What's your
next travel destination, the amazing Bangkok Thailand? Going there soon and you
want to go around the city without burning your pockets too much?
Being in a
foreign city for the first time is an exciting deal for newbie travelers like
me. Upon finally booking a plane ticket, you find yourself grinning like a kid
excited for the day of your departure to arrive.
Of course,
there is also this excitement in you where you google search the tourist
attractions that you could visit during your stay, or tips on how to get around
the city without getting too ripped off with your transportation expenses.
Let's face
the fact that of course you have to spend money allotted for your
transportation expenses, but that doesn't mean that you have to spend more
money on getting to the places alone when you could save a few amount more for
your food instead, or for shopping!
So, excited to get around Bangkok while on a budget? Listen
up!
Upon touchdown at the airport (in our case it was
Survarnabhumi International Airport), feeling adventurous right away, and got
your currency exchanged to Thai Baht, you could take the local transit-- bus.
You could ask for reliable persons at the airport to get to
the nearest bus stop and ask if you could get to your destination with the
routes serviced by the buses for that bus stop.
As I'm still a newbie traveler, I don't fully recommend yet
taking the local bus upon touchdown to airport to get to your destination.
Metered taxis are best since the local drivers know the way best while you are
in your comfort of sitting in the backseat and knowing that your luggage/s
is/are secured inside the taxi with you.
After your flight you might probably feel tired, so maybe
you could reward yourself of riding the taxi and lessening your hassle of
getting to your place via the bus and spend your craving for adventure for
later.
The taxi trade
In our trip to Bangkok upon touchdown, there are a lot of
taxis lined up for arrival passengers. Since we were new to the place and
didn't exactly know the trade, we just consented to hiring a taxi. As we got
there I noticed that the trade at the airport is there are no metered taxis,
but taxis for hire. It means that you have to pay for a specific amount instead
of paying the amount shown in the taxi's meter
In my opinion I think right from the start we got kind of
SCAMMED.
At the airport, there is a taxi bay where a lot of taxis are waiting and there is a counter with a lady where you have to pay your fare.
At the airport, there is a taxi bay where a lot of taxis are waiting and there is a counter with a lady where you have to pay your fare.
When we arrived, it was raining and we were told that the
taxis have different fees when it's not raining and when it's raining. They
were charging us 700 baht (real expensive for a taxi and we don't know if our
destination is just near or far, convert that to our Philippine Peso which is
P1400). That logic doesn't make any sense, so what if it's raining or not,
there's no difference with the vehicle.
When we were told about that, I got the feeling that I think
we're getting scammed. Add to the fact that they were talking with each other
and we cannot understand a single word they say.
But we as foreigners (plus it was raining), with having 3
'elders' with me and we have our heavy luggage with us, consented to paying
them 700 baht.
When we arrive at our destination, we saw that the taxi's meter only gauged at 100 baht. Imagine my frustration!
So a tip for you once touchdown to Bangkok: do not immediately agree in riding a hired taxi. Look around for metered taxis because I personally think that 700 baht is not worth it.
The mistake we made when we arrived at the airport was we did not look around for other metered taxis. If we just looked around for a bit, I think we could find a metered taxi and rode one.
- Bangkok has a skytrain: BTS, Bangkok Mass Transit System
- Bangkok also has a subway: MRT
- they have metered taxis, public buses, public vans, tuktuks, and rental cars
Do as the locals do: public bus
I have recently read an article from a newspaper or magazine
about traveling on a shoestring budget: commute to places like the locals do.
Riding a metered taxi won't always be the best, especially
on your pockets. Ride their public transits- the bus! Not only do you get to
spend a few baht for your transportation expenses, you also get to live like a
local. You get to immense yourself fully and experience their culture.
Bangkok has an organized transport system, in my opinion
(minus the traffic jams during rush hours).
Each public bus has a specific number. Each bus number means
a specific route that that bus services.
Know what bus stop is near the place
you're staying at, and know which bus numbers you could ride which passes
through your desired destination. Remember: make sure that the bus number you
are riding will pass through to your destination or near your destination, if
not, that means mayhem unless you really plan on getting lost for an adventure!
At the bus: as we are frequent local bus riders during our
stay in Bangkok, I noticed that all bus assistants are females and DON'T SPEAK
ENGLISH. A con in using the local bus is communication gets so frustrating.
They don't understand your pronunciation, you don't understand what they're
saying. They understand some English and could speak the fare amount in
English, so you'll get by.
Another tip: also ask the assistant to notify you where you must get off since you are not familiar with the places.
In Bangkok, we were staying at Ramindra in Laksi Soi 3 and
it is a bit far from downtown Bangkok, they city center. In order to get
downtown, we ride Bus 26 and we stop at Mo Chit BTS station.
Another tip: BTS stations are your best friends in commuting
around Bangkok, use it as your landmarks.
We use Mo Chit BTS station as our landmark in the city
center. Mo Chit BTS is the first BTS station of the Sukhumvit Line.
Mo Chit BTS station is just near the Chatuchak Park or the
Queen Sirikit Park, as well as the popular Chatuchak weekend market :>
Another tip: if you also wish to get home riding a bus, ask
around what bus numbers should you ride that will pass through near your
destination. And which nearest bus stops you should go for those bus numbers.
Queen Sirikit Park, lungs of Bangkok against the building-up traffic along the road beside it
Also, as much as possible avoid getting trapped in Bangkok's
rush hour traffic jams, they are deadly especially if you are riding in a bus!
We have been there, and done that. As cheapskates that we
are we rode the bus going home and are always caught up in Bangkok's traffic
jams. Since a lot of locals go home starting from 5 pm onwards after work,
expect for crowded buses and crowded bus stops full of waiting passengers like
you.
Expect to ride the bus while standing up for hours depending
on the distance of your destination.
If you don't wish to end up experiencing the same fate,
don't get caught up in Bangkok's traffic jams!
Another tip in riding the local bus transit: once you step
inside the bus, always grab the nearest railing you could find and quickly
clamber up to the bus' landing because I'm telling you, the bus drivers are
pretty reckless (heck, they DO NOT slow down when going on a curve, or when
turning to the right or left hence the gravitational pull may tend to let you
fall down especially if you are standing so I suggest grab the railings
tightly).
Once the door is closed, they start driving immediately so
be careful not to fall.
Also, most probably the bus assistant won't understand your
pronunciation even if you say your destination in Thai, so I suggest to have
your destination's name written on a piece of paper, translated in Thai
characters. That would be less hassle, that's what we did every time we go home
-- we just show the destination's name, and as a reply the assistant tells you
how much your fare is. It is cheap, with around 12 to 15 baht only.
We just show this to the taxi driver and he understands right away ;)
Bangkok's BTS
Another very convenient mode of transportation around
Bangkok is the BTS. I love the BTS. Whenever we ride on the BTS I feel like
anything is possible, I could go anywhere I want in Bangkok and not get lost. BTS
fares are also relatively cheap.
What I love about BTS the most is they provide guides in
their website on which tourist spots are accessible using the BTS. Very great
for DIY trips!
A lot of foreigners like us are also riding the BTS and MRT
Another thing that I appreciate in BTS is they give free
maps with indications of the tourist spots. AWESOME. I remember when we got off
a certain station we were asking for directions on how to get to Platinum Mall
and this very kind lady guard even ran and caught up with us just to hand us
free maps.
This map was our lifesaver! You could get one at the ticket counter
Bangkok MRT
Besides the BTS, there is Bangkok's MRT. Some MRT stations
are connected with some BTS stations so changing trains are not a problem. Similar
to BTS, MRT fares are also relatively cheap. I have observed that a lot of
foreigners also ride the BTS and MRT.
Inside Bangkok's MRT
When in doubt, take the taxi
Of course, there are the metered taxis. Taxi fares are also
cheap starting at 35 baht as its flat rate and 2 baht for every meter added.
Be careful though because we talked to a fellow foreigner
who shared her experience that the taxi she once rode already had its meter at
65 baht as its starting fare. Do not ride in those taxis if you encounter one.
35 baht is the standard starting fare.
Ride a metered taxi if you already don't know where you're
going. That's the only solution that I could think of when in a foreign place.
In our trip to Bangkok, if we have no clue of how to get to a certain
destination, we just leave it to the hands of the taxi driver.
A local Thai also told us that sometimes knowing that we are
foreigners, mean taxi drivers take you to a longer route before getting to your
destination so as to have a bigger fare.
Also, have your destination translated and written in Thai
characters on a piece of paper to show, because some taxi drivers don't
understand English.
Tuktuks for tourism
Last but not the least, there are the tuktuks.
Tuktuks were the main cause of traffic in bangkok a few
years ago so their government ordered the reduction of tuktuks in the streets,
but not entirely diminish it. The government retained a few tuktuks because of
tourism. Tuktuks today in Bangkok are mainly kept for tourists. An intelligent
decision. You don't fully experience Bangkok without riding their tuktuks. It's
a bit expensive (well duh, it's the tourist price) for a motorcycle ride, and
only goes for short distances but what the hell, you pay for the experience, of
course! (when we went from Wat Saket to the area near Wat Pho and Grand Palace,
we were charged with 60 baht, not that bad)
With my mama :)
So when travelling to Bangkok, don't be scared to try their
public transit-- because you ride both for transport and for experience.
Getting around Bangkok
We only stayed in Bangkok for 5 days but unfortunately we
were not able to fully utilize our time to get to many tourist attractions as
much as we can.
Here is a list of where we went, and how to get there:
Take note that we stayed in Lumpini Villie in Ramindra at
Laksi Soi 3 so that will be my reference point
To Chatuchak Weekend
Market or Queen Sirikit Park: these are just a walking distance away from
Mo Chit BTS station or Mo Chit MRT station
If you are coming from the BTS station, you have to cross
through the overpass. If you are coming from the MRT station, just walk going
in to Queen Sirikit Park then Chatuchak Market is at the left side just outside
the park.
The usual scene at the Chatuchak Weekend Market
To Siam Paragon or
nearby malls like MBK:
Ride the BTS stopping at Siam station then from there walk
using the overpass.
To Platinum Mall:
Ride the BTS stopping at Ratchathevi station. From the
station, you could walk going to the mall. It's a 10-15 minute walk. Don't
worry about getting lost, the name of the mall could easily be seen. The mall's
a bit after this hotel specifically for gays haha
To Ancient City in
Samut Prakan:
(locally known as Muang Boran [so that the locals could understand you, say it as Muang Bolan]) Ride the BTS stopping at Bearing, the last station. From the
station, ride a taxi. When we went there we were very lucky with the taxi
driver because he was so kind, he even stopped at the entrance of the Erawan
Shrine for us to take pictures and offered us candies (not in a creepy way,
okay) :)
The Crocodile Farm is also near the Erawan Shrine and Ancient Station. If you have plenty of time, allot a day for Ancient City, then another day for both the Erawan Shrine and Crocodile Farm.
The Crocodile Farm is also near the Erawan Shrine and Ancient Station. If you have plenty of time, allot a day for Ancient City, then another day for both the Erawan Shrine and Crocodile Farm.
It is a 30-minute ride which costs 130 baht. Going to
Ancient City, I used (paste link here)'s guide which is very true to his words.
When we got to Ancient City, we think that the reason behind
the taxi driver's kindness is that whenever they bring visitors to the place
they receive somewhat a commission. Ancient City is a place really meant for
tourism and education since it houses the ancient city, Siam, and presents
replicas of old temples or palaces during the ancient times. I'll dedicate
another post about Ancient City some time.
looks familiar? Yes, this view at Ancient City was used in a particular scene in the Hangover 2 movie franchise
To Wat Saket, Grand Palace, and Wat Pho:
We also went to Wat Saket (Golden Mount), Grand Palace (locally known as Wat Phra Kaew), and Wat Pho (the good thing here is that these popular tourist spots are near each other so you could visit a lot of places in one day) but I don't know exactly how we got there. We came from Platinum Mall then just rode a taxi from there going to Wat Saket. It's not that far, and the fare is at 55 baht.
The steep stairs at Wat Saket leading up to the temple
From Wat Saket, we took a tuktuk going near Chao Phraya
river to tour the canals and a floating market, but we realized that WE ARE
BEING SCAMMED so we did not pursue taking a boat (I'll post an entry about
this), instead we just walked going to the Grand Palace and Wat Pho.
From Wat Saket, you could take the tuktuk to Wat Pho. The
Grand Palace is just a walking distance away from Wat Pho.
We were unable to go inside Wat Pho and the Grand Palace because it was already 5 PM!
Going to Wat Pho,
you'll probably pass through the Giant Swing.
Taking the tuktuk around this place is the best place to do
it because it has a different 'feel' unlike taking a tuktuk around the city
center. You won't be able to fully appreciate the ride if you take a tuktuk at
the city center itself so I recommend try the tuktuk at this area.
I took these photos while riding the tuktuk ;)
To Wat Traimit
(Golden Buddha):
We took the MRT starting at Mo Chit station stopping at
Phetchaburi station. From there you could take a taxi.
When we got here, unfortunately it was a Sunday and they
have a worship at the temple so it is closed to visitors so we didn't get to
see the place. I have observed that there are a lot of foreigners like us which
made me feel kind of safe. There are a lot of backpackers as well.
Up next: Getting from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia and back safely and easily (posting this soon)
Up next: Getting from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia and back safely and easily (posting this soon)
