Thailand: Best of Bangkok

On our third day in Cambodia, we left Siem Reap early to cross the border at Aranyaprathet to go back to Thailand. After clearing immigration at around 10am, we bought food at a 711 store then boarded the bus for the 5 hour trip. The tourist bus, which was parked right across the street from the store, will take you to Bangkok for 200 Baht. We arrived in Bangkok at 3pm and went straight to Siam Paragon. We deposited our things at the mall then had our uber late lunch. We had several hours to explore Bangkok so we hailed a cab to take us to Wat Pho. The driver didn’t use the meter but charged us 200 Baht for a short trip. I wanted to get out but Rodel pacified me and said that he will pay for it just so we can go. That was our first mistake. We paid the 50 Baht entrance fee, explored the temple grounds and checked out the Reclining Buddha.

Reclining Buddha

Wat Pho

Golden Buddha

Lavishly designed door

 

Wats

After checking almost every nook and cranny, we took the exit and surprise! The cab driver was waiting for us and offering to take us to a place that sells bus tickets to Sukhothai. It turned out to be a travel agency that charges exorbitant prices for a Sukhothai tour. We left the place immediately and decided to go back to Siam Paragon by taking the BTS train.  Rodel and Glenn were so confident that the GPS tracker on their phones and the Bangkok map that we got at the airport will lead us back to the mall. You put four people used to reading maps and doing fieldworks at God-knows-where and you will get one long discussion on the right way.  We crossed one of Bangkok’s overpass and walked several blocks until we reached one of the train stations.  Another discussion ensued on what line to take until a fellow Filipino approached us and gave us directions. We had dinner then checked out the boutiques before leaving for Mochit bus station for Sukhothai.

After an overnight stay at Sukhothai, we left early to catch the Wintour bus going back to Bangkok. We reached the city past three pm and hurriedly checked in at Rambuttri Village Hotel. The hotel is located at Soi Ram Buttri , along Chakkra Phong road near  Khaosan  road. Their deluxe double room is 1050 Baht and they require a 1000 Baht deposit.  Aimee was adamant that we visit one of the largest weekend markets in Asia, Chatuchak market. It was already 4 in the afternoon but the market was still abuzz with locals and tourists. Chatuchak is paradise for cheapskate shoppers. Aimee and I immersed ourselves with the cheap market goods while the guys had no choice but to suffer silently.  Until Glenn couldn’t take it anymore and suggested we head back to Khaosan road to have dinner. We were so tired from the 8 hour trip and the market madness that we decided to dine at the restaurant right beside the hotel. After a sumptuous dinner of Thai food, we were treated to a free performance of a Michael Jackson wannabe. 

We were supposed to go to Ayutthaya, another UNESCO heritage site on our last day in Thailand. But after visiting Angkor Wat and Sukhothai, we had a temple overload. We were not keen on travelling for two hours just to see wats again so we opted to stay within the city. The Grand Palace was just walking distance from our hotel so it was a logical choice. There is a 350 Baht fee to enter the palace grounds. Once inside, you can join the guided tours to get an abridged version of the palace’s history. 

Thailand's Grand Invitation

Grand Palace

Golden Chedi

One of the magnificient buildings of the Grand Palace

Dusit Maha Prasat Hall

This is where the heads of state are received

It was way past lunchtime when we finished with the tour. We headed to MBK mall which is very similar to Greenhills mall. You can find a lot of stalls selling all kinds of stuff. One section is even dedicated to jewellery and diamonds. A whole floor consists of stalls selling electronic equipment like mobile phones and computers. 

Lastly, one of my favourite parts of the Bangkok experience is eating pad thai at a street stall in Khaosan road. Their 15 Baht pad thai was more delicious than what was served at a restaurant in Siam Paragon. The lively atmosphere at Khaosan road added an element of excitement to the entire thing as well.

Thailand: Serene Sukothai

Our trip to Sukhothai is special to Glenn and me. As I have mentioned on our first entry, this is where I realized that he is the one for me. Nothing extraordinary happened when that moment came. We were at the historical park, taking advantage of the shade while staring at one of the ruins. Under the sweltering heat of the midday sun, we talked about history and geology --- when it dawned on me that he is the only one that knows and understands me completely. That we can talk about anything for hours and still have something left to say till the next conversation. And in that moment I knew, that this is the guy I would like to spend the rest of my life with.

And to think that we almost didn’t pushed through with the trip. Because when we arrived at Mochit Bus Station, the bus bound for Old Sukhothai was already fully booked.  The only available trip was to New Sukhothai, which were several kilometres away from the historical park. We were at a lost on what to do, so Glenn took charge and purchased our bus tickets to New Sukhothai for 329 Baht. He then called the owner of the guesthouse that we will be staying to arrange for someone to pick us up at the bus station in New Sukhothai. 

After 8 hours of travel, we arrived to a deserted bus station at 6am. The owner of Mountain View Guesthouse, named Meao, was already there. It was a 15 minute drive to the guesthouse which offers a fan room for 450 Baht. After taking advantage of their complimentary breakfast, we took a nap to prepare ourselves for the historical park tour.

New Sukhothai Bus Station

Meao drove us to Ramkhamaeng National Museum and made arrangements with the tuktuk driver. We paid 500 Baht for the whole tour, excluding the entrance fees for the temple sites. There is a fee of 100 Baht for visiting Wat Chang Lam, Wat Phra Phai Luang, Wat Sri Chum and Wat Chetupon. We didn’t enter the grounds of Wat Sa Si since it had a separate entrance fee. Plus the scorching heat of the sun and our hunger won over the thought of exploring another Wat. 

Wat Chang Lam

Pillars of Wat Chang Lam

Wat Phra Phai Luang

Sukhothai Historical Park: A UNESCO Heritage Site

Wat Sri Chum

Wat Chetuphon

Tuktuk shot

Cambodia: Alluring Angkor Wat

After months of talking about it, Aimee and I finally went ahead and purchase a plane ticket to Bangkok, Thailand for one of our dream vacations. After tweaking the Thailand-Cambodia itinerary of Aimee’s friend, we were one step closer to visiting Angkor Wat. I can’t clearly remember what lead me to invite Glenn and his best friend, Rodel after I finalized the trip details. Being travel junkies themselves, they said yes and it became a party of four. But we almost didn’t make it because weeks before our June 17 flight last year, the Red Shirt Crisis in Bangkok erupted. I almost backed out of fear for our safety, but Aimee and the guys were adamant that we push through with it. Rodel flew in from Australia and arrived in the morning and waited for Glenn who took an earlier flight with Thai Airways from Manila. The guys had time to roam around Bangkok’s Central Business District. 

Since Cebu Pacific’s cheapest flight to Bangkok at that time is at 11pm, they went back to Suvarnabhumi Airport for our 1:30am arrival. The plan was to explore Cambodia first. We were going to take the bus to Aranyaprathet to cross the border to Cambodia’s Poipet. The first trip was at 4am so we stayed at the airport for several hours before taking a taxi to Mo Chit Bus station for 360 Baht. The fare in the relatively comfortable bus is 212 Baht. After almost 5 hours of travel, we arrived at Aranyaprathet and immediately queued at the immigration office. Several steps away is Poipet, Cambodia’s side of the border. We took a free bus ride to Poipet terminal then commissioned a cab to take us to Siem Reap for 2000 Baht. The driver didn’t take us directly to our hotel but rather advised us to transfer to a tuktuk and assured us that we don’t have to pay extra for it. It turns out that the reason for the free ride was so that they will have a chance at convincing us to take their tours. But I already made arrangements with The Villa, our hotel to take their full day Angkor discovery tour. That was our first brush with those persistent touts.

At the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border crossing

Standard room at The Villa in Siem Reap

Our first night in Siem Reap was spent hunting for souvenirs at the old market. Aimee and I went crazy with the scarfs and bags made of Cambodia’s silk. Then it was off to dinner at the Temple Club in Pub St. We ordered the Amok set, Cambodian BBQ and Khmer curry for $12. Quite expensive, though we were treated to an Apsara dance show.

Apsara dancers

The next day, we woke up early to start our tour by witnessing the sun rise over the Angkor Wat complex.  We paid $20 for a one day Angkor pass then followed the throng of people to the viewing spot. Watching the changing hue of the sky as the dawn was breaking was a beautiful start to our day.

Dawn in Angkor Wat

We went back to the hotel to have breakfast and to prepare for a busy day visiting three temples. Our first stop was the Angkor Wat complex to explore the place thoroughly. We climbed the highest point of Angkor which was a feat for me, someone who is afraid of heights.

Finally, a dream come true

Famous Angkor Wat view

Angkor in black and white

One of the temples' hallway

The Bayon was the second temple that we visited. It was the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, and was the centre of Jayavarman's capital, Angkor Thom. Its most distinctive feature is the massive stone faces which are believed to resemble the king.

Stone faces from a scene of the Churning of the Sea of Milk

Bayon's famous feature

It was so hot and humid that after lunch, Aimee and I just wanted to go back to our  hotel room, never mind that we still have one temple to visit. But our guide was insistent and convinced us that it shouldn’t be missed. He tempted us by casually mentioning that Ta Phrom is where Angelina Jolie filmed Tomb Raider. The temple originally called Rajavihara, was founded by the Khmer King Jayavarman VII as a monastery and university.

Nature taking over Ta Phrom temple

In its zenith there were around 3000 villages under it

We celebrated our Angkor visit at Red Paino, which serves the Tomb Raider cocktail that was said to be created by Angelina Jolie herself. It was a day of childhood dreams coming true. And it was all worth $243 for all four of us.