Well, I promised some pictures of the neighborhood-- so FINALLY, here we go! (Plus I figured out how to post multiple pictures from Flickr...click on an image to get the full version!)



This is the entrance area to our apartment building. The first few floors there are the parking garage, and on the right is a 6-story block of offices and such (on top of which is the swimming pool). The umbrella marks the security guard's stand: he checks non-residents going in or out. The guy on the bike has just delivered a pizza (and his particular pizza chain is pretty good, we're eating it for dinner tonight).



This is the small, unnamed street our building is on. You are looking east to west, and the building is on the right about halfway down (you really can't see it from here). This is a very busy lane and there are no sidewalks, so it can be a bit hair-raising walking around.

The building on the right with the "Penthouse" sign is an hourly hotel. There is actually another one on the other side of the building called "PB", for "Playboy". You can guess from the names what general clientele they are catering to!

We were a bit surprised at first, but this is actually a very safe neighborhood-- "adult" businesses aren't really "undercover" here, and seem to coexist peacefully with other, tamer things. I really haven't seen anything out in the open in our neighborhood (so you can bring your kids to visit, no worries!)



This is another part of the street connecting us to Soi 11. The building here is one we find very interesting because of the design. During the day and into the evening, there are several food vendors that regularly set up here-- we haven't eaten at their stalls, but I believe that they serve red roast pork, which is a common street food and supposed to be really good. There are small tables set out for people to eat at, and they seem to be always busy (and taxis and other cars often pull alongside and park so folks can grab a meal). In Bangkok, this translates to a high recommendation!

The orange banner is actually for a tonkatsu or Japanese pork cutlet restaurant on the other side of the building. We've eaten there a couple of times, and I have to say I think it beats anything we had in Tokyo! It's mostly patronized by Japanese visiting Bangkok (they were a bit worried at first when two Americans walked in, but they warmed up when they found out we could speak Japanese...)



This is a stretch of Soi 11, which runs all the way to the main road, Sukhumvit. We regularly walk down here to eat, shop or get to the Skytrain (the station is down at the end of the soi). This is actually one of the more boring stretches of Soi 11-- I'll try to get some more interesting shots next time, but I have problems with trying not to be too much of a tourist! At least you can see some food vendors, a taxi, and one of the famous tuk-tuks (three-wheeled open vehicles).