ‘democracy of banking’ in Thailand.

Well, if you are a part timer or freelancer with several jobs or paymasters, it also means you have the added inconvenience of managing several accounts, unless you want to foot the 30 baht bill and just transfer the money all into one single account, in which case the big rich companies pass the expense on to their employers.

But getting back to the paymaster’s priviledge, my friend failed to see that Thais still strongly relate to the relationship of master and servant. If your company says you must bank with their bank, then so be it. They are ‘feeding’ you so you do as they say. No one objects or points out the severe inconvenience to everyone involved, let alone the plain uncommon sense or lopsided logic of it all. So, you have a country that makes hundreds of similar decisions and unneccessary tasks every day for the sake of suiting traditional values or methods. Common sense, as we see it in the West, simply doesn’t apply here, which is why there is so much more red tape and less efficiency in so many things here. Westerners who’ve just arrived argue and try to put things right, offering logical and reasonable suggestions for improving things, but it’s completely lost on Thai people because we foreigners fail to understand the deep rooted beliefs and methods that are influencing their decisions. There’s no changing Thai logic.

Living in Bangkok

Kids in the slum

This kindergarten was just one of the 30, which are all operated by the Human Development Centre. Around 3,750 kids make use of the educational facility. The country’s public education first grade is free. Parents only have to pay for books, uniforms and school activities. However, these expenses are often not affordable by needy families. Joseph, who is also the director of the centre explains: “Bangkok has plenty of Catholic schools but unfortunately they are all incredibly elitist and only offer education for the rich children”. The centre provides the only available Catholic elementary school in the capital, which allows poor kids. The school won’t take children from wealthy parents.

Around 600 students go to the Sammakhee Songkraw (which means “helping each other”) school. The school is positioned in the slum’s Catholic section, nearby the pig slaughterhouse. Officially the kindergartens are illegal as they’re located on land, not permitted to build on. Maier said: “You conclude this school exists because this door up here but the harsh reality is that the school does not exist”. “For an existing construction you need this silly document down at the official district office that declares it exists. However, we do not have any of such documents at the district office”. “This means that if the schools don’t exist, we do not have to ask for permission”.

If this unique way of reasoning does not function, Joseph Maier has several times shouted it out, threatening similar pieces of embarrassment and guilt for the authorities. “When the officials come, we tell them: “Now listen, this school is not owned by the community leaders or Fr Joe, it is the kids’ property. So you go say to them, Mr. Law man and Mr. Government official, with your impressing, neat uniform and all these individuals around you carrying these bloody big guns. Today we have 200 children at this school, sir, so what I would suggest you to do, is to explain the 200 kids that the school is no longer accessible after tomorrow. Just tell them the school will be demolished to make space for glitzy apartments for wealthy folks to live in or for another new Big C warehouse.

“We will have to install a few tape recorders here, so we can play your statement over and over for the poor students who are ill today. And for some of their hard-working mamas who aren’t present. And did you notice the huge loudspeakers up there? And then the Thai Rat, the Nation, the Bangkok Post and all the other newspapers, you have to tell it to their journalists too, to make clear why it is much more important to construct your building here”. So far Mr. Maier’s clever tactics worked and the officials not cause major difficulties. I hope this noble man can continue doing his highly important job for many more years to come. You can read more comprehensive articles about Bangkok on this website.