Day 2 - Chinese throne hall

 

Day 2 - Beautiful landscape

 

Day 2 - Novotel Lotus

 

Day 2 - Bang Pa-In Summer Palace

Bangkok time is on GMT+0700. So when I woke up at the ungodly-hour of 6.15am, as per my handphone still on M'sian time, it was actually 5.15am. And we had to be out of the hotel at 6am (Bangkok time now), in order to catch the skytrain to Novotel Century Lotus, the hotel where the tour company say they'd pick us up from. I guess that's the inconvenience you have to put up with if you're staying in a budget hotel.

But, miraculously, Bangkok at 6am looks like KL at 7am. (Urm, well, it is la, actually). What I mean is, the sun is already up and peeking rather brightly through the clouds already. And, if we didn't wake up this early, we wouldn't have had to skip our hotel breakfast and walk into the 7-11 on the way to the skytrain station, where I wouldn't have found out a few things i.e.:
a) Thai 7-11 has rather yummy hotdogs;
b) Some of the expiry dates on the products are not normal, meaning that the dates read something like 16.12.83. Like, huh? Early in the morning, too. JC explained that they follow some royal date or something like that (I must remember to check that out);
c) That I forgot how nice it was to walk so early in the morning (I think the last time I did this was probably when I was schooling and had to walk to school). Clear sky, that morning smell, everything starting out fresh.

Anyway, we arrived at Novotel Lotus slightly before 6.30am. Where we were in time to watch one of the hotel staff re-decorating the hotel's indoor lotus pond. She deftly picked up all the lotuses from the previous day, threw big huge lotus leaves (the ones that frogs usually sit on in illustrated storybooks) around, meticulously unpeeled all the lotus buds to reveal ravishingly beautiful white blooming lotuses, and then stuck them thru the middle of the lotus leaves. Beautiful :)

So, yes. To proceed on with this utterly long-winded story (I'm sorry I just need to remember everything), the tour guy finally came to pick us up in a small van, picked a few others along the way and sent us to this other hotel where everyone from a few small vans (including us) were shepherded into a big tour bus, from where we finally started our day-trip to Ayutthaya.

Detail : Cost us THB1500 per person, inclusive of entrance fees, lunch cruise on Chao Phraya with the River Sun Cruise, an English-speaking tour guide, basically everything. I think usually it costs THB1600. You can only get this rate with A and F Tours. Best thing is, this trip doesn't bring you anywhere near those gem factories or silk stores where they entice you to buy stuff you don't need (apparently quite a popular detour on most tourists tours).

Our English-speaking guide is this rather old man (definitely more than 50 years old), who speaks English-which-takes-some-getting-used-to. After a while, you realise that he probably memorized everything he said, which really rather amazes me that someone is passionate enough about his job to memorize an entire day's worth of speeches! Or maybe it's just that he's spoken the words too many times that it runs on auto now.

First stop was Bang Pa-In Summer Palace, about 60km north of Bangkok. Note for girls, can't wear shorts or revealing tops (i.e. spaghetti straps) or you'll have to loan a Thai skirt from them. I think if guys wore rather short shorts too they'd have to loan that skirt. When we first stepped into the grounds of this summer palace (which we'd have to do after going thru the gift shop), we were following the group along with our guide. After 3 minutes, we realised that following the group would take too long, so KF, JC, ML and I headed off on our own, with a very handy map provided when our tour guide bought our entrance tickets.

The picture up above shows KF taking a picture of Bang Pa-In's "signature piece" - an elegant Thai pavilion floating in the middle of a pond, of which stands a statue of King Chulalongkorn, as this piece of architecture was built by him.

Along the way, we saw this building which was thoroughly European in style and design. It quite looked like we were touring the grounds of a London or French castle! We didn't get to go into that building because, apparently, it's still occasionally used by the royal family.

There was also a lot of beautiful landscape, particularly bushes trimmed to resemble a family of elephants and a family of rabbits. With all these greenery and a lake around the grounds, it really felt quite tranquil. I thought "I could live like this"! Haha :P

Finally, we arrived at the only building within Bang Pa-In that we were allowed to enter - the Chinese throne hall. It was built in 1889 by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and presented as a gift to King Chulalongkorn. We had to remove our shoes to enter this building. And, gee, were we awed. Everything from the ornate ceilings to the hand-painted lacquer floor tiles were exquisitely put into place by the Chinese. The whole building felt really Chinese (like duh). Unfortunately, we could not take pictures inside the building, but KF managed to capture a few shots of the building's grand exterior.

After that, we made our way back to the entrance of the grounds to gather back into the tour bus. It was really a hot blisteringly sunny day. But I was glad it didn't rain, like some people warned it would. Off then, to our next Ayutthaya-n destination. 

Attention please, attention !!

"ATTENTION please, attention.."

That's how the PA system in Don Muang airport sounded when an announcement was made.

There's nothing much to talk about that airport simply because KLIA is way much better in many ways.

Throughout my stay in Thailand, I have always enjoyed their fastfood eg. McD's & BurgerKing there. When we were at the airport, I decided to try out KFC, just to complete the list. And also because I haven't eat chicken meat for few days.
I ordered Spicy Chicken Wings: 6 pcs. thinking of trying new menu only available in Bangkok.

When I received my 6 pieces, it's only drumlets not the whole wing. Chicken little, man...
Then when I took the first bite, phtui... it was super-extremely-crazily salty. I think they marinated the chicken with Chao Phraya's water. My BP would have gone up 5 mmHG after eating that.

That meal was the most-not-value-for-money-horribly-taste KFC I ahve eaten in my whole life.
The best KFC is still in PJ SEA Park.

Suan Lum - good food

Yummy food at the fake beer garden we went to in Suan Lum. Can you see that huge pork leg? That's the yummy one we had, really soft and tender! And apparently, KF says the coconuts, if self-mixed with cincau (black grass jelly), tastes absolutely delicious!

Suan Lum - pretty lights

This was one of those displays on home lighting. I was really really tempted to buy one of those light baubles on strings. But didn't, because I'm not the romantic kind who sits around in my room and basks in electric lights :P However, if you like fairy lights, this is a wonderful way to decorate your room ;) 

Day 2 & 4 - Suan Lum Night Bazaar

This was the place we had to go to for shopping, according to Nancy Chandler, who provides a really good walking map to explore the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. So, excitedly, after checking-in to the hotel, we took our first steps to get dinner from the famous Beer Garden at Suan Lum and maybe to preview the shopping scene.

Our first encounter with the Bangkok skytrain system was without much fuss - they had pretty clear instructions on how much you had to pay for wherever you wanted to go. All done with machines. Only thing was you'd have to change your baht notes to coins at the counter. Pretty simple stuff, as the counter person speaks perfect English :)

Anyway, we bought tickets to Sala Daeng station. And walked and walked and walked around asking for directions to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. When we finally arrived at the bazaar, we realized that there was an MRT station right at its doorstep - Lumphini MRT. Oh no. Ah well.

Hungrily, we flopped down at the first "beer garden" we saw and proclaimed Thai food the most delicious ever! Soft squid in spicy sweet sour sauce, coconut tarts, spring rolls, rice with yummy pork legs, cincau drinks, and the nicest strawberry juice I ever tasted (JC found this). Food wasn't that cheap la, all cost about RM2 or RM3 each.

They also had this person on stage who sang cover versions really well. Someone remarked, "Even better than some of our Malaysian Idols!". Hmm, I guess Malaysian Idol has become the benchmark for all non-professional singing.

Later, while wandering around, we realized that we were sitting at the wrong beer garden. Apparently, there was another one further in which had a really big stage and really loud live bands on stage. Never ate there, but it's apparently recommended. Maybe next time. However, I enjoyed sitting at the "fake" beer garden we found :)

But enough about the food there. We headed to the bazaar. Original objective was to shop and get it done with. But, after trawling a few aisles, I realised that it was not possible to shop today. Maybe we were just too tired. But personally, I was too amazed at the number of pretty things there were - so I decided to just preview it all and come back again.

There are literally rows and rows and rows of shops there. It's quite hot too because there's no air-conditioning. A bit like Petaling Street in KL, but cleaner and more organised. And within a building. There were basically shops selling decorative items for the house (if I had a home and the money, I'd fly back here to buy all their pretty stuff to decorate my home - serious!), lots of souvenirs (I bought wooden croaking frogs), plenty of individual-designed clothes (by freelance designers), foodstuff, pharmacies selling all kinds of balms (the red Siang brand is apparently quite popular and cheap), and even one or two quirky shops selling towels, lingerie, cutlery. They basically sell everything you need and want.

I tried my hand at bargaining here. But KF says I suck at it :P There were plenty of clothes I wanted to buy. There were a number of shops selling pure linen and pure cotton, really wonderful clothes. If I had a second chance, I'd go back and shop more.

Directions : Take the MRT to Lumphini station. Follow the signs to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar exit. Simple :)

Bangkok is a shopper's haven! Just Suan Lum already made me happy :)

5-day itinerary in Bangkok

Day 1 - Settling in
- Depart KLIA for Bangkok via AirAsia
- Check-in to Sawasdee Sukhumvit Inn
- Head to Suan Lum Night Bazaar for dinner and shopping preview

Day 2 - Day trip to Ayutthaya
- Bang Pa-In Summer Palace
- Wat Maha That
- Wat Na Phra Mane
- Reclining Buddha
- River Sun Cruise along Chao Phraya River
- First Thai foot massage

Day 3 - Around Bangkok city
- Grand Palace including Wat Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha)
- Wat Pho
- MBK shopping, Yum Saap lunch, Swensen's chocolate fondue
- First Thai massage
- Cabbages & Condoms dinner
- Soi Cowboy

Day 4 - Animal shows
- Wandering around Sukhumvit
- Samphran Elephant Grounds & Zoo at Nakhon Pathom
- Magic show
- Elephant show
- Crocodile show
- Queen Sirikit Central Complex for McD's dinner and Swensen's Oreo Crush
- Suan Lum Night Bazaar for real shopping

Day 5 - Chilling out
- Lunch in Grand Hyatt Erawan at BTS Chitlom / Lunch at Tesco at BTS On Nut
- Final Thai foot massage
- Check-out and head to airport
- KFC dinner and Dairy Queen Blizzard dessert
- Depart Bangkok for KLIA via AirAsia

Slythering in the sky of Bangkok

I like the feeling when taking the BTS in Bangkok.

First of all, even during the rush hour, people actually queue up to get into the train.
At everystation there will be shops like Black Canyon Coffee, bakery, Watson's, bookstore and etc.
All these business units are in the station. Right after you decend the stairway from the station down to the street, siew farn stalls selling food, cheap souvenirs and clothes mushroomed everywhere, especially at night.

Secondly, the trains seems bigger and more spacious. Maybe it's just optical illusion or everything-seems-better-when-on-vacation-syndrome. But one thing for sure, the air con is definately stronger than our local ones even during rush hour when the train is sardine-packed.

I like the way the PA system make announcements loud and clear, and I also like the station names as well eg. Phloen Chit, Phrom Phong, Thong Lo (this is the station near where we stay) and On Nut (it's pronounced as "noot" , not peaNUT).

Lastly, it's much cheaper compared to local ones.

Food for Thought

Bangkok is also known as the City of Angels...can't agree more. Full with "Food Angels".
During that 5 days, there's never a single minute of starvation in our day.
Here's some of the MUST EAT in Bangkok:

Tom Yum Goong from Yum Saap in MBK. They have plenty of choices and given the appetite should not miss a single one of it. Their coconut ice-blended is the perfect remedy for the tongue-burning sensation from the lemongrass soup.

Durian with sticky rice. The specialty dessert in Thailand is mango with sticky rice, but this one is the King of Dessert. Also available in the foodcourt in MBK.

Barbeque pork sausage. Can be found everywhere especially near a sky train station. It's only THB10 (approx. 95 cents) for one! Moo (pork in Thai) rules the street.

Black pepper Samurai pork burger for TBH 65 from McDonald's. Just imagine...

Porridge with internal pork organs & egg. We found this fabulous porridge stall at night near the sky train station. The ah chek put an egg into the porridge and mixed it around with everything....smoother than smoothies.

Coconut milk tarts & sweet, spicy & sour squid (4S) from Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Besides that, for the adventurous, try mixing cincau with coconut, fanta-bulous.

Lays with superb selection of flavours eg. Nori seaweed, salmon teriyaki, Mexican barbeque, cheese & onions to name a few. It's cheaper, it's better, it's tastier than Pringles!

The homey atmosphere at the lobby, I really became quite fond of this place after 5 days. 

Day 1 - AirAsia and arrival in Bangkok

We took AirAsia flight AK882 from KLIA to Bangkok. Return airfare approximately RM553/- inclusive of all taxes, except Bangkok airport's THB500 departure tax (payable when we leave Bangkok). The flight was inevitably delayed, considering that it was the first day of the week-long Deepa-raya holiday and KLIA was jam-packed with festive travellers. Thankfully, it was only delayed an hour, and we arrived safely in Bangkok slightly more than 2 hours later.

During my first flight on an AirAsia plane, I was trying to observe everything. The flight stewardesses are actually really as pretty as those in the adverts. Maybe it's their red jackets zipped down provocatively, or their sexy red miniskirts. Or maybe, it's just that they look very modern and professional with well-groomed hair and make-up, as compared to MAS' heavily made-up and hair-bun-tied stewardesses. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against MAS. In fact, AirAsia flights are nowhere as comfortable as MAS flights. But then again, you can't compare an apple and an orange :P

And because this is a detailed description of our trip, I shall put down every single detail I remember. Because I know I'll forget these details in a few months.

AirAsia planes do have full-leather seats and red-carpet. But they're definitely not "luxurious" or "plush". All look very worn. And it's free seating. So, by the time they've seated families with children and senior citizens, young people like us just have to squeeze in at the back of the plane or if you're really unlucky, between strangers in the aisle and window seats.

The plane we took (a Boeing 737 if I am not mistaken) had 6 seats separated by an aisle. Food and drinks served on board are an abominable price - RM7.00 for a Maggi cup noodle! But, if you compare to the several hundred ringgit extra you'd pay for full service on MAS, RM7 seems like a very minimal price to pay. Still, I didn't buy any food. Due to having an early lunch in McD's KLIA earlier on. And, apparently AirAsia has a "no outside food" policy.

The flight was actually really quite smooth. And, with due credit to the pilot and his co, it was one of the smoothest landings I've ever had, MAS or not.

And so, we landed at Don Muang International Airport in Bangkok. While cruising along to the arrival terminal, we actually saw people playing golf next to the landing strip! A dangerous, if not unique, experience I think.

It was quite a walk from the plane to our baggage collection area. First, we had to scan the screens to know which Baggage Carousel our flight's baggage was due. Then we had to head to the right carousel. Before that, we'd have to clear immigration first - they have this little camera we have to stare into. By the time we go to the carousel, all our baggage had been lifted off it and lumped into a corner. I wonder if the airport is really that busy that it doesn't have enough carousels.

Anyway, next we were approached by a few people and we asked a few counters on taxi rates to Sukhumvit. We figured that since there was 4 of us, it'd be cheaper and more convenient to take a taxi straight to the hotel, rather than taking the airport shuttle which doesn't bring us to our doorstep. The "legal" taxis all would cost us at least THB700. We decided to step outside the airport and KF managed to negotiate for us a public taxi at THB500, which takes the highway and the taxi driver pays the toll. Cool.

From the airport to our hotel took about 45 minutes because of traffic in Sukhumvit. My first impression of Bangkok was : "Hmm, must be a really polluted place, all the buildings are all black with smog." I definitely didn't think that Bangkok property owners actually take care of their property.

Finally, we reached our hotel Sawasdee Sukhumvit Inn. My first impression : "Quaint!" and indeed it was. I liked it at once, and the lobby was really inviting - very home-like. A bellboy rushed out and helped us with luggage from that taxi. The receptionist was quite grumpy and did not smile. She looked really frazzled and the phone kept ringing. But she gave us our keys and issued us receipts for THB500 as key deposit per room. We then proceeded to our rooms, dumped our bags and headed down to reception again.

I called up A and F Tours to confirm our pre-booked trip to Ayutthaya. (It costs THB10 per local call, more for a mobile phone call). Apparently our tour was confirmed but they would call us back later to tell us what time they would pick us up. The receptionist in the lobby helped us to speak in Thai to the tour company, which was really nice of her. So, happily, we headed out to Suan Lum Night Bazaar for our dinner (we were really starving by then) and some shopping.

Sawasdee Sukhumvit Inn

We spent 5 days in Bangkok, all of which we stayed at Sawasdee Sukhumvit Inn. It's really truly excellent value for money.

KF and I stayed in the Superior Double room on the 1st floor, while ML and JC stayed in the Deluxe room on the 3rd floor. It's definitely worth it to pay the extra for the Deluxe as you get a more comfortable bed, nicer drinking glasses, etc. But if you're not into the tiny details, a Superior is fine too.

Only problem I had was with the air-conditioning which turned hot in the middle of the night, so I would have to switch it off and on again. Troublesome. But otherwise, I was comfortable.

Hot shower available, although I would have to warn you that the bathroom I had in the Superior was really quite small, about 5' by 6'. The one my friends had in the Deluxe was much longer and more spacious. Note, though, that the bathroom will definitely be entirely wet after a shower.

The room had a fridge which was a great place to cool our store-bought mineral water after a day of traipsing in the hot Bangkok weather. They also had cable television : HBO, MTV, ESPN, CNN, and some others.

Breakfast came with the room and was American-style, with toast, eggs, ham and a cup of coffee/tea.

A nice touch was the little massage parlour in the lobby. The therapists there are excellent! For THB250, you get a 60-minute foot massage with a little head and shoulder massage thrown in. It's utterly wonderful to return after a day trip and flop down in the lobby to get your feet pampered.

We paid THB645 per night for the Superior, which is really a steal! The Superior has a queen-sized bed whereas the Deluxe has a king-sized bed.

The staff were quite helpful. Sometimes, they will appear to be frazzled and unsmiling. But, definitely, at all times, they assisted us with whatever we needed - be it booking a tour, or giving directions. It is no wonder that the reception people are often harried, because it appears that this place is constantly fully-booked. And I can see why.

Overall, I think this place is real value for money. It is clean, has a homely feel, is not seedy, quite quiet (no noisy cars or highways), very near to the skytrain, and near to all kinds of food. I would definitely stay here again the next time I am in Bangkok.

(this is extracted from a review I provided to Tripadvisor)