Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Korat Forums

Korat Forums
I personally spend a lot of time online and I enjoy visiting the various Korat forums. They are a great place to find out new things about Korat, make new friends and have a good laugh.

If you have just moved to Korat or are simply planning a trip to Korat to meet your girlfriends family then you should definitely visit some of these Korat forums.

You should know that at times you will find Korat forum members having a go at each other. Don't worry about it as most of the members on the Korat forums get along very well in real life.

Please find below a list of some of the most popular Korat forums.

Korat Farang

Korat Farang is the largest English Korat forum and is owned and moderated by a Sportsrider. You can find plenty of information about various Korat restaurants, bars, hotels, Korat shopping venues and Korat information in general on this forum about Korat. Please note that since a few months, SR had moderated Korat Farang rather strongly so be careful what you write.

The Grumpy Expat

The Grumpy Expat is one of the newest Korat forums and is owned by the legendary Saf. He is definitely a great bloke and he also has a rather nice blog about Korat and Thailand in general. Most of the members on this Korat forum and old members of Korat Farang who got fed up with all the heavy handed moderating that was being done on that Korat forum.

Korat Info Forum

Another very large and popular Korat forum is the Korat Info Forum. There are sections in different languages however it seems that the German section of this forum about Korat is the most active. There is also a Dutch and English section at the Korat Info forum.

Korat Fart Forum

One of the newest Korat forums is the Korat Fart forum. It is not as active as the other forums about Korat and a lot of the posts tends to poke fun at Korat Farang and its owner / members.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Korat Shopping

Korat Shopping
There are plenty of Korat shopping venues where both visitors as well as expats can enjoy doing some shopping. Don't expect Korat city to be like Bangkok when it comes to places and malls to shop at however it seems that most local residents from Korat are more then happy when it comes to Korat shopping venues.

No Korat guide can obviously be complete without a section dedicated to Korat shopping venues which is why I have added this post to my blog. I will add additional information about Korat shopping venues as and when I discover new shopping venues in Korat.

The Mall Korat


The Mall Korat is the largest Korat shopping mall. There are over a hundred shops and stores at the Mall in Korat as well as dozens of food and beverage outlets. Some of the well known dining outlets at this Korat shopping mall include KFC (x2), Mc Donalds, Starbucks, Sizzlers, Black Canyon and the Korat Pizza hut. There is also a great and inexpensive food court where you can find Thai food from all over the country. There are also plenty of entertainment options at the Mall Korat which include a large swimming pool and a multi screen movie theater. There is also a rather large indoor parking garage at this Korat shopping mall.

Korat Tesco Lotus


Another popular Korat shopping venue is the Korat Tesco Lotus. The complex in which this Korat shopping venue is located also houses a number of smaller shops, food and beverage outlets and various banks. There is a large covered parking lot for those of you that are visiting Korat Testo Lotus by car.

Korat Big C


The most popular Korat shopping venue for local Thai residents seems to be the Korat Big C. Prices tend to be lower for many day to day items and the Korat Big C seems to be the busiest Korat shopping venue especially during the weekend. If you can then do your shopping during week days. There are also a number of other shops at this Korat shopping complex as well as different food and beverage outlets including KFC and Dairy Queen.

Klang Plaza


There are in fact two Klang Plazas but I prefer the newer of these two Korat shopping venues and which is called "Klang Plaza 2". Klang Plaza is a large department store which sells all types of products. I go to Klang Plaza for two reasons. First of all there is an excellent IT section at this Korat shopping venue and secondly I often visit the supermarket which is located in the basement of the Korat Klang Plaza department store. In my opinion this supermarket sells the best meat in Korat and they also have an excellent selection of farang food items.

Korat Pizza

Korat Pizza
I have written this Korat pizza blog post in my Korat guide as I am a big fan of pizzas. I have lived in other parts of Thailand before and I have always been blessed to have been able to choose from a large selection of pizza restaurants. 

Unfortunately there are not a great number of Korat pizza restaurants from which I can choose. There are only a handful of restaurants in Korat which serve pizzas. There is however one Korat pizza restaurant which serves some of the best pizzas I have ever had in my life and that is the Dr Pizza restaurant in Joho. 

Korat Pizza Hut

If you like American style pizzas then I guess you should head over to the Korat Mall as it is home to the only Pizza hut in Korat. You can expect to find a similar menu there as you would find at a Pizza hut in Europe or America. A lot of Thai ladies seem to enjoy the rather large salad bar at the Korat Pizza Hut venue.

Korat Pizza Company

The Pizza company in Thailand is basically a copy of the US Pizza Hut brand. The pizzas at both the Korat Pizza Hut venue and the Korat Pizza company venues are basically identical as are the salad bars and the pastas. There are two Korat Pizza company venues with one being at the Korat Mall and the other being in the center of Korat near the Lady Yamu statue.

Amporn Steak House

Another restaurant in Korat where you can enjoy pizza is at the Amporn Steak House which is also located in the center of Korat. They have a large selection of pizzas and I am generally satisdfied with the quality. 

Chez Andy Restaurant Korat

Chez Andy has also recently started to offer pizzas and they use a traditional Italian brick oven. I have not tried any of the pizzas yet at this Korat pizza restaurant however I am planning to give them a visit in the near future. Chez Andy serves some of the best farang food in Korat however due to the relatively high prices, the restaurant is not very busy most of the time. 

Dr Pizza Korat

Dr Pizza in Joho is my favorite Korat pizza restaurant. They probably serve the serve some of the best pizzas I have ever eaten in Thailand. This Korat pizza restaurant is owned by Dennis, a nice German guy, and they also serve a variety of other types of dishes including pastas and salads. An average pizza at this Korat pizza restaurant costs around 280 Thai Baht. 

There are also a number of pizza restaurants in villages and towns near to Korat. I will cover these pizza restaurants another time. 

Friday, April 10, 2009

Korat Songkran

Korat Songkran
It's almost time for the massive Korat Songkran party. For those of you that do not know, Songkran is the Thai New Year period which is celebrated in Korat between the 13th and 16th of April.

Last year I attended the massive Korat Songkran party in the downtown section of Korat. It seemed like hundreds of thousands of people were in the center of Korat city. 

What makes Thai new year celebrations so much fun is the fact that everyone is throwing water at its other as well as baby powder. If you don't like to get wet then you best stay at home during the Korat Songkran period. 

I will try to make some pictures of the new Korat Songkran festivities next week and I will post them in a new Songkran in Korat blog post.

For all you expats living in Korat, be careful on the road during Songkran in Korat. There will be a lot of drunk and stupid drivers on the road and there will be plenty of police checks so keep your tea money within reach.

The Korat Expat

Korat Guide

Korat GuideI thought it was about time to create a proper Korat guide as there aren't any up to date guides about Korat City online.

I am an expat who has been living in Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima) for some time now. Korat is one of the largest cities in Thailand and is located in the Isaan section of Thailand. Korat City is approximately a three hour drive by bus from Bangkok.

The new online Korat guide will include information for tourists and other local expats. If you are looking for information on the best restaurants in Korat or perhaps the hottest nightlife venues in Korat then be sure to keep checking out this handy Korat guide.

If you have any questions about Korat then please feel free to post your comments at the bottom of any post.

Regards,

The Korat Expat