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Dance [A-Go-Go]. Adult-entertainment establishments featuring a-go-go dancers are common throughout Bangkok. Many are
disappointing for those who wish to see genuine dance, as in many cases the girls merely shuffle their feet, looking very bored or tired. There are places where the dancers do indeed dance well. Of course, in all a-go-go’s we’ve ever heard of, the dancing is essentially advertising for the girls, who wish to have their bar fines paid then to be taken out for what one venerable local night-life columnist refers to as "extracurricular activities." Be advised that some of the shows can be rather raunchy.
Dance Venues. All the major concentrations of night-life have places where one can dance, as do some of the hotels.
Some of the smaller areas, such as Sukhumvit Soi 33 and Washington Square, do not currently have any establishments in which one can dance.
 Dean Barrett [Local Author]
. Author most recently of Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior, a novel of satire and humor set in Bangkok during the Vietnam War. Barrett has a number of web sites:
BOOKSonASIAcovers:
http://www.archer-books.com/vebooks.html
Sample chapters:
HANGMAN’S POINT – A Novel of Hong Kong (mystery/thriller)
http://www.bookzone.com/asia
KINGDOM OF MAKE-BELIEVE – A Novel of Thailand (mystery/thriller)
http://members.spree.con/AsianJourney
MEMOIRS OF A BANGKOK WARRIOR – A Novel (military satire)
http://siam.freeservers.com/newfile.html
- Archived columns UNCLE YUM CHA (which means "Uncle Drink Tea" in
Cantonese) for The Hongkong Standard newspaper, a column Barrett wrote for several years
- http://angelfire.com/de/yumcha
Dean is also doing a regular monthly column for this website.
Death Railway. This is the railway connected with the famous Bridge Over
the River Kwai in Kanchanaburi, some 2 hours west of Bangkok. Click here for more information.
Dee: "Good", in much the same meanings as in English
 Diran, Richard [Local Author/Photographer]. Diran is an American long resident in Thailand, but who spends much of
his time in Burma [Myanmar] engaged in various pursuits, principally in the gem trade as well as trading in other natural products. He has written a coffee-table book about
Burmese hill tribes, called, appropriately enough, The Hill Tribes of Burma. Beautifully photographed by Diran himself
(an accomplished professional photographer), this handsome volume is available in both soft and hard cover. It
chronicles the rapidly disappearing hill tribes of that most unfortunate country, Burma, now officially known as "Myanmar." Diran spent enormous periods of time with members of the
various hill tribes to gain their confidence and trust, ultimately photographing and writing about them in this beautiful effort to record the
people and their stories before they are gone forever. Diran currently is working on a companion volume which will be far more text-oriented and correspondingly less photo-oriented than this volume. Available at
Asiabooks. Inquiries and orders to richjun@asianet.co.th It is available at Asiabooks [see entry for "Asiabooks" above.]. Inquiries and orders to the
following e-mail address: richjun@asianet.co.th
- Richard also is doing a montlhy column for this web site, the topic covering
either the gem industry in this part of the world or travellers’ tales.
Discos. Discos have waned in popularity in Thailand in recent years,
particularly since the economic crisis struck in mid-1997. However, there are a few still around. Generally, they are quite expensive, with drinks running in
the range of up to 200 baht. A few are notorious because of the shenanigans of some of the miscreant offspring of people at the top of the social and
political hierarchy, offspring almost always shielded from justice by their powerful parents. If you want to visit one, ask around. One of the
best-known is in the basement of Nana Hotel, located opposite the entry of Nana Plaza. You should know this is where a number of prostitutes head, especially late at night, to freelance.
"Doctor" Dennis [One of the creators of this site.]. Dennis was the original conceiver of The Washington Square Tattler, an irregular and
irreverent newsletter written about and for denizens of Washington Square, and from which this web site grew. He approached "Mekhong" Kurt with the
idea of the newsletter, and the rest is, well, history. Dennis is an American resident in Thailand over a decade, where he is based in his job in sales of
highly specialized medical equipment throughout the Australiasian region, often finding himself as far-flung from Bangkok as India, New Zealand,
South Korea, even that most alien of places, America. When in town, Dennis frequents Washington Square and Thermae, in the latter of which he enjoys the alternate nickname of "The Pope of Thermae."
Domestic Airports. Thailand has a reasonably extensive network of
domestic airports. The Airports Authority of Thailand has an excellent website for the Domestic Terminal at Don Muang Airport (or Bangkok International Airport), also a domestic airport, at http://www.airportthai.or.th/airportnew/bia/html/terminals3.html#terminal3. The website http://www.airportthai.or.th
is for Don Muang Airport and has links to sites for the Kingdom’s other domestic/international airports in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Hat Yai as well as the Second Bangkok
International Airport. Thai Airways site http://www.thaiairways.com has a drop-down menu showing every city into which it flies and departs, including
every destination in Thailand with commercial air service.
Drugs [Illegal]. – FORBIDDEN!!! Like many countries, Thailand has stringent
drug-control laws. Though the country is plagued with drugs, among both its own populace and visitors, the authorities take a very dim view indeed of
people they catch bringing drugd into Thailand, or taking them out. Their view of drug use is equally dim. While it appears beyond reasonable doubt
that some rogue elements of the government, police, and military are engaged in large-scale drug-smuggling operations – Thailand is a major
transit point for West-bound drugs from Burma, especially heroin and its derivative products – woe be the tourist or ordinary long-term resident who is caught possessing or using illegal drugs.
It’s not that the police go out of their way to ferret out the guys who like to
smoke a joint once a week. But if drugs, even small amounts of marijuana only for personal use, are found in your luggage by Customs or on your
person (or in your car, hotel, etc.), you are destined to have a very bad day- and, likely, a very long series of bad days running into the years as you first
await then stand trial, then, upon conviction, begin a long prison stretch. While we make no moral judgement on this issue, we recommend you not
attempt to bring in or take out any illegal drugs. As of this writing (mid-March, 2000), Thailand is facing an epidemic of use of "Ecstasy", and had a harsh campaign underway to suppress it.
Durian: a fruit that smells bad to newcomers, but which aficionados swear by.
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