[yts farmer]

hey there will be hitting thailand on sunday around 6pm will be in bangkok for the first night and next morning will be getting a plane to koh pan yang(sorry about my spelling).

while im in bangkok i wanna do a couple of things while there like catching a thai boxing match seeing some of these crazy bars where the girls fire ping pong balls around the place lol.
what else is there to see and do whilst in bangkok?know of any decent places to stay whilst im in bankokand any places generally to avoid.

or have you any suggestions of other places and things to do whilst im there.

[iamtallpine]

Depends on what you are into. I was there in 1969. I got a taxi driver/tour guide. He didn't make much money ( $5 per day) so he wanted to smoke my shit with me. The shit was only what a taxi driver could get. We spent a lot of time vistiting the Buddist temples and sometimes we just spent hours trying to figure out how to get out of the taxi because we were so fucked-up.

[Thai Flowers]

Hi Yts,
if your going to end up on Koh Pan ngan (the next Island from Samui) most folk there will get you some good shit, but if you can ride a motorbike then head for Haad Salad,...the names not a piss take.
Haad Salad is in the North Weston part of the island.....and of course look for the Reggae Bar and ask for "Lek" he has the best shit on the island in general.
It is safe there and i have known "Lek" for 12-13 yrs now,...he will look after you with bongs, one after another, and Mushroom shakes. All grown organicailly on the island.

You can see boxing in Samui & Pan ngan, but the best is in Lumpini Stadium, which is at the side of Lumpini Park, very close to Silom in Bangkok.

Ping pong balls, razor blabes, bannanas, darts, you frigin name and they shoot it outta there Hoi's (pussy) Find that in Pat Pong, this is located just off Silom road, and you can get there on the Sky train (BTS) Sala Daeng is the stop, or the underground which is the MRT and the stop is Silom.

If you want to stay in a ok hotel then Sukhumvit area has lots at about $20-30, or if you want to stay with other travellers the head for Khao San Road, which is in the Banglampoo area...very close to the chao Praya river.

As for things to do in "Bangers".......temple, temple, temple....is a bout it...oh of course there is the Grand Palace & wat Po (next to each other) Wat Po is world famous for it massages.

Have a good time and be safe.

Thai Flowers

[ngakpa]

Originally Posted by yts farmer

hey there will be hitting thailand on sunday around 6pm will be in bangkok for the first night and next morning will be getting a plane to koh pan yang(sorry about my spelling).

if your flight to BKK arrives at 6pm, you are unlikely to be in the heart of the city itself before about 10pm

well if you have the energy I would just suggest you could stay up all night when you arrive - assuming you already have your plane ticket to Samui -

you aren't going to have much time in BKK, except maybe to hit a few bars/clubs - and there will always be some cool Bangkok girls/guys to have fun with, in amongst the nasty sluts and mad ladyboys (of course, ladyboys can be cool too - not all to be judged by the type that accost you in the street in places like Patpong)

the main backpacker street is Kao San, as I expect you know - I can't stand the place - but it is fairly unavoidable if you are looking for a cheap place to chuck your luggage

the area Kao San is in is called Banglhampu - stray about 500m plus away from Kao San and the prices of rooms get way cheaper - you can get aircon with shower for about 350 - 400 baht if you want.... either round the Democracy monument, or on the river side of Sathon Road

there are some very cheap and quiet places nearer to the Chao Praya river, which provide an ok spot to watch the dawn and the monks winging by on river taxis

re. arrival - most people when they arrive at Don Muang airport will just get in a que for a yellow taxi - you will see

fear not, the taxi drivers are chilled - and if you want them to mellow out, ask them a few questions about Buddhism etc. that will put them on their best behaviour lol... 99% of taxi drivers will have Buddhist imagery on clear display (or they will have the Muslim crescent moon etc.)

get a phrase book - say "klaap" a lot - these are all surefire ways to feel comfortable - i.e. be polite, show a respectful interest, throw out plenty of silly compliments in your lousy Thai ... it works a treat

if you have a backpack, they will assume you are going to Kao San

leave at least 2 to 3 hours for the morning taxi ride back to Don Muang for your flight to Samui - traffic is a disaster during "rush hour", and can gridlock

if I was you, I would just reschedule a flight from Don Muang to Samui when you arrive in Thailand, and not bother with a night in BKK on arrival

Originally Posted by yts farmer

while im in bangkok i wanna do a couple of things while there like catching a thai boxing match seeing some of these crazy bars where the girls fire ping pong balls around the place lol.
what else is there to see and do whilst in bangkok?know of any decent places to stay whilst im in bankokand any places generally to avoid.

maybe you are best doing all that on the return from Koh Pan Ngan - or if you really want to see Thai Boxing, the standard of fights on Samui (only 45 mins from Koh Pan Ngan by boat) is not that bad - and it will not be hard to get close to the action, which makes it far more entertaining

Originally Posted by yts farmer

or have you any suggestions of other places and things to do whilst im there.

yes - the best way to see a country is either on foot, by bicycle, on motorbike, or in a jeep/car

forget flying back from Samui - get a ferry from Koh Pan Ngan to the nearest mainland point - usually Suratthani

there you can rent out a motorbike for about 350 - 750 baht a day (5 to 10 quid) from a chain car rental place, depending on whether you want something chunky or whatever... the basic bikes there are easy even if you have no experience with real motorbikes

then drive that across to Krabi on the West Coast, and from there drive along the West coast etc. to get yourself back to BKK

the peninsula stretch of the journey is often stunning - glorious empty beaches on the west coast, great limestone caves etc., monkey temples, beautiful central hill range ... you can get way off the beaten track and have crazy old guides show you round abandoned meditation caves that go way underground in the middle of nowhere

eat real Thai food with Thais who will have met few if any farang in the middle of villages - beautiful Thai chicks everywhere all shy etc. delicious food, crazy old ladies eyeing you suspiciously, mad monks etc.

Koh Pan Ngan ain't bad - hardly adventurous though
Cookies on Koh Pan Ngan is an alright place to chill too

btw thoughtb I should mention "Lek" is a pretty common nickname, just in case there is confusion - just means "little/small" - usually for girls IME lol

Koh Tao has a few OK spots, but as with Koh Pan Ngan, it is pretty dire in the busy spots

like I say - Koh Samui/Koh Pan Ngan/Koh Tao aren't bad - but they aren't an adventure either

for that you need to hire a vehicle and head for the open road - and the West Coast is arguably the more beautiful

there are some good climbing beaces round Krabi too (gra-BEE)

if you want a secluded spot where you can smoke in your own hut with the waves lapping two metres from your feet, very queit, herb easily available etc. then Cookies on Koh Tao is also pretty good... very quiet, chilled Thais... same family as have the place on Koh Pan Ngan etc.

you would need to get a taxi boat round from the harbour, as there are no roads to that corner of the island, and to get there you have to walk through "jungle" on a wee track


anyhoo - hope that is of help like

plenty sanook to be had

Ngakpa

p.s. don't attempt to score off taxi drivers these days

keep smoking etc. to isolated places with clear policies ...

also, wrap it up - and get informed about the Thai sex trade, it is a nasty and cruel world, not a place any good person would unthinkingly spend their money - a large percentage of the girls there are there because of coercion

[naga_sadu]

Has the crazy drug war initiated by the former Thaksin government subsided as a result of his removal??

I'm really curious to know this...it would be great to get a situational report from the ground there......

Ping pong balls, razor blabes, bannanas, darts, you frigin name and they shoot it outta there Hoi's (pussy) Find that in Pat Pong, this is located just off Silom road, and you can get there on the Sky train (BTS) Sala Daeng is the stop, or the underground which is the MRT and the stop is Silom.

Daaaamn, that's crazy shit for sure, I kno what you mean. If I'm in need a stealthy sniper I know where to look! One of 'em drew a work of art- a landscape pic- with the words "Welcome to BKK" with a sketch pen inserted in 'er 'hoi. Crazy shit, that's for sure.

[gardenlover]

Hey there, I have never been to thai land but realy would like to go there and train (thai boxing). I was heavy into it for a few years and have a Kru (teacher) who is one of the legends of Thai boxing . well anyway from what I know about him and his thai friends, they are some of the nicest people on the planet. very out going a from what i understand when you visit they make you one of them and take very good care of you. Ist funny to see the difference b/t the thai and americans who fight, we are so soft compared to them, this probly has to do with the fact they start fighting at like 10 yrs old but there are few americans (including my self) that can hang with the thai. a very impressive culture, a fell in love with is over time. p.s. make sure you take advanctage of the local food and hope you have a great trip!

[naga_sadu]

I second that man! Thai hospitality is MIND BLOWING. But it's kinda hard to find some authentic, non commercialised hospitality in the big citys like BKK. Venture to the towns. Also in BKK...watch out for the cabbies though. And NEVER EVER open up the topic of weed to a cabbie, NEVER. No matter how friendly, open and hospitable he may portray himself to be.

[ngakpa]

Originally Posted by naga_sadu

Has the crazy drug war initiated by the former Thaksin government subsided as a result of his removal??

I'm really curious to know this...it would be great to get a situational report from the ground there......

I'd be interested to know how things are in Thailand at the minute, so I will be finding out from some friends

my guess is it'll still be pretty uptight, same as usual, and not affected by the coup

from what I remember the worst of the Thaksin "clean up" was concentrated over a handful of relatively short spells ...

the real "cleaning up" consisted of having the old guard mafia cronies in the provinces rounded up and killed, then replaced with his own "business associates" ... all the way down to the village headmen

and needless to say, such real problems as "yaba" (methamphetamine pills crushed and smoked) abuse - in particular in small towns, villages, and slums - continue on unabated

and this is of couse because yaba is a working class problem, originating in a serious form from the economic boom of the 90s, when people would work 36 hour shifts in factories and docks - in areas such as Klong Toi in Bangok etc.

ah, the hyprocisy

and of course you can still score "yaba" all the way from the hilltribe villages on the Burmese boarder in the North, all the way south through Phitsanulok, to Lopburi, to Bangkok ... I assume because that is one of the routes it follows

I read a paper by a Thai academic which suggested that one of the issues to consider when tackling the meth problem is the suffering it causes to animals, in particular cows who will be used as unwitting drug mules.. no hang on... well the point is there is allegedly a practice of using their voluminous insides to smuggle large bags of pills to the capital

perhaps Thaskin should consider this as a means of reentering the Kingdom

where is he these days? ... probably sitting in some "gentleman's club" off Hyde Park plotting his return I expect ...

[yts farmer]

well ive been back to thailand twice since my original post and gotta say there is green about over there.

on my first trip we got talking to 2 australians on ko pan ngan and they told my m8 which bar to get it from,he went into the totaly wrong beach bar but still came out with a fat bag for 500 baht.we'd been there about 9 days when we got this green and i could of murdered a j on sight.

green was very twiggy and looked pretty shit in my eyes and didnt smoke that great either but i did get high from it it just wasnt an enjoyable toke even if a was sitting in a location i consider paradise.later on that nightme and my 2 m8's put the rest of the weed into 3 joints coulda got more but we just wanted rid of it so we could relax.

bad mistake each of us smoked 1 of these fatties each and i tell you what i have never been so paranoid in all my life,so paranoid the when the australians who told us where to get it from came over and said they had just bought some me and 1 m8 did a vanishing act and left me other m8 with the aussies.

when we were on samui my 2 m8s were offered some hash of some sort and some coke but the prices were really stupid,they enquired how much the hash was and it was adout 50quid (100$us)for about 3 grams and at that price they never asked about the sniff.when i was back in samui for a second time over xmas and new year i was offered weed on quite a few occasions.when i was on the beach in lamai the guy who comes around selling thai silk,hammocks,cotton shirts and sarongs offered me weed and i asked him about it he told me it was 3000 baht and i asked him for how much and didnt get a proper answer he said 5g,10g,15g whatever you want.so i suppose it was 3000 for 5g.so i say to him let me look at it and he says i dont have it with me if you want it i will have to go and get it and youll have to meet me somewhere,when he said that i declined as there was to much of the risk of him setting me up.

[ngakpa]

the situation for Hmong people in SEAsia is extremely grave now - the Laos and Vietnamese governments are hunting, killing, raping, torturing and mutilating Hmong men, women and children of all ages

there is a real need for the Thai, American and Hmong communities to work together to deal with the refugee crisis, and assist the Hmong in escaping appaling bloody persecution in Laos and Vietnam

testimonies of refugees in Thailand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmSWXk1nFRc
this video is really pretty heavy, includes extremely shocking images of dead rape victims

BBC journalism on persecution of Hmong - includes background
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJHerGolvR0