Thailand Cultural Center

Last night, I went to this center to see a ballet performance. It was my first time to visit, so I made sure to take lots of pictures.

I found out there is a free shuttle from the MRT station to the venue. There was some confusion at first, because the "bus" was really a plain, white passenger van. You have to watch for the driver to come out and hold up a poster of the event, before you realize that's the "bus" that is listed on websites. The free shuttle can be caught from Exit 1 at Thailand Cultural Center MRT station.

An example of the shuttle bus:


The center itself was built by a grant from the Japanese government, and it shows. The inside of the theater is EXACTLY the same as a Japanese theater -- small seats, a large, embroidered curtain and two side stages. I could not take any photos during the ballet itself, but I took a picture of the theater during the intermission:

Inside the theater:


Outside the theater, there was a beautiful temple, along with large gardens and koi ponds. The grounds are worth exploring on their own.

The temple on the center grounds:


I will go back in October to see a contemporary dance troupe from Holland perform.

Haagen Dazs

There are tons of Haagen Dazs shops in Bangkok, and I finally popped into one in Silom area.

They have an extensive menu, with parfaits, smoothies, desserts and make-your-own-plate. I opted for the latter, and created a choco-lover's dream: Belgium chocolate ice cream, a brownie and hot chocolate sauce. Wow. Let's not even think about the calorie count there.

The price was pretty rich too -- 230 Baht ($6.50). Holy sheep!!



Oh this was pretty cool too: ice cream sushi. I didn't try it, but snapped the picture instead. Four "sushi" cost 290 Baht ($7).

Steak!

A friend called me up on Tuesday night and we headed out to grab some dinner together. We decided to go visit a steak restaurant.

The location was a *bit* interesting. When my friend told the cab driver to head over to "Patpong", I became worried. Patpong is the infamous Thai nightclub area...and when I say "nightclub", I really mean "sex show".

But true to my buddy's word, he took me past the touts selling "ping pong shows" and XXX DVDs to the steak house. The name is Sarika Steak House and it's on the left hand side of Patong, tucked deep past the sex clubs.

We ordered the house special -- Sarika steak dinners -- for only 200 Baht each ($6). Included with the dinner was:

Bread and salad:

Steak, mashed potatoes, carrots and spinach:

I added a glass of red wine for a hundred baht more ($3) and I ate a great meal for under $10! Yay!


We enjoyed the dinner laughing over what was meant by "ping pong show". My buddy thought they must be talking about girls playing table tennis, or juggling. Hahahaha!

Nail City

Nail City, 2F Amarin Plaza, Radchaprasong:



I used to bite my nails as a child, so upon becoming an adult, I somehow managed to stop. To remind myself that my nail biting habit has long gone, I love to treat myself to a professional manicure.

I became a member of one shop in Amarin Plaza that I have found to be, the most professional nail salon in BKK: Nail City.

The staff all wear facial masks, use the best products, and most importantly, continue to study new designs and take pride in their work.

What else do I like about this salon? The service!
- electronic massage chairs,
- foot baths,
- spa style hand lotion at the end,
- free bottled water,
- a wide selection of colors

My selection: French Manicure


Prices are a little higher than other spas I have visited. But if you become a member (1,000 Baht for one year), you get a 20% discount on the entire menu. This cost then matches most nail salons in the BKK area.

The waiting area:


I recently snapped some pics of the shop itself. Looks fabulous, no? I have become such a regular there, one of the shop ladies saw me on the street and stopped to say hi and ask "Will you be coming in today?" Bhahaha.

Studying Thai

I headed over to my new favorite cafe "Mooville" to try something new on their menu. I spent time there studying Thai while sipping the old Java juice.

Thai is now the fourth language I have studied. Previously, I have learned: French (grades 2 - 9), German (grade 10-university), and Japanese (2001 - 2008). When I chat with other students in my Thai language class, they are all surprised at how many languages I have studied. Another curious thing is that most agree Thai is difficult. I disagree.

While on the surface, the written Thai language looks daunting, it's actually not so bad. I think my experience learning Japanese has helped tremendously in this case. The style and shape of the letters are similar to the Japanese Kanji characters and their hiragana system. I am a great visual learner, so remembering the shapes and vowel patterns is enjoyable.



What frustrates me are the tones. Like Chinese, the Thai system has tones -- or voice inflictions. There are rising, falling, mid, low and high tones. So you could have the word "maa" pronounced many ways:

- maa (mid tone; no voice change) = to come
- maa (high tone; voice goes up like a girl from California) = a horse
- maa (rising tone; voice starts high, falls, then goes up again) = a dog

You could be trying to say a word, but if your pronunciation is wrong, you'll likely say something else.

People here often ask me how I managed to learn Thai so quickly. There is no secret really-- just study, listen, repeat after the CD, and try not to translate everything. I think the more languages you study, the easier it becomes.

Food Court

I found a cheap food court at Amarin Plaza near my home. I go there on my days off to grab some lunch for about 40 - 50 Baht. ($1.20-$1.50).

Food courts are quite popular with Thai and residing ex-pats due to their low cost and variety. It's similar to a food court you might see in a mall back home, with one difference-- they use electronic pre-paid money cards.

You exchange some money for the card, go to your favorite restaurant and order. The card is swiped at the shop and the money deducted. When you finish eating, you return to the cashier to get your remaining money. Neat huh?

Today's lunch was entirely vegetarian:
- brown rice
- boiled pumpkin
- stir fried veggies


The cost was 40 Baht. I brought my own water to save more on the cost.

Mooville

I really like cows. When I was dating my husband, he took me on a week long road trip to Hokkaido, the premier farming capital of Japan. I saw many cows and enjoyed lots of fresh milk, ice cream and butter.

In Amarin Plaza mall, I came across a cafe, whose title immediately attracted me: Mooville. This sounded like my kind of place. Mooville cafe offers unique coffees that are typically half the price than those at Starbucks. I checked out their extensive menu and found something that caught my eye: hot black sesame honey latte.

The latte in question:


I love honey and I really like black sesame, but I couldn't imagine how these two tastes could be combined in a coffee. I ordered one small, which cost 45 Baht ($1.30 -- yeah, coffee is expensive here). What I got surprised me: a latte with a bit of a sweet taste (likely the honey) with crushed black sesame layered around the foam. And the taste? It was excellent! I was really impressed. It could be compared to a latte coffee that has a hint of peanut butter flavor.

I plan to go back and try out more of the Mooville selections.

Amarin Plaza

It's a large 4 story shopping mall within walking distance from my condo. I recently discovered a cheap canteen there, and try to go often for 50 Baht ($1.50) lunches.

What I like best about this mall are the selections:
- there are so many restaurants to choose from,
- lots of juice bars and small cafes,
- it's less crowded than its more popular neighbors, MBK, Central World and Siam Paragon.

The top floor houses all educational shops: an art school, a dance school, a thai language school, a cram school and a music school. I checked out the music school with high hopes, since it's run by the Bangkok Philharmonic orchestra, but alas, they only teach strings. *sigh*

The first floor always has a discount shopping area. Today, designer bags and shoes were 50-80% off. I wondered how much would they be in Baht? I took a sneak peek and discovered shoes selling for 690 B (about $17 CAD) WOW! I think I will have to visit again tomorrow... ^_^

Ae Chan Izakaya

A Japanese friend took me to a super yummy Japanese bar/eatery a few nights ago. We decided to splurge and bought sake. I don't know why in the West they always serve sake in those tiny cups. In Japan, sake is traditionally served in a wooden box. You always get "extra service" too, as they set the box on a plate, pouring the sake until the box is overflowing. You should even drink the sake with a little salt on the side.

I have only drunk hot sake from tiny tea cup like pottery. Either way, sake is bound to make your head spin; I couldn't drink more than 1/3 that night.