Starbucks in Bangkok

If I owned a share of Starbucks stock for every Iced Grande Hazelnut Latte I bought in Bangkok, I would be a very rich man. For the nearly five years I lived in Bangkok, Starbucks was a prime destination point.  There are 80 plus Starbucks coffee houses in Bangkok and more than 140 in all of Thailand.  And these #s constantly go up.

To underscore the significance of Starbucks in Bangkok to me personally, my very first date with Kade in early 2000 began at the Siam Center Starbucks.   As I settled into life in Bangkok, my typical routine at Starbucks was sipping my iced latte as I read Thailand's two English daily newspapers (The Bangkok Post and The Nation) plus The International Herald Tribune. Later on, if I wanted something more unique, I would go to Playground Starbucks for a certain kind of music indulgence: listening to the latest pop tunes at one of their free iPod stations.  And, for some pleasurable "hang out" time with Thai friends and intellectual chats with expat colleagues and friends, Starbucks was a prime spot.

On our visit to Bangkok in 2011 I walked down Soi Thonglor and took images of two Starbucks coffee shops that I frequented very often in 2004-05. The first three images are of one Starbucks.  Here, I would meet friends like Kyoko for afternoon chats. The last image is of another Starbucks that I really liked.  It was just down the road.

I enjoyed walking down to Thong Lor my first couple of days in January.  If I lived in Bangkok again, Thong Lor would still be a draw.  The food stops are good, including the places you mentioned.  I think of Thong Lor, you and the visits to Starbucks, Baskin Robbins and the Japanese places.  I certainly was impressed with the condo and hotel development along Sukhumvit in January.  - e-mail to Kyoko 06/2013

See where the green umbrellas are?  That's the patio of the Starbucks Kade and I went to on our first date at The Siam Center.  It's also where I went the very first time by bus from the Old City (Khao San Rd).  At that point, I had not really seen any mega-malls or huge skyscrapers in Bangkok.  I had not even taken the skytrain - doubt I knew about it.  So I got on a bus, and started talking with a young Thai lady who offered to show me where to get off.  In fact, she was going to get a coffee at Starbucks.  We ended hanging out a bit together.  After that, I am very confident it was the day I went to the Jim Thompson House Museum, and met Kade for the first time.  I walked over to the Siam Discovery Center and asked if the museum was inside the building.  The lady at the desk explained how to walk to the Jim Thompson House, and off I went.  I was clueless then, but open to anything.  This was in 2000.  It was about two months later when Kade and I met at the Starbucks.

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This is another Starbucks I frequented.  This is how it looked the years I was lived in Bangkok.  It was called the Amari Plaza or the Erawan Bangkok, and was at the Ratchaprasong intersection.  I would sometimes walk there from AUA English School when I had a long break, or I would hit it on weekends.  There were other times I would stop there when just on a travel trip.  I always enjoyed reading The International Herald Tribune, The Bangkok Post, and The Nation.  And I usually ordered a Grande Iced Hazelnut Latte.

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This is the shopping mall Central Chidlom as it appeared between 2000-2010.  On the first level, was a Starbucks.  There was no outdoor seating.  It was one I also enjoyed.

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Here's a different vantage point.  So, along the sidewalk on the left-hand side, where the building starts, there was the Starbucks.  There was an entrance on this side, as well as one from inside, accessible after entering the main entrance.  I also loved the food court in Central Chidlom.  It was on the top floor - that curved section on the right side.  Great food, some views.

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Lucky to find these online.  This is exactly how the interior looked.  I would take up one of the tables, usually on the sofa side, and often just by myself.  I usually would have a book!  Remember those days?!?   But there were times I would meet a student there, or reconnect there with some former students on a visits back to Bangkok.  It was always easy to say, "Hey, let's meet at the Starbucks at ....."  I recall once meeting a young Indian lady  named Jesse.  She was actually from Malaysia, where her parents emigrated, and she worked in Bangkok for Siemens, a German company that helped build the BTS Skytrain in the city.  We struck up a conversation based around something she was reading.  For several months we were friends in Bangkok.  In fact, that day we left the Starbucks together and walked to the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok and sat in the lobby, sipping fruit shakes and chatting more.

Good memories.  And we walked over to that five-star hotel and sat in the lobby, and just talked and talked.  Good times!  Best thing about traveling....especially for an expat....is that you're more apt to reach out to other expats and travelers, and you don't take relationships and moments like that for granted.  - an e-mail to Jesse in Dec 2012

Her reply:  How odd.... when I was in Bangkok I thought of the day we met at the Starbucks in Central Chitlom and our conversations!