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Best travel advice to save money and have fun on any budget!
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When transiting in or out of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport, sometimes it doesn't pay to go into Bangkok proper. Our United flights back to Chicago via Tokyo usually leave at the ungodly hour of 6:30 am and since check-in is two hours before that, we'd have to get up at 3:30 am to taxi back out to Suvarnabhumi Airport if the hotel is in downtown Bangkok.
A flight from Hanoi landed at 2:00 pm with the scheduled flight home the next day. What to do? After weighing the "pros" of heading into Bangkok for a few hours and "cons" of heading into Bangkok for a few hours, an overnight stay at Novotel Suvarnabhumi was the winner. More expensive than a budget hotel in Bangkok but don't forget to factor in convenience, travel time, taxi fares to and fro and you may feel the splurge is worth it. We sure did...
Continue reading "Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, Thailand" »
What is a "Wat"? A Buddhist Temple in Thailand. There are over 300,000 Wats and aren't only a place of worship but an important part of the community in small villages. Beside "Wats", there are Bots, Wihan, Chedis, Prang and Mondops. A short definition of each:
Bot - is the most sacred structure in a Wat and used by monks for religious ceremonies, teaching and meditation.
Wihan - is a secondary assembly hall.
Chedi - is a monument designed to hold sacred Buddha relics.
Prang - is a soaring tower resembling Khmer temples.
Continue reading "What Would Bangkok, Thailand Be Without Its "Wats"" »
Khao San Road was a short five block walk from the Best Western Swana Hotel. We did look into booking a hotel in this area but not all the hotels are online. Decided to investigate a few hotel/guesthouses for the next time. Khao San is the place to stay if you are on a serious budget. The D & D Inn, for example, runs about $20 U.S./night including breakfast and all taxes! How low can you go? If you think that's rockbottom, a new guesthouse had just opened and was advertising rooms for $10 U.S./night. It's no wonder Thailand is backpacker's heaven.
Internet your heart out for less than $1/hour...free WI-FI at most cafes....travel agencies and massage parlors - both ordinary and "happy endings/extras" kind...inexpensive restaurants...View image...bars...clothes...along the main pedestrian street. This is the place to come and stay in these difficult financial times if you are serious about saving lots and lots of money.
Continue reading "Checking Out Khao San Road in Bangkok, Thailand" »
You could visit Bangkok and Thailand a gazillion times and still find something new to see and/or do. We arrived late at night (or early in the morning, depending on your perspective). Through customs, grabbed bags and hightailed it to the Public Taxi queue for a metered taxi into Bangkok. A Public Taxi from outside Suvrahabhani Airport will run around $10 U.S. plus $2.00 (70 Bahts) for tolls. Don't fall for all the "Official" Taxi signs inside the airport around baggage claim or the touts and/or booths once you exit customs. Follow the signs to "Public Taxi" ranks, get in line, hand a receipt to the driver who escorts you to his waiting taxi and you are on your way.
Our driver spoke no English but was smart enough to pull over to the side of the road and telephone the Best Western Swana Hotel for directions. TIP: Make sure the hotel telephone number is on your reservation in case it's needed. The taxi finally pulled up on an unappealing street around 1:00 am in front of a decrepit looking hotel. All I could think was..."Oh my God...what have I booked us into!"
Continue reading "The Sights and Sounds of Vibrant Bangkok, Thailand" »
We primarily use Bangkok as a hub to fly through. Very close and convenient to other Southeast Asian countries. ex-Marine and I shop, sightsee, eat and leave. But many visitors journey here for the express purpose of "companionship" while others don't leave without sampling a little bit of Bangkok's infamous sex industry. It's more like..."well, as long as I'm here..."
It's impossible to pick up any free literature without ads offering, for example: "Sexy Hot Girls"; ladyboy and transvestites, male and female, Thai and foreign, special entertainment shows; "Lily Visiting Service" -- we have the hottest girls in town...body to body massage; "B&N"..."guys are different...etc.,; "Inter Mustache's House", 2nd floor go-go- boys, 3rd floor Karaoke... "in and out escort service...24 hours. "Best Bangkok models...only one place who gives money-back guaranteed; "real experience in lesbian..."All True Fantasia" (six shows of course; and my favorite ad -- "Super Big Men" - muscular, medically certified, full satisfaction. The ads are so funny to read...interesting (things I never dreamed) and filled with misspellings.
Continue reading ""Companionship" in Bangkok, Thailand" »
Survanbahmi Airport has really gotten its act together. No more mob scenes around the luggage carousels, but still with the familiar touts waiting outside customs hoping to scare you into taking one of their cars or taxis. DON'T! Walk outside, get in the taxi line and for less than $10 you'll be taken to your hotel, no matter what time of day or night.
Back at the Grand Mercure Park Avenue, a fast check-in and crash into bed with a wake-up call for their excellent buffet breakfast. Made-to-order eggs, chinese breakfast, noodles, fruit, yogurt, breads and so much more. Wouldn't miss it for the world.
Continue reading "Back in Bangkok, Thailand - Monasteries and Public Transportation" »
We are only going to discuss ordinary massages, not the "happy ending" or "extras" massages that Thailand is noted for. I have personally never had a relaxing Thai massage. They are brutal. Cheap and brutal. They run (on an average) about 500 bahts ($13) for a decent one-hour massage. It's not that I'm masochistic but you do feel great after the pains go away.
If you have tight muscles and after a long flight, an intense Thai massage (with or without oil) fits the bill. The masseuses use lots of elbows, knees, palms...digging in and kneading those muscles.... I was sore for two days after one but felt great once the pains went away. They ask, "is that too hard?"...laugh when you say "yes" and just keep applying pressure. I promise...you will not fall asleep during one. It's impossible to walk more than three feet down any Bangkok street without passing a massage parlor...look for a clean one and take your chances. The nicer ones also offer body treatments, facials, waxing, manicures/pedicures and one place even had an ear spa (whatever that is).
Continue reading "A Thai Massage In Bangkok and The Grand Palace" »
We stayed at the Royal Hotel in an older part of town on this trip to meet up with our tour group. The Royal is an adequate "tourist" category hotel with rates starting at $32 US/night for a double with breakfast. At that price, no wonder the Royal was extremely crowded with Thai people and Westerners. There is an old section and new section in the Hotel. Save your money and stay in the old section, just as nice as the new. The Royal Hotel had two major upsides...location, location, location - we could see the Royal Palace and Museum from the breakfast room, and - Khaosan Road was only two blocks away.
TIP: Don't hire a taxis inside the Hotel, walk outside and hail one. If you make arrangements inside, the price is double.
Khaosan Road area map
Continue reading "The Chao Pra River, Bangkok and Discovering Neighborhoods" »
In Bangkok on a weekend, it was time to revisit the Chatuchak Weekend Market, one of my favorite places. Chatuchak operates on Saturday and Sunday only, selling practically everything under the sun. Tools, food, trendy fashions, "antiques" and "new antiques," intricate wooden carvings, masks, fluffy dogs, fish and singing birds. There are approximately 9,000 individual booths filled with clothes, food stalls, restaurants and entertainers. This is not a "just-for-tourists-only" market but crowded with locals buying, eating and window-shopping. Since we had jet lag, it was easy to breakfast early and hop on the skytrain.
Chatuchak Market is easy to reach on Bangkok's clean, safe and efficient skytrain (or take a taxi, very inexpensive). The skytrain has English speaking personnel on hand in each station to answer questions. Don't be timid about using the skytrain...you'll find the ticket dispensers user-friendly and there is always someone to ask.
Bangkok's skytrain
Continue reading "Exploring Bangkok's Chatuchak Market" »
It doesn't make any difference how many times we've visited Bangkok...there is always a new area to discover and places to revisit. The last trip was no exception, and began at Bangkok's spanking new Suvarnabhumi Airport built to replace the very old Don Muang Airport. A gorgeous new complex that presented some major challenges beginning with an 11:30 pm arrival. Almost every international flight arrives in the late night/early morning creating a madhouse. A few of the many challenges included:
- Surviving the unbelievable confusion and mayhem around the baggage carousels when luggage from at least three flights are off-loaded on the same carousel. We are talking about up to 1,000 people muscling their way to the front, trying to identify their bags out of the masses slowly circling on the carousel, yanking the bags off onto free carts and finally making their way out of the customs area. A free-for-all, and all you can do to keep from getting killed by suitcases.
Suvarnabhumi Airport at night
Continue reading "Suvarnabhumi Airport and Bangkok, Thailand Revisited" »
There was a note from Sue, our Explore tour leader, at the Royal Hotel giving meet-and-greet details for us independent, land-only travelers to be held that evening in the Royal Hotel. Most of the group had flown in from the U.K. that day.
Sue is extremely knowledgeable and has been leading Explore tours for over eight years. Our group of 13 was primarily English with one New Zealander, two Scots and ex-Marine (husband, Steve) and myself - the token Americans.
Continue reading "Bangkok and Meeting Our Laos Tour Group" »
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