Blogs from Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand, Asia - page 732

GETTING THERE 1. We took the Philippine Airlines Swingaround package and it was pretty neat. I spent P17,324 for a 5n-6d trip, inclusive of travel tax (P1620) and terminal fee (P550). The convenience of free daily breakfast, private transfers to and from the airport and the half-day tour more than made it worthwhile. 2. Pack light because only 20 kilos of baggage are allowed. For handcarry, maximum of 6 kilos. Don't bother bringing home anything live or fresh (fruits, flowers, etc.) because they will not be allowed in by NAIA. 3. Bangkok is stiflingly hot (as in! I was popping Dolfenal like crazy!) so make sure to bring light clothes. Note though that you have to dress appropriately to enter temples. No sleeveless shirts and shorts allowed. In the Royal Palace, closed shoes and pants only. ... read more

So, um da mal ein bisschen Abwechslung in den Laden zu bringen schreib ich (Florian/Flo/Flor/Florence/etc.) jetzt auch mal was, aber natuerlich in "unserer Deutschen Sprache". The ENGLISH VERSION from Lizzie follows. Als studienreisende hat unser Tag heute wiedereinmal frueh angefangen (9:00 - 10:00 Fruehstueck!!). Auf die Preise muss ich wohl nicht mehr weiter eingehen... Praktischerweise konnten wir auch sofort unsere Weiterreise buchen, da hier ein Restaurant gleichzeitig auch ein Reisebuero, ein Internetcafe, ein Hostel und vieles mehr ist. Unsere erstes Ziel war der Royal Palace, aber alleine die Fahrt mit dem Riverboat war schon nicht schlecht. So ein total mit Menschen vollgestopftes Boot habe ich noch nie gesehen und die Wasserlinie war auch nur noch 1cm unter dem Gelaenderrand...! Trotzdem fahren die komischen Teile erstaunlich schnell, wie eigentlich alles in Bangkok! Wir s... read more

Two important things about Bangkok: nothing ever stops moving (seriously, see below) and you can get food on the street for nothing(almost). The traffic here is... impressive. First of all for us it is difficult because they drive on the other side of the road here, so in order to not get run over I have to do something I have not done since I was a child - concentrate on crossing the road. Then there are ever moving vehicles: cars, buses, trucks, tuk tuks (3 wheeled bicycles with a seat where up to 7! people fit.), motorbikes, and dont forget the people. The buses and boats pick up and let off passengers while still moving and if you are not quick you have to wait until the next stop, or swim. Our lucky day - ... read more

Visit Teak Mansion Traditional Song and Dance Not much else to see. Overcast and signs that it may have rained earlier in the morning. Pleasant temperature with a bit of a breeze. I decided to walk to the Vimanmek Golden Teak Mansion since I've pretty much seen most of the sights that I wanted to see in Bangkok and I already had a ticket (included with the Grand Palace ticket). It's a huge house...or rather mansion. The English speaking tour guides were a bit on the sketchy side though. Seemed more like it was all memorized. I couldn't really see much of anything since everything was roped off and stuff in display cases far away from where we stood. They really liked to point out the "gifts" given to the king and where they were from. ... read more

Another hot day Cambodia and Laos next Relax by the pool. The original plan was to head off to one of the many beaches of Thailand this week but I decided it would have been a bit rushed to nip off to a beach since I went over to Kanchanaburi. So yet another day in Bangkok for me. A rather lazy one I might add! Basically I decided to stick it out in Bangkok...poolside of course! Nothing too exciting today. A bit of reading. Catching up on the journal. Wrote a few postcards. After a late lunch I retreated back to my air-con room and watched "Good Morning Vietnam." It's been a while since I'd seen that. Before I knew it, it was time for some dinner. Say goodbye to Claire who was headed home to ... read more