Thailand Journals

Thailand 2008: Fear, Guilt and Heat

Best of IgoUgo

An August 2008 trip to Thailand by SeenThat

Surveillance Camera Photo - Bangkok, Thailand

Quote: This year I found a very different Thailand, the Land of Smiles has transformed itself into a place of fear, guilt and heat.

23 Photos

Starbucks Khao San

Restaurant | "Starbucks Khaosan Road"

Quote:

"Gah-feh rohon krap" I would say in the proper tones. The first vowel is short, the second is long. The third rolls on an uneven hill and the last is very short. What Thai friends understand when I pronounce these three words is: "hot coffee please."Yet, whenever I try it at a Thai coffee stall, one of two scenarios follows:1. They are so surprised by a foreigner approaching them that they automatically assume I am speaking a foreign language and do not listen to me. They panic and try to recall their English.2. They assume I wanted to say "Gah-feh pong" (instant coffee) and would attempt to serve me a different beverage. Most Thais believe "Nescafe" is the national...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 20, 2008

Starbucks Khao San
204 Khao San Road
Bangkok, Thailand
+66 (2) 979 7000

Cheer!
Flag

Coffee Stall

Restaurant | "Loitering in the Lottery Esplanade"

Quote:

With some care and patience, the most extraordinary angles of Bangkok can be found hiding behind the next corner, or in the smallest hours of the night.Bangkok's Empty QuarterNorth of the Grand Palace is a large park, delimited to the north by the Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. Across it, Khaosan Road is the first parallel street to the avenue. Between Khaosan's west end and the avenue there is what looks like a parking lot; a weirdly empty space at one of Bangkok's pr...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 21, 2008

Coffee Stall
Lottery Esplanade
Bangkok, Thailand

Cheer!
Flag

Sun Moulin Cafe Bakery

Restaurant | "Books, Bakery and Buffet"

Quote:

Central WorldI have described the Central World shopping mall in another journal; yet, the place is so big that many specially dedicated journals would fail to cover it properly. Probably all the shops in Hollywood could fit within it comfortably. The dimensions are difficult to comprehend, especially since it is only one among various similar malls in Bangkok, the area reminds of Orchard Road in ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 24, 2008

Cheer!
Flag

Piri Piri Flaming Chicken Bangkok

Restaurant | "Piri Piri Pennying"

Quote:

Upmarket Bangkok is often deceiving; the shinier the modern contraption is, the more probable it would offer just a downgraded version of some international mass-products' chain. In this category, the most glamorous is the Siam Paragon shopping mall. A Lamborghini parked on one of its upper floors should convince visitors that everything sold there is top quality.Siam Paragon is located just next to Siam Square and can be easily accessed with the ...Read More

Member Rating 2 out of 5 on August 28, 2008

Cheer!
Flag

Fear, Guilt and Heat

Story/Tip

Quote:

At Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport a digital picture of me was taken as a condition for getting the visa-on-arrival; I wasn't asked if I agreed.A month later, while renewing my visa through Kawthaung, the Thai customs ugly pawed my luggage in a very unfriendly way. My Bible was thoroughly inspected by an obvious unbeliever.In the month between these two events, I found a different ...Read More