Day Three in Bangkok

Today I'm on my own because my host is working. At first, I wanted to have breakfast at the halal foodstall in front of Tesco Lotus, but unfortunately it was closed.

So, I went to Tesco Lotus and bought myself some green salad, white bread, tuna spread, banana and low-fat milk. After that, I headed straight away to Abstracts, and having my breakfast overlooking Lad Phrao and Chatuchak from level 31 of Abstracts.

I received a text from my cousin, asking a favour to buy him an iPad Mini cover. But he asked me to get it from MBK Mall. Although the weather was not as hot as yesterday in Udon Thani, I was hesitated to go all the way to Sukhimvit. So, I just walked to Union Mall.

To be continued...

A Day in Udon Thani

The bus that I took from Vientiane, Laos arrived at Udorn Thani Bus Station at about 12.30 pm.

The weather was hot and dry. I quickly walked to the nearby shopping mall i.e. Central Plaza Udon Thani. I was strolling the 5-storey mall with the intention to grab a quick lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't have much choice. The safest option is filet-o-fish at McDonald's. As per tips given by Encik OC, you just need to ask what kind of cooking oil they use, whether it's vegetable-based or animal-based. 

Next, I went to the Apple reseller store to recharge my iPhone before proceeding to the train station. Central Plaza is not that far from the train station, about 5-minute walking. The train fare is 669 baht, which means 19 baht cheaper than the fare from Nong Khai. Once again, I bought the upper berth because of two reasons. Firstly, it's a night trip so I won't be seeing anything much. Secondly, it will be less cool in the upper berth because cool air is heavier than warm air (if my secondary school Physics still do me justice).

I asked the tourist policeman whether there is locker for rental so that I could leave my bag while strolling along the nearby UD Town. He was very kind to offer to look after my bag himself  in his office. Alhamdulillah, there are still kind-hearted people around :)

Udon Thani or some may call it Udorn, is a city in the northeastern Thailand, in a region called Isaan. It's about 82 km from Vientiane and about 60 km  and 564 km from Nong Khai and Bangkok respectively. Beside bus and train station, it also has its own airport. Basically, the city is well-connected with various mode of transportation.

To be continued...

Day One in Bangkok

We started our day a short ride in motorcycle taxi to Phahon Yothin MRT station. I didn't try this mode of transport in my first two visit, so I was kind of excited at this new experience. The 2 or 3 minutes ride without any safety gear costs 15 baht.

The first stop was a clinic in Sukhumvit because Sal had an appointment at 10.30 am. Before we had our brunch, Sal brought me to a Doi Krom outlet, a Thai Royal project to raise the standard of living of rural poor. His Majesty had donated fund to build a manufacturing plant to process agricultural produce into F&B, and health and beauty products.

My first Thai dish for this year was a plate of seafood pad thai. This local restaurant boast a claim that their food was ranked by CNN Travel as Top Five's Best Food! The portion was generous with 'lauk' but contained very little rice noodles. It costed 135 bath with a glass of very sweet fresh bael juice.

With a full stomach, Sal and I went to Platinum Fashion Mall for our retail therapy. According to my host, this is THE place to shop fabrics and clothes. It is situated next to Indra arcade and near the Pratunam market. Here, you are entitled for wholesale price if you purchase in quantity of three. "One, normal price. Three, wholesale price", the common tagline used/adopted by the retailers there. After two hours of strolling the five-storey shopping mall, the time has come for a drink. We decided to join the crowd in Swensens for its all-time favourite, the creamy (and guilty) iced white tea. 

At first, we thought of taking cab to the Hua Lamphong train station to purchase advance ticket to Laos. It all changed when we failed to a taxi, and Sal suddenly saw the 'blue bus'. This is a free bus service sponsored by some rich people in Thailand for selected routes. Although the aim was to go to the train station, once again our plan changed with spontaneous idea to visit Rattanakosin Island.

According to the travel guide, the man-made island was created when King Rama I moved the Thai capital to Bangkok and ordered the construction of canals circling the royal city. Important landmarks here include the Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha and Wat Pho. Nearby, there is a jetty (Tian Pier) for boats to ferry you to the other side of the riverbank. 

We took 8 baht boat ride to visit one of Bangkok's most spectacular sights i.e. Wat Arun. The temple is not huge, but it has a steep steps to the top of its porcelain-bedecked prang that gives nice view of Rattanakosin Island. We didn't stay that long because it was hot and we were sweating like pigs. We took the same boat (they call it ferry) back to Rattanakosin Island and strolled along the sourvenir shops near the Silapakorn University until we found the Bangkok Smiles Bike station.

Some of the architectures around the Old Siam

Sal came up with this wild idea of cycling our way to Hua Lamphong train station! I don't even cycle in Kuala Lumpur, and the last time I rode a bicycle was 2008 when my friends and I visited the Putrajaya Wetland Park. Frankly speaking, I'd never ride a bicycle in city, what more big and congested cities like Bangkok.

At the end, I managed to buy my train ticket and definitely we lost a few pounds from that 90-plus minutes ride. And not to forget, the golden opportunity to see the colourful life of typical Thais outside the touristic areas of Bangkok.

After returning the bicycles to the station which situated next to Tourist Police post, we had a leisure 5-minute walk to bring down our temperature. We found a halal foodstall near the Nagaraphirom Park and stopped for another delicious seafood pad thai. This one is cheaper (60 baht) and gave more rice noodles but less 'lauk'. 

By the time we finished our meal, the time is just perfect to view Wat Arun at sunset. So, we walked to the nearby Sala Arun, a boutique hotel which has an open deck cafe overlooking the Temple of Dawn. The sunset view of Wat Arun from Tian Pier side was kind of overrated to me. 

Enjoying the sunset overlooking the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn)

After we finished our drink, we walked our way to the flower market. Ya Rabbi, I've never been to a market that sell flowers of this scale. And the flowers are cheap too! A two dozen-plus of red roses was only 40 baht!!! No way I can get such price in Kuala Lumpur. At least, I found one thing that is cheaper here in Bangkok than my hometown.

Colourful and cheap fresh flowers at the flower market

At 8 pm, we decided to call it a day and took a bus home. The bus fare was 8 baht in case you're wondering :) 

Sawasdee Khrap Bangkok

This is my third visit to Bangkok. Whilst the first one was in 2005, the second trip was quite recent i.e. in October 2013. My initial plan was to use Suvarnabhuhmi Airport as a transit for onward journey to Vientiane. Laos is one of two ASEAN countries that I've yet to visit. The other one is Brunei Darussalam.

It all changed when I received an invitation from an old friend, Sal who has just relocated to the Land of Smiles in October 2013, to crash at his place. His offer to show me around Bangkok had made me to bring forward my flight from Sunday to Friday.

My MH0769 flight landed safely around 11 pm and the immigration and security checks took about 30 minutes. I met Sal at Exit 3, and we took taxi to his residence in Lad Phrao/Chatuchak area. The cost of the taxi ride was 300 baht. Well, I hardly take cabs in Kuala Lumpur, so I cannot compare it with KL rate. According to Sal, living costs in Bangkok is trended upward and nowadays more and more things here come with higher price tag than in Kuala Lumpur, especially residential properties. His two-room condominium unit, for example, comes with a monthly rental of 25,000 baht. Even ready-to-wear clothes at Uniqlo and Zara will cost much less in Kuala Lumpur.

This piece of information has made me to reconsider my initial plan to a quick retail therapy in the capital city of Thailand.

Both of us retired around 2am, after a quick catch-up of what have happened since our last encounter in 2004.

The night view of Lad Phrao from the balcony of Sal's residence

Remembering 1st Backpacking Experience

Yeap, it was my first time backpacking to our neighbouring country, Thailand. Well, not the whole Thailand, merely its capital city.

There were three of us – Shai, Fai and I. Whilst Fai have been there a few times, Shai and I were totally alien to Bangkok.

The best part is we did not book our accommodation in advance, so we spent the first four hours in the Bangkok, literally running from one budget hotel to another. Thank God, we found one, in Silom Street. So, moral of the story, book your hotel in advance!

I’m sure Bangkok has changed a lot since the first and last time I was there, which was way back in 2005. I think it’s timely to revisit this city, may be with my family this time. But, definitely not backpacking style and will make sure that I’ve book my room way in advance.

Thank you Shai and Fai for introducing me to the world of backpacking.

Photolog: Phuket 2011