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khagai

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khagai last won the day on October 30 2014

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  1. Charoen Pharmacy (on Sukhimvit between Soi 4 and Soi 2-- its the big pharmacy, sell Apcalis (pk of 4, 20 mg - 400 baht). They also sell Sidegra, the Thai brand of Viagra (pk of 4, 100 mg -- 180 baht, that is standard govt. price, no additional "service charge"). They also have Kamagra, Indian viagra, and Pfizer viagre (the US stuff) at various prices.
  2. I have been eating street food for years. Start with the soup, it's hot and everything is cooked. It's called kwaiteow, then you tell the person if you want small rice noodles (sen lek) or large rice noodle (sen yai) or egg noodles (a little larger than angel hair pasta -- baamee). Then you should know if the noodle shop specializes in which kind of meat: chicken (gai--not really common); duck (phet), in which case you will get a little duck meat: pork (moo), in which case you have a choice (and you can mix and match) of pork meatballs (luukchin moo- not like our meatballs), moo sap (minced pork) or moo mang (sliced pork): beef (neua, same selections as pork), of fish (luukchin baa (fish) and the broth may be a standard broth or yen ta foo. There are also different kinds of broth available, but start out with the standard broth. The soup is NOT spicy, and usually what makes good kwaiteow is the broth, some will be sweeter, some less, and very popular places guard their broth secret. No one will agree on what is good kwaiteow or good som tam, just like with farangs there is no agreement as to what is a good hamburger or a good pizza, everyone has their own taste and opinion. To follow up on an earlier poster, yes, don't eat at end of day if you think certain foods have been out in the sun. Also, in this same vein, if you are going to try som tam at a street vendor, be aware of a couple of things. First there is som tam thai, which is the shredded papaya, carrots,peanuts, dried shrimp, peppers and usually a tiny crab for a salty taste with a sauce in a mortar and pestle (I won't go through the Danny Kaye routine). First I would lose the crab, it tends to sit in the sun all day, doesn't do a whole lot for the flavor anyway, and I have had a lot of friends (Thai and farang) get sick from it. Second, you can specify how many peppers (a rule of thumb, one met (the way you order peppers), relatively mild but a farang will taste it, 3 met -- medium, if you are not used to Thai food, this will be hot to you, and 5 met or more, hot, even for a Thai). The other style of som tam is som tam baa laa which is an Isaan specialty, it has approximately the same as above and baa laa is added. Baa laa is an anchovie paste and is very salty and (too many) fishy tasting. Personally, I don't care for it, however if you like anchovies on your pizza, you will probably like baa laa. Also be aware, most places that make som tam have two mortar and pestles, one for som tam thai and one for baa laa, because if you only have one, the baa laa flavor will linger in the pestle and affect the taste of som tam thai. Some/many of the street vendors only use one, and the flavor can get contaminated. Anyway, good luck in your street tastings--be adventurous, odds are heavy that you will NOT get sick, just use your good judgment.
  3. I would go to the Asavanant Dental Clinic on the corner of Thonglor and Sukhimvit www.asavanant.com/ It is across the street from the Thonglor BTS station. A few years ago, I cracked a first molar in half below the gum line, and cracked the 2nd molar as well during the Songkran holiday. So, the above-mentioned clinic was closed for 4 days. I was in pain so I went to the Bumrungrad Clinic. The dentist who met me there, examined me an walked me through what treatment might be needed (possible root canal, gum and bone surgery if I wanted to save the first molar and do an inlay or cap, the long prep for the cap on the second molar). I asked her if I should do it starting now at Bumrungrad, or wait for my regular dentist. She asked who my dentist was, and I mentioned the Asavanant Clinic, she looked around and said, do it at Asavanant, they are more skilled, have a larger staff and better facilities, and they had their own lab, so I wouldn't have to go through temporary caps and wait a few weeks for the permenants. After preparation, usimg Cerec methodology and equipment, they would measure the required cap, generate NC files to their lab downstairs and cut the cap or inlay, and I would have it in my mouth 20 minutes late, permanently, no return visit. She also mentioned that she moonlighted there 2 days a week and that was how she could attest to their quality. Everything she said basically came to fruition except I did not need the root canal. Also, they helped me write up a letter describing the dental emergency so that I could submit it to my dental insurance back in USA (they covered almost the entire amount) which was close to $1,000 (this included 2 sessions of gum and bone surgery and all the restoration work). I showed the work to my dentist at home and he said between himself and associated apecialists it would have run me about $5,000 back in USA, with the insurance picking up a much lesser share. He was also jealous of the Cerec system they had as he said he would love to have one but they cost $500,000, and only the University (huge famous dental school) had one. Their clinic has a small store front, but as soon as you go up the elevator it spreads out to several large floors of patient and operating rooms. They also use it as a teaching dental hospital with large observation rooms--you will be impressed at the size and the equipment. Most of their staff have dental degrees from US or English universities, and they have a variety of specialists onsite 7 days a week. You can look at their website and they go through their procedures, including implants (what you are interested in). They all speak English They used to have their pricing on the website as well but I haven't checked lately. You can pay via credit card as well. They take appointments and fit in walk-ins as best they can.
  4. I have often bought the sidegra from charoen pharmacy as well at govt. price of 180 baht x 100mg pill. However, in responding to how effective they are, I will throw in my 2 cents. First of all, I am older, need the pills because of other drug interactions, circulatory issues, etc.--I am not in my 20's, 30's, 40's , etc. and using the pills simply so I can go 5 times a day. Second, I have had a prescription in USA for many years for real Pfizer viagra, and it works great. However, thanks to Obamacare and other govt. BS, my insurance no longer copays for Viagra or Cialis or Levitra or Stendra since it refers to them as lifestye drugs. The price for any of these is skyhigh. I agree with former post saying the Sidegra has same ingredients, but my body does not react the same or as well to the sidegra, i.e., it doesn't work as well at the same "dosage" level. I believe the active ingredient is there, but not in the dosage strength that the 100 mg pack indicates, but rather less. I did a little test, I still had a few real Pfizer viagra, and even though they were over a year old (i.e., out of potency), they produced much better results than Sidegra fresh from the pharmacy at the same dosage that I tried on a subsequent day. The other thing I noticed was that Sidegra did not produce the same side effects as the viagra pill: no heartburn (I always got heartburn from Viagra), no flushing (after all, sidenafil is a vasodilator), no occasional vision affects. I understand that the side affects could have been caused by inactive ingredients as well. So between the perceived lack of effectiveness and the lack of side affects, my conclusion is that the active ingredients may be the same, but the dosage in the Sidegra is less than advertised. I would not be the first time that Thai/Indian drug producers have skimped on the dosage to produce a cheaper generic as this happens outside the ED drug arena as well. I am curious if any other people have had similar experiences--and, really, don't need "it works great" from a lot of the younger guys, since you guys get a woody staring at whatever. But, how about some you other guys, interacting with high blood pressure medicine, arterioscelorisi, diabetic, overweight, whatever...how are they working for you in comparison with real viagra? On an aside, does anybody know how to get a drug tested for dosage accuracy, either in Thailand or elsewhere? Any labs or services do this without costing a fortune? Finally, does anyone know where I can get Levitra or generic (vardenafil) or Stendra (avanafil) in Thailand?
  5. First, a comment about an earlier post about the cost of Domino's in LOS being similar to US, no way. I live in the town where Domino's started (unfortunately)--a large pizza with 3 items is $7.99, or about 240 baht. Large in USA is larger than what they serve in LOS at the chain delivery places like Pizza House or Pizza Hut. The pizza cost here is much higher than that for the same amount. As for quality, Domino's is at best, mediocre, but still better than the 2 other delivery chains. You can do much better with eat-in or limited delivery, non-chain pizza places and restaurants in BKK (or Pattaya or Chiang Mai), but out in the provinces, there is not much else.. Another suggestion for good pizza is at the Cajun restaurant, Bourbon Street, on Ekkamai, about 200 meters/yards in from the intersection of Ekkamai and Sukhimvit. Has good sausage and medium crust.
  6. The park next to the Emporium has a basketball court over on the other side close to the condos/apts. There are pickup games there. Walk around the park, you can't miss it.
  7. I was on the new Airport Link yesterday to test it out (this is what you tell the taxi's if you want to go to one of there stations). First, there are 2 trains, the city train which stops at all stations at about the speed of the BTS. Timed it yesterday, Suvarnabhumi to Playathai, 30 minutes. Then there is the express which goes only from the Makkasan station to the airport (no stops) and really wings (I would guess at about 120 km/hour or more from what I saw). At Phayatai, after you arrive with the airport link, you walk down 2 floors and there is a walkway to the Phayathai BTS station at the level where you can buy your tickets for the BTS, so you don't really exit the transportation system. The Makkasan station is very close to the Phetburi MRT station, looks like about 200 yards/meters. Supposedly, they are building an underground walkway from the MRT station to the Airport Link lifts, but that is not done yet. Now you would exit one and walk street level to the other. Cost: right now there is a promotion on the "city train" which is 15 baht one way, get off wherever you want, so you can go one stop or all seven. Supposedly this promotion ends in December and the "city train" (the slow one) will be priced similarly to the BTS (i.e., 15 baht for the first station and then a rising graduated cost depending on how far you go). This train now (and I would guess in the future) is used by people who live in the outward bound "moo baans" much more than simply airport travelers, at least that it my evaluation of what I saw. The cost for the express (according to the ticket sellers) is 100 baht round trip. I did not take it. Supposedly (again), Thai Air is to have a way to check in at Makkasan and let the traveller to the airport unhindered by luggage. This does not apply for other carriers. Exit or entrance at the airport: If you go down to the first floor in Suvarnbhumi, at the furthest most public taxi stand (I want to say door 8, but I am not sure if those doors are number the same as the doors on the upper floors), you will see escalators going up and down, take the down escalator from the first floor and go down 2 floors and follow the signs to the airport link trains (a walk of about 100 meters/yards after you exit the escalators. For those of you with a lot of luggage, there are elevators as well. Opinions: I got on the airport link at one of the smaller stations (the one in Klong Tan, it is called Lamkamhaeng station),the BTS itself is higher than the normal BTS and escalator up is not wide, so if you have a lot of luggage, it's an issue. They do have an elevator as well. The trains have room for luggage beside all the entry doors, but when this train is used for normal commuting (which it is now and will be in the future, same as the BTS), the luggage space will be minimal. And where are you going--if you're a monger and are staying somewhere on lower Sukhimvit, either you go to Phayathai and switch to BTS and come back to say Nana (a pain in the ass if you have a lot of luggage, or you could get off at Makkasan, walk the 200 yards to Phetburi MRT, go to Asoke and Sukhimvit and go from there, or exit anywhere and take a taxi. IMHO, its good if you travel light or are a commuter and have to fly. If you have a lot of luggage (define this yourself), it is better to spend the extra couple hundred baht and get door to door service, especially in the rainy season. I look at it much more as an extension to the BTS. The station at Rachaprarop, IMHO, is much closer to Panthip and Pratunam (meaning you still have to walk a little) than going to say either Chitlom or Rachatewi and walking, and there are some decent short cuts to Rachada by going to Makkasan rather than taking the long way around. Anyway, these are my first impressions.
  8. MBK, which remained open during most of the red shirts protests, has now been closed for a few days. If you want shopping, Emporium was still open last time I went by. I am not sure about the place on Ratchada like Fortune, which I prefer over Panthip for coputer HW/SW, and further down, places like Esplanade. I would normally take either BTS to Asoke and MRT there, or a Taxi down Phetburi Road or Rama 9, but haven't ventured there recently.
  9. Went there today, had eleven dim sum plates, an order of stir fried vegetables vegetables, and chrysanthemum tea, bill 250 baht. Incidentally, the place is called Khrua Krungthep (Bangkok Kitchen), sorry, don't have Thai keyboard and have not memorized where all the Thai consonant and vowels are so I will abstain from writing it in Thai script. T
  10. Yes to all above, as you walk out of customs you will be inundated by people coming up to you saying "taxi", these are NOT taxis but unlicensed limo companies and they are much more expensive. If, for any reason, you want to take a limo, go to the TAT desk (Tourist Authority of Thailand desk) inside where you get your bags, they are the only truly licensed limo company, and are on par price-wise with the other unlicensed limo companies, but at least you can fully trust them. Anyway, back to the taxis. Look for the sign on floor 2 which says taxi stand, and follow it. This is where you get a metered taxi. You stand in line (maybe) and go to a desk first, the lady will ask where you are going, and will give you a sheet of paper and assign a driver to you (they are in a queue waiting for their turn). The rest of the info above is correct, except there is an additional 50 baht surcharge on the total metered price for the airport, so if the meter says 200 baht, you really owe the driver 250. If you go on the tollway, you will be expected to hand the money to the driver at each toll stop (the tolls are not added to the total price). If you don't have small change, the toll booth can make change so don't worry about it. If you are on business you can ask the driver for a receipt at each tollboth as well. Metered price to Nana is roughly 200+ baht, plus the 50 cent surcharge, plus the tollway charge, plus tip (obviously up to you), so with the meter/surcharge/tollway, you are up around or over 300 baht already--so, you might hear a fixed charge of 400 baht. This probably OK as long as all the charges are included (this includes a good tip as well). But, if you go fixed charge make sure the toll booth, and airport charge are part of the fixed charge. I also use a personal driver often because when I come I have a ton of luggage, sometimes a large golf carrier as well, and my driver has a minivan instead of a toyota corolla (99% of the taxis) so plenty of room for the luggage and much more leg room in the back seat. This is really handy during the rainy season as sometimes my bags are too large for the corolla trunks as many of them have the gas converters back there limiting the size of the trunk). I can insure than none of my stuff gets wet. He wants a bit more, but he also goes tomy GF's apartment first and picks her up late at night, and she is a little skittish traveling alone with an unknown person late at night.
  11. I think you are talking about the Seafood Market on Soi 24, has a big sign in front of it saying "If it swims, we have it". About a 7 -10 minute walk down from the Emporium. It is exactly that, a huge seafood market in which you can pick up and take home OR buy what you want and have it cooked for you in whatever style you like, and eat it there. Has a vegetable market and a wine market as well inside. Quite large and ample parking (if you live in BKK and happen to drive). Caters heavily to the Japanese, quality of the seafood is excellent and the seafood is very fresh. Is on the expensive side, but of course you can control the price by the selections you make, but if you like seafood and have esoteric tastes, not to be missed.
  12. Totally agree on Rut & Lek, great place, didn't really know the name but know the location well, great seafood and very, very reasonable. If we are discussing dim sum, one place I go to often (again don't know the name) is located roughly between the Ratchatewi and Playathai BTS stops. Ratchatewi is the stop in front of the Asia Hotel. If you exit at Ratchatewi on the Asia side and walk up to Phetburi Road, cross it, then the dim sum restaurant is about another 200 yards/meters up. Not small, maybe seats about 100 people, never seen another farang in the place. Each plate was 15 baht, and a large choice of dim sum as well as larger thai dishes and seafood. It has always been very crowded each time I have gone. Dim sum is excellent as well as the chrysanthemum tea. The place is an easy 15 minute walk to Panthip as well.
  13. Disagree on the distance. I have walked back to Soi Cowboy from Baan Kanitha many, many times after a large meal, and it is only about 15 minutes. you are about 5 minutes from the small shopping center that has the Chok Chai steak house, and from there about 10 minutes to SC. On the down side, the sidewalk meanders and there is often sidewalk construction, so you have to watch your step. However, if you are going out in dress clothes or with business associates or on a "date", I do not recommend the walk. Getting there can be a hassle from lower Suk. or upper Suk, because either you go through the Asoke intersection or come back down and have to go through the Soi 24/Emporium/Soi 22 fiasco., so a lot of time wasted there. If you go there, and simply want a taxi to return home, the restaurant has people (similar to bellhops) to go get you a taxi and tell you when its ready, so don't worry about the return trip. By the way, nice pictures, making me starve.
  14. Excellent restaurant. I go there often. I have taken many Thai friends there as well, and to the person, they all thought the food was excellent. Love their soft shell crab in yellow curry (puu nim pad pong kuree)and for those of you who do not like the way Thai's serve fish, i.e., whole and you watch out for the bones, at Baan Kanitha, they debone the fish but in the presentation, serve it as if there were a whole fish there (but without bones). Anyway, people's taste differ, but totally agree with OP, excellent food, nice atmosphere, and IMHO also, much better than Bussacarum. They do have another location, but I have never tried it, only the Soi 23 location.
  15. I think you will find more English Breakfasts than American. While you can get decent bacon almost everywhere, good sausage (patty or links) are a bitch to find, as are good hash browns or american fried potatoes, and, if you are from the south, go whistle for grits. This being said, it has come to mind that Bourbon Street, in Washington Square, off of Soi 22 Sukhimvit has a pretty good American breakfast offering with good renditions of the the above-mentioned lacking offerings in most restaurants. However, that location, though of Sukhimvit, is not close to lower Sukhimvit (if that is where you are) and in the opposite direction from Pratunam. Here is a link to their website, you can download their breakfast menu: http://www.bourbonstbkk.com/ By the way, their cajun food is excellent, if that interests you at all.
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