BANGKOK, Thailand (Thread 8)

[Shiecg]

^^ mas ma e-enjoy mo chatuchak sis pag sunday talaga. maging ready ka lang sa haba at lawak ng lakaran, hindi ko sya maikot ng one day, di kaya ng powers ko kahit marami ka pang tubig na baon at panyo na pamahid pawis, hehe.

[gorgeousmama]

sis ito bang chatuchak yung walking distance sa park???

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ me malapit nga yatang park.. basta, yung medyo malayong weekend market. Dulo yata ng BTS line yun.

[gorgeousmama]

^ parang ito nga yung napuntahan nami, dulo na ng BTS,

kaa lang nagsasara na halos yung iba ng dumating kami tapos yung night  market wala akong nagustuhan or im just too tired lang

[Shiecg]

pag nag BTS ka MO Chit Station ang baba mo then take exit # 1, pag nag MRT ka naman Chatuchak Park naman ang baba, exit 1 ka rin then paglabas mo talaga is yong Park na sa baba then lakad ka sunod ka sa flow ng mga tao don yan sila halos papunta lahat pag Sunday :-)

[--hana--]

Hi mga sis! i'll be in thailand by the end of the month. 4 days ako dun. how much pocket money kaya need ko dalhin?

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, it depends on what activities you plan to do. And if magsa-shop ka, depends din how intensive and what type of shopping ang plan mo.

For transpo, if you plan your IT well, within BKK average thb100-120 per day (or even lower pa) if you'll travel mostly by BTS or mrt. Tipid if kaya lakarin stops mo for the day.  If magta-taxi ka, expect average thb100-120  per trip within bkk, depends sa traffic at kung san ka pupunta/manggagaling.

For food, sa mall food courts, average for 1 meal with drinks and dessert ang thb150. For restaurants, syempre mas mahal. Me mga buffet restos na for less than thb500.

For tiangge shopping, sa Platinum/Pratunam/Chatuchak, you can buy shirts, dresses, etc for as low as thb80-100. Cheaper if you buy 3 items in one stall kasi you can haggle pa. Sa MBK, mas mahal ng konti. For mall shopping, slightly cheaper than Pinas prices for some shops.

For pasalubong, you can buy tamarind for about thb50/pack. Souvenir shirts thb75-120, depends sa color and size.

Elephant ride is thb500-600, depends kung saan.

[tinapay]

is there Don Muang International Airport still in Bangkok or was it replaced with Suvarnabhumi International Airport?

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ I believe domestic flights and some budget airlines still use Don Muang. Once ko lang na-try dun, when we flew to&from Phuket via NokAir few years ago..

[gorgeousmama]

@shiecg

Sis ganun nga ginawa namin , so yun pala chatuchak, parang divi natin hehee

Kaya lang wala akong na score  kasi pasara na ng dumating kami kaya ending
Sa mall pa din ako nakapag shop sa platinum , siam paragon and big C for fruits naman

At least pgbalik ko alam  na yung chatuchak 

[tinapay]

^^thanks sis. would you know how far Don Muang from Suvarnabhumi?

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, di ko pa na-try airport to airport. Pero from Siam area, around 30mins by taxi to Don Mueang airport.

Opposite directions sila ni Suvarnabhumi so I think nasa 1hr pag taxi between airports. Me public bus yata between the two airports (take short ride on free shuttle at Suvarnabhumi to the Transport Center, andun yung mga public vans and buses). Mas matagal nga lang byahe, tantya ko 1.5-2hrs siguro I-allot mo.

[tinapay]

^eeeks! ang tagal pala.  thanks sis for the information.

[entwife]

I'll be there in November! As a side trip lang though since Siem Reap lang talaga flight namin. But since we have 5 days to spend, we decided to go to Bangkok.

I am still trying to read this thread regarding border crossing.

By the way, where's the best place to stay if all we want to do is to eat, shop divi style and tour the famous temples? Is Kao San good?

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, I would suggest staying near Pratunam/Platinum/Siam area para accessible to tiangge and mall shopping. Khao San is famous for backpackers kasi madaming murang inns, but IMO not too accessible by commute (walang malapit na BTS/MRT station), but it's nearer to the Grand Palace, etc area. You only need about half-day (at most na yung one day) for the GrandPalace/W.atPo/etc, so better stay near the shopping areas. Suggestion ko lang naman.

I might be back again in BKK next month. Still thinking what to do while I'm there, aside from eating and a bit of shopping. Last month, I went to a thai cooking class. Magre-research ulit ako on what else to do for next month's trip..

[entwife]

if we stay in Pratunam/Platinum/Siam area, may night market ba sila? or nightlife? how far is this to from kao san? I mean, I would really like to see Kao San. haha We'll limit half day for the temples since siem reap is puro temples. We'd like to see other things naman.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ late naman nagsasara ang tiangge, especially sa Pratunam, sa may kalsada open pa yung mga stalls. What kind of night life do you want? Maybe you can check out Silom (where Pat Pong is), MRT Silom station or BTS Sala Daeng station, then short walk. Me night market din dun sa Silom pero mahal kasi super-tourist price. You can also check out Asiatique (by the river to), meron din open market.

Taxi from Silom area or from Pratunam area going to Khao San may be around thb120-150, depends sa traffic at depende kung di kayo iikot ng driver. For me actually, nothing to see in khao san. Madami lang murang food stalls and madaming foreigners na backpackers.

Edited to add:
If you only plan to see the "basic" temples, then I would suggest GrandPalace&EmeraldBuddha (dito kayo medyo magtatagal kasi complex to), paglabas nyo, go around the block to W.atPo (reclining buddha), then if you still have time, walk to nearest boat station and cross the river to W.atArun for photoop. You can have your lunch or snacks around the area na lang din. Then you can go to Khao San after (pwedeng long walk if you feel like exploring the area, or nego for a tuktuk to take you there). Make sure the tuktuk does not take you for a stop at any souvenir or gem stores, unless you actually want to and you have extra time to accommodate the detour. Make that clear, and agree on the price, before taking a tuktuk ride, especially in that area na madaming touts.

And take note of the temples' opening hours. Do not believe touts who will say na sarado ang W.atPo or ang Grand Palace, then offer to take you to another temple.

The difference with BKK and SR temples is that the temples in Siem Reap are ruins, while the ones in BKK are functional temples.

[entwife]

Thank you sis sa sobrang detailed na reply
More or less kasi hapon na kami darating ng first day.
let's say we'll start at 4pm, do we proceed with shopping na kaya agad? tapos we'll go to Kao san for dinner and a little bit of nightlife? hindi nman talaga nightlife na wasted night haha. Just explore the area. try the local food, local beer, walking tour. i'm with my mom!
then next day early morning go for the temples that you mentioned GrandPalace, EmeraldBuddha, [textspeak!] Po , plus the river. More shoppong in the afternoon? or any other activities? tapos saan pwede mamasyal ng gabi?

the next day for sure maaga kami gigising kasi back to cambodia na.

^sis di ba ikaw yung nag-SE Asian trip? Did you do overland border crossing rep-bkk?

[leelou]

sa mga wala pang hotel accommodation, try nyo sumali sa Phil. Star and Agoda promo: http://t.co/3Jm3gPQRsq

sana manalo tayo

[glacy_rein]

mga sis yung chatuchak open ng weekdays? wed-fri kasi kame andyan