[Cr33pin]

I have been reading nothing but good things about Bangkok on here. Im in China just a jump, hop an skip away an im pretty much planning a trip there after my 30 days are up here.

My question is, would the bombings an current situation over there stop any of you guys from checking it out?

[Aliblahba]

   

Hahaha. Hey, who's in BKK right now? There is such a thing as a "free lunch" after all. Woohoo!!!!

[Vacancier Permanent]

ahahahaahah...awesome stuff Ali-B!
But gotta check a couple of things: how much is the first drink and b) it's not an old hag or a lady boy performing the BJ. Damn, I'd love to be in BKK now to report back on this....

[Vacancier Permanent]

Richie,
Thank you so much for sharing this info on getting aparts in BKK. I wish I had that info when I was living in BKK last year. Needless to say I'm going to save it for when I return there. Did you had good luck with shorter rentals 3 months or less?

(02-15-2012 07:01 AM)RichieP Wrote:  

Apartments in Bangkok

Been intensively apartment hunting in BKK here. It's all pretty confusing at first but I've figure it out now...Here's the resources I've found really useful:

Finding Serviced Apartments

As someone mentioned, the SoiDB site (http://www.soidb.com) is perfect for finding serviced apartments - e.g. apartments for stays of a few months, usually with some level of cleaning included, rented through a property management business that means you are fairly sure of getting your deposit back.

Unserviced apartments and Condos are better value, but have some disadvantages:

-All seem to need at least a 6-month lease. This can be negotiated, some will do shorter rentals.

-You will be dealing with the landlord, or going through a real estate agent. From what I've heard both options are notoriously dodgy for getting your deposit back. Landlords can pull all kinds of stuff and it may take a visit to the police with original documents to get your money back. Which may be impossible if you're flying out after.

Agencies are not much better - plenty of people still have trouble despite the "protection" the agency offers, which is really nothing. One person told me that some take a chunk of the deposit as comission from the landlord behind your back, then fob you off after you've left the country.

The Answer: Serviced apartments. They are leased directly by the company that owns the building, who are much less likely to cheat you and tarnish their reputation, as opposed to agencies who can pass the blame to the landlord. So, use agencies to find serviced apartments, and sign directly with the serviced apt.

Great site for finding them:
http://www.soidb.com


How it all works, renting in Thailand (this company's site is falling apart, but their FAQ is golden):
http://www.bangkokapartmentsforrent.com/Faq.html

And here's another nice breakdown of serviced apartments in BKK, with a note of a couple of dodgy ones.
http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_gu...gkok_.html

Here's an awesome map of EVERY apartment and condo in BKK. This Kobayashi agency serve mainly Japanese, but are on top of their game. They also rate every place. Click on any to get a summary and you can translate the description in Google Translate.
http://www.kobayashi.co.th/Thaigo/sukhum...humvit.htm


Using an agency to find serviced apartments: They charge the serviced apartments a fee to list. You tell the agency your budget, they give you a list of available places to visit for free. They make their money from a listing fee. You sign the contract with the serviced apartment directly.


What I'm doing is finding places on SoiDB and using agencies to suggest places for my budget. For each place I find on SoiDB I google "(name of place) kobayashi" to find a rating and description from that japanese agency. Then I'm contacting/visiting the apartments and when I settle on one I'll sign with the apartment.


Making sure you get your deposit back:
http://www.apartmentbangkok.net/viewarticle.asp?id=112

I emailed the guy who write that and he said most of the problems in that article dont come up with serviced apartments. He added the following:

"Just make sure that you get letter head receipts for everything and you'll be fine. If you notice any obvious defects or damages in the unit when you move in, you should get these noted also to avoid any risk of having to take responsibility for these when you move out."


Hope that clarifies things for anyone looking for a pad in this awesome but confusing city

[RichieP]

My pleasure! Yeah found quite a lot of serviced apts that will do 1month+. The soiDB site is good and tells you the minimum periods for each.

They are more expensive than 6-month landlord rentals, but Im more than happy to pay that to ensure I get my deposit back, and regular cleaning is gonna be most welcome I am sure.

I'm at the Waterford now, they asked minimum 3 months but accepted 2.5. Also a tiny 10k deposit which is perfect. Another one that looked GREAT but a bit of a walk from the BTS was "38 Mansion" in Thong Lor. Think they were 1 month+. Insanely nice big and cheap rooms... but I'm pretty happy with the Waterford because although expensive, they have a great weightlifting gym (squat rack, olympic barbells, benches, heavy DBs, T-Bar). not to mention muay thai bags + boxing ring(!) which might tempt me to take lessons.

[RichieP]

As an aside, this is the gym you get free with the Waterford at soi 30:

If you stay somewhere else and wanna join, it's very cheap at 1500 baht a month for 3 months now, and it wipes the floor with CaliforniaWoW / ShitnessFirst:

http://www.balancehealthclub.com/

[Vacancier Permanent]

Richie,
Thanks for providing more valuable info. How much are you paying at the Waterford? How much was the 38 Mansion in Thong Lor? The deal at the gym is smoking!

Thanks man!

[RichieP]

Im paying 33000 at Waterford, they wanted 35000. Expensive, but it's a corner-apartment with good amount of space, two balconies, 9th floor out of 10 with good view. I got greedy when I saw it and jumped for it...it's actually too big if anything, probably should have settled on a standard. They had decent standard 1-bedroom apts for 30000, and studios for 26000 (these were pretty small). Even with what I'm paying though - it's no more than you'd pay nightly for a hotel, and you obviously get way more for your money (living room + kitchen).

38 Mansions had studios for 19000, good-sized 1-bed apartments for 24000, and huge ones for 28000. Deposit was 1 month. I think the huge ones were 80 sq meters or something crazy, with a sick view. They had a token pool (i.e. small and not very deep), and fitness room with just enough for a workout (adjustable barbell+dumbells, bike+treadmill, and a bowflex type-thing). It's maybe 8-900m from the BTS, but they actually have a "car service" (i.e. golf buggy) on call to drive you down for free when you need to go.

38 Mansions was the best value I saw. I saw a few that were cheaper but were definitely more dingy, smaller with very little light and further from BTS. Another guy pm'd me saying he took "House on the Pond", which was another place I wanted to check out but settled on Waterford before viewing it.

I'd probably take a studio if I was just here to party for a month. I like to work in the living room though, keeps me in a better headspace when my bed isnt in visible proximity, hehe.

[Vicious]

I had a room on airbnb rented foor my upcoming trip on Waterford Diamond just last week, then out of nowhere a superfly apartment at soi 38 opened up (von Napa). I figured having a pad just next to the food market would be a definitive plus so I cancelled Waterford and rebooked at 38. Shame about the superb gym at Waterford but the surrounding area there looked real dead.

[RichieP]

I wouldnt say dead... it's just between BTS stops. Can walk to supermarkets, clubs, Skytrain stations (Thong Lor and Phom Phrong) no problem.. well, until it gets unbearably hot, at least! And taxis are dirt cheap anyway.

A place on 38 next to food stalls is definitely good. Food is so good and cheap there, and open late. You're also right next to the BTS.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Sounds good Richie. would you be able to post pics of the inside of the crib you're staying at in BKK? I might be interested in staying in the same area when I return there.
Vicious,
how long are you in BKK?

[Vicious]

I'll be in Bkk for "only" 10 days. Not all that long but I got work projects running at good so...

[AlphaTravel]

I've been living in Bangkok for a little while now, I'll get some datasheets and nightlife information up soon.

[AlphaTravel]

Ok so I just started a new thread on BKK nightlife. It's such a big post I thought better to give it a new thread. Would link to it but can't as need to make 10 posts before sharing links.

Anyone interested in pipelining info in BKK as I can give plenty of info on that? Have used online social networking and dating sites with great success . Let me know and I'll throw a thread up. Data sheet to follow too when I have more time.

[DVY]

How much thai does a tourist need? Can you get by on just english or are you going to be suffering at night?

If so, what common phrases would you recommend learning?

[20Nation]

(11-25-2012 01:06 AM)DVY Wrote:  

How much thai does a tourist need? Can you get by on just english or are you going to be suffering at night?

If so, what common phrases would you recommend learning?

You don't need anything other than English, although it does get a bit frustrating at times. All I know is Sawadee Kup (Hello) and Kup Kuhn Kup (Thank you)

[Asaxon]

It definitely scores points to know a bit of Thai but if you stay around Sukhumvit and the tourist areas you are fine with English... I know exactly 3 phrases

[DirectDanger]

You don't need to know more than a few thai phrases just to be polite. You do need to learn Thai-english.

The thai language does not have many of the words we use in english like (is, the, etc..) so it can be easier for them to understand what you are saying if you leave it out.

Don't say: How much is the papaya?
Say: How much papaya?

Don't say: So what is your name?
Say: what your name?

You will feel retarded saying it like that because you know that it is not proper english but they will be able to understand you much better.

[RichieP]

I just cant bring myself to use Thai-glish. I'd rather be an indignant englishman and make everyone confused. You're totally right, but it just reminds me too much of the sexpats who've been here too long. Like the 60 yr-old westerner trying to get his terrified Isaan village girlfriend to step on the escalator at the mall:

" I say 1, 2, 3, you move foot. Ok! 1,2,3... put foot put foot! very good na"

[Teddykgb]

(11-26-2012 11:22 AM)DirectDanger Wrote:  

You don't need to know more than a few thai phrases just to be polite. You do need to learn Thai-english.

The thai language does not have many of the words we use in english like (is, the, etc..) so it can be easier for them to understand what you are saying if you leave it out.

Don't say: How much is the papaya?
Say: How much papaya?

Don't say: So what is your name?
Say: what your name?

You will feel retarded saying it like that because you know that it is not proper english but they will be able to understand you much better.

I find myself talking to the girls on skype like this and its not because I try to. I think just after listening to them so much Im starting to ruin my own english.

[TopPanda]

Bangkok and Thailand's been done to death. Even the "done time in a Thai jail" niche is saturated if the shelves of Asia Books is anything to go by. But I'll add my observations anyway...

I've been in Bkk for 6 weeks now after spending 4 months in China.

Bkk was way different to what I'd imagined. It's fairly clean (well cleaner than China), the air is good and the place is pretty darned modern.

The food here is amazing and as an older guy I'm getting to appreciate good food even more than women.

Street food is good but the cheapest food is to be had in shopping mall food courts, like Pier 21 in Asok (inside the Terminal 21 shopping mall). Pad Thai is 30 baht there, and it's made in front of your eyes.

One thing I'll point out is that Thailand isn't dirt cheap these days - 47 baht to the UK pound kind of sucks. The only thing that's really cheap here is accommodation - I'm paying 10000 baht a month for a long stay hotel room which isn't bad. By all means flame me and say I can get cheaper but I'm living in a good part of town and didn't have to sign a 6/12 month contract.

Beer is expensive here. The BTS is expensive. Also with only 2 lines, the BTS hardly goes anywhere, and road transport sucks due to the traffic.

Thai girls are nice and friendly. There aren't as many 9's or 10's here as there were in China.

Bar fining is also expensive these days, so if you're here long term then use your game to get it for free.

The downside is that many girls here are full/pt hookers - not really a problem if you're looking at a short term romance but I'd say this is probably not a good place to find a wife (China would be better). Some guys find good Thai brides, but look at Stickman Bangkok and there are tens of thousands of stories of woe.

If you're coming here short term, then just find a bar girl or hit the clubs.

I've found that "good" Thai girls are hard to meet because so many work 6 days a week. The solution - 7 different girlfriends who have different rest days!

Also good girls will ask you a million questions to make sure you're not a monger or one of the low life farangs here who have no job and no money.

As to safety, lots of farangs die here but I crunched some numbers and you cut your risk by 33% just by not getting on a motorbike or going in the sea. 96% of the farang exits I looked at took place outside of Bkk. Phuket and Pattaya are way more dangerous for a farang.

I've got by with speaking no Thai whatsoever. Many people speak some English. Even the taxi driver from the airport spoke English. But learning Thai is useful for impressing girls, plus you can get a cheap(ish) ED visa if you want to stay here long time.

[htown]

I'm going to be in Bangkok this weekend can anyone recommend where to stay? Is Kao San Road over-hyped? Also if anyone wants to meet up let me know.

[WanderingSoul]

Disregard most of what I wrote early in this thread.

Definitely hadn't discovered much of the "second Bangkok" yet.

[Vicious]

(09-30-2013 06:09 AM)RioNomad Wrote:  

Disregard most of what I wrote early in this thread.

Definitely hadn't discovered much of the "second Bangkok" yet.

That begs the question of what you have discovered.

[Sp5]

What is this "second Bangkok" you speak of? Thong Lor? Ramkhamkeang? South of the river?