Bangkok Trip 2007: Day 1

Going to Bangkok again, the fourth time in the last two years, although the last time was for company retreat. Took a shuttle bus from Terminal 2 to the Budget Terminal, and waited at the queue for about 30 minutes before I was checked in, by which it was almost time for boarding liao...

The plane I'm taking to Bangkok. At the Budget Terminal, the passengers had to walk outdoor and board the plane.

Arrived at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport (which opened around September last year) after a 2 hours 20 minutes flight. The last time I came, Don Mueang International Airport was still in used.

Cleared the Immigration and collected my luggage within 20 minutes of arrival. But noticed anything wrong about the photo above... :)

Took a taxi from the airport to our hotel. The fare was about ฿250 including the airport surcharge and toll. The journey took about half an hour (in normal road condition). This time round, I stayed at Ibis Siam Hotel. The hotel was not located near any BTS station, the nearest being Phaya Thai or Victory Monument Station some 15 ~ 20 minutes walk away. However it was not as bad as there is a bus stop directly outside of the hotel, with buses going to Pratunum, MBK and Chinatown.

The room key looks like there was morse code on it.

Checked in to our room and wasted no time in going out.

Public bus ticket in BKK

First stop, we took a public bus to MBK to change our money as there is one money changer opposite of MBK which offers a good rate. There is a bus conductor on the bus who issued the bus tickets (฿14 per person). This reminds me of the old days when there was still bus conductor for the buses here in Singapore.

A small 5-storey shopping plaza in Chinatown

Then we took a taxi down to Yaowarat Road (Chinatown). Spent about 2 hours shopping at the street markets here. Then stopped for a break for some bird nest and sharks fin at one of the shops in the area. Finally went to (老铺)林真香 to get some local food before heading back to MBK.

It was more shopping at MBK, where I bought 2 pairs of 3/4 pants. Basically explored the whole building once again. If I remembered correctly, I didn't explore the top 2 levels of MBK before. There is a Marche-like restaurant on level 6 and there was a live performance by a local band ongoing when I passed by the place.

Level 7 is the cineplex, an arcade, a KTV and some restaurants.

The karaoke box was literally a "karaoke box"... :P

An odd couple.

Finally settled down for dinner after a long day at a Korean-Jap restaurant called Sukishi. Nothing special about the food here, although the spicy fried noodle was not bad.

It was time to go back after dinner and unluckily, it was raining very heavily at this time. This meant that no taxi would go on meter, and all the drivers would raise the fare to pick you up (some as high as ฿400!). In the end, paid ฿150 to get back to the hotel.