Bangkok 2004 Trip
17th [Thursday Late Night] to 21st [Monday Mid-Morning] June 2004 (Start of the Rainy Season)
SIN Travel Agent : Splendour Holidays Pte Ltd
SIN Address : 101 Upper Cross Street #03-66 People's Park Complex S058357
SIN Tel: (65) 6533-9918
BKK Hotel : Eastin Bangkok Hotel
BKK Address : 1091/343 New Petchburi Road, Makkasan, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
BKK Sales & Reservation Tel : (66 2) 651-7600 ; Fax : (66 2) 252-2909
SIN Flight on SQ 880 return on SQ65 - Round Trip Tickets : SGD 168
SIN Package : 3D 2N + 1N
BKK Airport tax: 500 Baht /pax
BKK time : +7 GMT , SIN is +8 GMT
BKK Bus tour agent : Saen Sanuk
BKK Office Tel: (66 2) 01-650-0033 / Ms Mui - tour guide :(66 2) 01-838-9358
Exchange rate in SIN : 1 SIN to 23.6 Baht
Exchange rate in BKK Shopping Centre: about 23.6 to 23.8 baht
Exchange rate in Eastin BKK Hotel : 22 baht
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/thailand.htm
http://www.sawadeethailand.com/about/religion/religion.html
http://www.sawadeethailand.com/about/festivals/festival.html
Eastin BKK Hotel : http://www.hotelbangkok.net/eastin_bangkok_hotel.htm
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Thursday Night [17 June 04]
When we got to BKK, the tour guide - Ms Mui got the travellers for Eastin BKK hotel (where we stayed), D'ma & Bangkok Palace. Being the last hotel on the stretch of Soi Phetchaburi 35, we were the last to alight .. it was already past one, BKK time .
It has a peculiar lobby : it's on the 7th floor (Prevent the flood waters ?? The First floor is already on a slope)& the 13th floor is non-existant(Superstition, I guess).
The BKK humildity is lower than in Singapore so my eyes skin & eyes were drier. So the first thing was to top up on water. The plane flight took a bit of toll on the drying the skin too ... culprits .. ;P
2 bottles in the mini fridge is complimentary each day [if you don't finish them, they won't replace anyway]. These bottles are recycled , I can tell from the paint on the bottles as it was worn off. Apparently, coke bottles are recycled too (I saw that near my hotel on Saturday)
@,'---
Friday [18 June 04]
Wake up to the fog ! From my hotel room window, I could see the expressway & the sunrise.
It's nice to see the fog because I seldom see any in Singapore, last I saw one was when I was in Genting, KL, Malaysia - that was some years back...
Also, plenty of Billboards, strangely, on the express way level, lots of them. Linkin' Park(their concert was after SIN concert), F4, Golf course memberships, condo are just some that you can see .. However, many of them are in Thai which I understand ... save for the Linkin' Park English Billboard..
Please bear in mind to wear foam slippers when walking.. shoes are no help to the terrain apparently, the sidewalk is paved with poorly paved rectangular tiles (you can find those in new estates driveways eg. Pasir Ris/SengKang/Woodlands)],protuding drainage & the impeding rain(Bring Brolly : when we were there the rain starts its activity about 12 & ends about 2pm).
We zoom for the breakfast @ our hotel on the lobby level 7(we had 1 breakfast ticket each for each day of stay). I LOVE the waffles there + Maple syrup hehe, hehe =P They had international buffet breakfast (pastry, sandwiches, porriage, vegetable, sausages, fruits & juices / coffee . We ain't sticking around long to stay in the hotel.
AM -
Pratunam here we come! We got there by foot about 10 am , most of the shops are just opened.. seems there are many of wholesale shops, jeans, T-shirts are common. There aren't much US sizes , we got a problem trying to get some for my boyfriend, he wears US size L, I think. So most of the largest Ts there would still be smalller size...
However, if you can't get the top, get the bottom ! Waist length is max at 38 inches (38"). Best to bring your measuring tape, like me !! The shops seldom have a changing room, if there is, it is rail + pull curtain, not much of privacy, but they won't be peeping anyways ..
Prices here are jacked up, 1. I don't speak Thai, 2.I'm not buying in Bulk (some shop keepers will tell you that they are wholesale = buy in bulk only] 3.They Generally Jack Up the price.
Price guide : Nothing costs more than 100 baht in the whole of the BKK shopping places exculding shopping centres. They would try to ask for 300 to 700 baht .. so do your math.
Of course you can stand & bargain ... Like my brother when he went with his friends last year - even at the wholesale shop to ask them just to sell a few pieces.. when they won't give the low price, I just walk off.
What you can get at Pratunam: T-shirts with brand names/logos/ Denim Jeans & Skirts, Undies & flimsy ones =(, handicrafts.
PM -
Enroute to MBK : Road side stalls aplenty!
Cut fruits(I got some, no tummy ache), if you got the nerve : try Hoppers, termites or roachs .. Neither myself not my boy friend got the nerve nor the time to get sick from it , so we skipped that. Fried things a plenty, we don't know what they are selling & the prices & items (if any item-price boards) were in Thai, no pictures, so we skipped that too..
One easy to spot food, a salad of sorts: Chopped cabbage + chili + cumumber & sauce , if you like that, you can get them for about 20 baht.
MBK (Mah Boon Krong): 7 Floors of Air conditioned Departmental Shopping !
Seven floors packed with shops and more shops selling everything from crop tops to pianos. Hectic and busy especially at the weekend when half of Bangkok seems to coverge there.
The food court on the sixth floor is big. Not as upmarket and stylish as Siam Discovery- (missed out!) but less expensive (Please note that food courts @ all the shopping centres except for the Emporium, you need to change 100 baht to get 100 baht worth of meal tickets, you pay with the tickets to the stall staff)
Salty Meals at the food court costs about 40 baht - 60 baht each with soft drink(lots of ice).Moderately appetising + small portions. Don't expect too much ...
There are other resturants nearby : eg. COCA seafood resturant (like the ones in Singapore, so are the prices hehe..), other resturants also.. I didn't eat at any of them so I didn't remember.
The range of goods is quite mind boggling- from Shoes[Bata too..]/slippers, T-shirts, gowns, Jeans , Work clothes, undies, to mobile phones(latest models - they are as crazy as the Singaporeans about Hand Phones), gold & jade jewellery(couple of shops) to bathroom items.
On the top floor is an entertainment complex with cinemas boasting plush seats( they have the latest there - they should be Thai sub titles - I didn't get a chance to sit & watch any so ~ ), new style Karaoke booths (with current chart artists - English and Thai - 20 Baht a song) a computer games area and lots of restaurants and places to snack. This bit - I missed out, I haven't got the day to hang out singing.. no Kakis anyways.. ,
If you need internet access : there's a internet booth . Just drop 10 baht worth of coins into the slot machine(in individual PC Towers), you can begin the 15 minutes surf . It was programmed in Thai, but go on into internet explorer, key in which ever english web site, displays english text too. The other travllers will be surfing too.. so grab a vacant seat & surf away. You can change your notes with the shop keeper.
Next stop : 7 - Eleven . Top up on drinks .. I got the orange flavored yogurt drink and or green tea / honey green tea drink , 20 to 21 baht - there's tax(aka. SIN GST)[Why pay for mineral drink when they are the same price as the other drinks]. I didn't really notice how much are their beers & liqours - I don't take alcholic drinks .. seriously, Please don't spike my drinks if you are buying me one - kekeke..
Over the next few days stay, we usually would zip into 7-Eleven to get drinks, they are virtually every place where people crowd .. there's one renovating near my hotel too.. Then again, there are the minimarts which are family-own, you can buy the drinks there too.
There's a supermarket on the 1st floor, the mini food court is located in front of the food court.
Friday PM:
Khao San : The scene for shops & resturants ..
Clothing galore, again the same variety as Pratunam, BUT there are fisherman's pants hehe, I got orange & purple color hehe, one size fits most xx-large included. I got a few good ladies T-shirts there. Bargaining is a norm there too.
We got to the side roads that have T-shirts for guys, there are some that speak Mandarin, but most shop assistants speak english anyway ..
One bargaining tip here : If being offered 500 baht for 1 T-shirt/skirt, you say, 120 - 150 Baht I'll sure buy, won't pay more than that. & Insist on the price, they are sure to relent after you insist on it a few times.
There are the tourists hanging out with cold beer or crowd watching ..
Euro Cup at night !! The hotel television service serves international channels like what you get in SCV - discover channels, sports channel, AXN etc.. I usually sleep by then but my boy friend would be watching & cheering for the football team.. omg.
Saturday [19 June 2004]
AM -
We had a AM tour package. The pickup was about 8 am by tour bus.
We zipped around town to Yao Wa Rat (China Town) & took our Boat up Chao Phraya River to Wat Arun ..
The former River market place was moved down stream. So the original site attracts a few boats. Along the river up stream, one can see the houses on stilts & their private jetty (just joking - just a short walk way to dock their boats and link to their houses)
According to the tour guide, every year when there's a major event eg. King's birthday, there will be a representative to go around these houses to pass free medicated snake lotions to the elderly - because they suffer from rheumetism from the close promixity to water & also that they had contributed to the growth of the country.
At some point before we got to Wat Arun ( The Temple of Dawn, Wat = Temple ) , we stopped to feed the fishes .. It turned out that these fishes in these grey murky waters were cat fishes, they are about 50 to 80 cm long. The locale entrusted the fishes to the temple & no one are allowed to catch the fishes. I think no one would want to. Cat fishes have a lot of bones , Erique bought one BBQ small cat fish, after we finished the day tour, tried to eat it found many bones .. not much meat.
Wat Arun has a private jetty. We got on land once again ;) though I enjoyed the river ride with the light rain drizzle on me. Entry to the Wat costs 20 baht & tickets will be issued at the entrance upon purchase. Mine wasn't torn off so it could be resold for the same day entry.
Structure-wise it seems the same as other wats in the area. There's one main tower flanked by two smaller towers. The steps were high & steep.. a litter of kitties get there lunch on one of the high ledges. The extensive use of broken flat tiles & dish saucers as mosaic, made the temple interesting. Statues of Demi-gods supports the stucture and buddha statues can be found at the two flanking towers.
Girls can get to dress up as a Thai princess with costume & head gear at one of the shops. Other shops sells handicrafts & bags [Overpriced as usual]. The Coconut stall does brisk business to thristy tourists.
On leaving the Wat, the one of the male tour guides took a last glance at the Wat, Wai[put both palms together & raise it to head level] to the Wat & touch his head with his hands [to bring blessings onto himself]. This same guide, who did the intoduction to the fishes & the water market earlier on, I forgot to mention that his Thai accented English is rather hard to follow over the loud speakers ... but if talking one to one, it is still ok..
Off we go to the boat again & alighted to proceed to take the tour bus to Dusit Leather Co. Ltd. [ 32/1 Rachasima Road Dusit, Nagkok 10300], they have leader goods there but the designs were mostly old, there are designs from Polo also, but I doubt their authenticity .. so I didn't get any.
There's a product unique to BKK, the leather from a type of fish - sting ray. The spine ridges of the fish , when polished appears to be pearl like.
It is prized to be wear & tear resistant. When tested by cutting the leader with a knife, the scales don't come off. The authentic sting ray leather is not suppose to have a uniformed diamond shaped pearl design. Alternate liking to the sting ray, can be accounted to myth that the sting ray leather is suppose to ward of bad luck from accidents.
You are allowed to bargain here, there's no fixed price. Check your purchases here, before you sign/pay for your purchases, please inculde the tax. The Chinese lady from China thought that she's been over charged, I suspect it is the tax that made up for the difference.
Last stop : Gem Gallery (Their shop name)- Gems Galore
The parking can get a bit of an irritant. Honking is common as the traffic marshals direct the traffic in the car park.
Gem Gallery is endorsed by the state. They feature the Thai Red Rubies & Blue Shapphires. The gems are sold loose or setted. There are Diamonds, Citrine, Topaz, Amethyst, Aquamarine, Emeralds, Cultured pearls, Cat's Eye & Jade on sale.
Featured pieces [Simply too large, they are the size of an open palm, are they extravagant or what ?!] are housed seperately in display boxes.
There's a mock production line in-house and a movie screening room about Thailand's Rubies & Shapphires. But don't get the leather here ..
PM - Lunch !!
Back to the resturant at the basement of Eastin BKK Hotel for buffet lunch. Its worse than breakfast. Oily and under-nutrient food .. just seemed so .. we paid 200 baht together to the tour guide who claim that it is tips for the tour bus driver who don't draw salary [Ya right , a fool to believe]
I think at this point of time I do miss mom's cooking or the food back in SG , Hai~
PM - Chatuchak Market
We got there by Taxi, most of the taxis run by taxi meters [some would go in circles, so watch for them]. A normal ride from Kao Shan to end of Sukhumvit(near Emporium cost about 80 - 100 Baht).
The market if divided into sections, the row nearest to the main road, a street before the middle row, & a sencond street before the last wet market row.
We were at the middle row mostly. Cheaper stuff than than Pratunam & Kao Shan, bargaining is still the norm. There are a few shops that are fixed price which they will display. One of them is a ladies slipper shop, every pair sells for 199 baht.
What u can find here: Denim non-authentic Jeans/skirts, self-designed jeans/skirts/blouses/dresses/undies, home furnishing(x/mas lights/lamps/screens), kitchen wooden utensils, Japanese cartoon themed hankies & towels, marble products. Suprising not much toys for kids ... save for the only shop I saw for handphone accessories... TT
& this is the only place that's really hot .. there's little ventilation within the rows... I really applaud some of the shop keepers for sleeping in their shops [that's why they sell hankies & cold green tea/mineral drinks ! keke ].
PM - Emporium
We went to the emporium for a bite for early dinner at one of resturants on the 3rd floor.Some korean hot pot. We got beef slices, cabbage, rice & a flask of Pepsi = 199 baht. We got salmon slices for 69 baht, so total bill is about 300 baht with tax. The service is fast & friendly. The service staff will come around to refill the soup & your cup of pepsi.
& Went to PatPong afterward .
PM - Patpong
Nightlife & beer drinking pubs.
Some guys with the Cards will ask the tourists if they want to see the Thai Girl show or the Transgender show.. I think it should be 500 baht each , we aren't inclined to go to see, more interested in the shopping aspect.
What you can find here : Fisher man pants , Imitation watches (Rolex, TG etc) , Imitation luggage (LV, Gucci or Polo), some jewellery, T-shirts (The same variety as Pratunam or Chatuchak. The stalls skirt between the pubs. & 7-Eleven again !! & a few DVD shops.. Imitation ones what else .. Buy them at your own risk - as they may be of lower quality and may not be playable.
Euro Cup again !!
@,;--
Sunday ( 20 June 2004)
AM -
We went to Chatuchak for last minute shopping. Boyfriend got some slippers, I got 2 DIY assembly lamps & a necklace.
AM to PM
From there we went to get snooker ques @ Minburi - shop's name is O'min. O - the nickname of the boss, Min - the location ; Minburi is on the outskirts of ChaTuChak market.. so it a rather long ride..
O'min exports man made / machine made ques / extensions / que carrier box / plastic pipes (if you don't want to buy the box) overseas, or you can go to their shop to view them. Their backyard is the production line, so if you got time to see it made, you can be rewarded for your effort. The woods used are Red or Birch, there's a snooker table for you to test out the que to see if it is even or light etc. If you need the contact , I got to ask my BF for the address / email address / telephone number.
If you didn't bring enough cash, Major credit/debit cards are accepted.
We went back to the hotel to deposit the purchases. The Thai don't play much of Snooker, there's only a few snooker playing house, scattered over Bangkok.
PM -
Emporium : 622 Sukuhumit 24 Road(or Soi) , Bangkok 10100
Apply for your Tourist card 5 % Discount with your passport, applicable for purchases within the same day. You can reapply for the next day.. it's quick & easy, jsut tell the cashier.
What's in Emporium : Nine West, Wacoal couple of other local brands, good quality , prices are the same as Singapore,
Couple of brand names there, & the Emporium Departmental Store .. Kinokuniya & Asia books(expensive books here)
Got to the food court - on the top floor, Just hop on to the escalators - no exchanging of coupons here ;D just pay cash... it might be due to the expats families living nearby, pay cash .. .. Japanese pan-cakes, Chin Chow drink, ice cream crepe, sweets, local cakes, local biscuits etc... & a supermarket that has Japanese/US stuff (cash or card)...
You can get your KFC & Coffee fix here too..
We got some masking tape to fix the que packaging with, and went back to pack.
Last notes : @,; --
** Please plan your shopping around the same place, well most of the shopping centres are in clusters...
Opening hours
~ Places like Khao San & Patpong , they are closed late about 10 - 12 pm ... no hurry to go there.. ~ ChatuChak opens about 9 am - I don't know about the closing time though.
~ Departmental stores - 10 am to 9 pm.
Transport
~ Tuk-Tuks are generally no shield against the heavy rain
~ Taxi - if they run by the meter it is good, but not if they might run in circles.
Avoid Taxi / Tuk-Tuks that park outside your hotels. If travelling for end(Kao San) to end(Emporium), usu might need to pay a flat rate or a least neg for 1 flat rate - 100 baht max.
If you are traveling out of town, most taxis have a price chart - ask for a sample of the price list.
Survival Methods
~ Locate a 7-Eleven for your drinking needs
~ For eating - Please use your judgment - but don't get tummy runs - washrooms are hard to locate .
~ Locate your embassy - in case of you get mugged or injured - or lose your passport
~ There are a few big hospitals in the shopping disrict of BKK, refer to the map of BKK - these maps can be obtained from your travel agent or from BKK airport
~ Get a mountain climbing clip [forgot what's it is called] - to hang the purchases onto your bag.
~ If you are crossing the street be prepared to dash across even if the traffic is green at the traffic light..
Payment
~ store your SG in 1 wallet & the passport(put in another zipped up compartment), Baht in another wallet (outer compartment)
~ I didn't get pick-pocket - but that doesn't mean it won't happen. Get a sling bag & move the compartment to the front.
~ Major credit cards are acceptable at major shopping centres - please check if your card have support there. The debit cards I had were Master card Debit & Visa Debit.
~ Get at least a debit card - Use when your wallet run out of ammunition
~ I have not used travller's check before - so if you think that you will be using, please check out with the bank and the Thai Embassy.
Hygiene
~ if your face/air get too dry, boil the water in the hot water boiler, once boiled raise the cover to let the steam out.. or just leave the hot water in the tub any way ...
~ bring your hair conditioner
Water pearls
~ Brolly
~ keep put of rain - black puddles - better to wear burmudas than shorts - I didn't see any locals wearing short shorts & if going into a Wat, pls wear long pants & with sleeves blouse/shirt.
I don't know of any amusement parks there , so ~
Last wish : Those going to BKK , have fun !
Please avoid the Bird Flu that erupted last week ~ lalala
