Hi everyone, I will continue the story before. I am now going to Bangkok to meet my family here.
So we going with a tour. My family all are landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, while I alone landed at Don Mueang Airport. So my thought at first was I'm going to Suvarnabhumi to join them and goes with the tour guide. But it's all gone wrong. First, my flight got another delay from Singapore (well done again Airasia). So I arrive at Don Mueang around 05.00 PM. And then, When I get there, I saw a long immigration line. It really long, it took me 1 hour 45 minutes queueing.
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| Immigration line at Don Mueang Airport |
My family is standby at Suvarnabhumi around 06.00 PM, so I tell them to leave me because the queue is still long at that time, and that I will meet them at the hotel. So they go to dinner and Asiatique at first day without me.. I otherwise, decide to do some improvisation, like I always do..
Day 1 (17 February 2017)
Don Mueang - Chatucak - Neon
After I get through that longest immigration line I ever experienced, I got out from the airport having no knowledge about the transportation at all. So after buying a SIM card, I'm trying to get to Suvarnabhumi free shuttle because I think it would be much easier from there. But to use that shuttle, we must have a valid proof that we have a flight there, so I cannot use it.
So I look at my hotel address, I stay at Novotel Hotel Pratunam, it located on Ratchathewi Rd. Then I walk to the bus stop and see that there is a BTS Station name Ratchathewi. So I ask a guard there how I get to that Ratchadewi Station. Then she told me to take a bus to Mo Chit station, and then took a BTS Sky Train to Ratchathewi Station. So I took a bus with number "A1", and get down at Mo Chit it cost only 30 Baht (1 USD = around 35 Baht).
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| Mo Chit station. My first shot with Sony A6000 in Bangkok.. ^^ |
After get down, I open my Google Maps. In Google Maps, they show the railway line across the city. So it's easy to get around using Maps here. And then I saw a Chatucak Market nearby in Maps. I know it's a famous place although I have no idea what's there, so I go there to find out and find something to eat. When I get there it was a bit crowded, it's a market at noon, and in nighttime, they open a stand by the road to sell things. And then I found a small restaurant. I decided to eat there and order 1 Pad Thai and 1 Ko Mu Yang because I feel really hungry.. And, of course, it was delicious..
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| Pad Thai |
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| Ko Mu Yang |
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| Chatucak Market (or they write it Jatujak in name sign) |
I walk around until around 8.30 PM, and then I continue to go to the hotel with the BTS. BTS here is relatively cheap, the farthest on trip journey cost 52 Baht. And then, one of my friend who happens to be in Bangkok as well, said that she want to go to a place called Neon Market. She said it happening over there. So I open my Google Maps again (Google Maps is really my weapon here) and found out that Neon Market is near my Hotel, only around 300m.. Lucky.. So I go to Neon Market first that night. Well, it's a great place, it's a market when people rent a stall to sell their goods. It have a lot of stalls selling many things cheaply. Like a T-shirt is only cost around 100 Baht (like 3 USD). It really cheap comparing to one in Indonesia.
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| Neon Market |
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| The sign |
After we look around in Neon, I come to hotel to meet my family. They just checked in, so I get to stay at expensive hotel this time (it's rather expensive with family, right?) and called it a day. I'm getting a good sleep and prepare to go to Pattaya the next day.
Day 2 (18 February 2017)
Nong Nooch Village - Silver Lake - Floating Market - Colloseum:
After having a breakfast at the hotel, we goes to Pattaya at around 09.00 AM. It took around 2 hours to get there. We first visit a honey bee shop on the road. The tour guide said it's a mandatory visit for every tour in here to visit this honey bee shop. Like its name, they sell various product from bee such as honey, royal jelly, etc.
We continue to go to Nong Nooch Village. This place is like a park where they show many Thailand's culture and they train elephants for show too. We have our lunch here, and we watch a kind a show about Thailand's culture (I'm nearly sleeping there 😁). The show is about 1 hour 15 minutes.
After that show, we continue to The Elephant Show. This is a show where elephant is dancing, playing football, basketball, bowling and also drawing. People also get to take a picture with elephant for some price.
And then we continue to a place called Silver Lake. Well, I found nothing interesting here except for a lake landscape from far away. This like a European-style village near a lake. A lot of people come here just to take a photo, or enjoy some European food/drinks. I try to take a picture, but cannot find a good picture, except for this silhouette:
Next, is The Floating Market. First thing I heard about The Floating Market is about the extreme food, like crocodile or scorpion. Well, I won't eat something like that, so what's interesting about this place is just like another place: a cheap clothes or souvenirs. Or if you want to enjoy some time at the boat, you can rent in to look around. We only have a little time here, because we need to continue to The Colloseum Show.
The show at Colloseum is about 6 PM. We arrrive there around 5.30 PM. Well, if you don't already knew, here is the cabaret show. It's where a shemale (They used to be a male), they dancing, singing, and teasing some of the audience. The show is about 1 hour 30 minutes long. And after I finish, I still don't get it what's the point of this show 😌. But some audience seems really excited about the show, they even pay them for some photograph after the show.
After the cabaret show, we come to our hotel in Pattaya. In Pattaya, we stay at A-One Hotel. It's a good 4-stars hotel and just across the beach. So at night, we can walk along the road where a lot of place is 24 hours open. Well, it reminds me a lot of Kuta, Bali.
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| Nong Nooch Village Show |
And then we continue to a place called Silver Lake. Well, I found nothing interesting here except for a lake landscape from far away. This like a European-style village near a lake. A lot of people come here just to take a photo, or enjoy some European food/drinks. I try to take a picture, but cannot find a good picture, except for this silhouette:
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| Angel's Silhouette |
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| Floating Market |
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| The Colloseum Building |
The show at Colloseum is about 6 PM. We arrrive there around 5.30 PM. Well, if you don't already knew, here is the cabaret show. It's where a shemale (They used to be a male), they dancing, singing, and teasing some of the audience. The show is about 1 hour 30 minutes long. And after I finish, I still don't get it what's the point of this show 😌. But some audience seems really excited about the show, they even pay them for some photograph after the show.
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| Well, they used to be male, they said |
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| Cabaret Show |
After the cabaret show, we come to our hotel in Pattaya. In Pattaya, we stay at A-One Hotel. It's a good 4-stars hotel and just across the beach. So at night, we can walk along the road where a lot of place is 24 hours open. Well, it reminds me a lot of Kuta, Bali.
Day 3 (19 February 2017)
Pattaya Beach - Ortorkor Fruit Market - JJ Mall - MBK - Neon Market:
We woke up, have a breakfast, and the we go for a sightseeing near the hotel. So we choose to come across the road for the beach. Well, the beach is just a so-so. To be honest, it's nothing compared to the beach we have in Indonesia (Hail Indonesia).
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| A close up shot at the beach |
In Bangkok, we go to a Ortorkor Fruit Market, which is just across Chatucak Market. The place is quite nice with so many fresh fruit to sell. All the fruit was in great quality and cheap too. So if you a fruit lover, I certainly recommend this place to get some fruit or another fruit product for a souvenir.
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| Ortorkor Fruit Market |
From here, we go to JJ Mall. JJ Mall is a shopping mall just beside Chatucak Market. I recall JJ is short of Jatujak which is the area name. JJ Mall has so many shop that sell similar thing to one in Chatucak Market, but they have air conditioner so it's more comfortable. Well, actually I'm getting really bored of shopping at that time, but because most of my family is a senior so I just got along with them.
Next destination is MBK Mall, located in Siam Area in Bangkok. MBK Mall is a really big place, and it's famous because they have all branded and cheap quality in one place. So people can choose any price range of clothing here. Me? I just look around here, take a few picture, and I try to look at the neighbourhood while waiting my family 😊.
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| Bangkok Art & Culture Center located just across MBK Mall |
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| MBK Mall Lobby |
After MBK Mall and a day full of shopping. Everybody got tired, so we return to Novotel Hotel. And take a rest for the following day.
Day 4 (20 February 2017)
Wat Arun - Wat Pho - China Town:
Well, this is the last day of our holiday with tour. But this is the one I've benn waiting for because I know there will be a lot of photo spot we visit today. So after breakfast, we got along with a rent car to the famous Wat Arun Temple. We got park somewhere, and then we get on a boat to cross Chao Phraya river to get to Wat Arun. It's really fun for me in there, because we got to try a traditional Thai clothes, and we can look around a photogenic Wat Arun Temple. But one thing that a little dissapointing is that the middle temple is being renovated.
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| The middle part is being renovated |
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| The view of Wat Arun Temple |
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| Me, trying the traditional Thai clothes 😳 |
Wat Pho is a temple which have a Giant Reclining Buddha statue. The Reclining Buddha is placed in a building which has a long queue to get in. Please aware that you need to dress appropriately to enter this temple. But if you wear a mini skirt or mini jeans, they rent some kind of sheath to cover your leg.
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| The Reclining Buddha |
From there, we go to The Chinatown to get something to eat. Chinatown is some good place to see some things like medicine of some great chinese food. And international tourist are rather rarely to be seen in here. And this chinatown is the last destination that provided by the tour. From here on, I always gone anywhere using a rent car. So, from now on, is time to be independent and use public transportation.
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| The Chinatown |
Day 5 (21 February 2017)
Erawan Shrine - Platinum Mall - Chao Praya Boat Tour - Asiatique:
This morning, some of my family are coming home to Indonesia, leaving some of us to stay in Bangkok. My other family, the seniors, are staying for another 3 days here. They leave in an apartment that owned by relatives. Me, for convenient, choose to stay on a backpacker hotel, to give me more freedom to explore around.
So, after having last breakfast in Novotel, we checked out and waving a goodbye to some of my family that leaving already. Then we decice to explore some nearby place in Pratunam. First, we go to Erawan Shrine. This is a shrine that have a 4-headed God statue. A lot of people come here to pray or just taking picture make it really crowded. I remember there once a bomb exploded here.
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| The Erawan Shrine |
Later that day, around 4 PM, my family got tired and they return to the apartment. So it's my time to explore the city around. So I search at some website and they recommend me to go to Taksin Bridge because it's a great spot for a photography. So I go there using the BTS Sky Train. To go there, we should go to Saphan Taksin Station. When we get there, we will find a Sathorn Pier that we can use to go for a boat ride around Chao Phraya River.
I arrived around 5 PM, so I decide to look around and took a boat someplace around 5.30 PM to get some sunset photo. The boat cost only 15 Baht one way (only around 0.5 USD) and I never regret it. So I hop on the boat, go maybe 9 or 10 Pier (I forgot the name) an then go back to Sathorn Pier. And along the way, I was treated by a fantastic sunset view, and of course I took some photo of it, here we go:
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| Sunset 1 |
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| Sunset 2 |
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| Taksin Bridge: South-West side |
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| Taksin Bride: North-East side |
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| Long exposure time.. |
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| Asiatique Night Market |
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| The bridge across |
Day 6 (22 February 2017)
Cathedral - Siam Paragon - Don Mueang:
Well, today is my last day in Bangkok. I wake up early, and going straight to the Bangkok Cathedral. It's rather hard to find actually, we need to go to Saphan Taksin Station, and I walk from there around 1 - 1.5 km. I just follow the Google Maps Navigation to get there. So the church is not crowded at all because it's not Sunday. The church is great with a Thailand's style interior. So I pray there for a moment, and of course, took some photo.
After get there, I go to a shopping mall named Siam Paragon. Why I'm getting here? I don't know actually. I don't have any agenda left, and decide to go to some random places. Well, it's clearly an expensive, high-class mall in Bangkok. I didn't buy anything here, just take a look around. The facilities is very complete in here, they have food court, many branded store, a supermarket (oh, I buy some Thai Tea here for the souvenir), an IMAX theater, etc. So I just walking around here, while waiting my time to get back to the airport.
I decide to go to the airport around 2 PM, although my flight is still 07.15 PM, because I'm affraid of traffic jam. To get to Don Mueang, I go to Mo Chit BTS Station, and wait for a bus there. Well, if we get down from Mo Chit Station and turn left, there is a sign that show a stopping area for A1 or A2 bus that headed to Don Mueang. So I wait there not too long until the bus arrived. They go straight to Don Mueang Terminal 1 (Terminal 1 and 2 is connected). So I arrived there around 03.30 PM and still have more than 3 hours to wait there. But no worry, they have a lot of restaurant and store for us to explore and this time, I use Thai Lion Air to get back home because they have the cheapest direct flight to Jakarta. Well, this time there is no delay they fly sharp at 07.15 PM, and by around 10.30 PM, I arrived at Jakarta, pleased, and waiting for my next journey..
Well, today is my last day in Bangkok. I wake up early, and going straight to the Bangkok Cathedral. It's rather hard to find actually, we need to go to Saphan Taksin Station, and I walk from there around 1 - 1.5 km. I just follow the Google Maps Navigation to get there. So the church is not crowded at all because it's not Sunday. The church is great with a Thailand's style interior. So I pray there for a moment, and of course, took some photo.
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| The Cathedral |
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| The interior |
After get there, I go to a shopping mall named Siam Paragon. Why I'm getting here? I don't know actually. I don't have any agenda left, and decide to go to some random places. Well, it's clearly an expensive, high-class mall in Bangkok. I didn't buy anything here, just take a look around. The facilities is very complete in here, they have food court, many branded store, a supermarket (oh, I buy some Thai Tea here for the souvenir), an IMAX theater, etc. So I just walking around here, while waiting my time to get back to the airport.
I decide to go to the airport around 2 PM, although my flight is still 07.15 PM, because I'm affraid of traffic jam. To get to Don Mueang, I go to Mo Chit BTS Station, and wait for a bus there. Well, if we get down from Mo Chit Station and turn left, there is a sign that show a stopping area for A1 or A2 bus that headed to Don Mueang. So I wait there not too long until the bus arrived. They go straight to Don Mueang Terminal 1 (Terminal 1 and 2 is connected). So I arrived there around 03.30 PM and still have more than 3 hours to wait there. But no worry, they have a lot of restaurant and store for us to explore and this time, I use Thai Lion Air to get back home because they have the cheapest direct flight to Jakarta. Well, this time there is no delay they fly sharp at 07.15 PM, and by around 10.30 PM, I arrived at Jakarta, pleased, and waiting for my next journey..
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