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.

Bonita Cafe & Social Club Vegan Food Bangkok

Posted on November 30, 2013 by koomatzu

With a passion for healthy vegan food, plus a welcoming, cosy atmosphere, Bonita Cafe & Social Club is a highly recommended hidden gem of a restaurant for all to enjoy in Bangkok – whether vegan, vegetarian or proud carnivore.

Hanging out at grandma’s house

The interior of Bonita Cafe & Social Club is decorated in a charming, mismatched style of flowery table cloths, fresh net curtains, embroidered welcome signs, vintage lamps and old china display cabinets. This – combined with old Beatles classics quietly resonating from the wide screen TV, and the odd cat meowing from behind the scenes in the hallway – creates the distinctive feeling of a visit to your gran’s house: cosy, nostalgic and safe.

The atmosphere at the Bangkok Bonita Cafe is made even more pleasant by the welcoming owners (actually, welcoming is an understatement) who obviously put a hell of a lot of love and effort into the restaurant. And just to add to this already relaxed vibe, the cafe even has a modest library area – an old vintage cabinet with a multi lingual selection of books to keep you entertained.

Healthy vegan food in Bangkok

According to their Facebook page, the owners of Bonita Cafe & Social Club are actually pretty serious runners – they even sell special Five Finger Shoes too; They obviously put a lot of care into making extra healthy and nutritious food for other sports enthusiasts. If you’re pretty sick of all the overly sweet and sugary food in Bangkok, you’ll most likely find Bonita to be a refreshing change.

Bonita Cafe & Social Club Menu

The menu at Bonita Cafe only has a couple of pages full of options – strictly vegan only of course – but despite this, it manages to offer a pretty diverse range of dishes. Starters average in price at around 80 baht while main courses range between around 150 baht and 300 baht. Meals can take up to 30 minutes to prepare; the owners obviously put a lot of time and care into food preparation.

The all day breakfast at Bonita Cafe consists of vegan bacon, vegan scrambled egg, vegan sausage, whole wheat toast, beans, grilled tomato, grilled mushroom, roast potatoes, americano coffee and a glass of orange juice – all for 295 baht. You can also opt for the club sandwich with vegan bacon, vegan scrambled egg and avocado; Teriyaki tofu and onion burger with humous; vegan hot dog; and vegan pizza with either bell pepper, mushroom or basil toppings. These dishes cost from 200 baht upwards and include a serving of garlicky roast potatoes and salad.

Other vegan delights at the Bangkok Bonita Cafe include tomato or creamy carbonara pasta (with whole wheat pasta option), and a selection of both sweet and savoury whole wheat pancakes made with coconut oil. Bonita also offers a selection of desserts including vegan, sugar-free chocolate mousse for 100 baht. Personally I thought that the chocolate mousse tasted pleasantly subtle and not too sweet at all (a rarity in the syrup-loving Bangkok city).

As for the drinks menu at Bonita Cafe, there are a great range of teas such as chamomile, earl grey and jasmine (with vegan milk options) for just 50 baht per cup, or healthy, sugar free smoothies from 75 baht a glass. All in all, if you are a vegetarian, vegan or health conscious foodie in Bangkok, you must visit Bonita Cafe & Social Club. Even if you aren’t vegan or vegetarian, don’t let the strictly vegan menu put you off visiting.

How to get to Bonita Cafe & Social Club

Bonita Cafe & Social Club is located in the Sathorn/ Silom area of Bangkok. Take the BTS skytrain to Surasak station on the Bangkok Silom Line. Take exit __ out of the station, stick to the main road and keep walking until you have passed the large school on your left hand side. The next turning should be Pan Road – walk up Pan road on the left hand side for a couple of minutes and you’ll find Bangkok Bonita Cafe & Social Club about half way up the road opposite the Family Mart.

Bonita Cafe & Social Club in Bangkok, Vegetarian Vegan Food in Bangkok, Healthy restaurants in Bangkok

Purr Cat Cafe Club Bangkok

Posted on November 27, 2013 by koomatzu

The Purr Cat Cafe Club in Thonglor is a kooky Bangkok tea room owned by a local Thai soap star. If you love animals or you simply want to hang with a crap load of mega fluffy cats with bulgy bum faces while classily drinking tea from a pot, then make sure you get yourself down to the Bangkok Cat Cafe!

A visit to the Purr Cat Cafe Club in Bangkok

The cat cafe is in a cute little building set back just off of the main road. On arrival, you need to remove your shoes outside where you’ll be greeted by a charming butler-type lady with a welcoming change of slippers for you. After feeling all homey and cosy, you’ll then be led over to a sink station to wash your hands – if you touch the cats with unwashed hands or break any other of the cat rules, you’ll be fined 1000 baht.

After being shown into the next room (more like a midway decontamination room), your host will then proceed to squirt anti bacterial gel onto your hands before allowing you to enter the mighty cat lair. Very sterile and perhaps over dramatic but I do love a bit of weird, OCD cleanliness for cats.

Inside the Cat Cafe

The interior of the Purr Cat Cafe Club features a prominent, miniature cat staircase which leads to a second little cat floor full of sleeping felines. There are mainly two seating areas for customers: a play area on the floor with fluffy mats and low tables, and a comfier seating area along the window.

When you take your seat, you’ll be handed a list of rules and a food menu. You don’t really have to worry about the rules too much – it’s pretty much common sense stuff like ‘don’t punch the cats’… You probably need help if you’ve gone to a Cat Cafe to punch cats to be honest.

The Purr Cat Cafe Club menu includes an extensive choice of teas and coffees, plus a few sweet and savoury dishes such as caesar salad, ice cream and chocolate cake. The prices are fair – a pot of tea costs 150 baht, coffees cost around 100 baht and a serving of cat shaped cookies with chocolate dipping sauce costs 80 baht.

I think it’s more of a cafe to just drink rather than eat to be honest – it feels a bit wrong eating in a room packed full of cats climbing on the tables and sitting next to you while licking their tiny, little cat gonads. I personally think that the cats should be the ones washing their hands.

One of the cats fell asleep on my camera bag, that was awkward. I’m still picking the cat hairs from my camera to this day… Sorry for having to wake you, little bum face cat dude 🙁 🙁 🙁

How to get to the Purr Cat Cafe Club in Bangkok

You can have a taxi take you to Sukhumvit Soi 53 or, alternatively, take the BTS Sky Train to Thonglor station. The Purr Cat Cafe Club in only a 10 minute walk from the station – take exit 1 and then turn into Sukhumvit 53. The Cat Cafe is a 5 minute walk past a couple of wine bars on the left hand side. Just keep an eye out for the sign.

Chatuchak Weekend Market Bangkok

Posted on November 24, 2013 by koomatzu

Bangkok Shopping Budget: $

Average clothes prices: 200 baht

Standing proudly as the most famous of all Bangkok’s shopping markets and shopping centres, Chatuchak Weekend Market’s huge maze of stalls and shops will surprise even the most seasoned shopper with it’s huge size (man, if I had 100 baht for every time I’ve gotten lost and stranded in the clutches of Chatuchak market…). Being strictly only a horticulture market during the weekdays, Chatuchak market is only properly open as normal on the weekends.

So, what with Chatuchak market’s huge popularity with both local Thais and tourists from all over the world, I’m sure you can imagine just exactly how crowded it gets during this small window of shopping opportunity on the weekend. This is a slight drawback of Chatuchak; the market complex seems to just suck up all the tropical Bangkok heat like a giant sun trap and get’s super crammed full of shoppers jamming up the paths while taking selfies on their iPhones. Not a good combination if you have a distaste for overcrowded labyrinths of trinket shops.

Shopping at Chatuchak Weekend Market

But, and it’s a big but, despite these frustrations of Chatuchak, the weekend market does sell some really cool stuff with decent prices. The atmosphere is nice and friendly, with genuine sellers that don’t pressure you or charge ‘foreigner prices’; many of the shops actually have written, set prices, unlike other Bangkok markets where you may be expected to haggle or pay whatever the seller feels like charging you at the time.

The market complex consists of a large outdoor section, set out in a kind of ring shape. This outdoor section is surrounded by a maze of sheltered indoor shops which eventually lead outside of Chatuchak market. On the outskirts of the market and within the outdoor central part, you can find some cool bars and food stalls to sit and chill out away from the crowded main street.

What to buy at Chatuchak Weekend Market

Chatuchak is a pretty good all rounder market – you can buy anything from home furnishings to knockoff sunglasses; handmade silver jewellery to colourful, bohemian accessories; and second hand, retro clothing to cute, likkle puppy dogs (yes, real puppy dogs). Everything is conveniently organised into sections to make it easy to find what you’re looking for but, if you do get lost at Chatuchak, you could easily miss a whole section of goods.

Clothes for sale at Chatuchak weekend market include a large amount of second hand items, Levi jeans, used sneakers & converse, bohemian dresses, indie design clothing, street-style caps, knock off brands (Hollister & SuperDry), sunglasses (fake RayBans) and the latest Thai fashions.

Prices at the Chatuchak Weekend Market range from 20 baht for a cheap pair of earrings, to 500 baht for an intricate, hand made pair of earrings; or 150 baht for a simple top or t-shirt, to 400 baht for a unique design dress. There are some really cool clothes designs and cute accessories for sale; men have a pretty decent selection of printed T-shirts to choose from too (not the tacky Chang beer style T-shirts you might find in other markets either).

How to get to Chatuchak Weekend Market

Both the MRT and BTS lines run directly to the market at Chatuchak: Take the BTS to the terminus station, Mo Chit, or take the MRT to Chatuchak station. The stations are absolutely crammed full of people making their way to the market on the weekends, so it’s easy to just follow the crowd of people there. However, the stations are clearly signposted for the market as well.

Once you exit either station, you’ll notice people walking into Chatuchak park – walk on into the park and follow the pathway to the left hand side until you exit again through the opposite gate. Cross the road from the park and you’ll find Chatuchak market directly in front of you – just find one of the shop arcades to enter.

*I hate to nag, but beware of pickpockets when shopping at Chatuchak – pickpockets have been known to slash open bags from behind shopper’s backs.

Double Dogs Chinese Tea Room, Bangkok

Posted on November 17, 2013 by koomatzu

Love tea? The Double Dogs Tea Room in Bangkok’s China Town is pretty much the king of tea rooms. Chinese tea rooms at least anyway…

With a calm ambience, and a spacious, simple interior with plenty of authentically Chinese finishing touches, Double Dogs provides a cozy and welcoming environment for some quiet tea drinking in Bangkok. Located just off the hectic main street of Yaowarat, the tea room makes a stark contrast as a peaceful escape from the outside hustle and bustle of China Town.

The calming Double Dogs tea room is filled with charming, old-style, Chinese wooden furniture; brightened up by harmonious lamps and lights in all corners; and elegantly decorated with oriental scrolls and cabinets full of traditional teapots. A huge cabinet runs across one wall of the main tea room which displays a huge range of traditional teapots for sale. Similarly, the counter area teams with lucky cat knick knacks, exotic teas and all things Chinese that customers can buy.

All you can drink tea at Double Dogs

Bangkok Double Dogs have an ‘all you drink’ offer on a selection of special teas. For 180 baht, you can treat yourself at the ‘tea buffet’ to a choice of five teas such as Wulong, Phu-er, Jasmine white tea, Chrysanthemum and Shui Xian tea.

Once you’ve ordered your first cup of tea, the friendly staff will bring over a delightful dish full of accompanying Chinese and Japanese snacks such as almonds, dried fruit and seaweed crackers. Perhaps the best part of the ‘tea buffet’ though, is watching the tea master guy work his thing at the tea station full of dozens of special, tiny teapots.

Double Dogs Tea Room does also have a standard tea menu however – you don’t have to go for all you can drink tea. They also serve a range of snacks and Chinese desserts to enjoy with your tea. What’s especially great about the Double Dogs sweet menu, is that you can choose a selection of four Chinese cakes and snacks for 95 baht. This is great if you’re an indecisive dessert orderer, or for simply sampling and sharing the intriguing Chinese treats such as peanut rolls, red bean buns and taro mooncakes.

How to get to Double Dogs Tea Room in Bangkok

Double Dogs is located on the main Yaowarat Road directly opposite Yaowarat Soi 4. The area around this section of Yaowarat Road is great for wholesale and bargain shopping – in particular, it’s ideal for exploring the side streets and their cheap jewellery and accessory shops.