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 Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

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 Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

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 Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

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 Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

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 Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

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 Get Backpacker Travel Insurance from World Nomads, as recommended by Lonely Planet

How Much Money Do I Need To Live In Bangkok?

I’m typing this with the distinct sense of missing something – that would be two of my wisdom teeth, which I had removed at Bangkok Hospital this weekend. My poor gums still feel a bit tender and I’m on the soft foods for a few more days yet, but the procedure went as smoothly as could be expected.

I’ve been going regularly to Bangkok Hospital for the last couple of years for both medical and dental treatment as I very much like their quality of service. There are numerous other prestigious private hospitals in Bangkok, but I’ve had little reason to seek treatment elsewhere as I’ve found their doctors and dentists to be excellent. Virtually all Bangkok Hospital’s doctors gain their qualifications in the US or Europe, so the service is comparable to what you would get at home – actually, from a UK point of view, it’s much better because there’s no waiting around. This also means that virtually every Thai doctor speaks fluent English too. You make your appointment, you turn up and everything happens like clockwork in pristine surroundings. Indeed, three of my friends have had their babies born in Bangkok, so great is their trust in the private Thai hospitals.

The cost of getting my two wisdom teeth removed was 4000 Baht – around $120 US. That is extremely reasonable and you can see why a lot of people get medical treatment while in Thailand – things like cosmetic teeth whitening in Bangkok is very popular, as you can do it while here on holiday. Planning a trip specifically to get particular medical treatments while in Thailand is also increasingly common – it is certainly worth investigating the cost of coming to Thailand for treatment versus what it would cost back at home.

Sometimes it may not be worth it – for example, I am currently in need of a dental implant. At Bangkok Hospital it will cost 80,000 Baht – $2800 US approximately – to have it done. That’s almost as expensive as getting it done in the USA or UK, as far as I can tell from online research. There are some cheaper alternatives in Bangkok, but for something major like a dental implant, I really don’t want to cut any corners.

Which brings me to he big issue with getting medical treatments in Thailand – you do not have that much comeback if something goes wrong. I am definitely not a legal expert on these matters but I think there is limited liability if there are complications with a medical procedure in Thailand. Therefore it is important to check your rights thoroughly before you seek treatment if you are undergoing complex procedures.

That caveat aside, there are a lot of excellent doctors and dentists in Bangkok and the price of treatments in Thailand mean that it should be one option to consider if you are weighing up the costs of getting treatment.

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

Wisdom Teeth Removal In Bangkok

Much of the writing you’ll find about living in Bangkok tends to follow the same lurid formula – Western man arrives in city, is dazzled by the nightlife and seeming lack of rules about anything, proceeds to overindulge in every possible vice and then ends up penniless, dead or in prison (sometimes all three). There will always be a market for writing that cashes in on Bangkok’s reputation, but there are many other aspects to the city besides the fleshpots of Patpong and Soi Cowboy. Tone Deaf In Bangkok shows a different side of Bangkok that rarely gets a look-in in most accounts of the city – the sheer bewilderment, wonder, and exhilaration of arriving in Bangkok and trying to come to grips with a culture utterly different to the west. Capturing these moments – especially after you’ve become an old hand at living in the city – is where the real magic of travel happens, the moments where the everyday of somewhere else is still exotic and life-affirming – even lifechanging.

Brown first arrived in Bangkok in the 1990s before the economic crash of 1997, when the Westernisation of Bangkok was still relatively new and foreigners had to integrate if they wanted to get the most basic things done. Her vignettes of everyday life – going for food, exploring the city, going out clubbing, trying (and failing) to learn the delicate tonal nuances of the Thai language – provide a fascinating picture of how this American middle-aged woman gradually fell in love with the chaotic, polluted concrete jungle that is Bangkok. Brown’s deft portraits of routine tasks provide a deeper insight into the Thai psyche and how a foreigner will always brush up against it however hard they try to integrate. Her prose conveys a deep love of her surroundings without being gushing or blind to Bangkok’s darker side, and she shares her own frequent faux pas with great comic timing. There is also something here about Brown finding a sort of peace of mind for herself within the city – although she left to return to America for several years, she has recently returned to Bangkok for good. For anyone looking to spend time in Bangkok beyond the usual tourist haunts, I’d say this was still an essential insight into what the guidebooks aren’t able to tell you.

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

Tone Deaf In Bangkok – Janet Brown