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Jennad
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Posts: 31
Location: San Diego
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 Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 7:00 am Post subject: Necessary items to bring with me to Bangkok? |
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After living in Korea for a year, I pretty much know the things I wouldn't leave home without, but I'm not quite sure what I should bring with me to Bangkok that I wouldn't be able to find there.
I was in the city over Christmas last year for about a week and from what I saw, they had much more available than in Korea. It's hard to find decent toothpaste and deodorant in Korea, plus over-the-counter cold meds and pain killers are really expensive. Is it similar in Bangkok?
Thanks for your help! |
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:02 am Post subject: |
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You can find pretty much everything in either Bangkok or Pattaya.
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| It's hard to find decent toothpaste and deodorant in Korea, plus over-the-counter cold meds and pain killers are really expensive. Is it similar in Bangkok? |
Over the counter meds are very cheap and easily accessible in Thailand. Cold meds with pseudo ephed are near impossible to get now as they are used in making certain drugs.
Good deodorant is hard to come by in my opinion, but it does the trick for the most part. Toothpaste no prob.
Outside of Bangkok (and tourist areas), a lot of western stuff can be very hard to find on a consistent basis, if at all.
I dont have the time to be making lists today.
Good luck! |
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Eagle Eyes
Joined: 26 Apr 2012
Posts: 121
Location: Istanbul
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:07 am Post subject: |
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The most necessary item to bring with you to BKK is money....and I mean lots of it. BKK is not cheap and you will find that almost anything you need is here. Also bring many suits with you. As an English teacher it is necessary to look like a professional entrepeneur and businessman. Thais usually judge you by how you look. Enjoy the LOS!  |
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MaiPenRai
Joined: 17 Jan 2006
Posts: 390
Location: BKK
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 8:27 am Post subject: |
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Bangkok is as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. The reason many people say its so expensive is because there are so many opportunities to spend money. To really enjoy Bangkok and some of what it has to offer, you will want to earn at least 40,000/mth, but you can live on less than that.
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| Also bring many suits with you. |
Pardon... only bring suits if you already have them... Tailors are very plentiful in Bangkok and Thailand in general. Prices are very reasonable and very cheap if buying in bulk.
DONT go out and buy suits.
Unless you plan on teaching business English, wearing a full suit is a bit a overkill. Smart business attire with a tie is fine. |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 9:33 am Post subject: |
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Dark slacks/pants, light shirt and an assortment of ties (all cheap and readily available in Thailand) are the norm for teachers.
All the stuff you missed when you were in Korea are easily available in BKK and most provincial capitals as well as all tourist areas.
In pharmacies you can get just about anything that is not Class A / Schedule 1 (depending on whether you are from N/A or the EU) restricted from home.
OTC you can get aspirin, Tylenol, paracetamol, ibuprofen and just about anything else you want for the usual run-of-the-mill pain meds.
Pseudoephedrine products are hard to find but there are other easily available OTC cold meds (decongestants) that are fairly cheap.
Colgate toothpaste and other western branded toiletry products are easy to find at most major grocery stores.
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Jennad
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Posts: 31
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 3:58 pm Post subject: |
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| MaiPenRai wrote: |
Bangkok is as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. The reason many people say its so expensive is because there are so many opportunities to spend money. To really enjoy Bangkok and some of what it has to offer, you will want to earn at least 40,000/mth, but you can live on less than that.
| Quote: |
| Also bring many suits with you. |
Pardon... only bring suits if you already have them... Tailors are very plentiful in Bangkok and Thailand in general. Prices are very reasonable and very cheap if buying in bulk.
DONT go out and buy suits.
Unless you plan on teaching business English, wearing a full suit is a bit a overkill. Smart business attire with a tie is fine. |
I'll be teaching at an international school, and my salary is quite generous (one of the reasons I am able to move to Thailand despite my student loan payments!). This talk of dress suits is disconcerting though....especially with the tropical Thailand heat. Most schools seriously require Teachers to wear suits?? |
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Jennad
Joined: 28 Jul 2010
Posts: 31
Location: San Diego
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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| tttompatz wrote: |
Dark slacks/pants, light shirt and an assortment of ties (all cheap and readily available in Thailand) are the norm for teachers.
All the stuff you missed when you were in Korea are easily available in BKK and most provincial capitals as well as all tourist areas.
In pharmacies you can get just about anything that is not Class A / Schedule 1 (depending on whether you are from N/A or the EU) restricted from home.
OTC you can get aspirin, Tylenol, paracetamol, ibuprofen and just about anything else you want for the usual run-of-the-mill pain meds.
Pseudoephedrine products are hard to find but there are other easily available OTC cold meds (decongestants) that are fairly cheap.
Colgate toothpaste and other western branded toiletry products are easy to find at most major grocery stores.
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Thanks for the info, tttompatz. I'm a woman, so I'm going to go ahead and hope that the comment about the ties only applies to men. For women, business skirts and blouses? My hagwon in Korea was super casual--like jeans and tennis shoes casual--so I'm thinking I might need to go out and um, buy a whole new working wardrobe  How do people not die when walking around in the tropical heat in full suits?? |
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tttompatz
Joined: 06 Mar 2010
Posts: 1951
Location: Talibon, Bohol, Philippines
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| Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Jennad wrote: |
| tttompatz wrote: |
Dark slacks/pants, light shirt and an assortment of ties (all cheap and readily available in Thailand) are the norm for teachers.
All the stuff you missed when you were in Korea are easily available in BKK and most provincial capitals as well as all tourist areas.
In pharmacies you can get just about anything that is not Class A / Schedule 1 (depending on whether you are from N/A or the EU) restricted from home.
OTC you can get aspirin, Tylenol, paracetamol, ibuprofen and just about anything else you want for the usual run-of-the-mill pain meds.
Pseudoephedrine products are hard to find but there are other easily available OTC cold meds (decongestants) that are fairly cheap.
Colgate toothpaste and other western branded toiletry products are easy to find at most major grocery stores.
. |
Thanks for the info, tttompatz. I'm a woman, so I'm going to go ahead and hope that the comment about the ties only applies to men. For women, business skirts and blouses? My hagwon in Korea was super casual--like jeans and tennis shoes casual--so I'm thinking I might need to go out and um, buy a whole new working wardrobe How do people not die when walking around in the tropical heat in full suits?? |
Skirts (knee length) and blouses (shoulders covered - no cleavage) are the norm at our school with slacks and (school issued) golf shirts the norm on Fridays.
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plumpy nut
Joined: 12 Mar 2011
Posts: 1652
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| Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 6:52 am Post subject: |
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| Jennad wrote: |
I'll be teaching at an international school, and my salary is quite generous (one of the reasons I am able to move to Thailand despite my student loan payments!). This talk of dress suits is disconcerting though....especially with the tropical Thailand heat. Most schools seriously require Teachers to wear suits?? |
Be careful, there are schools in Bangkok that call themselves international schools and are not. In Bangkok a school can call itself whatever they want, you might consider that. I find the suit requirement to be a little odd. I saw some teachers that worked at international schools and they dressed in dress pants and sometimes casual. Another thing unless you're teaching at a top tier international school like NIST etc. the pay is not that great for starting teachers, even those with licenses back home. |
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