Bangkok Valentine's Weekend: Day 3

It's our third day and we realized that we haven't gone to any cultural site. We haven't really had "tourist photos" for this trip so far. So we decided to finally visit some temples. I did a bit of research before going to Bangkok, and we decided to visit 2-3 cultural sites, just to have some "touristic" photos haha! It's the adjective I use to describe photos that prove we're really tourists.:))

We took a cab to the area where the tourist attractions are. There's this area where most of the temples and authentic Thai restos are situated, and they're all near each other. We're supposed to go to the Grand Palace, but it's so "grand" that we were able to see some parts of it outside that we didn't need to enter anymore haha. Well maybe we're just too lazy 'cause of the scorching heat of the sun. It's 36 to 37 degrees that time. And besides, we've heard from a friend that entrance fee was relatively high. So we had lunch at a resturant outside Wat Pho. We had really yummy and affordable lunch. I love Thai food!:)

After lunch, we finally entered Wat Pho, or the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. It's the biggest Buddha in Thailand, and it's uhm yeah, reclining. Just a reminder, don't wear shorts and sleeveless, unless you wanna wear green robes as if you're inside a spa, just like us. LOL! Anyway, we paid 100 baht as an entrance fee. That's inclusive of a free bottle of water. After a few photos in and out the temple, we're done.

filling the containers with coins

don't wear shorts or you'll look like this :))

We took a tuktuk to the other side of the Chao Phraya River in order to get to Wat Arun or the Temple of Dawn. We paid 100 baht. It's relatively a fair price because the distance was kinda far. But be careful because some tuktuk drivers are taking advantage of tourists by charging more. Another option is to take a ferry crossing the river, which costs a lot cheaper, like 15 baht each. However, it's so hot and we we're already so tired trying to find the port. So to just get away with it, and for experience purposes, we just took the tuktuk. Anyway, entrance fee for Wat Arun is 50 baht. We had to rent sarong (long skirt) for 20 baht each since we're wearing shorts. The place was so nice, and everything's intricately designed. However, we were not able to climb really far because the steps were so steep and we're really scared of heights. So after reaching 1/4 of it (not even halfway up haha), we already went down.

Then we headed back to the hotel. While waiting for Dr. Sopon, who will be sending us to the airport, we stepped out to find something cheap to eat. Then we walked towards the direction where food stalls can be found. We tried one food cart that sells noodles. We couldn't understand anything on the photos and the vendors weren't English speakers so we just pointed the photos of our order (no idea what those were). Then it was cooked on the spot. For 30 baht, we tasted really yummy Thai noodles! It's just a cart on the side of the street, yet a lot were stopping by to grab something to it. The we got some dessert from 7-Eleven. Well it's really a cheap yet awesome dinner for us.

We went back to the hotel and Dr. Sopon finally arrived. He drove us to the airport. What a nice person, really! He's very down to earth despite all of his achievements. Anyway, we checked in kinda early so we explored Duty Free a bit. We bought some snacks that we ate right before boarding. At around midnight, we boarded the plane...and POOF! We're back to reality! Weekend's over. Time really flies so fast when you're having fun.:)

i want!!!

Here's our Day 3 expenses:

1. Transportation (including toll) - ThB 500
2. Meals (lunch, snacks, dinner) - ThB 500
3. Entrance Fees - ThB 150
TOTAL: ThB 1,150 or PhP 1,620 (Php 810 each)

Here's to sum up our INDIVIDUAL expenses in our 3-day trip to Bangkok (not including shopping expenses), with free accommodation, some friends treating us to dinner/drinks and some free rides:

1. Airfare - PhP 7,000
2. Tax/Terminal fee - PhP 2,170 
3. Arrival - Php 328
4. Day 1 - PhP 975
5. Day 2 - PhP 1,813
6. Day 3 - PhP 810
TOTAL: Php 13,096

*If we had to pay for our accommodation at PhP 1,000 per night for 2 pax, that would've cost us PhP 3,000 for 3 nights, or PhP 1,500 per pax, so it's gonna be a total of PhP 16K.

The bulk of the cost is attributed to the airfare, which at that time was already on seat sale. If it wasn't, original price would've been Php 12K + tax for a roundtrip flight.

Anyway, it was a fun weekend. It's quite short but I don't think there's much to see there. It's really shopping and my Thai friends that would keep me coming back to BKK. Next time, we'll try Pattaya and Phuket for the beach. :)

Hey SEOUL Sisters! (Day 4)

For our fourth day (Nov. 18)  in South Korea, we took a day away from Seoul. We spent the day in Gyeongju City in North Gyeongsang (or Gyeongsangbuk-do). It's a city that features multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites, which show the origins of the Korean culture. Gyeongju is really far from Seoul, but it's near Busan. But because of the KTX line, featuring a bullet train, it's just fast to get there. There's actually a free tourist bus from Seoul going to Gyeongju but it had to be booked at least 10 days before the trip,and it takes 4 hours of travel time. You may check the official tourism website of Korea to book a free shuttle bus. In our case, we took the KTX because it would only take us 2 hours from Seoul Station to Singyeongju Station (near Gyeongju). A couple of days before leaving Korea, we already bought our KTX tickets online and paid using credit card. For foreigners, there's a one-day unlimited pass for 58,200 won, but for a group of 2-5 people, each pass would only cost 52,400 won so that's how much we paid for. We just submitted our passport details online, and bought e-tickets, which we had changed into actual tickets at the Seoul station. Check this link for more information. Anyway, their trains depart and arrive on time so it's best to be early always. We departed at around 7am and arrived there at 9am.

The train ride was so comfy. There's also an attendant inside each cart who serve food (for sale) and assists the passengers. We just took a nap during the ride. So after 2 hrs of travel, we finally arrived to Singyeongju Station. We headed to the tourism office to claim our reserved tour tickets but apparently, we we're not booked. Before leaving Manila, we already booked the Gyeongju City Tour Course 3 online through this link, but when we got there, they said they didn't receive our reservation. Anyway, the tourism officer called up the tour guides and finally, they were able to give us slots in the tour. Since we're a bit early for the tour, we waited for almost an hour for the bus to arrive. The bus was full and most of the tourists were Koreans, that's why the tour guide only spoke Korean; then we realized later that she can't speak much in English. We really felt that what she's saying about every attraction was really interesting, it's just that everything's told in Korean so we were not able to understand. Anyway, when the tour guide collected our payments while inside the bus, we paid 60,000 won (15,000 won each)  for the tour plus additional 48,000 won (12,000 won each) for the admission fees. So here's how our tour went:

1. Singyeongju Station - We left the station at 10am for the tour.

Welcome to Gyeongju!

tourist information

outside Singyeongju station

2. Gyeongju Poseokjeongji - It used to be a small palace.

the only part of the palace that's left

autumn :)

Pam

Pam, Dianne, Thina

3. Cheonmachong (Heavenly Horse Tomb) - Lots of ancient tombs that looked like Bohol's Chocolate Hills. The tombs were huge because the Korean ancestors were buried with their properties like jewelries and armors.

i love the colors!

Pam

Korean drama? LOL!

HDR effect via Camera360 app

We just can't get enough of the background...

ancient tomb

scary...

i like!

4. Geyongjucheomseongdae (Cheomsongdae Observatory in Gyeongju) - It used to be an observatory of Silla. For us, it looked like a Rook in the Chess board game haha!

yikes!

Chocolate Hills? haha nope, they're ancient tombs :)

I don't know what this is called but it's yummy!

5. Lunch (at a Korean restaurant in one of the buildings nearby) - We were only given less than 30mins to eat. We ordered bulgogi and pork cutlet. The food was quickly served. However, we were too hungry to take photos of our food haha.

6. Gyeongju Donggung Wolji (Imhaejeonji, Anapji) - Another royal Silla heritage site with large temples. But again, not everything got preserved. But, there's a diorama there that showed how this palace used to look like.

the lake

how it used to look like

7. Seokguram Grotto - We walked too far and climbed so high just to see the giant Buddha, but when we got there, no photo taking was allowed so we're not able to take a photo of the giant Buddha.

bell tower

just like Baguio haha

the giant Buddha is inside (it's like a cave inside)

small Buddha

8. Gyeongjubulguksagyeongnae (Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju) - It's a really huge and nice place. We explored the palace and the beautiful scenery around.

at the entrance

autumn colors...again!:)

eeewwwy but pretty pond :))

so nice!:)

photo bomber alert! tsk!

We left at 5pm from our last stop and we're back to Singyeongju Station before 6pm. Since all the trains going back to Seoul were fully booked, we were allowed to take any train we wanted (no need for reservation). However, we were just seated on the floor in between carts, since we didn't have seats.

We headed back to Hongdae. We decided to find the Hello Kitty Cafe first before heading back to the apartment. I found a map posted by a blogger, which she got from the cafe's official website. In my attempt to follow what's on the map, we lost our way! haha! Good thing there's this random Korean guy whom we asked for directions, and he can speak in English! he actually didn't know where the Hello Kitty Cafe was, which I was glad about 'coz if he knew, we might have thought his gay LOL! But he actually helped us by using maps from his smartphone. Good thing he was headed that way too so we walked with him. That's like the most awkward 500 meter-walk of my life haha! Anyway, when we got there, we realized that it was just less than 150 meters away from our apartment. I loved the place (being that Hello Kitty fan since childhood haha). Even their drinks were good too. We tried Cafe Mocha, Green Tea Latte (Matcha), and Cafe Latte. After finishing our coffee, we bought some streetfood, which we brought back to the apartment for our super late dinner. Our Malaysian housemates also shared their take away food with us. We really had a great night hanging at the apartment.

Total spending for the day for 4pax:

1. KTX Train from Seoul to Gyeongju - 209,600 won (52,400 won each)

2. Transportation (subway only) - 8,400 won

3. Gyeongju City Tour - 60,000 won (15,000 won each)

4. Admission Fees - 48,000 won (12,000 won each)

5. Lunch - 30,000 won

6. Coffee - 13,500 (ave. of 4,500 won for each coffee, total of 3 cups)
7. Dinner (street food & soft drinks) - 10,000 won

TOTAL: 379,500 won = Php 14,539 (or approx. Php 3,635/pax)

Two days left...yay!