Visiting Thailand for the first time

I am going to be visiting Bangkok for the first time later on this month or early october for 3-4 days. I would like to get some information on where to stay and what to do.

I am looking for a hotel with en suite bathrooms and wifi Internet access in rooms? Any suggestions and how much would it generally pay for such a room?

What are some good places that I should visit?

As far as sexual stuff goes, I am not into bars and clubs (recovering alcoholic) so what are good options for some paid sexual companionship? I heard that the masseuse at Babylon do not do sexual stuff so is there elsewhere I can go for a good massage with some light sexual play (touching, receiving a blow job)?

Thanks for Ur answers to these questions!!!!

[Dboy]

Check out the Thorn Tree forums at Lonely Planet for travel information. Good stuff there: http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categ ... m?catid=51 (http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=51)

Another great source is TrekEarth(photos): http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/T ... l/Bangkok/ (http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Asia/Thailand/Central/Bangkok/)

Dreaded Ned's for the gay-related stuff: http://www.dreadedned.com/directory/index/1


You could spend a lifetime exploring Bangkok so w/o knowing you this would be very difficult to answer properly. Search that branch of Thorn Tree with your keywords of interest.

Have a great trip!

Dboy

[adman5000]

If it is your first time I suggest trying Tarntawan Place (ask them to remove alcohol from your room) for hotel and you can get a room for 2000-3000 baht or so including breakfast and I think they have WiFi. Yes, you can get cheaper places, but I think for a first time, this is the most convenient. I would pick up a magazine on arrival to see what is happening and with map of areas (or they may have at hotel).
IF you want to totally avoid bars, try the massage places described on DreadedNeds.com. Ask the guy specifically if he will do what you want. Don't be shy. I would avoid freelancers until you have a bit more local street smarts to avoid problems, but up to you.

[Smiles]

I would also recommend you book a hotel with a swimming pool. Most of the larger ones do, but good to check.
Afternoons in Bangkok can be a hot and sweaty affair and it's nice to be able to relax and cool off in the pool . . . in anticipation of a good night out.

Another recommendation for a first-timer in Bangkok would be to get yourself a guide. Doesn't have to b a professional.
Bangkok is huge, and if you are only going to be there for 3 or 4 days a guide is a terrific asset to save time and energy. If you approach it right you could easily find a Thai guy who would be willing to take you to see the sights of Bangkok (both day & night sights that is).

Try hanging out at Telephone Bar, or Balcony, or Dicks. Get into conversation with a Thai guy ~ the better his English, the better your tour will be ~ and tell him you've only got a short amount of time to spend in the city. I'd be willing to bet that after a few hours of asking around these places you'll attach yourself to a Thai guy who'd be more than happy to take you around for a day or so. Details would be up to you ... as would compensation.

Touristy stuff well worth doing/taking in:

The Grand Palace (of course!)[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Wat Po (reclining Buddha) and Wat Tramit (golden Buddha)[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
The public ferry up and down the Chao Praya (cheap!!)[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Chatuchuk Market (weekends)[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Lumphini and/or Queen Sirikit Parks[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
The Yok Yor floating restaurant dinner & cruise (cheap!!) [/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Vimanmek Palace [/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Siam Paradorn Mall[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Hop on the Skytrain and get off at any stop and just wander around[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Eat street stall food[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]
Jim Thompsons House[/*:m:3mrbqgd7]


Cheers ...

[Wesley]

Indeed a good English speaking bar boy or waiter in my case, will do wonders in saving you a lot of time walking in circles looking for the go go bars on a map or a place to go. If you have your own guide it would keep you out of the bottle and into some fun around town. I have done this twice, once in Bangkok and once in Pattaya, I suggest you spend some of your room money on a guide and you won't need the pool.
Wesley

[catawampuscat]

Watch out for Westeners who prey on first timers.
There is one who just fleeced an elderly Brit out of some $$ using a bullshit story about how his
recently deceased Thai bf has all the farangs money in a Thai bank account under the bf's name
and he can't access his account to pay for the funeral and all that jazz. Heard he took the old timer
for a tidy sum..

What some people won't do or say.. Be very aware of any new best friends you just met and watch
your bin to make sure they don't stuff it with their own check or stick you with the check under the
guise of forgetting their wallet in their room or any variation of this story. Scammers abound and
look for first timers.... :cat:

Good information has been given. I was a first timer in January and now expect to make several or more one month tips every year for the rest of my life. Only regret is not finding Thailand years ago.

I agree with Tarntawan Hotel. Swimming pool and courtyard they don't have per se but access to one. However, yes on internet and in a great location with very good employees that can help with anything.

I have read negative comments about the massage next to Dicks restaurant. Believe the name is Bunny's. However, I found it great and if you came up with the same young man for a massage you would enjoy. There were plenty to choose from when I was there. A Happy Ending with nothing heavy. Only a couple blocks from Tarnawan.

If you can handle going into a few of the bars just for the shows you would not regret. Greatest shows on earth. Never would I have believed just how good without personally experiencing. It's part of the magic of Thailand.

Thanks all for the information and the links.

I checked out Thom Tree but where I live dreaded ned is blocked for moral purposes (does it have a proxy server?)...

I am doing research and am sure will have loads of questions later. Thanks Again!

[krobbie]

Thanks all for the information and the links.

I checked out Thom Tree but where I live dreaded ned is blocked for moral purposes (does it have a proxy server?)...

I am doing research and am sure will have loads of questions later. Thanks Again!

Yikes ... moral purposes? You need to get to Thailand as quick as you can.

Good luck. Incidentally, I am also looking for a place to stay in BKK, so will be keeping an eye out here for info.

Cheers
K.

[Dboy]

There are a few classic scams to avoid in Bangkok:


Gem Scam - THE classic Bangkok scam; alot of ways to run this scam so I wont provide any details. Whatever you do, don't buy gems in Bangkok, and you'll avoid this

tuk-tuk scams - if you use a tuk-tuk, make SURE he only takes you to your requested destination; be especially careful in tourist areas like Democracy Monument/Khao-san road area

lady boys - probably best to stay away from them on your first trip

police scams - don't throw trash/cigarette butts, etc. on the ground, police will try to stick you for 1000bt+ fines

taxi - used metered taxis only

markets - when you see an item you want in a market, don't buy it; talk to the vendor and get a feel for the price. that price is the rip-off price:-) I often end up paying 1/3 of the initial price

bars/gogos, etc - if you need to break a 1000bt note, don't do it in a bar

people on the street - it's really uncommon for locals to stop you on the street, no matter "friendly" people say Thailand is. "Helpful locals" are highly likely to be scammers

street food - it's probably ok. enjoy it! sample prices for Bangkok streets: iced coffee- 12bt-20bt, meats on a stick- 5bt-10bt each, bag of fruit- 20bt, soup- 30bt max, bottle of water- 7bt-15bt at family mart

begging for money - these are mostly scammers; average daily rate for a worker is 300bt or less; can make this much per HOUR by bothering the tourists

boys - make sure visitor leaves ID at hotel desk; best to only take ONE visitor to your room (I know it's tough heh)


**Bangkok is a great place but it's definitely bewildering on a first trip


Dboy

[Shuee]

log onto gay.com & go to the thailand-bangkok room where you will hopefully be ablt to hock up & pre arrange a tour guide/extra service's guy

the most important thing being that as you are a 1st timer, we hope you will then come back here tell us all about it

Hey Guys,

Thanks for all of the Info.

Dboy, your tips are very good to have. I will be careful where I change my money and beware of scams (although being a frequent visitor to Istanbul, I know of all these scam artists). Btw, Are u in Dallas or a suburb, I grew up in Bedford.

As far as the sex goes, I do not anticipate bringing anyone up to my room, like I stated earlier the most "action" i would be looking for is a blowjob and/or groping cute guys. I have no intention of having sexual intercourse with strangers who can put my life at risk. That is why I asked about a massage with a happy ending and the best place to get it because I just want to be able to say that yes I have tried it. I am thinking that a massage at babylon or Aqua should do the trick.

If I went to one bar/gogo just to catch a show what would you just recommend?

Btw, I have spent the better part of two days regarding some of the posts on here and if I were to believe every story a certain poster has blogged on here, you can choose and pay to have sex with any man in Thailand that you want. Must remember that during my trip to the Royal Palace, lol.

[adman5000]

I think the things you want to do sexually are much more enjoyable in your room. No one says someone visits your room only to F*** or to be F******. Many massage services can be "take out".

Another bit of advice, DO NOT make any impolite references to the Royalty of Thailand. At a minimum you will sink to a very low point on the respect scale of the Thais and at the worst this might be your first and only trip, possibly one way. You may want to review some of the guidebooks on cultural etiquette as you will find many more welcoming actions by your Thai hosts if you honor their cultural norms.

[bing]

Wow, my eyes just about fell out their sockets when I saw you were suggesting eating at a street stall... You may have a cast iron tummy, but most tourists don't and one of the chief suspects is eating unclean food from an unclean stall. Who is to judge what is clean? Why step to the edge of the cliff, eat at established places that look clean and have good business. Food Stalls are not the way to go for a first timer or for the 20th timer either.

Also surprised no one suggested the Rose Garden as a nice side trip. The aquarium at the Paragon Mall (spelling error on mall I'm sure) is very nice, just don't when half the school kids of the world go with their parents. By the end of the day was ready to toss of few of them to the sharks, but being a peace person, I did my Buddhist thing and took a deep breadth and moved on.

[Dboy]

Wow, my eyes just about fell out their sockets when I saw you were suggesting eating at a street stall... You may have a cast iron tummy, but most tourists don't and one of the chief suspects is eating unclean food from an unclean stall. Who is to judge what is clean? Why step to the edge of the cliff, eat at established places that look clean and have good business. Food Stalls are not the way to go for.

Yeah, eating at the food stalls is certainly debatable. I can only go by my personal experience and the people I know. Have never had any problems at all after eating food from a vendor and it's highly likely that those farang who are getting sick are eating something that they are allergic to or that their body just isn't used to. I know of one particular weird thing I can't eat (mung bean spouts, found this out cooking at home). Another likely suspect is the thai chilis. Being from Texas, I'll take all the Thai Chili's they are willing to give me but many other people will want to order "mai pet" (not spicy). Som-tom (papaya salad) is very popular (look for a lady carrying a long stick over her shoulder with a basket of food at each end. she's probably making som-tum), but som-tum can sometimes be made crazy-hot so might order that mai-pet to avoid problems. Some of the soups can be really spicy (like the various tom-yum's) but they are really good. As long as you pick a popular vendor, you're really ok. Poisoning people gives you poor street-cred and a bad vendor will be shunned by the locals, and would eventually go out of business. There's just SO much local culture and fun to be had at the street stalls that it really is worth the small risk. Thai culture is extensively expressed through its food, and I dare say if you want to know Thai culture the food is even more important than Thai buddhism. The "established" places where I prefer to eat are those small shops one step up from food stalls. They have a bigger selection of food and you can meet gobbs of people there. I hardly ever eat hotel food unless I'm with a farang who only eats ahan-farang (western food). My western food weaknesses are Starbucks and BBQ. Other than that it's ahan-thai all the way.


Dboy

[Smiles]

" ... Wow, my eyes just about fell out their sockets when I saw you were suggesting eating at a street stall ... ".
I've been eating "on the street" in Thailand for over 7 years now. I've had a nasty experience exactly once ... and even then I wasn't 100% certain it was because of eating at a street vendors.
I've had more delicious food at those places than not. On man's experience granted . . . . but lots of good eats to be had on the street. Ignore the advice if you're a wus.

Thailand is "eating on the street". Up to you.

Cheers ...

[krobbie]

Dboy, I think you're right. In my opinion that is.

I have had the choicest tidbits from the street vendors delicious stuff. Then small shop Thai food.
The worst food I have eaten is in the supposedly higher ranking hotels restaurants.

My experience, as written here, was in Phuket.

Best prawns: seafood market (about 15 different stalls) but if I'm feeling a bit flush and I'm taking someone for a meal, the Savoey (not a spelling error) Seafood restaurant is great.

Cheers.

[lukylok]

It would be helpful for the first timers to find here a tha├п translation (phonetic) of the basic vocabulary needed to make sure there is no misunderstanding when offing someone.
I find nothing of the kind in my Harraps !

Thank you for your help !

[krobbie]

Yes, plus the protocol. When I first went to LoS I had no idea what the deal was. I didn't even know one had to pay anything to the bar, especially as I had been there for hours and had spent more than a few dollars.

The guy I was with understood I was a boy bar virgin and was quite patient in explaining to me. Also best to get the amount for the service that may be provided if taking someone. My guy just said "up to you", which is common ... but I think some farangs take advantage or alternatively some of the boys also.

My experience was good but I'm sure not everyone has the same. I don't speak Thai (but will endeavour to learn more) and the young man I was with didn't apeak much English, but one can make oneself understood and vice versa, with patience and a little effort.

I didn't resort to having to get someone to do the talking, so can't help with the phonetics concept. Sorry.

As long as you can pick up the niceties (hello, thankyou, goodnight etc) Thailand will open like a flower to you.

Cheers
K.

[krobbie]

Jeff, have just looked on this site

www.gayguideinthailand.com (http://www.gayguideinthailand.com)

Have a look on the left hand side and there is a button for "Learn Thai". There is a whole list of helpful terms.

[bing]

On one trip while staying at Boystown hotel. The manager was taken to the hospital while I was there. His good friend said something to the effect that he had no smypathy for his friend as he ate chicken from a street vender. He should know better. Smiles I have no doubt you can get some great food from street stalls, and it sure does look fine, at least to me, but when traveling, one must be very careful. Why risk ruining a perfectly wonderful vacation, with food poisoning. Heck most of us can't even drink the water in different cities. On the other hand, if you enjoy the street food, more power to you.

[Wesley]

After two years of Food poisoning in foreign countries I have given up on any thing I suspect is not prepared well or refrigerated well. If you ever have a real case of Food poisoning it will forever cure you of any need to try things you aren't sure about.

A compromise if you want to savor street food is to take it "to go" in a plastic bag.

The food generally is prepared fresh and very hot (temperature) and is sanitary. The main questionable sanitation factors are the dishes and utensils used if you eat it on site.

I also read that if you see the dishes/utensils being washed in brown water, that that's actually a good thing. Some vendors use tea water to indicate that the water was boiled first, and hence may be less septic. Dunno how that actually plays out though... especially after seeing soi dogs walk up and submerge their tongues to take a few drinks.

[thaiguest]

Hi. I'm a Thailand visitor of medium experience so my advice is not the bee-all and end all.
I agree with all the reply postings except the one which advises picking up a thai "guide" in gay bars.
This is exactly what you should not do. To 'off' one of the staff as a guide would probably be ok (balcony bar staff are, I find, very friendly) but customer 'guides' who fondle the same beer all night in gay venues are usually scammers looking for new victims.
Do your own thing, remember what your mother told you, and have fun. I think you'll find all your erotic needs catered for in the massage venues and your hotel will arrange the touristic side of things at little or no extra cost.