Thailand Experience and Travel Tips

Right after I left my job as a School Nurse, I decided to have an out of the country vacation to unwind and de-stress myself. Travelling in Thailand is not that costly if you know where to go. (Yes! It's a must visit place for people who loves shopping. hehe).

For those who have plans on visiting Thailand, check out the hotel we stayed - MyHotel Pratunam, they have rooms for two that ranges from 950 to 1,200 bahts per night (Php1,300-1,600). Their rooms are so much better than those pricey hotels here in the Philippines.

The only downside of it was the small elevator and their pervert customers. There were a lot of manyakis na Indian there, so never enter the elevator alone with guys in it. Sa Pinas, hahabulin ka nang bumbay dahil sa utang mo, sa Thailand hahabulin ka dahil gustong bilhin katawan mo. haha. I think it's because Thailand is known as a sex tourism destination.

We arrived at Thailand early morning and we were fetched by Bay (our sweet tour guide). She gave us a walking map of the surrounding area. The hotel was just near the shopping malls and wholesale market so after dropping our things at our room, we went straight to the malls.

Tuktuk. We don't ride them because they tend to overprice when it comes to tourists. But MyHotel has a FREE tuktuk service! (only within a certain distance, you can call them to fetch you. hehe)

The next day, Bay went to our hotel and fetched us for our city tour. She brought us around the temples (I forgot the name of the temples. Sorry!) and gave us some brief history of it.

People praying inside the temple.

Details at the back of the Temple Door

They say if you wish and rang all the bell from start to end, your wish will come true. :)

Temple's view from the outside.

Thailand's beloved king.

This girl prayed and pasted gold papers on the Buddha

Love the little details of this building!

Our guide said that if you throw a coin and it got inside the big bowl, your prayers will be answered.

There were a lot of cats surrounding the temple.

People giving gifts to monks. Our tour guide said that it was a holiday when we went there. 

These were booths outside the temple.

Towards the middle of the day our guide brought us to Gem's Gallery (World's Biggest Jewelry Store). Tourist guides have commissions when you buy at the store. If you don't want to spend you can just say that you don't want to go there, but I suggest to buy at least one jewelry in Thailand, they have non-expensive jewelries there. I even saw some earrings that are just worth 650 bahts.

After having lunch we went to Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo. We had another tour guide who fetched us from the hotel, Samphran Zoo is outside Bangkok so we had to travel for about an hour. But the travel time became longer because the van had to fetch other tourists. There were a group of Filipinos (2 guys and a girl with a baby), but they were a bit snobbish. We smiled at them but they just gave us the cold shoulder (so rude). But we became friends with a Jordanian couple who had a cute daughter with them, she was really pretty! (I should have took a picture of her!) When we arrived at the Elephant Zoo, we were given 3 hours to watch the shows and roam around before going back at our meeting place. (Will be posting videos soon!)

I had fun watching these cute elephant couple. So sweet!

Opening of the Elephant Show.

Cute Pose!

This elephant was trying to do a head stand. haha

Crocodile!

Some of the tourists gave money after the show.

Rabbits!

 Sweethearts riding a pedal boat.

We went back to our meeting place and rode back to the hotel. Because we were so tired, we slept during the ride. We had a Thai massage (it was so great), then we went shopping again!

Here are some good shopping places you must try:

• Platinum Mall (whole sale fashion mall)
• Panthip Plaza (IT mall)
• Shibuya 19 (also a fashion mall)
• Siam Center (one of the big mall centers)
• Pratunam Market (wholesale market, parang Divisoria)
• Central World (Largest lifestyle shopping destination in Bangkok) 

But there are much more places to go, like Chatuchak Weekend Market, Floating Markets, Patpong Night Markets, etc.

Tips:

• Don't change all of your money in the Airport. Just change US $50-100, enough for the fare to your hotel and some snacks. 
• Always tell the Taxi driver to use the normal meter. Some of them use the fast meter for tourists, and some don't even use the meter and charge you on how much they want.
• Learn some simple Thai phrases. Thais are always appreciative when you try to speak their language. Sawatdee kha/krap (Hello), Kop khun kha/krap (Thank you), Hong Nam Yu Nai (Where is the toilet?), La korn (Good Bye)
• Bargain! Always bargain when buying. "Lot Noi Dai Mai?" (Can you make it cheaper?) If the price is Thb 100, Ask "70, can be?" They usually use calculators to express how much the price is.
• Always respect their King, Queen, Princes and Princesses. They won't like it if you disrespect the Royal Family.
• Don't use sleeveless shirts, mini skirts or skimpy shorts when you want to go to a temple, because they have strict dress codes inside temples (but some are less strict).
• Thai appreciate tips! So if you like their service, give some tip. :)
• Since Thailand is a hotspot tourist destination, book your airline tickets in advance to get low airfare deals.

I'm wrapping this up! Thanks for reading guys!

P.S. 

I'm planning to make some layouts that you can use for free! So if you like my style just check my site for updates. Or suggest what kind of layouts you would like me to create! :)

Your NOD,

Pinay RN