Bangkok Bkk

January 28, 2010

Patpong: We’ve all seen the “Must See” lists and each one includes the same things over and over again (ie. Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Arun, Patpong, China Town, Coral Island). This list is different. Why? Because it invites you to do things you may not of thought of while planning your exciting adventure!

Whether you have 2 days or 2 months to stay in fabulous Bangkok, Thailand, this is a list of things you have to put on your to do list. After spending several weeks in the bustling city, I was able to familiarize myself with the intriguing population, the mind-boggling temples and, of course, the delicious food. So, without further ado, my list of “Five More Things You Must See and Do in Bangkok.” In no particular order.

Eat on the streets - Sounds easy enough, right? But for how easy (and inexpensive) it is to eat at a street diner, I saw hardly any tourists doing it. Eating on the street may seem less than sanitary, but bear in mind that Thai people are scrupulously clean and are known for their good food. I’m telling you, street food is not only cheap (usually less than $1USD for 1 person) but it is a lot better than what you’ll find in the bigger restaurants. Find a location that seems to be getting a lot of local business and have a seat. They more than likely have an English menu and if not, ask someone to tell you what they have!

Go to the movie theatre - Go to the theater? On vacation? I know, bogus, right? Trust me on this one. Bangkok is renowned for having some of the best theaters in the world and sitting inside the cool, air-conditioned building on a hot and muggy afternoon will brighten anyone’s spirits! One of the city’s most highly regarded theatre is at Siam Paragon off BTS stop “Siam.”

Opt for a “VIP” pass, which is under $30 per couple depending on the exchange rate. You’ll be ushered into a VIP lounge for pre-movie cocktails and snacks. Once you’re finished they’ll escort you to the lux Nokia theatre and offer table-side service (try the strawberry popcorn)! The seats are set up in pairs, come with pillows/blankets and are better than your typical La-Z-Boy.

*Be sure to stand for the national anthem and pay respect to the king.

Eat at the Moon Bar and Grill - This has to be one of the most romantic places in the entire world and boasts the best view of Bangkok. You’ll be swept up 59 stories and take the final 2 stories up to the top where you’ll find an al fresco 5-star restaurant. Even if you’re not there with a significant other (or have children tagging along), this is definitely a treat. It’s one of the more expensive places to go in Bangkok, but when you consider how much you’d pay for similar treatment in the States, your pocketbook will feel at ease. The Moon Bar and Grill is located atop The Banyon Tree Hotel off BTS Sala Daeng.

Take the water taxi to a non-tourist area - It’s nice to be around English-speakers, but you’ll feel at ease in a non-touristy part of town, too. Take the water taxi (because it has a great view) to no where in particular and get off at a place where few (if any) foreigners opt to go. Walk the side streets and enjoy the break from touts and tuk-tuk’s calling in your direction!

Enjoy drinks on the river - Head to a location along the Chao Phraya river via Tuk-Tuk, taxi or water taxi at twilight and sit yourself next to the edge of the water. Order something fabulous (such as a ‘Bangkok Dream’ or ‘Singapore Sling’) and watch the boats float pass. A great place to go is right across from Wat Arun - you’ll have a great view and the food/drinks are wonderful!

Good luck on your Bangkok Adventure! If you liked this travel article, check out my other work!

6:45am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZaOLQyLKqJd

(Notes: 1)

January 22, 2010

Translate EN > ES > EN

There are many British expatriates living in Bangkok, Thailand, many of whom plan to stay in Thailand permanently. As a British expatriate living in Bangkok, I also love being here and not think about leaving. Thailand has much to offer to expatriates, and there’s plenty of British expatriates like Thailand, but these are the things you love most.5. Weather - For most of British expatriates, the weather in Thailand is wonderful. In the UK, it rains all the time. So when a British expatriate decides to move to Thailand, the weather warm and sunny throughout the year is part of the appeal. For many American expatriates, however, they do not like the weather. Stations is too hot all the time and, unlike America, which has good weather, but also has seasons, Thailand does not have. The joke Thai stations in Thailand are: 1) the hot season, 2) the warmer season, and 3) the hottest season. For British expatriates, from countries where we have 1) the rainy season, 2) the rainy season, and 3) the rainy season, the climate in Thailand Thailand paradise.4 makes it seem. British pubs - Bangkok has plenty of British pubs. Most of them are in all areas of Silom or Sukhumvit Bangkok or near Khao San Road. For a British expatriate who likes to go out and enjoy a nice English pub food and a couple of beers with friends, Bangkok is a fabulous city. There are over 20 British pubs that occurs to me in Bangkok, just at a moments notice. They are more expensive than their counterparts in Thailand, but for decent British food and a beer and a place to hang out with other expatriates, they are really fun.3. The people of Thailand - Thais are very friendly, relaxed and always smiling. For many British expatriates, enjoy the sympathy of the Thais as Britain seems to have lost their “friendship for years. I know it always surprises me when I go back to England on holiday to find that the British are not always as friendly as I remember. Even in Bangkok, Thai people are always friendly and well educated, British expatriate, Bangkok really is a breath of fresh air.2. The quiet workplace in Thailand - In general, the workplace is very calm in Bangkok. The Thais take their time getting to work, hang breakfast or chatting with friends and sometimes 10 a.m. before they actually get to work. Then break again at 12pm for lunch. British expatriates enjoy the relaxed atmosphere at work, in Britain, can be very stressful. I also had two British colleagues tell me they prefer to work in Bangkok, because it is the nature betrayals that exist for them again in the UK. I had good experiences working in England, but then again, I have always worked in very relaxed to Bangkok, to me, seems normal.1. Christmas in Bangkok - In many places in the world if you’re an expatriate, Christmas is really depressing. You’re away from family and friends and, in many countries, Christmas is barely acknowledged. In Bangkok, even though it is a Buddhist country, Christmas is celebrated everywhere. All sites have huge Christmas trees, Christmas decorations are everywhere and many offices and schools are closed on Christmas Day (but not government schools, if not want to work on Christmas, do not work in a government school) . Also, because there are many British pubs, there are some good places to go for lunch or Christmas dinner. Last year, I went to London and had the best Christmas dinner I’ve had since I left England. The bar was full of British expatriates and their families, Christmas music was playing, and big screen television showed British even TV. With turkey and apple sauce, mince pies, Christmas pudding and little, I felt at home and as I was back in England.These are just five of the things I love about British expatriates living in Bangkok. There are many more (girls from Thailand, Thai men, cheap and delicious food, cheap housing, cheap public transport, plenty of job opportunities and more). Therefore, if you are British and considered the possibility of being an expatriate abroad in Bangkok, is really great.

4:37am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZaOLQyKiTcI

(Notes: 1)

Filed under: bangkok bankok bangok thailand

January 22, 2010

About Bankok Thailand

On Sukhumvit Soi 12, in the heart of downtown Bangkok, Crepes & Co. is one of my favorite restaurants in Thailand. Soi 12 is one of the most beautiful sois (lanes) in Bangkok. It is very quiet, with other upscale restaurants and expensive apartment buildings lining it, so that’s also a nice walk to Crepes & Co., if you drop the taxi for you at the end of the road. Crepes & Co. has been open since 1996 and was the brainchild of two Swiss-Bulgarian brothers. When she opened the restaurant, there was nowhere in Bangkok, where you could get authentic French crepes. From a small opening menu, crepes, and finally she has amazing Spanish, Moroccan and Greek cuisine. The menu is huge today with more than 350 possibilities. The most popular dishes are still the crepes. They are huge, tasty and you can order them with a variety of savory or sweet fillings, so that there is something for every taste:. They also have a good vegetarian selection and a great children menu.When takes you to the restaurant is the first thing you see, it seems to be hiding a little back from the road. This is because in an old traditional Thai wooden house of one of the most delicious green garden I’ve seen in Bangkok, is surrounded. Outside, you can either eat at the tables in the garden among the plants and bushes, or at a table set on the terrace. Inside you have the choice of the lounge or the dining room. Both locations are beautifully decorated with dark wood floors, windows and tables, and lighter basket weave chairs. Low hanging basket weave lamps positioned over each table make it easy to read the menu. All this makes the atmosphere comfortable, while at the same time very elegant and chic.On my last visit, we were planning to stay for a while, so we started with the homemade sangria at the bar with red wine and delicious fruit, it is a perfect start , having a nice lazy lunch.My friend and I then share a Crispy Crepe and dip, which came with an eggplant dip. Very tasty. For my entrée, I ordered a lasagna crepe that have been cooked to perfection. The crepe was slightly crispy on the edges and soft on the inside with a perfect lasagna filling. Lasagna of any kind in Thailand is often not the same as a Western lasagna, so it was a pleasure to be able to not only an authentic lasagna, but to have to eat it, stuffed into a wonderful crepe. I ordered a Caesar salad. Very good, but the association was not quite the traditional Caesar salad dressing I was set up in the U.S. and Europe. Still nice though.My friend opted for the moussaka, the traditional Greek dish with eggplant and lamb. I had a forkful and it was beautiful. The court was perfectly seasoned and the lamb was moist and tasty. She was very happy with their choice, they need as they finished the match in record time! After the appetizers, we were both a bit full, so instead of a dessert per share, we decided to start a Vanilla Ice Cream with strawberries and whipped cream. Then it raced to a very nice cup of coffee and left, there are homemade tiramisu and look forward to the next time we venture to the city to serve as the food, one of the best things about the restaurant eat.Other I think that is the staff. They are friendly and polite and take very good care of you, without being intrusive. Our water glasses were constantly filled, dirty plates were removed quickly, and we left it after receiving a nice smile of farewell to the maitre d ‘who want us also return sooner.As far as logistics are concerned, many restaurants in Bangkok are frustrating to get because of the size of the city. Crepes & Co is extremely simple as it is centrally located and also near the sky train head. One of the ways is to take a taxi to take him down the soi on the door, or ask to be dropped off at the end of the soi and walk. As I said, it is a pleasant soi and in fact it is also a nice walk back to Sukhumvit, the main road when you’ve eaten. It puts the food was a little bit.You can also take the Sky Train (BTS) to Asok station, where you disembark, walk past the Hotel Sheraton Grande on the first soi to Soi is 12th Turn in the soi, and it is about 5 minutes walk from there.Crepes & Co. clock every day from 9 until midnight. It is a fabulous place for lunch or dinner, and actually well known in Bangkok as one of the best brunch places in the city. I’ve also heard their breakfast is wonderful, but I have not been able to check that out too. It’s definitely on my list of things to do though.Price-way per person, expect between $ 15 and $ 40 per person depending on the selection, the number of ordered food, wine or wine to spend, etc. It is is a little expensive for Bangkok but it is worth money.One recommendation, which would make me, make sure to call ahead and reserve a table. The restaurant is very popular, especially on weekends. On holidays, both Thai and Western, it would be wise to demand a table for a reservation a few days ago, as a booking up very quickly. Have to wait to eat it is also a place to relax and people tend to eat slowly, so if you opt for a table that you could have a long wait.All in all, a nice place for a good meal, with a beautiful and friendly staff. Highly recommended for a relaxed lunch and also for special occasions. For more information and see some beautiful photos of the restaurant and some of their dishes, check out the website at http://www.crepes.co.th/.

4:31am | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZaOLQyKiSiD

(Notes: 1)

Filed under: bangkok bankok bangok thailand

January 21, 2010

Bankok

Traveling with a child to Asia can be a daunting prospect, especially when you’re not sure what activities will be available for your kids to enjoy when you get there. Bangkok is hot, exotic and strange. But Thais adore children and you’ll find, not only are there many fabulous things for your kids to see, but you’ll be stopped all the time by complete strangers just so they can tell you how cute your kids are. For fun and interesting things to do with children in Bangkok though, check out these places.

1. Safari World - one of the top places for kids in Bangkok is Safari World. Very popular with school groups for school trips, it’s a great place to spend a day with a child. Covering more than 200 acres, it’s made up of two parks - Safari Park and Marine Park. You can take an 8 kilometer drive through Safari Park and see thousands of exotic animals close up. There’s also an amazing Lion and Tiger Feeding Show, where you can see these animals being fed. You can even feed the giraffes yourself from a high platform where you get to touch their heads!

The second part of Safari World, Marine Park, has 8 different world-class shows that feature dolphins, polar bears, seals, whales and hundreds of other marine mammals.

Also because Safari Park is more like a safari, the animals have a lot of space to roam free, so it’s a great place for animal activists too. It’s open every day from 9am to 5pm. There are also some great restaurants for food and snacks, so no need to take anything with you.

2. Siam Water Park - Bangkok is a very hot city almost all year round (coolest time to come is November thru February) so Siam Water Park is a perfect place to cool off. It’s Asia’s biggest water park and has lots of pools, water slides, a wave pool, a whirl pool, a 400 meter Super Slide, playgrounds, an aviary, a botanical garden and an open zoo. There are also tons of places to get food and snacks, excellent changing rooms, showers, toilets etc. And some great gift shops for toys for the kids.

It’s open from 10am to 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 7am on weekends. The best time to go would be during the week if possible as you will get some school groups there, but it won’t be absolutely mobbed like on the weekends. It’s also cheap - around $5.50 for adults and $3 for children. A great day out for kids on a hot day. Any taxi driver can take you there.

3. Dream World - this is the top place in Bangkok for kids and will be packed with school groups especially during the summer school time. It’s a fabulous place though, truly a kids’ paradise. With four different ‘dream lands’, it’s huge - it has more rides than you can possibly try in a day, a Hollywood Action show, a Giant’s House (where everything is enormous), White Water Rapids, and a go-kart track. Kids will love it. Again, because the Thais love food, there’s also every fast food and other food you could possibly want, as well as some cool gift shops.

Most of the hotels run package trips to Dream World, but at $35 per person they’re expensive. Your best bet would be to get a taxi (every taxi driver in Bangkok knows exactly where it is and the fare shouldn’t cost you more than about $7) and then pay the admission fee - about $13 per person with kids under 90 centimeters getting free admission.

4. Siam Ocean World - this is the largest aquarium in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s located in the basement of Siam Paragon shopping mall, which is right next to Siam sky train station, the main train station, so it’s easy to get to. There are seven different zones plus a Penguin Feeding Show and a Shark Feeding Show that run several times a day. There is also an amazing Glass Bottom Boat that you can ride over one of the large tanks, and see sharks, turtles, stingrays and a host of other fish and mammals.

It’s actually expensive at $22 for adults and $18 for children, but still an interesting experience. If it was me though, I’d spend the money on Safari World, which is a whole day’s experience, before I would spend so much on Siam Ocean World for a couple of hours.

5. Boat Ride on the Chao Praya River - one of the best deals in Bangkok; you can catch the boat from any pier on the Chao Praya. Boats run every 10 minutes or so and the cost per trip is between 10 cents and 30 cents, a great deal! Going all the way up the river, you can see the fisherman, kids bathing in the river water, the Thai wooden houses on stilts, cool looking boats, barges coming down from China and lots of other cool stuff. Your kids will learn a lot about Thai culture as well as can sample traditional Thai snacks and soft drinks at any of the pier stops.

The easiest way to get on a boat is to take the sky train to the Saphan Taksin station, and follow the signs to the river. Any boat heading north from there will take you all the way up the river stopping off at many piers. Even more fun is to just pick any pier and hop off and explore some of the streets around. Get back on another boat and carry on your trip. Then either take a boat back down the river to Saphan Taksin when you’re done or a taxi or tuk-tuk back to your hotel.

6. Bowling Alleys - there are bowling alleys all over Bangkok in many shopping malls and they are awesome. Much better than most bowling alleys in the US, they are all new, high-tech, with fabulous equipment and great food and drink. Mum and Dad can even get a beer or a cocktail while they’re bowling. Really fun event for the kids. A family of four can play several games including rental shoes for around $10, with food and drink another $10-15 for four.

These are just six suggestions for things for kids to do in Bangkok. You will also see elephants in Bangkok at night as their owners bring them into the city to sell bananas. It is against the law, but they do need to be fed, so buy some bananas and let your child feed an elephant. Also, the movie theatres in Thailand are better than any movie theatre in America with enormous screens, fabulous sounds, and comfortable seats. For only $3 a seat, they’re the best deal in town, they show many American movies and they’re in almost every shopping mall in the city.

Any of these attractions should thrill your kids. Bangkok is a very safe city and especially safe for children. As I mentioned, Thai people love kids and no harm is ever likely to come to them. Even if your child were to get lost, you’ll find a Thai will take care of him/her and deliver him safely back to his parents. Come to Bangkok with your kids with complete peace of mind.