I've often been asked by visitors to Bangkok to recommend an open-air bar as a place for an evening drink. Perhaps a nice terrace or somewhere high-up where you can sip a cool cocktail, watch the sun go down and maybe enjoy a panoramic view of the city.

I don't get into Bangkok too often so bar recommendations are just not my bag. So big thanks for the Bangkok Online website for putting together this extensive list of the city's best outdoor bars. I must confess that I have never been to any of them!

OK, back to the teacher blogs and here's a really detailed effort from a young English teacher from South-west England. Reading through the blog, I can't seem to find the lady's name but she has recently arrived in Thailand and seems to have gone down the 'arrange a job before you arrive in the country' route.

So the blog covers her orientation with the placement agent, a little bit of sightseeing and her first day at school. The teacher also came just in time to catch the beautiful Loy Krathong festival. So far it all seems to be going very well.  

'Beyond the Mango Juice' is a blogsite maintained by an expat living up in Udon Thani (which makes a nice change from reading about Bangkok or Chiang Mai) There is plenty of good reading on Martin's site and it was this blog about village life and his partner's som tam stall that introduced me to Martyn's tales and adventures. Nice blog for those who like a slice of the quieter rural Thai lifestyle.

The next blogging recommendation begins as follows - "Considering there are about one million and four travel blogs out there with great advice on teaching in Thailand, I'm going to discuss one of the finer points about the TEFL world out here: how to save money"

It's often difficult for an English teacher in Thailand to save money but here's a teacher who managed to put away 3,000 US dollars in just three months. How did she manage that? Well, read the blog and you might get some useful tips and advice. 

Pink Pangea is a website written by a community of women who love to travel (according to their slogan) and they recently blogged about tips for teaching English abroad. Sub-topics include being prepared for difficult school management, establishing authority and being resourceful and creative. Well worth a read!

Let's catch up with Chris and Angela, two of my favourite bloggers from Chiang Mai. Every new teacher coming to Thailand wants to know what things are going to cost in a local supermarket compared to back home. Well, Chris and Angela have you got you covered with this very detailed account of what they pay for foodstuffs in their neighborhood supermarkets. 

Enjoy the links and happy reading!