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Published: April 3rd 2009
When it comes to cities, Bangkok may not be the most beautiful or the cleanest, but somehow it has an unexplainable charm that pulls visitors back again and again. I have an aunt who fell in love in Bangkok during her first trip there and she loved the city so much that she flies to Bangkok at least once a year. My friends who went to Bangkok also commented that things over there are dirt cheap and the food is fantastic. I have heard so many praises about Bangkok that I'm itching to go there to find out for myself what makes Bangkok so attractive... And it just happened that I had a 6-day break before my company starts operation and I had enough frequent flyer miles to earn a round-trip ticket from Singapore to Bangkok. So I decided to have a 4-day break in Bangkok and I quickly booked my flight...
Before planning my trip to Bangkok, the only thing I knew about Bangkok was the crowded and hectic Don Muang Airport. (I flew to Don Muang a couple of times but I never stepped out of the airport as Bangkok was just a transit point.) So you can
imagine how pleasantly surprised I was when the plane touched down at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. I am even more surprised that nothing went wrong, considering that the new Suvarnabhumi Airport has had its fair share of problems, such as cracks in the runway, inadequate facilities in the terminal, closure of the terminal due to political protests, etc...
On my first day I took the Airport Express bus to Hua Lamphong and checked into my hotel (New Empire Hotel). Then I went to Chatuchak Weekend Market to take a look at the "most fascinating market in Asia". No words can describe the scale of the market, the variety of stuffs on sale, and the low prices of the items. Then I made a trip to the Victory Monument and took a stroll around the area, admiring the impressive monument and observing the endless streams of people on the overpasses and the endless traffic jams on the roads.
On the next day I managed to accomplish the impressive task of visiting 6 of the Top 10 sights in the "Eyewitness Top 10 Bangkok" guidebook - Chao Phraya river, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Royal Palace, Dusit Park and Jim Thompson's
Day 1 - BTS Skytrain
The Skytrain is a fast and efficient way to beat the notorious traffic jamsHouse... (It's a formidable feat, considering that the weather was severely sunny, at 38ºC...) After a day of hectic sightseeing, I went to MBK Centre to have dinner and then went to Siam Paragon for another round of retail therapy...
On the 3rd day, I went to Ayutthaya, the former capital of Thailand and a UNESCO world heritage site. After visiting a couple of temple ruins under a harsh burning sun, I returned to Bangkok (feeling sunburnt) and had dinner again in MBK Centre. (Yes, MBK is a highly addictive shopping mall.) In the evening I went to Patpong Night Market (interesting night market with loads of counterfeit goods) and Suan Lum Night Market (disappointing compared to Chatuchak or Patpong)...
On the 4th (last) day, I walked around Chinatown and the Khao San district, stopping at numerous temples including Wat Suthat and Golden Mount. After a shopping spree in Khao San, I went to Chit Lom to take a look at the Erawan Shrine, a busy place of worship in the heart of the shopping district. After having lunch in the Big C Supercentre and taking a walk through Cenral World Plaza, I returned to my hotel, picked
Day 1 - Chatuchak Market (1)
A hawker selling spicy green mango slices up my luggage, and took a cab to Suvarnabhumi Airport to catch my flight back to Singapore...
In summary, I had a fulfilling and enjoyable trip, although I was sunburnt in the process... Bangkok is truly fascinating. It's a place where modernity and traditions coexisting side-by-side. It's also a place where you can enjoy world-class sightseeing/dining/shopping at a much lower price. After the trip, I could finally understand why my aunt keeps going to Bangkok every year, and why Bangkok deserves praises from so many people...
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