Can always ask the taxi driver to go through the elevated highway. The elevated highway has been existed before all airlines shifted from Donmuang to Suvarnabhumi.

Anyway, taxi in Bangkok is very affordable. Took a Toyota Innova taxi from Suvarnabhumi to Pullman Hotel back in May and it cost me only THB300

Not really as there are like two highways. The elevated one was built just before the economic crisis in the late 90s. I think one has to tell the taxi driver to use toll highway.

And by the way, I paid THB280 for the cab ride from Suvarbhumi to Pullman Hotel, not THB300 as posted earlier. The THB280 is inclusive of the THB50 fee.

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Oct 7 2012, 08:44 PM

No. It's not fixed except the luxury airport limousine. For the normal cab, it follows the meter and you only have to pay THB50 extra and that is inclusive of all toll charges.


Indeed! I was kinda surprised too, albeit a pleasant one

Oh. Guess I was much luckier then because all the taxis I took followed meter. There were two taxi drivers in Pratunam that wanted to charge me a price fixed by themselves but I refused. I managed to get another taxi that followed the meter shortly after. And the taxi fare from Pratunam back to Pullman Hotel is quite cheap. Just THB50 and sometimes THB60 if traffic is bad

Oh, the taxi I took from Suvarnabhumi to Pullman Hotel was a Toyota Innova too. There were four of us and we had many luggage. Usually I just take the Airport Rail Link Express to the city but my 80+ years old grandparents were with us. So taxi was our only option

Yeah. Just brought them jalan-jalan and see a different country. And luckily they enjoyed the trip very much. So we were all very happy

It is a very nice hotel. I have stayed there 4 times in the past 1 year alone RM300 per night inclusive of all taxes is the normal room rate. Their promotion price can go as low as RM197 inclusive of all taxes. A catch for a 5-star hotel.


There are a few food stalls there. You can take the complimentary tuk-tuk to the shopping mall. The shopping mall is connected to Victory Monument BTS Skytrain. It's all very convenient.

Pullman Bangkok King Power or Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok.


They used to be super strict way back in the 90s. Ladies weren't allowed to wear sandal like shoes. Every visitors also had to go through a metal detector but not anymore.

There are two food courts n MBK. Make sure you go to the one at 6th floor. There is one on the 5th floor and that one is very expensive! I always like their dessert (always ask for the coconut milk syrup). So you can try that.

You can't walk from MBK to Platinum Fashion Mall. Okay, you can actually but it is very far. So I don't recommend it. If you don't want to take a taxi, you can always take the BTS sky train. There is one BTS station just outside of MBK named National Stadium station. Take it to Siam Station and Siam Station is just one station away from National Stadium Station.

When you come out from Siam Station, you'll see Siam Paragon to your left. Well, don't go there. Look for sign board pointing to Central World. There is a bridge just beneath the BTS sky train line. Use that to go to Central World. The bridge beneath the BTS sky train line is very long and you can actually walk to the next BTS station. But you don't have to go that far. The Central World entrance is in the middle of Siam Station and Chitlom Station (the BTS station after Siam). Go inside and walk to the very end of the shopping mall. At the end of Central World, it is ISETAN department store. Just go inside and use the ISETAN exits to go out (on the right). Then... (see below).


Platinum Fashion Mall is located opposite of Pratunam Market. When you come out of the Platinum Fashion Mall, turn right and walk straight. At the end is a Novotel Hotel. Then turn right and cross the bridge (well, sort of). Then you'll come to ISETAN. ISETEN is connected to Central World. But don't go inside. Instead, cross the pedestrian bridge located right outside of ISETAN. Big C supermarket is there. oh yeah, outside of ISETAN, there are like two or three Buddhist statues. It's very to spot it

By the way, taxi in Bangkok is very cheap. To walk from Siam Station to Platinum Fashion Mall is quite a distance. So I'd suggest you to just take a taxi.

And the hot weather doesn't help too

Been there three times in the past one year. And I've actually walked from CentralWorld to Pratunam as well as Big C Supermarket and back to CentralWorld like about three or four times on my own


Chitlom Station is not located beside CentralWorld. CentralWorld is in the middle of Siam Station and Chitlom Station.

But yeah, if his main intention is to take the BTS and walk to Platinum Fashion Mall from MBK, then he can just skip CentralWorld. get off at Chitlom and walk pass through BIG C Supermarket. I was saying based completely on how I did it. I always passed through CentralWorld because I always stopped by the bookstore there after lunch.

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Oct 13 2012, 12:51 PM

I was curious how their big supermarket looks like, that was the main reason I went there. I didn't check out the prices there. So I can't comment on that.


Siam Paragon is nicer in my opinion. You should totally check out Gourmet Market and the Gourmet Market food stalls (all in the same floor). It's all on the ground level but depends on where you are coming in from, if you come in from the big entrance facing Sukhumvit Road, then it looks as if the Ground Floor is a Basement or Lower Ground Floor because you actually need to take an escalator down.

Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon is insane!!! Everything is so nicely organized and beautifully done. And what we have in KL don't even come close!!! So make sure you don't skip it. Gourmet Market is a high-end supermarket, and they sell cooked foods too like the hypermarket in Malaysia, except that the way they do it is different

There is one Gourmet Market at CentralWorld too. This one is older and not quite as nice. So just go to the Siam Paragon one


Not really. It's in the middle. So the distance from either station is actually the same


I know right. Especially the one at Siam Paragon


Agreed. Everyone is different and some may find A is better while some find B is better.

Eh ? Hong Kong got similar supermarket ? I've been to Hong Kong many times but i never come across any Gourmet Market like supermarket in Hong Kong. Perhaps I wasn't at the right place. Where is it ? Wanna check it out next time


I totally agree with you!!! Taxi at KLCC is the worst. Now they provide this premium taxi service at the entrances and the additional fee charged is such a turn-off


Bangkok was even more fun back in the 90s. Things were far cheaper than they are now and there were more street food stalls. People were a lot more polite back then too. Not saying that they are not polite now. Just that Bangkok people in the 90s were even friendlier and polite

Dad brought the whole family to Bangkok twice in the late 90s and both trips were such memorable trips. Then I did not return to Bangkok until last year. Quite a lot of things have changed but Bangkok is still a shopping heaven and it is just such a wonderful city. That is why I already went there 3 times in the past one year. This city has character and it is so culturally rich

No man. Gourmet Market @Siam Paragon is way better and fancier.

Yes. Affirmative

Le Club Accor members got 50% off while non-members got 40% off. Anyway, this promotion ended last week. That is why you couldn't find any 40% or 50% off deal anymore.

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Nov 29 2012, 04:43 PM

http://www.pullmanbangkokkingpower.com/

I've stayed here three times already in the last 18 months and it's a very good hotel. It is very near to Sukhumvit, Pratunam etc. There is also one BTS nearby and the hotel provides a tuk-tuk shuttle service to the BTS (the tuk-tuk stops outside a small shopping centre). You can walk to the BTS too which will takr you around 5 minutes or so.

Yes. It's worth it. Many Malaysians and Singaporeans go to Bangkok just to shop

I don't have an answer for your first question. Anyway, I have stayed at the hotel you mentioned before. Back then its name was Pavillion D'Ma Hotel. I first stayed there when it just opened its door during the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998. Yes. It was a very long time ago And I stayed there for a second time in year 2002. Still a very long time ago

I have seen some recently posted photos of their rooms and it looks exactly the same as it was in 1998. So I believe they have never renovated the room since 1998. It was such a classy 4-star hotel back then and room was very nice back in the 90s standard. Unfortunately things have changed. With so many new hotels have opened in Bangkok over the years, this hotel is losing out to all the new hotels with new rooms and more advanced technologies installed inside the room.

Anyway, what is your budget ? The Pullman Bangkok King Power sale was supposed to end yesterday but i see that the promo rate (RM250nett) is still available on certain months. The room at this hotel is so nice that I have actually stayed at this hotel three times! You may want to check out Four Points by Sheraton too Four Points by Sheraton Bangkok is currently having this Buy 2 Nights and Get 1 Free Night promotion. See if the promotion is available on your check-in date. The average price per day under this promotion is around RM250 too inclusive of taxes.

Ah, do check out Grand Sukhumvit too. It was formerly a Sofitel Hotel and the room is quite nice. Last time I checked, the room was no more RM200.


No. You don't.

This post has been edited by MilesAndMore: Mar 13 2013, 01:32 AM

Good. Shopping is a must in Bangkok

Cheap stuff > Pratunam, MBK
Expensive stuff > Basically all those big shopping centres such Siam Paragon, Central World, Central Chidlom etc.)

Must not forget to check out the Gourmet Market (a high-end supermarket) located at the basement level of Siam Paragon. There is not a single supermarket or hypermarket in Malaysia that look like the Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon.

Siam Paragon Department Stores have many shirt brands coming from Europe that we have never seen before. It is however quite expensive


Taxi fare in Bangkok is very cheap. Just like in KL, there will be some taxi drivers that may refuse to use the meter. In this case, you should refuse taking their taxi too. I never used a taxi in Bangkok that refuses to use the meter.

Their taxis come in blue, orange, pink etc There is also one type of taxi that is painted in yellow/green. The starting fare for all these taxis are the same. So no worries there.


The two stations above are not really useful to you. Ratchaprarop is one of the stations on the Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport Rail Link line. You need to take the train from Ratchaprarop station to Phaya Thai ARL Station to transfer to Phaya Thai BTS Station.

By the way, typo there. It's Makkasan, not Nakkasan


Petchburi Station is actually an underground station. Trains at these underground stations do not go to the major shopping belt of Bangkok (Pratunam, Siam Paragon etc.). Besides, Makkasan Station is 1.4km away from D'Ma, so it is not convenient either.


All these problems can be solved by staying at Pullman Bangkok King Power There is one BTS Station (Victory Monument) outside of the hotel, connected to a small shopping centre. The hotel provides a complimentary tuk-tuk shuttle service between the hotel and the shopping centre. The tuk-tuk stops at the back of the shopping centre. You need to go into the shopping centre and take the escalator one floor up. The BTS Station is right outside of the shopping centre (on the front).

By the way, i don't recommend you to walk all the way from D'Ma to either Pratunam or Siam Paragon. I have done this before roughly 18 months ago just for the sake of revisiting the hotel i used to stay at (D'Ma) when i was still in Primary School and it was no fun at all. It doesn't look like it is very far from the map. This is true, PROVIDED YOU ARE TAKING A TAXI If you are going to walk, then it is seriously far and the weather in Bangkok, which is so hot and humid isn't helping at all I was drained in sweat by the time i got there. I was so thirsty and exhausted and i ended up taking a taxi back to Pullman Bangkok King Power as soon as i reached the front door of D'Ma Hotel


Depends on which direction you are coming from. You can either align at Siam Station or Chit Lom Station. Neither station is right on the front of centralworld. centralworld is actually smacked right in the middle of Siam Station and Chit Lom Station. However, Chit Lom Station is aaaaa biiiiit nearer to central world, just a bit.