Bpai-lá-ná Siam (Thank you & Goodbye)

After our quick Baiyoke Sky tour, checked out and took the train to our last stop in Siam. What time is it - it's pasalubong time! But first Riza needs to do some quick personal stopover stuff then we head off to MBK shopping market, one of the most famous shopping center located at 444 Phayathai Road.

MBK Shopping Market

MBK definitely reminds me of our Divi Mall. You could buy practically everything so cheap, shoes- like even branded shoes like Manolo Blahnik's, LV, Prada bags, phones, foods,  shirts and could even haggle for more discounts! So before hopping from one shop to another, time to fill the tummy first!

Can't get away with some Chinese cuisine after all, hello lunch at MBK

Just what I've been craving for..

Shopping pa more, here we go!

She's one happy tourist! 

Grabbed some coffee, snacks after the shopping. One is never tired after shopping, 
see the happy faces! This calls for a groufie (of course!)

Fangirling mode on. 

This is taxi queue. Simply get a number and wait for your no. to be called when your taxi arrives. Quite cool. Why can't they do it in the malls at home? (-_-)

Groufie in the car to our hotel for check out! 

Kop-kun-kha Thailand

Somehow my mind mimic a silent going home na..aahhhhhh..pwede one more day please. There's so much to do and it's so much fun to be in Thailand! The ancient ruin-feel, the delicious right spice Thai foods, the distinct Thai culture that resonates from all over the place, I fell in love with you Siam. Hasta la vista Siam! 

Until the next time, Thailand
itsmelory (^.^)

The Baiyoke Sky

Feeling so refreshed after our Thai massage last night. Every experience in Thailand was so good, I really think I may like to come back soon. We took our breakfast longer than usual, enjoying the bits and pieces of the buffet, savoring every dish as much as we can while enjoying chismis, ah, classic Pinoy thing.  

With no particular place to go today, our hotel gave us some voucher to see the tallest building there is in Bangkok, probably because we kept complaining about the smell from the restroom and the broken A/C. So off we go to the neighbor building- The Baiyoke Sky!

Baiyoke Sky

Dubbed as the tallest building in Bangkok. Baiyoke is an 88 floor hotel with a revolving observatory deck on the 84th floor and is one of Bangkok 's tourist attraction. 

The entrance to the hotel was very very crowded on the way to the lift because of group tours, why it's the weekend of course!! I could imagine the hotel guests must be pissed off! We managed our way into the pool area after 2 elevator trips. Not pretty convenient, but hey it's a freebie! 

The pool was pretty inviting! Dive na ba?

Well, I don't have to be on the revolving observatory to get a superb Bangkok view, the panoramic view from the pool area is more than enough for me, plus I get to daydream a bit,  in a hammock while having my Pina colada. heh

It was a nice and quick stop, but just so-so for sight seeing. On the way down, we managed to fight through the hordes of tourist to go back to our hotel, now that is something. 

Love,
itsmelory (^.^) 

Night market & Thai massage

4 days in Thailand was an exciting experience, to be able to enjoy the wat's and all Siam but  Thailand is not just about temples, but also night market! 
It was a muggy evening, our last night in the Kingdom of Siam as we took the cab to one of the local night market.

Most stalls had barely opened when we arrived at 6PM, glad to roam from one kiosk to another. Too tempted to buy different phone casing but decided against it, but unable to resist some Bhat70 dresses and shirts. It’s a girl thing you know! My sister's even worst, buying from every stall we passed!
By the time, the place gets a bit crowded, and everyone’s had enough of window shopping (at least for me, huhu) we found a perfect spot to enjoy more of Siam air, hang-out and have Thai-food overload pa more!    

Night market foods...

James vs. Shaved ice cream

Blurred lines (-_-) 
enjoying Night market foods and shopping! 

That Thai Massage

So after the last bite of cake (which will probably be our last in Siam, for now), we can't let the day end without experiencing authentic Thai massage on our way to the hotel, after all this is Thailand right? 

Preparing to have our massage. 

Sawadee! Just what I needed after the walking. Finished off with some hot ginger tea..aahhh relaxing is not enough a word! Kop-khun-kha Thailand!

Loving Thailand,

itsmelory(^.^)

The Grand Palace

From Wat Pho we rode in style with what else but tuktuk for 100Bhat. The Grand Palace is hard to miss with its guarded white walls. Entrace fee is 400Bhat / person but we did not made it further the entrance because of strict dress codes.

The Grand Palace

Almost mid day when we arrived at the main entrance of the The Grand Palace, the sun's  really burning this time, and can't wait to explore the insides of the palace. Unfortunately, lesson learned since we were not allowed to enter because of Riza's according to one of the guards: "impolite get-up". The guard kept on repeating impolite dress no entry, impolite dress no picture. Even so, we were impressed because the guards implement the rules and couldn't be bribed! 
So we stayed a while for a couple of photos overlooking Grand Palace, considered the most sacred site thus the strict dress code. Next, Plan B to find foods!

Say cheese! The photos were more than enough at least for me. 

Ok, the impolite dress. 

We made our way and look for some place to eat and found a small resto just across Grand Palace flanked by old houses and still can’t get over about the "impolite thing" 

Eats Time

Probably the best meal, nothing beats home cooking. We paid only B800 for this hefty servings and iced cold soda! 

Free chillies refill. Yay.

on our way back to hotel 

Finally back, and nap time after the walking under the heat of the sun! 
We also had coffee and snacks inside the room while watching TV, chikas naman.

Love,

itsmelory (^.^)

Wat Pho

Soon after we docked we walked through the market and further down arrived at Wat Pho. Those in shorts, sleeveless were made to wear some long coat for a donation, so it pays to go there in proper get-up.

Temple of Reclining Buddha

Also called as Wat Phra Chettuphon Wimon Mangkhlaram Ratchaworamahawihan. A 43m long Buddha covered with gold leaf encrusted with mother of pearl decorations. It also housed 1,000 Buddha images and is home to the First Thai Massage School. One of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok.

Some leg repairs were being made on the reclining Buddha so it was pretty crowded inside the temple. We had a quick visit—you see ambient temperature at 38C, imagine the humid and you unluckily come a crossed someone with extreme body odors! Eww. 

We managed to exit the temple before we completely fainted, and good thing there were free bottled water. After rehydrating, we moved forward to our next temple tour- to The Grand Palace. 

See our The Grand Palace


Love,
itsmelory (^.^)

Chao Praya River Cruise

Today we have the whole day for ourselves so we sleep a bit longer. After the buffet breakfast, we took the Airport Link Rail to take us to Chao Praya for some surprise...river cruising. Chao Praya is a notable river in Thailand used not only for tours but for major transportation in Bangkok. 

Good morning Bangkok!

From Skytrain, we transferred to Silom Line to take us to the last station Bang Wa then take the boat to cruise Chao Praya. I've read so many tourist warnings that  scammers are likely present approaching tourists and pretending to be government officers and offer some tour package claiming some temples are closed that day, but then they will bring you to some shops and will force you to buy something.

From Bang wa, we walked a little to the  boat terminal. Some locals as approached us with brochures and telling us the boat service is about to leave. We politely declined that we don’t want to take the private boat but will take the public transit. We asked one local but he sound mad, even shouting at us (maybe because we did not took his tour he was speaking in Thai). We made our way to the booth to get tickets not minding the guy. We paid Bhat20 per head for the boat ride. Few minutes after the boat arrived to take us to Wat Pho and to the Grand Palace.

Overall, it was just ok. The view was not that exceptional except for Chinese temples, a floating restaurant, a mall and quite a number of constructions going on. The whole boat ride experience was very Thai but personally not even comparable to our Bohol river in my own opinion, but it was a good experience!


Please see also our Wat Pho Tour


Love,
itsmelory (^.^)

Chocolate Ville in Thailand

After the hefty lunch we had a quick nap and refreshed, mukhang tao na ulit kami. Our next stop is to The Chocolate Ville. The place is located at 51 Khan Na Yao, outside of main Bangkok.  Just to be safe, we had the address translated to English by the charming hotel receptionist.

Getting there

We took the Airport Link to A-Link Mall station, from there we got a cab to get us away from the crowded city!

this gold train coins are the cutest!
Please bring us to some Chocolate Adventure

To the Land of chocolates?

The place opens late afternoon and we were just in time since the place is not crowded yet. Get ready to click the cam and strike a pose! You are guaranteed heaps of photo ops. Chocolate Ville turns out to be a European themed village so no chocolate factory around..you've been warned! 

Oh well, it felt like I'm not in Thailand at all! 

I secretly wanted some lake house like this.

Dining at Chocolate Ville

When we decided that we've had enough photos (lols) now time for dinner.  The place was already jam-packed by evening. So many food choices  but mainly Western or American foods. We were getting ready to order but were informed that you have to reserve first at the admin office located far right from the restaurants which is not pretty convenient if you are at the far left side of the villa!  I'm sure this is something that can be improved. 
Anyway, we had some nice steak for dinner, rice, cold drinks and some cake. Took a cab to bring us to the hotel, Riza's also complaining this time because she's not feeling well. Grateful to recharge for a much needed rest! First day in Siam's just good. 


Love,
itsmelory (^.^)