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At the "supermall". A little taste of home---Korean Kimchi!!!So, officially our first trip alone has begun, and the first stage of it is almost ending. We have spent four days in Bangkok and tomorrow are leaving for Phuket. So far, it has been quite an experience. 😊 As soon as our feet stepped off the plane, the heat and humidity hit us- "Did someone turn on the heater???" asked Monika jokingly. The flight from Seoul to Bangkok was pretty short- less than 5 hours. We have travelled a lot in our lives, using many different airlines, and so far Thai Airways stands at the top of our list. Suvarnabhumi International Aiport is quite new- it opened its doors in 2006- and it is one of the busiest airports in Asia.
We spent our first day (and night) in the home of our wonderful Thai friends. They live in a suburb of Bangkok, in a nice quiet neighborhood decorated with colorful houses and palm trees. By the time we arrived in their home, we were dripping with sweat. We could not believe how humid and hot it was! After changing, we headed off to one of the numerous malls in the area. The mall was a maze- filled with
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Picture perfect neighborhood many shops, restaurants and cafes and in the middle of the mall stood a huge waterfall! The prices were pretty good as well. We bought two leather handbags for B199 (about $5) and then had light dinner at a Japanese Nooddle Bar. After walking around for hours, we finally made our way out of the mall and found a minibus, which took us to an 'asian walmart' Carrefour. This is the place to find cheap food and fruit! The store is gigantic, and it even has a beauty salon and a massage parlor (about B400 for 90 min- cheaper than anywhere else in downtoawn Bangkok.)
One of my first impressions of Thailand and its people, was their respect and dedication to their king, King Rama IX. You can find his picture anywhere, from peoples' homes to banners on sky-high skyscrapers. If you don't already know this, never insult or say anything bad about the Thai monarchy. It is considered very very rude, and you will end up in jail. No kidding.
On our second day in Thailand, we made our way to downtown Bangkok. The cab ride from the airport to downtown Bangkok can cost anything from B200-B300,
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Pad Thai for B80!!! The best I had in Thailand! and can take up to 2 hours, depending on traffic. Since we were still with our incredibly smart Thai friend, we hoped on a bus which drove us all the way to where our hotel was, Silom. It cost B45, and took us 3 hours. The bus system is much cheaper than any other form of transportation, but it is confusing and hard to "master". Even though the bus ride was long, it was nice to see the changing view from the window. As we got closer to our destination, the streets became congested with cars, tuk-tuks and motorcycles, the people's wardrobe changed from simple to somewhat fancy, and old buildings transformed into soaring skyscapers.
Our hotel, Silom City Hotel (formerly known as Silom Inn) is located on a small street off the Silom Road. It is next to some kind of meat/food warehouse which smelled pretty bad, and there are also pink signs located on Silom Road, leading to the hotel.For about B1,500 per night, it was worth the price. The rooms were clean and nicely decorated. The staff was friendly, the bell-men even more so. The room rate included breakfast, but the food choices were limited. Wi-Fi
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Roadside "restaurant" and fruit market next to our hotel was available but it wasn't free (about B60/h), and the front desk had free adaptors to lend. There are numerous internet cafes around the hotel (B10-10 min) and a small fruit market offering pretty good prices for durian, mangosteen, and rambutan (all of which you MUST try!). There is also a small roadside "restaurant" with excellent food and cheap prices. One thing we learned while in Bangkok, or anywhere else in Thailand, is that an expensive menu doesn't necessarily promise delicious food. In fact, it is the other way around. Food bought from street cars, roadside "cafes" tastes much better and is a lot fresher than expensive dishes from fancy restaurants. When eating in a restaurant, you are not paying for better food, but for the a/c and the tablecloth 😊
That evening, we left our hotel at about 6 p.m. and explored the area. At night (after 7 p.m.) Silom Road converts into one big shopping street, with vendors on the sidewalks on both sides of the street, and tuk-tuk and motorbike riders fishing for customers. "Where u going? Tuk-tuk?" is a phrase you will hear, hmm about every 10 seconds. Street vendors will try to sell you
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Silom Road at night. This view is quite unusual-there are no motorbikes or tuk tuks in sight!!! everything from clothes to boxing shorts to penis statues (yep. that's right. penis statues!) if you decide to purchase something, never agree to the price first offered to you. The best thing to do, is to ask for a lower price and if the vendor doesn't agree, start walking away. They usually agree. (We wanted to buy a Buddha statue; the price went from B400 to B100 :]) Don't feel conscious abour bargaining. Even though the money will probably go further in their pockets than yours, there are too many tourists who get ripped off, and these vendors are pros at doing it. And being travellers on a budget, even 100 baht made a difference 😊
At the end of Silom Road is a huge park, Luphini Park. For us, it was a hidden gem (even though the park is pretty massive :]) In front of the park stands a huge statue of one of the kings of Thailand. Inside the park we found a huge crowd of people kickboxing and doing aerobics. It was quite entertaining to watch 😊 The park is littered with trees and running/walking trails, a lake in the middle, and lush grass to lounge
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In front of Lumphini Park on. It was amazing how peaceful it was, considering the fact we were in the heart of Bangkok.
Tomorrow, we decided, we would go visit the Grand Palace.
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