Sawasdee Ka! This week, I'll be taking you to awesome Bangkok, Thailand. This out-of-the-country vacation is my birthday gift to myself and at the same time, my BF and I's month-sary and first international vacation. :)
Why did we choose Bangkok, Thailand? First of all, it's one of the most affordable international destinations--that was the biggest factor in our decision. Second, we loved the perfect mix of tradition and modernity in the country. Finally, Food; Bangkok is a known food destination in Asia and it's perfect for foodies like us!
The BF and I stayed in Bangkok for 4 days and 3 nights. We flew via Thai Airways (yay!). One of my dreams in life is to ride all the airline carriers in the world and that dream came true once again with Thai Airways. We intended to fly via Cebu Pacific, but before checking out, I felt the urge to check Thai Airways' website, hoping I could score a pretty good deal. In the end, I scored a MUCH better deal because I paid the roundtrip fare for P11,000.00+/person plus food only (excluding baggage allowance fees and seat reservation) while Cebu Pacific was charging me P13,000+/person (excluding baggage allowance and seat reservation fees). With that, I leave everyone with a tip: All airline companies offer seat sales, especially on off peak seasons like mid-May to August, so be sure to check around and don't just settle for the usual--you might be surprised with the deals that you might chance upon!
Travel time was approximately 3 hrs. and 45 mins. from Manila and I believe we arrived 10 minutes earlier than expected. Here I am posing at Suvharnabhumi International Airport, which is a pretty AWESOME airport.
Here's what Suvharnabhumi International Airport looks like from the inside. It's a rounded airport that's as massive as Kuala Lumpur International Airport. When we arrived, temperature was about 35-36 degrees; it's hotter than the temperature in the Philippines, but it's not that bad considering that a week before we went there, temperature shot up to 41 degrees! Weather forecast also advised that it would rain so we brought umbrellas and it did rain so good thing we packed one!
Correction: SawasdeeKameans "Hello". Sawasdee Ka is used by women while Sawasdee Krab is used by men. Ka and Krab are used at the end of sentences to express politeness. Thank you to my Thai reader, Narissa, for the correction. :)
We arrived at our hotel, Baiyoke Sky Hotel, at 6pm. I booked our hotel via Agoda.com. I prefer booking trips manually because I always find that I get to save more in the end. What I like best about Agoda.com is they have a lot of on sale rooms! I booked via Agoda twice already, one for Boracay and one for Bangkok, and I was pleased with both transactions. We didn't hire a coach though, but taxi's readily available at the airport.
Most Thais, especially the taxi drivers, can only speak and comprehend very little English so if you're going to visit Thailand soon, try to learn a few common greetings in Thai.
Baiyoke Sky Hotel is one of the highest rated budget hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, but is considered the premium hotel in the Baiyoke group--there's this, Baiyoke Hotel, and Baiyoke Boutique. It's also considered as the highest peak in Bangkok. A lot of tourists go here for The Observatory, a room at the topmost floor of Baiyoke Sky Hotel that offers a stunning view of the metropolis.
Here's our room. It's called Superior Standard Zone, no breakfast, and 3 nights at P8,910.72 inclusive of taxes (approximately for USD 197.01), although we were asked to deposit around 1000+ Baht upon check- in, but it was refunded to us when we checked out. The hotel's pretty old, but clean enough for us; it's just a bit far from the main malls though.
1 Baht is equivalent to about 1.17 Philippine Peso at that time.
For our first night, we just familiarized ourselves with the hotel, its amenities, surrounding areas, and nearest hospitals and police stations. The next day is when the real adventure began. Click READ MORE for our temple hopping itinerary in Bangkok featuring the famous Wat Pho and Wat Arun. :)
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