Last February 2016, I went on my first overseas trip with a few of my friends. It was a 5-day trip I will surely remember.
We really only had 2 days of sight seeing. The rest of the days were spent shopping at the the different markets and malls Bangkok had to offer. I think it is safe to say that there are still things to discover for another trip (*crossing my fingers).
Day 1:
We left Manila at around 6 AM and arrived at Suvarnabumhi airport at around 9 AM. We stayed at Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest hotel in Thailand, for the whole trip. It was such a nice hotel that was located across Pratunam Market. You can already go shopping and be able to eat delicious Thai food the minute you step out of the hotel. Our room was very spacious that you would think we paid so much for it.
The hotel is also near Platinum mall, about a 10 minute walk, so we had lunch (plus more shopping there). The good thing about this mall, and the other malls we went to, is that their payment system involves purchasing a prepaid card that you just fill up. You can have your money refunded when you don't want to use it anymore. How convenient! Out of all the malls we went to, Platinum offered the cheapest options on food and goods for shopping.
We arrived at a weekend, so it was important to go to Jatujak market and JJ Green. We didn't get to see much from the market because we got there about closing time. We just immediately looked for this infamous papaya salad stall (you might have heard about it from Facebook). A tip: it's not worth a trip. JJ Green is the trendy night market of Jatujak. Various stalls of trendy clothes and accessories, cool bars and restaurants, plus live music that will serenade you while you rest. Good thing we went here, even though we were really tired, because one of the best meals we had is located here.
Various food on sticks, roti, and the infamous papaya salad
Long Young restaurant is a hot pot place that you can customize. We ordered both the Tom Yum broth and Korean style broth (supposedly the less spicy one) plus additional seafood. Seriously, this place was so good. The place was so jam packed, but it was worth the wait. They also had such friendly staff.
Korean style broth (top) and Tom Yum broth (bottom) - hotpot starting at about 400 baht per order
Day 2:
This day was dedicated to visiting the Grand Palace and the 3 most famous temples in Bangkok. It happened to be an important day, I forgot the Thai name but we were told it's Buddha Day, so there were more people than usual.
The first stop is the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The entrance fee is 500 baht, the most expensive out of all the temples we went to but only because it was such a big place. The place is just so beautiful. The temple was also so magnificent. Picture taking inside the temple is not allowed but the memory will surely be ingrained in your mind. We didn't get to go inside some of the buildings because it was so crowded.
Temple of the Emerald Buddha
Grand Palace
Wat Po is the temple of the Reclining Buddha. When we went there, they were doing maintenance on Buddha's feet. It was such a magnificent sight to behold. Buddha looked so calm! The entrance fee is 100 baht.
Wat Arun is located across a river so you have to take a ferry (2.50 baht per trip so a total of 5 baht to and fro). It is known as the temple you can climb up on but when we went there, maintenance was still undergoing (it is done by now). I liked this temple because it felt more calm. I really wish I could have climbed up. Entrance fee is 50 baht.
We stopped by Bangkok's Chinatown just to see what it looked like. It's less chaotic than our Chinatown. We only got to see Yaowarat Road before we went to dinner.
This dinner was probably the best, and the fanciest, I've had. We ate at Eat Me restaurant. Despite the name, Eat Me is among the best 50 restaurants in Asia. They served international food that will make you swoon. I didn't get to take pictures much because I was just amazed. It was my first time eating at such a place. We were also lucky to meet the manager of the place who happened to be Filipino. We chatted for a bit and he gave us free drinks (never knew you could use a chocolate bar for a drink!). We had about 4 appetizers, a main dish, and 2 desserts. I still can't get over how good it was! We were supposed to go to Asiatique after but we were just so tired.
From top: Pan seared scallops; white wine; White asparagus with prosciutto; Tomahawk rib eye steak; goat cheese ice cream with poached pear; lemongrass creme brulee
Day 3:
This was our scheduled trip to Thailand's ancient capital, Ayutthaya. We hired a taxi tour by a guy named Mr. Poo (you can find him on Facebook and you can also hire him to bring you to the airport). We recommend him because he is such a nice and funny guy. We just wanted a chill tour where we can go wherever we want and at our place. We didn't really need a tour guide that would tell us about the history of the place.
Ayutthaya is about 2 hours away from Bangkok. The first place we went to is the Summer Palace. This is surely a place where you can really feel at ease. It has both traditional and western style elements that blended well together. The palace is still being used for state functions. We overheard a guide say that the Crown Prince and Princess stay there sometimes. I would surely love to stay at a place like this. The entrance fee is 100 baht.
We chanced upon a temple located a few meters away from the palace. You cross this river with a "cable car"-zipline crossover contraption to see a Western-style temple (Wat Niwet Thamprawat) and Buddhist monastery. We had fun discovering this place because it was also Mr. Poo's first time there. There was a tree that makes you feel like it's cherry blossom season! No entrance fee!
For lunch, we stopped at a restaurant called Yang Deaw. It wasn't the place that we were supposed to go to but we were glad to go here. It is located near the Summer Palace, and is beside the river. What does that mean for us? Giant river prawns! The place itself doesn't look like much, but the food is just amazing. We ordered several bowls of Tom Yum Goong, steamed river prawns, fried fish, and a chicken dish. The Tom Yum is to die for! It is the best Tom Yum we've had there (and we had Tom Yum everyday!). You have to go here when you go to Ayutthaya!
After lunch, we went temple hopping. It felt like we were archeologists through the ruins, always in awe of what we saw, but it was also sad how these holy places were destroyed because of an invasion. There are 9 (I think) temples in the area, and you can buy a pass to see all of them (220 baht) but we didn't buy then. We didn't go to all the temples because it was just so hot that day (35°C!). We only went to 6: Wat Panan Choeng (for money - no entrance fee), Wat Yai Chai Mongkhol (for luck - 20 baht), Wat Maha That (Buddha's head in tree roots - 50 baht), Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit (former home of the Emerald Buddha - 50 baht), and Wat Chaiwatthanaram (temple depicting Buddha's life - 50 baht).
Wat Panan Choeng
Wat Yai Chai Mongkhol
Wat Maha That
Wat Phra Si Sanphet
Wat Phra Mongkhon Bophit
Wat Chaiwatthanaram
We dropped by the Ayutthaya floating market but it was closed, so just had snacks there. We wanted to go to Asiatique again but I had motion sickness, so we just stayed at the hotel and had a birthday salubong for our friend.
Days 4 and 5:
The last 2 days were spent mall hopping and shopping. We went back to Pratunam market and Platinum mall, but we also went to MBK Center, Siam Square, Siam Center and Siam Paragon, and Central World. It was so funny because we saw a Thai celebrity on Day 4 at Central World (we didn't know who he was but people hounded him). We just wanted to chill so we took our time just looking around, eatinf and shopping.
Check out time was at 10 AM but our flight was at 12 MN. We left our luggage with the hotel porter service. We tried out the hotel buffet for dinner so that it's convenient. Good thing that we hired big taxis from Mr. Poo because it was comfortable. We might even pay much more if we got it elsewhere.
All in all, this trip was memorable. I know that there are more places I want to explore (such as museums), more food I want to try out (I didn't get to eat satay), and more stuff to buy! I can't wait to go back!
What did you think about my trip? Comment below on what I should have tried there. What places should I go to next? I'm thinking about writing a separate post of tips I learned from my trip. Happy travelling!
Ayutthaya Floating Market (200 baht entrance fee) and Thai Iced Milk Tea (25 baht)
Fermented milk drink (15 baht), Pomegranate flavored Magnum bar (45 baht), Mango sticky rice (60 baht)
The last 2 days were spent mall hopping and shopping. We went back to Pratunam market and Platinum mall, but we also went to MBK Center, Siam Square, Siam Center and Siam Paragon, and Central World. It was so funny because we saw a Thai celebrity on Day 4 at Central World (we didn't know who he was but people hounded him). We just wanted to chill so we took our time just looking around, eatinf and shopping.
Various food court mall food: egg noodles at Platinum Mall, Pad Thai at Siam Center, Obanyaki at Isetan, peking duck and shrimp wonton noodles at Siam Paragon
Mango sticky rice from Baiyoke Floating Market buffet
Check out time was at 10 AM but our flight was at 12 MN. We left our luggage with the hotel porter service. We tried out the hotel buffet for dinner so that it's convenient. Good thing that we hired big taxis from Mr. Poo because it was comfortable. We might even pay much more if we got it elsewhere.
All in all, this trip was memorable. I know that there are more places I want to explore (such as museums), more food I want to try out (I didn't get to eat satay), and more stuff to buy! I can't wait to go back!
What did you think about my trip? Comment below on what I should have tried there. What places should I go to next? I'm thinking about writing a separate post of tips I learned from my trip. Happy travelling!
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