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If you want to stay in a hostel which is quite nice, clean and affordable then Sentosa view is a nice option. This hostel is located in spottiswood park road. It is close to Outram park MRT & Tanjan pagar MRT. Lots of food courts and shopping markets nearby. Also the hostel is near to the city area.
You can find two kind of rooms in this hostel. A room with six beds and without bahtroom so you have to use the common bathroom which is outside (there are two common washroom). Another room with six beds but the washroom is inside the room (attach washroom). A room will cost you between $15 - $28 Singapore dollar. It depends on the season as well. You can make a booking through http://www.hostelworld.com web site.
There are so many free facilities availalbe in the hostel which includes: Free access to internet. There are also two computer available for traveller withou laptop Free breakfast They do have water boiler and microwave oven Laundry will cost you less then $5 Singapore dollar Also they have TV channel and some dvds if you are bored
If you are planning to extend your stay in the hostel then make sure to book in advance through the hostel booking web site else you might find that there is no room available later. It’s quite funny but sometimes they prefer the online booking.
The attendant at the hostel is also a nice guy who can speak good english. Dont’ mix the name of the hostel with the Sentosa Island. The hostel do have a web site: http://sentosaview.com
If you arrive as a tourist in Bangkok, you may initially be puzzled as to where to find cigarettes or tobacco. The reason is that tobacco wares are not allowed to be displayed in public and no advertising is allowed.
Smaller shops will usually sell cigarettes (which are not expensive, even the imported ones). Most convenient places to buy tobacco are the 7-Eleven convenience stores scattered around Bangkok. The cigarettes are located just behind the counter, but as I mentioned, you will not actually see them displayed and must aks for them.
Not quite sure why anyone would want to smoke cigarettes, but for the more serious smokers you will find tobacco wares (cigars, pipe tobacco) at Siam Paragon and Emporium. The shops that sell tobacco are called Bangkok Wine Cellar (they mostly sell wine and spirits). There is one located on the 5th floor (next to the Gourmet Market) at Emporium Shopping Center, and another one (a bit larger, maybe somewhat more choice) in the corridor left of Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon (located at the basement level floor). The pipe tobacco and cigars are not openly visible, so you have to ask to see the wares.
Most five star hotels will have a small shop where you can buy tobacco wares. I noticed that these shops are allowed to display tobacco for sale.
Smoking is prohibited in restaurants and public places in Bangkok. Smoking is allowed outside buildings. For example, if you are a smoker and visit a Starbucks for your morning coffee, you may want to select one that has an outdoors section.
When you visit bars, well you will see the reason why smoking has been banned in most places, and gets such a bad press. The bars are filled with smoke, and any visit may have you coughing for the next few days. In our opinion, if smokers would have been more self-restraining, things would not have developed as far as they have now, with smokers being treated almost as bad as plain criminals.
Update : As of February 2011, there is a smoking ban in airconditioned bars and night clubs. Up to then, bars and nightlife entertainment venues had been exempted. A grace period has been granted, and full implementation of the new law will probably occur around May 2011.
Drinking and Buying Alcohol Drinking alcohol is still allowed in Thailand. However, you can not buy alcohol at all times of day. Shops like supermarkets and 7-Elevens are not allowed to sell alcohol between 2.00-5.00 P.M. and after midnight. Sometime in the morning (the time escapes me) sales are permitted again. As far as we know, you can drink alcohol all day though in restaurants and bars.
On some days (religious and national holidays, election days) alcohol sales are banned altogether, and drinks can not be served even in restaurants and bars (which usually close on these days anyway).
Wines are invariably priced high. Even table wines that would be sold at less than 100 baht a bottle in Europe, cost 400 baht and upwards.
Stronger drinks like whisk(e)y, gin, vodka are quite cheap altogether. A bottle of good whisky such as Grant's or Ballantines can be had at around 550 baht a bottle (about 15 US $).
Most supermarkets will sell wines and spirits. Beers and mostly local brand alcohol is available at 7-Elevens (prices are about 20% higher than at supermarkets though). By the way, Thai brandy (sometimes called whisky or rum) is actually quite tasty and very cheap.
Drunk driving is a major problem in Thailand, and thousands of people are killed each year because of it. Most victims (and perpetrators) are 'low-class' motorcycle drivers, and little is done to enforce existing laws, and/or to improve drivers' conduct. Invariably, each year around New Year and with Songkran (the Thai New Year) there will be temporary campaigns to limit the number of road deaths. Unfortunately, the value of life in Thailand is rather low, and therefore little is done to preserve it.
Recently reopened in July after major renovation, the Gayana Eco Resort is located in the wilderness of Gaya Island, just a 10 minute boat ride from the city of Kota Kinabalu in Sabah, East Malaysia.
True to its name, the resort located on the largest of the five coral reef islands that make up the Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park is dedicated to conserving its marine life with a Marine Ecology Research Centre on site.
Guests can participate in its coral regeneration programme and learn about its efforts in the propagation of giant clams. They have spawned seven out of the world's eight giant clams.
With its prime location on pristine waters, the 44 over-water luxury villas feature balconies from which to enjoy the view. Some of the villas also offer direct steps into the lagoon and access to the special breakfast boat that delivers breakfast to your balcony.
Three restaurants and a bar offer the ideal island atmosphere with spectacular views of the jungle and ocean. The seafood is a speciality and cultivated in the hotel's own sea farm.
Guests can relax in the infinity pool overlooking Malohom Bay or indulge in a traditional Borneo Urut massage. Adventure seekers can dive at the hotel's dive centre, take guided kayak trips through mangrove forests or see the wildlife on a jungle trek.
