Thailand (Thread 6)

[sachism]

Ive read online na may BKK bombing incident allegedly by Iranians. Did you hear about this, too?

[herroyalbleakness]

"... severely injured when he threw a bomb at police that hit a tree and bounced back towards him and exploded in Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon, reports said." Source

malayo sa tourist area Siam/Silom. kawawa yung mga inosenteng civilian na nainjure, though.

[theflygirl]

Extremely enjoyed the valentine dinner cruise tonight on the chào phraya. Jampacked! Kaaliw to people watch while waiting to board the boat. One thing I can really say is, super daming retokada dito! had to wait for all the cruise vessels to arrive in river city so our hotel boat can pick us up. Superb service here at The Peninsula. Had a bit of delay claiming our bags (mabuhay class but they almost forgot to unload 1 container!) breezed through immig, forex n customs & the hotel rep quickly got our bags and loaded them onto the Rolls Royce waiting for us. Had cold water bottles n towels in the car. Soon as we got off, we were greeted by hotel staff, with jasmine garlands. In-room check is quick n efficient. They granted my request of a room more than 30 floors up so I now have a superb view of the river.

I arranged for a private tour of the grand palacè & emerald Buddha tomorrow.

[theflygirl]

Sawadee kha! Back from our grand palace tour. Our guide, Chakie was very informative & nice. Learned a lot from today's tour. Didn't mind the heat much although I think I'm 2 shades darker. Boo! Glad he was there to take our photos. wasn't able to enter one of the buildings in the palace cos the former king's sister died a couple of months ago & her body lies in state there. Pag royals pala, they hold the wake for 100 days before cremating.

Had our guide drop us off at Siam Center after the gem gallery tour. Surprisingly, my hubby bought me a set of jewelry in my birthstone! What an extended VDay!

Had lunch at the Korean grill resto on the 3rd floor. Bought my mandatory BKK mug at Starbucks Siam Paragon. Bitin time to walk around. Opted to head back to the hotel to rest for tonight's gimmick. Hope I can sneak some time to go back there to buy macarons at lenotre.

Took the bts from siam to saphan taksin. 'twas nice watching the boats park at the piers. As in sinasampa o binabangga nila yung boats sa pier para magdikit. quick boat trip back. Time to snooze muna.

[sparkelle]

Sawadee kha! Back from our grand palace tour. Our guide, Chakie was very informative & nice. Learned a lot from today's tour. Didn't mind the heat much although I think I'm 2 shades darker. Boo! Glad he was there to take our photos. wasn't able to enter one of the buildings in the palace cos the former king's sister died a couple of months ago & her body lies in state there. Pag royals pala, they hold the wake for 100 days before cremating.

Had our guide drop us off at Siam Center after the gem gallery tour. Surprisingly, my hubby bought me a set of jewelry in my birthstone! What an extended VDay!

Had lunch at the Korean grill resto on the 3rd floor. Bought my mandatory BKK mug at Starbucks Siam Paragon. Bitin time to walk around. Opted to head back to the hotel to rest for tonight's gimmick. Hope I can sneak some time to go back there to buy macarons at lenotre.

Took the bts from siam to saphan taksin. 'twas nice watching the boats park at the piers. As in sinasampa o binabangga nila yung boats sa pier para magdikit. quick boat trip back. Time to snooze muna.

Sis saan kayo nakahanap ng tour guide sa Grand Palace? Dun na ba mismo? At magkano ang rate?

[theflygirl]

^A week before ko pa na-arrange private tour through email sa concierge dito sa Peninsula. They sent me a list of tours & rates. Yung for 2 Ng grand palace & emerald Buddha around thb3300 incl of admissions (no need to line up for tickets! Grabe Haba Ng line kanina dun)...driver, van, cold water & cold towel. Charged to our room na rin so I didn't have to pay him directly. I gave him a tip of thb1000, though. Real nice, funny & attentive. I asked him to drop us off at Siam paragon instead of back to the hotel. Along the way, dinagdag Nya sa informative tour yung flower market, the current residence of the king, kings college etc kahit Di na kasama sa itinerary. Very smart. I've his bizcard if u want.

He warned us about the tuktuk "gangs" at the grand palace & they constantly announced over the loudspeakers to be careful of strangers who say the palace is closed or offer stuff. Rampant pala yung gimmick na yun dun

[theflygirl]

Wow, grabe! Ang init sa kanchanaburi kanina. Plus, like 99% Ng tourists are all westerners, whites. Kami Lang ni hubby plus a few Japanese tourists ang iba. Bad trip Lang ako this morning sa hotels2thailand staff. I'll make a detailed report about it when I get back to MNL. Dinner time muna. Will try out Thiptara here at The Pen. Ok daw sa home style Thai cuisine.

[herroyalbleakness]

enjoy your stay sis you're so sweet to update us and share the things that happened to you

[lilstar]

Punta din kaming Bangkok baka sa May. Sana matuloy.. back read muna ako.. ^^

[cherubin]

sis,san maganda bumili ng jewelry sa bangkok?

[theflygirl]

^not sure if it's inexpensive there but hubby bought me a set of my birthstone jewelry (earrings, ring, pendant w necklace) at Gems Gallery, biggest gem store in the world daw...we passed by after our first tour. Napa-OMG ako sa isang nahawakan kong necklace worth THB700k. Love

[sparkelle]

Mga sis, naghahanap na kasi ako ng hostel for our Bangkok trip, kahit sa October pa naman. I found one in Khao San road, Rikka Inn yung name. Okay naman ba sa Khao San? Pumipili kaso ako between Khao San, Siam Square or Silom.

[lakwatsa]

mga sis, ano marerecommend nyong hostel (or hotel na pocket friendly) pag may kasamang mga senior citizen? iniisip ko kasi yun malapit lang sa train station kasi baka madali silang mapagod kakalakad e.

[chloebaby]

^ hi sis lakwatsa, suggest ko check mo yung I-Residence Hotel Sathorn (may Silom din kasi yung  hotel)

May libre silang tuk-tuk to the nearest BTS which is Sala Daeng station or Chong Nonsi station.

Parang Php1,200 lang un per night

hth 

[lakwatsa]

^thanks sis! sige check ko yan. how about from train station to hotel, kasama ba sa free tuktuk service nila? hehe

sisimulan ko nang gumawa ng itinerary. sa June 1 na ang punta namin e

[chloebaby]

^ ay wala silang from  the BTS to the hotel e. Though malapit lang naman yung distansya. Pero palagay ko pwede mo nalang sila i-cab pag pabalik ng hotel. Flag down kasi is 35baht so mga nasa 42baht lang nasa hotel na kayo ulet 

[chloebaby]

Mga sis, naghahanap na kasi ako ng hostel for our Bangkok trip, kahit sa October pa naman. I found one in Khao San road, Rikka Inn yung name. Okay naman ba sa Khao San? Pumipili kaso ako between Khao San, Siam Square or Silom.

Hi Sis Sparkle, tingin tingin ka din ng mga hotels around Pratunam area kasi mas ok ang transportation doon and malapit pa sa mga wholesale markets and shopping malls. Try mo yung Pratunam City Inn. You can check Agoda.com for the rates

[herroyalbleakness]

^not sure if it's inexpensive there but hubby bought me a set of my birthstone jewelry (earrings, ring, pendant w necklace) at Gems Gallery, biggest gem store in the world daw...we passed by after our first tour. Napa-OMG ako sa isang nahawakan kong necklace worth THB700k. Love

wow, ang sweet ni hubs! ive also seen their biggest gemstore (kasi yun ang raket ng taxis/tuktuks, dadalin ka sa Gem shops para makakuha nung gas card that would give them 2Litres of gas, free. in turn, they'll give huge discount sa taxi fare mo or libre na kung super nearby lang). Ang gaganda ng pieces dun.

For those who are eyeing inexpensive jewelry, you can try yung first floor ng MBK near the entrance to Pathumwan Princess. You just need to be very familiar with gems though dahil di ko sure kung authentic

[theflygirl]

^ I heard about that. Our guide said gangs yung mga tuktuk drivers sa grand palace & will take you to jewelry stores. I read sa PEX nga yung isa napabili Ng fake.

[sparkelle]

Hi Sis Sparkle, tingin tingin ka din ng mga hotels around Pratunam area kasi mas ok ang transportation doon and malapit pa sa mga wholesale markets and shopping malls. Try mo yung Pratunam City Inn. You can check Agoda.com for the rates

Thanks Sis Chloebaby! Sige I will check that. Yung sana mga malapit sa transpo at markets/shopping mall.