How's it going guys? It's me, Gem!
This is my travel diary of my March 25 to April 2, 2018 trip to Bangkok, Thailand.
If some of the signage in the video flash too fast, just pause the video.
The plane was an Airbus A330.
Very stripped down, no LCD screens, as Cebu Pacific is a budget airline.
Brought my own food too.
Before leaving the airport, I bought a prepaid data sim package from the True Move stall on the first floor.
The staff are really fast with setting up the phones,
they do three at a time all while taking payments at the same time and showing the different data plans.
My phone took a few tries to connect successfully to the internet, maybe because it was a cheap phone.
I went to the basement to take the Airport Rail Link train from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Phaya Thai.
This station also connects to the BTS metro system FYI.
It was a bit tricky to walk to my friend's place near Phaya Thai station though, as it's hard to lug my suitcase across the train tracks on the ground as you can see in the video.
The station is where the green arrow is pointing to.
The tiled ground is also quite uneven.
Anyway I made it! This was my first lunch in Bangkok.
Took the Phaya Thai BTS to the Chatuchak Weekend Market.
This is the view of the market from Mo Chit BTS station.
It was pretty hot, but not yet too crowded or overwhelming as I went daytime.
The market runs until late evening on the weekends. At night, more stalls open.
But I'm satisfied with the stuff I saw that day and the ground I covered. It was plenty enough for me.
Remember I mentioned I got here by getting off at the Mo Chit BTS station? I left Chatuchak via a different metro system, the MRT.
The market covers that much ground that there's another metro station on the other end.
I left via the Kamphaeng Phet station.
The MRT is a different system from BTS so you can't use your reloadable BTS card to pay.
I just bought a one time token.
Got out at the Nana BTS station.
Headed to Cabbages and Condoms, a cool restaurant behind the Korea Town complex of Korean restaurants.
It's a restaurant that has a lot of photos and news articles on the Thai government's past safe sex and family planning efforts.
There are a lot of kitschy condom related decor.
The cuisine is Thai, and very very very spicy. I was coughing and tearing up like mad.
Dropped by a very old school hotel called the Asia Hotel on the way home for some snacks. It even has an Elvis impersonator.
I went to Pratunam Pier to take a ferry but I went to the wrong platform. Had to go back up and walk to the other side.
My destination was Wat Si Bun Ruang.
This pier has ferry boats that run along one of Bangkok's numerous canals. Note.
This is NOT the ferry that runs along the Chao Phraya river.
Enjoy the view. I got to shoot a lot of great graffiti from the boat.
While some tourists also use this ferry to sightsee, it's also a commuter type ferry for locals to avoid traffic.
My destination is the Airplane Graveyard that's a 15 minute walk from the Wat Si Bun Ruang stop.
This is the Wat Si Bun Ruang temple grounds.
This is where I got off the ferry.
There's also a final resting place type area here.
Got a pineapple before looking for the airplane graveyard.
The pineapple stand is beside the Foods 24 Food Hall behind the temple.
When you exit the food hall complex parking lot and walk a bit, you'll see the Airplane Graveyard lot.
Knock on the wooden gate, pay the fee the caretakers ask for
- the amount is arbitrary, can be as low as 200 and as high as 800 baht, and they'll let you in.
This kid insisted on being my guide and being paid.
We climbed up the Boeing 747 first.
I'm glad he was with me, as it was pitch black in there for a bit.
Lots of rusty stuff, had to be careful looking for a handhold.
We then climbed up a ladder to the first level of the plane.
Exited through this hole.
Then we climbed up proper stairs to the second level of the plane.
Clearly the kid is used to this plane being his playground.
This is the cockpit.
You can see the broken up DC-10s in the lot through here.
It started raining then so the kid's sister called him away.
Paid him and he left me there alone.
Love this graffiti on the back of the plane.
Went down this hole alone this time without a guide.
Then I climbed down this 747 and went to the DC-10 behind it.
Hear the rain? I just hid out here for an hour. Here are some still images I shot.
Hear the rain? I just hid out here for an hour.
My stuff's over there, there are some more planes out there.
But it's raining really hard.
So I'm just sitting here with my phone, I've nothing to do
I can't go out or my camera's gonna get fucked up,
at least this dead plane, it's weatherproof, sort of,
a little rain gets in through the windows, but I'm pretty dry in here.
There's the cockpit over there.
From here you can see the Boeing 747 I was in previously.
The rain eventually stopped, so I went to check out the other planes.
The kids living on the lot also came out to play too.
The ground had a lot of puddles from the rain.
This dog seemed to like it.
Once again, the landmark is Wat Si Bun Ruang temple.
This is how the property looks like from the gate.
When I left there was a guy who just pulled up and was asking to be let in.
That's where I came from.
This spot by the cars is where you saw me eating my pineapples earlier.
Now I'm back at the Foods 24 food hall.
Had a big lunch of an omelette and noodles.
Not so fond of this Thai yogurt drink.
Went to the Ghost Bride Shrine after.
The ghost bride shrine, also known as the Mae Nak Shrine, is located in the Wat Mahabut temple complex.
This part you're seeing is part of the regular temple complex.
The wheel of fortune type gadget gives you a number that corresponds to the numbered fortune in the cubbyholes above.
There's a cozy little garden on the temple grounds. Behind the tree is what you just saw earlier.
There's also a lot of fortunetellers plying their trade in this temple.
Mae Nak is a famous Thai ghost.
She died while pregnant while her husband was drafted and sent to war.
When her husband came home, she and the baby were waiting for him, and they lived together as a family.
The neighbors who tried to warn him that Mae Nak is a ghost, were killed.
One day her husband accidentally spotted her doing some freaky arm stretching to pick some limes
and the ghostly truth finally clicked for him.
The husband ran into the Wat Mahabut temple,
and she couldn't get in as it's holy, and she's a ghost.
Anyway some exorcism ensued, it's a long story.
You can look it up on Atlas Obscura and Wikipedia.
I'll just link to it in the captions below.
There are some benches behind the Ghost Bride shrine.
I rested there for a bit before heading home.
I was as tired and limp as this cat.
There were more fortunetellers on the street outside the temple.
Here's some shots of my trek back home.
Lots of animal encounters.
My friend and I had dinner at Din Tai Fung.
No more super spicy dinners for me after the Thai food debacle the previous night.
This is a glimpse of the street outside the Nana Plaza red light district.
I didn't go into the wildest parts of the district, just this street.
Went back to Sathorn Pier the next day and took the ferry
that runs along the Chao Phraya River to Si Phraya stop, near River City Mall.
Then I took the cross river ferry to the other side of the river.
Got off at the Klong San Market.
That's the pier where I landed. Walked a bit to go to to the cross-river pier beside it.
This is the cross river ferry.
Crossed the river to the other side of the Chao Phraya River, landed in Klong San market.
My plan was to walk along different points of interest near the Bangkok Yai canal mentioned in the 22 Bangkok Walks book. Crossed the river to the other side of the Chao Phraya River, landed in Klong San market.
My plan was to walk along different points of interest near the Bangkok Yai canal mentioned in the 22 Bangkok Walks book.
This is the Signal Flagpole where flags were hoisted by the Harbour Department
to indicate whether trading vessels were arriving or departing. A long time ago.
After that I walked to the Pong Patchamit Fort, one of the forts built during the Rama IV era around the moats surrounding Bangkok for defence.
I was already a bit overheated this early into my walk, luckily there were benches in the empty fort.
My next stop was the Somdet Chaophraya Institute of Psychiatry.
The complex has a hospital and a Psychiatry Museum with exhibits in Thai showcasing the history of psychiatry in their country.
Next up I walked some tiny alleys and got a bit lost following Google Maps to the Princess Mother Memorial Park.
That was a very complicated trek for someone who easily gets lost like me,
but I got some cool shots and got to see super off the beaten path houses.
I eventually made it though.
I was too hungry to shoot much video footage here.
Outside the park, right by one of the exits, are three very cool graffiti pieces painted on some small houses.
That's the exit I was pointing to.
This is the Memorial Bridge.
It's a bridge over the Chao Phraya River connecting the Phra Nakhon and Thonburi districts.
It was opened in 1932.
I came from that way and walked down the street.
I dropped by a cafe that also had a hair salon inside for some snacks.
After I got some food again, I walked along the waterfront by the Chao Phraya River.
That's the direction I'm going to.
The pointy building at the end is Wat Arun.
This is Santa Cruz Church.
It was built in 1770 by the descendants of early Portuguese Catholics.
A Chinese shrine is right beside it.
I spotted these stairs and climbed up to see what was up there.
Turns out it leads to private residences.
There was a cool old house beside it.
Headed back down.
Saw another set of stairs to get up the concrete fence.
This is the Chinese Shrine a couple of houses down the Santa Cruz Church.
I saw a man feeding some pigeons, and would you know it, when I walked to my next stop, Wat Kanlayamit (the orange roofed structure), he was there too!
From that temple, I walked to the Bang Luang Mosque.
It's an interesting mosque in that it has a very unique architecture that's unusual for mosques.
The entrance to the neighborhood where it's located is in a tiny alley.
The neighorhood is built along a canal.
I was so tired though, that I only ended up photographing the Islamic Center beside it.
I didn't actually get to photograph the mosque, it must have been just a few more meters away.
I only realized this when I was editing the video.
After I left the mosque, I spotted the placard talking about this institute of music.
I'm not sure which house it's actually referring to, so I photographed the two right beside the sign.
Went up the pedestrian overpass to get to Wat Arun.
Came from there, the orange topped structure is Wat Kanlayamit.
That's Wat Arun, my destination.
This is the Wat Arun temple complex, also known as the Temple of Dawn.
To recap, I started from Sathorn pier here and rode the ferry along the Chao Phraya River to the Si Phraya stop beside the River City Mall.
Then I took the cross river ferry to the other side, got off at Klong San Market.
Walked all around this area, this is where the Signal Flagpole and fort was.
You see this green patch? That was the Princess Mother Memorial Park you saw earlier.
Walked some more, that's the Church of Santa Cruz that you guys just saw too,
then I crossed the overpass and got here to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn.
I took a cross-river ferry from Wat Arun to the other side of the Chao Phraya River.
The other side is the Tha Tien pier, close to the area where the Grand Palace is.
After I got to the other side, I rode the ferry that runs along the river down to where I was able to commute back.
Spotted a Mclaren showroom in the mall I took a break in.
On my fourth day, March 28, I left my friends place and checked into the Sofitel Sukhumvit Hotel because my other friend flew in from Singapore to meet me.
I felt sick after checking in, most likely from the heat and exhaustion. On my fourth day, March 28, I left my friends place and checked into the Sofitel Sukhumvit Hotel because my other friend flew in from Singapore to meet me.
I just rested until evening, and we went to Le Dalat, a Vietnamese restaurant.
It's got very nice decor inside, but incongruously, its menu is made of plastic and very tattered.
Since I don't have much footage from this day as I was sick, hope you guys enjoy the Le Dalat restaurant interiors I shot a lot of.
Even the bathroom was decorated to the nines.
Here's what the Sofitel Sukhumvit breakfast buffet spread looks like.
After breakfast, I went back to the room to sleep.
Since I haven't actually shot good footage today, because I've just been holed up,
I'm gonna take some footage of this room, because it is a pretty cool room.
So this is my laptop, it's playing some music.
It's connected to the bluetooth speakers of this hotel room.
And those are the speakers. The sound's pretty good.
Yep, this is the bathroom.
I'm shooting it because I have no footage from today.
This is the lotion that came with it, it has a very faint orange smell.
It's got a tub but I don't really use it.
This is the shower.
This stuff is from Hermes apparently.
So I've actually never stayed in a hotel room with a hookup like this with the speaker system.
It seems like a bizaare thing to put in a hotel room.
Usually what they put is just a little speaker, even for 5 star hotels.
I only got up at night to go to dinner at Baan Ice Thai restaurant.
It was pretty good despite my lack of appetite.
Went to this pretty hipster speakeasy called J. Borowski after for some cocktails.
Both are in the Thonglor area.
I was still sick the next day, so I bought some medicine at a pharmacy next door to the hotel.
Also bought some snacks at the convenience store.
Then my friend and I took a taxi to The Jam Factory, I bought two soaps at Anyroom, one of the shops in The Jam Factory.
It's a collection of trendy boutiques and restaurants inside the Klong San Market.
The same Klong San market I took a cross-river ferry to on day two, where I started my walk to the Signal Flagpole and the fort.
Had dinner at Neverending Summer, a Thai restaurant.
Not sure what's going on here with the shirtless men.
Then we took the cross river ferry from the Klong San Market to the Si Phraya pier beside the River City mall.
To recap, I started the day at the spot marked "pharmacy", it's right beside our hotel.
Ended up here, via a taxi ride, at The Jam Factory, which is inside the Klong San Market.
Then took a cross-river ferry to the other side of the Chao Phraya River, to the River City Mall.
There was a fireworks display after we got off the boat.
Here's some shots of the area behind River City.
Took a taxi back to the hotel from there.
I didn't go to the buffet area on my last day at Sofitel.
My friend and I opted to order from the club floor menu.
Since I was still sickly, I rested after breakfast then we went to the Terminal 21 mall nearby so she can do some shopping.
We had lunch at a place called Moom Muum Park where I took the obligatory tourist drinking from a coconut picture.
I went with her to the airport after then took the train back to the city, got my bags from Sofitel, and went back to the house of the friend I stayed with on my first day.
I was still sickly so I had a late start.
Had some simple food at a diner near my friend's apartment and picked up some snacks at the convenience store.
I only had a couple pills left from the pack I bought at the Thai pharmacy two days ago.
This is 250 mL.
So this is Bangkok's glass bottle Coke. This is 250 mL.
So this is Bangkok's glass bottle Coke.
It has a paper label. It's different from the Philippines where the Coke label is printed on the glass.
Hello. It's Sunday. 8:15 PM. Easter Sunday.
I just thought I'd recovered a little. I'm still not super feeling well but I don't want to waste my vacation.
Around 8 PM I decided to go to one of the numerous Bangkok night markets.
I'm gonna take the train. The train interestingly is not the normal BTS metro train I take whenever I move around Bangkok. Around 8 PM I decided to go to one of the numerous Bangkok night markets.
I'm gonna take the train. The train interestingly is not the normal BTS metro train I take whenever I move around Bangkok.
According to Google Maps, I have to take one of the Airport Rail Link trains but I have to stop way before the airport and switch to the MRT metro system.
Bangkok has two rail systems. The BTS, which is what I normally take. And the MRT.
The BTS and MRT metro lines have different payment systems, you can't use your reloadable BTS card to pay for the MRT. Bangkok has two rail systems. The BTS, which is what I normally take. And the MRT.
The BTS and MRT metro lines have different payment systems, you can't use your reloadable BTS card to pay for the MRT.
That shiny building I pointed to is the MRT station.
Anyway what happened was I got out of the Makkasan Airport line station, crossed to the MRT side, and just exited, intending to hail a taxi cause I felt weak from still being sick.
I spotted some motorcycle taxis and took that instead.
And off we went to the New Rot Fai night market.
It's a smaller branch of the much bigger main Rot Fai Ratchada night market that's in a suburb of Bangkok and hard to get to.
Had some duck rice for dinner.
Took a motorcycle taxi again back home.
On my last day I went to the Saphan Thaksin BTS metro station again
so I could take the ferry that runs along the Chao Phraya River to go to the area surrounding the Grand Palace.
My destination was the Ministry of Defence.
There are all sorts of cannons on its garden.
That spot with the white wall is the Grand Palace.
The Ministry of Defence is directly across it.
I stopped by a post office after to buy some stamps.
Visit my stamp blog at stamplibrary dot info to see the stamps I bought.
Took another ferry, the same line that runs alongside this side of the Chao Phraya River
and photographed some more interesting architecture - The East Asiatic Company and the Catholic Mission of Bangkok.
Then I took another ferry to one or two stops beside it and got off at Wat Rajsingkorn.
Behind the temple is a tourist night market, the Asiatique.
You can see the ferris wheel peeking out from behind the temple rooftops.
Check out this sort of morbid sign.
That's where I spent my last night.
Spotted this cat underneath a pedestrian underpass on my way home, it was around the Ratchathewi BTS station.
Flew home on the morning of April 3.
Thanks so much for watching.
Hope you enjoyed it, please thumb it up if you did, and consider subscribing to be updated about new posts.
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