Asha Guest House: A Great Budget Option in Bangkok

Asha Guest House may be a bit removed from Bangkok’s main attractions, but it really is a gem when it comes to comfortable, clean, budget accommodation.

Location

Located in a suburb in the north of the city, Asha Guest House is a 15-minute walk (or 40 baht taxi ride) from the Saphan Kwai BTS (Skytrain station). The Saphan Kwai station is right next to a Big C mall and food court where you can get cheap food and buy anything you forgot at home. If you take a taxi to Asha Guest House from the airport, it should be about 350 – 400 ($10 – $11.50) baht, including the tolls. From Saphan Kwai station, you can get anywhere you need to in the city. The Skytrain is cheap, efficient, and comfortable. For just 40 baht ($1.15), you can go all the way to the other end of city by train. Asha Guest House’s location is great because it’s quiet and there’s not so many other tourists around. Staying here you get to see a normal Thai neighborhood, and you won’t come across any touts or scammers.

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Back in Lahore, Bangkok Photos Up

Now that I’m back in Lahore I only have internet when there’s electricity (12 hours a day), but it’s faster than the connections I had in Bangkok. So here’s links to some of the albums of Bangkok photos:

From Grand Palace

From Mall Madness

From Buddhist Temples (Wats) in Bangkok

Care for Some Hot Chili Squid Chips?

I always think it’s interesting to see what flavors of chips Lay’s has in different countries. In Pakistan and India, many of the chips are red hot chili flavored like local snacks. Here in Thailand, many of the snacks are fish or seaweed flavored. People eat seaweed as a snack, or they might munch on dried fish. Lay’s has followed suit with these two flavors shown in the picture: Hot Chili Squid and Garlic Soft Shell Crab. The other day I tried the Nori Seaweed flavored Lay’s and they were quite tasty!

Bangkok Grand Palace Trumps Taj

People say the Taj Mahal is the most magnificent building in the world, but they must not have seen the Grand Palace and Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Thailand. The Taj costs about $20 to get into, while this giant complex of buildings costs only $10 (350 baht) for foreigners to enter.

Quite honestly, I was a bit bored after staring at the Taj waiting for the sun to come up for over an hour. At the Grand Palace, there are so many buildings and little details in the decor and architecture. It could keep you busy for hours. Not to mention there are numerous museums housed inside the palace complex.

I was a bit wary to pay the 350 baht to get in, but after reading about the extensive reconstruction efforts that take place every 50 years, and seeing all the exquisite stone work and mosaics, I didn’t regret paying the admission fee!

My Day with May Kaidee

From Thai Cooking with May Kaidee

Today I learned how to make 10 Thai dishes at the May Kaidee cooking school. It was lots of fun and I really learned a lot. One of the dishes we made was green papaya salad. See more photos by clicking on the link below the picture.

From Thai Cooking with May Kaidee

Some Like it HOT!

From Tourist Boat Views in Bangkok, Thailand

Thais certainly like their red hot chili peppers! When I hopped off the Tourist Boat yesterday I found myself wandering around in a huge fruit and vegetable market next to Pak Klong Tarad, the city’s largest fresh flower market. Both are located near Memorial Bridge. You can get flowers for as little as 10 to 15 baht, so if you’re in Bangkok be sure to buy some for someone special. : )

From Tourist Boat Views in Bangkok, Thailand

Street Food

From Chinatown, Bangkok

Everywhere in Bangkok it smells of fresh food being cooked. You can hear the sound of stir frying and noodles sloshing in hot pans as you walk down the street. Since arriving here in Thailand, I’ve seen street food within walking distance of every neighborhood. It seems that many Thais prefer to bring food home than to cook, and many times it’s much cheaper to do this than to prepare it yourself. Near the guest house I’m staying at, every morning I see vendors setting up their shops and start cooking up tasty treats. They have sausages, meats, seafood, noodle dishes, rice, soups, and all sorts of fresh vegetables ready to cook. Most have one or two stools and small metal or plastic tables, but the majority of buyers take the food in plastic bags with them and bring them home or to their offices.

The top is a picture of seafood ready to buy for cooking, and the bottom is a picture of “take away” food in plastic bags. Both of these photos were taken in Chinatown, but you’ll see similar scenes all over the city.

From Chinatown, Bangkok

Day on the Tourist Boat

Today I took the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat for 120 baht ($3.40). For that price, I was able to hop on and off the boat traveling back and forth between about a dozen piers for the whole day. The cool river breezes were a great way to get out of the midday heat, and there were so many things to see I only managed to do about half of the main sights! If you’re in Bangkok, this is a great way to see the city, especially because the Skytrain (BTS) and the Underground (MRT) don’t have stops along the river.

Lost in an 8 Floor Mall – MBK

I think I visited the largest mall I’ve ever set foot in today, MBK near National Stadium in Bangkok. I entered on the 3rd floor and neglected to take a map with me to navigate the mall. Yes, in this mall, you actually need a map or tour guide to get yourself around! I’m sure after a few times you’d get the hang of it, but at first it just seemed to go up, down and forward forever. I was totally overwhelmed.

Despite being a bit lost, I was able to find a lot of things I was looking for. I trekked back to my guest house with three large bags filled to the max. In Pakistan, it can be very expensive to buy Western clothes. Aside from the cost, most styles available in women’s clothing are only suitable for teenagers or going out to a club. In Bangkok, you can find everything for a fraction of the cost it would be in the United States. While looking for suits, I realized that many Thai school girls wear skirts, blouses and sometimes jackets to class. There were entire stores filled with every size and style of black, gray, navy and brown skirts. Short, medium, long, A-line, pleated, pencil, mini, whatever in any size that a Thai girl may be. I had to go for the medium sizes, but by buying a few items at the uniform shops, I was able to get those things cheaper than getting them made to order at a regular tailor.

Phew! I’m exhausted and I only did the 3rd floor, the food court and the ground floor. I didn’t even get to the other five floors. Can you believe there are several other big malls and shopping centers just a stone’s throw from MBK?