Travel Throwback: Mrs. S takes Bangkok.

Well I am not yet Mrs. S during this time but I was quite there.

Let me take you back to 2007. 

Travelling has always been a part of me. Those short trips all over the northern part of the Philippines when I was young made me a semi-expert in packing. That is why I decided to start a TTT; Travel Throwback Thursday which will showcase my past travels every week here on my blog. I guess I just got tired of posting a whole album on Facebook without even giving justice to my wonderful photos and most especially the experience.

So let me start on my very first out of the country trip. Bangkok, Thailand.

Please bear with me on this one, I was still a rookie on taking travel photos. In short, I took more "selfies" than places.

Bangkok is a three hour flight from Manila. Sister and I didn't get to sleep the night before for the usual reason of excitement. So imagine two ladies dead tired as soon as they got their seats on the plane. Yes, that's us!

As soon as we arrived in Thailad all I thought was, "This airport is huuuuge!" and it's very beautiful too. 

credits: http://asianowblog.com/2013/03/05/suvarnabhumi-airport-the-next-asia%E2%80%99s-busiest-logistic-hub/

If you are from Manila you would really stand in awe when you see airports like this.

My sister took a package tour so basically we did not have problems in transportation or even reading the map. From the airport, our car service took us directly to our hotel, Ramada D'Ma which is located at the heart of Bangkok City.

Along the road, I noticed Bangkok is like a big Quiapo. Street foods everywhere, people would just walk anywhere they want, plenty of constructions here and there. 

Lobby of Ramada D'Ma Bangkok Hotel

Our hotel is small, simple and decent one. Not bad actually. I think I fell in love with the stairs.

First in our agenda is to, of course look for money changer to have our peso exchange for Thai Baht which is almost the same value (1 Thai Baht = 1.39 Philippine Peso). Thailand time is not too different from Manila, they are just an hour late from us so this will also not be a problem for travelers.

I wasn't sure of our schedule but all I heard is that Bangkok is big in shopping. Lucky for us, malls are just walking distance from where we are staying. But of course, shopping can wait later.

Being a tourist I for one did not know that they are also big in temples. Thailand is known for being a Buddhist Country. I am really not a big fan of temples. But since we are on a tour, might as well check it out.

On our way to the temples, all I can see is their multi-colored taxi. Here's my favorite one.

Pink Cab

The first temple that we went to is the Wat Intharawihan in Nakhon District. Tour guide's english was so bad all I understood was this: 32-metre high, 10-meter wide standing Buddha is made from 24-carat gold.

Buddha referred to as Luang Pho To or "Phra Si Ariyamettrai"

Next temple is the Wat Benchamabophit located in the Dusit district. This is the second "Wat" I have encountered so I guess it's best to define what is "Wat". According to wikipedia, "Wat" is the Thai translation of "Buddhist Temple".

Going back to Wat Benchamabophit, which can also be referred to the marble temple, I was impressed because the place is neat and pretty.

The Marble Temple

First "selfie"

Everything in this temple is of course made of gold.

After the temple tour, we went to a gold/diamond factory where you cannot take any pictures and which did not get my attention anyway.

Second Day. Our first agenda is to visit the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery. Again, it was so hard to understand the tour guide so my sister and I just went to sleep. But as I researched, all those who died in the historical Burma Railway were buried in this cemetery.

Full history of the Burma Railway http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burma_Railway

After the cemetery tour, we went to where usual tourist would want to go when in Thailand --- The Elephant Camp.

second "selfie'. view of the camp

Elephants are super cute but not as clean as Dumbo (lol). But the whole idea is to experience the elephant ride. At first it was uncomfortable and a little scary because of the hill-like areas in the camp. But all in all, it was a good ride!

Me and my sister

The usual activities followed when you are in this kind of place, feeding of elephants, elephant show, a lecture about them and the surprise my sister got is a free massage from one of those adorable creatures. We even get to scout around their river after our ride.

The last agenda for the day is the Wang Pho railway. It was a breezy ride and the air was clean for once.

To wrap up our day, sister and I decided to walk around the city, invade every mall that we see and of course, shop.

Our third and final day in Bangkok was mainly focused in Rose Garden. Rose Garden is Bangkok's cultural  center where the place is too pretty because of the roses the surrounds it. The place is very well maintained.

Third "selfie"

showcase of Muay Thai

If you want to know more about Thailand's culture, this is the best place to go to since they hold some shows here. Each show runs for about 30 minutes.

The last part of our trip is consisted of visiting the Floating Market and the Samphran Elephant Ground & Zoo.

Floating Market

I was a bit disappointed when I saw the floating market. The smell is insane! Although I am not sure if this is the only market they have or it is not a good season but you got nothing to see here. There are some stores on the side but everything is a bit pricey.

We ended our whole trip the next day. As usual my eyes twinkled when I saw the airport but too bad that we were just there for a few minutes and boarded our flight to Manila right away.

To summarize our trip, Bangkok is not the place where you wanted to go back again and again not for the pleasure of sight seeing at least. This place is only good for shopping. If I'll go back I'd probably book a direct flight to Phuket where my whole family can enjoy the beach.

-N