Waxing at La Nature: So Far, So Good

Having heard all kinds of horror stories about waxing in Bangkok, I did my research very carefully. Strip: Ministry of Waxing and The Waxing Bar sounded brilliant but way too expensive. There's no way I will pay Western rates for body hair removal in Southeast Asia, especially Thailand!

Eventually, I ended up going for my first wax job to La Nature, a hop, skip & jump away from the Lumpini Metro station. The salon is located in the Lumpini Park View Condo building. Its pricing is mid-range. It's certainly less expensive than the fancy salons, but substantially more costly than the small neighbourhood salons one passes in Silom and Sukhumvit.

Street view of the building in which La Nature is located

The website outlines the rates, wax types and methods clearly. It also promises NO REUSE and NO DOUBLE DIPPING of wax -- I hear this is a massive issue in Bangkok. I was keen to try roller wax, which was available. The surrounding were neat and clean; the girls were courteous. Two of them did my waxing together and the whole ordeal was quick, efficient, and no more painful than expected. 

I was so inspired by my excellent waxing experience that I opted to have a facial treatment right after, which turned out to be a mistake! Obviously, the forte of these beauticians is waxing. The facial was confused and rather short -- my face didn't feel soft and glowing, like it ideally should. :(

I've been thrice more to La Nature since then, and have been satisfied with the waxing each time. I recommend it highly for anyone who wants a hygienic and efficient wax job without breaking the bank!

Rabbit Card Discounts

So, it turns out the BTS Rabbit Card offers some great discounts if you shop and eat in Bangkok! You can check out the complete list on their website, but here's a quick look at the three discounts I have been using like crazy these past few weeks:

Tops discount coupons: Ever noticed those little kiosk machines (pic on the left) at every BTS station? The machines are stationed right where we enter/exit the station. Swipe your Rabbit Card to print out some excellent deal coupons. E.g., you can get a THB 65 discount for every THB 1000 you spend at Tops Supermarkets across Bangkok. The coupons are available for purchases of various denominations: THB 400, 1000, 1500, 2000 and so on. The savings really add up!

Costa Coffee discount coupons: The same machines give you a bunch of coupons for Costa Coffee as well. My fave is the 'one plus one coffee' -- perfect for a weekend frappe treat with the husband!

Coffe Club discount: Show your Rabbit Card to get a 10 percent discount on food and drinks (not including alcoholic beverages) at Coffee Club. A great discount for the minimal effort of pulling out your card!

Finding a Condo/Apartment in Bangkok

Finding a condo/apartment in Bangkok can be a real ordeal for expats, as my husband and I discovered shortly after we commenced our accommodation hunt. There are, of course, many ways to go about looking for your perfect pad...different strokes for different folks! In this post, I will talk about what worked for us and what didn't.

To begin with, we got in touch with a number of brokers. Our budget was THB 30,000-35,000 (approx. USD 920-1070) and we were looking for a fully-furnished two-bedroom & two-bathroom condo in Central Bangkok (Ratchadambri, Lang Suan, Ploenchit) or the lower Sukhumvit Sois (1-15). One of our biggest priorities was proximity to a BTS station -- we wanted to be within a 5-7 minute walk to the skytrain since we don't plan on buying a car.

We were shown many properties by many brokers, but most of them were far from ideal. The majority were too far from the BTS line. Others were in the zones we wanted but WAY out of our budget (above THB 45,000 in some cases). Still others were perfect in terms of budget and location but had only one bedroom or one bathroom. We were extremely keen on the two-bedroom & two-bathroom clause because family and friends visit us quite often.

Eventually, after two fruitless weeks of driving around the city with brokers in tow, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We started walking around the areas we had shortlisted as suitable, and approached the apartment buildings on our own. That's when we found out that you don't really need to hire a real-estate broker in Bangkok at all! Nearly every apartment building has two great ways of finding out about condos for rent: a juristic/sales office plus a noticeboard in the lobby. The building management or guards often know which condos are for rent/sale and are more than happy to show you around. The noticeboards have numerous "For Rent" announcements and provide contact details for you to reach out directly to the owner/point person.

So we spent a week wandering around the condos of Central Bangkok....and it paid off! We found the perfect place in the perfect location. The rent was a couple of thousand baht over our budget but the condo's proximity to our workplaces meant we would save far more in travel costs. The best part? We dealt directly with the owners, right from negotiating the price and asking for a few additions & repairs, to ironing out contract details and signing off on the paperwork.

My husband's employer's lawyer took a look at the contract before we signed to be on the safe side. The landlords took two months rent as deposit and one month's rent in advance -- this is fairly standard. The contract included a list of items in the apartment, which we cross-checked along with the owners before finalising the contract.

We also did find a number of promising listings online. However, many of these were already off the market when we called to check, which leads me to believe the listing are often not up to date. In other cases, we got in touch with the real-estate brokers whose numbers were listed but they kept trying to show us unsuitable properties instead of the ones we had identified online. However, I do know some people who found their condos through websites so it's definitely worth pursuing if you are internet-savvy.

To sum up, here are my top twelve tips if you're looking for a condo or apartment in Bangkok:

1. DON'T hire a broker right off the bat if you're not in a tearing hurry.
2. DO think carefully about the kind of area you would like to stay in. (quiet? residential? close to a school? close to your workplace? off the beaten path? city centre? lively? close to lots of restaurants? close to the metro line?). Decide which 2-3 points are top-priority for you.
3. DO your research about which neighbourhoods in Bangkok fit your criteria. Use the internet, check out expat discussion forums, talk to locals...get pro-active!
4. DO put on comfy walking shoes and start walking around in your chosen location, checking out promising apartment buildings. (Even if you think the area might be expensive, PLEASE take a look for yourself. We found a reasonable apartment in one of the classiest, safest areas in the city, even though brokers told us it was impossible!)
5. DO check with the juristic office if there are apartments for rent.
6. DO read the notice-board and reach out to prospective renters.
7. DON'T settle and take the first place you see if you're not 100% happy with it and if it doesn't meet your top 2-3 priorities.
8. DO remember to check if the building has facilities like a fitness centre, pool, sauna, etc. (Remember to factor these in when calculating budget. E.g., if you're going to save THB 3000 in gym fees because you'll have access to a great fitness centre then add THB 3000 to your budget.)
9. DO negotiate with the owners to add any essential gadgets/furniture you feel are missing. (Our landlords put in a new AC and washing machine for us. If you don't ask for it, you won't get it!)
10. DO check if the condo includes things like internet, cable, garbage disposal, phone line, etc. (Our condo had a phone but we had to set up our own internet and cable. Most apartment buildings will take a fee for the initial setup of such utilities -- this is over and above what you pay your internet and cable service providers.)
11. DO make a list of any and all questions that come to mind. (E.g., can you put up pictures on the walls? Can you keep a pet in the building? Who will be responsible for fixing the appliances/lights/etc.? How much notice is required before moving out? Is there a penalty clause if you move out before the contract term is completed?)
12. DO remember to check all the lights, appliances, taps and faucets before signing the contract. (We found one malfunctioning tap and a fused bulb, which the owner replaced before we moved in.)

Best of luck with your apartment/condo hunt!

A Blend of Magic & Mediocrity: Iron Fairies (Soi 55)

During my internet research on Bangkok nightlife, I stumbled upon "Iron Fairies" quite a bit. It sounded rather mysterious and wonderful, so the husband and I decided to kick off a night of bar-hopping there. The restaurant is approximately a kilometre down Sukhumvit Soi 55 -- about a 10-minute walk from the Thonglor BTS station.

"They don't take reservations," proclaimed one reviewer so we got there early-ish (about 8 pm) on a Saturday night. As soon as we walked in the door, it was like a different world. Dark and dim interiors, strange wooden machinery and barrels, potion bottles and vials, candlelit tables and a singer crooning jazz and blue tunes...the place was like a mash-up between Grimms' fairy tales and Artemis Fowl!

The place was already rather packed and the host/waiter pointed us to a corner table behind a staircase from which we could see absolutely nothing.

"We're happy to sit there but when another table frees up, we'd like to move there. Is that okay?" requested the husband.

Shrug, shrug, the waiter went. Okay, then. Whatever that meant!

We ordered a cocktail called "Smoke in a Bottle" for the husband, a glass a Prosecco for me, and a plate of nachos to munch on. While we waited for the drinks to arrive, we decided to take seating matters into our own hands -- our table was completely cut off from the rest of the restaurant and I couldn't see anything except a staircase! So we moved a couple of stools and tiny tables and set up our own little seating area; this is something the staff could easily have done but chose not to. Also, while my husband's drink and the nachos arrived quickly, my Prosecco was nowhere in sight even after fifteen minutes. A reminder finally produced my drink.

Anyhoo, our drinks were gorgeous. Take a look at Smoke in the Bottle; quite a sight, isn't it? The nachos were average -- the chips were too thick and they were rather stingy with the jalapenos. As we sipped our drinks, there was plenty to look at and the singer was excellent. Disclaimer: He sang Ray Charles, so I may be wearing rose-tinted glasses! The restaurant seemed a popular venue for bachelorette parties -- we saw at least three such groups come in.

To conclude, Iron Fairies is atmospheric and offbeat -- perfect if you enjoy a dash of darkness and magic. The service, however, leaves a lot to be desired and the prices make it a once-in-a-while destination, at least for me!

An Evening at Lumpini Park

Last evening, the husband and I decided to go to Lumpini Park for an evening walk. There was a pleasant breeze and I found myself aching for open, green spaces. The park is about a 5-10 minute walk from Ratchadambri BTS station. With a few small lakes at its heart and plenty of beautiful, tropical trees, Lumpini Park has already become one of my favourite hangouts!

At about 7-30 pm, there were quite a few people around but it was not crowded. We glimpsed all kinds: runners, joggers, walkers, stretchers, cyclists, sitters, chatters...even a few martial arts practitioners! The park is surprisingly quite, given its proximity to the main road.

Most folks stick to the 2.5 kilometre track that runs along the outer edge of the park. However, there are also plenty of smaller, interconnecting paths branching off from the main track, Things get pretty interesting down these side-roads -- we saw a couple of lovely shrines and chanced upon a group of cackling old men engaged in some sort of competitive card game! 

If you exit at Ratchadambri Road or Sarasin Alley, you can grab a quick bite before heading home; the former has a makeshift sit-down cafe serving local dishes (just by the gate) and the latter has a row of street-food stalls to choose from (as soon as you come out the gate).

So put on your walking/running shoes, and head to Lumpini Park for some fresh air and exercise -- two things most of us can definitely use more of! :)