Bring RM2,000 then. RM100 for airport tax (2 persons)

See lot's of places, that would probably mean lots of shopping too. Believe me, I seen people loose control of spending (especially girls) when they "take a leisurely stroll" along the night bazaars (Suan Lum Night Bazaar, Silom Rd) or weekend market (Chatuchak)

And if she steps into Siam Paragon, then you're in for some huge swipes. Credit Card would come in handy here.

Oh, and if you plan to commute anywhere by cab, make sure you have enough small change. Showing then THB500 or THB1,000 will only get you in a little inconvenience.

And, tipping waiters at restaurants may not be necessary, but if you feel the service is good, do so at your own appreciation.

hi guys, I am going to celebrate Christmas with my gf and another couple in Bangkok.
already booked air ticket - AirAsia at RM800+ per couple
will be there from 23rd till 26th morning.

so, i had gather some good info from you guys, thanks.
but i got a few questions:

1. hows the weather? temperature ?
2. will be stay in eastin hotel
EASTIN
1091/343 NEW PETCHBURI ROAD,
MAKKASAN
BANGKOK 10400
THAILAND
how to get from Airport to the hotel?
3. still planning on the time table, but i have this list of places to visit so far (thanks to you guys)
- pratunam
- weekend market chatucak
- patpong
- ChinaTown
- MBK shopping complex
- Siam Paragon
- Suan Lum Night Bazzar
- HRC, planet Hollywood
- floating market

anyone is kind enough to tell me the time (morning, noon, night) i should visited these places?

to go to weekend market, go to the BTS station(similiar to our LRT station) and stop at the last station name "Mo Chit". just follow the crowd and u will reach there. carry a small bag and wear light clothing coz its going to be very hot.

i havent been to patpong, but this place is known for the tranvestitte shows and "tiger show" so if u are interested then u can go there. becareful of ur wallets as there are pickpockets there.

Siam paragon is similiar to out KLCC.. so everything is high fashion and expensive. so if u want slightly cheaper go to MBK, Siam Square, Siam Centre. All these places is at the same area. just to warn u these places closes quite early. maybe around 8pm

As for suan num, hmm.. i'm not really fond of the place coz its overpriced and the stuff is not that nice.. so i would suggest u to skip this place. the only thing good about suan num is they close around 12pm.. whereas others closes very early

floating market will take up the whole day so plan ur trip wisely...

enjoy ur holiday!

-edit,
to go to hotel from the airport, u can take a taxi.. plenty of taxi for u to take costs u around 1000BAHT.. if they ask u to buy 2 ways, dont buy it... coz its much cheaper if u take the taxi on the road to the airport.. hehehe

This post has been edited by pinkrazr: Nov 29 2006, 04:54 PM

hope this helps:

temp : similar to KL if only slightly cooler or hotter.

taxi to hotel : after you go through immigration, find the departure hall, take taxi from this level. tell the taxi driver you want to go (eastin or petchburi road is a common place). if u're a bit paranoid, ask the hotel to fax u their address in Thai so you can show it to the driver OR call the hotel with your mobile and ask the hotel to tell the driver. fare should not exceed TBH1000 or RM100, maybe max RM50.

Pratunam - daytime

Patpong - night time
More like Petaling Street at the entrance (selling clothes, fake stuff - watches, bags, etc.) with a red light district further inside (take your pick). Some nice clean clubs inside too.

Suan Lum - night time
Expensive or not, you be the judge. Has a huge eating place with live band and a ferris wheel. Opens everyday, evenings only. MRT - I think it's Lumphini station, will lead you straight to the side entrance.

MBK, Paragon, HRC - anytime
These are close by to each other, walking distance. You'll find other popular places around here too. Skytrain - Siam station.

Jatujak Market - morning (Sunday only)
This place is scorching hot! Take MRT to Kampheng Pet station (stops right inside Jatujak) or Skytrain to Mo Chit station (walk around 10 - 15 min).

Floating market - morning
Which one are you going to? I have not visited one.

Chinatown - anytime
By taxi. No Skytrain goes here.

Check this and click on the stations to see what's around each stations SKYTRAIN MAP.

THB1,000 is outrageously expensive. My guess is that you took the airport taxi rather than the normal public taxi.

Alright here's the situation. When you arrive at the airport, you have a few choices to get to your hotel:

1 - Hotel Transfer

If you arrange with the hotel via bookings, they could send someone to pick you up from the airport using the hotel limo. Might be free, but if it isn't, you can expect a heavy bill. Pros: No need to wait for queues

2 - Airport Taxi

When you exit the airport and about to head outside, you're most likely to be approached by well dressed men / women in blazers asking if you like a "taxi". This ain't any normal taxi, but your high class airport limo. Depending on your destination, it would cost anywhere between THB600 - THB1,000. Pros: You get to sit in real comfortable Toyota Camrys

3 - Public Taxi

The cheapest form of taxi to get to your hotel. Head downstairs to the ground floor (not the arrival floor) and head outside. The new Suvarnabhumi airport hasn't properly prepared proper booths for public taxis, so you'll see a bunch of tables by the sidewalk. Walk to anyone of them and tell them your destination. They will give you a receipt and show you to your public taxi. The journey shouldn't cost more than THB400 if you want to get to town center.

There is an extra surcharge of THB50 if you take the public taxi from the airport, in addition to the metered fare. Also, if you decide to take the tollways, you have to pay the toll fare yourself.

Pros: Cheap. Cons: You might end up sitting in a 1990 Toyota Corolla or an old junk rusted relic of Bangkok transportation antiques


Some Tips:

Most public taxi drivers will take the Bang-Na route to get to the city. It's further, which allows them to earn slightly more milleage from you. So, if you are daring enough, tell the taxi driver to take the "Motorway" route. This route is shorter distance, and more direct to the city. "Motorway" is the name the Thai's use for that particular stretch of highway, which leads you to the Rama 9 Rd, and from there you can get to the city with ease.

The Bang-Na route shares the same trunk to and from the port. With this, you will have to bear slow traffic from hundreds of container trailers. If you're unlucky, you might experience some traffic congestion, and that can be really frustrating.

speaking of the markets there, laz time i been to Suan Lum, Chatucak, n Pratunam.

surprisingly to me, the same items that u can get in Suan Lum n Chatucak, high chance is that u can actually get it cheaper in Pratunam. no joke.

Regarding the public taxis. When you say daring enough to tell the driver to take the "Motorway", will he go against you? I guess you need to be confident when you tell him right? Or maybe cite a reason saying you are late. Do they understand English well enough?

Asking the driver to take the shorter route is like bargaining prices at China Town. You need to have the arrogance and guts to make your stand. Definitely, they will say all kinds of excuses or reasons to take their favourite route, so you have to be firm and persistent in your choice.

Ask for the language barrier, it is seldom I come across taxi driver who are capable of speaking good English. They may not speak, but they can understand a little English. Always speak slowly when communicating with them.

pratunam is like the center and not as commercially known as jatujak and suan lum which has turned very "tourist". locals too are complaining that it is expensive now so yes i have to agree if the comparison is with pratunam, but the experience is different in all 3 places so make your choice. it's just like eating in KLCC or mamak stall isn't it?

i picked a book called "Essential Thai Phrase Book" from Kinokuniya KLCC for around RM25, small size and categorised nicely. good investment considering most that have been to bkk will be returning. have not been utilising it properly though since i get away with my basic english in bkk most of the time. believe me when it's crunch time, u'll forget most of the words anyway. and if you're only in bkk, basic english is more than enough to get you around. use the hotel personnel to write down addresses if you think its going to be a problem since pronuonciation varies from what's written and said.

...and ask the hotel for their address in thai to make it easy for taxi rides back and keep the hotel number handy. hotels usually have cards with their address and map in thai, so take a few of those with you when you go out.

my family of 7 is going to bkk on the 14th dec.
still trying to figure out what to do and which travel agent to book.
the trip will be 3 and a half day and 3 nights.
and the travel agent here quoted the tour to be rm2000 per pax.
i think thats pretty expensive.
and since my lil siblings are coming along, we are hoping to do something like 60-70% of fun activities(themeparks?) and the rest for sight seeing and shopping for older sisters like us...

any suggestions on which travel agent or hotels or recommendations?

Last Sept, from new airport to Silom was 270 by meter, using lower roads, not elevated expressway! No real jam either.

111

RM2,000 sounds pretty steep, but you have to see what the tour iternary covers. Does it include air fare too? If yes, what airlines?

Concerning the question of places of interest for children, I have to be honest and say I don't have much of a clue. Playground for adults, I can quote you many, but for kids, you might want to ask native Bangkok citizens like maximsilentfoot.

Personally, Bangkok would be a great holiday destination for grown ups. Be it the night life, shopping, cultural heritage, ancient relics, historical architecture, people, food... adults would find it more worth it to experience all of these.

Pardon my ignorance at this question, but what do kids nowadays like to do when they go travelling?

yea it covers the airfare i guess.
but minus airfare around rm600/pax.
oh well.
u know...disneyworld, seaworld.
meet spongebob meet bugs bunny.
dont like to walk too much.
gets hungry easily.
blah blah.

i think my 4day trip with the whole family wont be sufficient as mummy says no PATPONG.
hahahahhahaha..
no pondan2 show!

i know there's a themepark like 45 minutes away from downtown (i know cause i missed it and have to look at pics...) but can't remember the name - i think its called dreamworld or something. buddy told me its better than sunway lagoon. maybe can google it?

Sincerely, the red light district area of Patpong isn't something extermely worth seeing. One time there and you'll probably get sick of it (unless you're a s3x maniac).

Anyway, if you are really interested to see Patpong (just for the experience), sneak out at night and give me a call. Patpong doesn't sleep as early as our parents do, so it should be fine.

The Dreamworld is quite a distance from Bangkok city. You might need to arrange special transportation if you wish to get there.

http://www.dreamworld-th.com/english/index.php

If your siblings are interested in Ocean stuff, check out the Siam Ocean World at the new Siam Paragon shopping complex

http://www.siamoceanworld.co.th/

cool man.. thanks for that,
i pick up a few from the previous post,
1. how much? - gee bath
2. can i have a better price ? - lot noi dai mai?
3. where is the toilet - toilet yoo thi nai
4. welcome - mai ben rai
5. sorry - khrob koon
6. no, i dont want - mai ow

sunbeam, you are in BKK for Christmas? what are you doing there?

This post has been edited by bobtiang: Dec 6 2006, 02:43 AM

Some correction there, bob:

Sorry - khor twat
Thank You - khrob koon
Toilet - hong nam (which actually means "water room")

As part of language lessons here, to make any sentence more polite, always add a suffix to any statement:

Girls will say - "ka"
Guys will say - "krub" (pronounced with the aaaa sound, as in kr-aaab)

Example:

Girl: How much is this - "Un ni tao rai ka?"
Salesman: This is 200 baht - "Un ni 200 baht krub"
Girl: Can you discount a little - "lot noi dai mai ka?"
Salesman: I'm sorry, I cannot discount - "khor twat krub. Lot mai dai krub"
Girl: Nevermind then - "Mai ben rai ka"

So, in general, when a guy says Thank You, it would be "Khop koon krub", and girls will say "khop koon ka"

Get the feel of it?

the alcazar shows is just funny. Nothing obscene with it. So if your family wants to watch it, no problem