The rain started coming down just as I stepped onto the skytrain at Chitlom after doing some shopping. I had two rather large bags, one in each hand. I had to walk my short walk, mostly under awnings, from Nana BTS to my apartment building. I only got a little wet, but stopped under a shop awning for about 10 minutes as it really poured.

For those of you who love to shop in the markets like I do, if you go into the "belly" of the Pratunam Market, away from the stalls on the street, you can save baht! Most of the items in Pratunam are of the clothing variety; but I got lucky and found some pretty beaded bags that were discounted in price, and of course I got them for a bit less than the vendor was asking... you know, offer less... It was very interesting to wander through some of the aisles. There were probably a dozen or more women, working in their little stalls, sitting at their sewing machines, making skirts, shirts, and various items. I saw hand made gowns (like for prom or wedding) being hand made. Beautiful workmanship! I didn't price them, but I'm sure they were reasonable.

Michael, I had a Black Canyon iced coffee at Platinum. I gotta' say, it tasted really good!! Are you back in BKK now?

For those of you who were in Boston at the GTG last October, tengo's wife had a really cute little satin "dress" bag that she had gotten in Bangkok. That exact bag is now available at Khun Daeng, in tan, dark navy, and I think pink, if anyone is interested. I recall that several people really liked that little purse a lot. I've got another week of shopping ahead of me, so you can post here if you'd like one. K already had let me know that she wanted one, if I saw them.

Michael, I hope you are right that tomorrow is a bit cooler that it has been. I really worked up a sweat in the belly of the market today!

Carol

Just getting to your report Carol. You got guts to ride that motorcycle taxi in BKK traffic. I've never done that as DW would kill me but I did anyway in Ubud. Granted, there were a lot less cars there! Love following your live report!

Thanks, bkk95.

Just remembered something else I intended to report from yesterday's visit to the weekend market. If you go to the JJ Mall (air conditioned mall building) that is next door to Chatuchak, you can get that fish foot treatment. You stick your feet in a fish tank and the little tiny fish nibble off all of the dead skin. No, I haven't had that treatment (yet). There were a couple of women getting it done. They said it felt like something was crawling on your feet. I didn't ask how much. Looks very interesting though, as I have some calouses that are pretty tough to deal with sometimes. I don't know how long you are expected to dangle your feet in the tanks either. Anyway, I had seen about it somewhere, and now I've seen it firsthand. Looks quite fun, actually.

I remember reading about face stringing here on this forum. I would consider getting that done if anyone knows of a good place here in Bangkok.

The rain kept coming down most of the afternoon, at times just enough to keep you from wanting to venture out. Good time for a little nap. But now I think it will be safe to take a walk, with umbrella in hand. It has cooled off outside!

Carol

Carol, I got back to Bangkok late Friday night, then was out to Samut Sakhon all day Saturday for a school playground & library dedication, followed by a visit to Siam Winery (I will write that up in a post soon).

Coincidentally, someone else just sent me a URL of a report about fish massage in KL:
http://migrationology.com/index.php/...h-spa-massage/

Rain at my place yesterday was almost a non-event. Lots of dark clouds, thunder, big flashes of lightening, followed by the briefest of showers. What a let-down!

We've had rain two days in a row. This morning I was up and out the door to go to the Jim Thompson outlet on soi 93. Bought 3 bags of "last year's" fabrics in coin purses and other various accessories. Who's gonna' know at home!!! lol

Got back to my apartment and started cataloging all my purcases and taking a few photos. I looked out the window at about 12:50 and thought, wow, it's going to rain again! I didn't want to be stuck in the apartment all afternoon so headed to the BTS with the idea of going to Central World Plaza. Other than my short walk from Adelphi to the BTS, everything else is covered walkway, so no getting wet.

Made it to the escalator just as the skies opened up! WOW, did it pour down. Similar to a "monsoonal" rain Maeng and I got caught in a couple of years ago. Anyway, I was glad I got out of the apartment when I did! No getting wet all the way to Central World, where I had my ice cream fix at Haagen Dazs. Took my time and ate it slowly (not so slowly that it all melted on me though).

Visited with Dr jack this afternoon, and then ended up going to dinner with DS and Jack to Via Vai, our favotite pizza place (and the best pizza in BKK of all the places we've tried). Needless to say, it was delicious. We also had a caprese salad. The buffalo mozzerella was really fresh! A lemoncello after dinner was the perfect way to end a pleasant meal.

Off to see Maeng to make final plans for tomorrow. We head up to Chiang Mai for the day, flying at 8 in the morning, returning on the 9pm flight back to BKK tomorrow night. We are flying Thai business class. I don't think we have a 747 on the way up to CM, but we have one on the way back to BKK. Hope we have good weather. I can recall some really HOT days in CM in the past. DS is also coming along. We need to return to the factory for some wood products for him, as well as the food market for Maeng to pick up some favorite (but very strange) food items for the staff at the Pickled Liver. The food market in CM has some of the strangest food items I've ever seen!!! It's always interesting to have a look around, and try to figure out what some of the items might be! lol

Need a good night's sleep so that I have plenty of energy for tomorrow.

Micheal, sounds like you are very busy. Stay dry... try to stay in the air con... maybe we'll catch up before I head home next Monday. Thanks for that link about the fish...

Carol

Carol, it was offwego (Lori) who wrote about threading. She had it done in Bangkok somewhere in Chinatown. She said there were a whole batch of threaders in one area.

sounds like fun and karen is excited about her new bag....it will add to the new leather onesssssss she is getting in argentina

Carol-You always have such great shopping tips! Were you able to get out to the JT Outlet by skytrain, or did you have to take a cab? How are the prices there?

BTW, I would stay away from those fish pedicures. The potential for bacterial infection (either from dirty water or from the fish themselves) is very high.

Kristina - Thanks for that tip on the fish pedicure. I had not thought of that aspect of it.

Kathie - Appreciate the tip on the face threading. I'm not sure I'll have the time to get out to China Town to get it done... drat! Time goes sooooo fast here. Did you enjoy face threading? Worth the time?

Bob - I'm sure K will like this bag. Glad I could find it for you. No problem. I always shop at Khun Daeng, and it was pure luck that they had that specific bag this time. The shop is small and crowded. Not everything is on display. Much of it is packaced and crammed into shelves.

Kristina - re: how to get to the weekend market. You can go there by skytrain. The weekend market is at the last station on the Sukhumvit Line (called Mo Chit). The opposite end of the Sukhumvit Line is On Nut, and that is where you can visit Jim Thompson outlet. I bought a very colorful cotton tote bag there the other day, that I've been carrying ever since, and I get soooo many compliments on it. It is very yellow, green, and white .. a flower print. I love it! It makes me think of spring... which I hope to see when I return to the USA next week.

Now, I mentioned the skytrain to the weekend market. Maeng and I do not actually go by skytrain. We take the subway instead. I am only one stop from the Asok BTS/Subway interchange. Maeng and I go on the BTS (skytrain) to Asok, and then go into the subway to catch the train to Kampang Phet station. It stops right inside the weekend market. There is a stop called Chatuchak Park station, but you want to get off at the NEXT one, not Chatuchak Park, if you want to get off the subway right inside the weekend market.

I always have many bags after shopping at the market, so we always just take a taxi back to Sukhumvit area when we are done shopping. Prices at Chatuchak are usually good. Remember, you can (and should) bargain!

Kristina - I just went back and reread your post. I think maybe you are asking about JJ Mall... yes? It is right next door to Chatuchak. It is a big building of maybe 4 floors, with a large sign on the top that says JJ MALL. I am not sure which direction it is from the weekend market, other than to say, if you take the skytrain, you keep walking PAST the entrance to the weekend market, about a half block further... ? Maybe MichaelBKK will tell us if that is correct or not. You could take a taxi right to the door of JJ MALL if you wanted to.... saves the short walk....

Yesterday, Tuesday, was a 1-day trip up/back to Chiang Mai. DS and I took Maeng with us (her 4th time to CM with me) and we flew up/back on Thai, business class. We flew up on an A300, and came back on a 747 with great flat-bed seats for sleeping!! After shopping all day, the three of us reclined and the "lights went out."

I swore I was not going to go too crazy in Chiang Mai, but I could not resist. I love the handmade paper items. I bought some heart-shaped handmade paper boxes. They have very delicate handmade paper flower arrangements on the top. How they can make these and sell them so cheap is beyond me.

I also bought some really cute colorful cloth bags with adjustable shoulder straps... very unique straps, I might add. I will not try to explain them here as I don't know exactly how to do it!!! They are not anything like the adjustable leather straps with buckle that we see all the time in the States and Europe... these straps are more like rope or twine, knotted and looped so that they expand... I know that doesn't make any sense at all... lol Maybe some of you have purchased expandable necklaces of twine.. same concept as the necklaces.

Today it looks like we might have sun in BKK. Yesterday was very hot and humid in CM. I think they were going to get a big rain right about the time we were taking off, just after 9pm. The vendors at the night market were putting up their plastic "shields" and doing it very quickly. I'm sure they know when rain is coming!!

Our stops in CM included the frog factory, Bantawai (Hang Dong) and BoSang, as well as the mall by the airport (to cool off and have some ice cream), the food market that Maeng always enjoys, and the night market. Lunch was at a small Thai place between Bantawai and BoSang. Maeng ordered several Thai dishes for us to share (garlic shrimp, papaya salad, noodles w/chicken, and a couple others I can't recall). It was all delicious. Very authentic. No air con!

I see that CNN is all about the swine flu. I am not concerned but being cautious. I also see that CNN reported "violence in Thailand"... I just caught the end of the report so have no idea what they were talking about!! We have asked around, as May 1 is supposedly "something happening"... but no one seems to have a clue as to what. The average Thai is not a red shirt or a yellow shirt. They are "no color" as Maeng puts it; they want this stuff to STOP. Just as with swine flu, we are not concerned, but being cautious. DS was asking advice from a couple of people who would know, and would be good contacts, on making his visa run. He will wait and see, and take care of it after I go home. He needs to leave by the 9th, as that is the end of his 30 days. He will then come back a day or so later. No problem. I asked him about going to Singapore.. I would certainly go along! But that is not going to happen. May 1 is too close, and IF something would happen that would "seal the country" we would not be able to get in or out. Not worth the risk at this point.

The other afternoon, while waiting for DS to appear at Dr Jack's place, I sat and visited with a couple of the girls who work at the bar. DS asked me if I was going to report on fodors about that 1 1/2 hour conversation. No... not really.... but I wanted to say that those two girls were very sweet, very honest, very forthcoming, no holds barred. It was a very real insight into yet another side of life in this amazing city of BKK.

This afternoon DS and I will return to Bang Poo, to the printing factory. Once again we will pass by the 3-headed elephant and the Ancient City. Maeng asked if I would like to go to those places, and I said yes. We will see if there is time to get there on this trip.

For any Tokyo experts out there: on the BKK GTG thread, our new fodorite friend, Evelyne, whom we met at the Marriott last week, is asking about markets in Tokyo. I can not give her any answers, but if any of you have some information to share with her, please visit the GTG thread and post what you can. Evelyne and her husband are from Montreal. They are very nice people. Brand new to fodors. They would like to come to the BOS GTG in October... let's encourage them!!

Have a great day/evening where ever you are spending it. I'm going to enjoy yet another day in BKK!

Carol

JJ Mall is on the north side of Chatuchak. If you take the subway (it's Kampangphet station for the market), use the market exit. As you come out, the market is in front of you and on your right, and to your left is a street. Make your way to the street and turn right. JJ Mall is a couple of blocks walking on your right. You can also get there through the market, but this involves finding your way from the 'old' section to the 'new' section, so it can be a bit tricky.

May 1 is Labor Day here, as it is just about everywhere else except the US. This is the first I've heard of anything afoot that day, although I guess it would be appropriate for "red shirts" to rally on May Day. I'm flying to Bali that morning, so as long as whatever happens takes place after I leave, no problem! ;-)

Michael, have fun in Bali. Thanks for those directions and the correct spelling of the subway station. Much appreciated.

Without going through all of this thread, did I remember to tell fodorites that the Sofitel on soi 6 (Grande Sukhumvit Sofitel) is no longer a Sofitel? It is now called the Grande Sukhumvit Hotel Bangkok. If you see it listed with specials, do take advantage, as it is really a beautiful hotel. I can see why they did not succeed though... it's the location, on a 1-way narrow soi, with traffic that feeds off of the busy soi 4, trying to merge with traffic on the much busier Sukhumvit Rd. If one were trying to get to the airport at, say, 3pm, you would have to allow a good 20 to 30 minutes just to get from the hotel to Sukhumvit Rd!!! And that's a distance you could walk in about 5 minutes!

No trip to the office today. Our contact person is ill. Maybe tomorrow?

Heading to MBK to have new business cards made for DH. They are very cheap, and very nice quality. We always go to the same place so they have our "file" already on their computers. No need to redesign anything.

It's very hot and sticky in BKK today. Trying to just stay cool... may be difficult!

Carol

Sofitel has a new hotel getting ready to open further down Sukhumvit. It will be their first non-franchised one in Bangkok.

Hi Carol-
Actually, I was asking about the Jim Thompson outlet. I remember reading that it was a bit of a walk from the skytrain so some people prefer to take a cab. I've always wondered about going, but never made it out there.

Kristina, the J T Outlet is at the opposite end of the skytrain route from the weekend market. Just go to On Nut station. I happen to prefer taking a taxi to the outlet from the BTS station. It's quite a hike. Weather in BKK right now is just too darn hot to be out walking that distance, IMO.

I'd love to tell everyone how to find the place where we dined this evening. We had authentic Chinese food, at a place whose name I think is Tong Lai Shun (?). It is strictly a local place. The food was fantastic! The menu was written in Chinese, but there were photos to help you pick out your dishes. Our Danish friend took us there, as it is just down the soi a short walk from his house. It is located on a small sub soi in between Suk 41 and 43. The sub soi is probably 130 yds down soi 41 and then to the right. The restaurant is on the left side of the sub soi, just after you make that right turn.

The girls who work in the restaurant speak some Thai, but mostly they speak Chinese. I understand that the owner of speaks English. The food was excellent! Our friend took us there around 5pm, when the place was empty. He assures us that at about 7-8pm the place fills up every night. We ate a shrimp in red wine sauce (like a sweet and sour style), a chicken and vegetable dish, a couple of dishes that were mostly veggies, something that looked like sliced pork in a pita (sandwich) and a sim sum of pork. We shared 3 or 4 large bottles of beer as well. The bill was not much over 1000 bt.

After dinner, we walked down to the opposite end of this small sub soi, to the end where it intersects with soi 43. There was a Thai bar right on the street where we stopped and had 3 more bottles of beer to share (130 baht) and visit and watch a typical Thai neighborhood in the evening. The proprietor saw how many people we were in our party and then proceeded to put up a portable folding table and enough folding chairs for us to sit down. There were maybe 6 other people there, mostly locals visiting with one another at the end of a busy day. The proprietor sells beer, cigaretts (1 or 2 at a time, if that's all the baht you have) and snacks like chips in small bags. Right across soi 43 from the bar is a lady selling chicken, so you can sit and have a beer and eat street chicken. All very cheap, all very authentic. I'm going to guess that I'm the only fodorite (other than DS) who has eaten/had a beer at these places! Yet another side of BKK life!

I note some small businesses in the soi 8 area that have put signs in their windows indicating that they will be closed on May 1. I understand that next Tuesday is also a holiday for some workers...not sure who, or why.

Nothing planned for tomorrow... we play it by ear.

I hope you enjoy your day!

Carol

Carol,

May 1st, or Labor day, has always been a major holiday in Thailand and next Tuesday or May 5th is Coronation day.

Hi Carol! I just got in a few minutes ago. Sorry I missed you at Tawandaeng. When I passed the Adelphi Suites on the expressway I thought of you. Will be doing a trip report as soon as I piece myself together!

Kurt

Hi Mango, Does that mean you are now back home? Had hoped we might meet up in BKK. Maybe next time.

Hanuman, any insight on what "might" happen in early May, regarding red/yellow shirts? For a day or so, I was hearing chatter, and the newspapers were hinting at something. Just curious...

Carol

Yes.. home now, recuperating. Will do the report tomorrow..

all soun ds like fun...its wonderfully warm, but yet cool here in argentina....we move back to buenos aires tomorrow....another all nite bus ride....they are very comfortable, even for a fat boy....

missinf bkk

i read on my asia forum e mail today that hotels are really hurting in thailand with occupancy as low as 40 percent...

Also, May 8th is Visaka Bucha day, a Buddhist holiday, so no alcohol can be sold that day. The 1st, 5th and 8th are all national holidays, everyone will have off.

May 11th is Royal Ploughing Day, a holiday for government workers only.

The reds are promising to fight on, with weekly weekend rallies, but other reports seems to suggest the movement, and the political parities behind it, are disintegrating. The violence turned off too many people, as it always does in Thailand.