A Day in Bangkok

Just a part of the massive Grand Palace complex

Here is a fact. One day is not enough for Bangkok. It is not enough for any place really--but then, in this world we are just passersby and we try to fit in as much memories and experiences as we can.

Where I stayed

I had a late morning start. Blame it on the comfy mattress of the female dormitory of Golden Mountain Hostel, a place which I would gladly stay in again should I have another chance to visit the city. Aside from the beds, the hostel appealed to me for it is just a walking distance away from the places I wanted to visit.

                    

                    8-bed female dorm room

The shower

The toilet

The bed

Unfortunately, since I started off late, the sun was already up and the scorching heat was just not ideal for walking. I still ended up taking the tuktuk to the Grand Palace where I and a friend residing in Thailand have agreed to meet.

First stop: The Grand Palace 
(only two kilometers away from the Golden Mountain Hostel, tuktuk should be around 80 THB)
Entrance fee: 500 baht
Opening hours: 8:30 a.m to 3:30 pm

The Grand Palace is a complex covering an area of 218,000 sq. meters. King Rama I started building it in 1782 as the official residence of the royal family and as the site of his administrative offices. His successors added to it and now it has become a massive complex. I recommend spending at least three hours in this place in order to soak in the grandeur and the history that comes with it. It is feast for the eyes. You see something different in every corner, and you also see a LOT of tourists. I found it difficult to take a photo with just the building or the temple. I do not know if it is any different in the earlier part of the day.

Wat Phra Kaew also known as Wat Phra Sri RattanaSasadaram or Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a located in the outer area of the palace. It is part of the original buildings built by King Rama I in 1782. Entrance fee is included in the 500 baht entrance fee to the Grand Palace.

Second stop: The Museum of Siam
(just a block away from The Grand Palace)

Unfortunately, when we went there, it was closed so I didn't get to see it.

Third stop: Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn)
Entrance fee: 50 baht
Opening hours: 8:30 a.m to 6:00 pm

More commonly known as Wat Arun or Wat Chaeng to the locals, it is actually Wat Arun Ratchawararam. Located at the west bank of the Chao Phraya river, it is named after the Indian god of dawn, Aruna.

So, what is special about this temple? I guess it must be pretty important to have made it as an image in Thailand's 10 baht coin.

Other temples who have similar distinction are Wat Benjamabophit (the Marble Temple), located in the Dusit District of Bangkok (5 baht coin), the chedis of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (1 baht coin) and Wat Prathat Doi Sothep in Changmai (50 satang or .50 baht)

Fourth stop: Khao San Road

From Wat Arun, we took the Chao Phraya tourist boat (blue flag) for 50 baht to Khao San Road. It was too late, when we learned that there are also much cheaper boats (orange flag) plying the same route. By the time we learned about it, we already are in possession of our non-refundable tourist boat tickets.

The Chao Phraya river boat

Cruising along the river

Anyway, the boat actually has several ports much like a train. So, one has to know exactly where to drop off.

To be honest, I do not see the appeal of Khao San Road. Probably, it is the party atmosphere especially at night and the touristy souvenir items being sold in the shops. It is where one goes when one is interested to meet other travelers I guess.

Fifth stop: Wat Saket (The Golden Mountain temple)
Entrance fee: 50 baht
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m to 7:00 p.m

From Khao San Road, Wat Saket is just around 1.2 kilometers. We could have walked but we were too exhausted from walking under the midday heat. We decided to take a tuktuk instead which charged us 150 baht, same price for locals he said. Ha! According to the Golden Mountain hostel guide to Bangkok--which is just a piece of paper that I got from the reception--it should have cost us 60 baht only.

Since my hostel is just a block away, we stopped by and collected my backpack first before heading to the temple.

It was a perfect ending for day. It was a lot of stairs to climb, 300 to be exact,  but the view of the sunset was just awesome.

            

              The stairs going up.. well in this case, going down.

The chedi

A view of Bangkok

Sunset

A view of the temple from the road

Sixth stop: Mo chit bus station

My original plan was to travel at night to Chiang Mai through the sleeper train. So, I was supposed to go to Hua Lamphong Station. However, my friend recommended that I take the Nakchonchaiair first class bus. It is cheaper but also very comfortable. So instead of going to the train station, we headed to Mo chit bus station. Taking the metered taxi from Wat Saket to Mo Chit costs 129 baht.

I paid 759 baht for a bus seat to Chiang Mai which is like one half of what I would have paid if I took the second class sleeper train.

The bus service was  great--comfortable massage chairs with blankets. Food, water and snacks were also provided. All in all, I'd say this one is a pretty good deal!

...waiting for the bus to start boarding

Thailand: My 7 days itinerary

I never intended to book tickets for Bangkok. When I sat in front of my laptop, it was to check out flights to Taiwan. I wanted to take advantage of the fact that Filipinos were granted visa free entry to the country on a trial basis. For some reason, I found myself booking a ticket to Thailand instead. Yay! So how does one spend a holiday in Thailand. Googling the country offers various choices from shopping and cooking classes to beaches and temples. I figured I already saw enough beaches being from the Philippines so I opted to go on a temple safari instead. My original plan was to head to Chiang Mai and then eventually Pai. It did not happen that way.

Arrival in Bangkok

I landed in Bangkok at around 10:30 in the evening. I was actually concerned about this, being a solo female traveller. Turns out, it was not that much of a concern really. After getting myself cleared at imigration, I had to take care of my connectivity issues. This was very important for me since I agreed to meet one of my former students the next day. I approached one kiosk at the arrivals area and subscribed to True Move network tourist SIM. They gave me the package that costs 299 THB, valid for 8 days. It comes with free unlimited 4G/3G internet for 8 days at maximum speed up t 3 GB and reduced speed of 128 kbps thereafter. So far, I had no issues with it. Anyway after I got that organized, I had to rush in order to catch the airport link to Bangkok. Apparently, the last train leaves at midnight. I barely had 15 minutes to find where I can board the train, figure out where I should drop off and get my payment sorted. As luck would have it, people were very helpful. I made it to the last train with a minute to spare.

My hostel was located at Pomprap so I was advised by an airport employee that I should drop off at the Paya Thai station which I discovered was the last station for the airport rail link. From there, I could have walked or taken a tuktuk but since it was past midnight, I had no choice but to take a cab. It was a bit of a rip-off. The cab drivers were explaining to me that after 10 pm they no longer operate with their taxi meters. It sounded like bollocks to me but I have to get to the hostel. From an initial 200 baht, I managed to bargain and get it down to 150. Not bad. 

Arriving at the Golden Mountain Hostel, I was met by a sleepy receptionist. He can only understand a few words in English and I do not speak Thai so I'd say we had a communication problem. However, I cannot really complain. He was very accommodating. He had my booking printed and ready.After I filled in the necessary information, he handed me the key and led me upstairs where I had my first cultural initiation. Get this--I had to take off my shoes and leave them downstairs despite my room being located on the third floor. That was a first for me!

I booked a bunk in the female dormitory. It had a very comfortable mattress and was very private There were two other guests in the room but I never even caught a glimpse of them the entire time. I would definitely recommend the place.

Day 1: Bangkok

Met up with a former student and we visited the massive complex of the Grand Palace. In my itinerary, I included a visit to the National Museum which was just a block away but we were informed that it was closed for that day. So, we headed for Wat Arun instead and afterwards, took a ferry to Khao San Road where we had a bit of a stroll before heading back to my hostel to pick up my back pack since I was taking a night trip to Chang Mai. Before heading to Mo Chit Station, we decided to drop by Wat Saket to view the sunset over Bangkok.

Just a part of the the Grand Temple complex

Wat Arun

Wat Saket

Day 2: Chiang Mai 

Arrived in Chiang Mai at around 4:30 in the morning. I did not book a place ahead and since it was very early I decided to just hang around the bus station and charge my phone outside the 7-11 store. It was interesting, just sitting there and watching the bus station wake up and come alive--food stall owners arriving in their motorbikes, opening their shops and displaying their goods. Office workers coming in dressed smartly, looking for the buses that would take them wherever their destinations are. 

By 6:30, phone fully charged, I found myself a song thew (Thai local transport) and headed to the old city. I thought of booking a place at Julie's Guesthouse, which was recommended by one of the blogs. However, I changed my mind when I saw a review on Trip Advisor that it has bed bugs. Having no plan B, I went around and found Central Guesthouse. Lucky for me, I did not have to wait for 2 pm to check in so I was able to get myself refreshed before hitting the streets and visiting countless temples and museums. The highlight was Wat Chedi Luang. 

Wat Chedi Luang

Day 3: Chiang Mai 

Woke up early. Shopping day! I visited a lot of markets-Sompet market, Warorot market, Tonlamyai Market, Lao Zhou Alley (The Chiang Mai Chinatown) and a lot of shops in between. I just walked all day fueled by bottles of water and a kilo of mangosteen I bought from a vendor. What I discovered from this experience is that I could actually have fun getting lost in alleyways and taking in the different sights and smells. I had all the time so going from one shop to another, I would always have this idea that the next shop would be cheaper. I ended up buying nothing.

Warorot Market

Spices sold at the Sompet Market

Day 4: Chiang Mai to Sukothai

I was supposed to head to Pai today. However, my former student, whom I met in Bangkok highly recommended that I visit Sukothai. I did read about Sukothai in the web but hearing none about it from people who have been to Thailand, I did not give it much notice.

Wat Phra Singh

It was another early start. Took a morning walk from Central Guesthouse to Wat Pra Singh which is right at the other end of the old city. I must have spent more than an hour there before heading back to the guesthouse-checking out and heading to the Arcade Bus Terminal where I caught a Win Tour bus to Sukothai. Travel from Chiang Mai to Sukothai is more or less six hours which means I arrived at Sukothai in the early evening.

Day 5: Sukothai

Boy! I am so happy, I visited this place. Sukothai historical park is just amazing. The stiffling heat of the sun did not deter me from checking out all the ruins and letting them transport me to a bygone era. On hindsight, my Day 3 visit to the Chang Mai City Arts and Cultural Center Museum was a very good introduction to Sukothai. 

Wat Mahathat

Day 6: Sukothai to Ayyutaya to Bangkok

I originally planned to stay for another day in Sukothai and then take the night bus back to Bangkok.Then, I thought to myself, why not visit Ayyutaya. I am already in Thailand so I should drop by the place on my way to Bangkok. Luckily, buses heading to Ayyutaya pick up passengers at the ticketing office in Sukothai's old city which means I did not have to go to the bus terminal at the new city. 

The lady at the ticketing office told me the trip lasts around seven hours. However, I read in the internet that travel from Sukothai to Ayyutaya takes around five hours so I remained very hopeful that I would have more time to see the sights. Sadly, the internet  posts must have been referring to private cars. The lady was right. My bus trip (yes, it was another Win Tour bus) took me six hours and thirty minutes. So, by the time I got dropped off at the highway and had a motorbike taxi transport me to the city proper, it was already late in the afternoon. Luckily, I reached Ayyutaya before the heavens opened. Yikes... and I only had three hours to see the sights before they close for the day. 

Deciding to cut my loses, I got one of those song thew drivers with "official" looking documents from the tourism office take me around. It was a bit pricey but to console myself, at least I was able to visit three of the countless ruins.

                

By six-thirty, I was at the train station buying my ticket to Bangkok. I was debating to myself whether I should spend the night in Ayyutaya or head to Bangkok. In the end, I wanted to make sure that I arrive in Bangkok in good time since I was flying back home the next day. I took Train 210. After getting used to paying at least 100 baht to song thew and tuktuk drivers, the 15 baht train fare from Ayyutaya to Bangkok came as a nice surprise.

The train station in Ayyutaya

Day 7: Flight back home

All good things have to come to an end. I ended the trip with a visit to MBK shopping center where again, I window shopped. Had I left the hostel earlier, I could have visited the cultural center right next to it but I decided to sleep in. By 1 o'clock I was at the Suvarnabhumi International airport ready to head back home.