sydneyjohn57

Citrus Hotel Bangkok Sukhumvit Soi 13 has both !!

Welcome Bob and thanks for the great report. I personally haven't had any trouble with child pick pockets or beggars in the general area but then again I likely look as though I don't have 2 peso to rub together. Agree that traffic in Manila is absolute nightmare and I try to arrange travel around public holidays there which lessens the agony a bit

I was going to pop in tomorrow night so will now leave it until the following day. Enjoy the day out.

Recently all the hotels I have stayed at only supply soap for the hand basin and for the shower or the bath they supply a mini bottle or tube of gel. I find I can never really get a lather up with the gel as by the time you pour it into your hand and apply to the body the water from the shower has washed most of it out of your hand and if you try to lather up in your hands and then try to apply to body it again washes away unless you step out of the shower stream. So now i have taken to bringing a long handled scrubbing brush, pour the gel into it then scrub away which lathers up fine or buy a cake of soap at 7/11 and take it with me. First world problem I know but good hotels at least should give a choice. Old man's rave over and out

Rainy Sunday in Phuket with temperature around 32C. Arrived Thursday evening after plane delayed in KL by an hour. Was on way to metered taxi rank when 2 South African backpackers asked if I wanted to share their taxi from another taxi booth so agreed and cost me THB330 to Patong which I found quite reasonable. Driver was an interesting chap to say the least very talkative at first .. a Muslim from James Bond Island where he commutes each day who hates Chinese tourists, also thought he was a race car driver weaving in an out of traffic and I couple of times I thought I was gone as I was in front passenger death seat..... glad to finally arrive!!! C&N Hotel is an older hotel and only 2 minutes from Bangla Rd. Internet connection not too bad with a couple of slowish times. Water pressure is great but hot water can be warm on full (around 11am) or too hot when mix is 50/50 (around 8pm). Bangla Rd and surrounds has changed a lot in the 5 years since I was last here. Lots of bars gone or empty at midnight, touts everywhere trying to get you into a ping pong show or Russian girl show, lots of BB gun shooting booths and even an amusement machine parlour. I wandered around the bars on Thurs, Fri and last night. There are a few LBs working in some of the beer bars and some FLs on the streeet. Some of the massage parlours aound the area also have LBs working. I was sitting at the Moon Bar on Bangla which is one of the small bars open day and night and I chatted with a nice LB Kelly but as I had a bit to drink by then declined the invite for sex that night. She texted me a couple of times on Sat so I met up around lunch at the sister bar Moonshine and she was not quite as glamorous in the day as when I had beer goggles on the night before

Continued Guest laundromat Gym

Ramada Suites Kuala Lumpur City Centre Room Pool area

five/6 Hotel Splendour Singapore Lobby Room

Tuesday was spent looking around KL doing a few of the touristy things and followed with dinner at the Green Man Pub in Changkat Bukit Bintang having the ribs and vegies which was very nice. I was going to do a bit of a bar crawl however, they started a Pub Quiz and although I didn't officially play I stayed around until it finished by which time I had the wobbly boot on so headed back to hotel the long way around about 11pm and did not see any freelancers anywhere. Wednesday being Anzac Day I was back at the Green Man around 1pm and watched the Rugby League and the Aussie Rules matches that were on live. 6pm was nap time but as soon as I had dozed off drilling started a floor or 2 above me so that put paid to that. Went out agin at 9pm with dinner again in the bar/restaurant strip with a grilleld chicken dish at Loco's and 2 pints costing around RM85 (about A$28). Followed by a long walk aroung Jalan Bukit Bintang where finally I was approached by 3 different LBs none of which interested me, so declined the offers of being blown. On bothhh Tues & Wed nights I had both locals and Indian touts offering me girls for sex etc but did not see any GGs who appeared to be working so I think that lining up on Thai Friendly or similar may be the way to go in future. Currently sitting at KL airport awaiting flight to Phuket where I have booked in 4 nights at C&N. Airport in KL is about 65klm out of town and I took a Grab wich cost RM65 (approx A$21 which is same as bus fare from Sing to KL!!)

Prices in Singapore were quoted Singapore dollars(S$) which almost equate to Aussie dollar anyhow. No gymnastics as yet, I will post anything along those lines elsewhere in the forum.

The grand tour started on Friday flying Sydney to Singapore with Scoot at cost of A$289 including 20kg luggage and a meal. Only problem was I picked up a stomach bug a day before leaving and by time I got to hotel it became full blown diarrhea... great start to trip... so I stayed in on night one. I stayed at five/6 Hotel Splendour in Geylang. Hotel modern, clean and well priced for Singapore although does not have a restaurant or a bar. Excellent wifi. I will add some pictures at a later date. I had read online that Geylang Rd area was the red light area of Singapore and I was expecting something like Walking Street or Bangla Rd, but it is all run down, dirty -- rubbish bins overflowing, litter and full of Indians. Footpaths like obstacle paths weaving between tables and chairs of the many indian and chinese cafes. The only saving grace was food is incredibly cheap with most meals around S$5 and one chinese cafe could have a 610ml bottle of Carlsberg for S$6.50. One breakfast I had of omelete and hot tea was S$3.20 Due to my indisposition I didn't stay out late for any of the 3 nights and did not see any freelancers at all before 10pm. On Sunday had lunch at Clarke Quay to have some western food to placate the stomach where they wanted to charge S$15 for BLAT wrap and S$18 for a pint of tiger plus of course tax and service charge. Spoke with a NZer who said he found the beer price cheaper than the night club he was at night before!!!!! Monday (yesterday) caught bus to KL for S$20, took 7 hours incl 2 border breaks and 2 toilet breaks. Fairly comfortable with excellent roads. Traffic was good until hitting KL. I was lucky that I was able to hold out on needing to use the toilet at the breaks as they were squat toilets and in my condition I didn't want to have it all blowing everywhere : Staying at the Ramada in Bukit Bintang in a studio room, very large within 2 minute walk of Changkat Bukit Bintang which is full of restaurants and bars with meals and drinks at reasonable prices. Had grilled fish, salad and 2 pints of tiger for RM87 in one of the better restaurants as stomach is almost back to normal. Had another early night and the freelancers were only just starting to come out around 10pm and saw only one LB on Jalan Bukit Bintang. Stomach feels almost normal so will see what happens tonight. Admins I have started this report here as it is to be more of a general overview and as I am travelling through various countries some bits will fit into different categories... please feel free to move if need be

In last few days I have used Grab in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. The pick up and destination selections are excellent you can rely on the pin that has dropped onto the map or you only having to type in the first few characters of hotel or street address to bring up a drop down list. Once both are set it will bring up a price in local currency and once you select book that is the price paid... there is no additional meter charge. I have my credit card linked so it auto deducts, however, if you don't want to do that you can pay cash

https://www.smh.com.au/national/queensland/super-gonorrhoea-resistant-to-all-routine-antibiotics-found-in-australia-20180417-p4za4s.html Two people in Australia have been diagnosed with the “super gonorrhoea” infection recently reported for the first time, which has highlighted growing concerns about antibiotic overuse. A Queensland Health spokesperson on Tuesday confirmed two cases of gonorrhoea resistant to multiple antibiotics were detected in the past month; one in Queensland and one in Western Australia. Both cases were diagnosed after pathology tests and it is understood one of the cases acquired the infection while in south-east Asia. Investigations were continuing into the second case. Earlier this year, a UK man became the first person to be diagnosed with a case of gonorrhoea with “high-level resistance” to the latest dual-drug treatment for the STI. According to Public Health England, it was the first time a case had displayed such high-level resistance to both drugs and most other commonly used antibiotics. Cases of gonorrhoea resistant to one antibiotic almost tripled in the six months to February but Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendon Murphy said the latest cases were resistant to both commonly used antibiotics. “Drug-resistant gonorrhoea exists in many countries, including Australia,” he said. “However, these latest cases and a recent one in the UK appear to be the first reported that are resistant to all of the antibiotics that have been in routine use against gonorrhoea.” Gonorrhea is spread through vaginal, anal and oral sex and can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility in women if left untreated. The UK infection was also reportedly picked up in south-east Asia. The disease does not always cause symptoms but discharge from the penis or vagina are the most common signs. In 2014, Australia introduced a dual-antibiotic treatment for gonorrhoea, comprised of ceftriaxone and azithromycin, to combat a strain resistant to ceftriaxone alone. Regular cases of the infection increased significantly over the past five years and a recent report found cases of gonorrhea resistant to one of the two drugs had tripled in six months. At the time, National Alert System for Critical Antimicrobial Resistance senior medical adviser John Turnidge ceftriaxone was still effective against N. gonorrhoeae, but the results were “a warning shot across the bow”. “It’s getting harder to treat illnesses with effective antibiotics. “The risk is: 'Are the [antimicrobial] treatments we are using going to survive?' ” Doctors have repeatedly been asked to stop overprescribing antibiotics, with widespread use of the drugs in animal rearing also coming in for criticism. According to the chief medical officer, local jurisdictions are following up with the affected people to confirm where they picked up the infections and whether any other sexual partners needed to be contacted. Writing in The Conversation earlier this month, University of Queensland senior research officer Mark Blaskovich said superbugs were traditionally of most risk to people with compromised immune systems but sexual transmission meant antibiotic-resistant infections could spread much more widely. “The reports of a 'super-gonorrhoea' case in the UK are alarming. “The sexually transmitted bacteria (Neisseria gonorrhoeae) causes nearly 80 million infections a year. “This bacteria now has the potential to carry and spread high levels of antibiotic resistance through a much larger population of both people and other bacteria.” Anyone who has symptoms or concerns they may have been exposed to gonorrhoea or any other STI were urged to contact their GP or visit a sexual health clinic.

Thanks JustSumGai for the pictures & info.... looks as though I can cross that off the list of places to visit. Thanks for the good wishes, BB

I have used Grab during my last 3 trips to Manila and very happy with their service. Traffic in Manila is getting worse by the minute and lots of taxi drivers will want to charge a set amount during peak times whilst Grab surge fare is closer to meter price for a taxi. In non peak time Grab fares seem to be well below taxi meter fares.

Thanks TM, I have read on the forum that it is a nice relaxing place to visit and am sure I will fit it in the itinerary somehow. Maybe catch the ferry over for a few days stay.

@Pdoggg The plan is to stay as long as I like in any particular place so all tickets will be purchased when I am ready to move on and the weather will play some part in where I go or how I get there. I'll probably fly from Bangkok, however, plans could change when I get there. This trip will be a general look around SE Asia prior to deciding where I may base myself in retirement and I can always return to a place for a longer visit at a later date.

As a recent retiree I am looking to fill in a couple of months by traveling solo through SE Asia for a couple of months and possible meet up with some board members and local LBs on the way. The plan so far is to leave Sydney late April flying to Bali then Singapore by road to Kuala Lumpur, fly to Phuket then Bangkok/Pattaya, road or fly to Chang Mai road to Laos border then possibly boat to Luang Prabang then bus to Vientiane (possibly breaking journey at Vang Vien). From Vientiane I will likely fly to Phnom Penh as I understand a visa may not always be available at the land border crossing if I want to travel by bus over a couple of days . From reading the forum I will probably go to Sihanoukville for a few days then on to Vietnam via PP again. Vietnam at this stage will start at Ho Chi Minh city then work my way overland to Hanoi and surrounding area before heading off to Hong Kong by plane then on to Philippines. Alternate plan is to fly direct to Phuket then follow the above plan and go from Philippines to KL then Singapore, Bali and home. I am looking at a time frame of 2 months so should have plenty of time to spend a few days at each place to take in the local sights etc. Previously I have only been to Thailand (Phuket & Bangkok many times and Pattaya once), Singapore and Phils and have not encountered any problems so hopefully the other countries are safe enough to travel solo as I keep myself low key with wits about me etc I understand I can get visas on arrival at all places I am going except for Vietnam which I can obtain either before I go or use the E-Visa service that is now in place. If anyone can see any holes in this plan or have any tips etc it would be greatly appreciated

@Stealth007 looks as though you really enjoyed your lottery win in style... thanks for the low downs on all the hotels etc. I am not yet an ex-pat and still living in Australia and will be for a year or 2 yet but hope to get to Asia at least once or twice for a month or 2 at a time until I tidy everything up at home.

Sounds like you had a great time, Stealth. I understand that Central Park Tower is owned by same owners as Pacific Breeze hotel and I was thinking of trying it out next trip so thanks for the review. Apologies for not giving trip and hotel report from my November trip, but too much has been happening at home so will combine trip reports with next one.

I have just taken the Genesis Transport 'Premium Point to Point (P2P) bus service. It starts at Clark Internatoonal airport with stops SM City Clark, Robinsons Galleria in Ortigas and NAIA terminal 3 ( bay 14 arrival is designated stop) Times from Clark are 11.00pm, 1.30 am, 2.30 am ,4.00 am, 6.00 am, 8.30 am, 11.00 am, 1.00 pm, 2.00 pm, 3.00 pm, 4.00 pm, 5.00 pm, 6.00pm, 7.30 pm, 9.00 pm & 10.00pm. Pick up at SM City Clark is 30 minutes later outside main entrance/ flagpole. It took 1 hour 40 mins from SM City Clark to Ortigas but could be shorter or longer depending on traffic. I did not go through to NAIA. The return route is vice versa and flyer says that there are stops at the other 2 terminals (bay 20 arrpval at terminal 2 and departures curbside at 1) however I dont think that is applicable any more. Departure times trom NAIA 3: 4.00 am, 6.00 am, 8.30 am, 9.30 am, 11.00 am, 12 noon, 1.00 pm, 2.00 pm, 3.00 pm, 4.00 pm, 5.00 pm, 6.00 pm, 7.00 pm, 8.00 pm, 9.00 pm, 10.00 pm, 11.00 pm & 12.30 pm. Fares Clark to NAIA 3 = P350, Clark to Ortigas = P250; SM to NAIA 3 = P350, SM to Ortigas = P200. Same for return. Bus is aircon and free wifi with movie on tv. Another route is Clark to Trinoma/ Northa EDSA MRT Station and vice versa for P250 Apparently there are plans by Genesis for further P2P routes. Hope this is of interest to BMs

@Stealth007 Thanks, I will be taking my time to find a nice place to stay and of course will keep the forum up to date with anything interesting. Sorting the good ladyboy out from those that just want an ATM will be part of the fun process :) Cheers

Thanks for your reply. I have been to Cebu a few years ago and hope to visit there again this upcoming trip (weather permitting). I have also been to Subic/Olongapo areas and will check that out plus places further north in Baguio, La Union, Vigan in this or the next trip. I have started the ball rolling on the SRRV (retirement visa) and any hints about the process would be appreciated. Cheers

@Stealth007 I will be in Manila next week to see my dentist in Makati and then I will spend another 2 weeks somewhere as yet unplanned as will depend on the weather and my inclination at the time. Maybe meet up for a beer or two if our paths cross? I just recently retired and am looking for an area to settle down in the Phils so any recommendations from BMs would be appreciated. Cheers