Chapter One; Drifting out of the woods
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Its been a long break since my last report and glad i am getting back on the rhytm of mongering.

My never ending work schedule got me in these God forgotten lands of the middle east to start my trip and it was surreal trying to get my flights line up to go to Bangkok. the airport in Bahrain is very modest considering this is an oil rich country. was at the airport in the wee hours of the morning and though tired as hell very happy to get my journey going.



Took an Oman Air flight that had to make a stopover/transfer in Muscat, this airport was a little step up from the previous one and funny i saw in the terminal an arab version of McDonalds, quite amusing.



flight was uneventful and very comfortable, not a full plane so i had couple of seats for myself!!!



Arrival in bangkok was on time and no problems clearing customs/inmigration, right away was on my way to the city line train station to get to my hotel. this is a big help and saves a lot of money; unless you have a ton of luggage, so in that case it would be better to take a taxi. in case of doubts, at the ticket vending machines you would see a map showing how to get to town.



skytrain took me to the Phaya Tai station ( can beat it at THB 45= ) and then on to nana station to get to my hotel. I've been at the Royal Asia lodge before and this time it was a bad experience. it has now a new management and sad to say the hotel going downhill, what they advertise is not entirely true, among these problems were bad wifi, tv problems and breakfast service horrible. I won't stay here anymore.



The hotel room was ok at first glance but the problems i found came out later on.



I wanted to get a little relax and no better way to head for the infamous "Lolitas" BJ bar, right off soi 8 and just before the Sukhumvit crown hotel. had this short but energetic thai honey that took all my initial stress away.

Photo: Energetic - Lolitas 01

The inital days i kind of just relax and got my body to normal levels. saw that lolitas was always busy during daylights hours and made my rounds to the landmark Heidelberg hotel for some tasty breakfast and at times enjoying thai noddles.



One of the first venues i took a look was the renamed Nana entertainment plaza, it was busy and one thing i noticed is the higher number of katoeys hanging on the 2nd floor, close to the casanova bar, not my cup of tea at all.



One new outlet that changes money is Super rich, giving good rates, also start using a BTS skypass, good idea if crisscrossing town. got me not just one Sim card but two, got me a TRUE and one AIS Sim cards to test which one is better. i realize i got better results with the AIS Sim card and got to used it longer time for my calls. another matter i got out of the way right away in the initial days was to go to the Samitiviej hospital, specially to the eye clinic to check my eyes and get new sets of glasses. this is just superb service and much more affordable than back home.



Is sad that this hotel is going bad and hope it mend ways and comes back up again. finally saw the empty lot in front of the Crown hotel been built (probably another fancy hotel), took a peak at soi cowboy during daytime and at the biergarten on soi 7 for day time fun. one sad reality was to find the demise of J1 massage parlor and chavala massage. chavala is gone altogether and a new building stands there, J1 is just closed up and closed, waiting for the demolition team. i had good times at both places and sorry to see their demises.



The one massage parlor not doing well was Chaophya 2 sauna and massage, poor selection and not worth to spend a bath there.



One bright time was this Happy massage business close to the Central World mall. for THB 1,800 i had a sweet time with this cute mini sren named Oi, truly gifted chick. afterwards, the Central World mall gave me some relaxation.



Photos: Oi - Happy Massage 02 03 04



The other night venues are looking good, patpong was with a acceptable crowd and one funny bar on the japanese bars was this godzilla figure outside the place. in nana the one that is always a good choice is angelwitch, specially its shows.



There is this not too fancy thai-chinese restaurant close to Robinsons that has some mean duck and rice meals, quite a treat, also Robinsons food court is a convenience for quick asian food dishes.



Another landmark for my memories is the City lodge hotel and the MBK mall is an amazing place to go shopping.



One night spot that is increasingly going for the japanese clientele is soi cowboy, it looks to me a big tourist trap for those with big pockets. only exception i saw is the crazy horse a gogo bar. here you see the girls in their birthday suits. how long this is going to last??? money and the cops got the answer for this.



I found this irish or british pub that offer good breakfast. is on sukhumvit road and has a good choice of liquors for all taste.



I didn't spend many days in Bangkok and decided to try this new bus service to/from Bangkok-Pattaya. can't recall the exact prices but if you don't want to deal but public transportation and would like a door to door service, this is it!!! still it has reasonable rates and service is very proffesional and courteous.

Bell Travel Service
Bangkok: 084-427-4608, 02-747-4675-6
Pattaya: 084-427-4607, 038-370-055
www.belltravelservice.com
email:reservation@belltravelservice.com



I was picked up in front of my hotel, took my last breakfast and left with no regrets fading the Royal Asia Lodge off my memory bank.

Good day mates;
had a problem trying to upload a couple of videos of nana plaza, they just wouldn't go through so sad but i had to put some other pics. my apologies for the snafu!!!

MarcoPolo///

Great memories.

Did you go before summer 2015?

Spellbound is now Bangkok Bunnies from your nana photos.

i hadn't heard about the J1 closure. that place was great about 15 years ago. from roughly 2008-2010, i had a regular girl there but the vast majority of the gals were not looking good. the maids at my apartment show up to clean at 1:30pm each day, so on the days i wanted my room cleaned, i'd text this girl and meet her at J1. then she moved to norway.

i've never eaten at robin hood but i know a couple guys that love the breakfast (good price/quality). i tend to make my own breakfast.

on tues night this week, cowboy closed at midnight. and that even included crazy house which is typically not bound by the 'rules'.

great report, set up like we used to do them years ago.

ps. i eat dinner a couple times a month at the american bar and grill right across from lolita's. can just get a glimpse of it in the photo.

(Message edited by buick on March 03, 2016)

Buick;
I did used to go to J1 on a regular basis and the place is CLOSED!!! gate shut and kind of boarded up, at a distance saw the building shut. what can i say. the old chavala massage is totally gone and now a kind of office building is in its place. Old Bangkok is been face out little by little.
That robin hood place was casual discovery and the breakfast is ok but the pub is very active at nights.
to me and not a final authority on the matter by any means, Crazy horse a gogo is the top bar now in soi cowboy, it truly reminds me the way most of the bars used to be in nana.cowboy ages ago.