Bangkok, Thailand (thread 9)

[Prunella]

Now is not a good time to go to Bangkok. Medyo magulo. I booked a ticket for December pa naman.

[leelou]

^we'll be in BKK in December too, 15-17 hopefully mag-stop na yung mga protests or at least it'll just be a peaceful one...

[bagaholic_chewy]

mga sis can you suggest reputable travel agency for floating market/ tiger temple and elephant ride tour? andami ko na search pero baka scam yung iba

Check out the packages sa www.bangkok.com then me isa pang site na na-share yung ibang sisses natin dito, nasa previous posts, backread ka na lang.

[pinky_twinkee]

sis, namention ko na sa previous post ko yung medyo kayang lakarin from Pratunam area. Idagdag ko na lang din yung Madame Tussauds sa Siam, nalalakad na din yun. But basically, Pratunam talaga is for shopping, not much on other touristy stuff. Well, maybe you can check out the revolving roofdeck in Baiyoke Sky. Although for me, namamahalan ako kung roofdeck entrance lang babayaran kaya we usually go up pag nag buffet dinner sa hotel kasi me free access na sa roofdeck.
 thanks sis. Sa area na lang kami malamang sa pratunam at yung mga kayang lakarin. First time kasi namin sa bkk this july.

Ito sis try mo din, http://www.hotels2thailand.com/

[vainmode]

Dito kami sa Bangkok ngayon, pratunam area. May mga rally nga ngayon, hirap kumuha ng taxi

[jom1618]

paupdate naman po ng current situation dyan sa BKK, we're afraid of the news. ang trip po namin ay dec 4-8, ok pa rin bang ituloy namin ang trip?


please give us feedback!!  thank u in advance

[annamarie88]

just finished backreading   this thread.. tom na yung previous think i'm getting already the names of the places to go to.. biglaan lang ang trip on 4-7, just booked yesterday.. kaya i need to research fast oh my my rally and magulo? i just want to shop shop shop and date lang with the boyfriend.. how's the weather? sana not super tirik ang araw.. sayang hindi ko maabutan chatuchak, maaga alis ng saturday  pero lost pa akokung nasan yung siam at pratunam kung magkalayo sila hehe gusto ko ayutthaya and elephants

thanks sa mga tips mga sis

sis vainmode ano po mga pinuntahan mo jan?

[vainmode]

Grand palace lang pinuntahan namin tapos shopping na sa Pratunam. Hindi kasi namin mahanap yung [textspeak!] po at [textspeak!] arun temple. Dinadala kami ng taxi sa pier at pinagbabayad ng 1500 baht para sa cruise. Since mainit, hindi na kami tumuloy. Madami pa naman next time.  Tapos nalaman lang namin na may rally sa mga nakilala namin turista. Anyway, sa shopping naman, mas gusto ko sa Pratunam side kesa sa Platinum mall. Medyo mahal sa Platinum eh. Kung hindi kayo masyado familiar sa place tulad ko, mas ok kung magtaxi kayo, mas mura, iwasan nyo lang yung kulay pink na taxi, wala sila metro. Mageenjoy din ang mga katulad kong plus size, may isang mall na puro plus size ang benta na nagrange ng 150- 450 baht ang dress.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sis, ang w.at po, around the block lang from Grand Palace. Literally, lalakarin mo lang yung white wall ng Grand Palace from the main entrance, and on the other side, andun na ang entrance ng W.at Po.. ang W.at Arun naman, from W.at Po, lakad konti to the pier, tawid ng river using public transpo boat, yun na yun, 1or 3baht nga lang yata pamasahe. Kita na nga from the riverside na malapit sa w.at po yung w.at arun e. No need for taxi for these three temples kasi within manageable walking distance lang (and short boat ride to cross the river for w.at arun's case).

and may metro naman kahit yung pink taxi. Madami lang din talaga pasaway na taxi drivers dun, yung mga nangongontrata at nagkukunwari na wala o sira ang metro.

And for me naman, better to commute by bts/mrt, water bus or walk pag di kabisado ang lugar. Because traffic in bangkok can be so bad, worse than Manila sometimes and then there's the case of pasaway taxi drivers na iniikot ang pasahero, kaya napapalayo at mas napapatagal ang byahe. And madami din one-way roads especially pag rush hour. Yeah, mura lang taxi, but mas naha-hassle ako, esp with the language barrier.. Sa akin lang naman yun. I usually take the taxi lang pag madami or mabigat dala ko, or if papunta or galing sa place na di accessible ng bts/mrt and/or water bus. Or if to/from airport.

[entwife]

I can attest to this taxi difficulties. Nakakatrauma taxi dito. haha Di ko gano inaral yung public transpo to gand palace from Pratunam kasi 4 naman kami, inasa ko na taxi would take us there, kaso inikot kami then sinasabi nung taxi na itour nya na lan daw kami sa mga temples.

Then yung tuktuk, nakipagnegoiate kami ng pamasahe, kaso hindi kami hinatid sa pupuntahan namin. Binaba niya kami agad and sabi one way daw so lakad na lang kasi malapit na daw. Later on we found out na malayo pa pala. Siguro eto dahil hindi kami pumayag dumaan ng jewelry store.

Yung isang taxi naman na sinakyan namin, ang bilis ng metro! tapos nung sinita namin bakit ganun, naging normal na. Ang nakakainis pa, they pretend or act like they don't understand English. Or siguro hindi talaga tapos ngingiti na lang.Or ngisi ba tawag dun.

But I would give Bangkok another try in the future. Next time mas prepared nako sa public transpo.

May mga tout pa pala salabas ng Grand Palace na sinasabi lunch break, nakaclose pa, mag iver cruise muna o go to other temples, buti nilakad namin hanggang sa main entrance and I think nabasa ko dito na hindi nagcloclose ang GP.

Be vigilant lang sa Bangkok. The city is nice, so far sa mga nakita ko hindi mausok mga sasakyan nila, train station is efficient, food is really good.

[teacherteacher]

-- what my brother and his family (bale 3 kids kasama) did, they rented a car with driver to tour them around. I suggest, book a car with driver on some days, then pag within BKK lang kayo, you can DIY (take a taxi or something)
-- my brother and SIL took their kids to Safari World, nag-enjoy naman daw. Although my pamangkins were at least 3yrs old na kasi so they can appreciate stuff na talaga. I have no idea what entertains a 2-yr old.. Perhaps you can go also to Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo, me elephant and crocodile zoo. Me wax museum din.
-- for chillax mode, you can go to Lumpini Park. Pwede picnic, me play ground din, me man-made lake, pwede mag-rent ng paddle boat. Free entrance.
-- for murang tiangge shopping, you can check out Platinum Mall.
-- is it possible for you to bring a folding stroller, para at least tulak na lang si baby nyo, like pag nasa mall or inside the sights. Parang kakapagod kung kelangan nyo pa sya kargahin..

Hi sis!  Ngayon ko lang to nabasa pero yan na yan ang pinuntahan namin.  Haha.  We got a chauffeur from our hotel too.

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ hope you had a great trip in BKK.

Parang mahal yung private car na na-rent nyo. Kasi nung kami with friends, car rental with driver lang binayaran namin to Damnoen Saduak floating market, parang 1000 or 1200 baht lang yun rent for half-day. Tapos 5pax kami, kaya super-mura ng labas per person...

[pinky_twinkee]

^ sis saan kayo nagrent?

[bagaholic_chewy]

^ sa hotel na napag-stayhan namin. Most hotels, even the small ones have car rental with driver, rate will depend on the destination and the length of time. Meron din sila nung talagang tour packages na me tour guide. But if you don't need a tour guide, car rental with driver will do.

[annamarie88]

kakatanong ko lang sa bf, kantary daw kami stay huhu. malayo pala yun sa mga pratunam..... waa so sad.. pano makapunta sa pratunam from kantary? pwde daw boat and bus, gusto ko sana train.. pwde ba mga sis? flight ko mamaya na hehe

[leelou]

^ sis, swerte nyo truce ngayon in honor of their king's birthday. hopefully tuloy-tuloy na yun walang protests kasi sa 15 naman trip namin there waah!

[annamarie88]

^ah talaga sis?? naku sana nga haha kinakabahan ako ndi ako nakaresearch ng todo hahaha
sana nga at least pagdating nyo okay pa sis ano it nyo? omg ichecheck ko din train stations pala, gusto ko tlaga magtrain.. hehe super love ko sa sg yung trains nila

[pinky_twinkee]

^ sa hotel na napag-stayhan namin. Most hotels, even the small ones have car rental with driver, rate will depend on the destination and the length of time. Meron din sila nung talagang tour packages na me tour guide. But if you don't need a tour guide, car rental with driver will do.

Thank You sis, try ko magtanong sa tutuluyan namin.

[honeybunny]

my cousin in inviting me. i need to get to koh samui (from manila) either dec.29 or dec30 then go back to bangkok on jan5. then manila on jan7.

from manila, pwede ako mag bangkok muna then koh samui, kaso wala akong mahanap na cheap fare online.

what are my other options? and i want yung cheap sana

TIA

[D_12]

Hi guys! Going to have my trip report. Just came back from Bangkok last Sunday.
Itinerary namin
Day 1
Check in at Amari Watergate infront of Platinum mall
Shopping day (nabaliw ako sa Siam Paragon)
Central world (topman/topshop/h&m)
Zen (parang rustan's dito)
Ate at gilid gilid (masarap food, medyo unhygienic nga lang, pero worth a try)
Day 2
Temples:
Grand Palace (super ok compared to W A T Arun and W A T Pho)
W A T Arun
W A T Pho
Reclining Buddha
Asiatique
Khao San Road (popular among backpackers especially Caucasians)
Day 3
Chatuchak Market (super parang Divisoria)
Rest day
Day 4
Check out

We were supposed to go to Patpong RDL but my boyfriend was too tired na so shopping at the nearby malls nalang. You guys should try staying at Amari. Ok sya. It's 5star but affordable 6k/night for deluxe rooms with breakfast. We booked via Agoda. Transportation in Bangkok is easy lalo na BTS nila. Madali lang intindihin.

Meron palang nagbalak mangscam na tuktuk samin. Kasi we rode one going to Siam BTS tapos nagoffer siya na may river cruise daw siya or whatever. Sabi namin "No we already booked a river cruise online." Tapos tumigil. Ingat lang din kasi if super madaming tao, because pickpockets are rampant there. Dapat yung bags lagi nasa harap. Mahirap na.

I liked Bangkok, pero di masyado. It's like Manila. If you guys love bargain hunting, then it's the right place for you.