book01

Chapter 2
Welcome to Bang Cock!

enough by itself for lunch or a light dinner.

3. Mixed fried vegetables (optional).

4. Noodles with Chinese broccoli (to replace Pad Thai). Yum! (Note: whenever you order any noodle dish, the waiter will bring a side order of spices, usually 4 items: crushed peanuts, fish sauce, red chili powder (spicy!), and red/green peppers in vinegar (semi spicy). You can also add sugar to this. It's advised you sprinkle a little bit of each on a small portion on your dish to try out. If you like it, splurge!).

5. Haagen Daz ice cream bar with Almonds. There goes the diet!

Here's a great tip: I highly advice you to take a Thai girlfriend with you when you go to eat. She will most likely order the best food off of the menu (seeing that the girls being local know what is best). Keep in mind that she will probably order enough food for ten people, so it's advised you don't order anything for yourself. Just let her order and she'll pick what's best. You'll be in palate heaven!

If you walk along the streets of Bangkok, you'll see Thais eating on the food stalls right on the sidewalks. I don't recommend you eat there for two reasons. First, it's not all that sanitary. Second, why eat on a noisy, hot, polluted street corner when you can enjoy your meal in a quiet, clean, air-conditioned restaurant? I guarantee you, if each and every one of those Thais had

the money, they would be eating in the air-conditioned restaurants, not on the streets. So why should you?

It's inevitable you will get some mild food sickness, just as any foreigner coming to the states will take a while to adjust to the food. For minor diarrhea, any over-the-counter medicine will do the trick. If it's persistent, my doctor recommended I take one or two 250 mg. of Ciprobay (wide spectrum antibiotic). That certainly did the trick for me. Consult with your physician. Good chance you will have at least some minor stomach problems, but nothing to be overly concerned about. Just be prepared. (The Ciprobay knocks it out for me before I can blink and everything is then back to normal).

By the way, be sure you drink only bottled water; avoid drinking the facet water when you shower or brush your teeth. If you drink water in any major restaurant or hotel, you need not order bottled water as the water the waiter will pour in your glass is filtered, for your protection. It's also free. Why pay when you can get the same water for free?

Other choices for dining:

1. Any major hotel will have excellent food and fantastic buffet lunch's and dinners. The Amari (take a taxi), the Landmark (in-between Soi 4 and 8 on Sukumvit), the Oriental (take a taxi), the Hilton (taxi), the Sheraton (taxi), all offer excellent lunch and dinner buffets. For a late night snack, the Nana coffee