Thailand

Sawatdee!

From album Thailand

For my last trip during my 3 month sabbatical, for our 3 year anniversary, and to visit our friend Grace, we visited Bangkok and Krabi in Thailand. We had the greatest time soaking up the sun (got lucky during monsoon season), and eating! Here were the highlights...

Guides used to plan trip:

Mr and Mrs Smith / Luxe Guide Bangkok / Lonely Planet Bangkok Encounter / Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok

The beach: We flew into Trang and stayed at Si Kao Anantara. The hotel itself was very nice, but for a nice beach we had to take a long tail boat out to the islands. After more research and chats would be keen to visit Koh Samui, Chiang Mai, or Chiang Rai next time.

Bangkok hotel: We stayed at Tenface in Pleonchit, which is in a good area if you want to explore both tourists spots in Silom and the more popular neighborhoods like Siam, Sukhumvit. The hotel is located a bit far from the sky train stop, but they have a 24 hr tuk tuk that takes you there, so it's not a problem. All rooms are suites with a super comfy bed. And it's quiet!

Bangkok eats! MBK, 6th floor (Siam). Where lazy people who want all the good street food in 1 place go. Still really delicious even though at top floor of a mall! Mango Tango (Siam Square, Soi 5). Mango desserts galore! Khanom Krok Bai Toey (next to Mango Tango). Don't forget to visit bakery next store to pick up some mini green flower shaped cakes. They are so delicious! Just don't know what they are called! Kai Ton (Pratunam) for kao mun gai (chicken over rice). Skip the kao mun gai place on the corner and head down the street looking for pink shirts! Somboon Seafood (multiple locations) for curry crab. Sa-Nguan Sri (Pleonchit, Wireless Road) Old school family run restaurant for lunch, popular amongst locals. Coffee Beans by Dao (multiple locations, 1 in Pleonchit) for cheesecake and crispy pork fried rice. Like Thai version of Cheesecake factory with extensive Thai/Western menu. Jae Kee Fried Chicken (Lumpini, Soi Polo) for Chinese style crispy chicken buried in deep fried garlic. Eat it with sticky rice. Kuppa (39 Sukhumvit Soi 16). Had a Thai lunch, but felt like I was brunching in LA. Bo.Lan (Sukhumvit Soi 26). One of the "it" restaurants. Be ready for spice! Street food in Saochingcha. Print out the map and roam around. Favorites were Cafe Boran, Radna Yod Pak for deep fried egg noodles and seafood stir fry, Nattaporn Ice Cream for mature coconut ice cream. Blue Elephant for cooking class. I'm sure there's plenty more, but that's a start :).

Bangkok shopping! Thought I'd add in this part since you can't avoid them. I felt like there was 1 in every corner. Joe and I browsed just for the fun of it, but they really do have a good selection. It's a great combo of American, European and Asian brands. Joe made out at Vault (Siam Square) with a very cool pair of sneakers. I liked Greyhound Original and Playhound (cheaper line of Greyhound) which has multiple locations (we visited Siam Centre which has both). They had cute shoes :). My favorite store was not a clothing store, but was a knit shop called Big Knit (Thonglor Soi 49). They have the cutest Japanese crochet books for making stuffed animals. You can make copies for 10 baht per sheet. The Luxe guide has a step by step guide for how to navigate all the stores. When exploring neighborhood shops, definitely use Nancy's map referenced above because Google Maps is not always up to date in Bangkok.