BANGKOK TRAVEL DECEMBER 2008
TAKE A NAP HOSTEL
Charol was the one who discovered this hip hostel through their website. I was attracted by the design effort they put into every room. No two rooms are the same.
"Sea Breeze"
"In the Pink"
We have a wooden tub!
Plus points for this hostel for:
1. The quick email response for reservations. No downpayments required.
2. Friendly and helpful staff
3. Well-designed rooms
4. Really cheap. The 500Baht per person per night includes eat-all-you-can breakfast.
5. Free internet... that's much faster than mine at home
6. Convenient booking for tours and taxi cabs
7. Convenient location
Hostel Breakfast
ON SHOPPING
City Center
We passed by series of malls while walking from MBK to Pratunam - MBK Mall, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon & Central World. Of the high end malls, Siam Paragon is our favorite. We spent quite some time in Kinokuniya, an international bookstore chain. One thing I love about this bookstore is the free bookmark and book wrapping services while you wait for a minute. (Yeah, they really do it fast!) We watched a movie in the same mall. Their movie house looks more of a stageplay theatre, very grand, spacious, with a giant chandelier. Sorry, no picture taking inside the cinema.
Pratunam
Platinum Fashion Mall is the best mall in Bangkok! It's not really that cheap compared to shopping in Divisoria or Tutuban, because Manila still has the cheapest source - China. However, there are lots of good finds and they give discounts for wholesale purchases. Wholesale is 3 pieces up, so if Sally and I buy one thing for us, one for my mom and one for my sis-in-law, all from the same store, we can already get the wholesale discount. How cool is that! We also have our shopping pals Charol and Ivy who happens to have the same taste in clothes and other stuff. The only bad thing about this mall is most stores don't allow fitting of garments. This mall also has a huge section for accessories and some shoes and bags.
Chatuchak
Since we visited Platinum Mall before going to Chatuchak, we feel that things in Chatuchak are quite pricey. There are lots of unique finds though. The place is too big that we only finished one portion and we're dead tired already.
Floating market
There's nothing to buy here. Everything is expensive because the boatman gets a cut. It's a fun experience though... to see the vendors trouble themselves to sell stuff on boats. They have to row, make sure that their goods don't fall into the water, some even have to cook inside the boat, and deal with haggling customers all at the same time.
Aside from the usual fruits and souvenir items, here's the boat selling LV bags.
Travelling for people like us who do not exercise, it's quite demanding for our muscles to get back to work. Solution ---> Thai massage! This is the most relaxing part of our trip.
AYUTTHAYA
We booked a whole day tour to Ayutthaya to see some history and culture of Thailand.
Bang Pa-in Palace
It used to be the residence of the kings before Bangkok became the capital. I was expecting a palace to be 100% native in design, however, this one is different. It's like the architecture from different parts of the world were patched together in one palace complex.
Wat Yai Chaiya
I was so amazed to see and climb a stupa for the first time! Inside is an image of a Buddha and a dry wishing well.
Wat Phra Si San Phet
This is the largest temple ruins in Ayutthaya.
Wat Mahathat
There are beheaded Buddha images all over the place, with one of the heads that was left was wrapped by tree roots.
The elephants
A visit to Thailand is not complete without seeing the elephants.
ON FOOD
The quest for Pad Thai
If I should give this trip a title, it would be "The quest for Pad Thai". Thai in Pad thai means freedom, for there is no standard recipe. Thai people have the freedom to prepare this dish as they desire , which makes every Pad Thai unique in every place that we visit.
Pad Thai Noodles
At hawkers outside Grand Palace, we saw how Pad Thai was prepared.
In the same venue, I finally found Bagoong Rice! It's really good! Aside from green magoes, it also has Thai versions of sweet lechon kawali and longganisa.
Noodles at Hawkers
Thanks to Mon for taking us to the side streets of Bangkok!!! Every few blocks has food stalls that open at night. These places offer great food at affordable prices, but not tourist-friendly though due to language barrier. It's good to have Mon to help us get a taste of authentic Thai food.
top: 2 types of noodle soup - clear based soup and tomato based soup; bottom: Pad Thai, Ground pork with chilli and basil
On the same street where we had our noodles, we found colorful local desserts. The first one looks like a relatively huge halo-halo store. The second one sells sticky rice + coconut milk goodies. I always believe that the food that looks pretty does not taste good.
Colorful Thai desserts
After dinner, we went to a night market and ate dinner part 2 in the same area. I forgot the name of this place. It's an open food court with live bands playing on the big stage afar.
The quest for Ice Cream
Bangkok is also the land of good ice cream. We tried all sorts of ice cream with prices starting from 5 Baht up.
Let me start with the"Frozen Fanta" @ 5 Bht per stick. At first, we didn't know what those stuff inside the holes are and I didn't know that Fanta still exists! When the vendor was asked about the flavors available, he just pointed at the soda bottles.
Like the "dirty ice cream" here, Bangkok has it's own verion of coconut milk-based ice cream. I got this one for 10 Baht at Chatuchak. It has only the original flavor and served with peanuts.
We also tried an ice cream similar to Singapore's brick ice cream but it has no wafers. Instead, the vendor literally hammered in a stick so we have something to on hold to while eating it. The flavors.... strawberry, pandan, durian, chocolate,... and so much more! Unlike the Pinoy sorbetes which tastes the same no matter what the flavor is, this local ice cream is tastes really as what it claims to be.
It's been a long time since the last time I saw Swensen's and Baskin Robbins. They're all in Bangkok! Here's the triple choco cheesecake ice cream from Swensen's.
If I'm not mistaken, Bonito gelato is a local brand. I like the spoon. :)
Crepe
Since there is nothing to buy in the floating market, we opted to try local food.
While the boat was moving, we bought Thai pancakes, which is made up of crispy crepe filled with sweet cream and shredded dried coconuts.
Before leaving the market, we stumbled upon a crepe stall and met a Burmese crepe maker who makes his crepe not the way I see it in Cafe Breton. He stretches his dough in the air just the way Indians make their roti prata.
The Making of the Banana Nutella Crepe
Thai halo-halo
I saw this thing in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and I saw it again in Bangkok. It's made up of some colorful unidentified objects similar to kaong + ice + coconut milk.
Fast Food
Aside from ketchup, sweet chilli sauce is a standard condiment in fast food chains. This serves as an equivalent for the chicken gravy for Pinoys.
.
BK meal with ketchup and chilli sauce
.JPG)
KFC chilli sauce, KFC Go go's stuffed with carrots and brocolli, the super duper spicy chicken wings
McDonald's offers lots of pies... apple pie, taro pie, tuna pie and the carbo-overload corn pie! They also have a tiny chicken wrap which disappointed me when I got it for dinner.
On People
While researching for my travel itinerary, I read many comments about swindlers in Bangkok who wants to take advantage of clueless tourists. I was on full guard when I was there, however, I met none except taxi drivers who want fixed price in lieu of using the meter. In general, local people I met there are quite nice. Most of cab drivers we encountered seem to be friendly, but either too shy to talk in English or too enthusiastic to converse even if we can't understand the broken English.
Infrastructures
The last time I was in Bangkok, about 11 years ago, there were lots of unfinished construction due to financial crisis. Now, freeways are everywhere! On our way from the airport to the hostel, the freeway seems to be endless. A lot of people invest in luxury cars, because they have roads good enough for a Grand Prix street race! People there like to drive fast, but much more disciplined than people here.
The Election
When I was in Bangkok,campaign posters are all over the city. Each candidate has an assigned number written in their standardized campaign poster. I like that idea of having large, durable and full-colored tarpaulin ads, in leiu of those numerous bond paper sized monochromatic paper that candidates stick to you wall and you just hope that the heavy rain would wash them away.
Campaign Posters
GREEN PASTURES
Whenever I travel, I always end up in cities better than here. Roads have clean sidewalks and smooth carriageways. These are places wherein I can walk alone safely on the streets even at night. People live in a high standard of living and they suffer much less trouble with their government. Yes, I still consider the political situation in Thailand less grave than what's happening here. The grass is greener on the other side.
After my last travel for the year, I suddenly felt I wanna go home, sleep in my own bed and cuddle my Penguin. The green grass on the other side does not look as attractive as it used to be. No matter how many times I told myself that this place is not livable now and would get worse in the future, this is still my home and there's no other place like it.
Charol was the one who discovered this hip hostel through their website. I was attracted by the design effort they put into every room. No two rooms are the same.
"Sea Breeze"
"In the Pink"
We have a wooden tub!
Plus points for this hostel for:
1. The quick email response for reservations. No downpayments required.
2. Friendly and helpful staff
3. Well-designed rooms
4. Really cheap. The 500Baht per person per night includes eat-all-you-can breakfast.
5. Free internet... that's much faster than mine at home
6. Convenient booking for tours and taxi cabs
7. Convenient location
Hostel Breakfast
ON SHOPPING
City Center
We passed by series of malls while walking from MBK to Pratunam - MBK Mall, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon & Central World. Of the high end malls, Siam Paragon is our favorite. We spent quite some time in Kinokuniya, an international bookstore chain. One thing I love about this bookstore is the free bookmark and book wrapping services while you wait for a minute. (Yeah, they really do it fast!) We watched a movie in the same mall. Their movie house looks more of a stageplay theatre, very grand, spacious, with a giant chandelier. Sorry, no picture taking inside the cinema.
Pratunam
Platinum Fashion Mall is the best mall in Bangkok! It's not really that cheap compared to shopping in Divisoria or Tutuban, because Manila still has the cheapest source - China. However, there are lots of good finds and they give discounts for wholesale purchases. Wholesale is 3 pieces up, so if Sally and I buy one thing for us, one for my mom and one for my sis-in-law, all from the same store, we can already get the wholesale discount. How cool is that! We also have our shopping pals Charol and Ivy who happens to have the same taste in clothes and other stuff. The only bad thing about this mall is most stores don't allow fitting of garments. This mall also has a huge section for accessories and some shoes and bags.
Chatuchak
Since we visited Platinum Mall before going to Chatuchak, we feel that things in Chatuchak are quite pricey. There are lots of unique finds though. The place is too big that we only finished one portion and we're dead tired already.
Floating market
There's nothing to buy here. Everything is expensive because the boatman gets a cut. It's a fun experience though... to see the vendors trouble themselves to sell stuff on boats. They have to row, make sure that their goods don't fall into the water, some even have to cook inside the boat, and deal with haggling customers all at the same time.
Aside from the usual fruits and souvenir items, here's the boat selling LV bags.
Travelling for people like us who do not exercise, it's quite demanding for our muscles to get back to work. Solution ---> Thai massage! This is the most relaxing part of our trip.
AYUTTHAYA
We booked a whole day tour to Ayutthaya to see some history and culture of Thailand.
Bang Pa-in Palace
It used to be the residence of the kings before Bangkok became the capital. I was expecting a palace to be 100% native in design, however, this one is different. It's like the architecture from different parts of the world were patched together in one palace complex.
Wat Yai Chaiya
I was so amazed to see and climb a stupa for the first time! Inside is an image of a Buddha and a dry wishing well.
Wat Phra Si San Phet
This is the largest temple ruins in Ayutthaya.
Wat Mahathat
There are beheaded Buddha images all over the place, with one of the heads that was left was wrapped by tree roots.
The elephants
A visit to Thailand is not complete without seeing the elephants.
ON FOOD
The quest for Pad Thai
If I should give this trip a title, it would be "The quest for Pad Thai". Thai in Pad thai means freedom, for there is no standard recipe. Thai people have the freedom to prepare this dish as they desire , which makes every Pad Thai unique in every place that we visit.
Pad Thai Noodles
At hawkers outside Grand Palace, we saw how Pad Thai was prepared.
In the same venue, I finally found Bagoong Rice! It's really good! Aside from green magoes, it also has Thai versions of sweet lechon kawali and longganisa.
Noodles at Hawkers
Thanks to Mon for taking us to the side streets of Bangkok!!! Every few blocks has food stalls that open at night. These places offer great food at affordable prices, but not tourist-friendly though due to language barrier. It's good to have Mon to help us get a taste of authentic Thai food.
top: 2 types of noodle soup - clear based soup and tomato based soup; bottom: Pad Thai, Ground pork with chilli and basil
On the same street where we had our noodles, we found colorful local desserts. The first one looks like a relatively huge halo-halo store. The second one sells sticky rice + coconut milk goodies. I always believe that the food that looks pretty does not taste good.
Colorful Thai desserts
After dinner, we went to a night market and ate dinner part 2 in the same area. I forgot the name of this place. It's an open food court with live bands playing on the big stage afar.
The quest for Ice Cream
Bangkok is also the land of good ice cream. We tried all sorts of ice cream with prices starting from 5 Baht up.
Let me start with the"Frozen Fanta" @ 5 Bht per stick. At first, we didn't know what those stuff inside the holes are and I didn't know that Fanta still exists! When the vendor was asked about the flavors available, he just pointed at the soda bottles.
Like the "dirty ice cream" here, Bangkok has it's own verion of coconut milk-based ice cream. I got this one for 10 Baht at Chatuchak. It has only the original flavor and served with peanuts.
We also tried an ice cream similar to Singapore's brick ice cream but it has no wafers. Instead, the vendor literally hammered in a stick so we have something to on hold to while eating it. The flavors.... strawberry, pandan, durian, chocolate,... and so much more! Unlike the Pinoy sorbetes which tastes the same no matter what the flavor is, this local ice cream is tastes really as what it claims to be.
It's been a long time since the last time I saw Swensen's and Baskin Robbins. They're all in Bangkok! Here's the triple choco cheesecake ice cream from Swensen's.
If I'm not mistaken, Bonito gelato is a local brand. I like the spoon. :)
Crepe
Since there is nothing to buy in the floating market, we opted to try local food.
While the boat was moving, we bought Thai pancakes, which is made up of crispy crepe filled with sweet cream and shredded dried coconuts.
Before leaving the market, we stumbled upon a crepe stall and met a Burmese crepe maker who makes his crepe not the way I see it in Cafe Breton. He stretches his dough in the air just the way Indians make their roti prata.
The Making of the Banana Nutella Crepe
Thai halo-halo
I saw this thing in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and I saw it again in Bangkok. It's made up of some colorful unidentified objects similar to kaong + ice + coconut milk.
Fast Food
Aside from ketchup, sweet chilli sauce is a standard condiment in fast food chains. This serves as an equivalent for the chicken gravy for Pinoys.
.
BK meal with ketchup and chilli sauce
.JPG)
KFC chilli sauce, KFC Go go's stuffed with carrots and brocolli, the super duper spicy chicken wings
McDonald's offers lots of pies... apple pie, taro pie, tuna pie and the carbo-overload corn pie! They also have a tiny chicken wrap which disappointed me when I got it for dinner.
On People
While researching for my travel itinerary, I read many comments about swindlers in Bangkok who wants to take advantage of clueless tourists. I was on full guard when I was there, however, I met none except taxi drivers who want fixed price in lieu of using the meter. In general, local people I met there are quite nice. Most of cab drivers we encountered seem to be friendly, but either too shy to talk in English or too enthusiastic to converse even if we can't understand the broken English.
Infrastructures
The last time I was in Bangkok, about 11 years ago, there were lots of unfinished construction due to financial crisis. Now, freeways are everywhere! On our way from the airport to the hostel, the freeway seems to be endless. A lot of people invest in luxury cars, because they have roads good enough for a Grand Prix street race! People there like to drive fast, but much more disciplined than people here.
The Election
When I was in Bangkok,campaign posters are all over the city. Each candidate has an assigned number written in their standardized campaign poster. I like that idea of having large, durable and full-colored tarpaulin ads, in leiu of those numerous bond paper sized monochromatic paper that candidates stick to you wall and you just hope that the heavy rain would wash them away.
Campaign Posters
GREEN PASTURES
Whenever I travel, I always end up in cities better than here. Roads have clean sidewalks and smooth carriageways. These are places wherein I can walk alone safely on the streets even at night. People live in a high standard of living and they suffer much less trouble with their government. Yes, I still consider the political situation in Thailand less grave than what's happening here. The grass is greener on the other side.
After my last travel for the year, I suddenly felt I wanna go home, sleep in my own bed and cuddle my Penguin. The green grass on the other side does not look as attractive as it used to be. No matter how many times I told myself that this place is not livable now and would get worse in the future, this is still my home and there's no other place like it.
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5:58 AM
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