Hello hello.... it has been FOREVER since I blogged about anything XD
So I thought, "Hey, why not blog about my recent trip to the capital of Thailand?" Hopefully this blog post will give you all a little insight of the "Land of Smiles" - the myths and the truth =D
Back to my story, my friend and I went on a holiday to Bangkok for 4 days 3 nights. Actually, I was faced by a huge challenge because of this trip, THE PARENTS' CONCERN. They kept saying about how unsafe it was and everything... scammers everywhere, people getting kidnapped, extorted of their money and etc etc... but I didn't know WHY they agreed to let me go afterwards... (not that they stopped their concern even AFTER I was back)
So preparing for the trip I booked my hotels in Bangkok via Agoda.com. Pretty convenient I would say but you guys must NOT BE FOOLED by the price, sometimes the hotel put an outrageous price, then quote it as 50% off when actually it might just be 10% off =.= trust me, this is real. Also, if you are searching for rooms through agoda.com, booking.com or other sites, make sure to read NOT ONLY the reviews from that particular site but also individual review on blogs or other room booking sites... Just to be on the safe side that you don't get a crappy room that looks good on screen. Apparently, the rating (STAR) is also sometimes not very accurate... or maybe the hotel that I stayed was rated as 3 star but it ain't any better than Marco Polo that is a 2 star hotel in Tawau =.= but it is not very expensive anyway, just RM104 per night.
It takes 2 hours 5 minutes flight from KL to Bangkok Don Mueng Airport. This is kinda like LCCT... where the cheap air carriers land... From the airport, we had to wait in line (quite a long line) for a taxi to our hotel. And you know what, the notorious taxi drivers in Thailand is NOT A MYTH, it is the truth. The taxi driver tried to get us to pay 400 baht flat rate (RM40) when we first get on the taxi, but I insisted to use the meter. Low and behold, the taxi fare from airport to my hotel was only 195baht + 50baht airport surcharge. This guy seriously tried to scam almost 50% of the fare off us. Luckily I did some research before coming... THANKS TO THE INTERNET, we weren't cheated.
But that is hardly the last that taxi drivers, tuk-tuk drivers, lori drivers try to scam both of us. Honestly, the safest mean of transport that you wont get scam are the buses, BTS (train) and the boat. All other road transports are notorious for being scammers. Of course, not all taxi drivers are crooks. There are some exception, like one taxi driver that we got on while in Pattaya... but just beware and take note if travelling in Thailand,
Note at the side, Thai taxi are cheaper compared to Malaysian taxi... I guess that's why they want to scam
the tourist...
The other two things Bangkok is infamous for besides the taxi drivers: Bad Traffic & Air Pollution. Both are true... Well the traffic was not too bad for us since we did not use the taxi regularly, most of the time we walked. But the air pollution in the capital of Thailand is TERRIBLE & HORRIBLE. I thought I was about to suffocate... quite a number of people wear mask. It is so hazy when we arrived, we couldn't even see the city from the plane until we were quite close to the ground. The air pollution did not get any better the 4 days that we were there. On the last day, my nose finally gave in to the bad air quality it started to itch and I fell a bit sick which was also triggered by the hot weather.
Bangkok is a great place to shop for cheap clothes and accessories, but of course, as the Chinese saying goes - "you only get what you paid for". Don't expect too much from these street side shops, the things they sell are largely manufactured and are not perfect and might not even have good quality control, so make sure to be smart when you shop, and always make comparison between shops to see the market price. But most of the time, they won't be scamming you (exception to jewelry, that you have to be careful, better still, don't buy jewelry in Thailand). The clothing there can range from 60baht to 200baht (RM6 -RM20) pretty cheap if you ask me...
Food.... well, one thing I can say for sure is if it is a Spicy Thai dish, it is SERIOUSLY spicy. Not like the Malaysian spicy food... The spiciness is a whole new level, I almost cried eating some Thai Chicken dish... they put in the "cili padi" with all the seeds inside... walao~ hebat. So far I had Pad Thai, and some pork skewer and other dishes that I do not know the names...
Their luxurious shopping malls are also much classier than Malaysia's. Especially the Siam Center, Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery~ These malls emit some kinda high class aura that you feel once you enter into it.... it actually felt good... refreshing in a sense. And of course there are many high end shops like LV, Gucci, Prada etc etc,not like I would ever go in one of those shops... I was only interested in the imported food section they had in the Gourmet Market.... So many japanese sweetssssss... I was momentarily in heaven =)
I also went down to Pattaya~ this place is infamous for being the main hub for the sex industry in Thailand... well honestly, if you did go there looking for those things, there are some pretty huge shopping complex that you can shop till you drop... and of course you'll come across a lot of bars and street shops selling all sorts of souvenir... and there in the beach there too... but we didn't get to go because it was too short of a trip. And in my honest opinion, the beaches in KK are WAY BETTER~ Cuti-cuti Malaysia XD
This trip made me realise how God is ever so faithful. Protecting us throughout our journey and taking care of our needs. All praise and glory be unto Him because nothing bad happened to us like those unfortunate cases mentioned in the internet.
Overall, it was an eye-opening trip... and I also got to visit a long time friend whom I met 2 years ago in US... it was a great time for us as she brought us around... Ask me if I will ever visit Bangkok again? Well, not in 5 years time... maybe someday =)
