Sometimes Always Cafe

When we moved from the hustle and bustle of Khao San Road to the peaceful area of Old Bangkok near the pier, let's just say hunger levels had reached their peak, so we went in search of food.

Looking at what was surrounding us, which to be honest, wasn't a great deal, beardy saw this little gem, and from our first visit we instantly became attached.

This place felt like our second home from the get go as we used to stop off here before going back to our guesthouse almost every evening.

Sometimes Always Cafe is what we would call heaven. 

Amazing atmosphere, fantastic food, exceptional music, incredible Mojitos and to top it all off, it is owned by two of the most wonderful, down to earth people you could ever wish to meet. 

From our first visit we felt instantly welcomed by Tida Sue and Watcharapol Taveetanakorn, or Yam and Arm for short. 

Before opening "Sometimes Always Cafe" Arm was a creative & graphic designer. After many years of work and getting tired of the 'rat race', along with wanting a more chilled out life style (totally agree Arm), with his wonderful girlfriend they opened Sometimes Always Cafe. A place they could not only call home but also a space they could create the ideal chilled experience as a couple. 

Like most start up business' location was key. For the right relaxing vibe that these two have created, we must agree, that by the pier is perfect. 

By using Arms creative flair and both their awesome taste in design and lifestyle they have transformed a basic space into a travellers paradise. It's very much a vintage style with a modern twist of quirky and comfortable. 

In their own words, Sometimes always Cafe is made by love, and that is obvious as soon as you walk through the door. 

The sounds of old classic rock like Led Zeppelin to the awesome 90's favourite The Spice Girls (come on guys we all know the words) fills the air in this laid back place. It's pretty much a mixture of rock n roll, indie rock, pop, hip hop, electronic and jazz.....pretty much whatever takes their fancy that day. It's awesome to be able to chill in a place and listen to such a variety of music in which you know and love but also to discover some new 'classics'. 

The menu isn't massive, however we love that. To any of you who have been to Thailand or are currently visiting you will know most places hand you a book of a menu upon arrival, which in our experience is normally quantity over quality.

But trust us, that's not the case here. The menu maybe small but my goodness the food is delicious.

We would describe it as picky food, which is ideal when dealing with the Thailand heat.

Big enough portions to share or if you are feeling greedy get a couple of items and have a mini feast. Either way you are onto a winner as the price is just incredible. 

Now, as you all know we are huge fans of a Mojito!

Here at Sometimes Always, they make one of the nicest mojitos we have ever tasted (now that's saying a lot as we have drunk plenty and we are usually disappointed but not this time...instant love)

On our penultimate night in Bangkok Beardy had asked whether they could share their mojito recipe with us as it is our favourite Rum based beverage. 

When we sat down we started having ingredients placed in front of us and got given such a simple but effective mojito cocktail lesson. 

Beardy created, whilst I took notes and  the pictorial evidence so we wouldn't  forget. 

We can't thank them enough for taking the time to teach us. We got to experience and taste our very own 'professional' mojito. Not trying to big Beardy up but his was pretty darn good, he clearly had a great teacher. Thanks again guys for this awesome unforgettable experience! 

We honestly instantly felt at home here and feel we have made life long friends with these incredible people. Miss you guys and hope to see you soon. When we come back to Bangkok we will be straight back to catch up.

Top Tips

▪️Location - 8/8 Krung Kasem Rd. Wat Sam Phraya, Phra Nakorn, Bangkok. We realise it's away from the 'traditional' 'touristy' areas, but we promise it's well worth the tiny Tuk Tuk fair. 

▪️Opening Times - 2pm until 12:00am (depending on if it's busy it might be later 😜) 

▪️Closed Monday and Tuesday 

▪️Order the Nachos, Pizza and either a classic Mojito or their fantastic Ginger Mojito, honestly you won't be disappointed 

▪️They have old school video games!! That's right, we are talking Super Mario Bros, retro style! Make sure you have a go (it's free) we were on it for hours!!

▪️Please tell them we say Hi if you pop into see them. They are, hand on heart, two of the most wonderful and welcoming people we have met so far on our travels. 

Facebook Link https://www.facebook.com/sometimesalwayscafe 

Instagram Link https://instagram.com/sometimesalwayscafe

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

       

Bangkok - The Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), can be found behind the Temple of the Emerald Buddha and is a must see attraction. 

It’s an easy ten minute walk between The Reclining Buddha and the Grand Palace, however we spread our visits over two days.  

This spectacular, and some what gigantic, statue of Buddha has to be seen to be believed.

Are you ready for these crazy measurements?

The Reclining Buddha is 15 metres tall and 46 metres long. Honestly it's a jaw dropping site to see, not only on its sheer size but it's beauty is unbelievable. Gold leaf galore! 

The Buddha lays peacefully in a building that, to us, looked far too small which only exaggerated its sizes. The pillars didn't help with getting a picture but our GoPro Hero 4 came in very handy.

After walking along side this huge statue you reach The Buddha's feet. Alone these are 5 metres long and exquisitely decorated in mother-of-pearl patterns of the Buddha. Each pattern telling a story of how he became the treasured symbol he is today. 

The Reclining Buddha is worth the entrance fee alone, but make sure you see all the grounds. There are some beautiful buildings, and as always, the detail never fails to impress.

Oh by the way, a fantastic way to donate to this beautiful place, and if you fancy a bit of good luck, we recommend purchasing a bowl of coins at the entrance of the hall. You can then drop a coin in the 108 bronze bowls which line the length of the walls. 

Dropping the small pennies in creates a wonderful chime sound and even if your wishes don’t come true (fingers crossed they do), the money donated goes towards helping the monks renovate and preserve Wat Pho. Woop Woop! 

A truly amazing place and a site we will never forget. 

Top Tips

▪️Shoes off guys. Like all temples shoes must be removed and shoulders and knees covered! If you can't bare the heat and need to rock some shorts, they do provide some swanky robes, but trust us, flattering they are not.

▪️Entrance to the temple of the Reclining Buddha costs 100 baht (around £2, exchange rate May 2015) 

▪️Opening times between 08:00 and 17:00

▪️Location to tell your Tuk Tuk driver or to pop in your maps app: Maharat Road. Close to the river (about a half mile south of the Grand Palace), Old City (Rattanakosin)

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

Bangkok - The Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha

So we have finally arrived in Bangkok!! 

We are staying in this cute little Hostel called Steve's Boutique. This off the beaten track cubbyhole is situated in Bangkok Old Town by the pier, it's pretty basic but very peaceful.

So as you guys know we went on many Tuk Tuk trips during our time in Cambodia, and again as you know, they basically consisted of a carriage being towed by a moped.

Now we are in Bangkok, blimey how things have changed! 

We are now riding passenger in the real deal! 

The rickshaw Tuk Tuks are incredible. It seems like all the drivers here are in competition with each other to see who can 'pimp their ride' the most. They are all equipped with a big bore exhaust, alloy wheels, additional lights and whatever colour they seemed to want to paint it at the time. 

Obviously the exhausts don't go down too well when you have had a heavy night on Khao San Road, downing cheap beer and you need to get around in the early hours of the following morning...but still pretty amazing. 

Anyway less about the pimping ride and more about where we were heading on our first day in Thailand. 

We thought we had made it very clear that we wanted to go to Wat Pho, the temple of the reclining Buddha, but we ended up getting dropped off at The Grand Palace, which was on our 'to do list' anyway so we weren't too fussed. 

This is Thailands most sacred site. The beautiful surroundings and buildings had us in total awe from start to finish. 

We'll let our pictures speak for themselves as this place is a must, it was just breathtaking! 

Top Tips 

▪️Warning Rant Alert!! Please be respectful. We know we've said this before but if they so no pictures, they mean no pictures. It says this in the temple that the Emerald Buddha sits. Hence why we unfortunatly don't have any pics. However, the amount of people, mostly Brits, we saw trying to sneakily take photos was not only a huge let down, but also shows massive disrespect to this culture. The symbol of Buddha is sacred here, so please, just enjoy the moment, enjoy what he stands for and don't get in trouble.

▪️Entrance Fee 500thb per person (around £10pp exchange rate May 2015) 

▪️Opens at 9 Closes at 3.30 

▪️There are no exceptions on clothing! You must wear a t-shirt that covers your shoulders and full length trousers, this applies to both boys and girls! Otherwise you'll be buying clothes from one of the surrounding markets, which from what we saw had bunked up prices. So cover up! 

▪️Flip flops are a must! Shoes have to be removed to gain entry to many of the temples in the grounds, so flip flop it up for easy removal. Beardy lost his in Cambodia and struggled with Converse all day having to taking them on and off.

▪️The Grand Palace does have on site tour guides available, however it is very straight forward to direct yourself around so maybe save your Baht for something else. We personally like to explore on our own with no time limit. Sounds like an odd way of doing it we know, however we personally love coming back with a head full of questions that we can't wait to read up on in our own time, rather than being bombarded with info. Entirely up to you guys though. 

 

      

     

     

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

      

Siem Reap - Georges Rhumerie Is A Must

Georges Rhumerie is a Cambodian French infusion restaurant that just works perfectly.

We often use Trip Advisor to see what hidden restaurants are around, you know, the ones you can't find whilst exploring on foot. So as we were scrolling through our search we saw the words RUM, CHILLI and HOMEMADE. We were sold, so headed to check it out! 

Now George's is almost unheard of within the world of Tuk Tuk drivers however see our Top Tips to help you get there.

You guys are now fully aware that Rum bars are right up our street. We can't get enough of them, so when we found out that George's not only has a wide selection of Beardy's favourite spirit, but that they also made it on site in different flavours, well we were very excited to try the vast selection. 

Not only is rum crafted here they also have a fantastic selection of Chilli jams, again handmade, which are mind blowing. That's if, of course, you're a fan of the spice, which beardy is not, however Suze had found a heatwave haven.

Upon arrival at George's we were greeted at the gate by Sebastien who is probably the most genuine and attentive host we have ever met. Customer service here seems to be the most important policy and it shows. I don't think Suze and I have ever been looked after so well before as we were here. We were handed a shot of coconut rum at our table and it was incredible. After this a platter of rum shots followed, each more tastier than the last...12 in total! Happy days!

So the evening consisted of incredible food, so good that we even ordered seconds of the starters rather than a desert, fantastic drinks, and immaculate service. 

We are two quite laid back travellers, so coming to a place that not only had fantastic, yet affordable food, in a chilled out environment, put together by wonderful owners and staff...well, we couldn't have been happier.

Even more so when their two adorable cats came and sat with us. However if this is not your thing don't be put off, Sebastien asked us if we minded and if we did he'd be more than happy to pop them inside. As we are missing our little bundle of fur, we were more than happy to have them happily playing near us. Cute is an understatement! 

We can't recommend this place enough. Loved the whole dining experience from start to finish, and it's all down to the incredible staff. 

Thanks for having us guys, we hope to see you very soon for another shot of rum x

Top Tips 

▪️Location - ok this is a tricky one, it's not easy to find but well worth a trip off the beaten track. 

If you tell your Tuk Tuk driver that it's near Quad Adventure Cambodia on Wat Damnak road. This is a well known destination and you should be able to spot the RUM BAR lights near by. However for a little extra help here is George's Rhumerie phone number +855968617448 this is great to have so your driver can call to get exact directions. 

▪️All rums and chilli jams are available to purchase. So if you enjoy them we would definitely recommend grabbing a jar and a bottle as you're not going to get the opportunity elsewhere.

▪️You have to try the Sample Platter, honestly the pork fried dumplings you get are just incredible...trust us! If you want something that tastes like a roast dinner in one little mouth full, these will sort you out.