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.:)
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. :)
