Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bangkok Itinerary
Was bored so decided to type out what we did there!

Day 1 (Sat)
-Arrival at Bangkok Intl Airport around 6.30pm. Cab to city area approx 250-300 Baht.
-Visit to Suan Lom Night Bazaar - Huge bazaar that opens from 6pm till midnight.

Day 2
-Visit to Chatuchuck Mkt - Bangkok's famous weekend market. Best bargains as well. Clothes / Art pieces / Accessories / Books / Pets etc all can be found there.
-Night visit to Khaosan - Backpacker district near the Chao Phraya River. Very nice relaxed atmosphere with pubs and clubs. Full of ang mohs and tourists.

Day 3
-Platinum mall - Huge Wholesale shopping centre where prices can drop to as low as 100 baht per shirt if you buy in bulk eg 3 or 6 or 12 depending on shop.
-MBK / Siam Centre / Paragon - Shopping madness. Main and most famous shopping belt in BKK.
-Night visit to Patpong - Did not materialise (see advisory below)

Day 4
-Temple of the Emerald Buddha / Grand Palace - The temple was impressive especially the hall that the emerald buddha is in. Would advise you to visit at least some of the temples or even go to the floating market as it is then that you can truly understand the culture of the people in thailand. Entrance fee 250 baht.
-Return to Suan Lom Night Bazaar

Day 5
Flew Back to Singapore.

Advisory
Just some tips that we should all remember!
-Try to ask the concierge at the hotel the rough taxi prices for travelling arnd town. Taxi drivers typically quote foreigners 2 to 3 times actual.

-Do not board taxis that are waiting at kerbside or soliciting for passengers by walking arnd. On day 3, we boarded such a cab outside MBK. We wanted to go Patpong but he wove a story saying that Patpong open only abt 11pm and since it was 9 he suggested we go for a massage. And we actually thought he was kind and said ok we don't mind. Once we reached there the price was exhorbitant. Although we brought the price down to the usual rate (200baht/hr), we were stunned when the masseuses asked for huge tips after that. We were the only one in the establishment at that time and it was in a ulu district. Being cautious, we feigned that we had no money and gave much less. Lesson learnt: Do not believe taxi drivers who offer to drive you to their favorite massage parlors / jewellery shop / tailors etc. They earn a commission from such places and often once you step into the shop, they can be quite "persuasive".

-Be weary of tuk-tuk drivers who wants to bring you to places as well.

-Taxis are more comfortable and safer than tuk-tuk who are often similarly priced.
Bargain! It's a must. Typically actual price is abt 50-60% of what they quote. Many shops in the same area sell similar / same items.
 
posted by dan at 6:41:00 PM | Permalink |


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