For personal reasons, I had to (as in absolutely must, come hail or high water) go to Bangkok, Thailand. Luckily, my schedule fell on a weekend, so I only had to take two days leave from the office.
I did not research much on what to do when in Bangkok, as I had more important things to prepare for. I do hope this can serve as a guide to others who are taking the usual 4D/3N package tour to Bangkok.
If you are arriving via Thai Air, make sure you turn right (that is the designated place for agents..the left side is for hotels). This is where you will find a person with a coupon bond size paper bearing your name on it -- he will take you to the hotel where you are booked. My travel agency made the stupid mistake of saying 'turn to the left'. This is what I did, so when I could not find my name on any of the paper being held out in front of my face, I panicked..I had to go all the way to the other side to look for the person fetching us. When I first came out of the airport, this guy from the information told me to come over and asked who was going to pick us up, an agent or hotel..When he found out it was an agent, he told me to turn right. I argued that my agent in Manila said to turn left. He answered back -- "Okay you go to the left if you don't believe me. But I tell you, you will come back here. I work here so I know." Being stubborn, I stood my ground and turned left. I was also too proud to turn around and parade in front of him even when I realized that he was right and I was wrong.
Nyhahaha...neknek nya, pinanidigan ko na talaga...Kahit pa mahirapan ako maglakad at sa totoo lang talagang natataranta na ako.The ride to First House Hotel was about 30 minutes. I did not have much of a first impression as it just confirmed what I knew and heard before I came -- Bangkok is very much like Manila. Pratunam, the area where the hotel is located, is the shopping district of Bangkok. This is evident in the many, many stalls aligned on the streets, and the trash scattered everywhere....It's a cleaner version of Divisoria after sale hours.
Walang putek, hindi mabaho, pero daming supot nakakakalat sa kalye.In front of the hotel is a Filipino owned travel agency cum souvenir shop named
Kabuhayan. You can ask the owner if she has a group tour arranged for the day that you can join in.
I also asked the tourist guide, June, to write in Thai the name of the street where I am supposed to go the next day. First House also has a card with directions in Thai that is handy if you are going back to the hotel. The ride to
All Seasons Place, located in Wireless Road, took about 20 minutes and cost only baht 61 -- the driver gave me 40 as change for my 100 baht...
naka-gain pa ako ng 1 baht, haha. I told the driver that I did not have 1 baht..he said never mind. I thanked him and took this as a sign that the day would turn out good
.On the way back to the Hotel, our taxi driver gladly taught us some Thai words and even gave me a
card containing the Bangkok tourist spots and the Thai equivalent of these places. This proved handy whenever we rode a tuktuk or a taxi as most Thais don't speak in English. Because I was in good spirits, I gave the taxi driver 100 baht and did not ask for the change.
Feeling galante ako, hehe.view from the 36th floor
reception area
