BANGKOK, Thailand (Thread 8)

[kho_leen]

Its a rainy day today here in bangkok. 

Started our day with the Jim Thompson Museum.  I enjoyed the paintings, ceramics and artifacts.  I was able to buy a silk hanky at their shop.

We went mall hopping after.

Shu uemura has 15% discount for tourists at Siam discovery.  Their siam paragon branch only gave 5% tourist discount.

At siam paragon, mango is at 70% off.  Zara is also on sale.  H&M only had 2racks on sale.  Uniqlo is on sale as well. 

At MBK, we only bought the silk pasalubong stuff. IMO, its more on for usual tourist pasalubong. 

Then we transferred to Platinum Mall.  It was heaven for me.  Blouses started at bht100 and these looked like the ones found at F21. We were only able to explore the ground floor. 

Thats it for now. 

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ ey sis, was at Jim Thompson's house din kanina, pero around noon na, tinamad ako umalis sa hotel  ng maaga e. Then I went to MBK (got Otter case for my ipad mini + privacy filter for my S3, nag eat-all-you-can sa Shabushi, and dropped by my usual stops there - Tokyu Dept Store,  Pena House and No Problem). Walked to Siam BTS station, passing along Siam Discovery, etc. Nakidaan lang, baka bukas na ako mag-mall talaga. Sale din F21, 50-70%, if i remember correctly. Steve Madden, 20-50% off. Then went to Downtown Duty Free (got some skin care and home scents stuff; konti lang nabili ko kasi sandamakmak ang tourists from mainland China, as in more than 10 buses yata ang nakasabay ko dun kanina. Ang gulo nila, andaming binili. Balik na lang ako dun sa Thurs).

Tomorrow, I'll join a 4-5 hrs na cooking class (Thai food), then might go mall-hopping na after (Paragon, Central World-my fave!, Terminal 21, etc).

[cookiee]

now im missing bangkok. Hope I can schedule another trip next year. San banda yung downtown dutyfree. I missed it. I still have around 5000thb. So anyone interested feel free to pm me.

Hope you had fun gorgeousmama. Dami ka ba nashop?

[gorgeousmama]

hi sis cookie,

Alam mo bang ngpapalit pa ko sa airport ng another 6k Baht, kainis , sana sayo na lang

wala na kong naabutang mganda sa H&M for me, puro sa mga anak ko na lang na tshirt and polo
yung MIchael KOrrs di ko napuntahan, yung Zara naman when I converted it to pesos parang
same lang and mas mahal yung iba

But was able to score some,,,, sayang nga we did not talk longer nakakuha sana ko ng tips sau

 while you did not find thai food na masarap while kami  we splurge on food hehe

sale sa siam paragon , madami kong nabili  SA  platinum mall saka sa iba

di ko napuntahan yung MBK,   

im planning to go back din next year, hehe, tuloy ulit sa Cambodia 

[cloudzy_09]

I miss thailand especially pattaya noong nag stay kami sa bangkok maganda rin yung mga site kaya lang nakaka stress yung mga scammer parang bawat liko mo puro tourist trap.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^^ King Power Complex sa Rangnam. BTS Victory Monument, then sa side ng Century mall, me free tuktuk ride to/from King Power Duty Free. Balik ako dun sa Thursday, baka me new stuff, kagabi kasi parang napakyaw na nung Chinese tourists ang mga items. Tsaka andami tao so di ako makachoose ng maayos. Btw, if you buy there, sa airport na sya kukunin, after immigration.

Mas madami ako nabili sa midyear sale last year, although around June yun so kakastart lang. Actually, mas madami pa yata ako nabili last October kesa ngayon.. it's either wala ako masyado sa mood mag-shopping or talagang di ganun kadami good deals ngayon..

Today -- I went to a cooking class. We made tomyum soup (clear and creamy), pad thai, curries (green, red and isa pa, forgot the name), papaya salad and sticky rice with mango. Enjoy naman, esp since we cooked yung mga gusto ko ding Thai dishes.

Went malling na after-- Central World (got some stuff sa Etude House, Uniqlo shirts for nephews na mahilig sa cars and replenished stock of my fave room scents from Karma Kamet). Then Siam Paragon -- me select items sa Kate Spade 50% off. Browsed h&m, wala ako napili. Wala nabili sa Paragon so merienda na lang -- Coffee by Dao sana kaya lang dami tao so I tried this cafe malapit lang dun -- Cafe Lenotre Paris ang name. Masarap ang iced chocolate, choco croissant was pwede na, though i prefer less flaky sana. Got macarons for takeaway, kainin ko mamaya. Sana masarap.

Rest muna sa hotel now. Might go to Terminal 21 later for dinner. Gusto ko food court nila dun, mura lang din. tsaka maganda ang themed restrooms per floor, hehe .

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ yes sis, pag private tour sa Pattaya, kayo bahala if gusto nyo agahan umuwi. Mag-agree lang kayo ng guide and/or driver beforehand kasi most likely e iiwan nya kayo (in our case, sa Coral Island kami tumambay talaga) so you can swim, etc, then magkikita na lang ulit at the agreed time for the trip back to Bangkok.. If joining tour kayo, then sabay sa lahat..

[esor]

We failed to try the direct bus going to Siem Reap, fully booked na agad, 1 bus lang ata yung nag cacater ng direct bus na yung from Bangkok to Siem Reap, so if plan nyo ma try yung "direct bus", booked ahead of time na. You can try sa website ng Thai Major Tickets, or if maaga kayong makarating ng Bangkok, may outlet nun sa Siam Paragon 6th level near Starbucks.

We try taking the minivan sa may Victory Monument going to Poipet, smooth naman mag cross sa border, yun lang dami talagang naka tambay dun na scammers.

[bagaholic_chewy]

To those going to BKK and medyo me spare time, you might want to drop by Lumpini Park. Nice din. You can spend 2-3hrs (or more, if weather's really good and you want to bring a mat and tambay). Maganda sya, me lake na pwede mag-rent ng boat. O kahit lakad-lakad lang, picture-picture. I spent my afternoon there yesterday.

Sa gabi naman, i would recommend Asiatique The Riverfront. The night market, which used to be at Suan Lum was moved there - Suan Lum was one of my favorite night-time places before. Even the Calypso Ladyboy Show, which used to be in Asia Hotel was also moved in Asiatique. Maganda mag ikot-ikot and picture-picture sa Asiatique, especially sa Promenade. Dami choices na restaurants, and me food court din.

[Scubadoobidoo]

Get lost in BKK. Its one of the most amazing cities to get lost in aside from Tokyo. Thats what we did before with my wife. After coming out of the hotel i asked her pick a road and started from there. Dami nyo madiscover off the beaten path. And the discoveries and experiences are amazing. Cant find those in any guide books. 

[leelou]

^ uy kwento naman please kahit kaunti lang on what you experienced and discovered. para we know lang what to expect 

[mhitchy]

mga sissies, help naman. we've booked a BKK trip for 2014 3Nights.  Roundtrip yun, to and from BKK. kzo i want sana side trip to Cam/Viet, khit mag book ako ng other flight-going to Viet or Cam, basta ang return namin from BKK, kasi we'll be meeting friends there so last stop talaga ang BKK.  Original plan:

Original - BKK
Day 0 - 11PM flight going to BKK
Day 1 - straight from Airport, konting pahinga inside the airport then off to Pattaya
Day 2 - Return to BKK - City Tour/Temples/Malls
Day 3 - City Tour / Shopping
Day 4 - Flight back to Manila 9000H

So plan sana namin before kami mag BKK, daan muna kami ng Cam or Vietnam.

Appreciate your suggestions and recommendations sis.  TIA!

[gorgeousmama]

i tried the pad thai sa 2 resto at sa street food, totoo yata sabi ng mga bloggers na mas
masarap ang streetfood , nakakaktuwa pa kasi madami ding foreigners a kumakain

yung isa nga si kuya bilib ako ang galing mg English taga tawag sya ng customer ni ATE,
yung owner  kaya siya kumakausap sa mga customer hehe
at ang customer service nya wala akong masabi , nambola pa maganda daw ako, hahahaha

masarap yung kinain namin na di ko alam ang title yung Pad Thai , PHAT THAI, spelling sa menu nila
saka daming servings pero mas masarap kesa dun sa mall and sa resto even sa hotel namin, hehe

[bagaholic_chewy]

^^ sis, your BKK itinerary looks fine naman. Though feeling ko your day2 will be super-tight since manggagaling pa kayo Pattaya.. and for day3, if ma-tiangge shopping kayo, sa Platinum pa lang, easily you can spend half-day na dun.. saan nyo balak city tour, and which temples plan nyo puntahan?

^ true, masarap ang pad thai sa kalye (nasa soi38 ang supposedly "best pad thai" stall daw in BKK, me nakapaskil pa syang framed certificate, hehe). basta lang wala ka kasamang medyo maselan sa lugar. Next to street food, ok na din ang choices sa mga mall food courts. Favorite ko food court sa Terminal 21, madalas ako sa second to the last stall sa left side, masarap tomyum with omelet nila. For thb115,  me tomyum + rice meal + sticky rice (from another stall; and I usually order the one with durian, instead na mango), super mura and busog na. Nung wala pa Terminal 21, favorite food court ko was yung sa Paragon. Maganda din naman ang food court ng Central World kasi nasa top floor, maganda view pag nakakuha ka table sa me window, and less crowded than Paragon, pero di ko masyado gusto ang choices, parang mas maraming Chinese food, kesa Thai dishes..

[mhitchy]

thanks sis bagaholic_chewy!  how about yung gusto ko sana mag vietnam or cambodia going to BKK? Please share some tips din your travel experience.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, if i may suggest, go to Cambodia first, then Bangkok. Para if magshopping kayo sa BKK, di nyo na kelangan bitbitin pa sa crosscountry landtrip yung mga shinopping nyo. Suggestion lang naman..

There are direct overnight buses that travel from Siem Reap to Bangkok (and vice versa). Di ko pa na-try personally, but I have friends who've tried it (most recent was last week lang, they went on MLA-SR-BKK-SR-MLA route, by bus yung SR-BKK-SR leg). And when we were in Siem Reap, we saw lots of travel agencies around the Old Market area nagbebenta ng crosscountry direct bus tickets.

I am assuming you'll be travelling with fellow adults? Kasi I'm not sure if the crosscountry landtrip to/from Bangkok would be child-friendly, especially in terms of comfort.

[kenoy]

anyone tried an elephant encounter/ adventure?

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ considered na ba yung ride/feeding/show? Hehe.. sumakay kami sa Elephant Village sa may Damnoen Saduak floating market. Then yung show, we went to Samphran Zoo, me feeding din and close photoop, pwede din mag-ride dun.. sa Ayutthaya me elephant ride din.

I think the towns for adventure talaga (like yung paliliguan ang elephant sa river, etc) is either sa Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai (both on my wishlist, sana mapuntahan soon..), based on kwentos I heard from some friends.

[mhitchy]

^ sis, if i may suggest, go to Cambodia first, then Bangkok. Para if magshopping kayo sa BKK, di nyo na kelangan bitbitin pa sa crosscountry landtrip yung mga shinopping nyo. Suggestion lang naman..

There are direct overnight buses that travel from Siem Reap to Bangkok (and vice versa). Di ko pa na-try personally, but I have friends who've tried it (most recent was last week lang, they went on MLA-SR-BKK-SR-MLA route, by bus yung SR-BKK-SR leg). And when we were in Siem Reap, we saw lots of travel agencies around the Old Market area nagbebenta ng crosscountry direct bus tickets.

I am assuming you'll be travelling with fellow adults? Kasi I'm not sure if the crosscountry landtrip to/from Bangkok would be child-friendly, especially in terms of comfort.

Thanks Sis. I'll start now my research SR-BKK-MNL.  Thanks!

[kenoy]

^ considered na ba yung ride/feeding/show? Hehe.. sumakay kami sa Elephant Village sa may Damnoen Saduak floating market. Then yung show, we went to Samphran Zoo, me feeding din and close photoop, pwede din mag-ride dun.. sa Ayutthaya me elephant ride din.

Sis san kayo kumuha ng package (how much?) or DIY lang yan? Thanks