Our last day in Bangkok was less busier than the previous four days. We ordered halal food for the kids and then walked to the Platinum Fashion mall some 1200 meters away. There, you can find all sort of clothing lines for sale at a pretty affordable price. Just a few hundred meters away is the Siam Paragon and Siam Center, another two well known malls in Bangkok. After much (window) shopping, we rushed back to the hotel because of the midday check out time. We did not check out until 12:40 PM but the hotel staff were kind enough to overlook that.
From the hotel, we took a Bolt to the Darul Aman mosque area again meaning to have lunch. The last place, Rotinies that we went to was already closing so we decided to try Farida Fatornee restaurant just next door. Sadly for me at least, the tom yam there did not taste as good as Yana or Samat and they were 180 baht each which is quite steep for my liking. I will give Farida Fatornee a pass if I ever go to Bangkok again. From there, we walked to the Phaya Thai BTS station to take the train to the airport. We learned from our lesson earlier and arrived 2 hours before departure this time. We walked through immigration only with our mineral bottles confiscated this time but no worries because we bought some more in the duty free area, including the customary chocolates.
The plane leaves 10 minutes early and we had a smooth journey back to KLIA 2. And that concludes our 5 days (actually 4) visit to Bangkok. I think we are pretty happy with our first overseas visit via air travel. We get to visit most of the places on our itinerary and we did many of them on a shoestring budget. Sure we splashed out a bit at Yana Restaurant and The Grand Palace but they were worth it. We tried to walk our way around Bangkok and our hotel is ideally located close to two BTS stations. But having a 4 years old in tow means having to take a stroller along and navigating Bangkok's busy streets, zebra crossings and overhead bridges to go to the other side of the road is no easy feat. That's why half the time we take Bolt or Grab rides to cover short distances in the city. Our Bolt rides cost on average 120 to 160 baht for a 6-seater car while Grab starts from 200 baht onwards.
Our first visit to Bangkok, like our first visit to Singapore was a rushed affair, if I want to summarise it. We rushed everywhere and simply did not have the time to soak in the attractions or atmosphere. That's mostly because we came for only four days (if you discount the late morning arrival). There's simply not enough time. Staying longer will naturally cost us more. Our return flight ticket already costed us over 4,800 ringgit so the rest of our itinerary had to be on a shoestring. That said, Bangkok, the capital of Thailand is a brand new experience for all of us. It's not as clean as Singapore or even Kuala Lumpur but it has its own unique charm. Everything feels a lot cheaper here, goods and services, except for the usual tourist (traps) attractions. For once I'm glad the exchange rate is more favourable here compared to down south. People there are generally more friendly, with more Asian warmth, compared to the cold, unfriendly folks in Singapore. Despite reading and feeling alarmed about the numerous scams that they warned about in Bangkok, we thankfully did not encounter a single one of them. Perhaps we've been vigilant or maybe they've been blown over proportions. Would we visit again? Sure and perhaps next time at a more leisurely pace.
One thing for sure, this is not going to be our only visit to Thailand. There so many more places to visit, including the popular beaches down south or the cool highlands up north in Chiangmai. With hotel prices and goods being so much cheaper there, it's little wonder that Malaysians and other tourists are flocking to the kingdom in droves.
Below is our carefully planned itinerary. We tried to save as much as possible apart from the plane ticket and attraction entrance which are out of our control.
Day 1
6:30 PM: Park car and take ERL to KLIA 2 at Salak Tinggi station
10:45 PM: Flight Air Asia FD 430 to Bangkok (RM4800.00 for 6 pax, return flight)
12:00 AM: Arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok
1:00 AM: Take Bolt (6 seater) and check in to Gold Airport Suites (1 standard double room: RM95.63 per night on Agoda)
Day 2
8:45 AM: Take Bolt to Lat Krabang BTS station
9:30 AM: Take BTS to Phaya Thai BTS station
10:00 AM: Walk 900 meters to Picnic Hotel, Bangkok. Left luggage at hotel lobby (1 standard twin room: RM548.69 for 3 nights on Agoda)
11:30 AM: Walk 800 meters to Victory Monument bus stop
12:00 PM: Take bus no 539 to Sai Tai Mai (Southern bus terminal)
12:40 PM: Have lunch at Sai Tai Mai food court
1:30 PM: Take van to Damnoen Saduak (80 baht each)
3:40 PM: Take boat to Damnoen Saduak floating market (600 baht per boat)
4:32 PM: Take songthaew to Samut Songkhram (30 baht each)
5:40 PM: Watch last train at Maeklong railway station
6:15 PM: Take coach bus at Samut Songkhram bus terminal (100 baht each)
8:40 PM: Arrive at Mo Chit BTS station. Take train to Ratchaprarop station
9:00 PM: Walk to Samat Muslim food for dinner
10:30 PM: Take tuk-tuk back to Picnic Hotel (140 baht for 10 minutes)
Day 3
6:30 AM: Take Grab to Hua Lamphong (Bangkok) railway station.
7:45 AM: Buy train tickets to Lopburi (30 baht each / ordinary ticket)
9:30 AM: Train depart to Lopburi
12:45 PM: Arrive in Lopburi
1:00 PM: Have lunch at Khao Mok Gai Soi Ko Sa restaurant near Nurous mosque
2:15 PM: Take pickup truck to Khaochin sunflower fields (1,000 baht per car return trip)
4:15 PM: Return to Lopburi train station
7:30 PM: Delayed train to Bangkok arrives
10:15 PM: Arrive at Hua Lamphong train station. Take Bolt to Sathorn pier
10:43 PM: Take last ferry to Asiatique
11:00 PM: Dinner and sightseeing at Asiatique
12:00 AM: Take Bolt back to hotel
Day 4
9:15 AM: Take bolt to Darul Aman mosque
9:30 AM: Breakfast at Rotinies next to the mosque
11:00 AM: Take Bolt to The Grand Palace (500 baht per person)
1:30 PM: Walk 1 kilometer to Tha Thian pier
2:00 PM: Cross river with boat and visit Wat Arun (200 baht each)
3:00 PM: Take Bolt to Chatuchak weekend market
6:00 PM: Walk to Mo Chit BTS station across the road. Take train to Siam station and walk to MBK Center.
8:00 PM: Dinner at Yana Restaurant on the fifth floor of MBK Center
9:00 PM: Take Bolt back to hotel
Day 5
9:15 AM: Walk 1.2 kilometres to Platinum Fashion mall
10:30 AM: Walk 500 meters to Siam Paragon mall
11:40 AM: Take Grab back to hotel
12:30 PM: Check out from hotel. Take bolt to Darul Aman mosque
2:00 PM: Had lunch at Farida Fartonee restaurant
2:30 PM: Walk 800 meters to Phaya Thai BTS station. Take Aero train to Suvarnabhumi airport
4:00 PM: Check in luggage and clear immigration
6:15 PM: Depart to KLIA 2
10:20 PM: Arrive at KLIA 2. Take ERL to Salak Tinggi station
Here are some of the tips or things we learned for our first time in Bangkok:
1. Taking Bolt rides is always much cheaper than Grab. We are not sure about meter taxies but chatting with a Malaysian working there once, he claimed they're even cheaper than ride-sharing cars. Provided you get them to use a meter in the first place la. I don't know how long Bolt can maintain that low price because startups like them will eventually raise their price once they captured enough market share.
2. Tuk-tuk rides are not cheap and they can cost as much as a Bolt ride plus it's not so comfortable to be in, out in the open in the Bangkok traffic. If you must or just wanted to experience the ride once, negotiate the price beforehand and make sure they're not much different than a Bolt ride.
3. Taking an ordinary (3rd class) train to Lopburi is great if you have the time and want to save on your budget but bear in mind, they're quite slow and stops at many-many station. And if you're unlucky like us, you may get delayed up to 3 hours on the journey back. A better option is take a bus or shuttle coach in Lopburi town.
4. Halal food is not hard to find in Bangkok but getting there requires a lot of walking or some kind of transportation. An easier alternative is to just order them via Grab.
5. Some banks (like CIMB) require you to activate your debit and credit card first for overseas use so you'll have to call the bank for the purpose. Other banks will simply let you withdraw money using their debit or credit cards at any ATMS that have the MEPS or Visa/Mastercard logo.
6. Buying a Thai SIM card or eSIM is always cheap on Shopee but if you need to do a banking transaction that requires a TAC or OTP, you will need to turn on roaming on your Malaysian SIM anyway. Maxis charges RM39 for 3 days roaming while Yoodo charges RM13 but using your existing data plan. My experience with Yoodo roaming has been below par at times, especially in rural areas where it struggled to get 4G reception.
Places that we didn't get to visit:
National Museum of Bangkok
Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum Siam
Children's Discovery Museum
Jim Thompson's House museum
Asiatique ferris wheel
Pratunam market
Chao Phraya Express boat (for the sunset cruise)
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