Tang Hua Seng

Tang Hua Seng is a department store with two Bangkok branches.  The Thonburi branch recently went out of business, but will possibly reopen under new ownership and after extensive renovations.

Click here for an article about the closing.

I will continue to add to this post.

Where 2 Stay

A friend of mine once lived at Lin Court in Bangkok.  Kade and I went over there for dinner once, and I was often in that area playing badminton with this same friend.  Also in the neighborhood was a very cool coffee shop named Kuppa.  It's still in business!

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Click here for more images.

Center One

Center One Shopping Plaza is a place I know very well.  It's a few BTS stops away from more touristy Sukhumvit Road.  I lived not too far from it, from 2000 -2002.  I have been inside Center One countless times.  It's been remodeled, burned in a fire, then remodeled two or more times since then.

I always enjoyed Black Canyon coffee shop, and I recall once going with students/friends to Pizza Company for dinner.  There was an art and school supply store I'd frequently check out.  And Kade liked to shop for clothes at Center One.  I remember, too, there was a walk-up Dairy Queen when you entered.  And to the right of it was a McDonald's.

Bangkok Post

1947 

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That's the original Bangkok Post newspaper office.  The paper was founded in 1946.

When I was living in Bangkok, I read the paper in the AUA teachers' lounge and at coffee shops.  These days, when I do peruse it, I do so online.  The travel section has great articles!

Bangkok Post

Siam Center

1973

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1985

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Not sure of the year of this photo, but I would think it's around 2005, when Siam Center was undergoing another renovation.  Look closely at the green umbrellas.  That's a Starbucks.  Kade and I went there in 2000 on our first date.  After Starbucks, we crossed Sukhumvit Rd to Siam Square, where we saw a movie at the Scala Cinema.  Click here for a blog posting I did on the Scala.

Click here to see what Siam Center looks like today.

Siam InterContinental Hotel

1970

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It opened in 1966.  In 2002, it was torn down.  Today, it's where Siam Paragon is.  One of my Bangkok regrets is that I didn't go to this hotel to at least get a cocktail.  Back then, I didn't really think that you could do that if you weren't a guest.  Click here for more photos.

 

Kade and I lived on the 22nd fl of this condo for a little bit after we married.

The Erawan Hotel

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Notice the Erawan Shrine.  It's still right there.

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The Erawan Hotel opened in 1956.  It was demolished in 1987, then rebuilt and renamed.  Today it's the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.  When I lived in Bangkok, after I completed the evening shift at AUA Language Center - Ratchadamri, many times I walked with a colleague/friend to the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok.  We'd sit in the lobby and skim the International Herald Tribune and talk about politics, world affairs, life in Thailand, experiences back home, etc..  It was a great time of learning for me.  This colleague was older than I was, so he had more knowledge about certain things.  He asked good questions, was on the soft-spoken side and just knew how to have a good conversation.  And he didn't really reveal his political leanings.  He wasn't strident, that's for sure.  I would say he was an independent thinker - a rogue, in fact.  And who knows if he would agree with my assessment?  My next trip to Bangkok I may try to see him.  He's still over there, I heard.

Out With The Old

In With The New

This huge lot in Bangkok recently sold for $530 million USD.  Somebody correct me if I'm wrong.  Last year, Kade and I walked inside the Central Embassy mall (on the right).

Kade and I have been through the Central Childlom mall, where he's filming, many times.  It always had one of my favorite food halls.  And the Starbucks on the bottom floor, along Sukhumvit Rd, was a favorite hangout.  I'm not sure it even exists anymore.  What's funny, though, is that I would often exit on that back side of Central Chidlom, but I never the British Embassy was on the other side of that wall.  

USA Food Chains in Thailand

McDonald's, Starbucks, Mrs. Field's, Subway, Tony Roma's Steakhouse Restaurant, Auntie Anne's, Krispy Kreme, Baskin Robbins, Swensen's, Haagen-Dazs, KFC, Sizzler, Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Dairy Queen, Au Bon Pain, Burger King, Cold Stone, Hooters, Dunkin Donuts,  A&W, Outback Steakhouse, Little Caesars

Some that have been added:

Taco Bell, Carl Jr's, IHOP, Big Boy

I will keep updating this.

Had A Craving

 

Mexicano (formerly Senor Pico)

Rembrandt Sukhumvit

More photos and info on Mexicano here.

When I lived in Bangkok, I asked somebody where I could find good Mexican food.  They told me to go Senor Pico at the Rembrandt Hotel.  It was Kade's first time trying Mexican cuisine.  We thought the food was very good.  And the margaritas were potent - barely made it home.

Click here for some more Mexican restaurant suggestions in Bangkok.

Unique Gifts

While I was living in Thailand. I bought a brooch of a traditional Thai instrument for my aunt.  It was either this particular instrument, or the one in the very top left of the first photo.

Thai musical instruments

This is an Asheville, NC lady on one of her trips to Thailand.

Lukkade

Metinee Kingpayom, aka Lukkade

When I was in Bangkok I heard of this Thai model, Lukkade.  My wife Kade and her friends certainly all knew her.  She was famous in the modeling business.  One evening, I recall walking on the soi (lane) leading to the Jim Thompson House, and Lukkade and some guy were walking towards me.  They had just left a function at the house.  She was striking.  Recently, I discovered this promotional video for a high-end condo in Pattaya, Thailand.  It was nice seeing Lukkade still doing well.

The End of an Era

Thailand's last remaining stand-alone movie cinema

first movie shown at Scala (Dec. 31, 1969)

Kade and I saw this movie there in 2000.

Last movie shown at Scala (July 2020)

The end of an era 

Bangkok Post article

More old theaters in Bangkok

Milk & Bread

Milk Plus

One of the most enjoyable facets of Bangkok was all the little bakeries and pastry shops.  My early days there, I recall a Milk Plus food truck set up outside Center One Shopping Plaza (Victory Monument area).  I would walk by it every day.  They featured toast with various toppings, and all made up right in front of you.  The toast was cut into bite-sized pieces, and then you had a tiny plastic fork to eat with.  Behind the counter, along the back wall, they had a big selection of milks - chocolate, regular, strawberry, coffee and a favorite of mine, cantaloupe.  You could add some small gummy candy balls to the milk, and a big part of the fun was using a big, wide straw to suck up those candies.  I loved Milk Plus.  Kade and I also enjoyed the ones at MBK (shopping center) and Big C Supercenter (Rajdamri).  

Mont Nom Sod

This milk and dessert spot in Bangkok has some history.  I would encourage you to read about Mont Nom Sod here.  My guess is that Milk Plus and other places that are popular today modeled themselves after Mont Nom Sod.  A tourist in Bangkok is not likely to just find this place.  I was lucky, because Kade took me there.  Funny thing is, it's not very far from the Democracy Monument and Khao San Road even, where a lot of tourists are.  It's just a bit hidden.  "Off-the-beaten-path" is an apt description.  But if you are in Bangkok for a number of days, I would encourage to locate Mont Nom Sod, and give it a try.  

For those who want more of a road-side version of the buns and toasts, there's a well-known one in Chinatown (Yarowat).  I have yet to try it, but I will next trip.  You can read about it here.

Treats in Surat Thani

Surat Thani is the port city where everybody goes to takes ferries and boats to Koh Samui. Koh Tao and Koh Phangan.  The Thai wod koh means Island.  I was an interim manager of an Engish school in Surat Thani shortly after Kade and I got married.  She joined me down there.  

At the hotel where we stayed, there was a famous noodle restaurant next door.  Hopefully I can find the name of it and share with it later.  Near the school, there was another restaurant (mom-and-pop style) that we found one evening.  One of their specialties was jok, which is thick rice soup that you normally find for breakfast, but can be eaten anytime of the day.  We ordered jok with the small-cut pork ribs.  Those ribs in that jok were so delicious, I told Kade that folks back in Alabama would love it.  And for a few years after, we'd always talk about it, and I would say if we ever opened a restaurant back in the States, that jok with ribs would have to be on the menu.

At one end of the Surat Thani night market was a restaurant that "blew my mind" it was so good.  They had lots of prepared foods displayed at the front, and you could order some of those dishes with some restaurant.  Kade and I got a table inside after making our final decisions on what to order.  I almost always got the ground pork patty with salted egg on top.  It was scrumptious.  You could also order a variety dishes that they would make in the open-kitchen.  The seafood and stir-fries were always very good.  The photo above is the restaurant.  And in my video, if you start at 27 secs and let it play, you will a couple of photos we took.  Here's a little write-up about it somebody did on their blog.  And here's a very nice photo of it.

That's Surat Thani.  And those islands to the east are the ones I mentioned.

Think About Your Health

Bumrungrad International Hospital

Bangkok, Thailand

Years ago, I actually had to visit Bumrungrad after battling the hiccups for almost 40 straight hours!  What triggered it was, I think anyway, chewing some gum for the first time in four or five years.  In fact, there's medical research that backs it.  Here it is. 

If you were traveling in Thailand, you would have no problem getting excellent healthcare at a number of hospitals and local clinics.  Even if you don't have insurance, paying out of pocket can be far less expensive that you realize.  That said, if you're coming from overseas, your insurance should work for you in Thailand.  I think you would just have to pay first, and then file it when you get back to your home country.  Keep all your records and any bills, and do a thorough amount of research beforehand.  And for sure call your provider before you travel. 

A Wave

Queen Sirikit of Thailand

Back in 2000, when I was living in Thailand, I actually saw Queen Sirikit.  I was eating dinner outdoors in the vicinity of the Victory Monument in Bangkok.  Suddenly I heard some police whistles, and people were standing up and looking towards a road.  By then, I was also standing.  I was by myself.  On a little road off of the Victory Monument roundabout, a motorcade appeared.   In one of the cars, there was Queen Sirikit.  She waved in my direction.  I told my students at the school where I was teaching, and they said I was very lucky.  I think somebody said that there was a hospital in that area, and Queen Sirikit was likely arriving for a check-up.

Coffee & Brunch

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All over Bangkok you will find multi-story office buildings.  It's one of the biggest modern skylines in the world. And often the first few of the high-rises are basically places for shopping, eating, banking, etc..  They are like malls or shopping centers back in the USA, but with some business elements - even supermarkets and pharmacies.  In most office buildings, on the very bottom floor is a huge food court where office workers have more economical lunches.  Even if you don't work in the building, that food court is still open to the public.  The Ploenchit Center (above) was a place I'd mostly walk by.  I remember once, though, meeting a German friend at the Ploenchit Starbucks.  It's a cool spot, because you sit indoors or out on the patio.  There are so many Starbucks coffee shops in Bangkok and throughout Thailand, it would boggle your mind.  The coffee is predictably very good and consistent.  Sometimes chains get a bad rap, but Starbucks in Asia is seen as a little bit of a higher class chain.  I liked them in bit part because they were easy-to-find meeting spots.  And the Ploenchit Center, like a lot of the office towers along Sukhumvit Road and in Silom, can be accessed easily from the skytrain (BTS). There's usually a walkway extension from the BTS that takes you right into the buildings.

Across the soi (small lane) from the Ploenchit Center is The Landmark Bangkok, a 5-star hotel.  On Sundays they offer a pretty fabulous brunch at Atrium.  And you don't have to even be a guest to eat there.  I have shared before about all the rooftop bars in Bangkok.  A number of them are part of hotel properties.  These fancy hotels also have incredible restaurants and lounge bars.  I remember one Sunday meeting this same German friend over at The Landmark for breakfast.  And from The Landmark, we could look over and see the Ploenchit Starbucks patio with the big green umbrellas.

Lemongrass Memory

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Lemongrass in Bangkok will always be a special restaurant.  I only went there once.  I think it was on Valentine's Day, and I had some flowers in hand when I met Kade (then, somebody I was dating) for dinner.  Like a crazed madman, after work one evening, I got on the skytrain with the bouquet of flowers.  I had already scouted out this restaurant - near The Emporium - and even invited my Australian colleague and his wife to join us.  I thought dinner was pretty good.   And I am not even sure it is even still open.  Perhaps I will scout it out again in 2021!

Discovery of Books

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When I lived in Bangkok, these were the two biggest English bookstore chains.  I think Asia Books is the very first bookstore in Thailand that carried books predominately in English.  Kinokuniya is a Japanese chain that appeared in Thailand in the 2000s.  They carry a tremendous selection of books in English, along with books in Japanese and possibly a small Thai section.  

Back in 2000, when I first arrived in Bangkok, this was the pre-smartphone age.  Whatever reading I was doing was on websites I was surfing, and books I was purchasing or browsing while at bookstores.  Nowadays, I barely go into bookstores.   While I lived in Thailand for X amount of years, I would have to say, bookstores - in particular, these chains - were a big part of my life.  I was looking for travel books, and I was curious about books on philosophy and social science.  I would look for titles in biography, history and even photography.  Although I would buy books on occasion, I would browse quite a bit.  Kade would be elsewhere, and we would meet up later.  One thing about shopping in Bangkok is that when you walk into certain stores, like bookstores, there's a security guard at the door.  And if you are carrying a bag (from another store), you have to check it at the counter.  You get a number for a cubbyhole.  I always liked checking my bags this way because it freed up my hands.  For them, I am sure it was a way to prevent shoplifting.  I wandered around the bookstores, and I enjoyed it so much.  I think back to one of my first stops in an Asia.  It was at the World Trade Center, now known as Central World.  There was an employee named Rung that was trying to put a book on an upper shelf.  I offered to help!  We chatted for a bit, and the next thing I know we were making plans to see a movie.  She was going to invite her girlfriend Tiger.  So there's an Asia Books memory!

What surprised me the most was just how extensive the selection of the books was in these Bangkok bookstores.  I could get all the popular books that you would see in any bookstore back in the USA, plus there were titles I don't think I ever would have seen - certainly ones on Thai and Asian history.  There were philosophy titles and books on atheism that would not even make it to the shelves back in Alabama, where I was from.  I have to say - and I say this humbly - that I had more of intellectual awakening while traveling.  I was certainly more curious, and with it there was this insatiable appetite for reading.  I was absorbing books, and I was reading materials online.  It was an amazing time.  I do think there's something also to being in my late twenties and having a bit of life experience, combined with the fully wiring up of my brain.  There's science to the latter.  I will try to start listing some of the books I read while in Thailand.   Most of them, I'm sure, I purchased in Asia Books and Kinokuniya.  There were some other bookstores in Bangkok - new and used.  Click here if you want to learn about second-hand books.  The Asia Books stores I frequented the most were at Emporium, Central World and Central Pinklao.  And if I remember correctly, I think there were some small Asia Books shops in Siam Square and along Sukhumvit.  The Kinokuniya ones I like are in Central World, Emporium and Siam Paragon.

Reasons to Believe, Marks

How to Stop Worrying and Start Living, Carnegie

The 48 Laws of Power, Robert Greene

Against Happiness

China Wakes

Fresh Air Fiend, Thereux

A Pirate Looks at 50, Jimmy Buffet

The Gift of Fear, de Becker

Fast Food Nation

No Logo

Patpong Sisters

Introducing Chomsky

Perpetual War/Perpetual Peace, Vidal

Flow

Blogging for Dummies

Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman

The Education of Henry Adams

Stalin:  Court of the Red Tsar

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Death of Ivan Illyich, Tolstoy

1984, Orwell

Socrates' Way

Why I Am Not a Christian, Russell

Intimacy, Osho

The Virtue of Selfishness, Ayn Rand

Krishnamurti:  On Fear

How to be Idle

Demon Haunted World, Sagan

Man Against Himself

The Private Life of Chairman Mao