Nik


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Sunday, August 7, 2011 @ 2:11 PM PERMALINK

My first ever trip overseas without my parents was to Bangkok when I was 16, I think.
We went just 6 of us and a group of Shaun's parents' friends. We stayed at Baiyoke and being with the adults meant that while they let us run around Bangkok, we still enjoyed amazing dinners, a strip bar experience and copious amounts of Vodka.

Ever since then, Bangkok is a go to country whenever I think of quick get-away. The food is cheap (and good), the alcohol is so affordable, the people are nice and of course, the SHOPPING!

There are a ton of people out there who only have bad things to say about Bangkok and some of it is true. As a country that depends on tourism, there are a ton of touts and scams you have to watch out for. But eitherways, no country I've been to beats Bangkok really.

Jasmine and I had bought our Bangkok tickets at the rip-off price of $190 in Feb because we really wanted to go. We soon realised that it was very close to elections and were worried that fighting would break out. But! It didn't so we went on planned.

It was however a Buddhist holiday for the 4 days we were there (remember to watch out for that if you are travelling in July) It didnt really affect much of our trip, apart from the fact that the night markets were quieter and less vibrant than we remembered them to be.

Day 1:
We got on an early flight from Sg to Bangkok. We were going to stay at Niras Bankoc because I had decided that I wanted to see what it was like to stay in a different part of Bangkok. Our cab driver got lost on the way there but it was quickly rectified and we found our hotel.

If any of you are thinking about staying there, Niras is by the road so it is a bit hard for taxis to drop you off but its really a small issue.

The check-in counter at Niras also functions as a coffee shop. We checked in, left our bags in the common room and went to get breakfast to fuel up and to plan our day.


The common room of Niras has a really comfy couch, a tv set and a dvd player with a collection of DVDs. Its a really cosy place and alot of the travellers with dorm rooms hang out here to read/watch tv or kill time before their flights.


After a bit of walking, we decided to settle at this place. Its a really well decorated coffeeshop with a large menu


Jasmine's pan egg which she was super suprised they had.

Niras is near a ton of the usual sights (that we've never been to despite having been to Bangkok like 5 times) and we decided that we should head to the Grand Palace because it seemed stupid that we have never been there.

We trooped back into the hotel, got our shoes, some directions and a map and headed back on the street.

Having gotten used to be surrounded by road-side stalls that hawk clothes and counterfeit goods, it was really refreshing to have a change of scenery. The roads that we walked on were flanked with shops that sold and made religious statues and religious other ornaments.



We caught sight of many of the craftsmen sculpting, moulding, painting their wares and it was really amazing to think how much work went into each piece and not even for fame but as a livelihood.

We walked for what seemed like ages without even knowing if we were near our destination. We passed by the Famous Giant Swing in front of Wat Suthat.



Then awhile later, we were greeted by this sight and from the number of tour buses in front, we knew we were there. 



As it was a religious day, there were a ton of tourists & thais who were heading into the Grand Palace to pay their respects. As tourists we had to find the correct entrance to enter and were not allowed through any of the side entrances.

At the entrance, there are women who survey your attire and bark at you to rent a sarong if your skirt/pants are too short.  The lady that approached us found an issue with Jasmine's hem line but not mine (Jasmine says its cause I'm shorter and thus look more decent. TEEHEE) and we were really confused about what she was trying to say.

Basically, it costs something like 150 baht to rent the sarong. Once you've given her the money, she'll give you a token card which when you return to her, you'll get 100 baht back. It seems very ad-hoc and shady but based on our experience, I'd have to say it may not be very formalize but it works.

**Note: We did notice that a few people on the temple grounds were wearing sarongs even though they were wearing jeans, so I'm not sure how reliable these women are or how to get around them if they too do try and make money off you for no reason. **






This is the Ministry of Defense building which is across the Grand Palace.

Once you get into the Palace compounds, you are greeted by rolling greens and a huge number of tourists. Just follow the crowd to the ticketing centre.

For 350 baht ($14 SGD) you get entry to a number of places (Wat Phra Kaew, Vinanmek Teakwood Palace, Pavilion of Regalia, Royal Decorations and coins; just to name a few) and a printed Palace guide.



The sight that greets you when you enter is amazing. Jasmine and I gave up on pictures like 15 minutes into our visit because no frame we took could capture how beautiful the various temples were.

The amount of detailing that is done on the temple facades is unbelieveable. The mirror decorations are stuck on piece by piece (we actually saw people doing in on our way back). The tiles are all so beautifully made with intricate detailing. I'll just pic-spam you but seriously, just pay the $14 to go and see next time you are in Bangkok.












Wat Phra Kaew (the one with the blue roof)

When we got there, we noticed a sign at the ticketing booth which said that Wat Phra Kaew would be closed by 1230pm. We got to the temple grounds at 12pm and decided that we werent going to squeeze with the tourists from the tour grounds and the more deserving locals to view it.

So we went up to a terrace and people watched. To be honest, while we were wow-ed by the beauty of the temples, their cultural signifiance was sadly lost on us because we know nothing about Thailand's rich culture. These temples (upon consulting my map now) seem to have both Hindu and Buddist influences. Certain momuments hold important relics and others are to honor specific Gods.

We did get interviewed by some students for their school project (which is the only reason we knew Thailand was celebrating Buddha's birthday) We stuck around hoping to get to see the ceremony but gave up cause it was really hot.





The fact that it was a religious day was pretty interesting because we got to see locals chanting as well as school children who seemed to have been forced to make the trip down with their schools. Its great to see the buildings in the complex and how beautiful they are but because it is now more of a tourist attraction, it is impossible to expect peace and quiet with the thousands of tourists milling around.

We left the temples about 2-3 hrs later without even really covering the whole complex and heading to the first air-conditioned place we saw. A french style cafe called Au Bon Pain.


Lemonade and chicken noodle soup


Jasmine and her offending dress + ice blended drink


Cute salt and pepper packets


Au Bon Pain is a great little place to relax and not only does it have a full menu of sandwiches, soups and drinks, it also sells books about Thailand's culture and history. It also has free wi-fi. After we recovered from the heat, we decided to head back to our hotel to move into our room.


The door to our room, its really like stepping into Naria via wardrobe









Everything is the room was amazingly quaint and cute. It wasn't your typical hotel room neither was it and overly cheesy everything in place boutique hotel. The wall's paint are peeling a bit (only slightly) and linens are only washed every 3 days (not a problem for me) but its a great place to stay.


The landscape in the surrounding areas, seriously. We didnt even have to walk into the temple to see how beautiful it is. 

The great thing about the area we were in was the scenary. Having been so used to looking at traffic jams and pushy street shops. it was a welcome change to see beautiful temples scattered everywhere instead.

After we got into our room and chilled for abit, we decided to walk to Khao San because we've never been there before. It was a 20 min walk and we came across loads of street food vendors setting up their stalls.


Khao San street

Some of the people I'd talked to told me that Khao San was not worth visiting at all because it was a tourist/back-packer trap. That is true of course, there are a ton of tourists milling around the street BUT we loved the atmosphere of Khao San. Its true that shopping is probably more expensive than anywhere else (cept maybe Patpong) but the life that is on the street is so fun.

We splurged on our first meal and ate at Silk Bar on Khao San, the service was pretty slow but the food wasnt too bad. It was also bustling with life. The prices were reasonable and some of the cocktails were on promotion at only 90 baht each.

Despite the fact that we knew we were going to Pratunam to shop the next day, we still came back with clothes and accessories, as usual.

The walk back to the hotel was pretty nerve wrecking because we had to walk past some old buildings that were shut down for the holiday/ shut down for good and there were a ton of homeless people sleeping outside. We stuck close to the main road and hoped that nothing would happen to us (luckily, nothing did happen)

On hindsight, we should have just taken a tuk-tuk but Jasmine now has a fear of them after one dumped her in the middle of nowhere.

We got back, got a couple of DVDs, a pack of banana chips (sold by the cafe downstairs) and retired for the night.

Labels: bangkok, Thailand, travel

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