Bangkok Visit During Mid Autumn

Coffee Beans by Dao is a very popular place (There are branches of it in Bangkok) amongst the 20s-30s crowd as well as amongst some of the expats. It now is the place I point out to visiting friends as the one place that they need to try while in Thailand – because your not going to find a place with better desserts.
While visiting a long time friend from the music industry and his wife in Bangkok, they told me of a place that was a must to visit and that was one of their favorites to go to. So the first chance we had, we went to Coffee Beans by Dao in the Sukhumvit area. By the time we left, I was in complete agreement with my friends on why they visit Coffee Beans by Dao frequently, because it was not just good – it was outstanding! The prices here a bit higher than what you expect in a Bangkok restaurant (maybe 300-350 Baht per person)– but worth every Baht.
The inside of the restaurant laid out and decorated in a kind of Thai-European style with large tables and booths. The spacing between the tables is a very good thing and it really makes it have more of a café aspect it its flair. The whole of the restaurant is very clean, and it kind of seems as if nothing is out of place. The waitresses are very attentive and of great help if you are wanting some items explained, and the food comes out pretty fast. But as your sitting and looking at the menu, it is hard not to keep staring at the desserts in display case where they have stocked it full of pies and cakes.
They do a great play on food art with their 2 Faces Soup (tomato and spinach) that is like a yin and yang. We had several Thai noodle dishes – all got my highest marks for really being good and as close to perfect as you can get in the flavors and spiciness of each dish (spicy yet not so much that you can not eat and enjoy the food). We also had chicken and pork dishes that were just wonderful! The menu had plenty of vegetarian items as well, and we had a very good pick from that as well. Coffee Beans by Dao also has more traditional Thai foods such as curries, Thai spaghetti, spring rolls, sticky rice, and Thai salads. I found each of the items we had ordered was really good, a very rare thing!
But if you think the meals and finger foods are really super good – I would highly recommend that you save some room for desert. It is their deserts that have these crowds in Coffee Bean by Dao, and that keep people coming back for more. You may want to have a look around at what the people who walk in and go immediately to the dessert menu order. That may well pay off as you see what has brought them back in. There are Cheesecakes, coffee cakes, caramel cake, banana cake, mango mousse, and ice cream – just to name a few things you will find there – and they are delicious. It was my first time to try new coconut cake – and with layers of coconut meat on layers of wonderful cream – it was one of the best deserts have had – anywhere. The blended taste made from the coconut meat and cream is perfect. My friend’s wife had the green tea cream cake – and that too was just a bite of mouth-watering heaven as you tasted the green tea and the cream together.
So if your in Bangkok and feeling hungry for a meal or a snack, you need to stop in at Coffee Bean by Dao and see for yourself if this food is really as good as this review says. You won’t be disappointed.

When unexpected Vietnam visa issue came up prior to departure at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok , a friend of mine at JAL helped me by sending me to the luxurious Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport for the night. The hotel is located just a three-minute walk from the airport’s main terminal and connected by a 200 metre, air-conditioned underground walkway. With a 24 hr airport shuttle every 10 min from Gate 4 Level 2 there is no better place to stay if you are leaving soon and want a good night’s sleep.
Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport may not be the cheapest but the pay off between a good night sleep and getting a half night sleep makes it worth it. Novotel is really ideal if you do not want to stress yourself out with a 4am wake up to get a morning flight out of Thailand and go through the traffic from the center of the city. A direct rail link currently under construction will eventually connect the hotel to existing transport systems, downtown Bangkok and its central business districts, but when will it be opened is anyone’s guess.
The rooms are big and impressive. The beds are extremely comfortable and soft. I really enjoyed the glass walled shower with its great water pressure which goes a long way towards making a stay a great one. The bathroom has a glass window with blind that looks into the room itself and was very unique. WiFi is available, but there is a charge for use.
The ultra-modern hotel itself is new (opened in NOV06) – and the two square-shaped five-story buildings each have five-story high large open atrium courtyard areas in the center of each of the structures. The two buildings are joined by a huge glass atrium designed as the hotel lobby. It features 612 rooms, 5 boardrooms, a grand ballroom for up to 1,000 people, plus 6 meeting and function rooms and a business centre 2 bars and 4 restaurants. I definitely have to agree with their boast that they have the largest lobby area in the world – it is the biggest I have ever seen. The hotel also has a pretty good fitness center and an outdoor pool surrounded by gardens, and also features a massage place.
Since you are away from the city, it helps in having some things like the bars and restaurants along the large open spaced courtyard under the atrium of the hotel. Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel offers all day dining at the The Square, which has Western and Asian dishes. Thai cuisine is offered at Sala Thai Pavilion, which has a great seating area, but also where I found the service to be pretty slow if you were not going for the dinner buffet. There is also a choice of either Cantonese cuisine at the Gold Village Chinese Restaurant or sushi at the Kinsen Japanese Restaurant.

I enjoyed my stay at the Majestic Grande Hotel, and hope to stay longer than just one night on next visit! This hotel has two great things going for it that make it a great stay, location and quality. It also had a very good staff, and if you combine those three things and a great room price – you have a place worth coming back to.
The hotel reception area itself is really beautiful in its layout. The reception service was fast and very friendly, with the staff being of great assistance on all my questions. I had an early morning check out and absolute no problems at all with it. The room I had was large and had a very comfortable bed and the whole room had a very tasteful decor. I really liked the glass shower, which had great water pressure and it felt great after a day of travel. I also enjoyed the desk in the room that allowed me to look out the window onto the city. The rooms were very clean, and housekeeping comes in and turns down the beds for you in the evening. Also, there are enough plug ins by the desk in the room for recharging all your electronics.
The breakfast buffet ticket is given out as you check in. The breakfast buffet is very good, and has a pretty extensive spread that provided for a lot of choices and variety in what you might want to eat. The only downside of my stay was in the 15 dollar daily fee for internet Wifi usage, which was a bit steep for Thailand. On the other hand, make sure you go and check out the pool and the small pool area, even if you find you don’t have time to take a swim in it.
The Majestic Grande is in a prime location for exploring Bangkok with its central location. It is only about a 7 minute walk to the Sky Train and you are only three stops from Siam Square (which is ground zero for shopping for clothing and mazes of boutiques). It’s pretty easy to get around in daytime, but at night, it is a different story if you have not already walked to the Sky Train in daylight. Make sure you have a good map taht shows you all the local area and lanes. The lanes and side streets exterior to the hotel can seem a bit seedy as night time comes around. I found it still to be pretty safe, but the area is surrounded by massage parlors, street vendors and stalls, and bars. This is a night life area of the city, and it’s kind of the norm when you are in this area of Bangkok.

If you are looking for an evening cultural event that can be one of your best experiences in Thailand, then you may want to attend a performance of the Enchanted Kingdom and go and see Siam Niranit. Here you will find more than just the show itself, with the Thai village and the music and dancing in the Theater courtyard being the extra effort that all together can make for one of your best evenings in Bangkok.
Siam Niramit is a elaborate performance of the Kingdom of Siam’s arts and cultural civilization as they have transcended through history in storytelling and religion and used to tell the story of a mythical kingdom of Siam. This is a fantasy world Thailand that is all the more spectacular because it is performed on a gigantic stage listed in the Guinness World Records with over 150 performers and world class special effects that are used to enhance the imagery and surroundings of the stage sets. The stage really is huge – with a river running along it during some acts and hills and caves and rice fields in others. When you combine the great performance, excellent sound system, huge stage, and top of the line special effects and animation – you get an experience to remember in the form of the Enchanted Kingdom.
Recommend that you request for a seat that is in the center of the theater to allow for both the ability to see all the performers and special effects and to take the best advantage of the excellent sound system. The seating itself is closer to a first class airline seat than a theater seat – and extremely comfortable. No food or drinks or cameras are allowed in the theater. Cameras will need to be checked in prior to entrance into the theater. Also, the AC can get a bit cold about an hour into the performance – so be prepared for that.
After the Admissions opens up, you can get your photo taken with a Thai girl in traditional Siam costume as you enter the Theater grounds. They will of course take your photo and have it ready for sale for about 300 Baht with scene added into the photo of either elephants or the like. Prior to the opening of the Theater, there is traditional costumed Thai dancers and live music. There are two elephants that also make their appearance, and for a fee, you can ride in their basket atop them, or can be picked up by their trunk.
The theater also has a traditional Thai village, surrounding a water front that is as much a pond as it is a canal. The village is actually a collection of houses from each of the different regions of Thailand, and a showcase of the different cultures and ethnic mix of Thailand with the unique architecture and costumes. Each of the houses in the village also offers something different, to include several really great finger foods for one to try. Do try the fried rice pudding! Some of the other houses show how Thailand delicate and ornate handicrafts are made, and offer the results for sale. To see the entire village, expect to spend about 45 minutes walking around. My recommendations are the Hmong and Malay houses – both of which are well worth taking some extra time and looking through.

A Quick overview: Journey to the Enchanted Kingdom of Thailand
Travel back through time into the history and culture of the Kingdom of Siam. You will be taken by the sheer elegant beauty of the opera and pageantry that Siam Niramit portrays on the massive stage set.
Act 1 is Journey Back into History: Travel back into ancient civilizations and the diverse cultural roots of Thailand that form the Thai ways of life. The pageantry of the Kingdom of Lanna is really detailed in its backdrops and costumes and staging. The arrival of the Chinese traders in the Malay south was very fun and festive piece with its songs and dancing. But our favorite was the Issan portion and with the river suddenly on stage and the village boy diving in! That you did not see the water before is a good surprise for all.
Act 2 is Journey beyond Imagination: This is a three set piece that defines aspects of Karma, and the deeds one does on this earth will reflect the afterlife of the next – good or bad. The scenes portrait of the three worlds of Hell, a Mythical Forest and Heaven. Of these – the scene set in Heaven is just spectacular – with numerous actors and actresses, fantastic costumes, and many wire acts occurring all at once on the giant stage set.
Act 3 is Journey through Joyous Festivals: To ascend to Heaven, Thais hold merit-making Festivals through our the year. This act portrays those Buddhist festivals in a joyful and definitely colorful manner with so much occurring on the stage that you try not to blink and risk missing something. Do not be surprised if the dancing suddenly extends into the theater seating aisles – with performers appearing as if from out of thin air.
Cost: 1,500 Baht / person
http://www.siamniramit.com/reservation.php
http://www.siamniramit.com
Dinner Buffett is at 1800-1930 Showtime is 2000-2120

My friend Pukky in Bangkok always manages to find the most unique and different experiences to show me Thailand and Thai culture each time I stop for a visit. When she told me that we were going to Saim Niramit, I honestly did not have any idea of what that was. Had she said that tonight we are going to an absolutely wonderful Thai Opera performed on the largest stage in the world by a cast of hundreds, I would have had a better idea what was coming. It took the brochure at the ticket office for me to figure out what was in store for the evening.
We got there early, and decided that we would try the buffet and the show. At 350 Baht for the huge buffet, a lot in Thailand, you would have expected it to be very good with even a few items that would be above that. Unfortunately, it came out as being very large and pretty bland with nothing standing out. We were both pretty disappointed with it, and even the desserts were nothing to talk about. I would recommend that you skip the buffet and eat elsewhere before coming to the show. In a city such as Bangkok – one never has to settle for bland food when there are so many excellent choices to be had all around you.
Behind the Theater courtyard is a set up of traditional Thai houses from the different regions of Thailand. The village of homes on stilts lines a kind of circular pond where you can go and enjoy seeing the Thai traditional life of bygone times and other cultural activities and demonstrations. Interlaced with it all is various Thai finger foods and their preparation and cookiing and other places doing traditional crafts. (I think we visited the place with the fried rice pudding three times!) I actually thought the Malay style house with its prayer room was my favorite place amongst all the houses that I explored. The couple that were your guides in the traditional household were from the Southern provinces by Malaysia and responded to my traditional greeting in Arabic. But I also enjoyed the set up of the Hmong style household – very colorful and really interesting after seeing the Hmong displays in the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore.
There are several traditional Thai dances that occur with about a dozen dancers in the courtyard of the theater. This was in itself a great show and we both enjoyed it. The art of Thai dancing is always just amazing to watch and see the beauty of each movement. There were several dance sets, and each had a different group of dancers in really interesting Thai costumes that were absolutely beautiful. The live band was also very good.
After the dancing was finished, the two elephants were lead around the crowd and you could touch them – ride in the basket atop of them – or have them grab you by their trunk and lifted up. You would think that there would be a line of paying kids wanting to get lifted by the elephant – but I think there were more Thai women in the line, to include my friend Pukky. She had a lot of fun and a great story to tell from that! Afterwards as we were waiting for the doors to open, I noticed that the band was playing different beats, and I asked my friend if this was all traditional music. Somehow I still don’t think that Dixie was traditional Thai music – but you never know!

Did you ever think it would be possible to see the Kingdom of Thailand in but a day? You can do just that with a day trip to visit and explore Ancient Siam’s scaled down replicas of monuments, temples, palaces, and buildings.
The entrance fee for foreigners is THB 300 per person and for Thais it is THB 150 per person. To move around the park, golf cars or bicycles can be rented, and private vehicles are also allowed at a fee of THB 300. Best recommendation is to rent a golf cart instead of a car (you will be getting in and out of the car often).

Ancient Siam (formerly known as Ancient City) is a short distance from the Crocodile Farm and 8 kilometers from Samut Prakan town. Claiming to be the world's biggest open-air museum, Ancient Siam features 116 structures of Thailand's most famous monuments and architectural attractions laid out on its grounds to roughly correspond to the shape of the Kingdom of Thailand. Each of the monuments and buildings are set at their correct geographical place in Thailand.

The original construction began in the latter part of 1963, with the intent of it being a golf course. During the research to build replica monuments and buildings for the golf course, it was found most of the original structures were severely damaged over time (by weather and warfare), and so it was decided instead to build a park by creating new miniatures to help to save the original structures and architecture.
Some of the buildings are life-size replicas of existing or former sites, while others are scaled down. Assistance in building the structure replicas to ensure historical accuracy was done through with the assistance of experts from the Kingdom’s National Museum . It also offers a unique means to continue some of the traditional Thai folk arts and cultures from the various regions and to preserve the old traditions for new generations.
Ancient Siam’s unique attraction is the scaled-down and actual-size replicas of important historical sites and the landscapes of the various Thai provinces. The park is actually an image in time of the Thailand’s architectures of past with its recreations of old buildings, farms, and wooden villages, as well as workers and sales people in period costume who demonstrate the simple traditional chores in the different regions.
Some of the recommended attractions include: the former Grand Palace of Ayutthaya (destroyed by the Burmese in 1767), Phimai Sanctuary in Nakhon Ratchasima, the 16th century Sanctuary of Prasat Phra Wihan , Wat Khao Phra Viharn on the Khmer border, the royal dragonboat replicas, a complete floating market and long house village, and King Rama I’s Dusit Maha Prasat Palace (Grand Palace).
Plan on at least a half day to see everything and explore the grounds. There are several places that you can eat at, with the main one being in the floating market’s village. If you buy food from the noodle vendors there and want to do a picnic lunch - there are plenty of lawns, flower gardens, fountains, and green spaces. There are several vendor shops in the market village that has items as well, to include some very good different types of Thai candy (more dime store than ancient) that Thai friends of mine had not seen before and wanted to try. They also have some fruit drinks with very unique clay mugs with lids that come with the price of the drink.