- Bangkok
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Thailand
We stayed for two nights on our way to Koh Samui and Koh Tao. We're a married couple in our 30s and wanted a nice clean with the Thai touch and not expensive.
The Siam Heritage exceeded our expectations. The service was just touching and the rooms are spacious and well-appointed.
The bed was very comfortable and the bathroom was lovely with a good hot shower.
The shuttle boat was fantastic. Navigating Bangkok by foot, train, boat or tuk-tuk is a dizzying experience whichever way you slice it. There is so much going on that you soon succumb to stimulation overload. It was so nice to get on our private boat at the end of an excursion for a leisurely cruise back to the hotel.
The hotel is near all the good shopping areas.
Recommended things to do in Bangkok
- Visit the Grand Palace
- Ride the public river boats
- Dine at The Mango Tree (also Vertigo is amazing but very expensive)
- Shop for trinkets, clothing and fake everything at Night bazaar Lumphini and Patpong (the Exotic one)
- Ride the Skytrain
- Visit the rooftop Sirocco bar on the 76th floor at The State towers. A drink would cost you around eight dollars and the Bangkok view is free.
- Get tired at the biggest weekend market in the world - the Chatuchak market.
- Get a good body massage. The genuine Thai massage and spa.
If you must go to MBK shopping centre do NOT take a taxi or tuk-tuk, take the skytrain. The traffic light to enter the mall stays red for 15 min and then is green for 30 seconds (no exaggeration; we waited 45 min at that light).
It is a big shop with very pleasant feel to it, and has a very large stock of high quality fabrics for suits and shirts. He does original tailoring in his own workshop on the second floor.
I have had a bad experience with other tailors and this is the only place I can recommend.
Just under the Asok sky train station, on Sukhumvit road.
check out his web page www.moonriverbyvj.com, it will give you all the details.
After visiting so many shops in downtown Bangkok with people harassing you to get in, this shop was much different from the others, with no harassment or pushy sales. The price was reasonable for the quality and they give professional fittings. The Shop owner Mr Sunny has had famous clients including Elijah Wood from the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
You can call them for pickup for free from anywhere.
Tel:02-2342399
Mb:08-12345923
Email: Excelsiorfashion@gmail.com
I went wedding dress shopping on my own, which I think helped a lot. It meant that I got to choose exactly what I wanted without anyone else interfering and tempting me with more expensive items. After a couple of shops I was totally disheartened with the snobby sales assistants.
In the end I visited Savile Row fashion as they often had dresses in the window that I liked. I made an appointment to go in and the two assistants spent an hour showing me nearly every dress in the shop. They were all reasonable price and as they were nice I felt that I could be honest with them.
The shop that I went to was called Savile Row Fashion in Suriwong Street in Bangkok, and I would highly recommend it.
118 rose hotel, Suriwong road, Patpong, Bangkok 10500
contact no: 022354427, 0858441307
email: savilerowfashion@gmail.com
Narry and Aron (father and son) cannot be beaten. They are truly amazing. Especially Narry with his butter soft English and the just mind-numbing ability to remember everyone's name! Having a few suits from them is almost a right of passage for us in the Department of Defense and the protective and investigative services. Walking into their shop is like walking into a museum of US intelligence agencies.
And they make damn fine suits and custom shoes. They even fit them to better conceal whatever weapon you may be carrying.
118 suriwong, near Patpong Street, next to Rose Hotel
0858441307, 022354427
I have been slowly upgrading my wardrobe. I have proceeded cautiously because I know that 90% of the tailors here are ripoffs and most people bought a suit based on the advice of the tout sitting outside the shop or from a Thai airways in-flight magazine ad.
Thankfully, there is an antidote to the Bangkok ripoff tourist tailor. I was recommended this place by an AAAC member. It's far away from the Sukhumvit Road tailors and really a world apart. I imagine this guy could hold his own against the best of the UK or Italy.
This is the tailor shop that the highest echelons of Thai society use.
I had a midnight blue tuxedo made there and it turned out beautifully. I probably broke some rules with the burgundy lining but I couldn't resist
the color when I was given the lining samples.
I had an initial fabric selection and then three fittings as the garments progressed. His fabric selections are limited but are of the highest quality.
A suit from July Tailor will cost 4000 - 12000 baht.
I have always seen another Farang (foreigner) in there. His work is in the upper echelons and his prices are much more reasonable than even the best tourist tailors. That being said, they are still lower than a good canvassed off-the-rack suit in the USA.
118 suriwong/silom road (near rose hotel) patpong street bangkok thailand
saladang station
free pick up 0858441307 022354427
contact:savilerowfashion@gmail.com
I never would have believed it, so had to try. Bangkok has some crazy fishing. I went with a UK tour operator and in just five days had four fish over the 100lb mark. The fishing combined with the brilliant food, weather and nightlife. Not to be missed!
This quirky little museum is located near New Road in Old Bangkok not far from many of the riverside hotels. The museum is in a traditional house, which was a family home, built before World War II. You can see an interesting collection of antiques, traditional household utensils and items of ceremonial significance. The museum is well laid out with lots of information in English. It takes less than an hour to visit and is included in the popular Bangkok tour offered by Exotissimo Travel.
www.exotissimo.com/travel-asia/thailand/th-tours/bangkok/discover-bkk-tours.html
This farm is not huge, but has a choice selection of snakes, with informative shows twice a day. It's about 60 baht if you go at the time of the show, otherwise it's free. Watch out, it can be gory if you go at feeding time. Also go here if you get bitten by a dog or snake during your stay - the Institute Pasteur on site provides anti-rabies vaccinations and other anti-venoms - bring the offending snake or a description of it if you can.
At one end of Henri Dunant road; take a short cut from Saladaeng Skytrain station across Soi Thaniya and cross Rama 4 road. Also near the subway station - the stop before Hua Lampong station.
You will find everything under the sun - antiques, pets, plants, clothes, books, food. Get there before the proposed plans to raze it and build another air-conditioned shopping centre become a reality.
Take the skytrain to Chatuchak station. Market open on weekends only.
Two of the best places in the entire world to have a cocktail are the Moon Bar at Vertigo on the 61st floor of the Banyan Tree Hotel and the Sky Bar at Sirocco on the 63rd of the State Tower Hotel.
Both are in the heart of the city and have jaw-dropping views where you feel as close to the aeroplanes overhead as the ground below. The Moon Bar, especially, seems to hover over the city. Brilliant fun and very surreal — like sipping cocktails on the set of Bladerunner.
A hotel on the main street in Chinatown. The colours used are somewhat OTT, but the location is great for the Old Town and the Chinatown restaurants and markets; about equidistant from the river boat pier at Ratchawong and the MRT at Hua Lamphong.
479 Thanon Yaowarat. Nearest MRT is Hua Lamphong, but taxi from the airport was 450 baht (7 pounds) in Nov 07.
What a fantastic tour! This is one of the best tours I have ever done. From the time we got collected, right until the end of the tour, we were treated to a taste of Thai life.
I think this tour is a must-do for everyone visiting Bangkok and we will recommend this tour to everyone we know from New Zealand that is coming to Bangkok. We had the best day!
www.absoluteexplorer.com
info@absoluteexplorer.com
Tel. +66(87) 077 9696, +66(89) 145 4409
I recently spent three of the craziest days fishing I have ever experienced.
Bungsamran Fishing Resort is the only place I know where you can catch a 40lb fish a cast!
They now also provide fully catered facilities, air conditioned bungalows, restuarants, shops and cafe.
My tip is to visit before demand pushes the prices up.
If you take a 15 minute Skytrain journey from BTS Siam to BTS Thong Lo you can join the lifestyle, living and shopping experience in Bangkok's designer shopping district, Thonglor.
The crowd is more residential, international, professional thirtysomething than the teens and tourists around Siam and MBK.
Couples can easily spend a whole day in Thonglor. For the morning get a coffee and up to date with emails at True Life. Relax into a half-day "Ecstasy Time" spa package in a double room at Leyana Spa. Then have an illuminated evening meal outside at To Die For restaurant in H1 - Thonglor's design HQ. And finally, discover some Bangkok trends inside the Playground mall and rub shoulders with Thai celebrities unwinding at Starbucks. If one of you is starting to tire, take an aircon taxi back to BTS Thong Lo for 35 Baht and on to your hotel in air-conditioned, speedy Skytrain comfort.
Alternatively, if you feel yourselves becoming part Thonglor, you may stay late and never want to go back ...
Map: tinyurl.com/ypoorl
People are quite correct about the locals sometimes being persistent in trying to sell you useless junk that you don't want - and that they will drive you all around the area taking you to places you are not interested in.
I found that after living in Thailand for several months that this was less of a problem, as I had started to learn the language and became aware of how you make yourself a victim for their scams.
As a previous writer said: Don't make yourself a tout magnet by stopping and looking lost; walking round in circles; poring over a guide on street corners, etc.
After living in the country for a year it was easy to get around and enjoy without any hassles ... mainly because by then, I had learned what to do and not do that causes problems.
One solution was to tell the taxi driver exactly where you wanted to go and how much you would pay before you got into the taxi (remember to be fair in your offer).
This seemed to solve a lot of problems upfront.
Speaking the language helped a lot even though I had only one year of experience speaking Thai.
When you make an effort to learn to speak their language, most Thai people are very nice and helpful to you.
I have been in Bangkok six times and each time was very enjoyable.
And I really enjoyed travelling around the country as it has a lot of beauty to offer. The area I lived in was eastern Thailand in the city of Ubon. The only hard part was getting used to the tropical heat and humidity.
Seriously, I was tortured by these people. Every step I took someone was trying to get cash off me, trying to recommend a rip-off place or trying to get me on a tuk tuk.
When on the tuk tuk they take you to places you don't even want to go. Places supposedly closed etc, I found them a constant harassment.
The final straw was when the local law student (who, incidentally, knew nothing about Thai law when asked) ended up being the same guy taking me to the airport. Needless to say, he didn't get a tip and was lucky to be paid.
With the multitude of tailors' shops in some areas of Bangkok, one couldn't help assuming that most are just jumping on the bandwagon and don't possess the experience or the connections to do a decent job of anything.
It's true that a lot of them turn out some shocking work, I've seen some of it. They really bring to life the phrase: "All over you like a cheap suit".
But you can get a decent job for a decent price. Bear these points in mind:
1) Most places are not really tailors. They just want to sell you material and take your measurements. They farm out the stuff to outside tailors.
2) You're not going to get a cashmere suit for $100.
3) In good places you'll see evidence of actual *tailoring* being done. You know more than just a tape measure and a pencil.
4) Most places farm out their tailoring to a different location but it's a good sign when the shop has a representative on site. You'll know, because they'll be involved in the measuring process and the salesman will communicate your preferences to him/her as you go along.
5) You won't get a decent wool mix suit for $100.
6) From my experience and from the genuine-looking reviews I've seen: Good places don't have touts outside.
7) Results are going to be better if you *really* know what you want.
Walk past the shops and take a good look. Get an idea of what they seem most interested in (a lot are just money laundering fronts). You'll get an idea whether they're just selling third-party generic garments for a markup, selling cloth and lots of sweet talk, or if they're more design-oriented and customer-focused.
A small number of good establishments can be found around Asok (just down from Nana) on Sukhumvit Rd. For more excellent info from someone who really knows his stuff check out the link below.
The best cappuccino with Bangkok's best view of Wat Arun on the opposite of the river. It also has very nice music for us to sit and relax after all day walking tour to the historical sites nearby; the Grand Palace and Wat Po.
Near Bangkok's biggest flower market (Pak klong talad). Walk north passing Rajini Pier and the River Book Shop. It's the next lane on the left after book shop.
The travel snobs, particularly the 'online' ones, pretend to shun Khao San Road yet secretly they make a bee-line there every time they arrive in Thailand.
Firstly what's bad about it? Well it's crowded, infested with touts, some of the rudest staff, some of the most pathetic travellers ... did I say crowded? Give me some room to breathe!
Well that's Khao San Road. Yes I rarely go there - and only when it's a trip to a specific establishment. But I do go to Banglamphu (or 'Phra Nakorn'). That's the name for the district surrounding the eponymous street.
Particularly convenient is the Soi Rambuttri/Phra Athit area. That's the area to the west, behind the Wat, by the Chao Phraya River.
Here you have the wide open space of the Wat, you're close to the river which is convenient for transport, and you're within walking distance of two dozen landmarks on Rattanakosin Island. And you've got your cheap eats, sleep, travel agents and local markets.
Back to Khao San Road itself: One myth is that this is dominated by 'farang'. Absolute rubbish! Local Thai customers began to outnumber the foreigners ten years ago and now in the evening it's 80% locals (mostly students).
If it's your first time to Bangkok try the area around Khao San Road. It's the best spot for exploring the palaces, forts and Wats of Rattanakosin Island.
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