385 replies to this topic

[xyzzy]

Choosing An Airline - Bangkok Air
When shopping for plane tickets, the best options I found were Bangkok Air and Air Asia. Air Asia seemed cheaper at first, but they nickle and dime you for everything just like an American Airline. By the time I went to check out on their website, the fair was higher than Bangkok Air's full rate.

Agreed on BKK Air and their prices have become more competitive with AirAsia especially if you are booking late. Had a morning flight from Phnom Penh to BKK not long ago and a good breakfast was served on only a one hour flight. Producing a copy of my frequent flier card meant no extra charge on my 25kg of baggage. And they have there own lounges in BKK, Phnom Penh and Phuket that anyone with any class of ticket can use. If they are close to AirAsia price wise I will use them in the future. However on routes where they have a monopoly their prices can be very high.

Sorry, back to the debauchery.

[soulboy]

Come on brother Hoot surely you can't forget Pattaya ?

[Hoot]

You guys easily saw through Phuket final thoughts ruse. Just attempting to get out of a little work ;-)

There is a Pattaya leg to the journey still to come...though it maybe slightly abridged as the old camera bit the dust after a couple days. Without pictures I find it hard to piece together the memories.

I best get back to it before what's left of my memory fails me.

[Hoot]

Pattaya - Three Days I Remember, The Rest I Kinda Don't

I arrived back in Bangkok with little issue and Mr. T had a driver waiting for me when I arrived. As we cruised down the highway at breakneck speed we passed two nasty accidents, a rollover and a jack knifed tractor trailer. I couldn't help to think back to the conversation I had in Nana earlier in the week. The guy proclaimed 'Thai's are the best drivers in the world. Have you ever seen any accidents?" It gave me a chuckle. No, never.

I put myself up at the Page 10 hotel. It got a good review on another thread so I won't post much here. What I will say is I liked the location, and the hotel was quite nice. Though for being so new, I was surprised the rooms had been so dinged up already. Maybe Motley Crue had booked a comeback tour through Pattaya.

Pictures on the website had a see through wall into the bathroom. I thought that might be kind of cool, getting a glimpse at my chosen companions suddsing up. Only two problems. They always closed the sliding doors, and you couldn't see in the shower anyway. Your best hope was the view of the toilet. Which is far less erotic, unless you are into that sort of thing. I'm not going to judge.

I made my way to La Bumbar where there was only one other customer in attendance. Cindy had gone home for a couple weeks and Patty, a favorite of mine from last visit, was also missing. There was only one other customer , we had a few drinks and a chat before moving on.

Did the usual circuit to Obsessions, Koyo, and a wander down Walking Steet. Had a few beers here and there but nothing quite took my fancy.

The one thing I noticed was the lack of crowd. You could easily walk down the typically crowded sidewalks and walking street without bumping shoulders with anyone.

Still tired from last nights adventure, I headed home.

[Hoot]

However on routes where they have a monopoly their prices can be very high.

I remember looking into a side trip to Angkor and the flight into Siem Reap was priced high enough where I decided to save it for another time...

[Hoot]

Yorkshire Inn

This is one popular hotel with the customers of Cocktails & Dreams, or so the girls tell me. They even nicknamed the street it is on as Soi Quickly, as it is a short walk from bar to bed. I don't recall it getting much publicity on the forum, maybe because it is so well known, or maybe I missed it. I'll give some of my impressions for those that maybe interested.

I stayed in the new section in one of their large double deluxe rooms. I found them quite nice and spacious. They are done in the Boutique style that is so trendy now days. The polished concrete floors were not something I'd seen in Thailand before. They look good but can be slippery, I almost fell on a couple of occasions as I motored around the room in my socks.

Restaurant
The have a nice large restaurant and bar in the front of the house. Excellent food and decent, but I wouldn't say cheap, prices. I had the English breakfast there almost every morning and thought it superb. They also have a couple of other restaurants associated with the hotel but didn't try them. There are a lot of TV's in the bar/restaurant area available and often host the big sporting events.

Pool and Fitness Center
They have both available to guests, but I never checked out either of them. Not essential on my trips.

Complaints
Room Not Dark Enough - The glass block window in the shower gets early morning sunlight and places it squarely on your face - at least in the side of the hotel I was on. You can close the bathroom door, but even with the shade drawn the door has opaque slats and more light than I would like enters the room..

Noisy - I was near the stairwell and maid stand. It was a bit noisy in the morning and combined with the light woke me up almost every day. I don't know what they were doing out there but it was really annoying.

No balcony - I like to sit outside in the cool air and relax sometimes. Also, I don't smoke and like to have any overnight guest use the balcony if they prefer to do so.

Overall
Other than those annoyances, I was quite happy with the hotel and friendly staff. The location can't be beat. I'd definitely ask for a room further down the hall on the other side the next time around though.

[Hoot]

If you're one of the four people reading this thread, by now you know my standard M.O. for the day was to walk around, explore, and snap a few photos.

Not much sparked my interest other than how unusually quiet it was compared to visits in peak season. I thought I even heard crickets at one point while walking down beach road, but it was just the sound of the free lancers rubbing their legs together as I passed by.

Did I Mention I Hate Bugs?
When I got back to the hotel I took a look out my window to find wasps or hornets, I really don't know the difference between the two, had busily been building nests in both corners of my balcony. I considered calling down to the front desk, but thought this explanation might require lots of hand signal, me flapping my arms, wagging my butt, and making buzzing sounds. So I headed downstairs, did my best bee impression and got some help.

They sent me back up with one of the bell boys who proceeded to grab one of those soft brooms they use to clean your rooms from the nearby maids cart. I couldn't help but think this was not going to go well. He didn't speak English, so my attempts to persuade him fell on deaf ears. Besides, who am I to stop potential genius in the works.

He slid the door open, took a swat and hopped back inside. He did this two or three more times before I was able to stop him. That broom wasn't doing anything but making them mad, and they were swarming the door. Next he heads back to the maid cart and grabs some sort of spray bottle. I'm not sure what he was thinking, maybe that they would go away once they had a bath.

I stopped him before I had a room full of angry hornets and he got both himself and me stung...needless to say I changed rooms.

[petesie]

Highly entertaining read me old mate...

Can you please come clean the coffee off my screen...

[BigTel]

The Pattaya Air Force still flying priceless Hoot

[Hoot]

Return To C&D

I had a great time last visit to Phuket and I was anxious to get to Cocktails & Dreams and get the night started. The clock ticked by ever so slowly as I waited to head down to the bar. I headed out about 9pm and was hoping things were already getting started.

When I arrived things were just getting rolling. Most of the staff had arrived, but more than a few notable faces wouldn't show up till later. I looked around the bar and was the only customer.

I grabbed a seat at the bar and nobody paid me much interest. This was OK with me as I never find getting pounced upon by a hoard of ladyboys asking for drinks all that welcoming.

A few girls stopped by and said they remembered me from my last visit, which was only 4 days almost two years ago. They remembered me as Donut's boyfriend - which wasn't the case, but I knew what they really meant. I had been smitten that trip for sure.

I can't recall who it was, maybe Kitty, told me I had gotten more pum puey since my last visit. Why I not go to gym and exercise? I might be offended back home. "Welcome back Hoot, my how fat you've gotten since I last saw you." But for some reason I enjoyed the honesty, though it might have bruised my fragile ego a bit.

Besides she was speaking the truth and I knew it. I'd added about 20 pounds in the last two years, about 30 pounds over my old fighting weight. This was not the first or last time I'd hear about it either. I'd be hitting the gym hard on my return home that's for sure.

[Hoot]

As the night got on a bit, Nookie spotted some easy prey from across the room and gave me a big smile. She soon came and joined me for a drink or two. She's as beautiful and feminine looking in person as she is in her pictures. She also has great English skills and a funny, quirky personality.

[Hoot]

Most of the girls in C&D enjoy having their pictures taken and I also don't mind buying a few drinks for the girls as the night goes on.

That being said, I took a picture of Nuoy, who is Nookies BFF. She posed for the picture then came over and told me I had to buy her a drink now in a not so friendly manner. This of course rubbed me the wrong way, I knew then that we would never be BFFs too.