Thailand

I was in Thailand all of last week for the wedding of an old friend. Most of my life i have traveled and lived in the west, the East came into my system late in life, somehow Thailand has never attracted me, however having been there i can understand its lure.

The country is not as glossy as Singapore or as intense as Hong Kong but it has a laid back charm of its own. The people are welcoming for the most part but since Indian's are not the best travelers in the world you get a little blowback because of your nationality.

Like most countries that are cheap(er) and are driven by a tourist economy Thailand has a seamy side which can be difficult to handle. For those looking to indulge in this aspect, its quite out in the open and people hustle, try to sell you things. Those not looking at the underbelly, will find that people from all across the world melt on their white sandy beaches and dip in its blue green waters. There is adventure, shopping, gastronomy and relaxation to be found.

Our first experience with food was a quick dine and dash at the Burger King in Suvaranabhumi airport before our connecting flight to Krabi. Burger King in Thailand really have McDonalds beat, they not only do a veggie burger which is pretty decent but one can choose between hash browns, fries and even onion rings. Hell yeah !

The first place we went was Krabi, which is an hour away from Bangkok. We stayed in Ao Nang, The place is very touristy/resorty with loads of hotels and the typical shops that come with a town like that. There are a bunch of small islands within 10-30 mins from Ao Nang which can be reached via jetty and some of these are spectacular.


We chose Poda because it is extremely small with very few people on it. There was a small bar selling beer and cocktails, another little stand that sold corn and some salad. It was a perfect afternoon, the sun was out, the local brew Singha which goes brilliantly with Thai food (as expected) was cold and the Pina Colada was strong. We spent a few hours just sitting in the sun and swimming in the water which was more fun than i have had in a long time.

We ordered room service later on in the day, at our hotel (The Aquamarine) unfortunatley there was not a lot of choice so we played it safe.
We ordered room service later on in the day, at our hotel (The Aquamarine) unfortunately there was not a lot of choice so we played it safe. The French Onion was not bad, the caprese was served very interestingly but the tomatoes were super cold. Garlic bread was kind of nice.

The wedding was at the Angsana which is a tremendous property in the Laguna section of Phuket, surrounded by other stunning properties of Dusit Thani, JW.Marriot, it was fabulous, our room was right on the private beach. If you are in phuket pick a Laguna property, you will not be sorry.

Breakfast at the Angsana in Phuket. Not bad.

A special mention for Pomodoro, the Italian restaurant in Centre Point in Sukumvit. The food was fabulous. The spaghetti was fantastic, the risotto was just as good. They served this tomato salsa and a sauce which was totally deranged good. It was gone in less than sixty seconds, the pizza was not so bad either. The whole meal was perfect, four of us were totally satiated. At 1100THB it was super value for money.

Things got better the next day, we headed to Thai Peppery at The Paragon also in Sukumvit. The Tom Yum was perfect, not too spicy like its done in India quite often, it was however super hot. The Pad Thai was yummy, exactly what a Pad Thai must taste like. The Green Curry was not bad, it lacked the sweet after taste we get sometimes, while it was not bad at all i would say that it was not a patch on the Thai Red Curry at Thai Pavilion. All washed down by Singha.

Famed Parisian baker Lenotre have an outlet here, all of the desserts pretty good, not great but pretty good. Approx 150THB each.

Sunrise taco outlets are in and around, they have a healthy menu and serve margaritas. Unfortunately the food is actually not that good. While it was not bad, i would not go there again, certainly better choices for Tex-Mex around.

Mrs Jain drank a heap of coconuts, while i did too and enjoyed them but they were not as good as our local coconuts. Mrs Jain would vehemently disagree.

One of my fav things, that i could not get enough off was the Strawberry Smoothie, served with a hint of yoghurt, some strawberry juice. It was delicious and at 40THB a steal.

So all in all, the food in Thailand is brilliant, certainly better than Bombay and a whole lot cheaper, if you dont go for the beaches and the hospitality, you can certainly go for the food.