It’s surprisingly difficult to get a yellow fever vaccination in Bangkok – no hospitals provide the service and so it’s only available from three places – the Thai Immigration office which recently moved from Suan Plu in Sathorn to the far away district of Chaeng Wattana; the Bamras hospital in Nonthaburi, also quite a journey from central Bangkok; and the Thai Red Cross centre, which is located in Silom.

It’s easy to get to the Thai Red Cross centre – go to Silom MRT, come out of the subway exit onto Rama IV by walking over the bridge and following the signs for the Pan Pacific hotel to get you onto Rama IV. Walk down the road and the Thai Red Cross is on the corner of Rama IV and Soi Henri Dunant.

Thai Red Cross Centre, Bangkok

When you enter into the centre from soi Henri Dunant, the grounds are quite large. Walk straight until you see the large building with the art deco archways which has a prominent Red Cross sign. The sign is faintly disturbing in that announces you are now in the Centre For Venomous Snake Toxicology and Research.

Be careful you don't get bitten while you're there

Thai Red Cross Centre, Bangkok

Walk past the sign and in through the art deco entrance. Once you walk in here, you will see a series of rooms to your left. Walk into Room 1 (don’t worry if the door is shut – it’s not a consulting room) and register as a patient. This costs 20 Baht and involves a little form filling, being weighed and a blood pressure check.

A quick consult with a doctor will then get you sent off to the pharmacy to buy the yellow fever injection itself which costs 900 Baht. You then take this to Room 4 where the nurse administers it. You are then issued with your Yellow Book to prove you have had the vaccination. You will need to take your passport to prove your ID in order for the Yellow Book to be issued.

The whole process was extremely quick with little waiting around and the staff spoke a fair bit of English. The doctor spoke English fluently. As per usual in these situations, if you are super polite and smile a lot, the staff will go out of their way to help you.

The Thai Red Cross appear to provide all the major vaccinations travellers need – typhoid, tetanus, polio etc – and so if you are starting your travels in Bangkok it might be worth considering getting all your jabs here – it’s probably a lot cheaper than getting them in the USA or Europe, although I can’t confirm what the prices are for each jab.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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Yellow Fever Vaccination In Bangkok – Where To Get It

UPDATE 22 May 2010 - Bangkok is returning to normal after the troubles of this week. There is a curfew currently in place that is due to be lifted tomorrow on Sunday 23 May. The curfew also includes Chiang Mai and several other northern provinces. The curfew has already been lifted in Pattaya. In Bangkok itself, the protest leaders have surrendered and their followers have left the city. The damage caused in the protest zones is already being cleaned up, although several buildings (notably Central World mall) have been destroyed by fire. The Skytrain and MRT Subway will probably re-open on Monday 25th May. Schools will also reopen on 25th May.

I would personally still suggest avoiding travelling to Bangkok for the rest of May as we see how the situation stabilises and whether there will somehow be a resurgence of protests. Within a week or so there should be a better sense of whether Bangkok is safe for tourists again. Chiang Mai has also become problematic with protests in the city although it is now quiet again. Visitors to Chiang Mai should keep in touch with the news. All southern tourist areas of Thailand – Phuket, Krabi, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, Koh Tao etc – are unaffected. There has been no trouble and no protests in these areas. If you have booked a holiday for these areas, there is no need to cancel it. Bangkok Airport is fine as well.

I am leaving for a trip in Borneo from May 23rd to June 5th and will be unable to answer comments during this time. If you want to ask questions, I suggest you visit Travelfish and use the forums there.

—

What follows is the original blog post I wrote last week:

As of last night (14 May 2010) things have got out of hand in Bangkok. Check Google News for an overview, plus this list of Bangkok tweeters. In my previous posts I pointed out that tourists were still essentially safe if they avoided the Redshirts protest zones. Unfortunately the situation has now changed in the last couple of days where renewed and heavy fighting has broken out in several locations and is spreading to new locations seemingly at random. Some areas of Bangkok are now total no-go zones. Richard Barrow has put together a constantly updated map showing the troublespots in Bangkok called, appropriately enough, Bangkok Dangerous.

If you are planning to come to Bangkok if the next week or so, I would suggest making plans to exit the city as soon as possible – the security situation is very volatile now and is spreading in unpredictable ways across Bangkok. The situation looks like it will get worse tonight. By way of contrast, most neighbourhoods – like mine in Ratchada for example – are completely unaffected by the protests, but the problem is now that no-one is sure how the protests and fighting will escalate further.

Let me emphasise that it is still possible to arrive at Bangkok Airport and get a taxi into the city and stay in a safe area – upper Sukhumvit for example, or Khao San Road. (See Richard’s map above). But the clashes between army and protesters are causing lots of traffic jams and road closures and making the situation generally difficult to predict what will happen next. Therefore if you can avoid spending time in Bangkok for the next couple of weeks, I’d suggest you do so. I would also suggest – without being flippant – you check the status of your Thailand travel insurance too to ensure you’re covered in this continually changing situation.

It’s also important to note that everywhere else in Thailand is completely unaffected by the troubles in Bangkok – if you have beach holiday planned and booked, it would be overkill to cancel it at this stage if you can minimise your time in Bangkok.

Travel safe and you’re welcome to post questions below – I’ll do my best to answer or refer you to other news sources. Let’s hope calm returns to Bangkok very soon.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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Is Bangkok Safe In May 2010? Short Answer – No

Just updated my posts on where to find a taxi at Bangkok Airport – they moved the stand again, fourth time now I think since the airport opened – so you can avoid getting ripped off. Also just noticed that there is a new Bangkok Airport Hotel, the catchily titled Best Western Premier Amaranth Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel. This is right next to the Airport and has a free shuttle service to and from the airport to the hotel – you’ll be met in Arrivals. With opening rates at $58 US a night, it’s a real bargain compared to some of the other Bangkok Airport hotels. Check Agoda for current rates. You might also find Bangkok Real Time Flight Information, Price Of A Taxi From Bangkok Airport to Khao San Road and Bangkok Airport Bus Routes useful.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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New Bangkok Airport Hotel and Bangkok Airport Taxi Update

You can see more about previous Tweetups at the official Bangkok Tweetup site, and you can connect direct to BKKTweetup cofounder Cody McKibben on Twitter and thru his own site ThrillingHeroics.com . And of course, you can always follow me too on Twitter – I’m @travelhappy.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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Next Bangkok Tweetup – January 8 2010

The first time I ever went backpacking, I bought a really cheap backpack from an army surplus store. It was such a piece of crap that it fell apart within about 48 hours of me leaving home, exploding its contents somewhere on the Paris metro. Suitably chastened, I’ve been somewhat more diligent in buying better quality bags ever since, but sometimes even the best backpacks get rips or start falling apart at the seams around the zips. Obviously you don’t want to replace the backpack, but it’s pretty useless with a big hole in it. As such, Mr Bag Fix in Bangkok has been a godsend for me – twice my scuba diving gearbag has split at the seams due to the weight of the gear, and twice it’s been fixed and actually improved and strengthened by the people at Mr Bag-Fix. Both times it’s cost 500 baht for the repair. Usually it takes one week but I managed to get it done in 3 days with no extra charge. I go to the Thonglor Soi 17 branch but they are all over the city, and also in Pattaya and Chiang Mai – you can see a list of all their shop locations under the About Us section of the Mr Bag Fix website. (Can’t link to that page direct unfortunately). They also offer a mail-order bag fix service too, but I can’t vouch for that. I’d definitely recommend their bag repair service though – it’s already saved me a lot of hassle and money.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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Backpack Repair In Bangkok: Go See Mr Bag-Fix

One shop I missed off my list was Orchid Books, which is located in the Silom Complex on Silom Road – it is the home for Orchid Press and has a fantastic array of Asian-related books. They stock not only their own Orchid Press titles, but numerous other local publications too, as well as a wide selection of international titles.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

Bangkok’s Best Bookshop Gets Bigger

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

Bangkok to Taipei Budget Flights With AirAsia

Worth remembering if you’re flying in or out of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport – there is apparently a dangerous scam operating within the airport that targets tourists browsing in Duty Free shops. The BBC reports a specific incident where a British couple were accused of shoplifting and then held in an airport hotel until they handed over thousands of pounds to the police to secure their exit from the country. The British Foriegn and Commonwealth Office’s website gives this advice on its Thailand Travel advice: “You should also be careful to observe demarcation lines between shops and stalls, particularly in market areas and at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Taking items from one shop’s area to another is likely to be treated by shop staff as suspected theft. You may be arrested by the police and asked to pay a substantial fine and/or face imprisonment.”

The Danish Embassy has also issued a formal warning to its citizens after a similar incident occurred involving a Danish national this year. There has been several other anecdotal incidents reported on messageboards like ThaiVisa.com too. This situation is another damaging blow for Thailand’s reputation amongst tourists and expats alike, and until the authorities stop this sort of harassment and lack of appeal to occur, the practical answer seems to be to avoid the duty free shops in Bangkok airport.

See also Bangkok Scams And How To Avoid Them.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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Thailand Airport Tourist Scam – Beware Of Duty Free Shops

Last December I visited my friend Kiera, who is a yoga instructor and scuba diving instructor based on the island of Koh Phi Phi. I wrote a story about her – Scuba Diving Is The New Yoga – for Fah Thai magazine, explaining how scuba and yoga are actually quite similar because they’re all about breathing.

Kiera invited me to try yoga for the first time and with some misgivings I duly gave it a go – and discovered that I really enjoyed it. She was a great teacher for an absolute beginner like me, explaining the different positions as we went along and some of the philosophy behind yoga.

I left Koh Phi Phi the next day to head to Koh Lanta, but I was intrigued enough about yoga to want to a bit more. As such, I recently started researching Bangkok Yoga schools, and here’s what I found:

Yoga Elements – nearest BTS: Chidlom
This is the yoga school I signed up with, mainly because they had a very good value promotion on and because in the morning classes there aren’t too many people attending. The school is located on the 23rd floor so there are big windows and views out over Bangkok from the yoga studio.

Absolute Yoga – nearest BTS: Thong Lor
I did one trial lesson at Absolute Yoga and found it quite crowded and the room to be small. I think Absolute Yoga positions itself as a bit trendy etc. It wasn’t really to my taste, but the tuition was very good.

I haven’t been to them, but I found several other yoga schools as well, as recommended some kind folks on Couchsurfing – you might want to check these out too

Futaba Yoga – nearest BTS: Ploenchit
All Seasons Place 3rd Floor

Harmony Yoga – most of the site is in Thai (besides the page I’ve linked which is in English) so a bit difficult to figure out

Iyengar Yoga – nearest BTS: Thong Lor
This is a small school located in the same building as Absolute Yoga, on a different floor.

I’m sure there are some other yoga schools in Bangkok, so if you have any first hand experience of them, please let me know in the comments below.

The main thing I found with the two schools I tried – Yoga Elements and Absolute Yoga – is that even when you go to a Beginner’s Class, you get thrown in the deep end a little. The first couple of sessions I did there was a group of regular students present so there was little explanation or baby steps for yoga n00bs like me.

It was only after a few sessions that I encountered a teacher who started from the very beginning, talking about breathing and explaining how it works and why it’s so important etc. My point is that if I’d not had that first lesson with Keira where I got a bit familiar with some basic yoga positions, I think I would have felt pretty intimidated by my first yoga lesson in Bangkok.

I’ll be continuing to do yoga here in Bangkok and then I’m hoping to spend some time down on Koh Lanta early next year where there are several yoga teachers – I definitely preferred doing yoga outside so I’m looking forward to trying yoga on Lanta. Hopefully by that point I might be a bit more fit and flexible too.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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Yoga In Bangkok

Over on my other site Apartment-Bangkok.com I’ve put together a quick guide about how much money you need to live in Bangkok, giving a rough idea of what to budget for rent, food, bills, transport etc. There’s more info on the site about the areas of Bangkok to consider living in, why you need to be near a Skytrain or MRT stop if you can manage it, and the best sites to look on to help you find your own Bangkok Apartment. The guide is a work-in-progress, so all comments are welcome. Don’t forget the classic Travelhappy article Finding long term accommodation in Bangkok.

If you’re looking for info on what budget you need as a traveller in Thailand, see How Much Money Do I Need For Thailand, along with the other articles How Much Money Do I Need For Vietnam, How Much Money Do I Need For Laos and How Much Money Do I Need For Cambodia. These are all useful rough guides as to what you’ll can expect to spend day by day travelling through each of these countries.

This article was originally posted at: Travel Happy
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How Much Money Do I Need To Live In Bangkok?