Day 5: Day trip to phi phi islands

Date: 28th December 2012

Day: 5

Had a early start today but of course woke up very late and rushed to the restaurant next door to grab some breakfast.

While I still do not remember the name of the restaurant next door or have a photo of it. I still remember that I have not written a review about this hotel. So here is the review for Baan Taveesri

Hotel Review

This hotel is located about 1.5Kms from the ao nang beach. Owner charlie who is a danish is so kind and helpful. He can guide you thoroughly on how to go and where to go.
I stayed there only for 2 nights but it was over all a good experience.
Charlie even booked us a phi-phi islands day tour the rates they offered were genuine. Soft bed, decent air conditioner, TV and DVD facilities in room, hot shower. What more can you ask for?
There is a restaurant next door to the hotel which can serve breakfast. I was so happy when the owner charlie offered himself to drop me at the bus stand while I was checking-out. I would say this can be the best budget choice you could make.
I can highly recommend this hotel for budget travellers.

View from my room

View from my room

 Continuing with my tale, I literally dumped the pancakes in my mouth as the pickup van for the day tour had already arrived. I forgot to mention about the company with which the hotel owner Charlie had booked my trip with. The company name is "Jane & June".

As per what he said this was a small tour company but could handle the tour efficiently and so did the company handle our tour efficiently.

The pickup van guy was kind enough to wait for me for about 10 minutes and I was the first passenger to be picked up. On the way we picked up a few people from nearby resorts and left for the gathering point near Noppharat Thara beach.

We were shortly met by our guide who called himself Moo. We were separated into groups and taken to our speed boat. There were around 15 people along with me. And the boat was not crowded.

Also there was this incident where a Chinese pregnant woman was in our group, our guide Moo strongly advised her against going on the trip.

So A word of caution for all pregnant women not to go on speed boat trips as it might get all bumpy at some point.

Now coming back to our phi phi islands trip, Here is the agenda for the day

1) Bamboo Islands

2) Viking Cave

3) Maya Bay

4) Ko Phi phi Don

5) Hong Islands

We started the tour off at 9:00AM and were back 4:00PM.

We followed the exact order that I have mentioned.

On the way to Bamboo Islands

The first look of Bamboo Islands from my speed boat

Bamboo Islands

Only then I got to know Bamboo Islands was also called as

Bamboo Island aka Koh Mai Pai

We were allowed 30 minutes here and we had to get back to the speed boat.

Next stop the viking caves, where the swallow birds make their nest and it is believed that the soup made out of swallow bird's nest is healthy.

Though we weren't allowed to get of the boat we we moved very slowly to get a good look at the caves and the techniques how men take the  swallow birds nest out of there

Viking Cave

Moved out of there to the  next destination Maya Bay

En route to Ma ya Bay

One more 

And there we are

The stunning Ma Ya bay.

Maya Bay 

And lazing around in here for 30 minutes. Everybody got back to the boat and about to leave to our next stop which was Koh Phi Phi don and suddenly we realise we are missing one member from our group.
We thought that guy must have drowned somewhere after 30 minutes of searching we found him walking back towards our boat and he said that he had been out exploring Maya Bay. We were like WHAT?!

Off to our Lunch adda

Ko Phi phi Don

We were there for about 1 hours and I definitely got vegetarian food to eat.
But I was so hungry that I forgot to take a photo of my food ;). Happens

An inside view at Ko Phi Phi Don

As I was exploring KO Phi phi I forgot that I should be back by 2:00 at the speed boat, and I didn't have a watch to check the time. I rushed back to the place where we had git down and then I remembered that I forgot to note my speed boat's name or design.

Panic struck. I was imagining all weird things what if I was left alone, I didn't carry a single diem with me to get back to ao nang.
I walked half the stretch of the beach to see if I could identify the speed boat that I came in and no trace of it.
I heart was racing, thinking What now.
Then I felt a pat on my shoulder it was our  speed boat's captain who called himself Captain Jack Sparrow

Captain Jack Sparrow

And Just to be careful the next time, I took a picture of our speed boat.
I am being responsible now, remember my parents sent me alone to be careful not to get lost. hehe :)

Our Speed boat

Lats and final stop for the day was hong islands
This was basically the snorkeling stop and I did snorkel a bit but I was too afraid.

Random pic of people snorkeling

Our guide advised us about sea urchins and speed boat propellers which might be dangerous to us while snorkeling.
We snorkeled for about 45 minutes next we head back to Ao nang.

And thus the day day tour to phi phi comes to an end.
I came back to the hotel for a hot shower and this was the last day I would be in ao nang.
I had a flight back to Bangkok the next day. But I still repent for not having stayed in Ao nang a little while longer.

I ended the day with a vegetarian buffet dinner at Bernie's place it was good and worth for THB 150.

And this is the memory I carried back home.

Dec-2012

Rest in the Next

~Kei

Day 4: Train travel and Surat Thani to Krabi still en route

Date : 26th Dec and 27th Dec 2012

Partly Day 3 and Fully Day 4

 Continuing from my last post I was in a train headed to Surat Thani.

Plan : To go to Ao Nang

The route I took :

 Bangkok ==> Surat Thani (By train)
Surat Thani ==> Krabi ( Bus )
Krabi ==> Ao nang ( Shared van)

This route could be considered as the second costliest method to reach ao nang, first costliest being the flight.
This route can be a bit time consuming because


 Bangkok ==> Surat Thani (By train) - ETA* ( 7:06hrs) - ATA* (9:55hrs) - 15 hours
Surat Thani ==> Krabi ( Bus ) - no delays - 3.5 hours
Krabi ==> Ao nang ( Shared van) - no delays except for some waiting time - 45 min


ETA*: Expected Time of Arrival
ATA*:  Actual Time of arrival

This is how a railway ticket looks in Thailand

It cost me about THB 650 for one way from Bangkok to Surat thani in a second class Non-AC coach.
I was a bit worried if it would be safe and comfortable for a solo female traveller. The truth it was very comfortable and safe.
You get sheets, pillows and curtain too for your berth. You can compare the facilities to 2nd class A/c of Indian trains.
 There is a separate space allotted for luggage storage near your seat and is quite safe. Just in case you are not sure you can always take a steel tag and tie it with your seat.

And Bonus there is a decent pantry car inside the train and dinner/break fast menu with vegetarian option all ranging from THB 150 ~ THB 250. I am not sure about the food quality as I did not taste it.

I would have woken up so many times in the night just to make sure that I didn't miss Surat Thani and go somewhere else. There were coaches which travelled only up to Surat Thani and there were also coaches which travelled up to Nakhon Si Thammarat. Unfortunately I was in the coach which travelled all the way up to Nakhon Si Thammarat. So I had to keep checking.
There were not many foreigners in my coach as most of them preferred taking the A/C coaches. The local people understood very little english but somehow tried to help.
There is a common notion that trains in Thailand never run on time and yes, It did not run on time was about 3 hours delayed.

Once I got down at Surat thani station I was not sure how to proceed further. I followed most of the tourists and went outside. When I just thought how I would find my way out of Surat thani, I saw foreigners flocking towards 2/3 desk arranged outside the station. You can easily spot these desks just outside the station as you walk towards the left. Travel agents were selling tickets to all the possible destination Krabi, Phuket, Koh Samui, Koh phangan, Ko phi phi etc.

I queued in the line and got myself a bus ticket to Krabi from Phathip travel company which costed around THB 200~250. Phanthip travels company is a reliable travel service company as said by many others and my experience says.

 I felt hungry again... Sorry If I talk a lot about eating, but I love eating..
There are small shops on the road which can serve food and water at a very steep price when you compare what is on offer at Bangkok's streets.

I could purchase fried rice at THB 20 at Bangkok for which I paid THB 50 here. Same goes with the water bottles too.
I was eating my fried rice so intently that I failed to hear the conductor lady screaming at the top of her voice asking passengers going to Krabi to get into a bus. As I said Food first others later.

Yes, you guessed it right the bus to krabi departed without me and I didn't realise this until I finished eating. :) hehe.

I then got into an argument with the travel company and somehow got to board bus that went to the main Surat Thani station and from there I was taken in a songthaew to the place where bus was waiting.
As we reached near the point where the Krabi bus was waiting for us. I was approached by a man who told that I could book my onward transfer from Krabi to Ao Nang in a shared van. It is basically like
they can drop me off just near my hotel. I thought it was good enough and paid THB 200 for that.

Loaded myself and my bag in the bus should say it was a comfy bus and I slept my way through the journey. Reached Krabi in about 3.5 hours. And not they do not drop you off at the krabi bus station and instead take somewhere near their office 10 kms from the bus station. You could buy tickets to ao nang once you reach Krabi. Coz It cost only THB 150. I felt so cheated then. But I didn't have the energy to argue with them. I got into the shared van reached my hotel Baan taveesree. It was the moment of relief.

22 hours of journey at a stretch was too much for this new-bee. The hotel was small but looked good from outside. Checked-in and hit the bed straight.

Woke up very late in the evening and cleaned myself and walked up to the beach. As I was strolling around the area I felt like I was in Goa only a little less noisier.

Ao Nang

I went out basically to find a place to eat my dinner. Yes, I found a small restaurant called " The patain's place restaurant" where they understood my vegetarian issue and cooked for me.

Yumm food.... @ patain's place restaurant

To end the day I wanted to try one last thing.
And that was.

Fish Spa

I paid THB 200 just for 15 minutes and failed bargaining with the owner. But then it was a tickly experience.

And thus the day came to an end. I had to get ready early next morning for my phi phi isalnds  daytrip.

Will write  a review about my hotel in the next post.

Till then rest.

~Kei

Day 3: Bangkok here and Surat thani to Krabi there

Date: 26th Dec 2012

Day 3: Bangkok & Krabi

 Today I had to go to Krabi. I had a booked a night train.
Will talk about how to reach Krabi in the later part of the blog now I will talk about my visit to Queen Saovabha snake institute.

As usual I woke up late this morning and directly went for my breakfast as mentioned in my earlier blog food options for vegetarians were limited. Not so happy as I could not have a dig.

I had to pack my bag as I had to check out today. Packed my stuff, cleaned myself did a early checkout, dropped my bags at the concierge and off to sight seeing.

The Queen Saovabha snake institute is located in the pathumwan area. The closest access is MRT Sam Yan / BTS Sala Daeng.

I took the MRT and this was the first time I used a MRT in thailand. It is quite easy to use.

I have attached the link on How to use MRT in Bangkok . This proved quite useful to me.

The snake farm is about 10 minutes walk from MRT Sam Yan.

The institute is quite big and the snake farm is only a small part of it. You can easily locate the entrance to the snake farm if you keep walking on the left after you enter.

The entry ticket is THB 200 for the snake farm and the show. There are two shows in a day one at 11:00am and one at 2:30Pm.

The 11:00Am show is the snake milking show where the snake venom removal demonstration is done and the 2:00Pm show is the snake display show where different type of snakes are brought out of the cage and demonstrated.

I attended the 2:30Pm show and would say that it is highly recommended and knowledgeable. The snake are displayed so close to the audience only a small steel gate is in between the audience and the display area.

Few photos taken during the show

Naja Naja @ King Cobra

Siamese Cobra

Going at least 10 min prior to the show is recommended as all the good seats would be taken early. I arrived a few minutes prior to the show and I had to squeeze my butt in the first row. Thanks to the lady next to me who didn't complain.

At the end of the show you get to take a photo with this.....

There is also a snake museum on the first floor which has lots of information about the snake life cycle along with models and many other useful videos displayed.

It was past 3:30 and I was finding a place to eat and on the opposite side of the street I saw lot of street stalls crossed the road.. not on the zebra crossing , not that I am law breaker but I couldn't find one. But I found no luck in talking to people making them understand that I wanted vegetarian.

I kept walking and walking then I found a big temple quite interesting one.

It was called as Wat Hua Lumphong.
I entered the temple and saw lots of cats in there( at least 10~15). I went near them to touch  but they did not move away was quite surprised coz the cats I have seen so far in India ran away the moment they knew I was approaching them.

There were not many people in the temple and it  was not touristy at all. In the main hall there was a large Buddha image decorated in gold. Looked majestic. On the outer area of the main hall there well lots of bells hung and circumference of the temple.

Around the temple

Actual Buddha image inside the temple

Also I heard that this temple accepts coffins as a donation for the burial of poor who cannot afford a coffin. You can also pay a small donation which they accept happily.

Next I hopped back in the MRT on my way to the hotel to collect my bags and directly off to the station.

I took the MRT again to go to Hua Lumphong station(also known as the Bangkok station) for my onward train to Surat Thani. It is a short walk from MRT to the Bangkok station no fear of getting lost as there are lot of signages. Just to be sure I kept tracing the path of a white guy who was also headed to the station. I should admit he was walking quite fast.

MRT Sam Yan and MRT Hua lumphong are one after other, I made the mistake of returning all the way to my hotel just to pick my bags. Instead I should have first gone to MRT Hua lumphong walked to the Bangkok station and dropped my Baggies there at a reliable bag point run by the station authorities for a small fee.

Now that I entered the station I was worried how I would find my train and platform number. Luckily there was a information desk where two uniformed men were guiding lot of foreign tourists. You just show your ticket and they guide  you with all the details like platform number, coach number etc. Quite easy to locate and no fear of getting lost or taking the wrong train.

While I will make a separate post on how to book train tickets online.

Board on the train

And Yeah I forgot to tell you about my food quest, If you could read your way up this blog you would have noticed that I had skipped my lunch too. Ms. Tummy grumble couldn't find any vegetarian food in the station except for water, pop-corn and something called mee-korb that I managed to purchase with my broken Thai.

Mee Korb in my hand and pop corn on my lap

Will write further about my train journey in the next post

~Kei

Bangkok Day 2 . Exploration continues .... but slightly less

Date: 25th December 2012

Day2: Bangkok

Firstly let me wish all of you Merry Christmas! :)

I know how late and very slow I am in writing my blogs but please excuse me. I am a lazy bug.

I will tell you my day 2 experiences @ Bangkok in this post.

I reached hotel around midnight and you know I was tired so I woke up this day around 9:30 just to eat my breakfast, as I had mentioned the breakfast was fab. I ate heartily and went back to my room to sleep. It was the best sleep I could have got.

Guess What I had forgotten to do? Call my mother..
Woke up hitting against the walls as I got a panic call from home and as usual all the questions were asked by my mother and I answered them promptly.

Call was over and I realised the time was around 1:30Pm.

I saved some rice in the fridge that I had bought last night and that was my dinner with some random MTR ready to mix and eat paste.

Washed myself and checked out of this hotel Grand president as I did not like this hotel so very much.
I booked a different hotel thru asiawebdirect.com for 1700THB.

It was Bangkok Lotus sukhumvit. I moved to this hotel and got myself a room on 21st Floor hehe:)
I love heights.

The room was fab

(Hotel Review)

 This hotel is located in sukhumvit soi 33. Not as happening as soi 11 but definitely good. There is some upmarket shopping malls opposite the soi 33. Superb views, Clean rooms and excellent service. Definitely worth the money. Bit of a walk to BTS phrom phong. But definitely walkable. The area has quite a lot of Japanese restaurants, Japanese super markets and clubs. The road where the hotel is situated has a few bars around. Like the location.
Only pull down was the break fast. The choice was definitely there but it was mostly for non-vegetarian. my choice was limited too bread and mashed potato. 
Otherwise would never flaw this hotel.
Will surely return to the hotel if not for the breakfast.

I also wish to tell how a taxi driver tried to cheat me. When I took a taxi from soi 11 to soi 33 the taxi driver refused to turn on the meter instead he demanded THB 60. I was very firm and asked him to stop the taxi. You would get to hear swear words if you do what I did then. But that's okay. I walked a little further and flagged down a taxi who would take me to soi 33 using meter. It cost only THB 40.

On a general note I would say it is wise to note down the name and the registration number of driver along with the vehicle number in case you run into some kind of problem. You can find the details inside the car just near the front mirror or hanging behind the drivers seat.

Now I took a walk towards the Terminal 21 mall. This mall is near BTS Asok and quite a busy mall. It is actually a very interesting mall with themed floors cheap compared to central mall/ Siam paragon. Themed meaning each floor was designed based upon a country.  There were loose shops that were put up on each floor. As I had already read a lot about the mall and seen a lot of photographs on the net I know almost every corner of the mall.

Few photos from the mall.

Now my next stop in the mall was

Yummy it was. It cost THB 400. Too costly for an ice cream but yes I could afford that much for one time.

Walked around further and there is also a cinema hall in this mall too but not as good as the ones in Siam Paragon I guess.

It was around 6:00Pm now. So I thought It was wise of me to eat early dinner  and go back to hotel. found Fujii Restaurant (Japanese food) on the food court floor on terminal 21 mall and yes got vegetarian food to eat. The waitress understood my requirement.

This is a vegetable Tempura ( battered and deep fried vegetables). Cost around THB 160 way too cheap than what you get in Chennai, India. But simply loved it.
Next stop and the last stop for the day Soi cowboy. I was quite afraid to go in there but curiosity didn't let me hold back.

I walked to Soi cowboy. It is about 10 minutes walking distance from Terminal 21 across the road from MRT.
There was a flash of lights all of a sudden in a small lane and know that you are in soi cowboy. You wouldn't even know if such a street exits as every soi around soi cowboy is dimly lit and creepy.

I took a stroll in the soi a very quick one. Being an Indian I  am not used to seeing girls wearing small provocative dresses here. It was a shock to me and I did dare not take a photo.
I was approached at least by two people in that soi asking me to see ping pong show. This was the climax. I walked out of the soi as fast as I could and came back to the BTS station to get my hotel. This was more than enough for me to get scared.

But then I thought this is how the country is and I should accept it and not be scared of this culture.

I also went around soi 33/1 and few other neighbouring soi's it was like a place for Japanese entertainment.

There are shops around if you want to buy Japanese grocery. There is a super market called fujii supermarket dedicated for japanese grocery. Also a Convenience stire called Neo( produce from Japan). It has branches in the lowest level of terminal 21, Sukhumvit soi 33, and in silom.

I thought I had walked enough for the day and headed back to my hotel

I skimmed through all the photos in my camera that day before going to sleep. Loved the day.
Love Bangkok! Felt safer than ever.

Will post further and try to make it interesting

~ Kei

Jet Set Go !!! Day 1: Bangkok : Part :2

Date: 24th December 2012

Continued from Bangkok Day1 Part 1

After my Break Fast, I wanted to purchase a SIM card to keep in touch with my parents back at home. There is a 7-11 next to Dosa King on Soi 11. There are many leading service operators like DTAC, True, AIS, one -two etc.

I chose to go with AIS as I was advised by one of the fellow traveller that with a specific calling card (Bolo Card) it was cheap calling to India with AIS SIM.

I will write a separate blog on How to use the "Bolo Card". As of now Let me begin how my explorations went.

Walked to BTS Nana and my aim was to go to Erawan shrine and Central World. Took a BTS towards Mo Chit and yes it was a great experience. In a place like Chennai, India where building a METRO itself is considered as a herculean task adding to it traffic jams, crowded buses and trains etc etc etc I felt very excited to be in a Country which had really good transportation system. I also thought that it would at least take another 10~15 years for Chennai in particular to develop such connections and organise traffic.

And Oh~! I forgot to mention about the ticketing. It is so easy. You could just use the ticket machine or purchase from the officer i the booth. There is also something called as rabbit card which allows one to store the value and use it whenever necessary. It can be purchased easily at any BTS station ticket office with a minimum deposit of THB 50 and THB 50 sur charge further to which you are supposed to recharge to any amount of your choice to use the BTS service.

Rabbit Cards

I hopped off at BTS Chit Lom. And walked along the path. I wanted to start the day auspiciously so I headed off to the Erawan shrine first. On the way I saw a heavily decorated mall too my left. It was Amarin Plaza I couldn't resist and went down there as there were lot of photo opportunities.  I will share a few with you.

And Now couldn't resist to know what kind of mall was it from inside peeked in and saw the word
"SALE"
This one word if personified will have lot of girlfriends! :)

Quickly entered and skimmed through a lot of goods put on sale nothing was less than THB1500. I liked a lot of things I resisted myself from purchasing coz I had to travel to Krabi in 2 days
I didn't want to carry luggage.
I came out of the mall as quickly as i got in to hold myself from purchasing anything.

Okay Now I told myself, Kei be a good gal go to the shrine and start your trip auspiciously as people at your home have scared you enough on their first trip.

Next to first destination was definitely Erawan shrine.

I walked and I found this temple right next to amarin plaza, the deity looked like shiva so I entered it and did what the local people did. Satisfied that I had obtained enough blessing for the whole trip I now walked back to Central mall and went around the mall nothing special I would call it just another mall but there were decorations outside the mall and a Christmas tree which stood 4 storeys tall.

Was not otherwise impressed by the mall. It was noon by now and my tummy grumbled now I did not want to eat in the food court in the malls. I love street food. Came out to the streets became a local and wandered outside the mall to see if I could find out anything vegetarian.

Forgot to tell you all Yeah! I am a vegetarian meaning No meat, No seafood, No eggs, No pork/shrimp sauce or any animal sauce.

It was really difficult now for me to find something vegetarian on the streets. I walked the whole stretch twice up and down could not find anything that even looked near to vegetarian other than fruits. Now I found a cart lady who was make cups of corn, I was relieved finally. I personally check the ingredients that went in while preparing the corn! NO Non-Veg.!!!

I sat in peace and had a cup full of corn for my lunch. While I was hunting for vegetarian food I spotted a Ganseha and Brahma shrine near the central mall. The culture shock was that I saw people offering prayers whit their sandals/shoes on. In India you would possibly be jailed if you walk into a temple with your shoes/slippers.

Coming back to the corn story  I wasn't sure if I was full but did not feel hungry as I was in the mood of exploring so now walked around aimlessly aimlessly and found Siam Paragon mall by now my legs were weary. I saw a temple called Wat Pathumwanaram on the way to Siam paragon just watched it from outside. I wanted to watch a 4D movie as recommended by many fellow travellers on tripadvisor. I went straight to the 5th floor and lined up in the ticket counter and purchased a ticket for the 4D movie "The Hobbit". The ticket was priced at THB 400. That was a first day blow to my pocket, who thought a movie ticket would cost THB 400 equivalent to INR 800. You can watch movies in Chennai for a price Range starting from INR 10 to max. INR 250
The show was scheduled at 7:00pm.

So I walked around the mall ,there were Christmas decorations everywhere. And I now went back to my hotel and rested for a while changed and got fresh to go back to watch the movie.

The one part I love about the Siam Paragon Mall is that they have luxury cars on display on one of their floors. I loved posing with it while I asked random people to click my photo.

Now time for movie went to the hall and the movie was yet to start there were lot of advertisements and at one point the kings pictures were flashing on the Screen and some song. Every single person in the hall stood up. I figured out it must be the national anthem. Only then I came to know that all Thais can sing their national anthem. :).

Anyways half way through the movie, my phone started ringing.
Guess who it was my parents: Panic call to know if I was fine.
I just did not tell them that I felt very safe, safer than in Chennai. Panic Call from home lasted for 15 min questions were asked about everything ranging from food, Thai prostitutes, my dress, my health, red light areas, my room's security, my Internet connection etc etc etc.
I somehow convinced them that I was fine and there was not a problem.
Went back to my seat in the movie hall and watched the movie for another 5 min. My phone started ringing again.  Guess who it was this time. My uncle.. You know what would be the conversation about. But it was on a very filtered level.
After the call I went to popcorn stand to purchase some pop corn it was priced at THB90.

Anyway was sure that there would be nor more panic calls from home. I once again went back inside the movie hall and by that time there was not much film left.

So I walked out of the movie hall walked along the tunnel of lights-Ratchaprasong walk way thousands of lights felt very excited and all the way from SIAM to chit Lom and by then Central mall was decorated beautifully. Again asked random people to take my picture.

Walked around exploring and it was late around 11:30. So I hopped on to the BTS and went back to my hotel.

Thus the day came to an end.

Rest in the Next

~Kei @ MAS

Jet Set Go !!! Day 1: Bangkok : Part :1

Date: 24th December 2012

Day 1: Bangkok

Flight arrived at Don Muang International Airport 20 minutes prior to the scheduled time.

Yay!!!!

Walked straight to the Visa on Arrival counter. I saw a lot of people queueing up, I joined them too. Out of curiosity I walked a bit further a checked, it was the queue for those who did not carry their photograph. Since I carried one with me I directly went to the submission point. The officer there was insisting on fast track service, but I requested for normal. It costed me about THB 1000 since I took photo of mine with me. If you don't carry one they can provide an application form with your photo in it for a additional  fee of THB 50 but you have to queue for it as mentioned earlier.

VOA Card with token number

                                               

   
Fast Track costs about THB1200.  Fast track and normal had no big difference in time. It was definitely not crowded in that hour. I came after visa being stamped and went through immigration and the whole bunch of formalities. Everything went smooth. I tried to contact the information desk at the airport for some maps but it was all closed and would open only by 5:00 am.

So Went to the exit to find a taxi and it was quite easy. You walk out and there is a manned yellow colour booth which you would never miss.
Walk there and mention the area you would like to go and you get a pink slip hold it with you. The driver will usher you to the taxi, show him the slip and just tell the area you would like to go and check if he turns on the meter. If he doesn't, give him a gentle reminder to turn on the meter. The meter starts from THB35 (min.THB35). There is a tollway where I was supposed to pay THB60, there is also another route without tolls but the one with toll is considered to be faster. Reached my hotel in about 45 minutes. The meter showed THB345. You should also pay an additional airport surcharge of THB 50 to the driver. So I checked-in at Hotel Grand President, Bangkok. 

Hotel Review
Booked this hotel through mystery deal from asiawebdirect.com. Since I had arrived a Little earlier at about 5:00AM I paid for a for a room upon arrival. They accommodated me in tower 3 which is across the road in a 7th floor room.
I saw a lot of hookers on soi 11 when i came by taxi and while I was checking-in saw a Indian guy taking 2 hookers along with him to his room. The people in the reception ignored it. I was shell shocked as I did not expect a 4 star hotel to ignore something like that.
I was escorted by a hotel staff to the room and he was trying to make little talk to me, I thought he was being friendly but at the end of conversation he was trying to sell me tour package telling that his friend owned the company and blah blah. I rejected his offer.

About the room: I was not happy. Furnishings are worn out. Paint coming off the wall. You cannot say that is a 4 star class room. Wi-fi did not work, so requested in the reception to send someone to help me. They told that since there were no staffs they would not be able to send anyone.
Breakfast was excellent lot of choices ad good food. Location bang on. 5 minutes walk to BTS Nana. Lots of street food and clubs around.

But given the service and the rooms I would definitely not recommend this hotel to anyone.

                                               View of tower 1 and tower2 of the hotel

Started the day with the phone ringing in my room. panic call from my home to know if i had reached safely. Woke up somehow and got ready for my first day exploration.

Looks Yummmmm....

Cost was about THB 90 which was not bad. Ate 2 dosas to fill myself as I am one of that kind who can tolerate hunger at the same time love eating. 

This post is getting longer and longer will post rest in the next...

~ Kei @ MAS

Day 0 to 1 Chennai to Bangkok

Date: 23rd December

Day 0

I had booked a AIRASIA from MAS to DMK(Don Muang International Airport). AIRASIA doesn't fly to Suvarnabhumi on both domestic and international sectors.

My flight was FD 2654 scheduled 10:30PM on 23rd December 2012.

Due to anxiety I reached airport 4 hours prior to the scheduled time and waited for the bag drop counter to open.
The counter opens ......
Dropped my bags as I had already done a web check-in, finished my immigration and was waiting to board my flight.

Tummy grumbled and yes there was one restaurant inside the passenger hold area called " The Golden Chariot".
-(Restaurant review) 
The restaurant was not very big it had about ten 4 seater tables. The menu was very limited and only 2 service staff. I ordered a vegetarian biryani priced @ INR 180. Taste was ok~ok, quantity was little. I would say this is on a bit pricey side.

There is also a shop by the side of the restaurant called
 "Cafe Lounge" which sells cup noodles, pizza, chips and other things which are very pricey as well. Say  for example you could buy a cup noodle for INR 120, wedge of pizza for INR 75.

I finished my food just in time to queue for the boarding. Boarded the flight and I had done a stupid thing which I realized only then.
I had opted for the last seat no leg room and no reclining facility *_*.

BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I was not able sleep or even sit properly throughout the journey. Luckily it was only 3hr and 20 min flight.

Forgot to tell you that I ordered an in-flight service. Korean cup noodle. It was priced at THB 80.

                          It was cooking.......

                       Yes it cooked.... and I ate it :)

Slurped it all and somehow I managed to sit for about 3 hours! and yes we landed 20 minutes before scheduled arrival time at DMK.

Rest in the next

~Kei
                       

Kei carves her wings

Date: 22nd & 23rd December 2012 

First and Last Shocker - Spare me please!!!

This is my first trip abroad after I have started earning. So I was super excited about the whole trip thing.
I had told my parents that a friend would accompany me for the whole trip, unfortunately my friend had to cancel her trip due to some personal  reasons.

"BANG"

I was worried if my parents would even allow me to go to Thailand now.
As expected parents started worrying about how would i go alone.

Problem (Parents): How would I go alone to a foreign country with nobody with me.
Solution (Kei): I will buy a mobile to keep in touch with you(parents).
Solution (Parents): Lets call our relatives who have been abroad to check if Kei(me) would be safe if she travels alone.

Kei (Me): Lets call uncle(he is a well traveled person-business related) .

Uncle:" Thailand is a very dangerous place particularly for solo females. Lots of prostitution and do not go to watch any shows(" you know what show"). I would definitely advise against travelling alone."

"BUMMER" - "HIT"

More than enough reason for my parents to stop me from travelling.
And there comes Trip Advisor(TA) to my rescue...

http://www.tripadvisor.in/ShowTopic-g293916-i3687-k5977876-Leaving_tonight-Bangkok.html#45940381

Convinced my parents somehow to let me go and promised to keep in touch with them regularly.

I was just waiting to fly.

~ Kei gets wings

Currently in MAS ~ blog after having returned safely from Thailand..
BKK  seems to be more comfortable now! ;)