Life in Bangkok

Quick Tips:

For quick tips and event listings, there are many websites that detail such information. Some include www.bangkoktonight.com and www.mangosauce.com.

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I was incredibly excited for the meal, as I hadn't had a fine dining experience yet in Thailand. The entire ambience of New York Steakhouse was indeed high-quality. The drinks were excellent (I had a martini). The food, on the other hand, left a bit to be desired.

I had the filet, which was cooked a little too much for my liking. My date had the salmon. The salmon was excellent, but not why I went there. Now, more about the steak. The food was certainly not on par with high-quality steak meals in the U.S. or Japan. In the end, I was disappointed with the steak. I'm not sure there is a better steak place in Bangkok, but I will definitely second-guess going for steak again in Thailand or elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

It takes a bit of courage to eat from these vendors, but they are a step up from the street vendors.

I have been several times now, and there’s certainly no time like the first one. It was incredible. We arrived in the early evening, as night was beginning to fall. Hordes of people were streaming from the ferry boat that arrived with us from Koh Samui. We snaked our way down to the beach (Haad Rin, I believe), following everyone in front of us. We passed a great deal of shops and restaurants selling these incredible buckets of booze. They are essentially a bucket of ice with a pint of various liquors and mixers. You’ll hear it quite a bit throughout the night, but the phrase, "go get me a bucket", means to grab one of those. Vodka and Red Bull was a popular and cheap bucket, which generally ran 150 baht. I stuck with the rum and Coke for about 250 baht/bucket.

The beach was lined with numerous clubs and bars that stretched from their establishment out onto the beach. There were giant disco balls, laser shows, and light beams stretching as far as the eye can see. It was essentially a giant rave. There were fire shows that were put on and jugglers running around, and about 10,000 other people enjoying the festivities along with you. It was a truly memorable experience and one that I have had several more times after that first experience.

I’d recommend making your way down to Koh Phangan if you have time while in Thailand. And I’d recommend staying on Koh Samui (a 20-minute ferry) – it’s a bigger island with more to do than on Phangan. But that’s all up to you.