Bangkok A-Z... on the cheap
Smashwords edition
Text by
Paul Williams
eISBN 978-616-222-008-1
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BANGKOK A-Z - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
This book is an A-Z look at Bangkok, based on six months experience, from getting the right accommodation, visa runs, getting a visa for your girlfriend, where to eat and drink, plus lots more and doing it all within budget. I have also written short accounts on events that took place, from a military coup, taking in a world cup and a visit to the intriguing Phnom Penh in Cambodia. I hope this book will give prospective long stayers in Bangkok an insight to living there, whether it is with a partner, working, or just holidaying, with some helpful tips and advice that will make your trip a success...
A
Accommodation
Bangkok is home to many hotels for your short holiday, however, in this section I’m going to concentrate on your longer stay traveller. I knew I was coming out to Thailand for six months and decided that Bangkok was going to be my base for that period of time. Now there is some prep work you can do before coming out here. For long stay travellers your best bet is going to be renting a condo/apartment, unless you have got bags of money and want all the trappings of a good hotel. There are many serviced apartments in Bangkok that cater for all budgets, from the very basic, to your plush condo with all mod cons. Thanks to the Internet you can go to Bangkok with some of the hard work done and out of the way. The site that I used and provided me with the condo I ended up staying in was www.mrroomfinder.com, another you can try is www.bangkok-home.com. There are many others, a good place to get addresses from is www.thaivisa.com, under their accommodation section. So when you start your search, you need to think of the following things:
What is my monthly budget?
You can pick up a standard apartment for as little as 6000bt a month, or live in luxury up around the 60000bt a month, there is a huge market out there. Dependent on how much savings you have available, plus any income you may have coming in, you need to think carefully how much you can commit each month on the rent. Remember most apartments, condos will have a minimum stay of at least three months, so it’s important you do not overstretch yourself. Many of the websites you can use allow you to search on what amount you are prepared to pay, for example all properties in Bangkok up to 10000bt a month and so on.
Where to stay?
Personally I could not tell you anything about Bangkok’s districts before I came out here, so had no idea what would be a good place to reside in. Many will not surprisingly be drawn to the Sukhumvit area, which in many ways for a lot of us is home from home, a real touristy area that has everything you need all within a reasonably close vicinity. But what comes with that are generally high rental costs, so like me, you may have to look elsewhere. What district you decide on is pretty irrelevant but for one thing. How far the nearest BTS/MRT station is from your accommodation. As long as it is close, then location wise you cannot go wrong. Not surprisingly any accommodation on the rental market will be a bit pricier if near a station, but the prices are still very favourable. Most of the accommodation search sites will give a little information on where the nearest BTS/MRT station is to a property, sometimes this is useful, if they give you some sort of estimated distance or walking time, other times not so, it may just give the name of the nearest station, but it ends up actually being 15km away! So keep an open mind on this, as it will only be when you visit a lot of these apartments will you really know the proper distance.
Is a one room studio going to be enough for six months or do you need a separate bedroom?
My first thought was get a standard one room apartment, as they are cheaper and that will do me, but then I put some thought into it, I was going to be staying with my girlfriend, and with both of us not working the likelihood was we would be spending a considerable amount of time with each other. So I looked at a condo with the extra room, this puts the price up compared to a one room apartment, but it’s important your surroundings are right, and the extra room can give you some space when you need it. That said if I had been going out there on my own, then a single room apartment would suffice. So if there are two of you and your budget stretches to it, this is something you need to consider.
Is there a minimum length of stay on the apartment contract?
Most of the apartments/condos you check out on the net hopefully will advise the minimum length of stay. Some will not though, so you need to contact them to find this out. There’s no point considering a place if the minimum stay is a year when you are only there for six months.
Are you going to need kitchen facilities?
Taking an apartment/condo that has kitchen facilities will increase the rent by some amount. But before you write off the idea, take into account eating costs based over the period of time you are going to be here, you possibly will eat mainly in restaurants, if in a tourist area, the cost will mount up. By taking a place with kitchen facilities you could end up with a considerable saving. Also consider that by having a kitchen area you can have plates, cups etc which means you do not always have to eat out of cartons!
Plenty of the websites that are out there allow you to search on things such as, number of rooms, kitchen facilities, etc therefore making things easier.
As you search, you will no doubt find apartments/condos that you like, you may find one that you think is perfect, and think why bother looking for anymore? Well I would advise that you get as many possibles as you can, as you don’t know what you will find when you get there, as they say do not put all your eggs in one basket! One last thing to do before heading out, contact any of your possibles, and find out if they have availability for your dates.
On arrival in Bangkok
Once you arrive in Bangkok, it is time to go and see the properties that you short-listed. Allow yourself plenty of time to go and see them, I initially booked a hotel for a couple of nights, then booked an extra night as I was still undecided. I had several places short listed, all very different, the first was a more expensive condo, probably above what I was looking for, but had some great advantages of being right by a BTS station, and having full kitchen facilities. Their site on the web was impressive, the rooms looked spacious, and the furniture looked as good as new. I really went there expecting to sign on the dotted line, but it turned out to be my first lesson. The taxi pulled up outside the apartment block, I told my girlfriend that I thought the driver had taken us to the wrong place, but no it was right. I didn’t jump to any conclusions though and thought wait and see the rooms. Well I could just about make the room out based on the photos they had on the website, but other than that, it was a huge disappointment, the furniture was old, the kitchen area was less than impressive, and in all honesty I couldn’t wait to get out of there. First lesson, do not take the photos on any website at face value! Some fancy camera work can make anything look good.
Slightly deflated it was onto property number two in the Sathorn area. Now this one did not have many photos, so did not really know what to expect, it was cheap though, around the 7000bt per month, though only one room. When we got there, again it was disappointment, the room was tiny, and I really could not see us lasting there for six months. They did have much bigger apartments, which had potential, but unfortunately there were none available.
The next day followed a similar pattern, seeing a couple of other places, but the rooms were so small, it was at this point I realised that a two roomed condo was going to be a better option. So it was another night’s stay at the hotel, with only one more place I had made a note of back home that we could go and see.
P.Thana Tower was located in the Lad Prao district, the website for this place again looked impressive, it seemed to be a building that had been totally renovated, and had just opened. Certainly the photos of the rooms looked good, with new furniture, but I was not getting my hopes up. On arrival to the sales office, we were met by a member of staff who took us round to the building, again the building didn’t look as impressive as on the website and on entrance my gut feeling was this was going to be another let down. However I was pleasantly surprised. First we went to the two-roomed condo, it was just like on the photos, looked as though it was brand new and all the furniture looked fresh out of the box. Indeed they were still finishing up on a few things. The complex also had an impressive swimming pool and a gym that had some dated equipment but was to be updated a few months later. The two roomed condos were 15000bt pm. They also showed us a one roomed apartment, these were also good, and looked good value at 8000bt pm. We decided though our heart was set on the two roomed one and went for that. So it’s a case of being patient, the right place is out there, do not be afraid to stay in a hotel a few extra days if it means getting things right. Once you say, “yes ill take it” its paperwork time, which can be fun!
The Contract
I think I am now qualified to tell you the do’s and don’ts when it comes to the apartment contract. I have to hold my hands up and admit to a catalogue of errors when it came to signing the paperwork, and I do look back in disbelief in how neglectful I was, but as they say you learn from your mistakes, and I feel that I can pass on this advice with some authority!
When you get the contract, take time out and read it!!! Your first problem may arise here, if you are in a non-tourist area, the contract will more than likely be in Thai. I think I was a little unlucky in that my contract was in Thai and all the sales staff didn’t speak a word of English, however I did have my Thai girlfriend with me, which should have helped. I think I was a little too eager to put pen to paper, I knew it was 15000bt a month, and that they needed three months advance, so what else was there too know?
What you information you need
1. What is the monthly rent?
2. Do you pay anything else, like maintenance fees, security etc?
3. The money you give up front, what is the breakdown? two months bond, one month rent? one month’s bond, two months rent?
4. What is the minimum length of stay?
5. What day do I pay the rent and are there penalties for being late?
6. When do I get my deposit back? Specific date necessary in case you return home.
7. What do you take out of the deposit? any redecorating fees, cleaning etc?
If you get a contract in English, you should get all these answers, if not, ask them, so you do not get any nasty surprises as the months go by, and get a copy of the contract for yourself so you can refer to it during your stay. If it is in Thai and say for here sake the staff do not speak good English, then do not rush into anything. If you can take a Thai person along with you this should help, but clearly give the questions you want asking prior to going, if you just think up questions there and then, you will more than likely have misunderstandings and miss vital questions, like I did. If you do not have a Thai person to go with you, get a copy of the contract and take it to a place that you can get it translated before signing anything. Ok it will cost you some money, but in the long run it may save you lots more.
In my case, the first thing that cropped up was at the end of my first month. I had thought I’d paid three months rent in advance, however I had not, I had paid the first month, and two months deposit. No real problem here, but threw me a bit in terms of how I was managing my money. Next up was the water bill at the end of the first month. On the same bill we had a charge of 1400bt, which my girlfriend advised me was to do with the maintenance and security upkeep. So it was a call to the office and my girlfriend got it sorted, there had been a mistake, only owners and not people that were renting had to pay this. If I had been on my own I probably would have paid it not knowing any better. This was not any fault of ours, more the sales office not informing the staff at the apartment block, but again if you are clear about what exactly you pay for at the contract stage, you would know it was an error.
Third up was the minimum length of stay, I cannot believe we did not clarify this at the time we signed up, anyway, I went on a website relating to the property that we were staying in, to email the details to a friend, when low and behold I spot the words, “minimum length of stay 1 year”
Blind panic set in here, what about my deposit!!! Now I wasn’t in a totally hopeless position, as I had the fall back of an email I had sent to the sales department prior to arriving to Bangkok, in which I enquired the monthly cost for a six-month stay. Nowhere in there reply did they say that the minimum contract was for a year, so I had a bit of hope. So girlfriend on the phone again to explain the situation, in which we were advised it probably would not be a problem, but a couple of days before we go, contact the owner and discuss it with them to see if you can get all or some of your deposit back. I was not happy with that, as it would mean not knowing until the last moment, and all the worry to go with it. I emailed them, as I knew someone, somewhere new some English as the previous email reply from them was in English. I copied in the old email showing that I had said a six-month stay and so on. To be fair they replied and asked us to go into the office and a new contract could be signed for six months. Phew!
A quite few months passed with no more surprises, when I decided to get a copy of the contract for visa purposes. This time I got my girlfriend to go through it meticulously which I should have done originally. It brought to light the following:
Monthly rent must be paid between 23-28 of the month
Well, one month I missed those dates as away, so it was a 100bt penalty for each day, so totalled 300bt. Thankfully I had been on time all the other months. On reading some web forums regarding similar issues I became aware that there are plenty of places that will financially penalise you far more, in some cases 1000bt a day.
The next thing I found out about is the set charge you get when leaving. You pay a fee for the redecoration for the two rooms and a fee for the cleaning of the apartment, it came to about 3000bt.
That seemed to be that, though there was a sting in the tail. Whilst paying the last month’s rent, the staff enquired what time we would leave on our final day, so they could come round and do their checks and deduct any monies as necessary, no problem, gave them a time and asked if we get the deposit back then? No. We would have to wait possibly 2 weeks! This was a problem as we were both flying to the UK two days later!
Back on the phone to the boss, to explain the situation, again we managed to get it resolved, with us having to pop back and pick up the deposit the following day.
There had been a few stressful moments along the way, but by and large things worked out in the end. But be warned you may not be so lucky under different management, as the bottom line is you signed the contract so tough luck. So be careful, take your time, and make sure you are totally happy with everything before signing.
Air Asia
If you want to travel around Thailand, or visit the neighbouring countries, look no further than the budget airline Air Asia. They without doubt tend to have the cheapest fares of all the budget airlines in Asia. If there’s a place you fancy going, look sometime in advance and you can get a really good fare. Nearly always the taxes are higher than the actual fare. Air Asia does a lot of promotions and advertising, so you will probably be alerted to any up and coming deals, remember though the fares you hear will not include taxes. Whilst in Bangkok, I took return flights to Phuket for 2235bt (approx £42, 47€, 69$) and Phnom Penh in Cambodia for 2400bt (£42, 51€, 75$). You can normally get fares around the 3000bt (£56, 63€, 93$) for Hanoi in Vietnam. Like most budget airlines there is no meal, but you can buy some refreshments on board. All the flights I have taken with them have been good. To check there website go to www.airasia.com If you book flights with them you will have to register online first.
Airport
Bangkok is served by the new Suvarnabhumi Airport, which opened its doors in October 2006, replacing Don Muang. There was a lot of speculation on whether the airport would be ready for the opening, and more so how many problems would surface. By and large it was a success, yes there were teething problems, but it would be a surprise if any new major airport does not experience these. The airport itself is impressive to look at and has everything you would expect. It has a silver look throughout, resembling a kind of space station, it gives a very new and clean feel, however it can give a visitor a rather cold feeling due to the lack of colour.
On arrival, like at the old airport, you will be met by limousine workers touting to try and take you into the city centre. These are pricey, though you do get immediate transport, but if you want to save some money avoid them and get a normal taxi. There has also been issues with taxi’s, with them being more expensive than at first expected, as there are fees that you have to pay, firstly, for the driver and secondly, an airport charge. You can though get a taxi where you do not have to pay the airport charge, but it means taking a shuttle bus a couple of kilometres away where there is a dedicated taxi rank. Whether your traveller that may have just endured a long flight can be bothered to go through that is debatable. That said, the taxi will always be considerably cheaper than the limousine service.
For all the talk of its design and facilities, what matters is the passenger’s smooth transit through the airport, that’s what will make it a good or bad airport. I have experienced two trips through the airport, which on both occasions proved a painless experience, with check in desks, gates, easy to find, and baggage arriving promptly, so it’s a thumbs up with me.
Airport Rail Link
Since the opening of Suvarnabhumi, one major drawback has been the lack of a rail link into the centre of Bangkok. Finally in August 2010, some four years since the airports opening, an airport rail link has been opened running from the airport to the centre of Bangkok.
The trains run from Suvarnabhumi to Bangkok from 6am to midnight. There will be two type of services available, the first is a commuter train which stops throughout the city, the fares will range between 15-45bt.
The second train is the Express service which will run direct from the City Air Terminal (Makkasan) train station to the airport, this will take approximately 15 minutes, and the fare will be around 100bt.
Without doubt this will is a huge boost to the airports standing, and a welcome one also to the traveller to Bangkok.
Alcohol
The legal age to buy alcohol in Thailand is 20. Thailand’s main beers are Singha and Chang. A bottle of these from a standard bar costs anywhere from 70 to 100bt.
Bangkok has lots of imported beers too, with Heineken being the most popular. You will find this in nearly every bar, with bottle prices tending to be 10-20bt more than the Thai beers. Heineken draught along with John Smith’s, Guinness, Kilkenny, London’s Pride & Old Speckled Hen, can be found in some of the British and Irish themed pubs, with a pint costing anywhere between 150bt to 250bt. It’s always worth checking out your favourite bars happy hour.
German beers seem to be extremely popular here too, with great places like Tawandang, a giant German brewery, which has a huge beer hall which sells many German beers.
For wine drinkers, if you are expecting a cheap bottle of plonk, you will be in for a nasty surprise. The import duty on wine is very high in Thailand, so wine is pricey. best try places like Tesco Lotus and Foodland.
If you want a night in and have a few beers, then the supermarkets and convenience stores have very reasonable prices. Popular brands are Singha, Chang, Tiger, Heineken and Leo. Small bottles can be bought from 25bt to the large bottles which are anywhere between 38bt for Chang and 65bt for Heineken.
Until you come to Thailand you will probably be unaware that there is a real drink culture in Thailand, one that the country is trying to address. There are strict regulations on alcohol advertising on television, plus the unusual sight of any alcohol being censored in television programmes. More recently, a bill was proposed to raise the drink limit to 25, this however has been put on hold, but shows the seriousness of the issue here.
ATM
Like any major city, ATM machines can be found en masse in Bangkok, with most accepting all your major cards like Visa and MasterCard etc. All shopping malls will have several ATM’s for all the major Thai banks, and places such as outside 7-11 stores your likely to find one. BTS & MRT stations seem to have ATMs at all stops. When using an ATM you will be given an English language option. Remember if you are using your card from home you will probably get charged. The receipt that you get with each transaction never seems to show the charge, so do not assume it’s free. See “money” section for further information regarding bank accounts that do not charge using ATM’s.
B
Baht
This is currency you will be using out here in Thailand, the exchange rate for the UK pound (£) seems to hover between the 45-55 baht mark, the Euro (€) it’s between 37-45 baht, and for the US,($) it’s between 30-34 baht to the dollar. Do not change your money at home before coming here, the rate in will always be far inferior and you will lose out. You needn’t worry about arriving at Bangkok without any baht as there are plenty of money exchange booths to be found and unlike at other airports around the world, the rates are comparable with exchange points outside the airport.
Thai Baht comes in the form coin wise as 1bt, a recently new 2bt, 5bt and 10bt coin. The 10bt coin is a commonly used one for ticket machines at the MRT/BTS and for such things as amusement games. Notes come in the form of 20bt, 50bt, 100bt, 500bt and a 1000bt. Until you’re comfortable with using the money, always double check the notes you are paying with to make sure you don’t give the incorrect amount, like too much! it’s easily done.
Bangkok Post
No, not the postal service, but the English written newspaper and probably the most popular paper in Thailand. Priced at 25bt, has good coverage of local and worldwide affairs, plus decent sports section, with coverage of English football, including scores from the minor leagues which is handy. Always comes with several supplements such as classifieds, which lists job opportunities, air fares, education and accommodation section. Also “outlook” supplement with television cable guide, what’s on at the cinema and good quiz, crossword section. I must thank the Bangkok Post for their crossword as it filled in many an hour, here and there when stuck for things to do, though they do have a habit of recycling the clues!
Bank Account
One option you may look at prior to coming to Bangkok, is the possibility of opening a bank account with a Thai bank. If you are here for some considerable time, or working, it makes sense to have an account here. If you have a work permit, then opening an account is not too difficult, however for visitors on tourist visa’s it is a bit of a grey area. I did a fair bit of research on the matter before arriving, and at the time I only came up with Bangkok Bank as a viable option. I followed it up with an email to them, but they requested a letter from my bank back at home along with some other documents, so in the end I did not bother and stuck with a UK bank. Whilst in Bangkok I again checked out various banks websites, and it’s clear to see the rules seem to change on a regular basis. At the moment you would assume if you were here on a tourist visa, you would be unable to open an account. However, it is clear that some banks do offer savings accounts, it just seems to depend on what branch you visit, or even the clerk that you speak to, on whether they will give you one.
Some will insist on letter from your bank at home, or letter from an existing customer with the bank, whilst others will give you account on just seeing your passport and having a contact address for you in Thailand. Bangkok Bank or Siam Commercial Bank are your best bets, if you try Bangkok Bank, (www.bangkokbank.com) visit their head office branch in Silom.
If you are on a different visa or have work permit, it is a good idea to check the banks website prior to coming out so you can take out any relevant documents they require to open an account.
It may take you a while to get an account opened here, but it seems if you persevere you will get one eventually!
Bars
Bangkok has a plethora of bars and pubs which will not disappoint and provide you with a good night out, whether it be in a bar with banging music surrounded by lovely ladies, or a slightly more mellow pint in one of your British/Irish themed pubs, Bangkok really does cater for all tastes.
This look at the bar scene concentrates on the Sukhumvit area, taking a brief look along some of the soi’s:
Soi 2-4 (Nana)
The bars in this area are predominantly hostess ones, though there are a few establishments here where you can get away from that scene. On soi 4, by Nana Plaza, you have several bars that are always lively, Morning-Night, Big Dogs, and Lucky Luke’s which are on the entrance to the plaza and opposite there Golden bar. Further along this soi you will find Hillary’s which has a couple of floors, with pool tables, shows live sport and regularly has live music. Chequers bar a few doors up is a smaller bar which again is very sports orientated, showing such things as tri nations rugby and formula one, which tend not to get shown elsewhere.
Round the corner between soi’s 2 and 4, you have a pub called “Bully’s” this is a little more relaxed than the ones in soi 4, where you can sit down and have something to eat or a quiet drink without a queue of ladies breathing down your neck, you’ve also got pool tables here and live music normally on twice a week. Beer prices tend to be around 90-100bt in this area. Not surprisingly it’s popular with tourists giving these soi’s a lively atmosphere, even during the low season.
Soi 7
Host to British named pub the Winking Frog, which serves John Smith’s smooth at 129bt during happy hour, and has a decent menu. Opposite, you have hostess bar “New Wave”, this is a large bar with lots of pool tables, televisions and big screen and shows at least two live English football matches on a Saturday, at the same time. Beer here is good value at 80bt for a bottle.
Soi 11
Has various bars that are worth a visit, at the beginning of the soi you have the very smart Zanzi Bar, good food and live music here, just a little further up on the same side, you will come to a side street, along here you will find Cheap Charlie’s Bar (see under C) and if you keep following the road round, right at the end you’ll find a British pub The Pickled Liver, aptly with a picture of the late George Best over the entrance. These two bars are easily missed so keep your eyes peeled. Although not a bar the popular club Q-Club can be found right at the end of soi 11.
Soi 19
Home to The Black Swan pub, a quaint little pub that will make you feel at home. Shows live sport but the screen is in a slightly awkward spot in the bar so you have to get lucky with the seats nearby. Serves John Smiths bitter here too and you can get small Heineken for 80bt. Good food, especially the Bacon Sandwich that comes in a big baguette, very tasty, and worth the 160bt.
Soi 23
Soi Cowboy (see under S). Plenty of bars along this short soi, mixed in with the go-go bars. Old Dutch Pub is at the end, good food here and 80bt for a Heineken, you can either sit inside or outside here, with a good vantage point of all the comings and goings along soi Cowboy, whilst opposite there you have @Corner bar. Other bars such as Country Road and Piccolo can be found along here. Happy hour along here is normally between 6pm and 9pm with bottled beers going for 50-60bt, bargain!
Between Soi 22-24
On the main road between these two soi’s you will come across The Dubliner Irish Pub. Irish owned this pub has your traditional beers in Guinness and Kilkenny. A good menu available here as well. Despite its location slightly away from any cluster of bars, this place always ticks over. Well worth checking out.
Soi 33, 33/1, 33/2
If you you’re feeling a bit homesick this is the area to hit, Soi 33 and 33/1 have your traditional type British bars. Starting off we have The Londoner, which was very popular during the World Cup, it’s a big bar, plenty of screens for live sports but a bit on the pricey side, for me it has not got that home feel to it like some other pubs along Sukhumvit. Further along there are several more bars like CK Sports and gentlemen’s clubs like Christies and Napoleon, where you can nip in for a quick beer. About half way along this soi you will come to a soi 33/2, just take a few steps down here and you have two bars opposite each other, Mojo’s and The Office.
For the Office check under “O”, great bar, pool tables, and very attractive ladies, you can get a glass of Heineken draught for 75bt all day. Mojo’s is a little smaller but a good bar nevertheless, with live music on here regularly. Again you can get a beer in here for 75bt. Onto soi 33/1 and you have the Robin Hood pub, a very traditional English pub that always seems to have a chilled out atmosphere. Beer in here is pretty pricey, though they do have offers on most days, so check the board outside, it also does some good food. Along from there is another very traditional pub The Bull’s Head Pub, which serves Old Speckled Hen. Most bars in this area will have a happy hour.
Soi 55 & 63
There are further bars cum clubs up this end of Sukhumvit too, personally I have never reached this far for drinking purposes, but a recommended bar is the Witches Tavern, a British themed pub, on soi 55, along with Bombay Bar and Escudo, though these are more clubby places. Soi 63 has We-Za and Santika again clubbier than bars.
Not surprisingly there are other popular areas away from Sukhumvit that can provide you with a good night out. Khao San Road has a variety of bars all within close vicinity of each other. On the road itself, you have the popular Gulliver’s Tavern, and other such bars as Brick Bar, Hippie de Bar, Silk Bar, and Shamrock Irish Pub, the latter has live music, with drink prices ranging from 100bt for a bottle of beer to 200bt for a pint of Guinness. The small streets that lead off Khao San Road house such bars as Susie’s Bar, Cinnamon, Molly Bar and Deep Bar. With some there is a cover charge that you pay, with a free drink voucher thrown in. It’s a lively old place Khao San Road with a real mix of locals and falangs, so definitely worth a try.
Siam is another option, if you head to Siam Square you will find the Dallas Cowboy Bar, ConceptCM2 which is a club and the Hard Rock Cafe. Hard Rock Cafe hosts regular live music, I spent one evening there, but the food and drink are seriously overpriced, a small Heineken weighing in at 190bt! So it was a one off.
Other places worth checking out for an alternative night are Ratchada soi 4 and Patpong, all have plenty of places to quench your thirst and keep you entertained for an evening.
It would be fair to say that a large number of bars in Bangkok are hostess orientated. If you are here with a partner, then it’s is no big deal going to these bars. If you are single, then these are the bars you will probably want to visit. But what if you’re in a relationship and you want to go to these bars, because you enjoy the livelier atmosphere, and the cheaper prices to say your British themed pubs? Well, you can still go! If I had stuck to places like The Robin Hood, Dubliner, The Bulls Head, I would have run out of money pretty quickly, so I went to bars like the Office, Mojo’s, Big Dogs, New Wave and so on, but you have to be prepared for what is in store. A single male walking into one of these places is a sitting duck for the ladies, the truth is you will have some girls come up to you with the standard lines, “what’s your name” “how long you here for”. Maybe you will be comfortable with that and can talk away till you heart’s content, but if you are not, and you do just want to be on your own, to watch some sport on the television, or watch the world go by, simply be polite and very quickly drop into the conversation that you are here with your girlfriend who you are meeting later. Your Brad Pitt appeal will instantly vanish, indeed by the time you look back round your suitor has probably vanished. Many a night I enjoyed that bar scene more, but was on my best behaviour, so would let the girl or girls know the score, and that was fine, I was able to enjoy my drink in peace or if I wanted to have a chat I could.
In conclusion, during my six month period in Bangkok, I have had some great nights out on the town, whether it be a lively night down Nana, or a more mellow one in one of your British Bars, a good night out is not hard to come by here, so go and enjoy!
Bartering
If you venture down any tourist area, and do a spot of shopping at one of the many stalls, you’ll have to get into bartering mode, unless you want to pay well over the odds. The best advice I was given is that the sellers normally give you a price double what they will sell it for. So it’s not a bad idea to start off just under half of what they say. If you are not getting anywhere, just start to walk off, they normally start lowering the price. If you are still not happy carry on looking around as you will find more stalls selling the items where you may find a more flexible seller.
For items such as DVD’s and CD’s, the price you will get given will be 120-140bt. I would normally pay a 100bt for these, and at a push 120bt. If buying in bulk negotiate a cheaper deal.
Books
You will find several bookshops in all the shopping malls around Bangkok. Shopping malls located in more touristy areas like Siam, Sukhumvit, Chit Lom will have stores like B2S, Asia Books and Kinokuniya, which all have English written books. The malls a bit further out may only have a small selection of foreign books. You may also see books that have an English title on the front, but beware, the likelihood is it’s written in Thai!
Another useful outlet for books and magazines is through an overseas company called Bookazine, who offer a wide range of modern English language written books and International magazines. They have several outlets in Bangkok, notably in the Noi Lert building near soi 5 in Sukhumvit, along with places such as Wireless Road, CP Tower in Patpong, Sogo Department store in Ploenchit and Siam Centre. Well worth checking out. For reference, Bookazine’s website is www.bookazine.com
British Embassy
The British Embassy is located on 14 Wireless Road, Lumpini, Pathumwon. The easiest way to get there is using the BTS, with the Phloen Chit stop a minute or so walk away. On leaving the BTS the embassy is sign posted within the station with which exit to take. When you get to the front gate of the embassy there is a reception point. The embassy is open from 8.00-11.00 and then 1.15-3.30. Further details and phone numbers etc can be found at www.britishembassy.gov.uk/thailand. For visa applications, the embassy has a separate building in Lumpini, address: UK Visa Application Centre, 2nd Floor Regent House, 183 Rajdamri Road, Lumpini, Bangkok. This building is located right by Ratchadamri BTS station this is where you submit any visa application for a partner to visit the UK.
BTS
Thank goodness for the BTS (Bangkok Mass Transit System), the sky train that operates around part of Bangkok, most importantly taking in the central areas like Sukhumvit and Siam. These trains run very frequently, from around 6am to midnight. They are air-conditioned and all the stations are immaculately kept. They are easy to use, once in the station you can either go to a ticket booth and ask for a ticket and pay for it there, or you can use the ticket machines. Each station comes under a zone, so find your station on the map by the ticket machines and you will see what zone it’s in. By the machine there will be a chart telling you the cost for each zone. You then select the zone on the machine and this tells you the cost. Prices range between 10-40 bt. You then put your money in the machine, which will dispense a ticket like rail card. From here you go through one of the ticket barriers, placing the card in the slot, make sure you put it in the correct way with the arrow pointing up. The ticket will come back out on top of the barrier and the mini gates open and you go to your platform. On arrival at your destination, again put the card in the machine, the gates will open, but no card will be returned, the machine keeps it, unless you’ve got a day rider. During non peak hours the system can be very quiet, and during peak hours very busy, however even at it’s busiest times, it’s fast moving thanks to the frequency of the trains. The BTS system interlinks with the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit, Subway) so say if your stop is on the MRT line there are several stations where you can interchange and take the MRT to complete your journey or vice versa.
Budget Airlines
It’s not surprising that Bangkok is known as the travel hub of Asia, with so many neighbouring countries accessible, along with good internal flight services.
If you want to do a bit of travelling within Thailand, or visit one of the neighbouring countries, but are on a budget, you can pick up decent fares with one of the various budget airlines that operate out of Bangkok. For my travels I opted for Air Asia and Tiger Airways, write-ups on those airlines can also be found elsewhere in this book.
Below is a run down on the popular airlines and a guide to some fares and destinations. The return fares given are based on booking flights three months in advance, they are only a rough guide as airlines will often have promotions on or you could search on another day either side and you will possibly find a cheaper fare. Note that most fares are not inclusive of tax, so be prepared to add on at least a 1000bt onto the fares below, with the exception of One-Two-Go.
Air Asia. (www.airasia.com)
Seem to always have special offers on, keep your eye on the local press and television. Destinations include Chiang Mai, Phuket (700bt), Udon Thani, Krabi, Hat Yai and Surat Thani. Outside of Thailand destinations include, Phnom Penh in Cambodia (800bt), Singapore (1200bt), Hanoi in Vietnam (2400bt), Macau in China, and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Nok Air (www.nokair.com)
This Thai budget airline, has internal flights to Krabi (1200bt), Phuket (1300bt), Chiang Mai,(1700bt) Hat Yai (1900bt), Udon Thani (1400bt) and Trang (1800bt). I have flown on two occasions from Bangkok to Phuket with Nok Air, with no problems encountered.
One-Two-Go (www.fly12go.com)
Another Thai budget airline, flying to such destinations as Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket (4400 inclusive of tax), Hat Yai, Surat Thani and Krabi (4400 inclusive of all taxes).
Tiger Airways (www.tigerairways.com)
Singaporean budget airline, with flights from Bangkok to Singapore and Darwin in Australia. Return flight to Singapore can cost 1600bt, while return flights to Darwin can be found for 4200bt. Taxes push these prices up quite a bit, though like many other airlines, they do tend to have a lot of promotions on, with prices as low as 80bt not including tax to Singapore.
Jet Star (www.jetstar.com)
A new Australian budget airline, offering flights to various destinations in Asia. A popular choice is Bangkok to Melbourne in Australia, you can find return fares for 16300bt, but taxes normally take the fares up to around the 25000bt mark.
Bangkok Airways (www.bangkokair.com)
Thai airline, more expensive than Air Asia and Nok Air, they fly to Phuket, Samui and Chiang Mai.
Buses
Getting the bus in Bangkok is an inexpensive way of getting around the place. Living in a residential area and a bus ride away from the nearest MRT station and shopping mall, I became a frequent user. The buses come in, well, different types of conditions! On the one hand you can get some that have air-condition and are in generally a good state, or you can get a clapped out one, no air-condition with barely nothing holding the bus together. If you opt for the latter the fares are cheaper than if you choose buses with aircon. Buses run frequently along main roads and you’ll often have five or six buses all following each other. Not surprisingly at peak times the buses get very busy, beware when getting on as sometimes they pull off, likewise when getting off, don’t always expect the bus to come to a complete halt!
If you want to travel by bus to a destination outside Bangkok, there are three main bus terminals. Southern Bus Terminal is located in the Pinklao area, Northern Bus Terminal which is by Mo Chit MRT station and Eastern Bus Terminal which is right by Ekkamai BTS station. For information on services, it is best just to search on Google, and you will find the information on many travel sites relating to Bangkok. I only used a service once to go to Kanchanaburi which was fine. Buses also go to tourist spots like Hua Hin and Pattaya which are all within two to two and a half hours away costing very little, so it is a great way for your traveller on a budget to get around.
One word of warning when arriving at a terminal, you will often get somebody asking you where you’re going, frantically, as if the bus is just about to depart, now for some areas there maybe three differing services to a location that cost differing amounts, and differ in duration. Do not feel rushed or pressured to get on any bus they say, go to the terminal and make sure you get a ticket for your correct bus. A good example of this was Kanchanaburi to Bangkok, three services run, all very frequently, one that takes 2 hours, second one 3 hours, third one 4 hours. All vary in cost due to the duration and type of bus. Upon arriving at the station we were directed onto a bus to Bangkok, it looked like the same one we arrived on so got on it, it ended up being the 3 hour one and the coach was of much poorer standard than the one we were going for. If we had taken a bit of time about it, we would have seen that our bus lane was a bit further up. So bottom line is take your time and make sure you get your correct bus.