BANGKOK, Thailand (Thread 8)

[mindee]

sisses when is the best time to visit thailand?

[mkga]

Bangkok is our next destination so I am really reading all your posts. Keep the tips and reviews coming! Waiting lang for seat sale. Hehe.

[divamom]

Anyone here who bought gem jewelry at bangkok? 

Where kaya ang mura and authentic?  TIA.

Scary coz dami ko nabasa na gem scams.

Hi sis,  Silom Galleria/Jewelry Trade Center beside Holiday Inn Silom is your best bet 

[bagaholic_chewy]

hi sisses! ask ko lang if may nakapag-book na sa inyo ng room na good for 4 pax? yung mga chine-check ko kasi na hotels/ hostels laging max of 3 lang. gusto sana namin 1 private room lang kami (with attached bathroom).

any recommended ones, preferably yung malapit sa bts stations? thanks! 

Sis, check out Royal View Resort. Twice na ako nag-stay dun. And yung isang time, yung mga kasama ko, 4 sila sa room para makamura. I think nagbayad lang sila for 1 extra bed and addl buffet breakfasts. Mura lang din rates dun. Usual room for two e nasa php2k or less, me kasama na breakfast yun. Malapit sa Victory Monument BTS station and malapit sa downtown Duty Free.

Location-wise for malls, pinaka-ok so far sa akin yung stay namin sa Holiday Inn, katabi ng Intercon. Walking distance to the major malls kaya aliw ako. Nakapag-stay din kami sa Mercure Hotel before, walking distance to Pratunam.

For tiangge shopping, pinakamura sa Chatuchak pero for me, sulit lang pumunta dun if talagang balak mo mamakyaw. Dami kasi tao, masikip at mainit. Plus, medyo malayo sa city so sasadyain talaga. Within the city, the cheap finds are in Platinum Mall and Pratunam Market. can haggle for wholesale price if you buy several items.

But personally, i go to MBK for my tiangge fix in BKK. Di masyadong masikip + madami na din ako nabibili na plus-size. I might be back in BKK again end of this month, di pa lang ako bumibili ng ticket, hehe.. 5th (or 6th?) time ko na yata sa BKK, sarap kasi kumain dun.

[a_recruitment]

^thanks sis!  i'll check that one. sa sept na yung travel namin and it'll be our 1st time in bangkok 

[gorgeousmama]

ill be in BKK next week pero la pako iti,hehe
mura ba converse shoes dun or NIke??

[Shiecg]

super agree ako kay sis bagaholic_chewy...sarap kumain s bangkok kahit street food lang nila, panalo na! ako rin naka 4th time na don hehe. di pa rin nagsasawa :-)

[maryodette]

Hi mga sis... we just arrived from BKK last Thursday... its our first time there... so share ko lang mga experiences ko...

I went there with my 3 girl office mates... Got our airfares from Cebu Pacific... last year pa... their P25 promo fare... around 5k all in.

We eyed Baiyoke Sky Hotel for our accommodation... Booked it thru asiatravel.com. kahit 3 kami, 1 room lang binook namin, kunyari na lang visitor lang yun isa para di na kami magbayad ng extra bed. Lumusot naman. Our hotel is around 1.900baht/ night... no breakfast.

Reviews on Baiyoke Sky Hotel- they have big rooms, although we requested for 2 single beds, they gave 1 queen bed... pero ok lang... kasya naman kami... medyo old na yun hotel pero we dont mind, kasi matutulog lang naman and we love their spacious units kahit standard room lang... our room is at 45th floor... ang ganda ng view from the top... btw, BSH is the tallest building in BKK... they have this observatory deck where tourist will pay 300baht to view the city on a rotating deck... pero pag in house guest ka walang bayad.... masarap daw ang buffet nila... pero di namin na-experience kasi nagtitipid kami...  kumain na lang kami ng breakfast outside the hotel.

We only got city tour and madame tussauds from hotels2thailand.com... safe naman at cheaper sya than sa travel agency... around 500baht/ head lang city tour and 600baht/head lang madame tussauds... pero may promo madame tussauds sa website nila... if you will go there early like 10am, 50% off... lalabas lang na 400baht/head... pero di namin nakuha yun kasi 9am-1pm ang city tour namin on the same day...  di na kami kumuha ng ibang attractions kasi 2 days lang kami sa BKK... tsaka madali kaming ma-bore sa mga cultural shows... hehe 

Sa city tour- nakakatuwa yun tour guide... si TUTU, girl na medyo oldies na pero super energetic... 3 city temples, leather factory & jewelry factory... ang init sa BKK... better dala kayo payong... ok naman yun city tour pero sa pang 3rd temple parang ayaw na namin bumaba ng van sa init.... parang solved na kami sa 2 temples... expensive yun products ng leather & jewelry factories... kaya puro pictures lang ginawa namin... 

Sa madame tussauds wax musuem- located sya in siam discovery center... hinatid lang kami dun ng guide... ang saya din inside... first time namin... sulit sa pictures... ang dami lang na hindi namin kilala... pero madami din hollywood celebrities... malas lang wala dun si michael j, david b, leonardo dc... parang under-retouched sila... hehe... over all sulit naman... malilibot mo sya w/in 2 hours... 

Naglunch kami sa mall beside siam discovery... i forgot the name... sabi kasi ng tour guide may food court dun... sad lang di namin nagustuhan yun pad thai dun... parang may something na malansa... kaya from there di na kami kumain ng thai food... mcdo & kfc na lang... 

balik na kami sa hotel after that... balak namin pumunta sa kao san road yata yun... parang night life district nila... kaso di na kaya ng powers namin... kaya sleep na agad kami... 

next day... shopping galore na... sa labas pa lang ng hotel namin... ang dami ng tinda... mas mura sa labas kaysa sa loob ng mall... di kami na abot ng chatuchak weekend market kasi weekdays kami dun... lagi x2 ang iniisip namin sa lahat ng baht rates... para may idea kami if mura ba yun or mahal if you convert it to PHP. Madami din kami nabili... mga 200baht ang blouse... lagi kaming in 3pcs or wholesale para cheaper... yun bags 200baht din ang gaganda na... pero sad part konti lang sa mens clothes at ang mahal ng pang kids... puro pang sarili lang nabili namin halos.... 

Then nung gabi departure na kami to Manila... matraffic sa BKK kaya kahit 12MN flight namin... go na kami sa airport ng 8pm... 

Tips:
- mababa ang palitan sa BKK airport ng PHP to baht... if wala talagang dalang baht from pinas like us... magpapalit lang kayo ng konti... yun tipong pambayad lang sa taxi going to hotel... kasi 1.45 lang sa airport... tapos sa labas ng hotel namin may money exchange na 1.60... yun Php5K namin sa airport lumabas lang na 2.4K in baht... while sa money exchange near our hotel Php5K=3.2Kbaht na... something like that... i forgot na the exact amount...  Much better if you have USD... mas mataas value... 

- always ask for metered taxi... uso ang kontrata sa mga taxi dun... mas cheaper ang metered... 

- haggle ng haggle during shopping... mas mura bumili outside the mall. 

- magdala ng payong & drinking water during tour visits... ang sakit sa ulo ng init sa kanila... 

- research always ng feedback sa mga attractions na pupuntahan... mas mabuti na madami kang idea on that place lalo na pag first timer.

- masarap yun fruits nila... natikman namin yun mango, makopa, guava & melon... ang tamis! yun guava ang crunchy less seeds... yun makopa ang laki parang apple... 20baht lang sa street vendor... ang sarap pa ng bagoong nila... at di mabaho... 

- masarap din mango sticky rice... around 80baht/ serving... parang suman sa pinas na nilagyan ng sweet mango... 

- better to print your hotel address in thai language... may ibang taxi driver di masyado marunong mag-english. 

- visit Terminal 21 Mall located near Asok train station... nakakaaliw yun themed toilets nila... parang nakarating ka na din sa US, Istanbul, Paris, Italy etc. Sulit sa pictures... 

- shopping haven talaga ang BKK... since di kami mahilig sa mga cultural shows... shopping lang purpose namin dun... parang MLA lang din sila in terms of infrastructures and surroundings... personally, i still prefers SG over BKK... i felt talaga na iba ang SG sa MLA at tipong gusto ko ng tumira dun... hehe


I hope these tips helps... Sawadee!!!

[cookiee]

@sis minatay

Hi sis [textspeak!][/redc] j din sa thread ill be in bkk
Next week 5 dys kmi any input?

Id been to bkk 3 x but that was decades
Ago so i presume iba na sya

Id like to purchase Michael korss
Bag nand watch san kayang mall meron?
And yung nike , converse van

Saka cotton on , zara hahaha   

Nag ask pala ko ng ezchangw rate from phil
Peso to baht 145 me mas lower pa va dito
Thanks

sis, you may want to get my excess baht. I still have around THB 10,000 at PHP 1.44 exchange rate. That was the rate I got last June. Mura pa siya at that time since ang PHP to USD is not as expensive as ngayon. I am from a bank kasi so I monitor daily fx rates. haha.  I thought I will be able to buy a lot sa dutyfree upon leaving BKK,but i find it expense. pm me. Makati nga lang meet-up

[yanchee]

Hi mga sis.  Any idea how much ang budget per person all inclusive and what are the recommended itinerary.  Thanks in advance

[kenoy]

mga sis may discount ba sa dinner buffet sa Baiyoke Sky Hotel kapag in-house guest ka? thanks!

[bagaholic_chewy]

Off to Bangkok next week. And dahil I have free time, I booked myself to a half-day cooking class. Excited ako to learn basic Thai cooking.

[creamypeach]

ask ko lang po paano makakapunta ng citin hotel from airport? which is cheaper, yung parang mrt nila or taxi. then pag nasa citin hotel na paano makakpunta sa wax museum po at sa grand palace and emerald temple? salamat po

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, I don't know where Citin exactly is. But usually, taxi from airport to city (Siam or Victory Monument area) is roughly thb400-500 inc toll fees, if I remember correctly. Cheaper ang airport express train then tsaka na taxi to hotel once nasa city na para mas malapit na lang. But if madami kayo, or madami gamit, taxi may be the cheaper and more efficient option.

Madame Tussauds is in Siam Discovery, walking distance to/from Siam BTS station.

Pag me sinasamahan ako first-timer, usually I take them sa BTS to Saphan Taksin station then boat ride to Grand Palace area, para me konting river sightseeing na din. Then lakad-lakad na - Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, tsaka WatPo (reclining buddha). Pag feel pa, boat ride patawid ng river to WatArun. Pauwi, either same way nung papunta or nagtataxi na kami.

[creamypeach]

^ ay sis sobrang ty sa early reply mo. yung citin hotel sa may pratuman rachathewe po. 0.5 km from pratunam market and platinum mall ( naserearch ko lang po)

ang bts ay? sori po di ko talaga alam

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, I think me station na dumadaan ang airport express train na malapit sa Pratunam - Ratchaparok yata name nung station. Di ko lang alam if kaya na lakarin to Citin. If ever, pwedeng short taxi ride siguro..

BTS yung mala MRT/LRT nila.

[creamypeach]

^ thank you sis. next quest is how to get to the grand palace or emerald temple. pero baka dun na namin iexplore yun. 

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ if may BTS na malapit sa hotel then you may consider yung BTS then boat route I previously mentioned. Or yeah, explore na lang when you get there. Have fun! Andun din ako next week.

[ms.fashionpl8]

^^ Sis Creamypeach, kailan kayo punta sa BKK? We'll be staying around Pratunam Area (KC Hotel) This weekend.

May nakapag try naba po sa inyo ng red-eye flight to-and-from Bangkok? May nakapag try naba po matulog sa airport? Safe ba? hehe

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, in one of my trips few years ago, dating ko sa bkk around midnight. Mag-isa lang ako so ayaw ni hubby magtaxi ako ng ganun ka-late from airport so I booked a hotel near the airport na me free transfers for a night. Kinaumagahan after breakfast na ako lumipat sa hotel sa city. Di ko pa na-try matulog sa airport nila, hehe..