sa.wat.dee
สวัสดี
/sàwàtdi/
interjection
1: All purpose Thai greeting that could mean 'hello', 'good morning', 'good night', 'goodbye'
For the month of February, my destination for travel was the city of Bangkok. Unfortunately, a political conflict had started in November, which made us hesitant to continue our trip. There were friends who advised that we could go to Chang Mai instead (which is far from the conflict in Bangkok).
After lots of googling, I found this useful map from Richard Barrow (thank you so much!) where he had marked all the protest sites. My family and I decided to continue our trip and we very much enjoyed our four day trip in Bangkok.
Day 1: Temples
After arriving in Suvarnabhumi airport, we rode a cab to our hotel/apartment. The cab fare is 800 Baht, fixed rate for airport taxi.
We decided for our first day to tour the well known temples in Bangkok. We mainly used the BTS as our mode of transportation.
In order to go to the temples, take the Silom line and get off at Saphan Taksin Station or S6. Go through exit no. 2. A short walk and it'll take you to the Chao Phraya express boat. Fare is 40 Baht for a single trip.
There is a tour guide in the boat that will be introducing the different places you can go in every pier.
If you want to go to the Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew, get off at the Ta Chang Pier (No. 9). The Grand Palace is a 5 minute walk from the pier. I suggest you visit it first because it closes early (3 PM).
The Wat Pho (or Reclining Buddha) is at the Tier Pien (No. 8) pier. If you want to go to Wat Arun instead, take the cross river ferry from this pier that will take you to Wat Arun.
On your walk to the temples, there are lots of street food that you will enjoy. There are also street vendors that will sell many items that are good souvenirs.
Tickets to the temples cost 100 Baht. Wear clothes that cover your knees and your shoulders.
Day 2: Siam
For our second day in Bangkok, we decided to go to Ocean World and do some shopping so we went to Siam. Since there is a protest site in Siam, you should use the skybridge to Paragon to be safe.
Siam Paragon is one of the biggest shopping malls in Southeast Asia. It also houses several international brands. I especially loved the food hall found in the ground floor. I could stay there all day :P
Siam Ocean World is awesome especially if you have the kids with you. Entrance fee is 900 Baht and they offer combo tickets with Madame Tussauds at 1,650 Baht.
There is a bridge in Paragon that will take you to Siam Center. If you want to go to Madame Tussauds, go to Siam Center and take the bridge to Siam Discovery Center in the fourth floor. Madame Tussauds is located in the 6th floor.
Day 3: Floating Market
In the 3rd day of our stay in Bangkok, our destination of the day is the Amphawa Floating Market. It's only open during the weekends. We arrived there around lunch time and actually wanted to go there earlier because going there takes at least an hour and a half (plus more if the traffic's bad). Make sure to purchase a return ticket so you don't get stuck if you're just planning for a day trip.
How to get there: Using BTS, take the Sukhumvit Line and get off at the Victory Monument (N3). Mini vans that will take you to Amphawa floating market are stationed there. The fare is 80 Baht per person.
We rented a boat that took us around the floating market. Fare is 30 Baht per head. The seafood was especially good and I had a really good time. After the our awesome lunch in the floating market, we looked around the stalls that offered variety of goods. There were also Thai massage places around the market if you want to relax.
Going back to Bangkok, our van dropped us off in Victory Monument. This place is an awesome shopping area especially for clothes! (this is the place that I blame for my excess baggage :P)
Day 4: Chatuchak (Jatujak) Weekend Market and Dream World
Chatuchak market is the largest market in Thailand. It is an outdoor market with over 15, 000 (!) stalls. It is open every weekend and this is clearly the place where you can apply the words "shop till you drop!"
It's quite difficult to navigate in the market, so it's wise to find a map so you have a guide.
How to get to Chatuchak Market: Using BTS, take the Sukhumvit Line and get off at Mo Chit Station. Just walk a bit and you'll see the entrance to Chatuchak Market. There are also buses that could take you.
There are many things that would find in here and one day isn't enough to truly explore the place! I'll make sure to come back here next time and find more goodies :P
After surviving the Chatuchak Market, we decided to go and have fun at Dream World.
Dream World is a amusement park just outside Bangkok. To get there, you can hire a taxi that'll take you there for 350 Baht. Taxi drivers would offer to wait up for you whole day for 1,200 Baht. We managed to get that down to 1,000 Baht though. Thanks, Aod! :D
It isn't as big as Disneyland, but I still enjoyed it. Highlight is definitely the rides - I enjoyed the water rides especially the super splash. Super splash, indeed. The wave was huge and it's guaranteed that you'll get wet. So bring extra clothes if you must. (There's a coat available for 30 Baht to cover you up, but then I still got wet!)
There were also scary rides such as the Tornado and the Hurricane - and if that's your thing then go for it. The inverted roller coaster was also fun. There are shows all around Dream World and schedules are in the brochure. For an extra 150 Baht, you can also go inside Snow Town, which I really enjoyed. I suggest you go there first before riding any water related rides, because it's freezing inside.
Dream World is a great place if you want to escape the city for awhile, especially if you have kids with you. Entrance is 650 for foreigners, plus an extra 150 if you want to go to Snow Town. Another extra 100 if you want to include go-kart riding.
That ends our four day trip at Bangkok. There are so many places we haven't gone to and so before leaving Thailand I told myself, "I shall return!"
See you again, Bangkok! :)
If you want to go to the Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew, get off at the Ta Chang Pier (No. 9). The Grand Palace is a 5 minute walk from the pier. I suggest you visit it first because it closes early (3 PM).
The Wat Pho (or Reclining Buddha) is at the Tier Pien (No. 8) pier. If you want to go to Wat Arun instead, take the cross river ferry from this pier that will take you to Wat Arun.
On your walk to the temples, there are lots of street food that you will enjoy. There are also street vendors that will sell many items that are good souvenirs.
Tickets to the temples cost 100 Baht. Wear clothes that cover your knees and your shoulders.
Day 2: Siam
For our second day in Bangkok, we decided to go to Ocean World and do some shopping so we went to Siam. Since there is a protest site in Siam, you should use the skybridge to Paragon to be safe.
Siam Paragon is one of the biggest shopping malls in Southeast Asia. It also houses several international brands. I especially loved the food hall found in the ground floor. I could stay there all day :P
Siam Ocean World is awesome especially if you have the kids with you. Entrance fee is 900 Baht and they offer combo tickets with Madame Tussauds at 1,650 Baht.
There is a bridge in Paragon that will take you to Siam Center. If you want to go to Madame Tussauds, go to Siam Center and take the bridge to Siam Discovery Center in the fourth floor. Madame Tussauds is located in the 6th floor.
Day 3: Floating Market
In the 3rd day of our stay in Bangkok, our destination of the day is the Amphawa Floating Market. It's only open during the weekends. We arrived there around lunch time and actually wanted to go there earlier because going there takes at least an hour and a half (plus more if the traffic's bad). Make sure to purchase a return ticket so you don't get stuck if you're just planning for a day trip.
How to get there: Using BTS, take the Sukhumvit Line and get off at the Victory Monument (N3). Mini vans that will take you to Amphawa floating market are stationed there. The fare is 80 Baht per person.
We rented a boat that took us around the floating market. Fare is 30 Baht per head. The seafood was especially good and I had a really good time. After the our awesome lunch in the floating market, we looked around the stalls that offered variety of goods. There were also Thai massage places around the market if you want to relax.
Going back to Bangkok, our van dropped us off in Victory Monument. This place is an awesome shopping area especially for clothes! (this is the place that I blame for my excess baggage :P)
Day 4: Chatuchak (Jatujak) Weekend Market and Dream World
Chatuchak market is the largest market in Thailand. It is an outdoor market with over 15, 000 (!) stalls. It is open every weekend and this is clearly the place where you can apply the words "shop till you drop!"
It's quite difficult to navigate in the market, so it's wise to find a map so you have a guide.
How to get to Chatuchak Market: Using BTS, take the Sukhumvit Line and get off at Mo Chit Station. Just walk a bit and you'll see the entrance to Chatuchak Market. There are also buses that could take you.
There are many things that would find in here and one day isn't enough to truly explore the place! I'll make sure to come back here next time and find more goodies :P
Dream World is a amusement park just outside Bangkok. To get there, you can hire a taxi that'll take you there for 350 Baht. Taxi drivers would offer to wait up for you whole day for 1,200 Baht. We managed to get that down to 1,000 Baht though. Thanks, Aod! :D
It isn't as big as Disneyland, but I still enjoyed it. Highlight is definitely the rides - I enjoyed the water rides especially the super splash. Super splash, indeed. The wave was huge and it's guaranteed that you'll get wet. So bring extra clothes if you must. (There's a coat available for 30 Baht to cover you up, but then I still got wet!)
There were also scary rides such as the Tornado and the Hurricane - and if that's your thing then go for it. The inverted roller coaster was also fun. There are shows all around Dream World and schedules are in the brochure. For an extra 150 Baht, you can also go inside Snow Town, which I really enjoyed. I suggest you go there first before riding any water related rides, because it's freezing inside.
Dream World is a great place if you want to escape the city for awhile, especially if you have kids with you. Entrance is 650 for foreigners, plus an extra 150 if you want to go to Snow Town. Another extra 100 if you want to include go-kart riding.
That ends our four day trip at Bangkok. There are so many places we haven't gone to and so before leaving Thailand I told myself, "I shall return!"
See you again, Bangkok! :)
