@a.k.a. HELGA
hi sis! sorry ngayon lang nakapagpost, kababalik lang namin early this morning. anyway, for the hotel, here's my review:
**bangkok city hotel**
booked our room (triple room) via agoda for 6800+ for 3 nights with breakfast. free use of pool (not heated). room is of adequate size and has a bathtub. strong water pressure. good aircon. bed/pillows/linens are ok. maayos naman service nila. 10-15mins leisure walk from ratchathewi bts. but if with a senior citizen, consider staying nearer the bts. wala naman problema pag sa umaga pa lang when going on your tour since well rested ka pa but the thing is pag gabi na and you just want to sleep, parang nakakapagod na maglakad to the hotel from the bts.
breakfast is very good but you'd need to be early (7AM) para makakain ka ng maayos. mabilis kasi maubos yun food sa buffet area nila since they cater to tour groups. and tables are limited kaya mas maaga kumain mas ok para may table pa kayo na makuha. kami after kumain sa resto nila, we take some breads and jam/butter to our room for meryenda. di naman kami nasita. sayang din kasi para di na kami magbayad for snacks. sometimes we even bring them when we go out para di kami agad magutom.
btw, there are some restos that open at night within the area. from the hotel, turn right towards ratchathewi bts. madadaanan mo na yun restos, around 3/4 yata yun. mura lang din yun food and ok naman yun luto. spa/massages are also available here. more than 4 yun nakita ko massage places that surround the hotel. 200baht pataas ang price per massage. i highly suggest trying them out para macompare mo rin sa massage dito sa atin.
late check out is allowed up to 6pm for 300baht. in excess of that full room price na ang babayaran. luggages can be stored sa baggage counter nila. within 24hrs free then if lampas dun may bayad na. rental of tuktuk to malls and car to the airport is available. pag tuktuk i think its 80baht to the malls while transpo to airport is 400baht (excluding toll fees). puwede na rin if marami kayo na maghahati hati.
our itinerary for nov 16 -19.
11/16
arrived around 9 am in bangkok, went thru immigration (mahaba ang pila pero mabilis naman natapos. marami IO). at the arrivals area, searched for thailand SIM seller, got DTAC sim 299 baht 7 days validity (unli data + 100 baht for calls and text). katabi niya yun AIS booth (another telecom provider), either SIM ok naman. i recommend just getting a sim in thailand for those who would use data during their travels and also for calls back home. kung may unli data yun tatawagan mo, mas ok kasi lumalabas libre yun calls niyo to each other by using viber/fb messenger or other apps. di na kailangan ng roaming.
after buying the sim, went down to the basement to ride the airport link to phaya thai. cost 45baht/pax, around 30-45mins travel time. then from phaya thai, rode the bts to ratchathewi station (15baht/pax), may connecting bridge naman from the airport link to the BTS line. upon reaching ratchathewi, we walked 5-10mins to our hotel (bangkok city hotel) checked in and rested for a bit. since may dala na kami cup noodles, yun na ang lunch namin. may provided naman na heater ang hotel and cups for drinking.
around 2pm, went out of hotel, rode the BTS to Mochit for chatuchak weekend market. sobrang laki nito! mapa-clothing, pets, accessories - meron dito nagbebenta. bought some beanie, shirts, pants.lots of people here, tried their coconut ice cream, shakes, street food, pork bbq, hotdogs. foodtrip galore kami! meron din restos na makakainan basta di ka maselan. food are affordable. drinks costs 15 baht pataas. left the market at 5:30PM, dun na rin kami nag-dinner. tried their pad thai and some rice meals.
went home via bts din, from mochit to ratchathewi. inaagahan na namin ang uwi since puyat pa kami and need mag-recharge for next days' trip.
2nd day 11/17
early breakfast at bangkok city hotel. went down around 7am para di pa marami ang tao. may bread, rice, eggs, cereals, fruits at the buffet table. also, coffee and some juices. after breakfast, balik sa room then took a shower before going out. itinerary for the day? grand palace+w@t arun + w@t po and siam niramit.
rode the bts to saphan taksin station, pagbaba makikita niyo na yun boat pier. saw a lot of tourists sa ticket counter. instead of lining up, i waited till the express orange ferry boat arrived then went on. sa ferry boat na kami nagbayad, only 15baht/pax. unlike if you pay at the pier 150baht/pax ang sisingilin sa inyo for the tourist boat. upon reaching N9 - Tha Chang Pier, went out of terminal and walked straight to the entrance of the Grand Palace. don't believe the touts saying that the palace is closed, scammers yun mga yun. ticket is 500baht/pax. strict sila sa damit so better wear appropriate clothing here (no sleeveless, shorts, short skirts, see thru clothes, etc). if ever naman, may ipapahiram naman sila na sarong. you'll be given a map of the palace upon going inside. got there 10:30AM but only finished touring by 2:30PM. sobrang laki ng lugar.
ate a late lunch at KRISA, a resto nearby the grand palace. food is good, but a bit expensive compared to those at the market. pero air-conditioned naman yun place so ok na rin. after a bit of rest, we went naman to w@t po, nasa likod lang ito ng grand palace kaya mabilis lang pumunta. from grand palace entrance/exit gate, go left, then left ulit pagdating sa kanto. dirediretso na yun. yun next street na makita niyo, turn left again, makikita niyo na kaagad yun temple ng w@t po. entrance is 100baht/pax (w/ free bottled water). nandito yun reclining buddha. meron din iba ibang temples sa loob. finished at 4PM. we did not go to w@t arun anymore dahil na-temple overload na kami.
went to N8-Tha Thien Pier (5mins walk to w@t po), rode the express boat back to Saphan Taksin then BTS to Asok for Terminal 21 Mall and had dinner there. nakabili pa kami dito ng bag for my mom after kumain. hehe after taking some pics of the mall, went down to the connecting MRT, travelled to thailand cultural centre station. upon arriving, nandun na yun shuttle bus ng Siam Niramit, travel to the theatre place is 10-15mins from the MRT. exchanged our e-voucher (bought from Hotels2Thailand - sa kanila ang pinakamurang ticket ng show) at the ticket counter then went inside. before the show, may provided silang short skit to entertain guests and a thai village where they sell some souvenirs. there is also an elephant here that you can ride and take pictures with. cameras are not allowed inside the theater so it needs to be deposited at their counter. safe naman since we got all our things back. the show was at 8pm and ended after an hour. went back to the hotel the same way, via shuttle bus of siam niramit then MRT then BTS to ratchathewi.
3rd day 11/18
got our ayuthaya tour via Chen Family Tours at bangkok city hotel. they have a tour counter near the elevators. for the ayuthaya tour(JOIN TOUR) we got it at 1050baht/pax inclusive of van transfers, buffet lunch, english tour guide + driver. spots we visited are bang pa in palace + w@t mahathat + reclining buddha + *** yaichaimongkol. we met JACKIE (tour guide) at the hotel's lobby at 6:30AM, went to pratunam area to collect another group of guests (5pax from spain) and went on our way. travel time RT is around 1-2hrs depending on traffic. the tour guide is very nice, knowledgeable and has a good command of english. the buffet lunch is very good, we ate at ayuthaya river hotel. combination of chinese and western buffet. van used is quite new and spacious. siya rin nagte-take ng pics namin whenever we want a group pic. and ang gusto namin sa kanya, is that after the tour, he gives us 20-30mins to walk the temples by ourselves just in case we want to take more pics. we finished our tour early and reached bangkok around 2PM. we asked to be dropped of at Pratunam Area near Platinum mall. he even suggested that instead of Platinum Mall, we go across to Pratunam market for cheaper souvenirs. spent the rest of the day at pratunam area, then just walked to the hotel (20-25mins walk, with stops in between) after.
4th day 11/19
free day. spent the whole day malling. went to MBK, siam discovery/center, siam paragon. sa MBK kami namili ng ibang shirts for souvenirs (shirts - 99baht/pc, etc) and thai delicacies. tamarind candies are 3 for 100, dried tamarind, shredded squid, etc. siam paragon shops are high end. may shops pa nga for cars sa taas ng mall (maserati, bentley, etc). didn't go to central world anymore coz we wanted to rest before going to the airport (flight is at 00:35am bangkok time). already advised bangkok city hotel of late check out and was allowed. just need to pay 300baht and we'll be allowed to be in the room until 6pm. it was 30mins before check out when we woke up. prepared our things then left our bags at the baggage counter of hotel.
had a thai massage at ayurathai(?) spa near the hotel, 200baht/pax. ibang klase pala talaga ang thai massage, talagang diin kung diin sila eh. hanggang ngayon ramdam ko pa yun sakit ng katawan hehe. we then ate at "jaekoys" (the 1st resto that you'll see when you turn right from the hotel. dami kumakain dito sa gabi). tom yum kung was good and we also ordered seabass. sarap ng luto! pero yun signage kc nila is in thai kaya baka mahirap hanapin but their servers are wearing yellow and blue shirts. aside from jaekoys, may 2 pa kasunod na resto na mukhang ok din. weren't able to try them though kasi sa malls kami madalas kumain. anyway, after dinner, went back to pick up our luggage then straight to the BTS then airport link. arrived at airport 9pm, straight check in to cebu pac counter. after immigration, went to the departures area and waited for the flight. saw the souvenirs being sold here to be almost 2x the price from the city. kaya sa mga bibili ng tamarinds etc, sa city na kayo bumili. mas makakatipid kayo. food is also expensive (burger king burger meals at 300+baht / meal, other restos much in the same range too.) kaya sa city na rin kayo kumain bago pumunta ng airport.
and as usual, cebu pac is delayed. our flight is supposed to be 00:35AM pero lumipad kami past 1AM (bangkok time) na. reached manila around 5am (manila time).
hay.. i hope i'll have another chance to visit bangkok. ang dami pa puwede puntahan dun eh. would want to visit chiang mai too, nice weather daw dun. tsaka ang sarap magshopping. if ever we'll visit again magdadala na ako ng maraming baht. heaven for shoppers talaga ang bangkok. ^^
