Sukhumvit Road, Soi 11, Bangkok

A fellow travel blogger, Nomadic Matt, sometimes calls Bangkok as home, even though he is from the US. So for our first time in the big city we thought we’d check out some of his posted recommendations he’s shared.

SUK 11 Hostel – As suggested we booked ahead of time in this little hostel. We have learned from our experiences in Europe that we prefer hostel rooms to ourselves with a super bonus of private ensuite bathroom. We paid 900 baht for our room, which is a bit higher then we were expecting to pay in Thailand for a hostel. We could of found a place near Ko San Road for cheaper but decided to take Matt’s word instead and pay the higher price. In the end it ended up working great. The hostel is a real little gem, all made out of teak wood, with a great staff and a wonderful ambiance. Our room was tastefully decorated, with a big king size bed and a clean basic bathroom. Located near a BTS skytrain station which means quick access to the great movie theatres! Suk 11 made our first Thailand experience one to remember. The only things we did not like about it was: No free wifi, the bed could be softer, and the free breakfast is really only just toast and fruit. We often found ourselves down the street at the German beer house enjoying their 99 baht American breakfast as we like a breakfast that fills you enough to skip lunch. Plus we were never awake when it stopped being served at 10am.

Cheap Charlies – Located on the same little alleyway as Suk 11. Cheap Charlies is literally just a small bar front filled with tons of little knick knacks that can keep your mind entertained by just looking at them. Behind the bar you will find the busy Charlie with his amazing prices for a beer in Bangkok. Even better, he has Tiger Crystal on special! This is something that we have learned is hard to find! (Coming from Canada we like our light beers!) Seats are just in a roped off area on the alley, filled with backpackers, expats and other travelers just looking for a good cheap time. Feeling hungry? There is a Mexican restaurant across the way and they will deliver you food right to your table at Cheap Charlies. So, If you want to drink (and maybe a bite?) are looking to meet some new friends for a lower cost in Bangkok, this is the place to go.

Moghul Room Indian Restaurant – Located just across from Cheap Charlies is this amazing Indian resturant. It’s a shame that is always empty as the food is to die for and the service is impeccable. Matt says he takes anyone here to show them a good meal and we would do the same if we had visitors in Bangkok. If you like Indian, make sure you come here and when you are done with your meal, order a shisha and enjoy some people watching at Cheap Charlies across the way.

Zen Cucina Sushi Resturant – Located inside Central World shopping mall. Sushi is a thing we miss. Vancouver B.C. is filled with great sushi resturants, to the point we sometimes think they are more popular then Starbucks. Back home we get amazing fresh sushi for dirt-cheap. So cheap it’s almost cheaper to go have sushi for lunch then to bring your own lunch! $5.95 CDN will usually get you 18 pcs of sushi with miso soup. Being on a budget before we left for our trip we ate lots of sushi, to the point its as comforting to us a turkey dinner! So, when we saw Matt suggested a sushi place in Bangkok we couldn’t resist to try it out. He stated it was decently priced which, I’ll give him that it’s decent compared to the rest of the places we have eaten sushi outside of Canada. During our travels we have learned that sushi is infact expensive! It’s become our “lets treat ourselves” meal. In Europe our bill for a sushi dinner would be at least 60 euros, something that would cost us 12 euros at home. So Zen Cucina sushi is decent priced compared to Europe but not at all compared to what we are used to paying in Vancouver. As for the sushi itself, it’s fabulous with some great items to choose from. If you like sushi, you will like it here.

In conclusion, Matts Bangkok recommendations that we took are bang on. Thank you Matt for showing us a great place to stay and some amazing places to eat and drink via blog suggestions! We look forward to trying out some of your other suggestions for Thailand and reporting back.

When we’re not traveling around the world, we actually live in Vancouver. If your going to Vancouver for the Olympics and are looking for some great places to eat, here’s a list of our favourites.

Click on the addresses for a google map location.

Sunshine Diner (2649 West Broadway) - Located in Kits, this place has the best Eggs Bennedicts in town. Awesome breakfast menu and good lunch. Enjoy their 50′s atmosphere paired with a delicious milkshake!

Cafe Crepe (location maps)- If you want a great cup of coffee, cheap liquor, great crepes and fantastic panini’s, go here. There’s quite a few around including at UBC..

  

The Naam (2724 West 4th Avenue) - One of the few 24 hour restaurants in the city, they have an all vegetarian menu. Who says you can’t have desert for breakfast?

Great Sushi – The Eatery (3431 West Broadway) – Most sushi places you go to in Vancouver are excellent, but The Eatery is our favourite. With a heavy manga theme and loud music, it serves tasty infusions.

Cactus Club Cafe (location maps) – There’s about 6 of these around downtown and kits, with more throughout the lower mainland. A good place to have a steak, the Blackened Cajun Steak is my favourite.

White Spot – Everywhere! – This place is legendary. If you want a great hamburger go here. The BC Burger is one of the best hamburgers around. They call their secret sauce “Triple O” for a reason!

Steamworks Brewing Co (375 Water Street) – Located in Gastown, part of downtown, this place brews their own beer and has a great pub menu. Their nachos are fantastic and you’ll be able to watch the games. Don’t forget to order yourself what we like to call “The Tower of Power!” Tip – head down the stairs to the sports lounge, it’s more relaxed than upstairs, complete with comfy sofas!

The Boathouse (1795 Beach Ave) – Best place for reasonably priced seafood. I dare you to take the platter! This is the place we take people from out of town to get their fill, and everyones always impressed.

Go Fish – The Best Fish and Chips in Vancouver (1505 West 1st Avenue, 604-730-5040)- We’re pretty big on seafood in Vancouver. If you want the best fish and chips in town – which means ungreasy and large portions cooked by a gourmet team – head here. The halibut and chips are my favourite, but salmon burgers are always popular. Located at the fisherman’s pier on Granville Island. Look for where the fishing boats are, you can walk along the prominade. Expect a long line, open 11.30 – 6.00.

Tim Hortons Coffee (everywhere)- great basic coffee, double double is an institution here in Canada. Cheap coffee and good sandwiches you’ll trip over them everywhere.

I’ve certainly missed many, but had to make a short list of our favorites. Are there any you can recommend? If anyone takes my advice please let me know!

Welcome to Oktoberfest!!!

It sounds a bit crazy when you really think about it. A beer festival…

Mmm… Wild Boar…

Any beer drinker out there has heard the legend of beer Shambhala – a place that only comes out once the days get a bit cooler and the yeast has time to ferment and become the nectar of the gods. Where beer comes in 1 liter mugs carried by a buxom blonde with 6 in each hand. A place that has all the beer friendly food you ever need, Weisswurst (White sausage), pretzels and pulled wild boar sandwiches are just a small sampling.

Our German Lunch

And don’t forget the beer tents! There are big tents and small tents, all made of wood and put together before the big event. The small tents are more catered to food with seating of 500 shoulder to shoulder which have a calmer but joyful atmosphere. It was one of these that had the smallest lines when we first arrived so we took the chance and set down to some of our first liter beers and schweinshaxe, a ham with the bone in German delight. Biting into this made us all feel truly German, with no where else to be we sat and drank and enjoyed the great company of each other ordering one round after another.

Inside one of the largest tents

The large beer tents could hold upwards of 10,000 people and it really was like a crazy drunken German party. There were groups of people standing on tables singing their own tunes, some other large groups were finishing off their 3rd and 4th liter beers, and everywhere everyone was smiling and having a good time. We found that there weren’t really any differences between the various large tents. Aside from the type of beer they serve all the giant tents are just a massive amount of people getting drunk and having good times.

Think this is a good idea?

Once we had enough drinks we decided to take on the challenge of rollercoaster’s. As you may know from our previous post, we knew drinking and riding was a big problem to the Brits. Now we had a first hand show at the old German Iron Stomach, and have to say we were never stopped once for an “essential cleanup”. Even on the rollercoaster that had 5 rings like the Olympic Circles, we were scooted on and off with efficiency.

We spent two days at Oktoberfest drinking and riding roller coasters. I felt that our Oktoberfest experience was super fantastic and lived up to all of my expectations before we even hit the evening of day one… It was then that needing to sit down with our beers in an outdoor beer garden we experienced something that will make us remember our Oktoberfest experience forever…

Some lovely ladies from Belgium we met…

And their great husbands!

The outdoor beer garden was packed, and we had just gotten off the big roller coaster, feeling quite tipsy and dizzy. Feeling the need to sit we kindly squeezed into the tight seating at a table filled with some random people, I can say I never expected what would happen next. We were chatting with some ladies who were dressed up in traditional German dresses. Their husbands were also dressed up in lederhosen and all of them were there on a company promotional trip from Belgium. We ended up talking with these ladies for over an hour. Our original plan then was to have one beer and leave in the search for some dinner, but the moment we started making motions to each other to head for dinner is when they order us all another round and asked if we wanted to come along with them to their company dinner in one of the tents. A couple of their employees were not able to attend at the last minute so they had some extra seats that were already reserved and paid for.

Our amazing dinner!

It took a couple of seconds to register this random act of kindness. That these people were inviting us to a free dinner, here, at Oktoberfest!! This is the sort of stories you dream of experiencing. We graciously accepted and were on our way for a treat. Inside one of the food tents we sat down and had even more beer and then magically the food appeared on giant platters. Out came half a dunk for each person, with Kartoffelkloesse (potatoes dumplings), gravy and sweet red cabbage. Desert came around with an assortment of apple strudel, cheesecake, and crepes and a tray full of schnapps. Then just as our stomach felt like they were going to burst, more beer was ordered, another tray of schnapps went around the table (however half of it landed on Steve’s lap) and a cheese and fruit platter appeared!

The long table of great Oktoberfest friends… and yes the night was starting to get a bit fuzzy by then!

We all really do have to say thank you to Ellen and Imre, you were very generous and great hosts, as felt as if we were eating a Christmas dinner with our German family back in Canada. If we don’t find a Christmas dinner during our travels in Thailand we will just have to think of this glorious meal we already experienced. Thank you and to your Company!

The aftermath…

So that was our Oktoberfest, it really is the Shambhala of beer drinking greatness. Nothings better than going on some rides, eating delicious food, drinking fresh beer from the beer making capital, and spending quality time with old and new friends.

Check out the rest of our photos at our flickr album here or by clicking on a thumbnail below: