paso Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Been living in Thailand for the last 18 months and Bangkok for the last 6 months. I'm always eating the street food and have never got sick(maybe I'm lucky!). There is no problem with the ice in your drinks or any other travellers myths (don't eat salad or fruit as it's washed with tap water etc etc) Get a Taxi to MBK from the airport. Go to the third floor and you'll find the watches. If you want mobile phones or mp3 players go to the fourth floor. Dont forget to haggle a bit (it's expected). If you want food there's a huge food court (you buy coupons with the cashier) and loads of restaurants on sixth floor. Get a massage at MBK as well(there's a few places on the fourth floor I think). You'll find the eight hour stop over goes pretty quick. Enjoy and have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narikaa Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 HOW TO GET YOUR REPS BACK HOME........ Well there you have it......just piece it together............ A double helping of "napalm-and-ground-glass soup" , all your reps wrapped up in some socks and threwn into your suitcase..........The customs man seeing you sweating and doubled up with abdominal pain will be too busy with the rubber gloves on checking for burst heroin balloons inside you to worry about reps in your case. (and when no drugs are found they'll overlook the reps anyway to assauge your lost dignity) Seriously tho at the first sign of food poisoning its straight to the pharmacy they have wonderful antibiotics - three tabs, one straight away , one that night, one in the morning....kills every organism inside you and all over in a few hours. DONT persevere... or hospitals, drips, and hefty invoices are just over the horizon. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offshore Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Funny you should say that Narikaa, Whenever I go thru customs- I always have a pair of dirty/muddy sole, sneakers in my case- tick the box-"I have visited a farm lately" and head straight for the "Quarantine" lane. They spend some time checking your shoes-totally failing to see the 20 watches, 10 bottles of liquor and 6 cartons of cigarettes. I even got a complete stereo system thru ( A trolley load)- when I declared a firearm in my cases. It was a (licensed) powerhead- ( Shark pacifier ) Goes to prove- move the goal posts a bit, and government officials can't see the woods for the trees. Interestingly- this little ruse - more often than not- has you thru customs ahead of all those with " nothing to declare" offshore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
that_watch_guy Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 (edited) Seriously tho at the first sign of food poisoning its straight to the pharmacy they have wonderful antibiotics - three tabs, one straight away , one that night, one in the morning....kills every organism inside you and all over in a few hours. DONT persevere... or hospitals, drips, and hefty invoices are just over the horizon. True! When I was at the hospital, there was an Australian dude there who was also on an IV and hadn't taken a solid # 2 in two weeks. The doctor told me that many forms of bacterial food poisoning are common form travelers in Thailand, and many of the strains have developed a resistance to Cipro and other medicines. Despite what Paso said, I've spoken to quite a few people who have gotten sick in Thailand from the food. I saw restaurants using tap water to rinse lettuce, and even worse was the fact that in the restroom there was NO toilet paper, only a little hose type of thing to wash off with. It was a total breeding ground for every type of bacteria known to mankind. Customs is going to be much more concerned with people stuffing heroin filled condoms up their cornholes than they are about a few replica watches. I've never been questioned once about any watches or clothing etc, it's too big of a pain for them to verify where and when you bought it and whether or not it's authentic. Edited April 21, 2006 by that_watch_guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swdivad Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 I've been going to Thailand one or two times every year for the past six years... Lived there about 15 years ago. I've been sick there once, 2 years ago and had a few days in the hospital with mild food poisoning. I gotta say that I was very impressed with the hospital and service compared to 'some' western hospitals. I am glad I stayed at the hospital, having a toilet so close sure is handy in that situation.... We sort of traced it to Nam pik Ong (red spicy meaty curry dippy stuff) which I got from a street vendor that I have been eating from for years. My wife ate from the same batch and didn't get sick at all.... I think it may also have to do with what you're used to. It can happen anywhere though, I've been just as sick (or maybe more, yuk) from fine restaurants in other countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narikaa Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Yes much the same here, near 40 trips there over seven years.... food poisoning twice... both times after shellfish, which by my reckoning could happen to you anywhere on the planet. And I eat everything there (as I'm sure Neil would confirm!) everything that is except Laarp (the raw kind) as I think raw minced pork however seasoned is just pushing your luck too far. Out of prefference I buy food off street vendors too! But I do believe that you build up resistances..someone solely fed on sanitised homogenised western food probably would react adversely to a violent Nam Prik or certainly Ba lah (fermented fish). Rather like mosquito bites - first year or so nasty red welts - now youd think theyve dissappeared but youre still getting bit but not reacting the same. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leonado Posted April 21, 2006 Report Share Posted April 21, 2006 Ba lah...favorite of my wife....I sure will not touch that stuff with a ten foot pole...LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klink Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 deja view.... : ) Life is Good! Klink (of the muti-forum Klinks) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swdivad Posted April 22, 2006 Report Share Posted April 22, 2006 Yes... nam prik pra lat is issan (east) and hot as all hell.... smells like [censored] but tastes so nice (they say lol) once you get used to it. Nam prik ong is northern and not quite as fiery, but that's what got to me, maybe a combo of the hot weather and the food that I hadn't had in a while is what sent my insides to hell. You're definately right about what you're used to, us pasteurized farangs just can't take the hammering that some of the south east asian foods offer, no matter how big we think our balls are... but once you get used to it, they are very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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