Yes, but this time, sans the tour. A couple of friends and I went to Bangkok for the shopping and eating perks that Thailand has to offer. Haha. That is all we did. Eventually though, in between mall-hopping and Thai food heavens, we had to stop and go for a foot massage.
Going to Bangkok from DMI Airport in Clark was a no-biggie for us, even if it was about an hour and thirty minutes away from the city. The airport in Manila is terrible. I hope they really fix Manila's airport though, complete with a convenient transportation system from different parts of the city. Hmm, or maybe build a better and bigger airport outside the city. Clark's is still pretty small.
Anyway, we didn't have any problems with our airline, which was Sea Air / Tiger Airways. We departed Clark on time, and we arrived in Bangkok on time. The only thing that bugged me was that our seats were in front of the exit row, which means we weren't able to recline our seats! I didn't know that, and nothing on the airline website had that info. If I had, I would have chosen another seat. Sigh. Good thing it was just a short flight.
Bangkok's airport had artworks on their walls like this one. So pretty.
The airport link (train) in the airport was still open when we arrived so we decided to take that. They had these chips as the ticket. No need for paper tickets that you just throw away. Less garbage!
Taking the train was a lot cheaper than taking a cab. There was a station 5 minutes away from our hotel (Hotel de Bangkok), but we had big luggages (for shopping) so it took us twice the time. Here is the lounge area of our hotel. We were welcomed with a glass of cold pandan tea. Yummy!
This was the same hotel I stayed at during my Bangkok trip last year. My sisters and I were pretty satisfied with the service. They had free Wi-Fi (a must for us) and free buffet breakfast. The mattresses were just a tad bit hard, but it was okay overall. Every day, we had the concierge call a cab to take us the market or the mall, wherever we wanted.
For us, this is a great value hotel because of its distance to the Pratunam shopping area. Haha! It's also about 30 minutes away from Chatuchak weekend market and some of the major tourist attractions (Grand Palace and Buddha temples).
Hotel de Bangkok
133/48 Ratchaprarop Road,
Ratchaprarop Soi 12,
Makkasan
+66(0) 2642 5911-4
info@hoteldebangkok.com
Would you believe I've never been to Bangkok?! I've been to other Asian countries, but not here yet, sige, give us the scoop so next time I come home, I might make quick trip to this part of the world ;-)
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