Weekend Trips

Just because you don't have enough time to get out of the country... It doesn't mean you don't have enough time for a weekend getaway.

Here are some great spots to go-

Kanchanaburi
Travel time: 3 hours
Leave from the Southern Bus Terminal
Favorite Place to Stay: Sam's Place


You can go to the Erawan Waterfall, a 7-tier waterfall.


You can see the famous "Bridge on the River Kwai."



Koh Samet
Travel time: 4 hours
Leave from the Eastern Bus Station or go by mini-bus from Victory Monument to Rayong. When you arrive in Rayong, you can purchase individual ferry tickets (cheap, hour ride, you have to pay the park entrance fee) or go by speed boat with several other people (boats are usually 1,500 baht- the more people the merrier, 10 minute ride, don't have to pay the park entrance fee).
Favorite Places to Stay: The Lost Resort (up the hill on Silver Sand Beach) and Silver Sand Resort




You can relax on the white, sandy beaches. It's truly an island experience.



Pattaya
Travel time: 2 hours
Leave from the Eastern Bus Station
Favorite Place to Stay: Anywhere on Jomtien Beach

You can hop on a cheap ferry to Koh Larn (gorgeous beaches).


You can visit Nong Nooch Gardens.



Hua Hin
Travel time: 3 hours
Leave from the Eastern Bus Station


You can visit the Hua Hin Vineyard for a tour on an elephant.



You can spend time on the beach.

Thong Lor

The Thong Lor area (Thong Lor stop on the BTS) is considered "The Beverly Hills of Bangkok."

On this short street, there are three Starbucks, many of Bangkok's top restaurants and clubs, boutique dress and suit designers, two grocery markets, karaoke and bowling alleys.

Here are my top picks for Thonglor...

Food - Lunch and Dinner

Beccofino
Located on Thong Lor, at about soi 4

This is an up-scale restaurant serving fine Italian food, from pasta to pizza to steak. Dishes start at 300 baht ($10) and head northwards for dishes like steak.


Witch's Tavern
Located on Thong Lor between soi 8 and soi 10

This is a great restaurant that is frequented by young professionals in Bangkok. The meals (pasta, salad, pizza, appetizers) start at 200 baht ($6). They have live jazz on Wednesdays for ladies' night.


Woodstock
Located on Thong Lor soi 13 on the left, about a 5-minute walk from Thong Lor

This American-owned restaurant serves your favorite American food and has the best burgers in the city. Meals start at 250 baht ($7).


Ana's Garden
Located on Thong Lor, between soi 1 and soi 3

This Thai restaurant serves some of the best Thai food I've had- with a menu full of options. It's all very fresh and spicy.


Soi 38 Night Market
Located at the Thong Lor BTS stop, at Sukhumvit 38


This street, which opens every night around 6pm, serves the best street food in Bangkok.

Food- Breakfast

Little Home Bakery
Located on Thong Lor, between soi 23 and soi 25

This has a huge American breakfast and lunch menu, as well as several Thai dishes. The meals start at 100 baht ($3). They have great banana pancakes!


The Witch Pie Factory
Located on Thong Lor soi 1, between Thong Lor and Sukhumvit 53

Although they have traditional Irish pies, this restaurant serves a killer 99 baht breakfast breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings until 1pm. The breakfast comes with toast, eggs, potatoes, tomatoes, baked beans and bacon.

Food- Bakery/ Sweets

Sparkles
Located on Sukhumvit soi 53, about a block from Sukhumit Road

This cupcakery is the finest in Bangkok. The cupcakes are made with all-natural ingredients and come in unique flavors such as: lavender, Nutella, and chocolate-orange. This bakery sells cupcakes, cookies and cheesecake (the cheesecake flavor changes each week).

Places to Go, Things to See

J Avenue
Located on Thong Lor, at soi 15

This area has popular eateries (Greyhound Cafe, Au Bon Pan, iBerry... and even a McDonalds), a bowling alley on the top floor, a grocery market- Villa, and boutique shops.


Tops Market
Located on Thong Lor, at soi 4


This collection of shops is similar to J-Avenue- just a smaller version. They have a grocery market- Tops (that has a really good, and cheap, Mexican counter), ice -cream parlors, restaurants and boutique shops. On Sundays you'll see some ridiculous cars (Ferraris, Bentleys, Lamborghinis, Porsches, etc) parked in the lot.


Sorbet, Boutique Store
Located on Thong Lor soi 13 on the left, about a block from Thong Lor.


This dress and skirt shop makes one-of-a-kind dresses for about 3,000 baht ($100). They use the extra fabric to make matching shoes. Their dresses, skirts, and shoes are worth saving for- very high-quality!

Traveling

You'll find that traveling to and from Bangkok is very inexpensive and easy.

Here are the best ways to travel:

By Mini-bus

Victory Monument- There are mini-busses that leave all day. Ask around for mini-busses, and they'll point you in the right direction. This is the fastest form of transportation, because they make minimal stops.

By Bus

Ekkamai (Eastern) Bus Terminal- Right off the BTS stop at Ekkamai, there are kiosks serving individual destinations. 

Mo Chit (Northern) Bus Terminal- Close to the BTS stop Mo Chit, there are kiosks serving individual destinations.

Si Thai (Southern) Bus Terminal- Literally it's in the middle of nowhere. You'll have to catch a taxi to take you to the other side of the river. This station is huge and services travel across the whole country.

By Train

Hualumpong Station- Right off the MRT stop Hualumpong

By Plane

Suvarnabhumi Airport and Don Muang Airport are excellent ways to travel within and outside of Thailand. I suggest flying Air Asia, as they usually have the most promotions, least expensive tickets and excellent service.

Gyms

There are two main fitness chains in Bangkok- they can be joined for as little as 900 baht per month. Each chain has multiple locations in frequently traveled spots (malls, BTS stops).

California Wow

www.californiawowx.com/

True Fitness

www.truefitness.com/

If you prefer coping with the heat to run in the city, here are a couple parks that have running trails. There are always park police working, so it's very safe.

Lumphini Park
Located at the Sala Daeng BTS stop


Queen Sirikit Park
Located at the Phrom Pong BTS stop

Food

Soi Food
Almost every neighborhood has an area with soi (street) food.
How much:
Soi food- Can be as cheap as 20 baht (for chicken satay) or as expensive as 50 baht (for bigger dishes). Either way, street food will cost no more than 50 baht (about $1.50). Fresh fruit smoothies will cost about 20 baht (65 cents), and fresh fruit will cost about 10 baht (30 cents). Water, coke and tea from street vendors will cost about 10 baht (30 cents).

Thai restaurants
It's the same food you'll find on the street... just at higher prices.
How much:
Thai dishes will be anywhere from 90-200 baht at a moderately priced Thai restaurant, so up to $7.


Here are some of the staple dishes Thailand:

Mango Sticky Rice

Just as it sounds... fresh mango with sticky rice served with warm cream and crisped rice.

Som Tom

This is spicy papaya salad- very spicy and fresh.

Cow Pad

This is fried rice. If you want fried rice with chicken, you'd say "cow pad guy" (guy means chicken).

Pad Thai

This is probably the most famous Thai dish with noodles, peanut sauce, tofu and your choice of meat.

Pad Kra Preaw

This is a mix of pork and peppers with rice. It's a really, really spicy dish, so proceed with caution.

Tom Yum

This is lemon grass hot & sour soup, usually served with shrimp.

Health Insurance

Okay. Here's the big one... the question everyone's parents keep asking again and again. Will you be safe and covered in Thailand? The answer is yes and no. We do receive some health insurance over here, but it's not full coverage. This past year, one of the Baylor students had his appendix removed in Bangkok. Our health care covered part of the cost, and but his American insurance had to pick up the rest. I would suggest coupling your Thai insurance with traveler's insurance.

That being said... When you get sick where do you go?


I highly recommend Samitivej Hospital, Located on Sukhumvit 49 (Phrom Pong or Thong Lor stop on the BTS). It's one of the best private hospitals in Bangkok- it's absolutely pristine. They have an entire floor for foreigners where all the staff speak English. Everyone I know who's gone here has received excellent care.

www.samitivejhospitals.com/

Money

The Basics- The currency in Thailand is the Thai Baht. Baht coins are in denominations of 1, 2, 5, and 10. Baht bills are in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000. It's a cash-dominated city, so you'll catch on quickly.



ATMs
There are ATMs for all of the major Thai banks at every BTS and MRT stop. You can also find an ATM at almost every 7-11. If you're using a Thai ATM card, very few of the Thai banks charge fees for using different ATMs- but if they do, the fee is usually 5-10 baht (20-30 cents).
If you're using your American ATM card, you will be charged about 150 baht ($5) from the Thai bank as well as charged by your American bank.

Getting Set Up
Your company or your school, depending on which you work for, will set this up for you. At Systems you are paid with direct deposit every 2nd of the month, and overtime on the 5th. Chitralada teachers are paid in the middle of the month.

Money Exchange
Where do you go in Bangkok if you need your money exchanged or traveler's checks cashed? The best place is the Siam stop on the BTS. It's the most popular tourist area (shopping, events everywhere) so there are several of the biggest bank branches. The workers all speak great English and they're very efficient. Just don't forget your passport!

Transportation

BTS (Sky Train)

Open: 6am-12pm
The sky train travels North and South in Bangkok.
Individual tickets can be purchased at station kiosks- prices are based on distance, from 15 to 45 baht.
You can also purchase BTS cards (20 rides, 30 rides, 40 rides) for discounted prices if you ride enough.


MRT (Underground Train)

Open: 6am-12pm
The MRT travels East and West in Bangkok.
Individual tickets can be purchased at station kiosk- prices are based on distance.


Taxi

Unlike New York City, taxis in Bangkok are not only yellow… they are also pink, green, orange and purple. Most likely, if you see a brightly colored car, it’s going to be a taxi. The taxi meters starts at 35 baht, and on a traffic-less night, you can get across the city for 100 baht. But traffic is usually terrible in the city, so taxis are the worst way to get somewhere quickly.
You cannot pay for a taxi with a 500 baht or 1,000 baht bill, because they might not have change. Make sure you bring smaller bills (20 or 100 baht) to pay.
At night, sometimes taxis turn off their meters and try to charge a flat rate, which is massively inflated. Walk down the road a little until you find a taxi willing to use the meter.


Tuk-Tuk

They will take you short distances, usually more quickly than taxis because they can fit in small areas. You’ll find tuk-tuks in touristy areas, major intersections and some public transportation stops. Negotiate the price before you get in. Don't ever pay more than 200 baht for a tuk-tuk, and sometimes you can get them as cheap as 40 baht (in non-touristy areas).


Motorbike

You can recognize motorbike taxis by their orange vests. You will spot them driving or sitting in groups at major intersections. They will take you short distances in about half the time of a taxi, because they can have a higher speed limit and drive between lanes of cars. This isn’t the safest way to travel, but it’s probably the fastest. Ask for a helmet! A motorbike ride for a short distance will be about 20-30 baht.


Busses

Busses are the slowest and cheapest form of transportation in the city. Some of the busses without air-conditioning are even free. When you get in, tell the cashier where you’re going and ask how much. A bus fare will typically be free to 25 baht.

Thai Cellphones

If you have an older phone and charger from America
…Bring it to Bangkok.

If you have an iPhone or Blackberry you want to use
…Bring it and you can get it unlocked to use the local network

If you don’t have an older phone
…Don’t worry. You are moving to the best city for cheap, older phones. You can buy phones at MBK (famous market-style mall at the National Stadium BTS stop) for as cheap as 500 baht. There are at least 50 kiosks where you can buy phones at MBK.



SIM Cards
You can buy a SIM card at any 7-11 counter (I use 1-2-Call, but any provider will work).
You can buy a SIM card at MBK when you purchase your phone.

Minutes
You can buy minutes in increments of 50 baht at 7-11. I found that 100 baht of minutes lasts me through the week. Tell the cashier that you want "100 baht, 1-2-call" and it'll work like magic. They'll hand you a slip of paper with a sequence of numbers. To top off your account press...
*120* (Enter in sequence of numbers) # Send

Calling Out
You can buy a calling card to call America- they are very reasonably priced, and you'll be charged for a local call. If you use Hatari calling cards, they have a "call-back" feature so you won't be charged for a local call (receiving calls costs nothing).

Calling In
Let's just say your Thai phone number is 0856286635
If your family or friends want to call you from America, they would dial 66-856286635. So add the "66" and drop the "0."