30+ Days on Sukhumvit

I have now spent 30+ days in the Sukhumvit area and wanted to write up some of my experiences that might be helpful to other travelers.

I arrived in Suvarnabhumi airport and headed down to the bottom floor and found a money changer there with good rates. It was surprisingly close to what google was telling me the rate should be.

Then I went back up a couple of levels to the taxi stand. As expected there are random, shady looking men trying to entice you to use their service. Please ignore them. Walk to the authorized taxi booth, tell them where you are going, and they will hand you a slip. Then they will tell you which taxi to get into. There is probably 100 numbered stalls full of taxis, and you have to get to the one you are assigned. Hand the slip to the taxi driver and double check the destination. The taxis don’t take credit card. If you missed the money changer in the basement, you can withdraw from the ATMs located by the taxi booth. Probably lousy exchange rates and high fees, but you don’t need much for now.

The ride to my hotel (close to Nana plaza) took about 45 minutes? I think it was close to 400Baht? Sorry for the lack of accuracy - I was very tired after 30 hours of travel.

I stayed at the Hilton Double tree for 4 days, and started looking for cheaper accommodations on day 2. It was easy to find an acceptable hotel in the $50-60USD range. Go much lower than that and you may not like the room. I just walked around and stopped in at every place I saw. Sometimes it is cheaper to book on Agoda or Booking. Sometimes it is better to walk in and ask.

English/Irish pubs are everywhere, and I eat breakfast there 2-3 times a week. You can expect the wait staff to speak passable English. They are also open early and will put the game on the Telly. (Football, American football, Rugby, MMA, whatever). My favorite (O’sheas) was packed during the Super Bowl. Mostly Brit’s and aussies.

Thai breakfast is fantastic. Most places serve stir fried basil chicken with rice and an easy fried egg on top. Sometimes I get pork, or garlic spicing, etc.. 180 Baht? So good.

There are scams, but it’s SO EASY to spot you would never fall for them. Tuk Tuk drivers will yell as they drive by, promising all-day fares of 50 baht. Their story will change when you are far from home. Random men will approach me and mention how lucky I look and try to start a conversation. It’s not hard to avoid.

Someone is always trying to get your attention. Motorcycle taxi drivers asking if you need a ride, Rolex-watch hawkers promising “real” and “authentic”. Legit massage parlor women, sitting on stools will look up from their phones and offer you a rub. Not-so-legit massage parlor girls in the side alleys will promise much more. Freelance women and ladyboys using outrageous and sometimes intrusive methods to start a conversation. I suggest you practice saying “another time, thanks” in Thai. The politeness of it lets them know you are not interested without being offensive.

ATM cash withdrawals are not terrible, but it helps to raise your limit before you leave home. I have exclusively been to yellow (Krungsri) ATMs. There is a flat fee of 220 Baht regardless of how much you take. So it makes sense to get as much as you can in one go. I get 20000 Baht (roughly $600USD) at a time. Still only a 220 Baht fee. That is 1%? Not bad. Now is the tricky part: they will offer that THEY do the dollar to baht conversion, with a nicely written explanation that is pure bullshit. Hit DENY. The transaction still goes through and you don’t pay $30USD of conversion fees.

7-11 is everywhere, and is fantastic. Everything is cheap. And it has a large selection of daily needs. I suggest you stop in on day 1 and grab a bottle of water for 9Baht and just look around. I purchase lots of 20-30Baht packs of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and peanuts. They are quite satisfying if you wake up at 2 AM and just need something to crunch on.

The elevated train (BTS) is easy, fast, and cheap. If your destination is more than 2 stops away I suggest using the BTS. My current hotel is close to Phrom Phong, and I ride the BTS to Asok and Nana. That way I am not sweaty when I arrive. You can get a rechargeable Rabbit card which you load up with cash and then just scan your way through the entry and exit gates. Each time it tells you your remaining balance. Don’t forget - you need your Passport when you purchase the card! A couple stops is 30 baht? The card itself cost 100Baht. I handed them a 500Baht bill, resulting in 400 baht of ride credits.

I pay to have my laundry done. 100-150Baht per kilo. A weeks worth of clothes is roughly 4 kilo. You can also find laundry mats just on the street. Usually 4 washers and 4 dryers, 40 baht for a load to wash and 40 to dry. Very cheap if you don’t mind sitting outside and reading a book.

Poor English is spoken by most, but just enough to handle the immediate task. Taxi drivers only understand destinations. Hoteliers only understand checkin and checkout. I recommend learning Thai numbers well, as you will need to confirm pricing a lot. I cannot understand most of the prices they speak to me, so I have to say it back in Thai and get confirmation. Saying it in English doesn’t help. Fortunately everyone has been patient with me! My Thai is getting better but it’s much slower going than all of the euro languages I’ve spoken.

All the big language apps suck at Thai. They are trying to use the same framework to teach Thai as they do for a language that uses the common euro/english alphabet. It appears that to truly understand the language you must learn the Thai alphabet. But I DONT want to truly understand. I just need enough to get by. The most useful I have found is “learn Thai with Mod” and Banana Thai on YouTube. Good luck.

Lek massage is a common legit massage business. I pick the grumpy-looking older woman and get a Thai massage which is all muscle-stretches and contortionist torture. My back never felt so good. Especially after being on a plane for so long? Fantastic.

I have been frequenting the Japanese Izakaya restaurants? It’s similar to Spanish tapas. Cold beer and many small plates of good food. A nice change of pace from all the noodles and rice.

The weather? it’s hot. Every day. I have begun to operate on my “desert schedule”. This is where you get out early in the morning and get your shopping and exploring done before it gets hot. Then head back to the hotel and nap through the hottest hours. Then out again in the evening for dinner and entertainment. I cannot imagine wearing denim here ever. Even my light synthetic travel pants are too hot. I wear my collared shirts more often than T-shirts just to keep the sun off of my neck.

Benchakitti park is lovely. You can enter via Soi4 and Soi10. It’s cool due to all the water and shade. I suggest getting out in the morning for your morning run/walk/bike ride. A real quiet natural treat compared to the noisy concrete that is Bangkok.

One last comment: familiarize yourself with wonders, trials, and tribulations of “the bum gun” before you get here. Decorum prevents further enumeration on this topic.