STARBUCKS is a worldwide phenomenon. While traveling in Thailand and Malaysia, I was amazed at the number of Starbuck cafes in these Southeast Asian countries. In particular- Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, the capitals of Thailand and Malaysia respectively, are top heavy with Starbucks cafés. It seemed that everywhere I turned – across my hotel in KL and Bangkok (Ancasa Hotel and President Park), in fancy shopping centers and on the ground floor of large high-rise office buildings - there was a Starbucks. I really wasn’t shocked to find a Starbucks in downtown Tanah Ratah, a small tourist town in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. It even had a mock fireplace and an upstairs coffee-drinking gallery to boot.

Out of curiosity I checked online as to how many Starbuck outlets are in these countries. According to a 2007 census, Thailand had 132 Starbuck cafes, with Bangkok having the lion’s share at 72. In the meantime, according to the Starbucks Malaysia site, there are a total of 108 cafes in Malaysian with Kuala Lumpur leading the pack with 41. While Black Canyon is major competitor to Starbucks in Thailand; in Malaysia, Starbucks controls 45-50% of gourmet coffee business with Coffee Bean and Tea Leaves a distant second.

In Malaysia, I found the service at the local Starbucks to be excellent (better than the USA) and the employees well versed in English; in Thailand, the service was very friendly but most of the Starbuck employees had limited facility with English. I must give props to Starbucks (and all the coffee retailers) in Malaysia, because they offered free WIFI, no strings attached. In Thailand, getting WIFI access at Starbucks was a real hassle as you received a complimentary 1-hour (thereafter you had to pay a nominal sum for continued use), but you had to jump through all sorts of hoops in the online signup process, fuggetabout it! I wish STARBUCKS in USA would take a cue from their colleagues in Malaysia and offer free WIFI and eliminate the gimmicky Starbucks card.

From what I observed in both of these countries, the clientele at a typical Starbucks café was a mix of local business executives and white-collar workers, the young University crowd with deep pockets along with tourists and expats. For Thais and Malaysians, having a Cappuccino, an Iced Caramel Macchiato or any one those fancy designer coffee drinks represents a real splurge as the prices are almost the same as in the United States. Please consider that the standard of living and the average salary is considerably higher in the USA, and the cost of one large cappuccino ($3.00 -3.40USD) will buy you a decent dinner at a local restaurant in both Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. Apparently, having coffee at Starbucks confers a measure of status with the locals. Yes, Starbucks is Huge in Thailand and Malaysia - such is the way of the World.

Coming up, the Starbucks Index.

Just wanted to share with you some snippets (some random observations and thoughts) about Bangkok.

Specialized Boutiques
Located just around the corner from the President Park hotel on Sukhumvit Road Soi 24 is Boo Blossom, a wonderful pet boutique that specializes in clothes and accessories for small dog breeds.

Beauty Salons
There are so many beauty salons in the tourist zone, however I will go out of my way to go to my favorite one, the Arena Beauty Salon, which is located on 152 Sukhumvit Road Soi 16. Tel: 22601263

Thai Restaurants
Raan Derm remains my favorite Thai restaurant in Bangkok. The food is spicy, tasty and affordable and there good selections for vegetarians.103-103/1 Sukhumvit Soi 22 tel: 22582401

Money Exchange
The best place for exchanging monies (excluding traveler’s checks) in the tourist zone is Vasu. Their storefront location is on Sukhumvit Soi 7/1 just a couple of steps away from the Nana BTS. They have now moved their operation in the very front of the store – you don’t have to enter thru the side door anymore. Makes it look more legit!!! Vasu 133-133/1 Sukhumvit Road Soi 7/1

If you’re exchanging traveler’s checks, I would suggest you that go to any one of the numerous exchange bureaus located along I the street, upstairs in the BTS shopping arcade or inside the big shopping complexes like the Emporium. It will usually take less than 3-4 minutes before you receive your monies. If you try to exchange your traveler’s checks inside the Bank, you may have to wait a very long time before the transaction is completed. Just recently, I had to wait almost 20 minutes and sign at least four or five forms before I finally received my monies at the Bangkok Bank. Never again!

Airport Departure
With the closure of the older Don Mueang Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport is now handling all the airline traffic. I have departed from Suvarnabhumi a number of times now - catching a taxi from President Park on Sukhumvit Soi 22/24, it hasn’t taken more than 30 minutes to get to the airport using the expressway even during rush hour traffic. I usually leave my hotel at least 2 hour 40 minutes before departure. Never had a problem! FYI, Suvarnabhumi Airport opened up on September 21, 2006.

For passengers who need a day room at Suvarnabhumi because of a long layover between flights and they don’t stray far from the airport, they can stay at the new Novotel Airport Hotel, only a 3 minute walk from the main terminal.

(the following snippet pertains to both Thailand and Malaysia)
Christmas in Thailand and Malaysia
Christmas is a big production in Thailand, primarily a Buddhist country and in Malaysia, where 63% of the people are Muslim, as most of the tourists are Christian. In many of the large shopping complexes in the major tourist centers – including Bangkok, Chiang Mai (Thailand) and Kuala Lumpur and Melaka (Malaysia), Christmas decorations start going up shortly after Thanksgiving, a major holiday in the USA celebrated on the last Thursday in November. Walking into a Starbucks Café in Chiang Mai on November 25, I was greeted by the familiar tune of ‘I am dreaming of a White Christmas.’