Thailand
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
December 11, 2012 9:19pm CST
Bangkok was our first stop in South East Asia. We stayed in a hotel called Mystic Place and the rooms in that hotel are very unusual. Our room was very colourful and I loved the unusual sculptures and other kinds of decorations in the room. The bathroom was also very unusual and there was no ordinary door between the room and the bathroom. The hotel was quite far from downtown, but the nearest skytrain station was within walking distance so the location wasn't a problem at all.
During our time in Bangkok we visited many of the famous sights like Grand Palace, Wat Pho and Wat Arun. Grand Palace is a big tourist attraction, and it was very crowded, but I found it very beautiful and interesting. I also liked Wat Pho a lot, and I enjoyed seeing the huge reclining Buddha, it was even larger than I had imagined.
Wat Arun (the temple of dawn) was on the other side of the river so we went there by boat. It was quite hard to climb Wat Arun, but I am happy that we chose to go there and we took some photos from the top of the temple.
We also visited Chinatown and I really enjoyed exploring the many small shops there. In my own country we have some Asian shops, but there are relative few of them and an area like Chinatown doesn't exist in my own country so it was a new experience for me.
One day my husband and I bought a short cruise on the river and I enjoyed that a lot, we were able to see some temples and other places from the boat.
Have you to been to Bangkok or other places in Thailand? What is your impression of Thailand? Would you like to visit Thailand in the future?
2 responses
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
1 Jan 13
It is lovely to find your great discussion. I have Thailand close to the top of my travel wish list for the future. i have been to China Town in San Francisco and have been to Hong Kong which feels just like it. Your accommodation was very unusual and it was fantastic it was close to the sky train station. If I visited Bangkok I would see the Golden Temple and the River Market. It was a shame you met some scam people and it was lucky the sights were open after all. I have a positive impression of Thailand and its people. It is superbly placed for overland trips to other places in Asia like Cambodia and Laos. I am glad that you had a fantastic trip.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
1 Jan 13
Yes, the location is perfect if you also want to visit other parts of South East Asia, and I think that Bangkok was a good place to start our trip. There are a lot of things to see in Bangkok, and it was very interesting to explore the different parts of the city. The location of our hotel was great. It was quite far from the sights, but the sky train was cheap and easy to use so it was easy for us to get from the hotel to the sights. Every room in that hotel is unique. I was very happy to stay in such an unusual place and we took many pictures.
Yes, scams seem to be very common in Bangkok, so it is important to double-check the information that you get. Sometimes people will tell you that a certain temple is closed and offer to drive you to another temple instead, but they are just saying that because they want to earn money and when you check the information you discover that the temple that you want to visit is open. Fortunately we also met many genuinely friendly and helpful people and my overall impression of Thailand is positive. Next time I would like to visit other parts of Thailand for instance some of the places in the northern part of the country.
@artemeis (4194)
• China
12 Dec 12
I've been to Bangkok before and I must say that I enjoyed the shopping and dinning experience there.
One of the most exotic place would have to be [Chatuchak] Market or Weekend Market since it is only opened on weekends. There you can literally find everything at the best bargain under one roof. Just be prepared to walk and talk (bargain) till you drop.
The next would have to be the wholesale market places namely [Pratunam] and [Bo Bae] where you can find various apparels and tropical wear at wholesale prices. Good for bulk souvenir shopping for your love ones back home. Here the more you buy the better the price. While you are in Bo Bae, I would recommend a visit to the Prince Palace Mahannak Hotel (next door) and go to their highest floor to experience the best local Chinese dim sum at lunch time.
For more comfortable shopping, I believe it will be the Mah Boon Khong Center where you can shop comfortably in the air conditioned shopping mall. You can shop, eat and even get your hair fixed. I would recommend a visit to the 5 floor where you can eat every known delicacies from local to overseas at very good prices.
If you are looking for branded goods then just take the overpass and go to the Siam Center where you can shop for branded apparels and accessories of various brands like Giorgio Armani, Prada and many more. FYI, there's a highly recommended real value for money Japanese buffet restaurant - Oishi which goes for 500bahts (beverages and desserts included) eat till you drop.
If you are adventurous, you may want to visit the notorious Patpong Night Market to experience the nightlife and popular tourist haunt. Be prepared to bargain for your life as the prices are really pricey but be careful of your personal belongings namely wallets as there are a number of pickpockets. Also, avoid entering into the Go-Go bars at the whole side stretch of the market. Never use your credit cards in these places! While you are there, take a trip to the Jim Thompson Silk House where word has it that the owner of the shop is yet to be found to this day.
Bangkok has really good and affordable professional tailors which offers custom made suits of various materials at really great prices. You may want to consider it. At the same time, it will be nice to make a visit to the Traditional Thai Massage after a tiring day of shopping and eating.
From what you had posted I think you had not visited the popular 4 Faced Buddha at the Grand Hyatt Hotel which is the most popular worship site of both the locals and overseas tourists. Take a trip and I am sure you will find it benefiting.
Will you be visiting any other places in Thailand other than Bangkok?
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
12 Dec 12
Thanks for your detailed response. I have heard about the weekend market, but we didn't have the chance to visit it. We visited several places in South East Asia during our trip and it is my impression Bangkok is the best place for shopping. We visited many interesting shops, but we didn't buy that much because Bangkok was our first stop and we had to save some money for the other places that we were going to visit. We visited some tailors and my husband thought about buying a suit, but he decided to wait.
No, we didn't visit the 4 faced Buddha. Actually it is the first time that I heard about it. That sounds like an interesting place to visit next time. This time our time was limited because our original flight was cancelled and we arrived in Bangkok later than we planned. Next time we will probably fly to Bangkok again and travel from Bangkok to other places in Thailand, I am not sure which parts of Thailand we are going to visit, but I would love to see other parts of Thailand in the future.
