In most of the cases you're fist stop into Thailand will be its capital, Bangkok. If you are a fist timer, then it is (unfortunately) a must stop to see the main temples and as a day trip location to the floating markets. Below I'll provide an update on what we did, costs and how we felt about this large city.
Details about accommodation & getting there you can find in my separate post regarding the admins, so will not add to this post such details.
We had sort of 3 days in Bangkok, but to be fair we kind of only took advantage of 2 overall as we had the flights into Bangkok and to Krabi on some of the days. I will guide you through our steps, but you can mix and match according to your schedule
Day 1
We landed early AM, but the check in was only at 1PM. The hotel was offering 50% off at the breakfast price between 9:30 - 10:30 and so we took advantage of that. Afterwards we relaxed on the rooftop until the rest of the people arrived. Once we were all together we started our tourist activities.
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Take the BTS (the sky train) and stop at the last stop Mo Chit. This will leave you super close to the Market. The place is huge, and it's very hard to decide if you actually want to buy anything or just look.
We wondered around for a while, bought some small things (like Tiger Cream) and we headed to the Shopping Center behind the market to cool down a bit.
The upper floor is a food court, which I can only recommend. Important to note is that they do not serve alcohol between 2PM - 5PM. Now that this is settled.
Buy your MIXT Chatuchak Food Court card and add some money. This is actually free, so they return you anything left on it. You can pay for your food with this card.
Go around and see what you like, it's not easy to decide as a lot of the food looks very good (and tastes very good as well). Mind that spiciness. Keep in mind that not spicy in most of the places in Thailand still means spicy but bearable. If you do have the courage to say spicy, I recommend ordering also a portion of plain rice (you'll thank me later)
We tried several dishes, but I don't really remember all the names :)
Beer - as far as I could see they have 4 types of beer in Thailand: Leo, Tiger, Singha & Chang.
As you are already there - get a massage :). 30 min is 150 baht (approx. 4.5 Euro)& 60 min 250 baht (approx. 7.5 Euro)
From here as we were all super tired we went to the hotel where we had dinner & went early to sleep
Day 2
We booked a tour in the morning with pick up at 7:30 to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and the the Train Market. We paid for the tour all included (van, boat) 5200 baht (approx. 155 Euro)for 8 people.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
"Damnoen Saduak Floating Market consists of a maze of narrow khlongs (canals). Female traders, often wearing traditional mo hom apparel (blue farmers' shirts) with wide-brimmed straw hats (ngob) use sampans (small wooden boats) to sell their wares, often produce.These boats are often full of vegetables and colorful fruits that are photogenic, and these images are used for tourism promotion. The market is often the busiest in the morning from 07:00 to 09:00 and is active until noon." (Source)
"From 1866 to 1868, by order of King Rama IV, the 32-kilometre (20 mi) - long Damnoen Saduak Canal was constructed to connect the Mae Klong and Tha Chin Rivers. Many floating markets arose from the canal, and about 200 ancillary canals were dug by villagers. The main floating market was called Lad Plee market which adjoined a Buddhist temple and remained active until 1967, when the development of roads replaced the need for water transportation. This pattern was seen with other old floating markets which disappeared by the mid-20th century due to the development of modern land infrastructure (Source)
When you arrive at the market they will offer you other tours (on top of the floating market) at additional cost, of course. Please please please say not to them as they involve a lot of animal cruelty.
The market is not cheap market so you have a big range where you can negotiate. This is the place to improve your negotiation skills. I can only say that even when the ladies selling the goods swear it's too cheap what you offer, you'll find it cheaper in a different market.
It's fun to buy from here but always remember no matter how low you go with your price offer, you most likely will find that item cheaper somewhere else.
Maeklong Railway Market in Bangkok
You will most likely do this trip in the same time with the floating market. Make sure you coordinate with the train schedule. Unfortunately we only saw the train from the distance.
The experience is hard to describe. As it is interesting on one hand, but also let's you in a bit of shock, seeing all the meat & fish laying outside in the heat.
If you aim more vegetables & spices, then this looks like a place where they have a lot of options
Wat Saket
Back at the hotel, we booked a taxi to bring us to the temple. The traffic was crazy & took us almost 1h.
The best time for visiting this temple is at sunset. As you get an great view from the tower.
The information we could find online on the opening hour was confusing. The temple is open till 17:00, but the tower (from where you get the view) it's open till 19:00.
They are not as strict as in other places with the dress code. Guys can wear shorts and as a girl if you do have shorts you can just add a scarf on top.
The views were amazing, I really loved this place a lot to watch the sun setting over this busy city.
Siam
We saw Siam from the BTS and looks super modern and full of lights. So after the temple we took a boat and 2 stops later we arrived in the center of this area.
Everything is super crazy and busy here, but very nice the experience.
We stopped for food at a sort of a food shopping mall with several floors, only restaurants. It seems that they do not serve alcohol in any of the places (with me making a reference to alcohol so many times, you might think I am an alcoholic, but no, it's just that so many times you did not have the option to get that I thought it's better to prepare you).
We ate at a Japanese place - and my non spicy dish was so spicy I thought I will die - thank god for the rice :)
ArtBox Market
Right next to our hotel there was a sort of a Christmas Market. Ok I exaggerate it. It was a market that had a lot of lights and made it feel like a Christmas market when it come to the decoration.
You had a few shops & a food court with very good food.
Being so close we passed by this market several times during our stay in Bangkik.
Day 3
This was the day that we had our flight to Krabi at 5 PM so we planned to start early in the morning with our temple experience. We booked a private van that brought us from the hotel to the Grand Palace waited for us and then brought us to the airport for 2800 baht (approx. 83 Euro)
Grand Palace
Dress Code: Strict, please check the below before you go as they check at the entrance if you follow this requirement
Price: 500 baht (approx. 15 Euro) per person
"It was built in 1782 and for 150 years was the home of the Thai King, the Royal court and the administrative seat of government. " (Source)
"Within the palace complex are several impressive buildings including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), which contains the small but famous and greatly revered Emerald Buddha that dates back to the 14th century. The robes on the Buddha are changed with the seasons by HM The King of Thailand - an important ritual in the Buddhist calendar. Thai Kings stopped living in the palace around the turn of the 20th century, but the palace complex is still used to mark all kinds of other ceremonial and auspicious happenings." (Source)
Note: you are not allowed to take pictures of the Emerald Buddha.
It's easy to spend a lot of time here and take millions of pictures as the buildings are really gorgeous.
Wat Pho
Dress Code: as for the Grand Palace
Price: 200 baht (approx 6 Euro) per person.
"Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan" (Source)
"The chapel and the reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas) were built by Rama III in 1832. The image of the reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The posture of the image is referred to as sihasaiyas, the posture of a sleeping or reclining lion. The figure is 15 m high and 46 m long, and it is one of the largest Buddha statues in Thailand." (Source)
If you have the new iphone PRO with its wide angle, you'll get to take a pretty good picture, but this Buddha is immense.
After you have visited the Buddha, you can still go a bit around and admire the incredible details of all the buildings (temples)
Day 3 (bonus)
We came back from Krabi, Friday late & we had our flight on Saturday evening. Thus this gave us some extra time in Bangkok.
Friday Night : we went to check out the Cowboy street
Saturday: We walked to one of the markets around and get a bit of a more local experience. I add below some pictures
+ passed by a SuperMarket
If you plan to buy things for home, that being sweets for the office etc, I recommend you to go to Big C. It's a huge supermarket that has loads and loads of things you can buy. We had to give ourselves only 20 min otherwise it's easy to forget the time and spend hours in there.
To Sum it UP
Bangkok is a huge city, with a lot of unpleasant smells, dirty streets which I would not recommend to stay longer than needed.
Side note:
wat = temple in Thai :)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
CategoriesArchives |