What to do in Bangkok?

I was frequently asked over the past few months with the same question, and had to give the same lengthy explanation over and over again.

'WHAT EXACTLY SHOULD ONE DO IN BANGKOK?'

Well, perhaps you can start off by reading these and these (written by the bear).

My first trip to Bangkok was in year 2010. After spending 5 days in Bangkok, I realize that it wasn't enough to fulfill my curiosity. Given that, I return for another visit in which I stayed for 2 weeks last year. My friends were curious as to how I could spend such a long time just in Bangkok. I personally think that one could easily be distracted and stray off path from the initial plan as there so many things to discover in Bangkok, this coming from my personal experiences. 

On my second trip, I opted to stay out of the city for a week. I stayed at Banglamphu area where all the major attractions are situated at. Believe it or not, I did not meet any Malaysians during my stay away from the city. During my last 2 night in Bangkok, I moved to the city for a different experience. When I first stepped into the shopping mall, I could hear 'Manglish' all over the places and manage to meet people from KL and etc. It is then that I discovered that the main intention of Malaysian visiting Bangkok is solely to shop. Surely, Bangkok is like a shopping paradise for everyone. Even the non-shopaholic will go crazy because you can easily find unique handicraft or souvenirs along the street at affordable prices.

In order to guide you about Bangkok, you will need to asked yourself about the type of traveler you are. Are you someone who are into culture and the local lifestyle or you are someone who adores city life as well as the shopping scene? Generally when I travel, my itinerary will be focus on culture and attractions. However, I could be the later type of traveler depending on the cities. Personally, Bangkok is just not about the city or cheap shopping deal. In my opinion, Bangkok is not as dangerous as Malaysia and possessed unique culture worth taking an interest in.

There's so much to see and learn in Bangkok if you have the time to do so. If you want to do a quick culture tour, you can go to Ratanakosin gallery which is located near the National Monument. This place can give you an overview about the country and the people. I was there in August and the locals were surprised as to why I would asked  directions to go there. They assumed that tourist will only be interested in places like the Grand Palace,Wat Pho and Wat Arun. To my surprise, all visitors were locals and my sis and I were like the "farang" there. An interesting info about the place is that there's a mini library inside the gallery where you can browse books and surf the internet for free. But, you need to show them the entrance ticket for admission. I personally enjoyed the library very much as it was very cozy and comfortable. I'll blog about the library later. *finger crossed*

If you are on a tight budget, don't worry as there's a lot of things to see and it's free. I think I will need to write a separate guide on this. For people who love the city, I think you can spend at least a day exploring the cultural things and the rest of your trip exploring the city as well as well as enjoying the night life and city lights. There are few nice cafes and restaurant on Phra Atit road which is frequent by the locals but not the tourist. I really like the settings there.

Maybe, instead of visiting the Skybar everytime you visit Bangkok, if this is what you have been doing all the time. Why don't you spend some time discovering the local culture? Then you will have a different story to tell your friends other than what you have purchased from your trip. Your friends might be impressed with your newly discovered places and maybe you could explore a few good cafes for yourself to share with us. Perhaps it's time to change your ideas about Bangkok and be different for a change.

I know a lot of you will probably be interested to know how much money is need for a trip in Bangkok.

If you ask me, spending one week in Bangkok can be as low as 200 USD to 500 USD depending on how luxury want your trip to be and how much shopping you intend to do.

I'll be writing new guides on this lovely city soon. Then, you can decide on the places do you could visit for your trip there. Drop us a comments if you wish to know on anything in particular. 

xx

Kokret/Kokred- A getaway from Bangkok

I first heard about Ko Kred was earlier this year when my Thai friend posted about it and she mentioned that she didn't know the existence about this island although she was born in Bangkok. This information triggered my interest somehow as it is definitely not touristy for sure. I've learned from travelling in SEA that there's a lot of leeches which try their best to suck your money. It's a rude comparison but it's true.

How to get there?
Take bus 32 from Pra Atit Road/Khao San road and stop at the KFC near Tesco Lotus at Pakred. You can also take any bus which goes to Pakred. I think you can also take a van from Victory Monument to Pakred too. From the KFC, turn into the junction and go straight and then turn left and you will see a temple on your right later. Go into the temple until you see the boat to Kokred. The cost is only 2 Bath. If you stopped at a private harbour, you need to pay 50Bath to cross the river.

At Kokred, you can easily rent a bicycle at 40 Bath whole day or travel on foot which we did as I don't know how to ride a bicycle and I also read that the pavement is quite bad. Hence, walking is the best! We went there on Tuesday as we understand that it will be very crowded during the weekends as the locals will flood this little village. Hence, to avoid the crowd, we went there on weekdays instead. But, a local company brought all their staff there and it was flooded with people. Although only a few shops open for business but it was happening enough. I was expecting a quiet and peaceful village. But, they left very soon so no complains.

I personally think that it is a nice village to walk around and take pictures. Or at least feel thes
village which I love. It's very interesting to see. I'll show a few snapshots which I like from the village.

 

Since it is a pottery village, you should not miss drinking from this cute cup which only cost 25 Bath and you can bring the cup back after that. Well, I didn't buy it as it will be very troublesome to carry  around. 

If you happen to have extra time in Bangkok, do drop by at this place. It's easy to get around. Well, I didn't explore the whole island as I didn't know how to cycle. *facepalm* There's a lot of snacks and dessert around and it's nice. We didn't take much picture about it because we ate everything before it's too late. The potteries sold at KoKred is slighty cheaper than those sold at Chatukchak market. Hence, it will be a good place for shopping too.

Thailand Travel Guide 02

Hi! Sorry for being MIA for so long. We were too busy with trip plannings and stuff. Two of us are heading to HK and Japan this week! Ain't that awesome?
I think choosing the right accommodation is a real pain when it comes to trip planning. As for me, we opt for cheap and good hostel because we only need a place to sleep at night.
I stayed in Lamphu House when I was in Bangkok.  Well, it wasn't a hostel. The place look more like a hotel to me. We stayed there for 3 nights and we tried 3 different rooms. Long story.

I wanted to book the Quad room at the first place but it wasn't in the list when I fill in the reservation form. Perhaps you can email them instead to book the room as it's very ideal when you are travel in four.
In the end, I book the fan room(400B) with shared bathroom for the trip because we thought that it will be like the one in our uni hostels.
The room was nice but it was so stuffy at night because May was the hottest month of the year. FOL. I couldn't sleep at all on the first night. They have a small fan attached to the ceiling and obviously it didn't work well. When I said shared bathroom, it means shared between man and female. Too bad I didn't take any pictures from the bathroom. You might see strangers who only have their towel on them when you are brushing your teeth. Remember to stay calm. LoL

On the next day, we went to the reception counter and ask for A/C room instead. They gave us the quad room with private bathroom at 980B. The room was great because it was huge and we have a balcony to hang our clothes. The other bed is opposite the one you saw in the picture below.

On the third morning, we have to move to a new room because someone book the quad room before us. We moved to the standard room(With A/C at 630B) with private bathroom instead. There's a double bed with tables and place to hang your clothes inside. 

As for the fourth night, we stayed in Silver Gold Garden Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel. We paid around RM50 for a room via Agoda.com which includes free airport transfer.

It's a good place to stay because they have night market in front of the hotel and Tesco is located right next to the hotel! It is definitely a good place for last minute shopping. XD

My friend told me that there's a lot of cheap hostel around KS road area but we need to explore as they don't have a website.

Perhaps you can keep that in mind when you go Bangkok ! :)

That's all for the accomodation part.

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.

The people are ready to get off.

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?

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.

Bangkok Day 1

Have you read our iteinary for Bangkok ?
Our flight arrived at Bangkok at about 2pm. Mind that Bangkok is in the GMT+7 timezone.
It was my first time at the LCCT international departure hall.

We found ourselves at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport two hours after departure! The custom were pretty fast in doing things. We had read a lot about the scams in Bangkok and we tried our best to avoid them. From the airport, we took the taxi down to Khao San area. It is best to have your hostel address written in Thai language because most of the taxi driver don't understand english and it seems like they have different thai and english name for the streets. Taxi fare from airport to Khao San area should be around 300-400 Bath inclusive of toll fare and the journey took around 1 hour.

We head to Siam Center area after a short rest. The taxi from Khao San road to Siam Center cost around 75 Bath. It was late afternoon when we reach there and our stomach was growling. We hurried to search for food but we found the free ice tea for tourist instead. Yeap, just head to MBK's food court and present your passport at the bar. The ice tea tasted like Malaysian Teh Ice but very very sweet. I was afraid to taste the thai desserts and drinks because I can't really take sweet food.

It's easy to ask for direction at Thailand. You just need a map with the address or picture. All you need to do is point, point and point until the local direct you to the right place. We went to Jim Thompson House first because the closing hour is 5pm and we didn't want to miss this place. You know that you are at the right place when you see the sign board in front of the alley.

You just need to keep walking until you see the house on your left hand side.

The entrance fee is 100 Bath. However, you can get 50% discount if you are able to show them your student ID/passport to show that you are below 25 years old. J.T House is a traditional Thai house with lots of antiques inside. It's good to have a glimpse on how people live in the olden days. The best part is you will get a free guide who will explain all the features of the house. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the house.

The rain started pouring before we left JT House. We hurried to our next destination which is the Bangkok Art and Cultural Center. It is located next to MBK.

 There was a architecture exhibition by the University student when we were there. Students from second year onwards get to display their models and also provide explaination to the public. I personally think that it is a very good platform for the student to express themselves. And everything is in English too.

 Besides that, they have a few conceptual and attractive shops and cafes.

I found this interesting handmade necklace from one of the booth. If you are single, you will have one of those on your necklace. If you are in a relationship, you will have two. If you have two many, you will wear the bitch necklace like the one on your right hand side. Interesting huh?

We didn't take any picture outside the building because it was still raining. :( We ran towards the overhead bridge and went inside Siam Paragon to search for the Naraya flagship store.

One warning before you step into Naraya, be prepare to spend lots of time there. We met a lot of people from China, Taiwan, HK and Malaysia there. The price of those bags are not expensive at all. You can find the Naraya branch mostly located at Siam Center area.

After an hour, we manage to pull ourselves out from Naraya and went hunting for dinner. We walked around the Siam Paragon and realize that most shops were closed at 7pm and we can't find any food. We grabbed something along the way and took a tuktuk back to KhaoSan Road. We negotiated with the driver with the price of 80 Bath. The traffic was very heavy at that hour so we have no choice.

We had our dinner at KS road opposite the pub. I manage to eat my favourite Mango Sticky Rice at 35 Bath. Very cheap compared to Malaysia and I ate that every single day for the rest of my trip. *happiness*

Okay, that's all for day one.

Day two is coming soon ! :)

Bangkok-From a girl's perspective.

Saawaadeeka~
I'm back from a 5 days 4 night trip at Bangkok.
Woah. 5 days wasn't sufficient at all as there's so much to see there.
My first impression of Bangkok is that it is very similar to KL. The streets, buildings, road are identical to the one we have in KL. Thai people are very nice except for the one we met at the floating market. And they are very chinese. We met a few who can speak a little mandarin and made our day! You have no idea how hard is it to converse with the locals in thai language. But, with my very limited thai language, I'm able to order foods and ask for direction. Not that bad huh?

I will show you my iteinary first. Then, I will write with full details.
If you ask what's the budget for a trip to Bangkok, I will say that you can have a budget for Bangkok because no one can resist the shopping temptation there. Yes, even for guys. I met a CSer there and he told me he spent every single penny he had if he went to Chatukchak. However, I had calculated the basic damage which includes accomodation,transportation,entrance fee and flight and the total was RM420 inclusive of my RM190 flight ticket.

Day1:
Jim Thompson House, Bangkok Art and Cultural Center, Siam Center(MBK and Siam Paragon)

Day 2:
National Palace, Pratunam, Platinum Mall

Day 3:
Ow Tor Kor, Chatukchak Weekend Market

Day 4:
Bang Khun Tien

Day 5:
Home.

Trip planning

Hi everyone!
I'm back. Sorry for the lack in updates. We were occupied with works and we were very behind in blogging. I have pictures from my 2 months trip at China and my upcoming trips. I wish I have more hands like an octopus so that I can multitask  

I'm currently doing planning for my Bangkok trip. I realized that 5 days is not enough at all when I discovered new places to visit. I can easily plan for a 5 days shopping trip but I would prefer to experience the life of a local. Plus, the internet is not really helpful. On the other hand, I was doing research for Indonesia as well. Don't ask me how I started it but it was addictive. As the result, I have a how-to-cover-4-cities-in-10-days for Java island plan. The awesome part is that it includes Yogyakarta and Bali with a minimum fare.

After one whole week of intensive research, I want to backpack whole Thailand and Vietnam badly. I shall do more research when I'm free so that I can just book all the tickets that I want next time. I promise that I will share the itineraries once I finish my research.

Btw, any ideas on where to visit at Bangkok? Despite the Grand Palace, Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Chatukchak and Patrunam area. Tell me places that I don't know :)