Chances are, you’ve been to a 7-Eleven or two in your life. If it was back home in Winnipeg, it was probably pretty small, maybe a little dirty, and more expensive than you’d like. Today, I’m here to tell you that your opinions are all wrong, or at the very least, that they don’t apply here in Bangkok, because 7-Eleven stores here are awesome. Whether you need a snack or a full meal, you’re covered.
When I get to school, especially if I’ve been running that morning, I’ll sometimes get a grilled cheese sandwich for breakfast. Thankfully, there is a large selection of “toasties” that you can have heated up for you on-demand in a sandwich press. Most of them have ham or some other meat, but there are a few vegetarian options: garlic toast, grilled cheese, or salted egg strudel. These cost around 30 baht[?].
The selection of toasties next to our apartments
After school, I’m often craving some snacks before dinner, so I grab some cookies to satisfy my sweet tooth. The “knock-off Oreos” are 10 baht[?] for a dozen, and absolutely delicious. I tell myself that the pack will last me a few days, but I’m usually lying.
The cookie selection next door
There are a bunch of other options, including lots of seaweed-flavoured stuff that I’m not really into, and a decent selection of chips. Most of these will cost 20 baht[?].
Various seaweed-flavoured snacks A chip flavour for every mood
If you really need a full meal, you can go for one of the sandwiches shown above, or a bowl of ramen noodles. Ramen ranges from 15 baht[?] to 60 baht[?], but I haven’t actually bought any since Patricia packed a bunch of instant noodles from home that we have yet to finish.
Many flavours of ramen
After dinner, the intense heat usually calls for a frozen treat. For that, a decent selection of ice cream is available for about 20 baht[?].
The ice cream cooler
7-Eleven sells many soft drinks and juices, as well as beer. You can even get some hard liquor from behind the counter.
Beer and soft drinks
More interestingly, a pretty huge selection of milk is available. This isn’t even everything, there’s another section that’s kept cold. Milk seems to be really important in Thailand; the students have designated “milk breaks” during school and some assemblies are even sponsored by milk companies.
The milk section + Patricia
You can also buy basic cosmetics and personal hygiene products here. Watch out though, because most products have bleach or other whitening agents in them. I’ll be staying well clear of these, and enjoying my killer tan.
Skin products (note the “Healthy/Extra White”)
And of course, 7-Eleven wouldn’t be the same without… Slurpees.
The Slurpee machine next door
I hope you have enjoyed this tour through our local 7-Elevens! Here are a few more shots from the larger location next to my school.
