Symphony of Lights @ Makati Stock Exchange (Ayala Triangle)

Traveling to Bangkok on a Budget (PART III): Hotel Hunting- Enjoying Dusit Thani Hotel Bangkok

We didn't have any issues finding a hotel in Bangkok. We stayed at Dusit Thani Hotel and got a Superior Twin Room ( see http://www.dusit.com/dusit-thani/en/dusit-thani-bangkok-accommodation/superior-twin.html) . This costs around PHP 5,000- PHP 6,000 per night. And the great thing is that we didn't have to pay that much! We paid THB 930 per night! Roughly PHP1210 per night because my brother works at Dusit Thani Manila. Since my boyfriend and I traveled with him (we cannot travel without a chaperon), we got the discount. Having a chaperon wasn't so bad after all! =P

Superior Twin Room, Dusit Thani Hotel Bangkok

The rooms have large glass windows overlooking Lumphini Park

Free Internet Access but we didn't find the wifi satisfactory

What I like about Dusit is the nice Pool Area. There are a lot of places in the hotel wherein you can get great photos. Too bad we didn't have time to really take all areas of the hotel. 

The best thing about Staying at Dusit is the great Location. It was near Silom Road where there are a lot of banks for foreign exchange with great rates. There are also fast food chains in Silom Road like Mc Donald's. We ate at Mc Donalds and the service wasn't quick at all! So, don't go there if you are in a hurry. Better to go to Soi Polo Chicken near Lumphini Park where the service is quick and food and cheap and great. I will post pictures in the next blog entry. Lumphini Park is across Dusit so if you have spare time, you may also visit the place. It looks like Rizal Park meets QC Circle so for Filipinos, if you are in a hurry, you may skip visiting this place.

Outside Dusit Thani Hotel Bangkok 

Silom Road

Lumphini Park

So, I guess the cheapest way to save on Hotel accommodation is bringing along someone who actually works in a hotel. Hehe. OR simply go to this Trip Advisor link to check out cheap hotels:  

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g293916-Bangkok-Hotels.html. 

I noticed that Khaosan Baan Thai is cheap yet got very good reviews. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g293916-d1966515-Reviews-Khaosan_Baan_Thai-Bangkok.html

Traveling to Bangkok on a Budget (PART II): Finding Mr. Oat

Now that you already have decided when to go to Bangkok and have secured your airline ticket, there are 2 other things you have to decide on before the actual trip- 1. Are you going to get a tour guide? 2. Which hotel should you book? Let me dedicate this post in answering the first question.

Most Filipinos I hear traveling do not hire a tour guide. Hiring a tour guide when traveling is not so popular for us. I guess because we feel that we are only increasing our expenses by doing so. My two most memorable trips - Coron and Bangkok- were the trips where my boyfriend and I hired a tour guide. Unless you have a lot of time to spare or adventure is really what you are after (the risk or getting lost is not an issue), then I guess not hiring a tour guide is fine.

The advantages of hiring a tour guide in Bangkok are:

• If you are going to the Grand Palace and Buddhist Temples, they can give you a historical background of the country/ place. If tour guide is Buddhist, then you'll have a better understanding of their religion as well. 

• The trip from Manila to Bangkok is 4 hours and is usually early morning or late at night, it is quite relaxing to have someone wait for you in the airport so that you can get to your hotel right away and rest. Note that taxi scams abound in Bangkok. If you are unlucky, you can get ripped off by a taxi driver. To feel cheated after a 4-hour trip is the last thing I want to experience.          

The air-conditioned van we rode the entire tour (including airport transfers). Note that there were only 3 of us in the trip.
This van's chair can be reclined.

You may read more about Bangkok's taxi scams here: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Tourist_Traps-Bangkok-Taxi_scams-BR-1.html

• Time is more precious than money for me. Hiring a tour guide definitely saves you time. The tour guide knows what time you should leave the hotel and what the best route going a certain place is (note that Bangkok is known to have the worst traffic in the world). Also, the tour guide can give you tips on where to eat, where to buy souvenirs, etc. You have a person to answer all your questions regarding Bangkok.

WHY WE CHOSE MR OAT AS TOUR GUIDE:

I know there are a lot of good tour guides in Bangkok because I see a lot of good reviews about it. But I really appreciate Mr. Oat as a tour guide that I am compelled to write this blog entry for him (most of my blog entries contain only photos because I am not so confident about my writing skills. Please forgive me for my grammatical slips as well). 

Let me tell you why we chose Mr. Oat. Although we were willing to spend money, we wanted to make sure we get the best deal (I think I already said that. =P). Now, I thought that the best way to get the best deal is email some of the recommended tour guides in the list I found http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g293915-c125475/Thailand:Finding.A.Tour.Guide.html 

If I remember it right, I emailed the first 9 tour guides listed. I asked them to give me their quotation for airport transfers, Grand Palace (this already includes Emerald Buddha) and Temple tours (I had to be specific that I wanted to visit Wat Pho and Wat Traimit), try the dinner cruise around Chao Praya river and most importantly, visit Khao Yai National Park to ride an elephant. I also included in my email that I don't want to wake up early on the first day of the tour because we will be arriving Bangkok 12 midnight. Plus, there are only 3 people in the tour- my boyfriend, my brother and myself but we were willing to join other groups.

Most of those I emailed replied right away. I think the idea of joining a group is not so popular because most told me they do it. Looking back, it was good that it was a private tour that we got because we really had control of where to go and what time. After receiving all the replies, one tour guide rose above the rest (in terms of tour cost). And hailed as winner was... Mr. Oat (oat747@yahoo.com)! ^_^

The best thing I love about Mr. Oat is that I never felt that he wanted to take advantage of us. And I believe he understood the fact that we wanted to limit our spending in Bangkok so would always give us tips to save money (where to take a cab from MBK to lessen taxi fare, where to buy souvenirs, etc). He also didn't want us to spend a lot of money calling his mobile. He said he was able to subscribe to a promo which allows him to contact the Philippines for very low cost. He called us even after the trip to ensure we arrived safely.

The Grand Palace and Temple Tour we had felt like a field trip because he really gave us a lot of information about the place. He is Buddhist so when we go to the temple, he would also share his faith and why they would do certain rituals, etc. Because we love taking pictures, he would tell us where to pose to get the best shots. I specifically was impressed when, without my brother saying anything, Mr. Oat noticed that my brother wasn't feeling so well. He had medicine ready for my brother.

Everyday of the trip, Mr. Oat would also always give us a little something. I felt he shouldn't have, but he did. 

And the items are really nice. Thanks Mr. Oat!

When we arrived at the airport, he handed 2 small bags which contained the items in the picture below:

Some items he got from Chiang Mai (his hometown)- Grade A tamarind, 2 big  ethnic bags,  a small pink bag,  a table runner, a card holder and a map

He also gave us some cookies, dried bananas and huge Thai Bananas.

During the trip, he would buy us some local street food. Whenever we tell him he would pay for it, he would decline. I know the items don't cost much but we find it very thoughtful of him.

Thailand mango. This comes with a plastic of pink salt where you can dip it (i think the salt has a little sugar as well).  I prefer the Philippine mango better.

Cut up pineapples (THB 10). Very Sweet. Sweeter than the pineapples I've tasted in the Philippines.

We also tasted (not the monkey, don't worry) some local chips the money is holding in this photo.

Too bad we were so hungry when Mr. Oat gave some some waffles so we missed taking a photo of it. The waffles has some corn in it. But is very similar to the waffles that we have here in the Philippines. But it was good because we got it hot.

In the itinerary I gave Mr. Oat, I only included Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha, Wat Pho and Wat Traimit. He said he really wanted us to see one of his favorite temples, the Marble Temple. He didn't even charge us extra for this. And we got some nice photos from that Temple (more photos in next posts).

He also bought us what looks like tupig which is sold outside of the Marble Temple.

Wrapped in banana leaf, this local delicacy is made from sticky rice (and coconut , I believe) . It  tastes sweet and it has either sweet potato or banana inside. THB 10 each.

I also asked Mr. Oat if he could put us in the upper deck of the Chao Praya Princess Cruise and he was able to do that without charging us extra. It was big deal because I noticed from the blogs/ reviews I read that those who are seated in the upper deck enjoyed the cruise more than those in the lower deck. He said he friends with one of the managers. Not a biggie but still a sweet gesture, he also gave us his free juice coupon.

Since Mr. Oat's home town is in Chiang Mai, I am hoping we could travel to Chiang Mai with him. But we need to save money first. That would have to wait.

I hope you would get Mr. Oat as your tour guide as well. And no, this is not a paid advertisement. Haha! I really just believe Mr.Oat is such a beautiful soul and Feel sad I do not read a lot about him in the internet. 

Traveling to Bangkok on a Budget (PART I): Promo Fare Hunting

It took around 2-3 years before my my dream of going to Bangkok became a reality. To make sure that it would be a wonderful experience, I did a lot of research to make sure that we get the best deal. We were willing to spend some money but we wanted to make sure every peso (or should I say baht?) would be worth it.

If you are planning for a vacation in South East Asia (apart from the Philippines) Bangkok is one of your best options. Especially if you are a Filipino. There are already a lot of beautiful places in the Philippines to go to (I myself have more than a thousand islands to explore). So I thought, if I am going to travel outside of the country, it has got to have things/places (or offers experiences) the Philippines doesn't have. I chose Bangkok because it has:

• The Grand Palace and beautiful Buddhist temples (although we also have cathedrals)

• Dinner Cruise by the River (we actually have a cruise in Manila Bay, but it the experience/ view is totally different)

• Lots of elephants!!! (I believe we only have one- the lonely guy in Manila zoo)

There are a lot of other options. Check out these websites to help you decide:

http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/thailand/thailand_tourist_centre.html

http://www.tourismthailand.org/Where-to-Go


Let's start planning your Bangkok Trip! ^_^

WHEN DO YOU WANT TO GO?
For us, the first thing we had to consider was when we want to go to Bangkok. I am currently in graduate school (and working part-time at the same time) so we felt that best time to go will be during my semester break. According to http://www.travelfish.org/weather/thailand the best time to visit Thailand is between November to February. But the date we chose (Oct 11-14) wasn't so bad as well because it was off peak. We possibly got better rates and the places we went to weren't so crowded yet. There was a threat of a typhoon but thank God the typhoon was over when we arrived. We only experienced a 30-minute rain shower during our stay.

GET READY TO BOOK A FLIGHT!
For us, deciding when we want to go to Thailand was crucial because we wanted to take advantage of Cebu Pacific's promo fare. If you also want to take advantage of this promo, I suggest that you plan months ahead of your trip. Make sure to check Cebu Pacific's website (http://www.cebupacificair.com/Pages/default.aspx) regularly to make sure you do not miss the promo. You can also subscribe to Cebu Pacific for updates.

We bought our ticket 3 to 4 months before the trip but it was worth it. Usual regular (base) fare to Bangkok ranges from PHP 3,000-6,000 one way. But we got it at   PHP 1,200. Because it was my first time traveling out of the country, I was a bit surprised that there were a lot of additional fees to pay . Instead of just PHP 2,400, the total air fare (round trip) per person we spent was PHP 6454.59. Depending on the fuel surcharge or the promo fare you get, the cost can be higher or lower. But at least this will help you get an idea.

Cost of Cebu Pacific Total Air Fare ticket for 3 people (Round Trip from Manila to Bangkok).
This includes 15k check in baggage.

For first timers like me, make sure you also prepare the following fees (per person):

         Travel tax- PHP 1260
         NAIA Airport Terminal Fee- PHP 550

The good news is, you do not have to pay any of these fees going back to Manila. Travel tax/ airport fee from Bangkok to Manila is considered to be part of what you paid to get your plane ticket.

Good luck with your promo fare hunting! ^_^

Caramia SM Megamall

Caramia's Menu:

http://www.munchpunch.com/cara-mia-gelateria-sm-megamall/menu

Coron, Palawan

DAY 1- Mt. Tapyas

DAY 2- Island Tour