Back to the Big Mango! Trip Report from Feb/March 09
 

Hi All,

For the past several years, I've hesitated posting my trip reports to Thailand as my travel style is a little bit different from a majority of posters here. But thanks to Kerry from Australia for her engaging trip report of Tokyo, I will try my hand at it. It's light hearted as well as these were my blog posts for family so I'm just reprinting here. Be Warned - This will/may be verbose and boring to you.

GPANDA - I hope I am not severely penalized.

As background, my wife is Thai (we met in grad school) so I have the benefit of hanging out with her family and friends and getting to see Thailand and experience its culture from that perspective. I've been to BKK 13 times now and still experience something new every time. We don't stay at Peninsula/Oriental but prefer to stay at moderately priced hotels or guesthouses and don't eat at the nice restaurants so frequently mentioned on here. This year, to economize, we stayed at my mother-in-law's house.

We also went to Korat (Nakhon Ratchasima) as a side trip and since I don't see NE Thailand mentioned on these forums often, I thought I'd share this as Fodors has helped me so much in planning trips to other parts of the world. Enough of my verbosity!

<b>Back to the Big Mango</b>

<b>"I'm am excited to be waking up in Bangkok again."</b>

So goes my Facebook update. It is exciting to be here after an interesting flight over.

For the first time in all our time going to the International Terminal at O'Hare, a man "pretending not to have money" stopped me on the way in and wanted money to get on the Metra Train home. Right. I've heard this before. It was cold so we walked in and he kept asking me. I didn't have any small bills so I asked DW. She checked through her wallet and the man asked, Are you going to help me or not? I responded we didn't have anything. He retorted, "You do have it, you just don't want to help me?" Not wanting to cause any more of a scene, I gave him a 1000 Yen note ($10) and said that he could exchange it at the currency counter downstairs.

After passing security, I reported the scammer to the Chicago police and they went to look for him in the Arrivals Section. However, he should have been gone by that time. DW gave me some lessons in how to deal with street panderers.

All this aside, the flight was not packed at all and we had the row to ourselves. We pass time by walking around the cabin, stretching, watching <i>Body of Lies</i>, <i>Beverly Hills Chihuahua</i> and some Mark Wahlberg film. I watched BH Chihuahua twice – but is it bad that I hated the spoiled pooch of the title?

<b>Ritual at Emporium</b>
We are taking it easy today. Normally, our ritual after arrival in BKK, is to eat crab fried rice at the 24 hour cafe once we got to the hotel, take showers and end up sleeping at 4 am. The next day, we would wake up for the buffet breakfast, read the <i>Bangkok Post</i> and possibly take in some swimming. It's an awesome feeling to open the curtains and let the sun envelope the room and watch life on the Chao Phraya. We would go to the Emporium and then off to my MIL's house to give them all the stuff we brought for them. We'd finish the day by going back to the hotel, swimming and just hanging out in the room.

It's different this year as we are staying with my MIL. The feeling is even better though. Breakfast is fried dough sticks, <i>pa tong ko</i> which you can dip in sweetened condensed milk, coffee and <i>pao</i> - <i>aroi mak</i> (very delicious).

As is custom for us, we head to Emporium to do some shopping and errands. I get a SIM card for the phone, exchange more money where the rate is definitely better than at the airport and then grab lunch at the Food Court upstairs where we run into one of DW's friends there. She works at a nearby office and was having lunch with her colleagues. After the Emporium, we decided to go home and hang out with the nephews. It was great to see them again and we give them their gifts.

At night, the combination of dogs barking, lizards bellowing and jet lag have made me get up at 3 am so I turn on the computer. I actually can get a WIFI connection here! I never had internet access at the hotel! However, the connection eventually weakens and when I turn off the computer, I eventually fall asleep again.

<b>Day Two: Food and "Excercise"</b>
Today's theme is eating and food! One of the best parts about BKK is all the great food available literally everywhere. Breakfast today consisted of <i>pao</i> and <i>mieng khaem</i>, a traditional snack of chili paste, dried shrimp, chopped red onion, peanut, ginger and bits of lime wrapped up in a betel leaf.

We headed to Siam Discovery Center to go to the Japanese store Daiso, the 100Y store which in BKK is the 60B store. DW fell in love with this place last year in Tokyo. It's an all-in-one dollar store, Walmart and Target mixed in with goods that exemplify the Japanese penchant for all things small and organizational. We always find things here that we never knew we needed and all for 60B (US 1,71) each.

It's nirvana - for DW. The music piped in is a chorale group singing, no lie, <i>Angels We Have Heard on High</i>, a Christmas song! which seems so out of place considering 1. it is HOT outside and 2. it's not Christmas!

Afterwards, we have a belated birthday celebration at Oishi Grand Buffet. I notice some posters of the Korean pop group WonderGirls' visit to BKK at the end of this month. They are still popular? They had a catchy song two years ago but our friend tells us that Korean pop culture is in right now.

We need to exercise after gorging on sashimi and other Japanese delicacies so we rent bikes at Rot Fai Park. I also spot the Bangkok Butterfly Garden which I never knew about. I went in but only got to see 2 butterfly species. It was like the conservatory at Lincoln Park. We finish the day at the Aw Tor Gaw Market near Chatuchak Park.

We buy sweets, mangosteens and look at all the delicious goods up for sale. We are so stuffed that dinner is just the <i>mieng khaem</i> and another snack called <i>khao tang na tang</i>, a minced pork curry which you put over a bite-sized rice cake. I learn a new Thai word (im = stuffed).

Darn typo, i'll finish rest later. :-)

Great report bkk95. After eating all those Thai snacks I would have thought you would be "jook" or อาการจุก instead of "im"!

Thanks for posting - I love reading the accounts of others who love Bangkok as much as I do! I look forward to more.

BKK95-I note that there is nothing contained within the report that puts a date on your BKK travels. However, your plea for leniency suggests that it is a late report. Just fess up and take your medecine. I can assure you that the board is fair and compassionate. It can't possibly be as late as Ekscrunchy's report.

Good start. It's interesting to read of different experiences.

Gpanda,

I'll use my psychic abilities and predict that it was during February and March 2009.

Someone is up late in BKK. If H's psychic abilities are in good operating order, there may be no penalty. A report that is only slightly tardy does not give rise to a penalty. The EBGP (Ever Beneficient Giant Panda) recognizes that some people have actual lives and it takes a while to get around to a trip report.

BKK95
Loving your report. I think I'll try to find that 60 baht store today (I'm in BKK right now). You say it's at Siam Discovery. I don't recall seeing it before, but then, I wasn't looking for it either.

Are you from Chicago, or are you like me, and you just fly out of ORD? I'm actually from downstate... think near Peoria.

Carol

Thanks for the encouragement - just some comments before I continue:

Khun H: LOL. I'm trying to learn more Thai words so that was good. My wife had a chuckle about that when I asked her what it meant.

GPanda: I should have put the date in the report as well. The penalty I was thinking about stems from postponing my trip report from Feb 2008 when I went on a 6 week excursion through Thailand, Indonesia and Tokyo and kept putting it off. Before I know it, I'm back in BKK again.

Carol: My apologies - that Daiso store is in Siam Square, nearest the entrance/exit towards Siam Discovery. I get those 2 confused. Also, I am from Chgo, living in Lakeview. And I have been to Peoria for biz meetings in the past. That's a long way to drive tho to get to ORD!

One day, we should have a Chicago GTG! From reading various trip reports through all the forums, we are well represented on Fodors.

Nice report bkk95 - really nice to hear about Bangkok from a different perspective. Looking forward to more.

I don't remember ever finding that Daiso store either so I'll be looking when I'm back in July- just love gadgets! Do you mean Siam Centre rather than Siam Square - the Centre is the one adjoining the Siam Discovery one side and with Paragon just down a bit? It has the skytrain station attached. The Square is over the road.

<b>Koh Kred: 02.27.09</b>
Today, we visited Koh Kred, an island 20 km north of Bangkok on the Chao Phraya River. We visited this area via a Riverboat Cruise back in the late 90s and wanted to explore the island again. Koh Kred is known for its pottery, sweets and its Mon Tempura - Mon are the people who inhabit this island.

Instead of going by river cruise, we drive there, park at a local wat and wait for the boat taxi to take us there. Someone told us that Koh Kred isn't as great as it used to be but I beg to differ. Maybe it has something to do with it being a weekday and we have the island basically to ourselves save for some locals and some students on a field trip but I am enjoying the quiet pace. We walk the narrow walkway that serves as its footpath, bike path and even motorcycle path, exploring the various wats and other places of interest along the way. We turn back halfway because we don't feel like going through the actual residential area and it is getting hot. On the way back to the pier, we stop at a food stall selling fishcakes and tempura style betel leaves. The tempura leaves are actually very tasty.

We're now back on the Bangkok side and our friend treats us to lunch at Suan Thip, a beautifully landscaped and upscale restaurant located right next to what appears to be a condo complex. The scenery is lush with green and we are seated at a table that overlooks the Chao Phraya. Three businessmen are the only other diners in the outdoor section. The breeze cools us down as does the lunch consisting of mango salad, <i>somtam</i> (papaya salad), green curry with fishball and fried rice.

We finish our day feeding the large catfish and carp at a nearby wat. It cost 40B each to buy stale bread loaves and protein pellets to feed these hungry fish. Once the fish food hits the water, it's a feeding frenzy where large fish are literally climbing over each other to get at the goodies. We were also planning to release some tadpoles into the river but were afraid that they would become food for the voracious eaters we just fed. The vendor is truthful and says that it could happen so we would have to release them upriver.

We decide against it and head off to another favorite place, Tesco Lotus, instead. I find some candies as souvenirs for my niece and stock up on Tipco brand orange juice. I don't what it is about this drink but I really like it!

<b>Low Key Weekend</b>
The last weekend of Feb 09 was indeed low key for us. We stopped off at TV AirBooking at the Emporium to book our flights to Singapore but could not find a flight that suited our timeframes. The agent tells us that it's been this way due to the end of the ASEAN Summit that took place at Hua Hin this past week. Lots of people are travelling around Thailand and surrounding countries now that the Summit is over. I saw on television that they held the summit at the Dusit Polo Club (now changed to the Dusit Resort) where we've stayed during our last two visits to Hua Hin.

We go to Chatuchak Park then and park the car at the Aw Tor Gaw Market again. We head down into the subway at the Kamphaeng Phet stop, pass the Underground Mall and then head into one of the entrances to the Weekend Market at Chatuchak Park.

It is a madhouse. Think of the crowds at Taste of Chicago on the 4th of July all buying, browsing and haggling on every conceivable item that can be sold. We venture into the narrow warren of shops inside and I buy various things for the nephews and nieces: toy planes, kids' shirts and barrettes, and of course, we snack here and there. I can't believe I actually like going to these markets considering I don't like shopping when I am home.

Sunday was family day and we went to Baan Klang Nam, the same seafood restaurant we went to last year. It is within walking distance of the Montien Riverside Hotel. Great stuff like <i>Gahng Char Nam Pla</i> (a raw shrimp dish), crab fried rice, <i>Pak Bung Fire Daeng</i> (flash-fried morning glory), etc.

I also went to Bangkok 9 International Hospital to get a Thai massage. B9 is only 5 minutes away from home and my SIL says she goes there all the time for her massages. They are running a special -- 1.5 hour massage for 300B!! It was painful but worth it. I ended up falling asleep midway (embarrassing as my SIL was in the room also) and they had to wake me up for the rest of the massage.

We spent most of Monday at Bangkok 9 again in order to get our annual health check up - this was a 2-for-1 special and it was comprehensive. For 9000B we get blood collected, bones x-rayed, inside organs scanned, eyes, ears and throat checked. I didn't want to go but due to DW's insistence, I go. I have to remember that I should listen to her esp. when it comes to health matters.

The report they issue to me lists my age at 46-years old!?!?!? Have I aged that much since last year? . . . and the doctor warns me that I cannot eat junk food, squid, lobster, crab and I need to drink lots of water and exercise which is exactly the same thing my own doctor told me three weeks ago. I should have told her I just went to a seafood restaurant the day before. My wife says, don't worry about it. Eat everything you want now but when we get back to Chicago, you're on a strict diet! I love her...

<b>Hangin' in Banglamphu</b>
It's decided that we are going to go to NE Thailand instead, to the province of Nakhon Ratchasima or Korat as it is known to the locals. Our friend arranges a rental car via the Avis website but it won't be ready until Wednesday. We will depart then and return on Friday. However, finding a hotel proves to be difficult as our number one and two choices are booked up. I found that strange for this time of the year as I didn't think the NE got that many visitors but we're told that it was probably because of the ASEAN summit. :s

Our friend checks with a friend that was just in the NE and gets a recommendation for the Ban Mai Chai Resort in Amphur Pak Chong, which is approximately an hour from Nakhon Ratchasima. We look at its website and notice its "rusticness" so we continue looking on the web. We decide on the Palm Tree Hotel - good looking rooms, etc and call them to see if they have room available. They say yes they have room and it is a steal for $35/night. No reservations needed, just show up.

Now we have that out of the way, we head over to the Jim Thompson Outlet store on Sukhumvit Soi 93. My mom wants some JT bags and the outlet store has tons of last year's styles, some at 50% off. I end up buying three different sized bags as well as a little girl's dress for my goddaughter (which I wanted to buy last year and was now deeply discounted this year). The only other shoppers are Japanese tourists and I'm in the minority as only one of two males shopping in the store. Note To Self: Bring the passport next time so you can take advantage of the VAT Refund.

In the afternoon, we go to Banglamphu and our friend takes us to one of her favorite hole in the wall places called Pua-Kee, a small noodle shop a hop, skip and jump from the Phra Sumen Fort. Our friend used to eat here all the time when she was in college. There are some farang backpackers but it's mostly Thai clientele. We head towards the park and take pictures of the Fort and the surrounding area. There is a great photo opp of the Rama VIII bridge. Next door to the park was a sundry goods store where they sold the peanut candy that my dad loves, so we got a bunch for him.

Thanks for that correction on the location of the Daiso store. I'm heading out in that direction in about an hour.

I thought telling someone you are full in Thai is "im lao..." is that not right?

I like the idea of a GTG in Chicago. Count me in. I get up to the city quite often, actually. I can drive or I can train in. There are other fodorites in Chicago and surrounding area, I'm sure. It would be nice to meet up.

BTW, your trip report is really more like my own kind of trips to BKK. I'm so beyond the sight seeing sort of thing (although I had to admit on another older thread that I did not visit the Royal Palace for the first time until my 11th trip here). Now, I'm here for the markets and seeing my many friends, both Thai and expats.

Carol

Carol,

"im" = full. "laew" or "lao" = already. "im lao" = I'm full now or I'm full already.

Bkk95,

I like Koh Kred but the weekend atmosphere is more lively with many more shops set up. Walk from the main temple at the main peir along the shophouses on the river and you can't go wrong. Lots of unique shops almost and the atmosphere is quite similar to the very popular(with the local) Amphawa market.

Nice report. I want to find that Daiso store now. And thanks for reporting on Koh Kred. I've been meaning to try a visit there as well.

I found that Daiso store. I didn't realize there were a number of things that I didn't know existed, but when I saw them, I had to buy them (at 60 baht each)! Interesting store!

Hey, hanuman, thanks for that translation for me. Much appreciated! You missed a fantastic birthday party. We danced the night away and enjoyed the stage show and the good food and beer at Tawandang. There were over 30 of us.

Carol

We went to Ko Kred several years ago and really enjoyed it. We arranged for a moto ride around the island. A giant panda on a moto was a hair raising event (no speedo). It's a very nice diversion from the frenzy of BKK. We took the river ferry and then hired a longtail boat.

Carol- I'm a little confused as to where the Daiso store is. Since you were there today, can you explain and tell us what goodies you bought?

MaryW and Kristina: Daiso is located in Siam Square Soi 3 near towards Rama 1 Road. It is one of several locations in BKK. Here's a list of other locations:
http://www.daiso-sangyo.co.jp/english/foreign/thai.html

As for the types of products found there, here's a great write up from someone's blog:
http://siamcal.blogspot.com/2007/04/trip-to-daiso.html

My apologies for the confusion.

Carol: I'm glad you found the store. It's funny how we can always find something we didn't know we needed in the first place.:-) Also, I'm putting down Tawandang as someplace to visit next time.

Khun H: I love Amphuwa! I've never visited Damnoen Saduak so this was my first floating market experience. We visited last year as DW's family used to have a house right on the canal. It was crowded when we went but that just added to the atmosphere. I'd like to go again for the fireflies.

BTW, I have pictures of this and previous trips on smugmug:
http://stgabriel.smugmug.com/travel

<b>On The Way To Korat</b>

We take a taxi to the old Don Muang Airport to pick up the Avis rental car. After some waiting, we pick up our car and head off to Nakhon Ratchasima (NR)/Korat, a three hour drive from BKK.

We pass Chok Chai Farms (located on the other side of the highway) so we u-turn in order to have lunch there. This is one of the more famous attractions in NR and I'm told that it is owned by the same owners of Mahboonkrong. It is a tourist attraction where you can feel like a cowboy or cowgirl. Activities can include learning how to milk cows, see how ice cream is made and eat their popular steaks at their restaurant.

Their roadside store is doing brisk business in selling ice cream and food snacks. I look at the ice cream and come across milk-flavored ice cream, which I can't seem to get my head around. After all, ice cream is made of milk right? There is also milk-flavored candy which also seems to be popular. We buy some of the more famous curry puffs (chicken, taro and pork) before heading to Pak Chong.

As we start looking for this Palm Tree Hotel, we notice a sign for a Palm Tree Guesthouse. Hmmm. We follow the map and signs into the countryside, pass some railroad tracks and into an area that causes concern among the passengers in the car. We call Ban May Chai Nam that was recommended to us originally. Luckily, the place has rooms and it too is a steal. We paid about $25/night.

The resort is more Guesthouse than Resort but it's location is a lot nicer and of course, it was a recommendation. I should know to always go with the recommendation from this crowd. They don't ever recommend crappy places.

This Guesthouse is very kitschy and has a homely feel. Every nook and cranny of this space is filled with collectibles from either the US or Thailand. Our balcony is literally over some tables of the guesthouse' restaurant.

After dropping off our luggage, we spent the next hour driving into NR and along the way, stopped off at a temple dedicated to the famous Monk Somdej Tho. Then, it's off to Prasat Phanom Wan, one of the lesser ruins, found in this area before returning to NR, stopping off at the statue of Khun Ying Mo, a Thai heroine, and finishing off at the night market where we buy some Chinese sausage that NR is known for. We also have a dinner of noodles, pork satay and some sweets at the night market. Yum.

That night, we get hooked on a supernatural soap opera called <i>The Haunted Cloth</i> on Thai TV 3. It's an interesting saga where all the guys seem to love only one girl and all the girls seem to only love one guy and everyone is always jumping to conclusions about their motives towards the other characters. It's replete with soap opera "acting" but beautiful actors. The supernatural part is due to the fact that the characters shown in modern times are reincarnations of royal characters from a past life. One of them was a jilted princess and appears as a hideous ghost with buggy eyes and no eyebrows to haunt and cause bad luck to the present characters. Get it?

I don't understand any of it but DW fills me in during the commercial breaks. The actors must be doing something correctly when I can follow a little bit just by their body language, facial expressions and voice inflection.

I can't sleep partially because of that ghost from the <i>Haunted Cloth</i> but more due to the excitement of seeing the ruins of Phi Mai and Buriram tomorrow.

Kristina, the Daiso store is really not that hard to find. I didn't realize that you had to walk into the soi to find it. I assumed it would be right along the main street. It IS, in fact, right across from Siam Center area, close to the escalator going UP to Siam BTS station. Daiso store is 3 floors. What did I buy? Nothing very interesting... a couple of cute heart-shaped "crochet" baskets, a hairbrush, a small calculator (I decided to keep one in my purse); just "junk" items... haha Actually, the best part was the MUSIC playing. As BKK95 says, they play some unusual music while you shop. I head a lovely piano concerto, a sort of eerie Halloween piece of music I'd never heard before, and then there was the Wedding March (Here Comes the Bride)... what a riot! I really was glad I had the heads up about the music, so I paid attention.

BKK95, I am really enjoying your report. BKK is a great city and it's so much more fun to enjoy it with the locals. You will LOVE Tawandang. I guess there are several of them. We always go to the original one. I think it is on Rama II? We were there last night for DSs birthday party and we had a fantastic time. The first time I went there, back in 2001, DS and I were the only farangs in the place. Now, you will see more farangs. Word has gotten out about what a fun place it is.

Carol