Day 1 – Friday
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| With performers at Siam Niramit Show |
Suvaranabhumi Airport to Sukhumvit – the charge is around 500 Bahts for metered public taxi (400 Baht as per meter + 50 Baht surcharge for “Airport Taxi” + 70 Baht toll for express way. Alternately, you can catch a bus from Airport to Sukhumvit for 150 Baht (Bus departs every half an hour). Sukhumvit is a locality with serially numbered streets – odd numbers on right side of the main road and even numbers on the left (when coming from Airport). We stayed at Bally’s Studio Suite on Sukhumvit “20” (20 is the street number) – pretty good place with a small gym, swimming pool (no kiddie pool) and free wi-fi access at the reception. In the evening, we went to Siam Niramit show – 1350 Baht per person if paid by credit card (regular charges are 1500 Baht per person). If booked on the net at least 24 hours in advance, the charges are 1000 Baht per ticket and in addition, you get a free souvenir book (80 Baht value). Children under 3 are free. In Thailand, I did not find people being finicky about the “under-3 years” rule – it is pretty lax and you can just talk your way through as long as the child is going to be seated on your lap and “looks” 3-ish. As for the Siam Niramit show, it is spectacular – but do not go with any expectation of a story line, because there is none. This show aims to depict how people of Thailand (formerly the Siam kingdom) have lived through various eras (each era is an episode of the show) and also looks at some of the key moral values that underpin the way of living. So sit back and enjoy the lights and colors, the finer details and occasional humor of the show. and The best way to go to this show (from Sukhumvit) is to go to Asok station (which is a 10 minute walk from our hotel), catch a Metro line to Thailand Cultural Center station (20 Baht/person for one way ticket, train every 10 minutes) and then from this station, there is a free pick up from Exit 1 every 15 minutes to the Siam Niramit show. Took a 1 hour foot massage for 200 Baht on Sukhumvit Soi 18 – this was the cheapest we could find in Bangkok.
Day 2 – Saturday
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| At Dream World |
This was a trip to Dream World – sponsored completely by Cleartrip.com as part of “goodie bag”. Regularly, the ticket is priced at 700 Baht for adult. Dream World is a good 40 minutes drive from our hotel. There are 30+ rides – some of them quite jarring. We could not take any of the more adventurous rides since Freya could not be left alone. There are some rides which get you wet (like Grand Canyon), so best to carry a towel and a change of clothes along (though you can buy a raincoat for 30 Baht). There are two “rides” which do not get covered as part of the admission ticket – Go Karting and Snow World (though our goody bag included ticket to Snow World). In Snow World, you get Jackets and boots, but not gloves. So it is difficult to stay in for more than 15-20 minutes at a stretch, because your hands start to freeze. The highlight of Snow World is a chance to try out toboggan, which is done well. There are two “shows” with specific timings at Dream World – Hollywood Show (well done, with world class action) and Uncle Tom’s Animal Show (here, you get a chance to take photo with Monkey and Dogs). Dream World is like Essel World – so if you are short of time, or if you are on tight budget, you can skip this. Otherwise, this does provide many photo ops and will surely keep you busy through the day. Took a 1 hour Thai massage for 200 Baht.
Day 3 – Sunday
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| Giraffe Feeding |
A trip to Safari World – this is something unique. It is an open zoo with many “animal shows” – including Orangutan Boxing, Elephant Show, Sea Lion Show, Dolphin Show and Spy Wars Show (action packed Hollywood thriller based show with good stunts). At the elephant show, you can feed the elephants by buying a fruit basket for 40 Baht. But more thrilling is feeding Giraffes on “Giraffe Terrace). Here, you are perched on the first floor and tall Giraffes stick their neck out from below for a 40 Baht lunch basket. Quite mild animals with long tongues, but they do not like being touched, unless you touch a soft spot behind their ears. Am sure you cannot get this kind of experience at other places in the world. I booked through www.thailandhighlight.com for 1250 Baht per person. The ticket is 800 Bahts per person (lunch is included with a wide range of cuisines, including Indian cuisine and Jain(!) cuisine). This is the cheapest I found with hotel pick up. Took a 1 hour oil massage for 300 Baht.
Day 4 – Monday
Checked out of the hotel and off to airport at a negotiated rate of 400 Baht for a taxi (inclusive of the tolls). Caught flight to Phuket. Took a shared minivan to the hotel for 150 Bahts per person, but there may be a short wait for around 15-20 minutes for the van to get filled up. A taxi would have cost 600 Baht, so if you are a group of 4, a taxi would make more sense provided your luggage can be accommodated. Phuket is again something of a state with many beaches. We stayed at Patong Beach at the Patong Beach Lodge – it is a decent place with complimentary water, free breakfast (quite nice) and free pool table. It has a small swimming pool as well – and is a short walk from the beach. If you are craving for Indian food by now (as we surely were), there is a restaurant called Kohinoor-2 at a 5 minute walk, which is the most reasonably priced Indian restaurant we found in Thailand (decent meal for 2 here costs around 350 Baht). That evening, we went to the beach where swimming areas are clearly marked with floaters – did a little splashing and off to sleep.
Day 5 – Tuesday
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| Big Buddha |
We rented a bike for 150 Baht per 24 hours from a shop near the hotel - 110cc Honda Click. As long as you have Indian driving license, it is safe to rent the bike. Helmets are a must and are provided with the rental. Most rental shops will keep your original passport as security – and it is safe to leave the passport with them. Petrol has to be filled by the renter (usually 90 Baht for full tank). This mobility was a good one as we could take a day tour around Phuket. The places we visited (and I would recommend that you follow this itinerary too) were – Expo Market at Phuket Town for shopping (wide range of goods, but not much bargaining possible and the price of goods is comparable to or higher than in India), followed by Wat Chalong (monastery/ temple), then Big Buddha (a big statue of Buddha at the hill top around 7 kms from Wat Chalong), followed by Kato Beach (nice and quiet), then Karon Beach (am told you need to be careful of your belongings at this beach) and finally back to Patong. This circuit is around 60 kms and the Honda Click consumed almost the entire tank of fuel, mainly because of the uphill drive to Big Buddha.
Day 6 – Wednesday
Off to a tour for “Phang Nga” which is the name for a series of islands. There are tours available through a “Big Boat” (slower one) or “Speed Boat” (which costs more for the same set of islands). Though pamphlets will advertise the price by a Big Boat as 2800 Baht per person (1800 for a child above 3), all tour companies will give a 40-50% discount on this listed price. So we could get a tour for 2 in 2900 Baht – the agent we choose was Family Home Tour (+66-894756030), which was opposite to our hotel. The tour covers visit to Hong Island, in which we got a chance to sit in a canoe and row inside a cave in the island. This was followed by another idyllic canoe ride around Panak Island, where we saw a jelly fish. Next off to Khao Ping Kan from where James Bond Island is around 100 meters away. This island is so called because the 1974 James Bond movie – The Man with the Golden Gun – was shot here. Finally, we ended the tour with a swim on Lawa Island. Water is greenish in color, but temperature is good. I used a life jacket for my swim, because while the coast appear to be close to where the “Big Boat” throws anchor, in reality, it takes a lot of effort to reach there, especially for occasional swimmers like me. Cold drinks, water and lunch were on the house. We returned to the pier by around 3 pm and to the hotel by around 4:30 pm.Day 7 – Thursday
Took at 5 am taxi from Patong to Phuket Airport for 500 Baht (found just one place offering this deal – most other places would cost in the range of 600 to 700 Baht). Reason we had to take a taxi was that our flight was at 7:00 am and mini-vans (@ 150 Baht per person) start plying only from 7:00 am). Airport is around 40 kms from Patong Beach, so takes around 40 minutes in the morning to cover the distance. Then took a bus from Bangkok Airport to Pattaya @ 124 Baht per person. Buses are very convenient and schedules are once every 2 hours at odd hours (7am, 9am, 11am … ), so if you miss one schedule, you have to wait for a maximum of 2 hours to catch the next schedule. Got down at “Central Pattaya” bus stop and hopped onto a motor-cycle taxi @ 50 Bahts each to reach our hotel – Citin Loft on Pattaya Klang Soi 12. The motorcycle taxis managed our suitcase quite nicely. Hotel has nice spacious rooms with free wi-fi access in every room. Bath Tub and glass wall showers. Spacious rooms. Swimming pool (but no kiddie pool). No microwave either in our room. The manager tells us that next time, we should book directly with the hotel for cheaper rates instead of going through Cleartrip.com – that way, complimentary breakfast will also be included. Indian food available bang opposite the hotel – this is buffet style Indian food at 200 Baht per person unlimited (including non-veg) – the name is Pattaya Dhaba. Other Indian restaurants in the vicinity are Ali Baba (038361620) and Raj Indian Restaurant (038421890).
Something that I overheard today – it is not safe taking a bike for rent at Pattaya. Looks like a scam similar to the one in Goa may be on cards here – in which the owners of the vehicle have a duplicate key and while you park the vehicle, they may “steal” it and then claim 50000 Baht in compensation for the stolen bike. Also, some owners may create some scratches on the bike and then claim compensation for the same from you.
Day 8 – Friday
Thai massage for 150 Bahts on Pattaya Klang mai road close to Soi 8/1. Here, foot massage is also at 150 Bahts, while Oil massage goes for 200 Bahts. Went for bowling above Tops Super Market on the Pattaya Klang main road at 80 Bahts per game per person. Had a stroll to the beach – the waters are very good.
Day 9 – Saturday
Check out of the hotel, foot massage at 150 Bahts, Indian Lunch, then off to Suwarnabhoomi Airport @ 200 Bahts per person, inclusive of pickup from Hotel (booked this transport online through www.belltravelservice.com, phone - 66 (0) 2747-4673)
Some of my observations around Thailand:
- I have seen predominantly 7 types of commercial establishments at Thailand. In decreasing order of occurrence, these are – Hotels, Massage Parlors, Restaurants, Tailors who claim to stitch suits in 24 hours, Seven-Eleven Convenience Stores, Tour Operators and Currency Exchange.
- Seven-Eleven convenience stores are found in almost every nook and cranny of Bangkok and Phuket.
- Regardless of what other forums say, I did not find much bargaining possible. Especially at massage parlors, where each parlor has advertised rates.
- People of Thailand are genuinely warm and friendly. Never found them arguing. If a deal cannot be made, they are polite about it. They greet visitors with a genuine smile and love kids. Almost everyone around was playing with Freya.
- Most people seem confused about distances. In one case, something that I was told was 4 kms away turned out to be 11 kms away. In another case, 1 km turned out to be 7.
- Except for people who deal with tourists, not many other people can converse in English or even understand and reply to simple questions
- Of the two local beers that I tasted, Singha is definitely better than Chang Draught beer
- Beer is cheaper than India!
- Even a mid-scale restaurant is quite costly, especially if it is Indian restaurant
- Using the “Smart Voip” internet calling software, I can make free calls to Thailand landline and mobiles – even when I am in Thailand. That’s nice!
