Next and final destination, Bangkok
As much as I enjoyed our Pattaya trip, Bangkok was just an okay experience for me. We headed back to BKK at 9 in the morning and arrived to our hotel at around 11. Our taxi had cost THB 800. We chose Queens Garden River View as it is close to the airport – around 10 minutes drive. Our flight back to Hong Kong will be quite early the next morning so we needed to stay somewhere nearby.
The room was not as big as the one in RS Seaside but the decors were much better. Rooms cost THB 850 per night excluding breakfast. It has a mini bar and furniture was also nicer. Although I don’t use a hair dryer, it was nice they had provided one. Downside: no lifts. The bellboy had to bring our stuffs to our room which was on the third floor. The staffs were all nice though. Thailand is indeed a land of smiles.
As soon as we ate lunch, we took a cab to go to The Grand Palace. We had asked the hotel reception to write our destination in Thai alphabets as we learned some cab drivers could neither speak nor read English. They had advised us to get a hotel cab service costing a thousand Baht for a five-hour service. We knew it was too much since it’s just inside Bangkok area. We took a local cab instead, showed the driver our destination and went on our way.
The drive to The Grand Palace took almost two hours. Our hotel was far from the heart of Bangkok and we needed to take an expressway. Traffic also contributed to our long drive. Our instincts were correct and had only paid around THB 200 plus toll fee for our cab.
When we reached to our destination, we were already kind of stressed out from traveling. The palace was nice but I did not enjoy our trip. It was very sunny, streets were busy and since it was Sunday, a lot of tourists had also come to visit the palace. Just a note: no sleeveless and short pants allowed.
After about an hour, we decided to go the mall as it was really hot. We initially wanted to take a tuk tuk ride, a form of urban transport in Bangkok. It was quite similar to our local version called tricycle, only the passenger’s seats of tuk tuk are on the back. It could have been an additional Thai experience however, the drivers were trying to charge us for too much. We decided to take a taxi instead, half the price and air-conditioned already. Taxis in Thailand, as far as we have experienced, were good. They had a fair meter and took us to our destinations without going around the area just to charge for more.
We initially went to MBK Center, but the mall wasn’t that good. We transferred to Siam Discovery Center, which was connected via a footbridge. The mall was nice but not what we were looking for. Again, we transferred to another mall – this time to Siam Paragon.
Since we were too tired, we decided to just eat at Orangery and watched a movie after. It was our first time in an iMax theater and we watched The Dark Knight. Tickets cost THB 250 per person but they don’t have the 3D show like the ones in PH.
We headed back to our hotel quite late and we were really burned out. I mentioned earlier that I did not enjoy BKK experience that much simply because it was more like Manila. It’s a busy city and there’s traffic. Not a good spot for relaxation.
The next day, we woke up early as we took the hotel airport service at 7am. The service cost THB 150 and the vehicle was a Toyota van where all other hotel guests rode. Had we taken a cab, it might have cost us cheaper and we’ll get a private service. Next time we know better.
End of TH trip.
djong here. thanks for stopping by i gotta go! and happy anniversary! enjoy your bangkok trip!