If extension to the Philippines is a thing, Thailand will no doubt be a strong contender.
One of my goals for the year 2024 is to travel more and see the beauty of the world and where better to start it but the Land of Smiles. Often times, I would hear from frequent travelers that Thailand is just like the Philippines - the environment, the weather, the people to name a few so given this will be our first out of the country trip along with my friends, we thought why not start at some place a little familiar.
Bangkok or as it is known to Thais as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon, as I learned from our tour guide in our Bangkok City Tour is Thailand's capital city since 1782 under then King Rama I, after the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 from the hands of the Burmese. During their transfer and rebuild, the King headlined the construction of different establishments which decades later remains to be the City's most visited attractions.
At a glance, it would seem that Bangkok is just another typical highly-urbanized metropolis and while it’s true to a certain degree, our five (5) days stay there would however reveal, how deeply rooted the City remains to be to this day - historically and culturally.
Our entry point. Bangkok has two international airports. East of the City roughly around 1 hour from the center stands the newer and bigger Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) serving most airlines (for Philippines: Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air) then there's Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) sitting 45-minutes north of the City serving mostly Air Asia, Nok Air, Thai Lion Air, Tigerair Taiwan and most recently, Cebu Pacific Air.
For our trip, we flew with Cebu Pacific from Ninoy Aquino International Airport (MNL) to Suvarnabhumi International Airport (BKK) and vice-versa. The flight was for 3h15m, thankfully with very minimal delay and turbulence considering the numerous on-air major turbulence incidents during that day - May 21, 2024.
Our trip itinerary. More so than to have a vacation, our main goal really during this trip was to travel and see places and so we squeeze everything we could on our 5-day stay to maximize our Bangkok experience.
We landed around 2:30 am and after going through arrival shenanigans - immigration, baggage claim and money exchange, by 5:00 am we booked a Grab car headed straight to our hotel. Below is the breakdown of our activities, where tickets and tours were mostly booked beforehand via Klook:
Central World and Platinum Fashion Mall. First order of business after settling down is to get the infamous mango sticky rice from Mango Mania in Platinum Fashion Mall where we got lost at for a bit and ended up at an open food bazaar/market in front of Central World and boy did we tasted the best Pad Thai of our whole trip. Sometimes, things not going as planned is a charm - or so we thought.
Mahanakhon Skywalk. There will never not have craziness if you’re travelling, and this is the starting point for us. This attraction is one of the world’s largest glass floors located at the rooftop of the 78th floor building of King Power Mahanakhon. Sounds exciting, but right before we book a grab to the area rain started pouring so we ended up running late (one - difficulty getting a grab; two - slow traffic) and when we got there, the skywalk is close due to inclement weather.
Thankfully, the staffs were kind enough to allow us to come back the next day saying they will honor the same ticket we have but that’s just not gonna work for us because we have our next two days booked already. Our last resort was to contact Klook and request for a re-schedule and after what feels like forever, they finally agreed. We came back 3 days after, on the 24th.
Chao Phraya River Cruise. For our dinner on our first day, we wanted to try as much Thai food as we could and where better place to do so but a buffet while cruising the River of Kings. Of the activities we planned on our first day, this is what I am most excited for and what a bummer we only did not enjoy the food, we totally freaking miss the entire thing.
We booked a Sunset Cruise via Klook which by schedule would depart from Asiatique Pier at 5:00 PM but dramatically at this time, we are still in the car stopped over somewhere along Suriyawong Street because our Grab car got into an accident. All shenanigans aside, we got into Asiatique Pier around 7:00 PM right around the time when people from our supposedly cruise ship returned. We had dinner at the Pier’s food court instead – food is good tho plus we had the best crispy pancake. Granted it’s not a buffet but it all worked out well in the end.
Damnoen Saduak and Ayutthaya Tour. To say that I am not a budget traveler is proven to have been an understatement during this trip. As a Virgo, I am the one in-charge of our trip itinerary and as a personal request of one of our friends and travel mate, we made sure to include a visit to Thailand’s old capital city, but when I googled the distance from Bangkok to Ayutthaya, I knew right away I wouldn’t want any hassle whatsoever just to see the beauty and history of this place.
For this one, we booked yet again via Klook but this time a private tour which by the end of our trip has proven to have been one of the best decisions we had. We are with our own private car with a chill, fun and English-speaking driver/tour guide/photographer (shoutout Phongsan, you’re the best!), who picked us up and dropped us off from and to our hotel. Needless to say, we got tons of beautiful shots to show how deeply rooted to its history Ayutthaya is and how ingenious idea the railway and floating market is. Definitely not a shouldn’t miss but certainly one to experience at least once.
Bangkok City Tour. Touring the City is understanding its story. For our day 3, we decided to see for ourselves why Bangkok became one of the most visited cities in the world with an estimated 22.78 million visitors in 2023. We booked a join-in tour yet again via Klook with The Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Temple of Reclining Buddha, and the Temple of Dawn on the itinerary. It was a walking tour and boy did we walked a lot. 😂
This tour however was our very own manifestation of expectation versus reality. If you are to look at pictures online of people going to these places it would seem to have been very quiet with nearly no one photobombing but I dare say now, you’ll be in for a great surprise should you decide to visit for instagramable photos.
Don’t get me wrong, these attractions – its architecture and story behind each wall are unbelievably breathtaking only that it has somewhat became underwhelming due to overpopulation. Take the Grand Palace for example – its history and how it once hosted Thailand’s Royal Family, how it was renovated over the years to cater the whim of one King after another is fascinating but boy is it hard to move around. There seemed to have a person blocking your view in every turn of your head.
Shopping and Pasalubong Center. Bangkok among all of its ornate shrines and vibrant street life is also a shop ‘til you drop center. From the slightly cheaper branded items to very affordable local finds – you’ll surely end up buying things you didn’t initially plan to get.
For the sole reason of it being a one stop shop recommendation of our officemates, we decided to spend our entire day 4 afternoon at Big C Supercenter and ended up going home to our hotel with almost 5,000 THB worth of pasalubong. By nighttime, we headed over to Chatukchak Weekend Market of which initially is just a food trip plan ended up being another budol session.
Immigration and requirements. As first-time international travelers, we made sure to have all documents possibly to be ask by the immigration officer. Listed below are what we prepared both in printed and soft copy:
- Passport
- Return Ticket
- Tour Itinerary
- Hotel Booking Confirmation
- Certificate of Employment and Company ID
- Proof of Funds – Payslip and Bank Certificate
- Approved Leave Form
- E-Travel QR Code
On the day, the immigration officer requested for all items but 6 and 7. Questions are also nothing out of the ordinary. To the best of my recollection, they were:
- What is the purpose of travel?
- Who are you with?
- When will you return?
- How long have you been working in your company?
Our budget. Traveling is everything but savings. Bellow is the breakdown of ours per person:
Overall, it was a trip one for the books. Happy to report that we left the Philippines as friends and colleagues and came back the same all wanting the classic Filipino Sinigang. 😂
For now, so long Thailand. ‘Til we meet again. ❤️
Post a Comment