The Thai Pirate - Thai Blog and Travel Stories

France vs England at Stade de France

Been back in England to show the nipper around, and have a bit of time off. The old man also managed to squirrel x4 tickets to England vs France in Paris, so off we went on a gallic crusade.

Word of warning, now is not a great time to visit gay Pariee; not only is it still full of Parisians, it also has to be the most expensive place in the world right now for us wandering Brits, being that the pound is nearing parity with the Euro...

The going rate for a 'pint' in a typical Paris restaurant is 11 euros! Other examples are: 7 quid for a bottle of coke (although they do still come in old school glass bottles in Paris), 5 quid for an orangina (also glass bottle) and 85 quid average for a breakfast for 6...... so, despite the fancy cuisine, these prices do tend to leave a bad taste in la bouche...

Anyways, enough whinging, we were there to see the game, and what a great game it was! Despite the referee being a numpty, the England team were definitely showing better form, as can be seen in this little youtube vid I shot of England defending well against la France.

Back in Thailand next week, and much looking forward to being back in the Land of Smiles ...

Chula Street Food at Night

When Sutiya checked into Chulalonghorn Hospital to give birth, we stayed for 4 nights in the Red Cross Building linked to the hospital.

During those hazy evenings, I would venture out and buy up some street food from the dozens of stalls located around the busy sois to take back to eat ....  in doing so I discovered some of the best food I've ever tasted.

(fresh meat, packed on top of ice) The food really made those evenings more memorable; fried sweet bananas, sticky rice, hot spicy noodle dishes, crispy chicken, fresh fish, juices and fruits...... 

My parents flew out as soon as they learned that baby was due, and stayed at a rather nice hotel opposite the hospital on Rama 4 (pan pacific hotel). Great hotel, with excellent facilities.

What made me chuckle was the price of the (very nice looking) cuisine offered in the pan pacific's rather plush restaurant; ranging from 2 to 3 thousand baht per person; whereas, a freshly cooked pad kapow gai, complete with polystyrene container, cost a whopping 30 baht a throw...

Is the 'high-end' cuisine of the pan pacific a hundred times better than the Rama 4 street food?

Not a chance....

If you find yourself staying at the pan pacific on Rama 4 near Chula Hospital, I'm sure the hotel food is great, but try taking a stroll just outside for some truly excellent, real Thai dining ....

A room with two views

We stayed at a cheapish hotel in Cha Am not too long ago. Here is a fantastic view from the window.

Unforutunately, this was a picture I took from the room across the corridor (the door was open and room was vacant). This was our view.

Not so spectacular I think you'll agree (but still, bundles of character). This example is typical of how many of these Thai beach resorts develop; packed lines of buildings along the sea shore, with vast tracts of vacant land behind them, with long, straight and occasionally very busy roads leading up to the main sukhumvit.

A favourite conversation between farangs often takes the line of 'one day that land will be worth fortunes' and 'we should buy lots of it now' etc etc.

Perfectly true, probably, although I'm sure the land prices are not as low as some might like to believe ....

I'm no expert, but I do think Cha-Am is an excellent investment area for those with the resources...I mean, look at all that land.... one day that will be worth fortunes blah etc.