Siam Paragon and Siam Ocean World

An interesting recent addition to Bangkok (December 9, 2005) is Siam Ocean World which is located in the basement level of Siam Paragon. Siam Ocean World is the largest aquarium in SE Asia and includes penguins, sharks and a variety of offbeat sea creatures. It is great for kids and even adults will find something interesting here. Plan on spending 1-2 hours to see the entire exhibit. Admission is 750 baht for adults and 600 baht for children which seems a bit expensive to me, but what the heck you’re on vacation right? Oh, if you’re Thai then you pay 280 baht for children and 450 baht for adults which is a bit more reasonable. Isn’t dual pricing wonderful?

Siam Paragon is huge with a total area of over 300,000 sq. meters about 1/3 of which is devoted to department stores. It is an upscale mall catering to wealthy Thai’s and foreigners and has many luxury brands including Gucci, Hermes and Burberry. You’ll also find many small Thai traditional arts stores carrying everything from tiny items to very expensive and highly decorative silk, ivory, and antiques, ostentatiously geared towards the extremely wealthy.

Especially interesting, especially to car afficianados are the autos on display at Siam Paragon. Kids may not be that impressed, but many adults will enjoy it much more than Siam Ocean World. Ferrari’s, Lamborghini’s and Maserati’s are on display which is even more impressive considering the high auto import tax in Thailand makes these cars 50-100% more expensive than they would be in the west.

Siam Paragon and Siam Ocean World are located in the large mall area on Rama 1 Road in the Pathum Wan district of Bangkok. It is quite easy to get to either by Skytrain (Siam Station) or by taxi. Next door to Siam Paragon you’ll find Siam Center and Siam Discovery. MBK Shopping Center is also within walking distance and other nearby centers include Gaysorn Mall which is the most upscale of the Bangkok malls and Central World Plaza. Considering all of the nearby options you could easily spend the day in this area and 1 hour or so to investigate the aquatic displays at Siam Ocean World is worth it.

Popularity: 55% [?]

Thailand Best Beach Hotels and Resorts

Previously I told you about the Best Paradises in Thailand, a book released by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, which gives recommendations for the best hotels and resorts in Thailand. Well, being the beach person I am I thought I would kick off the review of hotels with the section on the Best Beach Hotels and Resorts.

Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort & Spa – Koh Phi Phi, Krabi

The stunningly beautiful Phi Phi Islands are a tiny group of islands blessed with soft powdery sand beaches set against a back drop of soaring limestone cliffs and hills rolling down to pristine ivory beaches. Nestled amidst the towering coconut palms and rich vegetation of Phi Phi Don’s Loh-Ba-Gao bay is Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort & Spa. The resort is set in an area of spectacular natural beauty and overlooks 800 metres of private beach.

Of course the stunning scenery of Koh Phi Phi simply adds to the magical atmosphere of this resort, but all is not heaven. Yes, the staff and the rooms are superb. The grounds and the waiting Andaman Sea are like a paradise on Earth and the quiet and serenity are relaxing beyond belief. This is a wonderful resort for a honeymoon and in fact they do have accommodations for weddings at the resort.

Now for the downside. The restaurants are overpriced with food that is ho-hum compared to real Thai fare. Not to worry though. Just a short walk off the hotel grounds and you’ll find lots of small authentic Thai restaurants to satisfy your hunger.

Room rates run from about $200-400 a night depending on the season and room type. Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort & Spa also has a return visitor Privilege Club which offers discounts of 10-20% on rooms, food and services for guests after their third stay and onward.

Ramada Resort – Khao Lak, Phang-Nga

Fabulous west-coast, white-sand beaches on the doorstep of your five-star hotel, close to an international airport and kilometers oh natural rainforest. If you hadn’t guessed by now, it’s the northern neighbor of Phuket - Khao Lak. The Ramada Resort is a new property on Khao Lak and it shows. Everything is clean and well kept and the rooms are a funky minimalist design. Really quite nice in my opinion. Another big plus is the beach which is private and quiet.

Pros -
* Really well-laid out resort - obvious a lot of thinking has gone into its design
* Great swimming pool
* Very friendly and helpful staff
* Great location - Khao Lak is just a very relaxing place to be!

Cons -
* Not especially “Thai”, if that’s what you’re looking for.
* Quality of breakfast not quite up to standards shown at restaurant lunch and dinner.
* Spa a little overpriced - by Thai standards!

Source (TripAdvisor.com)

Rates at the Ramada Khao Lak run from $100-$400 depending on room type and season.

Thapwarin Resort – Koh Ngai, Krabi

I know this hotel is being recommended by the Tourism Authority of Thailand and for sure Koh Ngai is a paradise, but after doing research on Thapwarin Resort I really can’t recommend it to anyone. There seem to be quite a few issues surrounding the resort including wasps, jellyfish and even breaking and entering! If you’re set on Koh Ngai try CoCo Cottage instead.

Katathani Phuket Beach Resort – Phuket

Katathani Phuket Beach Resort is located on the Southwest coast of Phuket Island in secluded Kata Noi Bay, less than an hour from Phuket International Airport—and a world away from all care. That’s what their website says and by all accounts it’s true. The Katathani has won numerous awards as a top hotel and it is a great place to get away from it all.

This is not a 5 star hotel, but it is a very good 4 star hotel. The staff and the restaurants are wonderful. Where the resort slips is in upkeep. The location can be considered good or bad. If you want to get away from it all then Katathani is great for you. If you want to be closer to the nightlife and shops then the location of Katathani will be a negative for you.

The very best feature of the hotel is it’s beach. Katathani is situated on one of the best stretches of beach on Phuket. They also have 6 pools onsite so you’ll never be at a loss for a place to swim.

Off season rates aren’t bad at around $120, but expect to pay upwards of $340 a night during the high season. If you can afford it and you want to get away from it all, go ahead and indulge yourself for a few days.

Twin Lotus Resort and Spa – Koh Lanta, Krabi

Twin Lotus Resort & Spa is located on 12 acres of tropical gardens in the heart of Klong Dao Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches on Lanta Yai Island’s west coast, Krabi, Thailand.

Again the focus for this hotel is the beach. They do have one of the best beaches on Koh Lanta, however the reviews regarding the service, cleanliness and food at the hotel are mixed. If you’re going to Koh Lanta nd want the most beautiful beach possible try out the Twin Lotus Resort, otherwise stay somewhere else such as Chaw Ka Cher, Best Western Maya or the Relax Bay Resort. All three are half the price of Twin Lotus and offer similar service levels.

Khaolak Resort – Khao Lak, Phang-Nga

If you choose to stay at the Khaolak Resort you’re best bet is to choose one of the pool villas. They are mere feet from the beautiful pool and the beach and are a step above the standard rooms. Guests have complained about the musty smell in the standard bungalows which may be true, but is very common in the hot and humid conditions of southern Thailand. Expect to pay between $100-200 depending on the season which is inline with similar resorts on the island.

Khao Lak itself is a beautiful paradise. If you’re looking for natural beauty you won’t have to look any farther. The island is characterized by rainforest jungle and some of the best diving and snorkeling in the world. The beaches and sunsets are simply amazing and have to be experienced to be believed.

Khaolak Bayfront Resort – Khao Lak, Phang-Nga

Khaolak Bayfront Resort is located in a secluded area with a golden beach frontage around scenic mountain backdrop, the resort is just one hour away from Phuket International Airport . Other than the hotels website I was unable to find much in the way of guest reviews for Khaolak Bayfront Resort. If you’ve been there maybe you can leave us a review here in the comments. The hotel does seem to be fairly reasonably priced.

I must say after reading reviews and researching these hotels I am quite surprised that these are the hotels that the Tourism Authority of Thailand have chosen as the Best Beach Hotels and Resorts. I know of many beach hotels and resorts that are better, I guess TAT wanted to stay away from the most expensive high end hotels for some reason. Or maybe these are actually paid reviews? Well, for what ever reason I would say to stay away from at least one of the hotels here completely. Both the Ramada Resort (Khao Lak, Phang-Nga) and Phi Phi Island Village Beach Resort & Spa (Koh Phi Phi, Krabi) sound very nice to me and Golf and I will be making an effort to try them both.

Who has suggestions for other Thailand Beach Hotels? Leave a comment and let us know which beach hotels and resorts in Thailand are your favorites.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Som Tum or Som Tam (Thai Papaya Salad)

Som Tum or Som Tam according to Thai dictionary means a kind of Thai food salad made from fruits such as payaya etc. pounded and combined with ingredients, sour taste and for some locality calls “Tum Som”.

Som = orange or to have sour taste
Tum/Tam = to pound

Som Tum is a highly popular food for Thai people especially in northeastern Thailand (Issan). Som Tum is a Thai common central language but for Issan people they call Tam Buk Hoong because Buk hoong is the Lao/Issan word for papaya. Som Tum from Issan people have so many varieties because they will use so many kinds of vegetables or fruits for making Som Tum like papaya, yard-long beans, raw banana, banana blossom, star gooseberry, cucumber, pineapple, tamarind etc. Besides there are so much variety in Som Tum itself too like I’m going to give you some idea about them now.

Som Tum Thai - not add salted crab (Bpoo kem/Bpoo Dong) or pickled fish but add dried shrimp and roasted peanut instead. The taste will be more sweet and sour. Some people like to put salted crab into too so we call Som Tum Thai Sai Bpoo.

Som Tum Bpoo - add salted crab instead of dried shrimp and roasted peanut, get a little salty taste from salted crab.

Som Tum bpla-ra - add pickled fish instead of dried shrimp, very popular in Issan area.

Tam Sua - add Thai fermented rice vermicelli instead of papaya, this one also quite popular in Issan.

Som Tum Lao - add Thai olive

Other than that at the present some place also add another material like roast neck pork, horse crab or pickled mussel.

Som Tum is also just like the second main dish from sticky rice for Issan people, can eat every time and every meal. The one of common civilization of Issan people is if they’re making Som Tum they will call the neighborhood for joying. They have the word that say eat alone not so tasty like jointly with others.

In Thailand we will be able to find this Thai dish really easily because it is a very simply food and you can get it anywhere, either from restaurant or even vendor shop beside the street. It is held that Som Tum is the favourite food for everyone.

Traditionally Thai people will have Som Tum with sticky rice as a meal accompanied with vegetables and also roasted chicken (Gai Yang).

Som Tum is one of my favourite dish while I was in Thailand too. I don’t know why I didn’t crave for this dish so much while I’m here though. Maybe because I couldn’t find any place in here that they can make a good Som Tum just like when I got from Thailand. Or either I have to make it myself but you know every time I will end up disappointing myself…because I couldn’t make it so tasty like what I used to get in my motherland. It’s the right recipe, but just something not right or missing I don’t know why …maybe just not the same atmosphere I think. Anyway Richard and everyone I apologize if sometime in the future you will get to try the original Som Tum in Thailand that will have a better taste than my Som Tum recipe.

Som Tum Thai recipe (2 serving)
- 1/2 cup raw papaya, peeled and shredded
- 1/2 cup carrot, peeled and shredded
*or can use 1 whole cup of papaya but this one will get more varities and the color*
- 2 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked in water and drain
- 3 yard-long beans, cut into 1 inch length
- 1 medium sized tomato, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5-6 Thai hot chilies (Phrik Khee Nuu)
- 1 tbsp roasted peanut
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 3 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp tamarind juice

Pound the chilies with garlic thoroughly in a mortar, follow with dried shrimp and pound again just for softly. Add yard-long beans, papaya, carrot into the mortar. Pound to be crushed.

Add tomato and roasted peanut, and use a pestle and a spoon help to mixed up together in the mortar.

Season to taste with palm sugar, Thai fish sauce, lime juice and tamarind juice into the mixture, stir well. This step you can try and see if anything you want to add more…some like more sweet, some like more sour.

And finally you will get Som Tum Thai serve with sticky rice (if you have) or can have like a snack with fresh vegetables like Chinese cabbage, cabbage, yard-long beans. Or some people will have it with roasted chicken and cool beer depending on your suitability.

Popularity: 20% [?]

Recipe for Thai Beef Salad

I got to know a Thai girl who has lived here for 5 years. She invited us to her house which is 15 minutes away from our place. She cooked 3 dishes of Thai food for our lunch on that day. They’re fresh spring rolls (for an appetizer), Som Tum and also Thai beef Salad. We really enjoyed them and had a great time with her family.

Especially Thai Beef salad made me think about Thailand a lot. And surprise myself too that I didn’t think about this recipe at all until I got a chance to try from her place. It might be because of every time when I make grilled beef I will think about Neua Naam Tok only and didn’t realize that grilled beef can also make Thai beef salad too.

The recipe of Thai beef Salad is almost exactly the same as Neua Naam Tok. So if you’re the one who is crazy about Neua naam Tok just like us I’m pretty sure you will love Thai beef salad also.

Thai Beef Salad recipe
- 200 grams beef top round
- 7-10 Fresh Thai Chili (Phrik Khee Nuu) depending on how hot do you want…
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup coriander, coarsely sliced
- 1 tbsp spring onion, coarsely sliced
- 1 sweet onion, cut into wedge
- 1 medium sized tomato, sliced
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce
- 1/4 tsp sugar
fresh vegetables : lettuce, cabbage

Wash the beef and grill over medium heat until medium rare. Slice into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a mixing bowl. Pound finely Thai hot chilies and garlic and add them in the mixing bowel. Follow with sweet onion, tomato, coriander and spring onion.

Season to taste with Thai fish sauce, lime juice and sugar, toss well to combine. Arrange on a serving dish. Garnish with lettuce and cabbage and then serve.

Alright I hope you’re enjoy with Thai Beef salad and like I said take it easy with spicy taste. And will see you sometime this week with the recipe for Som Tum…make a reply for Richard who asked for this recipe. So Richard I will get back to you as soon as I can…see you!

Popularity: 35% [?]

Nana Plaza - History and Future of Bangkoks Naughty Nightlife

As I look through my logs it seems a lot of people are finding Thailand Musings looking for information about Thai girls, specifically bad Thai girls, katoeys and Thai bar girls. Since I am not one to judge I am going to take the time to give you a bit more of what you are looking for.

Keep in mind that there is already a good amount of information about good Thai girls in the section on Thai ladies, Thai dating and Thai marriage. As the husband of a good Thai girl I know that you could do much worse than getting a Thai girl as your wife. If you’re unfamiliar with Golf and myself take a look at About Golf and Steve for more information.

Now on to the ‘bad’ Thai girls…

While you can spend weeks in Thailand without ever seeing a prostitute there are some areas of the City of Angels that are designed with nothing more in mind than the sex tourist. There are also some other places that tend to draw Thai girls who are looking for involvement with a farang – Khao San Road immediately comes to mind. Today’s post will focus on the largest of the pay4play entertainment areas in Bangkok known as Nana Plaza.

Nana Entertainment Plaza (or NEP) began 25 years ago when several bars on Soi 14-Soi 16 were forced to close indefinitely because of construction on Sukhumvit Road. In mid 1982 the Rosemarys (1&2) , The Three Roses and The Rainbow Bar all moved into Nana plaza which was formerly your normal run of the Thai strip mall and parking area. Since that time it has grown to almost 40 bars packed into the central court area of Nana Plaza.

For almost 2 decades now Nana Plaza has been the center of naughty nightlife in Bangkok. It does see some competition from Soi Cowboy area bars, but Nana Plaza is the top of the heap when it comes to A-Go-Go bars, with stages and shows throughout the complex. Nana is famous for it’s Go-Go bars where you can find scads of scantily clothes Thai girls gyrating on stage and around shiny poles, all meant to excite and titillate the variety of visitors that come just for that purpose. Nana Plaza is also famous for the katoey or ladyboy bars in the area. Many are the man who hasn’t understood the difference between the lovely katoeys in Nana Plaza and been handed a large surprise later.

Nana Plaza does seem to fluctuate in popularity from year to year with the expatriates and sexpatriates visiting Thailand. One year you can go there and find the area packed to capacity and another year will see NEP almost empty. 2007 was a slow year and 2008 looks to be the same with many of the bars reporting their take to be down 20-30% from normal. Some of this is due to the strength of the Thai baht which is affecting all areas of tourism in Thailand. Other reasons mentioned are the declining upkeep of the clubs, the rising price of the girls and the poor attitude of many of the staff and girls. Another hit is coming in the form of a smoking ban in all restaurants and bars in Thailand which is supposed to take effect February 11^th, 2008. It will be interesting to see if this ban is actually enforced.

The first time visitor to Nana Plaza should be prepared for a surreal experience with the area looking like a neon lit circus midway in full swing and music pumping from the various bars surrounding Nana Plaza. Bible thumping missionaries, prostitutes, western sexpats, camera wielding Japanese tourists and curious tourist young and old fill the area making it a great place to sip a beer and watch the diversity of humanity in all its forms. No matter how far and wide you travel you are unlikely to see another place even remotely like it.

With dozens of bars, brightly flashing neon, hundreds of girls and all the sights, smells and sounds of Nana Plaza I have only scratched the surface of what Nana Plaza is. Go and see for yourself, you’ll be amazed and possibly shocked, but it will be different than any other experience of your life.

If you’ve been or plan to go to Nana Plaza I’d love to hear from you. Leave us some comments below specific to the bars you’ve been too or an update of the current party scene in Nana Plaza.

Popularity: 38% [?]

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