Hey readers!
Guess where am I now?
I'm currently at my third pit stop after Saigon and Phnom Penh! We saw Cambodia through the bus ride. On our first day in Cambodia, we saw poor citizen who was trying to sell us goods but we didn't get down the bus. Then, we saw the local village which is quite similar to Malaysia's rumah panjang/rumah papan. After that, we saw the much developed Phnom Penh and now, we are at Siam Reap with less developed road. I will write as soon as I get back to Malaysia.
Stay Tune for our travel guides! You gotta love it !
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Bangkok Day 2
Saawaadeekaa~ We are back with our itinerary for Day Two =)
Have you read about our itinerary,our post on day one and our travel guide ?
We started day two by having breakfast at one of the street near Khao San Road. Then, we walked to the pier(N11) where we took the transport to the Grand Palace. (N9) Fee:14 Bath nett.
We can actually walk to GP from KS road(20 minutes) but we can't get the directions from the local as they don't understand us. I heard that Old Bangkok is along the way if you walk.
The pier near KS road is Phra Arthit. There's a map which show which boat you can take to reach N9.
From here.
There's a tourist information booth after you walk out of N9. According to them, its better to visit GP first then turn left and the exit and walk to Wat Pho instead of turning right to Wat Pho.
The entrance fee to GP is 350 Bath(They will stop selling ticket at 3pm but the palace open till 5pm/530pm) The ticket consist of entrance to Grand Palace, Dusit Palace(far from GP) and the museum inside GP but you have to use it within 7 days. The dresscode is very strict. Well, they provide proper attire for you but you have to pay the deposit. You can get back the money after you return the attire.
Tips: Get the free guide from GP at 10am, 1030am, 130pm and 2pm. The guide will explain all the basic things that you need to know about the place. Or you can just stand next to some tour guide and pretend that you don't understand their language. lol
We went in quite early to avoid the tourist tour but they came in quite early as well. We just have to be quick and taking pictures.
The protector of the Palace.
At one of the temple.
The postcard-like picture. I adore wide angle lens so much.
There's a lot of picture from GP which I can't show all of them in this post. Basically, GP consist of the royal temples and the palace. We were not allow to go into the palace. We end our free tour at around 12pm. In GP, you can send your postcard at the fee of 15 bath per piece. I save the hassle of looking for a post office.
The weather was very hot on that day and we choose not to proceed to Wat Pho and Wat Arun(N8). Wat Pho is where the reclining buddha is and the entrance fee is 20 bath. We had seen the reclining buddha at Malaysia. So, we choose to skip it. You have to take the boat to Wat Arun. If you are at Wat Arun, you must climb the temple but you need to pay a fee for that. The steps were steep. However, we choose to skip it as we couldn't stand the weather at all. I will go back when I visit Bangkok next time.
From Grand Palace, we took a taxi to Chinatown(Yaowurat) which cost us 80 bath. You can choose to take bus No.53 or the boat and get off at N5.
We had our lunch at Chinatown. My friend, J told us that we can eat bird nest soup and shark fin soup at a very cheap price but we didn't see anyone selling any of those. There's a lot of wholesale shop around that area though.
We left Chinatown after our lunch and took another taxi to Pratunam. It was peak hour and the taxi drivers were reluctant to fetch us there. Luckily we met a policeman who flagged down the taxi for us and even ask the taxi driver to use the meter. =) The fare was 79 Bath.
Pratunam market is the wholesale area. But if you get 3 piece and above, you are entitled for their wholesale price. Platinum mall which is opposite the market provide a lot of options too. I heard that the food at Platinum mall's food court(6th floor) is very good. Both the market and the mall close at 6pm. So, don't try to be smart and visit them at night.
You can walk to Pratunam market/Platinum mall if you are at the Siam BTS Station/Siam Paragon/MBK/Siam Discovery Center. It is within walking distance and I saw a lot of food vendors along the way.
Okay. That's all for Day Two.Pop us email if you have further inquiries about the place ya?
Have you read about our itinerary,our post on day one and our travel guide ?
We started day two by having breakfast at one of the street near Khao San Road. Then, we walked to the pier(N11) where we took the transport to the Grand Palace. (N9) Fee:14 Bath nett.
We can actually walk to GP from KS road(20 minutes) but we can't get the directions from the local as they don't understand us. I heard that Old Bangkok is along the way if you walk.
The pier near KS road is Phra Arthit. There's a map which show which boat you can take to reach N9.
The people are ready to get off.
From here.
The entrance fee to GP is 350 Bath(They will stop selling ticket at 3pm but the palace open till 5pm/530pm) The ticket consist of entrance to Grand Palace, Dusit Palace(far from GP) and the museum inside GP but you have to use it within 7 days. The dresscode is very strict. Well, they provide proper attire for you but you have to pay the deposit. You can get back the money after you return the attire.
Tips: Get the free guide from GP at 10am, 1030am, 130pm and 2pm. The guide will explain all the basic things that you need to know about the place. Or you can just stand next to some tour guide and pretend that you don't understand their language. lol
We went in quite early to avoid the tourist tour but they came in quite early as well. We just have to be quick and taking pictures.
The weather was very hot on that day and we choose not to proceed to Wat Pho and Wat Arun(N8). Wat Pho is where the reclining buddha is and the entrance fee is 20 bath. We had seen the reclining buddha at Malaysia. So, we choose to skip it. You have to take the boat to Wat Arun. If you are at Wat Arun, you must climb the temple but you need to pay a fee for that. The steps were steep. However, we choose to skip it as we couldn't stand the weather at all. I will go back when I visit Bangkok next time.
From Grand Palace, we took a taxi to Chinatown(Yaowurat) which cost us 80 bath. You can choose to take bus No.53 or the boat and get off at N5.
We had our lunch at Chinatown. My friend, J told us that we can eat bird nest soup and shark fin soup at a very cheap price but we didn't see anyone selling any of those. There's a lot of wholesale shop around that area though.
We left Chinatown after our lunch and took another taxi to Pratunam. It was peak hour and the taxi drivers were reluctant to fetch us there. Luckily we met a policeman who flagged down the taxi for us and even ask the taxi driver to use the meter. =) The fare was 79 Bath.
You can walk to Pratunam market/Platinum mall if you are at the Siam BTS Station/Siam Paragon/MBK/Siam Discovery Center. It is within walking distance and I saw a lot of food vendors along the way.
Okay. That's all for Day Two.Pop us email if you have further inquiries about the place ya?
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Thailand Travel Guide 01
I think the first problem everyone will encounter in Thailand is the language barrier. I remember my friend told me that in a foreign country, people who speak english well will be the one who rip you off. I didn't notice that when I was in China because I can speak their language. In Thailand, whenever I see menu written in English/waiter who can speak well in english, they tend to charge a lot more compared to the local vendors.
I can teach you basic Thai which I used to survive 5 days in Bangkok.
Numbers in Thai language:
1-Neng
2-Song
3-Sam
4-Si
5-Ha
6-Hok
7-Jed
8-Pet
9-Kao
10-Sip
100- roi
1000- pan
What- A lai
How much?-Tao lai
This - Ni
Pork -Mo
Ice Tea- Chae In
Noodle-Nom kin
No/Dont want- Mai
Hello- Saawaadeeka(Girls); Saawaadeekap(Guys)
Thank You- Kapkhunkaa(Girls); Kapkhunkap(Guys)
*Girls end the sentence with kaa and guys end it with kap. Dont be confuse! haha
It's very simple right? For food, its good if you know a few famous thai dish like Som Tam, Pad Thai, Tom Yam and etc.
When you approach a food vendor and you have no idea what is he/she selling, you just need to point at the food and ask 'Ni A lai?' Then they will tell. Perhaps you won't understand what is that either.
When you want to order food, you can say 'Ni, neng'(Two orders for this please).
When you want to ask for the price of an item, you can say 'Ni, Tao lai?'
If you can speak mandarin, you can try your luck by speaking with the local. You will be surpirsed that they understand mandarin very well and some can speak too.
It's better for you to ask the price in Thai language especially in those local market. The people there don't speak english well/ can't speak english at all. You can find good english speaking people at most of the tourist place/shopping malls. They can bargain with you in english too. =D
Pointing is very helpful in Thailand. You can point at the food to ask the price for the food/what's is that. Or point and the map to ask how to get to the place. Or point at the vegetable to ask them not to put it in your food.
Thai people are very polite. They will greet you when you enter the shop/leave the shop. Be good to them too by greeting them back.
Okay, after reading this post, you are ready to go to Thailand ! hahaha. Oh well, you need a lot of hand gesture as well.
I can teach you basic Thai which I used to survive 5 days in Bangkok.
Numbers in Thai language:
1-Neng
2-Song
3-Sam
4-Si
5-Ha
6-Hok
7-Jed
8-Pet
9-Kao
10-Sip
100- roi
1000- pan
What- A lai
How much?-Tao lai
This - Ni
Pork -Mo
Ice Tea- Chae In
Noodle-Nom kin
No/Dont want- Mai
Hello- Saawaadeeka(Girls); Saawaadeekap(Guys)
Thank You- Kapkhunkaa(Girls); Kapkhunkap(Guys)
*Girls end the sentence with kaa and guys end it with kap. Dont be confuse! haha
It's very simple right? For food, its good if you know a few famous thai dish like Som Tam, Pad Thai, Tom Yam and etc.
When you approach a food vendor and you have no idea what is he/she selling, you just need to point at the food and ask 'Ni A lai?' Then they will tell. Perhaps you won't understand what is that either.
When you want to order food, you can say 'Ni, neng'(Two orders for this please).
When you want to ask for the price of an item, you can say 'Ni, Tao lai?'
If you can speak mandarin, you can try your luck by speaking with the local. You will be surpirsed that they understand mandarin very well and some can speak too.
It's better for you to ask the price in Thai language especially in those local market. The people there don't speak english well/ can't speak english at all. You can find good english speaking people at most of the tourist place/shopping malls. They can bargain with you in english too. =D
Pointing is very helpful in Thailand. You can point at the food to ask the price for the food/what's is that. Or point and the map to ask how to get to the place. Or point at the vegetable to ask them not to put it in your food.
Thai people are very polite. They will greet you when you enter the shop/leave the shop. Be good to them too by greeting them back.
Okay, after reading this post, you are ready to go to Thailand ! hahaha. Oh well, you need a lot of hand gesture as well.
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