My blog stats has been increasing tremendously recently and I found out it's because of my recent travel blog posts. It's really rare that I received such high stats and I really wanna thank you guys for reading and supporting me all this while. Today, I'm gonna take a break from the usual travel posts but I'll be doing a guide to Bangkok instead as I find that travel blog are really useful when I was planning my itinerary; where to shop, eat, transportation and etc. So I think it would be great to share my itinerary and some travel tips especially for those who are travelling to Bangkok for the first time.
1. Currency
For me, currency rate is one of the most important point when I'm travelling to overseas because it can make such a huge difference of how much Thai Baht I can own for RM1. I've found two currency exchange offices which offer the lowest rate in town; one at Kepong Village Mall and the other one located in front of Fahrenheit 88/Lot 10 (the corner shop where you will see if you're walking from Lot 10 to Fahrenheit 88). Fyi, I exchanged at 10.28 on 22nd December 2013.
2. Accommodation
I stay in Lub D Hostel in Siam Square during my visit to Bangkok and it's actually one of the top hostel in Bangkok. Perfect location where it's just right in front of the BTS National Stadium station, walking distance to shopping malls in Siam and Pratunum. Since we're on budget and we didn't plan to spend much time in hotel, so we seek for hostel instead of hotel. It costs us about RM60 per night per person. I will be doing a review on Lub D Hostel on a separate post so for the moment, please visit siamsquare.lubd.com for more information.
3. Transportation
If you have done research on Bangkok's traffic or been there before, you should know they have really bad traffic just like Kuala Lumpur. So I would suggest you guys to take BTS Skytrain to tour around the city instead of taking taxi or bus especially during rush hour unless you're going to floating market or somewhere far away from town. However, keep in mind that you should ride on metered taxi only or else they will charge you double the taxi fares.
Tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) is also one of the famous transportation in Bangkok. However, there are some tips you should take note before ride on a tuk-tuk and beware of scams:
1. Always agree on the price and bargain before you ride on a tuk-tuk as they always charge more on foreigners.
2. Do not ride on a tuk-tuk during rush hour or long journeys.
3. Avoid the "friendly" tuk-tuk drivers who may present themselves as guides and offer you rides to floating market or tour around the city.
If you do really want to experience a tuk-tuk ride, go for a short distance journey and ask the receptionist of your hotel about the price of a tuk-tuk ride to avoid scam.
4. Airport transfer to hotel
I would suggest you guys to take public taxi instead of bus or train from airport to your hotel for time saving. Look for the public taxi signboard as soon as you pass the immigration counter and claimed your luggage, then you will see a big counter outside the airport and lots of public taxi queuing out there. Write down your destination to the counter girl and they will assign a taxi driver for you. You're recommended to print out the hotel address in Thai or map for the taxi driver in case if they can't read in English. From airport to Siam area cost around 350-400 THB and it took approximately 30 minutes. On a side note, if you're flying AirAsia, you will be landed in Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), but not Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
5. SIM Card
Having mobile phone data access in foreign country is great as you can keep in touch with your family, search for attractions or restaurant reviews and etc. However, I did not purchase SIM card when I was in Bangkok as we were so busy shopping for the whole day that we didn't have time to use our phone. Besides, hotel, restaurants and even massage center do provide free WiFi for customers. Hence I wouldn't suggest you guys to purchase SIM card if your main objective is shopping only unless you can't live without Internet like my friend who was using her phone 24 hours even when we were shopping, eating or taking train.
If you insist to get a SIM card, you may purchase DTAC Happy Tourist SIM from any of their mobile service center, airport, 7-11 and Family Mart. They have two types of package, namely SIM 49 and SIM 299. SIM 49 costs 49 Baht and you will get 15 Baht free call. However, you will need to top up for Internet usage. For the first time top up at 150 Baht or more you will get free 30MB Internet (valid for 7 days). While SIM 299 costs 299 Baht and you will get 100 Baht free call and free 7 day unlimited Internet. For more information, please visit www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/touristsim.html.
6. Weather
It's a must to check their forecast weather before you're flying off to that country. The weather was rather chilly when I was in Bangkok. Silly me that I thought Bangkok will be in hot season for the whole year just like Malaysia, so ended up I was wearing a tube dress and caught cold on the first day. Fall sick during trip is such a big turn off so make sure you do your research beforehand and bring appropriate clothing. For your information, during June to November it's rainy season, December to February is cool season (great time for sightseeing), and March to May is hot season (remember drink plenty of water!).
Feel free to ask my any question about Bangkok as I've done research and planned the trip on my own, so I'm kinda familiar with the places. Even after I came back from Bangkok, I still keep myself updated of news of Bangkok and various attractions. I will be doing a top 5 shopping places in Bangkok based on my own experience, how do you think? :)
Previous posts of Bangkok:
Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/01/day-1-in-bangkok-wat-pho-temple-of.html
Asiatique, The Riverfront: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/02/day-1-in-bangkok-asiatique-riverfront.html
Som Tam Nua, Siam Square: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/02/day-3-in-bangkok-som-tam-nua-siam-square.html
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Siam Discovery: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/04/day-3-in-bangkok-madame-tussauds-wax.html
1. Currency
For me, currency rate is one of the most important point when I'm travelling to overseas because it can make such a huge difference of how much Thai Baht I can own for RM1. I've found two currency exchange offices which offer the lowest rate in town; one at Kepong Village Mall and the other one located in front of Fahrenheit 88/Lot 10 (the corner shop where you will see if you're walking from Lot 10 to Fahrenheit 88). Fyi, I exchanged at 10.28 on 22nd December 2013.
2. Accommodation
I stay in Lub D Hostel in Siam Square during my visit to Bangkok and it's actually one of the top hostel in Bangkok. Perfect location where it's just right in front of the BTS National Stadium station, walking distance to shopping malls in Siam and Pratunum. Since we're on budget and we didn't plan to spend much time in hotel, so we seek for hostel instead of hotel. It costs us about RM60 per night per person. I will be doing a review on Lub D Hostel on a separate post so for the moment, please visit siamsquare.lubd.com for more information.
3. Transportation
If you have done research on Bangkok's traffic or been there before, you should know they have really bad traffic just like Kuala Lumpur. So I would suggest you guys to take BTS Skytrain to tour around the city instead of taking taxi or bus especially during rush hour unless you're going to floating market or somewhere far away from town. However, keep in mind that you should ride on metered taxi only or else they will charge you double the taxi fares.
Tuk-tuk (three-wheeled motorized vehicle) is also one of the famous transportation in Bangkok. However, there are some tips you should take note before ride on a tuk-tuk and beware of scams:
1. Always agree on the price and bargain before you ride on a tuk-tuk as they always charge more on foreigners.
2. Do not ride on a tuk-tuk during rush hour or long journeys.
3. Avoid the "friendly" tuk-tuk drivers who may present themselves as guides and offer you rides to floating market or tour around the city.
If you do really want to experience a tuk-tuk ride, go for a short distance journey and ask the receptionist of your hotel about the price of a tuk-tuk ride to avoid scam.
Photo credit: www.dailytravelphotos.com
4. Airport transfer to hotel
I would suggest you guys to take public taxi instead of bus or train from airport to your hotel for time saving. Look for the public taxi signboard as soon as you pass the immigration counter and claimed your luggage, then you will see a big counter outside the airport and lots of public taxi queuing out there. Write down your destination to the counter girl and they will assign a taxi driver for you. You're recommended to print out the hotel address in Thai or map for the taxi driver in case if they can't read in English. From airport to Siam area cost around 350-400 THB and it took approximately 30 minutes. On a side note, if you're flying AirAsia, you will be landed in Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), but not Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
5. SIM Card
Having mobile phone data access in foreign country is great as you can keep in touch with your family, search for attractions or restaurant reviews and etc. However, I did not purchase SIM card when I was in Bangkok as we were so busy shopping for the whole day that we didn't have time to use our phone. Besides, hotel, restaurants and even massage center do provide free WiFi for customers. Hence I wouldn't suggest you guys to purchase SIM card if your main objective is shopping only unless you can't live without Internet like my friend who was using her phone 24 hours even when we were shopping, eating or taking train.
If you insist to get a SIM card, you may purchase DTAC Happy Tourist SIM from any of their mobile service center, airport, 7-11 and Family Mart. They have two types of package, namely SIM 49 and SIM 299. SIM 49 costs 49 Baht and you will get 15 Baht free call. However, you will need to top up for Internet usage. For the first time top up at 150 Baht or more you will get free 30MB Internet (valid for 7 days). While SIM 299 costs 299 Baht and you will get 100 Baht free call and free 7 day unlimited Internet. For more information, please visit www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/touristsim.html.
6. Weather
It's a must to check their forecast weather before you're flying off to that country. The weather was rather chilly when I was in Bangkok. Silly me that I thought Bangkok will be in hot season for the whole year just like Malaysia, so ended up I was wearing a tube dress and caught cold on the first day. Fall sick during trip is such a big turn off so make sure you do your research beforehand and bring appropriate clothing. For your information, during June to November it's rainy season, December to February is cool season (great time for sightseeing), and March to May is hot season (remember drink plenty of water!).
Photo credit: Google
Feel free to ask my any question about Bangkok as I've done research and planned the trip on my own, so I'm kinda familiar with the places. Even after I came back from Bangkok, I still keep myself updated of news of Bangkok and various attractions. I will be doing a top 5 shopping places in Bangkok based on my own experience, how do you think? :)
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Previous posts of Bangkok:
Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/01/day-1-in-bangkok-wat-pho-temple-of.html
Asiatique, The Riverfront: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/02/day-1-in-bangkok-asiatique-riverfront.html
Som Tam Nua, Siam Square: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/02/day-3-in-bangkok-som-tam-nua-siam-square.html
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, Siam Discovery: www.yuhjiun09.com/2014/04/day-3-in-bangkok-madame-tussauds-wax.html
