Silom is without a doubt the party district in Bangkok. It is home not only to the infamous nightlife but also offers the retired individual a large variety of restaurants and pubs. Some of the better restaurants that can be found in Bangkok are not only in the Silom district but also in the Central Lad Proa area. The better known pubs in Bangkok are such pubs as The Saxophone Club near Victory Monument which offers some of the best jazz tunes in Thailand.
There is also Q bar and Bed Supperclub further away in Thong Lor or better known as Soi 55. There are many restaurants in Bangkok offering different variety of dishes. The Arab area in Soi 3 offers a wide variety of Indian and other middle eastern foods.Hippie hangout Khao San Road is also slowly gentrifying and there are even some Thais venturing into what were once mere backpacker bars, but most Thais still prefer to congregate around Ratchadaphisek.
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Common Scams in Bangkok
Without a doubt one of the best scams around is the gem scam. These sophisticated and highly professional “special discount” scams, often involving promises of high resale value back home at a supposedly huge profit, sometimes even employ foreigners to act as satisfied customers.
Other than that there is also the Bangkok Tour. It is more of annoyance than a loss of money and that is the Tuk Tuk driver offering to take you on a tour of Bangkok for 10 Baht. This usually ends up being a visit to all the gem shops and other shops that offer the driver of the Tuk Tuk a commission on what you buy.
Medical Care
There are world class hospitals in Bangkok. Hospitals such as Bangkok Hospital and Bumrungrad Hospital are well known. They are some of the best hospitals in The Kingdom. As a retired individual or couple, having excellent medical care is of great importance and having medical staff communicating in English. Bangkok Hospital currently offers “Health Packages” which will be of interest to retired couples. Many hospitals also offer a dicount club at their hospitals. There are many pharmacies in Bangkok even such well known ones as Boots which can be found inside all large department stores. More of this can be found in the health section.
Living in Bangkok
If you are into books, B2S has a large variety of books available as well as Asia Books who stock a wife variety of English Language books and newspapers. Paragon also offers books inn French and German and there are many secondhand books stores down on Sukhumvit soi 33. As for clothing there are a wide selection of stores availabe to the retired person and the prices are far less than what you would pay for in your home country. Fabric in Asia in very cheap there the clothing tends to be cheap too. Electronics and the latest gadgets can be found at Pantip Plaza which is a huge building with electronics spread over many floors. If you cannot find it at Pantip Plaza then the product more likely than not does not exist!
Hobbies
Needing a new hobby not that you have retired? Well there is the Bai Pai Cooking School which offers courses in Thai cooking. There is also the well known Blue Elephant cooking school that is also well known for its cooking courses. If you are more in the spiritual side of life then The International Buddhist Meditation Center offers many courses in meditation. There is also The World Fellowship of Buddhistswhich also offers sources in meditation. Learning more about massage? Nothing better to take a course at the world famouse Wat Po alternatively at the Union of Thai Traditional Medicine Society.
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Markets
There are many weekday and weekend markets selling goods at discounted rates. Having retired in Thailand you will have a lot of time on your hands. Try the Chatuchak Weekend Market also known as JJ Market in northern Bangkok which is easily accessible by the Skytrain and underground Metro. Take the MRT/Subway and get off Kamphaeng Phet station which opens right into the market. There is also the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. This is a large and colorful market offering bargains on everything from clothes, bags, crockery to organic foods. There is also the Patpong market but this caters mainly to the tourist as it sells a variety of counterfeit merchandise including watches, clothes, bags, and cosmetics as well as Thai tourist products such as model tuk-tuks and kick-boxing shorts.
