Bangkok To Hua Hin

Posted on January 6, 2014 by koomatzu

If you’re looking for a beach resort close to Thailand’s capital, Hua Hin pretty much gets the gold for being the nearest beach to Bangkok. Located on the mainland of Thailand 195 km away from Bangkok, Hua Hin is a popular escape for locals and expats from the city.

Nearest Beach To Bangkok

The beaches at Hua Hin are not the best that Thailand has to offer, and the town is not the most picturesque of places to visit in Thailand either. With a rather ugly dual carriageway noisily cutting it’s way through the middle of the town, you need to be aware that you’re not going to be getting a perfect tropical island escape in Hua Hin. However! Apart from being the nearest beach to Bangkok, Hua Hin does still have it’s perks…

Hua Hin town is actually Thailand’s oldest seaside resort and serves proudly as the King of Thailand’s primary residence. Because of it’s royal association, Hua Hin offers a much more ‘wholesome’ and family friendly vibe, free from the go-go bars and seediness that tends to seep it’s way into the other beach resorts of Thailand.

Despite the large number of tourists that visit Hua Hin, it retains a relaxed and honest vibe, without the hassle of pushy tuk tuk drivers and stall vendors (not so many anyway). Tourists can still enjoy lazing on the beach, eating at the local restaurants, or taking excursions to the nearby National Parks and historical sites.

Where to stay in Hua Hin

Most of the restaurants, nightlife and shopping attractions are clustered together in the centre of Hua Hin town around the Hilton Hotel area:

If you want to stay centrally and be able to get around easily on foot, it pays to stay around this area of Hua Hin. From here, you can easily reach the main beach, night market, old railway station and lively restaurants. Damnoenkasem Road marks the most popular area of the beach and leads directly down to the main part of the sea front. The Hilton Hotel and Centara Grand Resort are a good choice if you have a big budget.

Getting Around Hua Hin

Some tourists rent scooters to get around the town and explore further outside, however Hua Hin can be a little more daunting to drive around than other Thailand beach resorts. This is mainly because of it’s busy traffic and intimidating multi-carriageway than runs through it. Alternatively, tuk tuks cost from a minimum of 100 baht per journey up to 300 baht per hour – you can usually find drivers hanging around popular spots around town.

To save money, you can catch a songtaew from just 10 baht per person – these are basically pickup trucks with sheltered seats in the back. Look out for the white songtaews to go to Market Village and the night market from around town. The green songtaews in Hua Hin go to the airport and Takiab mountain (Monkey Mountain).

Things to do in Hua Hin

Food – Naresdamri Road offers the biggest choice of restaurant and bars, ideal for tourists and expats in Hua Hin. If you’d prefer to try something a little more local and authentic, make sure to check out the cheap and cheerful Thai beer garden ‘Ruam Saeb’ on Phetkasem Road near Soi 88/2 (within walking distance to the Hua Hin Market Village).

Shopping – Hua Hin has plenty of night markets to check out – namely the Cicada Market, Hua Hin Night Market and the Grand Night Market. The Cicada market is the most impressive of the three. It’s located in front of the Hyatt Regency hotel and is open from 4pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday only. The Cicada Market has a charming atmosphere with live performances, art exhibitions, art markets, great Thai food, and hand made products.
Hua Hin night market is open from 5pm everday and runs along Soi 72 (Dechanuchit Rd). It’s not as interesting as the Cicada Market but still offers a good Thai night market experience – be sure to check out the enchanting market square ‘Chatsila’ and sample all of the Thai treats along the way. The Grand Market is very small and not particularly aesthetically pleasing. However it is popular with locals and offers some bargain prices and good, simple Thai food. If you prefer more modern shopping, Hua Hin Market Village is a nice little shopping centre with plenty of restaurants, designer shops and a cinema on the top floor.

Chat Sila Night Market

Sightseeing – Within the town of Hua Hin, you can visit the beautiful old Hua Hin Railway station, take a trip back in time at the quirky Thai vintage village of Plearn Wan, or take in the views from Hua Hin fishing pier. A little further out of town, you can take excursions to religious sites such as ‘the biggest statue’ at Huay Mongkol Temple, the giant golden buddha of Chopstick Mountain or the Thai shrines of Turtle Hill. For a peaceful getaway, take a trip to Pala-u waterfall, or the Hua Hin Hills Vineyard and it’s highly reputed restaurant.
Plearn Wan Vintage Village

Sport – Hua Hin has ideal conditions for kite surfing: take a stroll down the main stretch of beach and you’ll find the sea buzzing with activity from kite surfers and their whirling kites. Click here to find out more about kite surfing courses with KBA. You can also go horse riding on the main beach in Hua Hin – it’s hard to miss the many guides trotting up and down the beach. Alternatively, Hua Hin Black Mountain offers some of the best golfing in Thailand as well as a great water park and wake boarding park.

Music – If visiting Hua Hin during June, make sure to visit the annual Hua Hin Jazz Festival on the beach: Relaxing atmosphere, cheap beer, good music… and it’s on a beach dammit!

How to get from Bangkok to Hua Hin

The cheapest and quickest way to get from Bangkok to Hua Hin is by minivan. Minivans depart from Bangkok to Hua Hin frequently throughout the day from Victory Monument for just 180 baht per one-way journey. If travelling by BTS skytrain, take the Sukhumvit line BTS to Victory Monument station, then exit the station via exit 2. You’ll notice Century Plaza and a load of minivans waiting at the left hand side of it.

You can purchase Bangkok to Hua Hin tickets at a little desk near the minivans. On it’s way from Bangkok to Hua Hin, the minivan will usually make one stop in Cha-am first, so make sure to listen out for your correct stop.

If money isn’t an issue for you, you may prefer to fly from Bangkok to Hua Hin instead.

Plearn Wan Vintage Village Hua Hin

Posted on January 4, 2014 by koomatzu

Plearn Wan Vintage Village in Hua Hin is best described as a living museum created in the form of an enchanting, old Thai village. This unique, detailed little replica town was designed to take visitors ‘back in time to the good old days’ of Thailand.

What is Plearn Wan Hua Hin?

Not that I have ever been to one, but Plearn Wan reminds me a lot of the replica western town theme parks you hear about in America – for example, like the old western village theme park that Homer and his family visit in one episode of the Simpsons… but it’s a Thai version! Cool, right?

Plearn Wan is basically a small, little theme park located on the outskirts of Hua Hin. It’s set out in the style of a nostalgic, olden day village, complete with rickety wooden cart stalls, rustic wooden houses, retro street signs, colourful hanging bunting, and even a street running through the middle with parked classic cars, old skool tuk tuks and vintage scooters.

Thai people seem to have a weak spot for all things vintage, and I love it! Plearn Wan has plenty of charming little finishing touches and attention to detail throughout, plus some great classic vintage tunes in the background of many areas.

Things to do at Plearn Wan

You need to remember that Plearn Wan is not very big at all, so it will probably only take a couple of hours to explore, max. You don’t get so many foreign tourists at Plearn Wan – mainly Thai tourists and locals, which means you get a little more of an authentic Thai experience at Plearn Wan with plenty of traditional Thai food to sample.

Plearn Wan is great for tasting all the delicious Thai snacks and dishes from the old wooden stalls and shacks. Not to mention it’s cheap as well. The little food court sells dishes such as pad Thai, oily rice and chicken (khao man gai), noodle soup, and snacks such as steamed buns, banana & potato fritter and deep fried ice cream. If you’re bored of Thai food, there’s a great retro American diner at the entrance of the village too.

As well as food stalls, Plearn Wan also has numerous shops with decent priced clothing and cute little trinkets to take home. Alternatively, if you make your way to the back of the village, you’ll find a modest sized fairground with a ferris wheel and shooting games. Of course, there are plenty of photo opportunities throughout, which makes Plearn Wan very popular with Thai youngsters posing for awkwardly long amounts of time and taking way too many selfies.

Plearn Wan is open throughout the day and evening so you can visit during the sunny hours of the day or during the cosy lights of the night. Even better, you can experience Plearn Wan at all hours if you stay in the themed hotel on the upper floors throughout the village. This costs from around 1500 baht per night (that’s $50 or £29). You can book the Piman Plearnwan Hotel here.

How to get to Plearn Wan Vintage Village in Hua Hin

Entry to Plearn Wan Hua Hin is free. The village is located about 3km outside of Hua Hin’s centre, however it’s pretty famous so all the tuk tuk drivers will know it if you ask them to take you there. If you’re staying centrally in Hua Hin, this could cost anywhere between 100 and 200 baht depending on your driver’s mood!

Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant Bangkok

Posted on January 2, 2014 by koomatzu

Good vegetarian restaurants are hard to come by in the meat loving city of Bangkok, however Khaosan Road is one of the best areas of Bangkok to get your fix of vegetarian and vegan cuisine.

Ethos Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurant

Tucked down a hidden away Bangkok backstreet just off Khaosan Road, Ethos is a modest little vegetarian eatery with a cozy and inviting interior. You’ll need to take your shoes off at the door – something that makes me personally feel all the more comfortable and at home in Thai restaurants – and then take a seat in the small Bangkok restaurant.

Half of the tables inside Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant are standard table-and-chair, while the other half of the seating is on the floor, on comfortable cushions with low tables. The layout of low tables, ambient warm lighting, and bohemian decor give a kind of Moroccan edge to the vegetarian restaurant. The laid back atmophere makes for a relaxing break away from the hectic Khaosan Road. It even has it’s own little travel library to keep you entertained.

With it’s English menus and backpacker location, Ethos definitely seems to aim it’s vegetarian food mainly at foreign tourists and expats. However despite it’s primarily foreign clientele, many of the staff don’t speak very good English (or Thai for that matter), so be aware that service might be a little difficult if you have special dietary requirements or are particularly fussy. It’s not really a problem though – you’re already in Thailand after all so you should probably have learnt to deal with the language barrier by now anyway!

The menu at Ethos

Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant has a rather large menu with a great range of both Thai and international vegan and vegetarian dishes. As well as savoury dishes though, they also have a vast menu of different healthy smoothies, teas and health tonics. You could easily just sit down and enjoy the drinks at Ethos without having to order a main meal.

The smoothies are particularly delicious and cost around 85 baht. In all honesty, they are possibly the best smoothies I’ve had in Bangkok. The blueberry and coconut shake in particular is great – not too sweet at all. As for the food on the Ethos menu – vegetarian Thai dishes cost between 85 and 205 baht and cover pretty much everything from stir fry basil with tofu and vegetables (Pad Ka Praw), Som Tam (spicy soup), stir fries and curries. They also have a side option of brown rice for 25 baht.

However, the Thai food at Ethos isn’t quite as tasty and tempting as the food on it’s international vegetarian menu. The menu has a decent selection of international, healthy vegetarian dishes such as veggie burger, falafel with home made pitta bread, salad and houmus, chickpea ‘meatball’ spaghetti, pesto pasta with almonds, and eggplant lasagna. The international menu at Ethos typically ranges from around 150 baht to 220 baht.

How to get to Ethos Bangkok

Ethos Vegetarian Restaurant is located down an alleyway near the bottom of Khaosan Road in Bangkok. You need to walk to the end of Khaosan near Burger King and cross over to the opposite side of the main road on the Khaosan junction. Start walking left up this main road until you see a small alleyway on your right, just a couple metres ahead. Enter the lane and you’ll notice the Ethos sign on the adjacent alleyway.

Papaya Vintage Shop Bangkok

Posted on December 30, 2013 by koomatzu

Home to perhaps the largest collection of bizarre vintage merchandise in Bangkok, the Papaya Vintage Shop is great for finding rare buys or merely just a curious peruse.

What’s in store at the Papaya Vintage Shop

Papaya is set in a huge warehouse down a very random and rather neglected road in Lat Phrao, a not-so-central area of Bangkok. Litter blows across the unusually wide and apocalyptic-looking road leading up to Papaya like hopeless tumbleweeds bouncing across a derelict landscape. Still, there are some interesting, colourful yet dilapidated-looking bars and body to body massage parlours to see along the way.

The entrance of Papaya is marked by a rusty old Tuk Tuk and a prominent life-sized dragon peering down from the warehouse roof. Entering the shop up the battered steps, the cluttered entrance sets the pace pretty accurately for what’s in store ahead – a chaos of seemingly infinite items from tacky junk to nostalgic treasures from throughout time.

Vintage shopping and snooping at Papaya

The gigantic warehouse of Papaya houses a plethora of vintage items from olden clocks, exotic vases, lavish china sets, musical instruments and war time trinket boxes; to bizarre paintings, antique furniture sets, 60’s pod chairs and kitschy phones from throughout the years. It also has a random scattering of shabby old mannequins, life-sized comic book heros, nostalgic childhood memorabilia, gaudy penguin bins, cabinets full of Garfield figures, and even more creepy mannequin babies.

Items at Papaya aren’t priced, so you need to find one of the workers if you’re interested in buying something there. Unfortunately, this is usually a sign that you’re probably going to need to haggle, so be prepared if bargaining isn’t your strong point. What’s more, don’t be too disappointed if the vintage item you’re itching to buy isn’t for sale; the Papaya Vintage Shop actually rents out a lot of their most prized and bizarre items to photographers to use as props.

How to get to the Papaya Vintage Shop in Bangkok

To get to Papaya Vintage Shop, the best way is to take the MRT subway to Lat Phrao station and then take a taxi from there. It’s about a mile along the road – a little too far to walk in the Bangkok heat. Ask the taxi driver to take you to Lat Prao Soi 55 (55 is pronounced ‘hah-sip-hah‘) – this will cost around 40 baht depending on traffic. Papaya Vintage is just a couple of minutes walk down the road directly on the intersection with Soi 55/2.

Baiyoke Tower Shopping Bangkok

Posted on December 24, 2013 by koomatzu

Bangkok shopping budget: $$-$$$

Average clothes prices: 200 – 450 baht

Baiyoke Tower, the tallest building in Bangkok, consists of a rooftop bar, a hotel, a multitude of buffet sky restaurants, and a shopping mall on the lower floors.

Shopping at Baiyoke Tower Mall

The mall at Baiyoke Tower is mainly for wholesale shopping, however you can still buy single items from the mall at a slightly higher price. The first two or three floors on entry to the mall are nothing special. Full of cheap wholesale shirts, commonplace t-shirts, hippy dresses and tourist souvenirs, everything you’ll find for sale there can easily be found at all the other big malls and markets of Bangkok for the same sort of price.

But! Despite these boring couple of floors on first glance, don’t give up on shopping at Baiyoke Tower Mall. If you like different and unconventional clothing, or alternative and indie styles, there are still a lot of good shops hidden among the other floors of Baiyoke Tower Mall. Make sure you check out the 4th level and the lower ground floor levels B1 and B2.

These levels have some great shops selling cool t-shirt prints with graffiti patterns, cult images and nerdy parodies; retro style 50’s swing dresses with DC comic prints; colourful, hand made bikinis, Catkinis; gothic tops and band hoodies; and other awesome streetwear clothing.

Shopping for Men in Bangkok

Baiyoke Tower mall is especially useful for men’s shopping as it has so many cool selections of shorts and t-shirts compared to other malls in Bangkok. On the 4th floor, Minute Mirth seems to be a particularly popular wholesale shop in Bangkok for it’s men’s tattoo print shorts and streetwear t-shirts. Melting Pot Design, also on the 4th floor, sells some particularly creative and funny t-shirts.

How to get to Baiyoke Tower in Bangkok

You can take the airport city line to get to Baiyoke Tower. If you’re not staying near any of the airport link stations, you can take the BTS Skytrain to Phayathai station, and then change to the airport link there. You need to then get the city line train to Ratchaprarop station.

Once at Ratchaprarop, you should be able to see Baiyoke Tower from the station. Cross over the railway tracks and walk along the main road for a minute or so. Baiyoke Tower is down the next main road on your right. If taking a taxi, most taxi drivers will recognise ‘Baiyoke Tower’.

Royal Dragon Restaurant Bangkok

Posted on December 20, 2013 by koomatzu

Set on huge grounds amongst mighty pagodas, glistening lily ponds and rollerskating waiters, The Royal Dragon Restaurant in Bangkok boasts a place in the 2008 Guiness World Records as the biggest restaurant in the world.

Biggest Restaurant In The World

With coach loads of lively Chinese tourists excitedly snapping away on their cameras in the front entrance, Bangkok’s Royal Dragon seems to be more of an attraction than a restaurant. With hardly any western or Thai visitors, the biggest restaurant in the world is hugely popular with Chinese holiday makers in Bangkok… I guess if the biggest restaurant in the world specialised in bacon sandwiches and English roast dinners I’d be pretty damn enthusiastic about it too.

Curbing the edges of the central area are rows of smaller karaoke rooms (each with around 25 person capacity) as well as larger rooms for special events. Standing proudly as a back drop to the Chinese landscape, you can’t miss the huge, grand pagoda and smaller floating boat rooms – the layout makes for a pleasant wander round after a big meal.

I went to the Royal Dragon restaurant during the daytime – at this time, the staff seem to shove people into the little karaoke rooms which have a surprisingly claustrophobic feel for the biggest restaurant in the world. Compared with the outer embellishments and ornate architecture, the karaoke rooms are really nothing special – if visiting during the day, try and request decent seating rather than being stuck in one of the less attractive karaoke rooms.

Bangkok Royal Dragon Menu

The menu at Royal Dragon has quite an impressive range of traditional Chinese dishes. Standard dishes range from around 200 baht for simple stir fry dishes such as chicken and oyster sauce, up to 1000 baht for more elaborate dishes such as Chinese roast duck.

One big benefit of visiting the Royal Dragon restaurant during the daytime in Bangkok – although you will miss out on the evening entertainment – is that you can sample the All You Can Eat Dim Sum buffet. Everyday between 11am and 2pm for just 220 baht, you can eat all your favourite dim sum dumplings, steamed buns and other Chinese appetizers to your hearts content. The all you can eat dim sum at the Royal Dragon Restaurant is a bargain – for four of us to eat unlimited dim sum plus a few beers, the bill came to just 1385 baht – tax and service charge free.

The all you can eat dim sum menu at the Bangkok Royal Dragon Restaurant includes steamed barbecue pork, pork dumplings and dipping sauce, shrimp rolled in seaweed, deep fried turnip, spring rolls, wonton soup, steamed buns, chilli birds feet, and a whole load of other unidentifiable meaty treats. To finish off, you’ll be served a dessert of tapioca ice and melon balls, plus some delicious steamed custard buns.

Like many other of the popular food establishments in Bangkok though, service at the Royal Dragon is a little over keen. After continual topping up of our dim sum buffet by the enthusiastic staff, we quickly found ourselves surrounded by a mountain of bamboo baskets 10 minutes into our meal. Claustrophobic much…

How to get to the Royal Dragon in Bangkok

The Royal Dragon Restaurant is quite a distance away from central Bangkok city but not far from the BTS route at least. You can take the BTS to Udom Suk or Bang Na (it doesn’t matter which) and ask a taxi to take you to BITEC Bang Na (pronounce in Thai: Bye-tec Bang Na). This is about a mile away from either of the BTS stations but takes just a couple of minutes to get to in a taxi – it should cost around 40 baht.

The restaurant is next door to the Bangkok BITEC centre. Alternatively, you could ask the driver if he knows Mang Gorn Luang, the Thai name for Royal Dragon.

Website: www.royal-dragon.com

Biggest restaurant in the world Bangkok, All you can eat Dim Sum Bangkok, Royal Dragon Chinese Restaurant menu

Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market

Posted on December 17, 2013 by koomatzu

Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, also referred to as Talat Nam Khlong Lat Mayom, is a quieter, local floating market in Bangkok, on the outskirts of the city off the beaten track. The market has a pleasant and relaxed atmosphere with plenty of unique, cute indoor trinket stalls and a plethora of Thai snacks and freshly cooked dishes.

Best Floating Market In Bangkok?

Surprisingly, not much of Khlong Lat Mayom market is actually on the canal. Apparently, this is more authentic and normal of a floating market in Thailand – the majority of the shops and food stalls are undercover, on land. However, there are still a few areas of the khlong where you’ll find Bangkok locals selling produce from the back of their rowing boats.

Unlike other more renowned floating markets in Thailand, Khlong Lat Mayom attracts significantly less foreigners and doesn’t have the tourist trap atmosphere that comes with some of Bangkok’s other attractions (one floating market worth avoiding for this is Damnoen Saduak). The peaceful khlongs here don’t share the bustling vibe associated with other floating markets, but instead attract the local Bangkokians escaping the business of the city.

You can take a 30 minute paddle boat ride along the canal of Khlong Lat Mayom to the tranquil lotus pond for just 20 baht (no tourist prices here). Alternatively, you can even take a horse ride for just 80 baht from the market’s ‘Mafia Farm’.

Shopping at Khlong Lat Mayom

The indoor market area at Bangkok’s Khlong Lat Mayom is surprisingly big; It consists of a huge variety of little stalls selling handmade trinkets, crafts and carvings such as enchanting wind chimes and embroidered cushions. Many of the souvenirs and home decorations here are unique to Khlong Lat Mayom floating market and different to the standard repetitive products you might find in most Bangkok markets.

In addition to the decent selection of merchandise in the shops, many of the items at the market have price tags – quite a rarity in Bangkok. This means you’re a lot less likely to be ripped off and preyed upon – Khlong Lat Mayom just doesn’t have that kind of walking-dollar-sign atmosphere like other places. The market also sells a variety of clothing, quirky key rings and toys – great for souvenirs to take home or to decorate your apartment in Bangkok.

Thai Food At Khlong Lat Mayom

The food section at Khlong Lat Mayom is even bigger than the souvenirs section. Pretty much every kind of food in Thailand – you’ll find here. The food market is absolutely perfect for sampling all the strange Thai treats and signature dishes of Thailand.

You can try Khlong Lat Mayom’s special omelettes with minced coconut and vegetable filling, or more popular Thai nibbles such as steamed pumpkin cakes, Thai dumplings, papaya salad, summer rolls and a whole lot more. The food market also has a huge choice of fresh seafood with plenty of live crabs and giant fish on display.

Although the food section is undercover and not on the canal, there is still some available seating at the canal side – it’s just a little higher in demand.

How to get to Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market Bangkok

Bangkok Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market is open on the weekends from 9.30am until 4.30pm; a good time to visit is early in the morning at about 10am. One of the great things about Khlong Lat Mayom is that it’s very close to the centre of Bangkok – you don’t need to take a 2 hour bus ride to get there as with some of the more well-known markets such as Amphawa.

The best way to get there is to take the BTS to Wongwian Yai station, then flag down a taxi and ask him to take you to ‘Talat Nam Khlong Lat Mayom’. It can actually be quite tough trying to find a taxi driver who will actually recognise the name so you should be prepared to go through a few taxis.

Floating markets near Bangkok… Talat Nam Khlong Lat Mayom – the best floating market in Bangkok

The Good View Restaurant Bangkok

Posted on December 14, 2013 by koomatzu

Good View is one of the more upscale local Thai restaurants of Bangkok. With live music from Thai bands, open air dining and plenty of beer towers on the go, a trip to Good View in Bangkok makes for a great authentic Thai style restaurant experience – complete with a tranquil, riverside view.

The Good View Riverside Restaurant

The restaurant itself is rather big with a large, wooden floored outdoor area and an indoor bar. The outdoor part of the restaurant at Good View is partially covered by a roof, featuring open views out onto the Chao Phraya river of Bangkok. You can either sit under the shelter of the roof, or on the open air seating lined along the riverside front of the restaurant.

Enveloped by the wooden seating area underneath the shelter part of the outdoor seating, is a small, natural grassed area with trees and plenty of greenery. Lanterns hang freely throughout the venue, hanging from the tree branches to give an elegant and charming ambience.

The Good View Menu

The Good View riverside restaurant has an extensive menu of Japanese, European, Chinese and traditional Thai dishes. Prices are a little high considering that the food there doesn’t taste much different from cheaper Thai restaurants in Bangkok. However portions are of a generous size and the pleasant environment makes up for it.

Prices start from 150 baht for a standard Thai dish such as Green Curry or Cashew Nut Chicken. Prices increase to 390 baht for steamed mussels in soy sauce and garlic, sushi, fish heads or grilled whole snappers. As Good View is an authentically Thai restaurant, it also has a large choice of sharer dishes in order for you to dine the traditional Thai way.

Sharers start from 150 baht per dish and include spicy banana blossom and prawn salad, or northeastern Thai-style grilled beef. Another Thai tradition, the beer tower, costs 560 baht per 5 litre tower. Soft drinks start from just 35 baht. Desserts are purely Thai style: Syrup and ice with fruit.

How to get to Good View Bangkok

Good View is located to the very south of Charoen Krung Road. You can ask a taxi driver to take you to the nearest landmark – Charoenkrung Pracharak Hospital – and then keep walking south towards the river from there for about 5 minutes. You can’t miss the restaurant it’s pretty big with a massive car park and signs on the roadside.

Thai-English phonetics are pretty bad, the hospital name is more accurately pronounced like: ‘Rong-pa-ya-baan Ja-roen-grung Bra-cha-rak’… Bit of a mouthful, sorry.

The indoor bar

Flow House Surfing Bangkok

Posted on December 10, 2013 by koomatzu

Set in the heart of Bangkok’s skyscraper cityscape, the Flow House is a great place to either let out some steam surfing on the FlowRider, or to just simply chill out in the bar to some laid back, dub reggae and rock tunes.

The Layout Of Flow House Bangkok

The Bangkok Flow House complex comprises of two separated artificial water ramps surrounded by a bar and restaurant area. As well as serving food and beers, the Flow House also has a plunge pool, shop and photographer service. The shop sells a good selection of boards, surfer style clothes, bikinis and board shorts while the plunge pool is pretty handy for keeping the kids entertained. As for the photographers, they take sneaky photos of you on the FlowRider which you can buy afterwards from 200 baht each.

The Flow House sports bar alone is a pretty good place to hangout to the music while watching all the action from the balcony – If you’re not keen on the idea of surfing, it makes a good enough visit in Bangkok without actually taking part in the flowboarding. The Flow House plays a really decent selection of cool Californian pop rock and reggae tunes in the background for a chilled out surfer vibe.

Food at the Flow House restaurant is equally pretty good. You can get some real tasty smoothies for 120 baht, healthy Caesar or Greek salad from 140 baht, or an epic beef burger and onion rings for 280 baht.

The Flowboarding Experience

If you love extreme sports like surfing and snowboarding, then chances are you’ll probably love Flow House Bangkok and you’ll also love watching the instructors and regular pros spinning and jumping around on the ramps. Depending on when you visit the Bangkok Flow House, group sizes vary from 1 0r 2 people to a maximum of 8 people. Typical sessions last one hour while you take turns with everyone else in your group.

Flow House instructors are all enthusiastic, friendly, encouraging and pretty much fluent English speakers. They make the flowboarding experience all the more enjoyable when they get visibly excited as they see their students improve through the session too. Beginners start off lying down and kneeling on the board which is quite simple and a lot less painful.

Once you’ve mastered this, which – if it’s a quiet day – is doable within a few goes, you can go on to a standing position, holding on to a rope for added balance. Just expect a lot of whiplash, bruises and aches for the next few days; you might want to plan your visit to Flow House wisely if you’re on holiday in Bangkok!

Good To Know

You can book flowboarding in advance on Facebook or just drop in; I recommend booking in advance as sometimes they have special events on (particularly on Fridays). It get’s very busy with lots of kid’s parties on the weekend so sessions aren’t such good value if you go during this time – you essentially end up paying 750 baht for all of about 8 minutes on the ramp after taking it turns with 7 other people throughout the hour.

Conversely, if it’s just a small group like a pair of you, it’s seriously knackering! You need a lot of stamina to survive half an hour straight of taking a beating from the FlowRider. This will only be a problem for other punoid wimps like myself though.

As for what to wear to the Flow House in Bangkok, the ramp does have shading so you don’t need to worry about sun burn. However it’s still best to cover up with a t-shirt, board shorts or whatever you have in your wardrobe, rather than just wear a bikini or skimpy man trunks; more than anything this is for modesty reasons. 1: you may end up feeling a little underdressed otherwise, this is Thailand afterall, and 2: the waves are seriously rough and you do not wanna be showing everybody what you had for breakfast!

How to get to the Flow House Bangkok

Flow House Bangkok is located in A-Square, a small complex opposite the shopping village K-Village. It’s a little too far to any of the BTS and MRT stations of Bangkok however you can ask a taxi to take you to Sukhumvit Soi 26. A-Square and K-Village are both located on a road just off of Sukhumvit Soi 26 called Soi Ari. Just look out for signs to K-Village or mention K-Village to the taxi driver to know when to stop.

Tawandang German Brewery Thai Bar Bangkok

Posted on December 5, 2013 by koomatzu

Bangkok’s Tawandang German Brewery can only be described as a lively cabaret-come-bar and restaurant with a laid back yet energetic ambience. The authentically Thai, modern bar provides an accurate glimpse into mainstream Bangkok nightlife. Popular with both Thai locals and the odd Bangkok expat, Tawandang is the perfect venue for celebrating, partying or simply admiring the dynamic, live performances.

The venue

Tawandang Brewery prides itself on four things: Great entertainment, great food, great beer and a friendly atmosphere. Being popular is an understatement – Tawandang Brewery is a huge success in Bangkok and, despite it’s large, spacious interior, it get’s very busy and packed very quickly.

The venue consists of a large, central seating area with the best views of the main stage – the in-demand seating here get’s booked up as much as a month in advance. Then, you have seating along the sides and at the back of the venue. The back area of the Tawandang venue provides bar-like seating which surrounds an industrial looking brewing tank; although this section has perhaps the worst view of the stage, there are big screens that you can watch the action on.

Tawandang German Brewery Menu

The Tawandang Brewery brews it’s own German beers on site: Dunkel beer, Weizen beer and Lager beer. You can order beer either by the glass or as a typically Thai beer tower, very reasonably priced and delicious; they even allow you to taste the beers before you order! How sophisticated is that, mind?

As for the food, Tawandang serves up a selection of both European (mainly German) and local Thai dishes. It’s signature dish is the German style Pork Knuckles with mashed potatoes which are highly reputed among it’s customers. The Tom Yam Goong, Steamed Seabass and German Sausages also go down particularly well with one of their cold, locally brewed beers too.

Entertainment at Tawandang Bangkok

By far the biggest focus of the Bangkok Tawandang Brewery, is the live entertainment. Ranging from traditional Thai performance, pop singers, jazz bands and hip hop dancers, to comedy acts, magicians and exciting stunts, Tawandang has something for everyone. There are a huge number of acts performing throughout the night – great value for money considering the absence of entry fees.

There are slightly less acts performing during the week as there are during the weekend, however this may be better if you’re after a more subdued atmosphere to enjoy with your partner. If you’d prefer an energetic party atmosphere with a larger group of people, the weekend is the best time to go – just remember to book ahead to be safe.

How to get to Tawandang Brewery Bangkok

The closest train station to Tawandang Brewery is BTS Chong Nonsi or Lumpini MRT, however you will still need to take a taxi from either of these stations. You can either ask the driver to take you to Tawandang near Rama 3 Soi 69, or print out the website map here.