Dong Kuay Teow Reua Boat Noodles

by the Victory Monument BTS stop (and other street food and markets for that matter) for directions to this inconspicuous off the beaten path eatery click this link, www.migrationology.com which is a blog by my friend who just happens to be a leading travel blogger, Mark Weins. He’s got an easy guide to get to these Boat Noodle babies.

Silom Cooking Class

USD 30 or 1000 baht for a half day of hands on cooking lessons and a quick market trip. Try Thai food the freshest you can get conveniently. You make all the pastes/sauces/milk mixes from scratch. 6 meals while other cooking places only let you make four. Gung was our instructor. And the finale was the mango in coconut dipped sticky rice. Their website has booking info, www.bangkokthaicooking.com

Wat Arun Stairs

Not for the faint of heart mind or inner ear. One of the temples across the river which is suppose to be gorgeous in the sunset has stairs you can climb laden at a very steep angle each step get further and steeper apart from the one before. Going up is heart racing but the view of the way down is merciless. However it can be done and the fear immediately dissipates as soon as you land on your first step down. Take it one step at a time and don’t look at anything but that step as oppose to the long way down. Hold on to the rail. To get to/from Wat Arun I personally prefer the private boat that can get you there in a few minutes that’s 100baht cause it goes direct as oppose to the regular barge that would be making stop after stop and is about a 45min trip from Central Pier.

(NO PICTURE… BECAUSE IT WAS ALL A BLUR)

Tigers

If I only had one day in Thailand I would spend it with these guys. Take the VIP Morning tour at the Tiger Temple. Don’t use up good time and money in the “cheaper” afternoon tour with the 200 other tourists. Book a Tour with Tong and have her just show you a good easy time getting there around and back. Be prepared to walk, cuddle, play, bathe, hand feed tigers of different ages and most importantly follow proper Tiger etiquette (bending over to tie your shoes is an easy one to miss but can have a tiger on your back in one, two..) Book Only with Tong, www.tourwithtong.com

Extras

Never tried Maggie Choo’s but a local told Me it was an awesome lounge

For efficiency read up on http://www.migrationology.com

For ease professionalism and savings book with http://www.tourwithtong.com

Read up on Trip Advisor, Travel Guru for quick Dos and Don’ts by priority, Taxi’s save you headache compared to most Tuktuks. Always ask for the meter and if one of them tries to give you a flat rate walk across the street or down a few meters to a less tourist stricken area and hail a cab from there. Keep your phone charged and with data roaming on google maps so you don’t get taken in circles. Have lots of patience and practice being aggressive when needed, draw your inner Thai in you and always travel half tourist and half local.