I know its a very late post.
Its already 2017 and three years already passed.
If ever someone reads this post, they might be asking what is the point of writing about this old trip.
To be honest, there really isn't a point.
I'm just bored and i wanted to reminisce about my adventures. :)
This was my first international flight.
I never really expected that i'd be able to take vacations outside of my country.
My parents were not rich still isnt but they provided us with enough.
My aunties helped me finish my studies and 4 years after working, i was able to go to my first international vacation.
This trip was totally unplanned. We were just trying to eat free buffet lunch in a hotel in Boracay when some agents talked us into purchasing a membership with their hotel. so we paid a rather large amount of money (well for me it was large) and came out with a hotel membership down payment and free accommodations to a sister hotel in Bangkok for 4 days 3 nights.
The accommodation was valid until first week of March so we booked our flights immediately. The flights were a bit pricey since we would be flying soon. We found a flight from Manila-Singapore (23 hour transit)-Bangkok for the same price as direct Manila-Bangkok flight. So, we chose the one that has transit in Singapore. :)
DAY 1
Our flight was very early in the morning as soon as we reached Singapore, we checked in for our flight the next day and looked for the locker service inside the airport. It was around 5-6 singaporean dollars if i'm not mistaken. We, then, proceeded to immigration to get visas and off we went to Sentosa. We have 23 hours to enjoy Singapore so we left as soon as possible.
We had a late breakfast in Vivo City Mall and walked to Sentosa Island. It was a very long walk but we had lots of fun taking pictures here and there. :) There were also several moving walkways so if you get tired, you can just stand there and it will do the moving for you. There are also other ways to go there but this one is the cheapest.
After walking and sweating, we finally reached our destination, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS SINGAPORE.
 |
| welcome to far far away! |
 |
| shrek's castle |
 |
| favorite ride!!!! |
After a few hours of fun inside Universal Studios, we had to leave as we have more places to visit and we were able to try all the rides except the mummy (i don't like roller coasters :p) and battleship something which was under maintenance (yay! because it was also a roller coaster).
We grabbed a very late lunch at Malaysian Food Street just outside the Universal Studios. We ate Hainanese Chicken and cutie rice balls. :)
We headed back to Vivo City and hanged out a bit inside the airconditioned mall. It was very hot outside so we decided to stay in the cold for a while. We played in Sephora and it was fun because the salesladies don't really stand beside you and judge you while trying stuff unlike how it is in the Philippines. They just let us try the nail polishes and assisted us when we had questions. At the end of it, we upped our nail polishes. My friend had two silver nails and i got confetti on my black nails.
We took the train to a stop near Merlion park! :) We got lost and ended up in a park or maybe it was really the way, we just didn't know it. We asked one girl and she gave us detailed direction how to reach it.
 |
| this hotel was in the park we were in |
 |
| chibi merlions |
 |
| view at the other side. marina bay sands |
It was really sad because i wanted to eat a 2 dollar ice cream sold here but i couldnt find the seller. probably because it was night time already. We dropped by Bugis on the way back to the airport.
Since we had an early flight in the morning, we decided not to book any hotel rooms and just find a spot inside Changi. It was so big. They had a place where you can play game consoles for free. They had a small movie theater for free were most people were sleeping. We found two couches in one of quiet corners and slept there until our flight to Bangkok.
DAY 2
It took me two vacations to Bangkok before i remembered how to say Suvarnabhumi airport. 😂 From Suvarnabhumi airport, we exchanged a small amount to purchase the tickets to airport rail link. We were going down at the last station Phaya Thai before changing to Sukhumvit line and going down to Nana Station. There are money exchange places in between these two stations which have better exchange rate vs the airport.
 |
| coin ticket. you swipe it when you enter then shoot it when you exit. |
Our hotel in Bangkok was inside a small street but it has a free shuttle ride. They gave us a number to call but didn't include that we have to add the local 02 digit at the start so we couldnt contact them. So we rode a tuktuk who overpriced the ride for 100 baht :/. After that though, it was easier to catch the shuttle.We checked in and had lunch in our rooms. We showered and slept for a while before going out.
Unlike in Singapore, I didn't prepare an itinerary in Bangkok so we were just wandering around. Our first destination was Siam Paragon and Siam Center. if you want branded stuff, you can find them in these two malls. Madame Tussauds Bangkok and Siam Ocean World is somewhere inside these malls too. We didn't go inside but there were a lot of displays outside that you take pictures with in Siam Ocean World.
To finish our day, we went to the grocery to buy some snacks and drinks. On our way back to the hotel, we found street stalls with local food and fruits. We bought some food and went back to the hotel.
DAY 3
On the evening of day 3, my friend's sister joined us. She arrived late at night and we all squeezed in our beds. In the morning, we rode the BTS to Saphan Taksin were the ferry boats are. We had no idea how to use this and since i didn't prepare much for this trip, we decided to take a tour small boat instead of the regular ferry.
At first, it was good because the man who was operating the boat even gave us watermelon. He navigated us around the canals where some people who sells their stuff on a boat approached our rented boat. We bought some stuff and continued our journey.
Our first stop was Wat Arun. It's my favorite out of all the temples. It was gorgeous. We climbed to top and it was steep but the view on the top was amazing. We took a lot of pictures and went back to the boat.
 |
| inside Wat Arun compound |
 |
| view from the top of Wat Arun |
 |
| view from afar |
I think we spent more or less 30 minutes exploring this beauty and the boatman was not pleased. He lectured us that we were late. He didn't really tell us we were supposed to stay there for 15 minutes only.
Our next stop was Wat Pho. This one is pretty famous for the giant golden buddha. Anyway, before leaving the boat, i asked the boatman what time we should be back and he gave us 30 minutes. So, i timed our exploration of Wat Pho and made sure we'll be back in 30 minutes.
 |
| The ticket comes with a free drinking water. |
 |
| Map of the Wat Pho compound |
We ran back to the port and guess what? The boatman left us. We were not late this time. I hope this is a reminder to people who will opt for the long tail boats to be very careful when dealing with these people. You got to make sure about the inclusions and time limits so it doesnt happen to you. You can also just ride the ferries because its cheaper and you can even take your time exploring these buildings. I'll be making another post on how I got around Bangkok on my more recent trip to this city.
So, we decided just to grab an early lunch in a small restaurant near the port where we were left behind. (Pati ba naman ung boatman nang-iiwan)
From Wat Pho, you can walk to the Grand Palace. We walked around under the sun and saw some street merchants near the Grand Palace. It was interesting.
We dropped by MBK were you can buy a lot of cheap stuff. During the time we were in Bangkok, there were still rallies and this picture was taken outside the mall.
DAY 4
I can't remember how we got to this one small hospital where one helpful guy called a tuktuk for us. This time it was not overpriced but it took us to a place that sells jewelry. The helpful guy turns out to be an agent of that jewelry place. It was so funny because me and my friends were so broke by this day. After the jewelry shop, the tuktuk brought us to River City were we told him not to wait for us. Inside this mall are antiques and artworks. So if you like those kind of stuff, this place is heaven.
We took a map and tried to do a walking tour but we got lost and ended up in Chinatown. There were lots of cheap stuff here and i always go back here every time I'm in Bangkok.
We dropped by Chatuchak Weekend market but since it was not weekend, it was close. We settled for JJ outlet beside it.
On our way back, we went down the taxi at Pratunam were Platinum mall is. If you want nice clothing items for a cheap price, this is a place to go to!
These are all the places we went to during my first trip. My feet ached a lot but it was truly a nice experience! :)
In Summary
Day 1: Universal Studios Singapore, Malaysian Street Food, Merlion, Bugis street
Day 2: Siam Paracon, Siam center
Day 3: Bangkok channels, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, Grand Palace, MBK
Day 4: River City, Chinatown, JJ Outlet/Chatuchak Market, Platinum
If you are planning to go to Bangkok, make sure to research and make itinerary so you don't waste your time :) When taking a taxi, make sure to tell the driver to use meter before getting on it. Don't ride the tuktuk before agreeing how much the payment will be. Better to know the distance, so you can estimate how much you are supposed to pay. I've been to bangkok four times but until now i have no idea how they calculate it.
I will make more detailed way to explore Bangkok on my next Bangkok post.
I forgot to add these 💞 my best buys from Bangkok. I found a Kpop shop around Siam Area and got these :)
No comments:
Post a Comment