Introduction

Hi, I'm Jon_Mak_Mak.

Here you can get information on Thailand and some of the surrounding countries. This will be one long Blog that I will be adding to over the years. New info will be added to the bottom. All pictures in this Blog are taken by me and all information is from my personal experience. If a place is not mentioned it’s probably because I haven't been there, or maybe I don’t think it’s very interesting. I will be recommending hotels I've stayed in, temples I've visited, shopping centres I’ve shopped at and all the great locations I have visited and photographed. I will be giving some tips on travelling in this part of the world and will be adding some popular Thai recipes with step by step instructions and photos!

First a little about me:

I have 3 passions in life - Music, Thailand & Photography. I also enjoy a bit of ancient culture and enjoy travelling. I am English and can speak Thai to a reasonable level (enough to get me by with my Thai in-laws anyway). I have travelled around and lived in Thailand and I have friends and family that work and live there.

So, that’s enough about me. Let’s get the pictures and information up and I hope that you find the info to be of some use.

Start With Bangkok!



I have a love/hate relationship with Bangkok. I love the atmosphere, the excitement, the food! But, I hate the heat, the smog, and the touts! Bangkok is an amazing city and if you take the time to explore it at your own pace and try not to get caught up in the many tourist traps, you will be sure to leave with great memories.

Let me list a few tips to help you deal with Bangkok (and most of Thailand).

1. Try to learn a little bit of the language. Being able to say no thanks in Thai will make things a lot easier. (See my basic Thai-Language section coming soon!)

2. Never, ever, ever get a tuk-tuk or Taxi that is waiting outside a major tourist spot like the Grand Palace, Ko San road or the MBK Centre. Instead, walk a little up the road and flag one down that is driving past. Stick out your arm and wave your hand in an ‘up-down’ motion as if telling them to slow down.

3. Don’t listen to any person that tells you a place is shut and definitely don’t go with them if they offer to take you to somewhere else. These places can include: Gem shops, markets, other Wats (Wat is Thai for Temple) bars, restaurants or anywhere else.

4. Don’t believe the tuk-tuk’s ‘10 Baht tour of the city’ It’s a scam! In fact, your better off avoiding tuk-tuk’s in Bangkok altogether. Taxis will usually be cheaper, cleaner and air-conditioned but make sure they switch the meter on! If they don’t, say ‘meter’ (same in Thai as English) and if they refuse, get out and get another taxi. (I’ve had to do this many times!)

5. Make sure you got change for the taxi! They are not going to change your 1000 baht note.

6. When you are asked ‘how long you been Thailand’ (and you will be) or ‘you first time to Thailand’ never tell anyone you just arrived/first time/ 2 days. Instead, say you have been many times before and are now at the end of your visit. That way you are basically saying you ‘know about Thailand’ and don’t have much money left.

7. Don’t book all your excursions/taxis/meals with your hotel. This is a bit obvious but you really can get cheaper and probably better deals on your own if you do a bit of looking around. Some of the best food to be had in Thailand is from the food stalls on the side of the road!

8. Beware of Ko San Road Tours! As I said before, this is from my personal experience and while there might be some good travel agents here they are more than out numbered by bad ones! Basically, it’s a rip off area/scam central, and you don’t get treated with decent Thai hospitality and it’s not a good reflection on Thailand, Thai people or Thai culture and my wife (Thai) feels exactly the same way about the place.

Most tours, coaches or VISA runs booked with Khao San agents will be low quality and will probably be run by one of the Bangkok MAFI. There are many stories on the web so do a search and read up.

9. Don’t insult the monarchy at all, not even for a joke! This is one of the worst things you could do to offend Thais and could land you in jail or dead!

10. Don’t insult Buddhism or ANY Buddha image or statue, not even for a joke! Definitely don’t sit on, point at (with the feet) or damage any thing related to the religion. People have been killed in the street for this sort of thing so it’s pretty serious!

So you have some tips to help you in Bangkok, so now its time to get into the fun stuff!


The Grand palace, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Po

These are some of the biggest tourist attractions in Bangkok and worth checking out. The internet is full of info on these places so I’m not going to go into great detail about them here. The Grand palace is in the oldest part of Bangkok and can be reached easily by taxi. Remember to ignore the touts outside that might tell you its shut, always check for yourself. Wat Phra Kaew is in the palace complex and can been seen with the same ticket. (Available at the palace) In the grounds are many shrines, statues, pagodas and paintings and you could spend a couple of hours walking around here.

In Wat Phra Kaew is the Royal Chapel which houses the famous Emerald Buddha (It’s actually made of Jade) and is an important temple in Bangkok. The outside walls have enclosed galleries all the way around with some interesting paintings on them. Also in the palace grounds is a small model of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a museum and a small café.

Right next door is Wat Po with its giant reclining Buddha. This Wat is apparently the oldest in Bangkok and has nice, peaceful grounds to walk around. The reclining Buddha is pretty cool and good for some photos and you can walk around it but apart from that there isn’t a great deal more to do.

Reclining Buddha - Wat Po

Sanam Luang

Sanam Luang is a big field next to the royal palace which was used as the royal crematorium. It was also used for royal ceremonies and events. Now it’s used for all sorts and you might find a market one day and an anti-government rally the next!

Wat Arun (Temple of dawn)

This Wat is the other side of the Chao Phraya River (big river running through Bangkok) to the Grand Palace but is easily reached by taxi or if you are feeling a little more adventurous, you can get the boat across from near the palace complex.

Wat Arun is an Angkor-style wat with great views of the river. You can climb up the (steep) steps to the top for some great photos of old Bangkok.

Wat Chana Songkram

Another Buddhist temple in Bangkok, this Wat is situated opposite the backpacker ghetto of Khao San Road. It’s often used as a short-cut between Khao San and Soi Rambutti, but maybe few people actually know that praying at this Wat is believed to help them with luck in winning or beating something.

The Baiyoke Sky Tower

The Baiyoke Sky Tower is a hotel in Bangkok and is Thailand’s tallest building (2008). I have never stayed in the hotel myself so I can’t recommend it as a place to stay but I have been up to the top floor several times where there is an out side, revolving roof deck with spectacular 360-views of Bangkok. On the 833rd floor, The Roof Top Bar and Music Lounge, offers a good selection of cocktails with live music 1000ft above Bangkok!

You can purchase a ticket to the observation deck at the entrance to the hotel and take the glass elevator to the roof. It’s worth a visit day and night and the surrounding area of Pratu Nam -with its cheap clothes shops- is worth checking out too.

Views from the Baiyoke roof deck.

The Democracy Monument

This is an important monument in Bangkok and is a popular rally point for democracy activist. Standing in the centre of a round-about (traffic island/circle), it’s hard not to notice the monument as you are driving around Bangkok.

Wat Hua Lamphong

This temple is a lively place but isn’t full of tourist like some others in Bangkok. Next to it is a building that I would recommend visiting. Here you can donate money to help pay for funerals for people that have no family to take care of them after they have died.

Lumphini Park

Just as the hustle and bustle of the city is taking its toll on you, head to this big green park in the middle of the business district. Best visited early morning (7:00 – 9:00am) where you can see many of Bangkok’s residents doing their morning exercises. (Lots of Tai Chi) The park is a bit dark at night and probably best avoided after sunset.

Dusit and Vimanmek Mansion

Dusit is a district in Bangkok that has a few interesting attractions.

Dusit Zoo. This is a nice place to escape the smog and traffic for a bit and is apparently the oldest zoo in Thailand. The Highlight for me is the big lake in the middle where you can hire a pedal boat and pedal around for a while.

Ananta Samakom Throne Hall was also an old parliament building and is made from white marble. It’s a 2 storey building of western (Italian I believe) design and really stands out. Located next to Dusit zoo.

Vimanmek Mansion is the only building in the world made entirely of golden teak! Formally a royal residency and now a museum, the mansion houses many antiques and gives an insight into royal life. The tours are guided and no photography is permitted inside the building. Proper dress is required and no shoes are allowed to be worn in the mansion itself.

TIP

When we bought the ticket to the Grand palace, admission to the Vimanmek mansion was included on the same ticket, so it might be worth visiting the palace first.

Phra Phrom (Erawan Shrine)

Right across the road from the Gaysorn centre & World Trade centre, this shrine is relatively small in size but has an interesting history as to why it was built. (google - Erawan shrine, Bangkok) Every time I have past it there always seems to be a lot of people gathered here and it seems to be an important place. There is a small, open room here too where you can see some traditional Thai dancing.

In 2006 a mentally disturbed man attacked the shrine and was subsequently killed by bystanders. The shrine has been restored and is once again open to the public.

Ganesha Shrine and Trimurti Shrine

These 2 shrines are opposite each other at the far ends of Central World Plaza.

Looking at the shopping centre, Ganesha shrine is to the left. This shrine is for accomplishment, wisdom and wealth while the Trimurti shrine is at the other end and people pray here for true love. Now I know why my wife took me here to pray when we first met!!

Bangkok Corrections Museum

This is somewhere you wont find listed in many guide books and the atmosphere is all the better for it! Now a public park, the old maximum security prison has been mostly demolished but a few parts of it has been left intact including a section of the outer wall with watch towers and an old cell block. Here you can learn about the prison life, punishments, torture and executions in old Thailand. It’s defiantly an interesting place with a quirky atmosphere.

Wat Suthat

Wat Suthat has been less busy than the Grand Palace and Wat Po both times I have been there, but it is an equally important temple due to its history. The Wat house an 8 meter Buddha. There is the main Wat and also the living area where the monks live. You can’t miss this Wat because it has the big red frame of the Chinese Giant Swing right out side. It’s also right next to the old corrections museum.

Rama 8 Bridge

The fairly new bridge (2002) that spans the Chao Phraya river, is hard not to notice as your travel around old bangkok.

Wat Ratchanatdaram (Loha Prasat)

Unusually, this Wat has 37 black metal spires and is apparently the only one of its kind in the world! Visually, it stands out from other nearby temples and is architecturally unique. It’s great for exploring the different levels and you are able to climb the steps to the top where you can get some great views of surrounding Bangkok.

View from Wat Ratchanatdaram – Rama 8 bridge in the background

The Royal Pavilion and Memorial Statue of King Rama III

Right outside Wat Rachanatdaram is the Royal Pavilion used to welcome foreign visitors and next to that is the Memorial Statue of King Rama III.

Shopping!

You’re probably a bit ‘Watted out’ by now and I can fully understand. Sometimes the best thing to do in Bangkok to avoid the heat is dive into one of the many shopping centres dotted about the city. Bangkok offers some of the best shopping in the world and some of the biggest are in walking distance of each other. As well as giant malls and department stores, Bangkok has many good markets, some small, some huge but wherever you decide to go, remember to check around for prices and bargain with a smile!

Here I am going to write about some of the most popular shopping places with a little description of each and my own personal rating of 1-5 with 1 being not very good 3 being average and 5 being great!

Central World Plaza (Formally, World Trade Centre) is huge and claims to be the biggest in Thailand (and in S.E Asia after recent renovations). There is a department store at each end (Zen and Isetan) as well as a cinema and various food places. Rated 4

Opposite the WTC is the Gaysorn Centre – a much smaller mall dedicated to the top names in fashion. Expect to find names such as Gucci, Prada, Givenchy, Burberry and Hugo Boss. I have no idea if the prices are competitive or not but I know they are priced well over my budget. There is a branch of Bookazine inside which stocks international magazines. Rated 2

MBK Centre is one of my favourite shopping places in Bangkok. It’s pretty much a student hang-out but there are 3 main reasons why I like it.

1. It is easily accessible by taxi or sky train.

2. It has two MK restaurants (you really need to try MK in Thailand).

3. It has about 2000 shops with competitive prices!

Also inside is a massive food hall, an entertainment floor with cinema, arcades and bowling and a huge section specifically for mobile phones and accessories. Rated 5

Across from the MBK centre is Siam Square, Siam Centre, Siam Discovery and the newly opened Siam Paragon. These are all in walking distance of each other and are connected via various walk ways and bridges. Siam Centre and Siam Discovery were apparently the first big shopping centres in Bangkok, but apart form this claim-to-fame, they are a bit average. The highlight here is the Siam Paragon, but not for shopping, because there are cheaper places, but for the aquarium ‘Siam Ocean World’, one of the largest aquariums in Asia. You can spend a couple of hours walking around the different zones and see the strange creatures of ‘weird and wonderful’ to the great sharks of the ‘open ocean’. Rated 5

Car fish tank at Siam Ocean World

Pantip Plaza is the place to go for electronics and especially computers. The whole place is bursting with laptops, PC’s, cameras and all their accessories. This mall is also popular because of the amount of counterfeit DVD movies and software. But beware that there are frequent police raids and you don’t want to get caught up in the middle of that! Rated 4

The Platinum Centre - up the road from Pantip Plaza - is a new shopping centre that’s good for clothes, shoes and handmade jewellery. If buying a few items you can get a good discount and can find things much cheaper here that at some of the ‘tourist markets’.

Sudan Lum Night Bazaar is Bangkok’s upmarket, err... market! There are many small shops/stalls here and lots of craft and antique type places. Also in the area are a few international restaurants and bars and after a meal or drink you can ride the big wheel called ‘La Roué De Paris’ where some good views of the bazaar and nearby Lumphini Park are to be had. Also here is an outside beer garden and a big concert hall. Suan Lum is a nice place to check out and go for a drink, its outside so it doesn’t have the air conditioning and is not the cheapest market around. Rated 3

Patpong Night Market, this is a major tourist trap! The market spreads through the infamous Patpong area in Silom. The market its-self is over priced, over rated and FULL of tourists and touts. The market is surrounded with bars and clubs so beware of the touts that will try to steer you to their club or go-go bar, don’t go with them, the prices will NOT be cheap no matter what they say. Rated 2

Khao San Road Market, Just like Patpong market, this is a major tourist trap! Not only can you get stuff cheaper elsewhere in Bangkok but while visiting this market you will have to put up with touts, tuk-tuk drivers con men and many, many drunken travellers. In my opinion, for shopping, this market is best avoided. Rated 1

Chatuchak Weekend Market is the mother of all markets in Bangkok (and probably Thailand). There’s something like 15000 market stalls here selling everything from clothes to arts to animals and to plants. It gets very hot during the day and you can easily get lost! The market is open Friday, Saturday and Sunday and is not in the centre of Bangkok but can be reached by taxi or sky train. Rated 4 (for sheer size!)

Pak Klong Talat (Vegetable/Flower/Fruit Market)

This whole-sale market is near the Grand palace and China-town district and runs along side the Chao Phraya River. The colours and smell of fresh flowers and vegetables are a nice break from the usual pong of Bangkok and you can walk through the market and buy anything if you like. If you are coming from Wat Arun and have crossed back over the river by boat towards the Grand Palace, just turn right (walking from the pier away from the river) and walk up the road. You will see the market on your right along the waters edge.

Chinatown - Bangkok

This is the place to go for gold. Thai gold is very beautiful and usually cheaper than in the west. Chinatown has a good handful of gold shops and of course many other shops and markets.

I think I have covered the best of the main shopping centres and markets in Bangkok and altho there are many others all over the city, like The Mall - Bangkae with its water park or the countless Robinsons Department stores, I'm sure you will have plenty of choice already.

Nightlife, Bars, Cafes, Restaurants and food!

This is going to be a big section. There are a lot of bars, clubs, restaurants and places to eat in Bangkok. I’m not going to be doing restaurant reviews or going in depth about the go-go bars or the gay bars of soi Twilight, but instead will be recommending some of my favourite places for eating, drinking and partying.

Khao San Road

I might as well get this one out the way. It’s not my favourite place to go because it’s rammed full of backpackers and there are so many touts that it gets annoying after 10 minutes. There are many bars/cafes and eateries along Khao San and the service is the same in most of them – Not Good! I don’t blame the Thais who work there though because I have seen some pretty horrific behaviour by westerners around here and have often been embarrassed by them. Soi Rambutti is a better choice just off Khao San Road.

Gulliver’s Sports Bar on the opposite corner to the police station is ok for some ‘western style’ food with a beer. At night this place gets packed and turns into a bit of a nightclub with the same American hip-hop (pop-hop) you will hear all over Bangkok. There is an upstairs which is usually quieter. Both floors have pool tables and air conditioning.

At the opposite end of Khao San Road there is a Burger King. Sometimes after a night out on the town the only thing that will satisfy you is am XL bacon double cheese burger!

Another place I can recommend is a little restaurant on soi Rambutti. I think it’s called Thai Garden but I will have to check next time I’m there. It’s an open front place filled with wooden benches about halfway down the road to the right of Wat Chana Songkram. They have a good selection of Thai food and drinks for a good price.

Buddy Beer is a popular bar/restaurant near McDonalds (yep, Thailand has them all!) with a good choice of western & Thai food. I can recommend the ‘Lad Naa’ (Noodles in Thai style gravy) here and they also do good cocktails too. Buddy beer is air conditioned and has some pool tables near the bar.

Patpong

The infamous Patpong area between Silom road & Surawong road has a lot of clubs, bars & restaurants. Everyone knows it used to be the seedy red light district of Bangkok but now it’s just a massive tourist trap! There are still lots of girly bars though, but there are better areas in the city for that sort of thing. Lucifer’s is a night club on Patpong Soi 1, about halfway up the soi. It can be pretty banging on the weekend and they play club, trance and techno music. As the name suggest, the theme of the club is very devilish and expect to be served buy a demon or horned creature.

At the opposite end of the party spectrum is a bar with no apparent name. It’s on Surawong road, opposite Patpong Soi 1. It’s an open bar right on the side of the road and is a great spot for sitting with a bottle of Sangsom and just watching the people go by. The bar is popular with older couples, families and younger people alike and a lot of people that are staying in the nearby Montien hotel seem to come to this bar. There is no air conditioning or toilet here but there are fans and you can use the toilet in the nearby shopping mall. They also serve good food here too but it is cooked on the street up the road and walked down to the bar! Not the cheapest price’s around but the portions are good and the taste delicious! The staff are great too and often recognise my wife and I as we walk up the street. – Highly recommended place!

There is a road next to Patpong called Soi Thaniya that caters to Japanese clients. I haven’t been in any of the clubs but it’s worth a walk down the road to be dazzled by all the neon signs that light the street.

O'Reilly's Irish Pub can be found on Silom road right on the corner of Soi Thaniya. I haven’t been in here loads of times but it seems ok to pop in for a pint.

I can’t recommend any particular go-go bar for a show in Patpong because they are all basically the same. Just be careful of hidden cover fees and don’t go with any touts that offer to take you to see a show no matter how persistent they maybe.

Sukhumvit Road

Sukhumvit is a big area in Bangkok and has many bars, restaurants and cafes dotted all over the place. The big name areas here are Nana Plaza and Soi Cowboy. Don’t bother to take your partner with you here as these are 2 of the main red light districts of Bangkok. Nana Plaza is the more hectic place and usually very busy. You can’t really get away from the girls here as they are everywhere. Soi cowboy is a bit more laid back (but still not for the faint hearted). Again, I can’t recommend any particular place here but I can let you in on a little secret. Bars in Thailand are supposed to shut by about 2pm (a bit early when your having a good time) but a few places would let customers stay and drink with the doors shut. If you do get kicked out of your bar and you’re near this area, there is one place that you can drink in till the very early hours. It’s not an easy bar to find though, and you have to go inside a building on the left near the end of the Soi and it’s up stairs and through some doors. From the outside you wouldn’t even know there was a room full of people inside drinking!

On Sukhumvit Soi 5 there is another Gulliver’s Travellers Tavern which is similar to the Khao San Road bar of the same name but much bigger.

Siam (MBK, Siam Centre)

There are plenty of places to eat and drink in this area including McDonalds, Starbucks, and KFC and various other restaurants and food stalls in the shopping centres. The 2 highlights for me though are the Outback Stake House and the MK Restaurants. The Outback Stake House is on the 2^nd floor of the Siam Discovery Centre. It is part of an Australian chain of restaurant specializing in stakes, grilled chicken, BBQ’s etc… Really good food here and good service too. My favourites include the Bushman Shroom’s, Typhoon Bloom (Giant onion rings) and obviously a big, fat stake!

In this area are at least 3 MK restaurants, 2 in the MBK centre and one opposite the Siam centre, near the sky train. MK restaurant is a social eating experience en which you cook the food yourself in a big pot in the centre of the table. It is essentially a mixture of Thai and Chinese cuisine and you order what you want from the waiter/waitress and they bring the fresh, uncooked meat & vegetables to your table in little dishes. You add all the food to the pot and boil it to make soup. You can also order trays of cooked meat such as duck, red pork or crispy pork. They also have a selection of dim sum and deserts and the price for the amount of food you can eat is amazing. Definitely an experience you need to try while in Thailand.

Hawker Food

The roadside food stalls and trolleys you will see all over Bangkok (and Thailand) offer the best value food and snacks. Usually little more than a trolley with a pan and gas bottle, this is where you will see Thais of all standings eating together. Different places specialise in a specific food, for example, a Kway Tiao stall probably won’t have fried rice, and it would be a waste of time asking them for a Thai Curry, and a stall selling Pad Thai won’ have Kway Tiao. The best thing to do is go over and have a look at what they have or what they are making and just point at something. Sometimes the sign will have English and Thai.

Here is a little bit about some of the most popular Thai dishes from the street.

Som Tam is an Isan (North East) dish and is usually very spicy. It’s a kind of salad made with papaya and pickled fish or crab. Have plenty of water ready when trying this!

Pad Thai -one of the most popular dishes with visitors- is a Thai style fried noodles dish with shrimp, tofu and chillies. Personally I don’t like Pad Thai myself and would rather have something more tasty but it’s very popular and can be found everywhere especially around Khao San.

Tom Yam Goong is perhaps the most famous Thai dish of all and is very nice. It’s a spicy, hot and sour soup with shrimp (prawns). I recommend you try Tom Yam when in Thailand but if you want something a little different ask for Tom Yam Talay (Tom Yam with seafood).

Khao Pad Gai/Moo/Nua/Goong/Talay – One of my favourite dishes any time of day - Fried rice with chicken, pork, beef, prawns or seafood. It’s as simple as that!

Kway Tiao is very popular with Thais and another of my favourites. Kway Tiao is rice noodles in a soup with mixed vegetables and little round balls of pork, beef, fish or chicken. It’s not usually spicy but like most dishes, you can add chillies, sugar, fish sauce or soy sauce as required.

Ba Mee Moo Deang is like Kway Tiao but made from yellow noodles (egg noodles) and served with slices of red (bbq) pork – Delicious!

Khao Pod or ‘corn on the cob’ as you might know it is a cheap snack at about 10 Baht each.

Geang Kiew Wan, Geang Luang, Geang Phet (Geang Deang), Geang Massaman, & Penang. These are the most well known Thai curries and are available in most restaurants and some food stalls. Geang means curry in Thai and they have green, red or yellow curry as well as a few others. Some are spicier than others but all are very tasty. My personal favourites include Geang Kiew wan (green curry) Geang Phet or Geang Deang (red curry) and Penang Gai (Penang chicken curry) All can be eaten with chicken, pork or beef.

Pad Gaprao Moo is my favourite dish of all and I cook it weekly in my home. It’s basically fried pork with Thai holy basil and we like to add onion and chillies too - Highly recommended.

Gai Pad Met Ma Muang or chicken and cashew nut (Thai style) is a great dish and usually is coked with dried red chillies but isn’t too spicy.

Pad Brio Wan Gai/Moo/Goong – Sweet & Sour Chicken/Pork/Prawns. When made with fresh pineapple and using succulent green peppers, this is one of the tastiest Thai dishes.

Sapalot is Thai for Pineapple and you can buy a slice from a street vendor for about 10/15 baht. You might get a little bag of red and white stuff with it which is chilli and sugar.

A warning on Ice Cream, Ice, and Water.

I would stick to drinking brand name, bottled water in Thailand because the water might not be safe to drink. Bottled water is cheap and available everywhere. Also, don’t use ice than looks crushed. Ice that looks like it’s been made in an ice machine should be ok though. I would personally avoid the ice cream sold on the street as well, there is a change it could have been defrosted in the heat during its travels and then re-frozen. Ice creams and ice lollies from restaurants and shops should be fine though.

There are many other dishes and deserts and things on sticks, and lots of strange looking foods on the streets of Bangkok. Look out for the grilled chicken, pork, beef or squid on sticks, bags of fried grasshoppers or other bugs and a particular favourite of mine - dried, flattened squids.