It took us about an hour to clear immigration at Bangkok airport due to the huge crowd as well as Thailand's ruling for all visitors' photos to be taken - coming in and going out of the country. Bodoh punya system, so time consuming!! We checked into our hotel, Le Fenix, located just across from Q-Bar and then headed for late lunch.
The 5 days we were in Bangkok involved a lot of walking. I was popping pills the whole time ... eh eh... I meant panadols-lah.. leg pain mah!
On our first night, we had dinner on a boat cruising along the Chao Praya River and after dinner, the walking began - at Suan Lum night bazaar. The shopping spree officially took off that night too. (at the end of the trip, Mic ended with 10 pairs of shoes/sandals ; AB & SP shared a jumbo box to airfreight some of the things they bought, home. Penny spent until duit habis.. )
The next day, being a Sunday, we went over to Chatuchak weekend market. More walking, more shopping. It was pretty hot inside the market so after a couple of hours some of us took refuge at the aircond shopping mall just beside Chatuchak.
That night, dinner was at Tawandang German Brewery where the band played mostly oldies. Later there was a magic show where the magician swung a fishing line and fishes would start appearing at the end on the line. We were truly amazed because the fishes were still alive as they appeared. Then, a lady dressed in Chinese opera costume did a face-mask changing act followed by a performance from a different band. They brew their own beer here which must have tasted good; my friends drank 26 mugs between them! Me - I had chinese tea and a cup of latte.
Day 3 - Ancient City, (Muang Boran) the world's largest outdoor museum (320 acres) which mimics the shape of Thailand and features replicas of the country's most famous landmarks and monuments. We rented a 6-sitter golf cart to get around. Good thing we didn't opt to cycle (as was my initial suggestion) because the place is really big and it was really a hot day. Our cart kept going on the wrong side of the road just so we could get away from the sun! We left after 2 hours and now I can proudly proclaim that I have seen the whole of Thailand in miniature form !
From Ancient City, it was off to MBK (Mah Boon Krong) Bangkok largest shopping mall for lunch at the very modern and clean food court and of course, to continue shopping. By now I was beginning to panic as I still hadn't bought anything in the past couple of days. Thank god it was here that I made my first purchase since arriving Bangkok. I bought a t-shirt for my maid and some tit-bits for home.
That evening, dinner was at an Italian restaurant called ICI. (I think) It was voted Restaurant of the year 2006. Personally I found the food to be just average.
Our hotel do not provide kettles and each time I wanted a cup of coffee I had to call reception for a pot of hot water which meant I had to tip the waiter for every pot he brought. Fed up of having to fork out more tips, that night after dinner, I bought a mini kettle at Robinsons. The kettle was my most expensive purchase for the entire trip. And it was below RM 30.00!
Day 4 we had to wake up extra early as we were going to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. We left the hotel by 8am and had chartered a 13-seater van to get us there. It was quite a pleasant experience coasting along the narrow canal on a boat. Reminded me of playing dodgem - the boats collided with each other as the boatmen refused to yield or let another boat pass. There were some scary moments when the boat would tilt to one side. Aaahh... takut gua!
From here we proceeded to the Royal Grand Palace & Emerald Buddha for more sightseeing. Trying to save cost, we declined the services of a tour guide. This was a mistake as we couldn't make out what each monument/temple represented. Unfortunately, the Emerald Buddha temple was closed to vistors that day as there was a ceremony (with chanting) going on at the courtyard but we could catch a glimpse of the Emerald Buddha from the open doorway. Everything within the grounds was really grand and so full of history. Given a chance I would visit again and this time hire a guide!
We did not have the stamina to walk the whole grounds and decided to leave. The driver had earlier told us to call him after we finished and he would pick us from the park across the street. While waiting, I was approached by an old lady (I noticed her feeding the pigeons) who pushed some packets of corn towards me. I declined but she was very insistent and made a motion of rubbing her tummy. From her gestures,I interpreted that her job was to feed the pigeons and she wanted my help to complete the feeding so she could leave as she was hungry. I finally took 3 packets from her and was relieved that she walked away after giving me the 3 packets. Happily I threw the seeds to the birds .... weee birdies birdies come n mum -mum .... Once done I walked towards the rest of the group but felt somebody tugging my arm .. it was the old lady and she said ' money' and put out her hand towards me. Well it costs me 60 bahts for 3 small packets of corn. My friend, Grace commented, " I cannot believe anyone can be so gullible."
The driver dropped us at a nearby restaurant named S & P facing the Chao Phrya river. The food here was quite good or maybe we were hungry? After lunch we went to the Gems Gallery where Penny bought a ring and matching ear studs ; something that looked like diamond but isn't and only if you are an expert would you know better. Bolih tipu orang . wink.. wink !!
From Gems, the driver made his final drop and we alighted at The Platinum Fashion Mall at Pratunam. More walking, more shopping. That evening, we got a bit adventurous and decided to go back to the hotel on two 3-sitter tuk-tuks. Mind you, the drivers are hell drivers... Good thing I was seated in the centre. Phew...
After a quick shower, we walked to a nearby restaurant called Zanzibar for dinner. Alamak ! the food here very expensive-man. I swear it was not our intention to potong Mic's neck as it was her treat! We had a very quick dinner and then all 6 cramped into a normal sized cab to Suan Lum night bazaar again. This time I did better, I manage to buy 1 T-shirt & 3 boxers plus an adapter. (for the kettle)
Day 5 - We went back to Chatuchak as Ab & SP took more things to fill up the jumbo box which costs RM 500.00 for door delivery by air. While they were at it, the rest of us ventured to the mall next door. On my final morning at Bangkok, I bought another 3 T-shirts and 10 pcs of scented soaps. From there we rushed back to the hotel and reached just in time to check out at 1.00pm. We had planned to go early to the airport for lunch and for some last minute shopping. We also paid additional 200 bahts per pax for priority boarding.
Itu priority boarding tipu orang punya... You may not have to queue when the gates are open but the bad news is, we had to board a bus to get to the plane which means that there is no guarantee that you will be the first to get off the bus when you reach the plane.
Again there was another long queue to get through immigration leaving us just enough time for a quick lunch before we had to check in to catch the plane for home.
Unfortunately, all the photos I took in Bangkok had to be erased as there was a problem with my camera's memory card and it had to be reformatted. I would so love to have shared some of the sights of Bangkok with you. Well, maybe another time. What a long post.... hope you don't fall asleep reading?
F
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