Thailand Trip Report - Through the Eyes of First-Timers
Apr 20th, 2008, 05:26 PM
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Thailand Trip Report - Through the Eyes of First-Timers
We returned back this past Thursday, 4/17 from our first trip to Thailand (and first experience in Asia). I have never written a trip report before, so please be patient and feel free to let me know if you want more details or not.
I have to begin by thanking each and every one of the friendly Fodorites on this board. There are too many to name. It is because of your guidance and suggestions that made this trip fun and relatively easy to plan. Not only that, but it helped make the trip itself much more enjoyable and less stressful. I truly admire the dedication and genuine willingness to assist fellow travelers in all aspects of trip planning. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
A little background: My DH and I are in our mid-thirties, no kids (except for a handsome yellow lab) and live in So California. We are avid scuba divers, so many of our past vacations have been to various islands around the world to enjoy the beach and do a lot of diving. I, however, want to see as much of the world as possible. Therefore, the focus of this trip was culture (although I promised the DH a little diving too, but more on this later.)
We had 14 days (including travel). We did the typical first-timer trip: 4 nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in Chiang Mai, 4 nights in Phuket and 1 additional night in Bangkok before we went home.
Due to work schedules and airline availability, we were in Thailand during the hottest month (April) and experienced a few holidays (Chakri Day and Songkran).
PRE-TRIP CONCERNS: The heat, mosquitoes and language. I was very concerned about the heat, especially since we wanted to be respectful and not wear shorts and tank tops in BKK and CM. While it was definitely hot, we both agreed that it had actually been much hotter on our trips to Cozumel and Turks & Caicos. We also lucked out on some days since we had a little rain and the clouds kept the temperatures much cooler than normal - but don't get me wrong it was still HOT!
The bugs/mosquitoes were not a problem at all. They always love me, so I put on DEET every day and never got any bites (this is a first!) My DH, who rarely gets bit actually got a few bites but they didn't itch.
While I had been told that it would be easy to communicate since many Thais spoke some English, we always try to learn a few key phrases in the native language since we not only believe it is part of the experience, but we want to be respectful of the locals and not assume everyone speaks our native tongue. This was a little intimidating since Thai is such a tonal language and therefore the phrase books were not as helpful until we actually arrived in Thailand and we had the opportunity to ask people how to pronounce words. Overall, we had very minimal language barriers and were surprised just how much English was not only spoken, but signs, restaurant menus, etc. all had English options.
Okay, now for the actual trip. Our Cathay Pacific flight was scheduled to leave LAX at 11:45pm on April 2 and after a change of planes in Hong Kong, we were to arrive in Bangkok on Friday, April 4 at 10:30am.
The last big culture trip we took (Europe) was plagued with travel issues, so I was not happy during check-in at LAX when we were notified that due to strong head winds our flight had to make an unscheduled stop in Incheon (Seoul), Korea to refuel. This would add 3 hours to the flight time and put us in a very good position to miss our connecting flight to Bangkok.
On the plus side, we were able to use frequent flier miles and fly Business Class - and experience the brand new business class only available on select long-haul flights on Cathay Pacific. Instead of sitting next to each other, everyone was in their own row and the seats went completely flat. Everyone had their own large TV screen, all the movies and entertainment options one could ask for- plus excellent service. We flew on a 747 and our seats were up on the second level which excited us since we had never been up there and it was much quieter. The only downsides: it was difficult to talk to the DH since they had partitions between each seat and you had very limited views out the windows since your back faced them. We were able to sleep a bit and felt fairly rested by the time we landed in Hong Kong. It was heaven!
We definitely missed our connecting flight in Hong Kong (along with many people on our plane) so Cathay Pacific was prepared when we landed and set up lines with new boarding passes/flight schedules for everyone. We were very impressed with their organization, but not happy to hear that they could only get us on a later flight to BKK. It would get us in 6-7 hours later than we'd hoped and I was not happy. Thanks to watching the Amazing Race, we checked the departures and found an earlier flight to BKK on China Airlines that would have us in BKK only 3 hours late. The wonderful women at the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge were very helpful and found our luggage and got us on that flight just minutes before they closed the boarding gate. We arrived at BKK at 1:30pm, retrieved our luggage and went through immigration/customs in just minutes. Made our way to the public taxi stand without any problems and we were on our way in a metered taxi to the Peninsula.
I had purposely not scheduled anything besides a klong tour on the first day since I wasn't sure how the jet lag and heat would affect us. That was a blessing in disguise. More to come soon...
I have to begin by thanking each and every one of the friendly Fodorites on this board. There are too many to name. It is because of your guidance and suggestions that made this trip fun and relatively easy to plan. Not only that, but it helped make the trip itself much more enjoyable and less stressful. I truly admire the dedication and genuine willingness to assist fellow travelers in all aspects of trip planning. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
A little background: My DH and I are in our mid-thirties, no kids (except for a handsome yellow lab) and live in So California. We are avid scuba divers, so many of our past vacations have been to various islands around the world to enjoy the beach and do a lot of diving. I, however, want to see as much of the world as possible. Therefore, the focus of this trip was culture (although I promised the DH a little diving too, but more on this later.)
We had 14 days (including travel). We did the typical first-timer trip: 4 nights in Bangkok, 3 nights in Chiang Mai, 4 nights in Phuket and 1 additional night in Bangkok before we went home.
Due to work schedules and airline availability, we were in Thailand during the hottest month (April) and experienced a few holidays (Chakri Day and Songkran).
PRE-TRIP CONCERNS: The heat, mosquitoes and language. I was very concerned about the heat, especially since we wanted to be respectful and not wear shorts and tank tops in BKK and CM. While it was definitely hot, we both agreed that it had actually been much hotter on our trips to Cozumel and Turks & Caicos. We also lucked out on some days since we had a little rain and the clouds kept the temperatures much cooler than normal - but don't get me wrong it was still HOT!
The bugs/mosquitoes were not a problem at all. They always love me, so I put on DEET every day and never got any bites (this is a first!) My DH, who rarely gets bit actually got a few bites but they didn't itch.
While I had been told that it would be easy to communicate since many Thais spoke some English, we always try to learn a few key phrases in the native language since we not only believe it is part of the experience, but we want to be respectful of the locals and not assume everyone speaks our native tongue. This was a little intimidating since Thai is such a tonal language and therefore the phrase books were not as helpful until we actually arrived in Thailand and we had the opportunity to ask people how to pronounce words. Overall, we had very minimal language barriers and were surprised just how much English was not only spoken, but signs, restaurant menus, etc. all had English options.
Okay, now for the actual trip. Our Cathay Pacific flight was scheduled to leave LAX at 11:45pm on April 2 and after a change of planes in Hong Kong, we were to arrive in Bangkok on Friday, April 4 at 10:30am.
The last big culture trip we took (Europe) was plagued with travel issues, so I was not happy during check-in at LAX when we were notified that due to strong head winds our flight had to make an unscheduled stop in Incheon (Seoul), Korea to refuel. This would add 3 hours to the flight time and put us in a very good position to miss our connecting flight to Bangkok.
On the plus side, we were able to use frequent flier miles and fly Business Class - and experience the brand new business class only available on select long-haul flights on Cathay Pacific. Instead of sitting next to each other, everyone was in their own row and the seats went completely flat. Everyone had their own large TV screen, all the movies and entertainment options one could ask for- plus excellent service. We flew on a 747 and our seats were up on the second level which excited us since we had never been up there and it was much quieter. The only downsides: it was difficult to talk to the DH since they had partitions between each seat and you had very limited views out the windows since your back faced them. We were able to sleep a bit and felt fairly rested by the time we landed in Hong Kong. It was heaven!
We definitely missed our connecting flight in Hong Kong (along with many people on our plane) so Cathay Pacific was prepared when we landed and set up lines with new boarding passes/flight schedules for everyone. We were very impressed with their organization, but not happy to hear that they could only get us on a later flight to BKK. It would get us in 6-7 hours later than we'd hoped and I was not happy. Thanks to watching the Amazing Race, we checked the departures and found an earlier flight to BKK on China Airlines that would have us in BKK only 3 hours late. The wonderful women at the Cathay Pacific Business Lounge were very helpful and found our luggage and got us on that flight just minutes before they closed the boarding gate. We arrived at BKK at 1:30pm, retrieved our luggage and went through immigration/customs in just minutes. Made our way to the public taxi stand without any problems and we were on our way in a metered taxi to the Peninsula.
I had purposely not scheduled anything besides a klong tour on the first day since I wasn't sure how the jet lag and heat would affect us. That was a blessing in disguise. More to come soon...
Apr 20th, 2008, 09:56 PM
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Bob & Kathie - thanks for the kind words.
Day 1 - BKK
Maybe it's the jet lag - we are still trying to adjust, but we actually came home late evening on 4/16 - sorry about that. I hope there aren't any penalties.
Also, we made sure to hit the ATM at the airport so we had some baht for the taxi. I had sadly watched the exchange rate drop in the months I was planning and for most of the trip it was around 31.5Baht to the dollar. It was still definitely cheaper than Europe though....
We hit a bit of traffic on the way to the Peninsula and our driver was apologizing. We explained to him that we were used to it since we live in LA and we all had a laugh.
I was confused about the meter/rate situation. I realize that there is a 50Baht fee for the airport transfer, plus you have to pay tolls on top of the meter, but when we arrived at the hotel, he just said 400 Baht. I didn't pay attention to how much each toll was, but remembered that most people said it would be approx. 400 Baht to the "other side" of the river, so I just paid him. There was a part of me that thought is was high since the meter plus the 50B fee only came to 310Baht. How is this handled by other travelers?
We took the advice of many on this board and booked the Deluxe room. We were in a gorgeous and spacious room on the 7th floor facing the Oriental. It was great. I had originally thought about reserving the Grand Deluxe, but we really enjoyed watching the river traffic and felt close to the action without any of the noise.
By the time we settled in, we decided to do the klong tour on another day and we took the complimentary Peninsula ferry across to the Oriental Hotel. I had debated btwn the Penn and the Oriental and since it was a very popular hotel with many on this forum I was curious to see their famous lobby. It was much smaller than I expected but beautiful and opulent. I'm sure the rooms are gorgeous, but I was a little underwhelmed with the exterior (I kind of expected something more historic looking). Suffice to say, we were very happy that we chose the Penn - it was really more our style and we felt very comfortable there.
We had picked up a Nancy Chandler map, so I took a few minutes to sit in the lobby, cool off and start to familiarize myself with it. I am good with maps and at first was overwhelmed (she really packs in a lot of great information!), but I really enjoyed it and found it easy to use. I relied on it so much that I also got one in Chiang Mai. Highly recommend them - they are easy to fit into a small purse or pant/shirt pocket. I suggest waiting until you arrive to get one since it cost less than half of her internet price. Well worth it!
After that we headed to the Golden Buddha. At first glance, BKK was bustling and I was intimidated about finding our way. I expected little soi's (alleys), but initially had a hard time finding street signs and understanding them. Now I know that some smaller sois may not have signs and the ones that do don't always point in the direction of the street itself. Instead they list both the streets at that intersection and often points in the direction of the main street. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out after a day or so.
Unfortunately it was hot and we were getting tired, so we hopped in a tuk-tuk (yes I know dangerous and a rip-off, but it was on the list of things to experience and thrilling) and we were dropped off at Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha). I did notice a lot of people staring at us while we were in the tuk-tuk - I don't know why?! It looked like it was closed, but we found an open side door, took off our shoes and popped into our first Thai temple. WOW - it was huge!
At that point we were getting tired and decided to walk back to the river to catch the Penn ferry. We learned that they can take you to/from a few places on the river: Oriental public pier, the Penninsula pier, Taksin Bridge or River City Mall (only hourly).
On the way we saw the beautiful China gate at the beginning of the Chinatown. I also popped into the River City mall for a very quick look while waiting for the ferry.
Dinner that night was at Harmonique. It was really crowded and service was slower than usual (our waitress apologized). We were a little overwhelmed as to what to order. We were hungry and so many things looked good. We ordered chicken satay, spring rolls, steamed fish with lemongrass and lime spicy sauce (we asked for it spicier since we like it hot). We really enjoyed it. We didn't order dessert because we were exhausted at this point (we were both eager to try mango and sticky rice).
The only thing I really wanted to do on day 1 was get a massage of some sort, but due to the delays, etc. we were just too tired, so it was off to bed.
Initial Bangkok observations: It was a busy city with numerous uneven sidewalks. We found ourselves looking down quite a bit and it wasn't because it was dirty, but we didn't want to trip. I remember one of the ladies on this forum saying she prefered wearing closed toe shoes because of this and I understand completely what she meant. We also found Bangkok to have a very distinct smell. I am sure it was the combination of exhaust, river water and various street food vendors.
BANGKOK DAY 2 - Saturday, April 5
Our first full day in Bangkok began with the amazing Peninsula buffet breakfast right on the river. I immediately forgot about the no fruit rule and had some fresh fruit (mango, pineapple, star fruit and more). I figured it was relatively safe here. (On a side note, I realize now that I was a little too rigid with the fruit thing. Towards the end of the trip I lightened up a bit since I love fruit. I realize now that you have to be smart about it, but it's still a gamble since someone working at even the Penn could have forgotten to wash their hands.) I'm happy to report that neither of us got sick the entire trip.
We then headed to the Sky Train at Taksin Bridge (very clean and easy to use). We got a day pass - excellent value and worth every baht! On our way to the station a friendly, well-dressed man approached us saying he remembered seeing us at the Peninsula and began to tell us about his family and asked if we needed help getting to our destination. We were headed to JJ Market and he said it was closed that morning and the best time to go was actually after 3pm. I thought this was strange since I had not heard about this at the hotel or in any guide book and then it hit me that this might be a scam artist. I only thought they were around the Grand Palace, so it took me by surprise. He was asking us other questions so it threw me off at first - I also realized he never saw us at the hotel, but saw us get off the Penn boat. He then "suggested" we go shop elsewhere and showed me on my map. I wasn't sure at this point if I had warned my DH about this type of activity, but he caught on once we both noticed the guy was contradicting himself. We politely tried to end the conversation, but when we started up the Sky Train steps he told us we were going the wrong way. We just told him we wanted to see the station and would come back later. From then on, we vowed to politely tell anyone asking where we were headed that we were meeting friends and to keep walking.
JJ Market was amazing. We arrived at 10:30am - a little later than we had hoped, but even with the Nancy Chandler map in hand we decided just to wander and didn't expect to cover it all. We did a little shopping, but mostly just explored. We saw everything from clothes, souvenirs, food/spices and medicine to live animals and furniture. The bell tower in the center really helped us keep our bearings (we realized we still had to get back to the Sky Train), but we even found ourselves walking down the same rows a few times - we probably went in a circle and didn't even realize it.
It was hot so we headed back to the Penn and relaxed at the pool.
We weren't hungry yet, so we rinsed off and headed to the Erawan Shrine. It was very interesting and our first experience with people praying, lighting incense/candles. The highlight was the Thai dancers who, although beautifully dressed in traditional Thai outfits, looked absolutely bored out of their minds. It seemed like a serious place but we wondered if it just felt like a "job" to the dancers.
We started to get a bit hungry and decided to head to MBK to see what a bustling Asian mall looked like, and get some food. To us, MBK was overwhelming "a mall on drugs." We couldn't believe it when we found out it was no longer the largest mall in BKK. I remembered reading about the food courts and we headed to the international food court on level 5. It was huge, clean and when you entered each person was given a plastic card. We had numerous cuisines to choose from, but we were in Thailand and headed straight to the Thai food. A sample of each meal is displayed and we each chose noodles: phad thai for the DH and pad see ew for me. The woman taking our order puts your purchases on the card and you go eat. Honestly they were both excellent! Then as you head to the exit you hand the cashier the card and pay.
We then found a place near the Shangri-La for a foot massage. I was in heaven. One hour for 250 baht - plus they give you a great head/neck shoulder, back massage for the last 15 minutes. I wanted one every day. It was then that I sadly learned that my DH wasn't as big on massages as I was, but he was a trooper and got 30 minute foot massages with me most days. (I think that was one of the things that I miss the most since I am such a massage lover)
Since we ate a late lunch, we decided to go out for a light, late dinner. I wanted to try Eat Me (near the Patpong night market), but when we got there it was closed for renovations. I pulled out my Nancy Chandler map and decided to go to Baan Khanitha which was sort of nearby. It was a little longer of a walk than we were up for, but I didn't want to drag my DH all over the city since he was getting really tired. The restaurant was very nice (one of our more expensive meals), but unfortunately the food to us was just okay. I thought I remembered hearing good things, so maybe we ordered the wrong dishes. We each ordered soup. Me: Tom Yam Goong (excellent), the DH chicken wonton. We also got cashew chicken (it was over cooked and the chicken was very crunchy and hard) and stir fry seabass with a sweet and sour sauce.
Up next: Two days with Tom (one of Tong's guides)
Day 1 - BKK
Maybe it's the jet lag - we are still trying to adjust, but we actually came home late evening on 4/16 - sorry about that. I hope there aren't any penalties.
Also, we made sure to hit the ATM at the airport so we had some baht for the taxi. I had sadly watched the exchange rate drop in the months I was planning and for most of the trip it was around 31.5Baht to the dollar. It was still definitely cheaper than Europe though....
We hit a bit of traffic on the way to the Peninsula and our driver was apologizing. We explained to him that we were used to it since we live in LA and we all had a laugh.
I was confused about the meter/rate situation. I realize that there is a 50Baht fee for the airport transfer, plus you have to pay tolls on top of the meter, but when we arrived at the hotel, he just said 400 Baht. I didn't pay attention to how much each toll was, but remembered that most people said it would be approx. 400 Baht to the "other side" of the river, so I just paid him. There was a part of me that thought is was high since the meter plus the 50B fee only came to 310Baht. How is this handled by other travelers?
We took the advice of many on this board and booked the Deluxe room. We were in a gorgeous and spacious room on the 7th floor facing the Oriental. It was great. I had originally thought about reserving the Grand Deluxe, but we really enjoyed watching the river traffic and felt close to the action without any of the noise.
By the time we settled in, we decided to do the klong tour on another day and we took the complimentary Peninsula ferry across to the Oriental Hotel. I had debated btwn the Penn and the Oriental and since it was a very popular hotel with many on this forum I was curious to see their famous lobby. It was much smaller than I expected but beautiful and opulent. I'm sure the rooms are gorgeous, but I was a little underwhelmed with the exterior (I kind of expected something more historic looking). Suffice to say, we were very happy that we chose the Penn - it was really more our style and we felt very comfortable there.
We had picked up a Nancy Chandler map, so I took a few minutes to sit in the lobby, cool off and start to familiarize myself with it. I am good with maps and at first was overwhelmed (she really packs in a lot of great information!), but I really enjoyed it and found it easy to use. I relied on it so much that I also got one in Chiang Mai. Highly recommend them - they are easy to fit into a small purse or pant/shirt pocket. I suggest waiting until you arrive to get one since it cost less than half of her internet price. Well worth it!
After that we headed to the Golden Buddha. At first glance, BKK was bustling and I was intimidated about finding our way. I expected little soi's (alleys), but initially had a hard time finding street signs and understanding them. Now I know that some smaller sois may not have signs and the ones that do don't always point in the direction of the street itself. Instead they list both the streets at that intersection and often points in the direction of the main street. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out after a day or so.
Unfortunately it was hot and we were getting tired, so we hopped in a tuk-tuk (yes I know dangerous and a rip-off, but it was on the list of things to experience and thrilling) and we were dropped off at Wat Traimit (Golden Buddha). I did notice a lot of people staring at us while we were in the tuk-tuk - I don't know why?! It looked like it was closed, but we found an open side door, took off our shoes and popped into our first Thai temple. WOW - it was huge!
At that point we were getting tired and decided to walk back to the river to catch the Penn ferry. We learned that they can take you to/from a few places on the river: Oriental public pier, the Penninsula pier, Taksin Bridge or River City Mall (only hourly).
On the way we saw the beautiful China gate at the beginning of the Chinatown. I also popped into the River City mall for a very quick look while waiting for the ferry.
Dinner that night was at Harmonique. It was really crowded and service was slower than usual (our waitress apologized). We were a little overwhelmed as to what to order. We were hungry and so many things looked good. We ordered chicken satay, spring rolls, steamed fish with lemongrass and lime spicy sauce (we asked for it spicier since we like it hot). We really enjoyed it. We didn't order dessert because we were exhausted at this point (we were both eager to try mango and sticky rice).
The only thing I really wanted to do on day 1 was get a massage of some sort, but due to the delays, etc. we were just too tired, so it was off to bed.
Initial Bangkok observations: It was a busy city with numerous uneven sidewalks. We found ourselves looking down quite a bit and it wasn't because it was dirty, but we didn't want to trip. I remember one of the ladies on this forum saying she prefered wearing closed toe shoes because of this and I understand completely what she meant. We also found Bangkok to have a very distinct smell. I am sure it was the combination of exhaust, river water and various street food vendors.
BANGKOK DAY 2 - Saturday, April 5
Our first full day in Bangkok began with the amazing Peninsula buffet breakfast right on the river. I immediately forgot about the no fruit rule and had some fresh fruit (mango, pineapple, star fruit and more). I figured it was relatively safe here. (On a side note, I realize now that I was a little too rigid with the fruit thing. Towards the end of the trip I lightened up a bit since I love fruit. I realize now that you have to be smart about it, but it's still a gamble since someone working at even the Penn could have forgotten to wash their hands.) I'm happy to report that neither of us got sick the entire trip.
We then headed to the Sky Train at Taksin Bridge (very clean and easy to use). We got a day pass - excellent value and worth every baht! On our way to the station a friendly, well-dressed man approached us saying he remembered seeing us at the Peninsula and began to tell us about his family and asked if we needed help getting to our destination. We were headed to JJ Market and he said it was closed that morning and the best time to go was actually after 3pm. I thought this was strange since I had not heard about this at the hotel or in any guide book and then it hit me that this might be a scam artist. I only thought they were around the Grand Palace, so it took me by surprise. He was asking us other questions so it threw me off at first - I also realized he never saw us at the hotel, but saw us get off the Penn boat. He then "suggested" we go shop elsewhere and showed me on my map. I wasn't sure at this point if I had warned my DH about this type of activity, but he caught on once we both noticed the guy was contradicting himself. We politely tried to end the conversation, but when we started up the Sky Train steps he told us we were going the wrong way. We just told him we wanted to see the station and would come back later. From then on, we vowed to politely tell anyone asking where we were headed that we were meeting friends and to keep walking.
JJ Market was amazing. We arrived at 10:30am - a little later than we had hoped, but even with the Nancy Chandler map in hand we decided just to wander and didn't expect to cover it all. We did a little shopping, but mostly just explored. We saw everything from clothes, souvenirs, food/spices and medicine to live animals and furniture. The bell tower in the center really helped us keep our bearings (we realized we still had to get back to the Sky Train), but we even found ourselves walking down the same rows a few times - we probably went in a circle and didn't even realize it.
It was hot so we headed back to the Penn and relaxed at the pool.
We weren't hungry yet, so we rinsed off and headed to the Erawan Shrine. It was very interesting and our first experience with people praying, lighting incense/candles. The highlight was the Thai dancers who, although beautifully dressed in traditional Thai outfits, looked absolutely bored out of their minds. It seemed like a serious place but we wondered if it just felt like a "job" to the dancers.
We started to get a bit hungry and decided to head to MBK to see what a bustling Asian mall looked like, and get some food. To us, MBK was overwhelming "a mall on drugs." We couldn't believe it when we found out it was no longer the largest mall in BKK. I remembered reading about the food courts and we headed to the international food court on level 5. It was huge, clean and when you entered each person was given a plastic card. We had numerous cuisines to choose from, but we were in Thailand and headed straight to the Thai food. A sample of each meal is displayed and we each chose noodles: phad thai for the DH and pad see ew for me. The woman taking our order puts your purchases on the card and you go eat. Honestly they were both excellent! Then as you head to the exit you hand the cashier the card and pay.
We then found a place near the Shangri-La for a foot massage. I was in heaven. One hour for 250 baht - plus they give you a great head/neck shoulder, back massage for the last 15 minutes. I wanted one every day. It was then that I sadly learned that my DH wasn't as big on massages as I was, but he was a trooper and got 30 minute foot massages with me most days. (I think that was one of the things that I miss the most since I am such a massage lover)
Since we ate a late lunch, we decided to go out for a light, late dinner. I wanted to try Eat Me (near the Patpong night market), but when we got there it was closed for renovations. I pulled out my Nancy Chandler map and decided to go to Baan Khanitha which was sort of nearby. It was a little longer of a walk than we were up for, but I didn't want to drag my DH all over the city since he was getting really tired. The restaurant was very nice (one of our more expensive meals), but unfortunately the food to us was just okay. I thought I remembered hearing good things, so maybe we ordered the wrong dishes. We each ordered soup. Me: Tom Yam Goong (excellent), the DH chicken wonton. We also got cashew chicken (it was over cooked and the chicken was very crunchy and hard) and stir fry seabass with a sweet and sour sauce.
Up next: Two days with Tom (one of Tong's guides)
Apr 20th, 2008, 10:34 PM
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Hi Kimberly!
Nice job for your first trip report!
I think I was the one who made the comment about wearing closed toe shoes in BKK; I kept tripping on the uneven pavement!
About the taxi from the airport; did you or the taxi driver pay the toll fees? I remember the tolls from the airport being 65 baht. So, if the driver paid the tolls he was adding that to the 310, and then giving himself a tip. If you paid the tolls, then I guess he wasn't paying attention to the meter. Almost every taxi driver we had tried to do this. We just had to be firm and point to the meter.
Looking forward to the rest of the report.
Nice job for your first trip report!
I think I was the one who made the comment about wearing closed toe shoes in BKK; I kept tripping on the uneven pavement!
About the taxi from the airport; did you or the taxi driver pay the toll fees? I remember the tolls from the airport being 65 baht. So, if the driver paid the tolls he was adding that to the 310, and then giving himself a tip. If you paid the tolls, then I guess he wasn't paying attention to the meter. Almost every taxi driver we had tried to do this. We just had to be firm and point to the meter.
Looking forward to the rest of the report.
Apr 21st, 2008, 10:49 AM
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Enjoying your report! Our trip is coming in just 2 short months now, so I am savoring each and every hint I can get. Thanks for the reminder to get the Nancy Chandler map. I nede to get it ordered so we have it in plenty of time.
Apr 21st, 2008, 12:00 PM
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Enjoying your report! It's nearly 2am in BKK and I'm still up... jetlag I guess, since I've only been in the city since very late on the 18th.
I, too, met a tout at the Saphan Taksin BTS stairway. It was a nicely dressed woman who said she had seen us at the Oriental. We'd been there for a quick coffee. But like you, we were seen getting off the boat!!! We chatted with the lady but then went away on our own, telling her we "might" want to her shopping place later on.
Looking down while walking around in BKK is very important. Uneven sidewalks resulted in a very badly sprained ankle for me, my first time (of 13 now) in BKK. I had a 1-hour food massage at Wat Po that time, and could have danced out afterwards. LOVE those foot massages.
Keep the report coming!
Carol
I, too, met a tout at the Saphan Taksin BTS stairway. It was a nicely dressed woman who said she had seen us at the Oriental. We'd been there for a quick coffee. But like you, we were seen getting off the boat!!! We chatted with the lady but then went away on our own, telling her we "might" want to her shopping place later on.
Looking down while walking around in BKK is very important. Uneven sidewalks resulted in a very badly sprained ankle for me, my first time (of 13 now) in BKK. I had a 1-hour food massage at Wat Po that time, and could have danced out afterwards. LOVE those foot massages.
Keep the report coming!
Carol
Apr 21st, 2008, 01:00 PM
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Thanks for the positive feedback. I promise to write more soon (at work now and just had to check in...love this board!)
Kristina-Yes, I remember your amazing blog/website. It was very helpful in my planning. TY I ended up wearing an incredibly comfortable pair of Eccos (Mary Jane style) almost every day.
As far as the taxi goes, the driver paid the tolls on the way there. I thought 90 baht sounded high for tolls, so I did not tip him and just gave him 400 baht. Sounds like I did the right thing. I paid attention to tolls on our return visit and it was never a problem.
Bisbee- I wore mostly capris and long skirts while in BKK. The only exception was our last day there which was Songkran and we were trying to wear clothes that would dry quickly in the event we got soaked from all of the water being tossed (we flew home the next day). However the DH wore long shorts (hit below the knee) all days except when we visited the Grand Palace (pants). I was actually surprised at how many people wore shorts. None of our shorts were super short and we never hand any issues.
jcasale-I am so excited for you. There is a lot of info on this board. I did numerous searches for past trip reports and more. If you have any specific questions or want to know more about any aspect of our trip I'd be happy to email you. Let me know.
Carol-I hope you are having fun. I'm jealous that you are still there....I have already started the when can we return conversation with the DH!
More to come....
Kristina-Yes, I remember your amazing blog/website. It was very helpful in my planning. TY I ended up wearing an incredibly comfortable pair of Eccos (Mary Jane style) almost every day.
As far as the taxi goes, the driver paid the tolls on the way there. I thought 90 baht sounded high for tolls, so I did not tip him and just gave him 400 baht. Sounds like I did the right thing. I paid attention to tolls on our return visit and it was never a problem.
Bisbee- I wore mostly capris and long skirts while in BKK. The only exception was our last day there which was Songkran and we were trying to wear clothes that would dry quickly in the event we got soaked from all of the water being tossed (we flew home the next day). However the DH wore long shorts (hit below the knee) all days except when we visited the Grand Palace (pants). I was actually surprised at how many people wore shorts. None of our shorts were super short and we never hand any issues.
jcasale-I am so excited for you. There is a lot of info on this board. I did numerous searches for past trip reports and more. If you have any specific questions or want to know more about any aspect of our trip I'd be happy to email you. Let me know.
Carol-I hope you are having fun. I'm jealous that you are still there....I have already started the when can we return conversation with the DH!
More to come....
Apr 21st, 2008, 04:54 PM
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Yikes... a one hour FOOD massage... now that would be an experience, wouldn't it? I meant to say FOOT massage, of course. I'm up early this am (it's nearly 7am) doing a load of laundry, and opted to check in here for a bit. Interesting typo on my part! lol
Apr 21st, 2008, 09:59 PM
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DAY 3 BANGKOK- Sunday, April 6
This was our first day of two with Tom, one of Tong's guide. As many of you know, Tong is a very popular guide and as a result books up far, far in advance. I was initially saddened that she wasn't available, but I had to accept that it wasn't meant to be for us this trip and just hoped that Tom would be great too. He was and although I can't compare them, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Tom. He was knowledgable, friendly and easy going.
As some of you may already know, Tong has been sick & in and out of the hospital for the last month or so. Tom only works for her part time (he is a social studies teacher) and he was working extra hard covering for Tong while she was seeing doctors. According to Tom it wasn't life threatening, but she has gotten so run down that what she needs the most is rest. Tom said the doctors told her to take a month off! I have heard how energetic and busy she is, so it might be very hard for her to do this, but hopefully she will recover very soon. (FYI-I just spoke with Tong and she is still sick.)
Since he had been working extra long hours, Tom decided to bring along a driver so he could spend more time explaining things to us rather than being distracted with traffic, parking, etc. Therefore, we were picked up in an air-conditioned van (instead of sedan) and was told it would be a complimentary upgrade. We had more than enough room and off we went.
Today's itinerary was a Bangkok city tour and we were very excited since up to this point we really hadn't been to many wats yet. It had been raining earlier that morning, so the entire day was very cloudy with occasional light sprinkles. I have to be honest, although I expected rain on this trip I was a little upset that it was so dark and gloomy from a picture taking standpoint, but both my DH and Tom said we were very lucky since the clouds kept it MUCH cooler throughout the day. Looking back they were absolutely right.
We headed straight for the Grand Palace. We were dressed appropriately and inside we went. Today was Chakri Day - a holiday where visitors to the GP are allowed into The Royal Pantheon - a room that is only open to the public 3 days a year. We also found out that the King was going to have a special Chakri Day ceremony later that day and the GP would be closing early.
Upon entering the complex it was huge. We immediately saw numerous buildings and exquisite gardens (we both thought the cone shaped trees were cool. They reminded me a little like something you'd find at Disneyland.)
Tom bought us tickets and we entered the museum first. I really wanted to go straight to the Emerald Buddha, but it was a great learning experience and put so much of what we were about to see in better context.
Then we went to see the Emerald Buddha. As we entered Wat Phra Kaew I was overwhelmed with emotion. I just couldn't believe that we were actually in Thailand and looking at these absolutely stunning structures, chedis and statues in person. I can't describe it, but hopefully you know what I am talking about.
As we exited the complex, Tom took us through the Amulet market and one of the local markets where he bought us a snack - our first of many. Sorry can't remember what exactly it was but it was good!
One thing we noticed is that Thai people LOVE their markets. Tom explained that they don't really refrigerate much so every day they are buying fresh produce, meats, etc. It seemed like every block or two there was a market of some sort -whether it was for food, buddhas, flowers, etc. They were everywhere (and outside of Bangkok too!)
Tom got us a long tail boat and we were off for a klong tour since we hadn't done one yet. We asked to only stop at the Royal Barges - they are beautiful and the DH really enjoyed seeing them. The klong tour was great - we saw many different Thai homes, spirit houses, a few very huge monitor lizards and even stopped to feed bread to some catfish. I can definitely see why so many people are never bored with this since you really don't know what you may see.
I do want to ask one thing. I don't want to accuse Tom of anything as both the DH and I felt he was honest, but it seemed like the klong tour was VERY expensive. I assumed that since Tom was a local and bought the tickets the price would be a little better than if we walked up ourselves. Our tour was around 1 hour and 15 minutes (definitely no more than 1 1/2 hours) including our stop at the Royal Barges. It cost 1200 baht. Is that a bit high for such a short time?
We were dropped off at Wat Arun. It had begun to sprinkle, but we still did a little climbing up to the top (boy those steps are steep - DH made it all the way!) I was a little underwhelmed when I laid eyes on it, but it was really dark and dreary out and I'm sure it's even more beautiful when it's lit up a night.
We crossed back over the river for some lunch at Coconut Palm. Tom ordered for us: sukothai pancake, a spicy shrimp salad with lemongrass, pad see ew and green chicken curry with rice. We wanted Tom to join us, but he insisted that we eat on our own. It was excellent. The DH isn't big on curry, but it was my first experience with Thai curry and I enjoyed it. Our favorite was the spicy shrimp salad. Tom came back and actually noticed that they overcharged us on the bill (added a few dishes we didn't order) and had them redo it. I don't think we noticed, but it was very nice of him to check for us.
Then it was across the street to Wat Po. Tom explained the various buildings and then it was time to see the reclining buddha. We saw a glimpse as we approached the door and got excited. As we entered I had another emotional moment - which surprised me. All I can say is the Reclining Buddha took my breath away!
Before we left, I noticed there were numerous small bowls along the side walls and asked Tom what it was for. I can't remember the specifics anymore, but people could make a donation and in return received a cup of coins. There were 108 bowls and you were supposed to put one coin in each bowl. If anyone remembers what this was for, please remind me. I am completely blanking out, but I asked Tom if we could do it and he said yes. He said it was very rare and considered very lucky if you got enough coins for all 108 bowls. I got close, but definitely fell short.
We drove by the Giant Swing on our way to explore Chinatown and the Flower market. Unfortunately due to it being Chakri Day, they had cleared up most of the flower mart to make way for the royal motorcade procession for an afternoon ceremony to remember the fairly recent passing of the King's sister. We saw a little of it, but according to Tom it wasn't the same. Maybe next time.
We headed back to the hotel to relax before dinner at Tongue Thai and a foot massage. Seems like it gets mixed reviews on this forum, but we really liked it. We ordered pineapple fried rice (one of our faves), cashew chicken (the best of the trip), pad thai with crab wontons and finally had mango with sticky rice for dessert. We'd definitely go back.
It is interesting that after months of planning, reading guidebooks, trip reports and even seeing pictures it still doesn't compare to actually being there in person. I did not expect to be overwhelmed with emotion and I was also surprised as to which sites moved me and which didn't. (I really didn't expect it at the Reclining Buddha since I had seen pictures, but it was truly breathtaking to me.)
I still think back and get this fuzzy feeling in my tummy with excitement that we were there!
Up next: Floating Market and the Secret Place with Tom
This was our first day of two with Tom, one of Tong's guide. As many of you know, Tong is a very popular guide and as a result books up far, far in advance. I was initially saddened that she wasn't available, but I had to accept that it wasn't meant to be for us this trip and just hoped that Tom would be great too. He was and although I can't compare them, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with Tom. He was knowledgable, friendly and easy going.
As some of you may already know, Tong has been sick & in and out of the hospital for the last month or so. Tom only works for her part time (he is a social studies teacher) and he was working extra hard covering for Tong while she was seeing doctors. According to Tom it wasn't life threatening, but she has gotten so run down that what she needs the most is rest. Tom said the doctors told her to take a month off! I have heard how energetic and busy she is, so it might be very hard for her to do this, but hopefully she will recover very soon. (FYI-I just spoke with Tong and she is still sick.)
Since he had been working extra long hours, Tom decided to bring along a driver so he could spend more time explaining things to us rather than being distracted with traffic, parking, etc. Therefore, we were picked up in an air-conditioned van (instead of sedan) and was told it would be a complimentary upgrade. We had more than enough room and off we went.
Today's itinerary was a Bangkok city tour and we were very excited since up to this point we really hadn't been to many wats yet. It had been raining earlier that morning, so the entire day was very cloudy with occasional light sprinkles. I have to be honest, although I expected rain on this trip I was a little upset that it was so dark and gloomy from a picture taking standpoint, but both my DH and Tom said we were very lucky since the clouds kept it MUCH cooler throughout the day. Looking back they were absolutely right.
We headed straight for the Grand Palace. We were dressed appropriately and inside we went. Today was Chakri Day - a holiday where visitors to the GP are allowed into The Royal Pantheon - a room that is only open to the public 3 days a year. We also found out that the King was going to have a special Chakri Day ceremony later that day and the GP would be closing early.
Upon entering the complex it was huge. We immediately saw numerous buildings and exquisite gardens (we both thought the cone shaped trees were cool. They reminded me a little like something you'd find at Disneyland.)
Tom bought us tickets and we entered the museum first. I really wanted to go straight to the Emerald Buddha, but it was a great learning experience and put so much of what we were about to see in better context.
Then we went to see the Emerald Buddha. As we entered Wat Phra Kaew I was overwhelmed with emotion. I just couldn't believe that we were actually in Thailand and looking at these absolutely stunning structures, chedis and statues in person. I can't describe it, but hopefully you know what I am talking about.
As we exited the complex, Tom took us through the Amulet market and one of the local markets where he bought us a snack - our first of many. Sorry can't remember what exactly it was but it was good!
One thing we noticed is that Thai people LOVE their markets. Tom explained that they don't really refrigerate much so every day they are buying fresh produce, meats, etc. It seemed like every block or two there was a market of some sort -whether it was for food, buddhas, flowers, etc. They were everywhere (and outside of Bangkok too!)
Tom got us a long tail boat and we were off for a klong tour since we hadn't done one yet. We asked to only stop at the Royal Barges - they are beautiful and the DH really enjoyed seeing them. The klong tour was great - we saw many different Thai homes, spirit houses, a few very huge monitor lizards and even stopped to feed bread to some catfish. I can definitely see why so many people are never bored with this since you really don't know what you may see.
I do want to ask one thing. I don't want to accuse Tom of anything as both the DH and I felt he was honest, but it seemed like the klong tour was VERY expensive. I assumed that since Tom was a local and bought the tickets the price would be a little better than if we walked up ourselves. Our tour was around 1 hour and 15 minutes (definitely no more than 1 1/2 hours) including our stop at the Royal Barges. It cost 1200 baht. Is that a bit high for such a short time?
We were dropped off at Wat Arun. It had begun to sprinkle, but we still did a little climbing up to the top (boy those steps are steep - DH made it all the way!) I was a little underwhelmed when I laid eyes on it, but it was really dark and dreary out and I'm sure it's even more beautiful when it's lit up a night.
We crossed back over the river for some lunch at Coconut Palm. Tom ordered for us: sukothai pancake, a spicy shrimp salad with lemongrass, pad see ew and green chicken curry with rice. We wanted Tom to join us, but he insisted that we eat on our own. It was excellent. The DH isn't big on curry, but it was my first experience with Thai curry and I enjoyed it. Our favorite was the spicy shrimp salad. Tom came back and actually noticed that they overcharged us on the bill (added a few dishes we didn't order) and had them redo it. I don't think we noticed, but it was very nice of him to check for us.
Then it was across the street to Wat Po. Tom explained the various buildings and then it was time to see the reclining buddha. We saw a glimpse as we approached the door and got excited. As we entered I had another emotional moment - which surprised me. All I can say is the Reclining Buddha took my breath away!
Before we left, I noticed there were numerous small bowls along the side walls and asked Tom what it was for. I can't remember the specifics anymore, but people could make a donation and in return received a cup of coins. There were 108 bowls and you were supposed to put one coin in each bowl. If anyone remembers what this was for, please remind me. I am completely blanking out, but I asked Tom if we could do it and he said yes. He said it was very rare and considered very lucky if you got enough coins for all 108 bowls. I got close, but definitely fell short.
We drove by the Giant Swing on our way to explore Chinatown and the Flower market. Unfortunately due to it being Chakri Day, they had cleared up most of the flower mart to make way for the royal motorcade procession for an afternoon ceremony to remember the fairly recent passing of the King's sister. We saw a little of it, but according to Tom it wasn't the same. Maybe next time.
We headed back to the hotel to relax before dinner at Tongue Thai and a foot massage. Seems like it gets mixed reviews on this forum, but we really liked it. We ordered pineapple fried rice (one of our faves), cashew chicken (the best of the trip), pad thai with crab wontons and finally had mango with sticky rice for dessert. We'd definitely go back.
It is interesting that after months of planning, reading guidebooks, trip reports and even seeing pictures it still doesn't compare to actually being there in person. I did not expect to be overwhelmed with emotion and I was also surprised as to which sites moved me and which didn't. (I really didn't expect it at the Reclining Buddha since I had seen pictures, but it was truly breathtaking to me.)
I still think back and get this fuzzy feeling in my tummy with excitement that we were there!
Up next: Floating Market and the Secret Place with Tom
Apr 22nd, 2008, 01:54 AM
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kim
1200 baht is a little bit high, IMO. We paid 1200 for a tour that lasted about 5 hours. It included a klong tour, Wat Arun, Grand Palace, and a stop at Gems Int'l. We were then transported back to our hotel in a van. We thought it was well worth the money! If you paid 1200 for JUST the klong, then that might have been a bit high. Let's see what others have to say about this.
Your trip sounds really great. And yes, I understand your amazement (or whatever emotion) at seeing the places in Bangkok first hand. They are indeed beautiful!
We didn't see any big monitor lizards... maybe that's why you paid extra for the klong tour... lol
I'm anxious to read about how you enjoyed the floating market, because my German friends want to go there, and also the the River Kwai, and to Ayutayah on the bus/boat tour.
Carol
1200 baht is a little bit high, IMO. We paid 1200 for a tour that lasted about 5 hours. It included a klong tour, Wat Arun, Grand Palace, and a stop at Gems Int'l. We were then transported back to our hotel in a van. We thought it was well worth the money! If you paid 1200 for JUST the klong, then that might have been a bit high. Let's see what others have to say about this.
Your trip sounds really great. And yes, I understand your amazement (or whatever emotion) at seeing the places in Bangkok first hand. They are indeed beautiful!
We didn't see any big monitor lizards... maybe that's why you paid extra for the klong tour... lol
I'm anxious to read about how you enjoyed the floating market, because my German friends want to go there, and also the the River Kwai, and to Ayutayah on the bus/boat tour.
Carol
Apr 23rd, 2008, 12:11 PM
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Enjoying your report. We were in BKK and Phuket for our honeymoon in November 2004, couple of weeks before the Tsunami hit. Waiting for your Phuket report to see how things are now. Did u go to Phi Phi?
Dollar really sucks these days. It was 40 baht to $1 back then. Thai massages are great!
Dollar really sucks these days. It was 40 baht to $1 back then. Thai massages are great!
Apr 24th, 2008, 10:33 AM
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yoonny-no we weren't able to get to Phi Phi this trip. I will talk about diving and Phuket soon.
Sorry for the delay in posting. I had written a new installment last night, but had computer problems.
Let me start by saying I feel a little silly writing more about the BKK leg since I have been reading both jgg and susncrg's great trip reports and we have had similar experiences so far. Susncrg said it perfectly about not wanting to be redundant, so I will try to keep it brief.
DAY 4, Monday, April 7
We skipped breakfast at the Peninsula since we were warned we'd be eating non-stop.
Tom picked us up early, but before we headed on the highway we made a quick stop at a local wat to make merit with a monk. This was something I was looking forward to since neither of us understood much about Buddhism.
Tom had brought bags of supplies for us to give to the monk. They included food, drinks plus other conveniences to help them live like tissue and cleaning supplies. The way we understood it monks rely solely on donated food and drink and any extras are given to those less fortunate and even the stray dogs.
The first thing we did as we waited for a monk to walk by was take off our shoes. Tom explained that this was to show our respect and that we were not better than him.
When the monk approached some locals gathered to make merit with us. While women are not allowed to have physical contact with monks, I was able to place my donations in a large metal bowl at his side and then placed flowers on top of it. My DH and others followed. (There was a helper with him who actually carried most of the offerings so every time someone gave him something they put it in an empty bowl). After that Tom instructed us to wai and the monk offered a blessing in Thai. I couldn't understand one word, but it was very moving.
Like many who've toured with Tong, we stopped at the Railway Market. We didn't see the train (we had seen a video on YouTube so we knew what happened). It was much smaller than I expected and it was amazing to see just how close everything got to the tracks. It had started raining quite hard so we picked up a few snacks and headed to the Floating Market.
The rain followed us and continued throughout our time at the Floating Market. I wasn't sure about going given the mixed reviews but since both the DH and I love taking pictures I thought we should try it.
Unfortunately the rain didn't help the photo ops and made it a little awkward to enjoy the many foods that Tom had us try since we were often juggling the camera, umbrella and a drink as well.
However, the food was some of our favorite the entire trip (the DH LOVES spicy food and so Tom at first bought us noodles and told the woman to make is spicy for the DH. My DH liked it but said he could handle more spice, so then Tom gave him noodle soup that was considered spicy by Thai standards and my DH really loved it - Tom was impressed!)
Overall we liked it and I'm glad we went. Even the traffic jams were fun and it was great people watching. Exploring the canals beyond the main market was our favorite. It was very peaceful, especially with the rain drops falling.
The sun came out and it was blue skies by the time we drove up to Reed's house in a remote fishing village (aka the secret place). This was a trip highlight. I don't know how Tong stumbled upon this family as they truly live off the beaten path, but we are grateful that she did. What an amazing and authentic experience.
Reed, a local fisherman, and his friendly family show you life as they know it - there are absolutly zero tourists and everyone we spoke with didn't know any English! We got in his motorized boat and stopped to talk with numerous fishermen along the way. At each stop, Tom and Reed would explain the fishing techniques and ask the fishermen if they caught anything. Most people we talked to caught a lot that day. We met people farming cockles (similar to clams), mussels and catfish.
One interesting thing we noticed is what they wear when they fish. Since most are in the water and full sun all day they have numerous layers of clothes on to keep warm, plus scary looking face maks equipped with only holes for their eyes and mouths to protect them from the sun. They looked menacing from afar.
We spent about 30 minutes with this adorable older Thai couple who happened to be collecting their catch using a special method that takes 3-4 months to develop. Tom said this was the very first time he had seen this part of the process and was just as excited as us. We not only got to talk with them and see the huge basket of fish they collected, but the older woman started flirting with my DH. She wanted Tom to tell the DH she loved him and thought he was really handsome. She then pulled out a large gaff with a metal hook on one end and started to pull him into her boat (think Gong Show). He turned beet red and we all had a good laugh.
After cruising all over (it was low tide so we saw numerous crab colonies - I mean thousands of crabs) we ended up at Reeds bamboo stilt house for his sister, Champ's delicious seafood meal. She didn't speak much English but was a very warm and gracious hostess. We had just spent the morning eating non-stop, so we couldn't get over just how much food she prepared for just the two of us to eat: whole fish, tom yum goong, 2 large blue crabs, giant prawns and fried oysters plus rice!
Afterwards, we took photos and signed their guest book. I wonder if they ever had Tong or Tom translate the messages, since so many were in English?!
Then it was off to feed the monkies. At first there were a few and then dozens! It was high-energy and fast paced. Mom's with their babies, big males and lots in between. They swam right up to the boat. It was fun to see them fight over the food and clean the fruit if it fell in the mud before they ate it.
After a fun-filled day it was back to the hotel. The DH rested, but I went and got another foot massage. Instead of dinner we checked out the Patpong area (interesting is all I have to say) and got some ice cream before we called it a day.
Final Bangkok thoughts: I have to agree with jgg. While BKK was a bustling and big city (and I love big cities) we didn't feel as much warmth or charm as we had hoped. It is not our favorite international city so far, but we definitely agree we'd come back. The Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha were trip highlights and we wouldn't hesitate staying at the Peninsula again. It was not only fun taking the Pen boat across the river every day, but we felt like part of the action. It was also a relaxing way to start and end our days and it was even more magical at night with all of the lights! To us, the Peninsula was definitely on the right side of the river.
Up Next: Chiang Mai
Sorry for the delay in posting. I had written a new installment last night, but had computer problems.
Let me start by saying I feel a little silly writing more about the BKK leg since I have been reading both jgg and susncrg's great trip reports and we have had similar experiences so far. Susncrg said it perfectly about not wanting to be redundant, so I will try to keep it brief.
DAY 4, Monday, April 7
We skipped breakfast at the Peninsula since we were warned we'd be eating non-stop.
Tom picked us up early, but before we headed on the highway we made a quick stop at a local wat to make merit with a monk. This was something I was looking forward to since neither of us understood much about Buddhism.
Tom had brought bags of supplies for us to give to the monk. They included food, drinks plus other conveniences to help them live like tissue and cleaning supplies. The way we understood it monks rely solely on donated food and drink and any extras are given to those less fortunate and even the stray dogs.
The first thing we did as we waited for a monk to walk by was take off our shoes. Tom explained that this was to show our respect and that we were not better than him.
When the monk approached some locals gathered to make merit with us. While women are not allowed to have physical contact with monks, I was able to place my donations in a large metal bowl at his side and then placed flowers on top of it. My DH and others followed. (There was a helper with him who actually carried most of the offerings so every time someone gave him something they put it in an empty bowl). After that Tom instructed us to wai and the monk offered a blessing in Thai. I couldn't understand one word, but it was very moving.
Like many who've toured with Tong, we stopped at the Railway Market. We didn't see the train (we had seen a video on YouTube so we knew what happened). It was much smaller than I expected and it was amazing to see just how close everything got to the tracks. It had started raining quite hard so we picked up a few snacks and headed to the Floating Market.
The rain followed us and continued throughout our time at the Floating Market. I wasn't sure about going given the mixed reviews but since both the DH and I love taking pictures I thought we should try it.
Unfortunately the rain didn't help the photo ops and made it a little awkward to enjoy the many foods that Tom had us try since we were often juggling the camera, umbrella and a drink as well.
However, the food was some of our favorite the entire trip (the DH LOVES spicy food and so Tom at first bought us noodles and told the woman to make is spicy for the DH. My DH liked it but said he could handle more spice, so then Tom gave him noodle soup that was considered spicy by Thai standards and my DH really loved it - Tom was impressed!)
Overall we liked it and I'm glad we went. Even the traffic jams were fun and it was great people watching. Exploring the canals beyond the main market was our favorite. It was very peaceful, especially with the rain drops falling.
The sun came out and it was blue skies by the time we drove up to Reed's house in a remote fishing village (aka the secret place). This was a trip highlight. I don't know how Tong stumbled upon this family as they truly live off the beaten path, but we are grateful that she did. What an amazing and authentic experience.
Reed, a local fisherman, and his friendly family show you life as they know it - there are absolutly zero tourists and everyone we spoke with didn't know any English! We got in his motorized boat and stopped to talk with numerous fishermen along the way. At each stop, Tom and Reed would explain the fishing techniques and ask the fishermen if they caught anything. Most people we talked to caught a lot that day. We met people farming cockles (similar to clams), mussels and catfish.
One interesting thing we noticed is what they wear when they fish. Since most are in the water and full sun all day they have numerous layers of clothes on to keep warm, plus scary looking face maks equipped with only holes for their eyes and mouths to protect them from the sun. They looked menacing from afar.
We spent about 30 minutes with this adorable older Thai couple who happened to be collecting their catch using a special method that takes 3-4 months to develop. Tom said this was the very first time he had seen this part of the process and was just as excited as us. We not only got to talk with them and see the huge basket of fish they collected, but the older woman started flirting with my DH. She wanted Tom to tell the DH she loved him and thought he was really handsome. She then pulled out a large gaff with a metal hook on one end and started to pull him into her boat (think Gong Show). He turned beet red and we all had a good laugh.
After cruising all over (it was low tide so we saw numerous crab colonies - I mean thousands of crabs) we ended up at Reeds bamboo stilt house for his sister, Champ's delicious seafood meal. She didn't speak much English but was a very warm and gracious hostess. We had just spent the morning eating non-stop, so we couldn't get over just how much food she prepared for just the two of us to eat: whole fish, tom yum goong, 2 large blue crabs, giant prawns and fried oysters plus rice!
Afterwards, we took photos and signed their guest book. I wonder if they ever had Tong or Tom translate the messages, since so many were in English?!
Then it was off to feed the monkies. At first there were a few and then dozens! It was high-energy and fast paced. Mom's with their babies, big males and lots in between. They swam right up to the boat. It was fun to see them fight over the food and clean the fruit if it fell in the mud before they ate it.
After a fun-filled day it was back to the hotel. The DH rested, but I went and got another foot massage.
Instead of dinner we checked out the Patpong area (interesting is all I have to say) and got some ice cream before we called it a day.Final Bangkok thoughts: I have to agree with jgg. While BKK was a bustling and big city (and I love big cities) we didn't feel as much warmth or charm as we had hoped. It is not our favorite international city so far, but we definitely agree we'd come back. The Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha were trip highlights and we wouldn't hesitate staying at the Peninsula again. It was not only fun taking the Pen boat across the river every day, but we felt like part of the action. It was also a relaxing way to start and end our days and it was even more magical at night with all of the lights! To us, the Peninsula was definitely on the right side of the river.
Up Next: Chiang Mai
Apr 24th, 2008, 06:40 PM
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Join Date: Jan 2003
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bkk is not a city that one stay will cause you to fall in love...most of us did not develop this love until visit 2 or later....
now it remains perhaps my favorite city thus visited, with boston, london, paris, and others following in quick order....
now it remains perhaps my favorite city thus visited, with boston, london, paris, and others following in quick order....
