Semalam di Bangkok

Hi there again!

I’m back to Bangkok, my favorite city in the region.

this time I take my dad and kids with me. It’s (kiddos) first time.

this time around, we took airport link from Shuvarnabumi Airport, then MRT then BTS to commute.

after we arrived at our hotel, off we went to the newest mall, ICON SIAM, by the side

Of Chao Praya.

Just wonder, if Jakarta able to build such an iconic building at the side of Ciliwung/Pesanggrahan river.

Icon Siam

We had dinner at Sook Hiam. My mouth was watering. There’s a halal corner in this area.

For me it looks like Asiatique Front River minus the ferris wheel.

my intention was to eat whatever I saw! On third food, I realized I have limited Thai Baht. All I had was the money left from my last trip to Bangsaen last February.

Then i think, I’d draw money from

ATM, until I realized I left my purse at the hotel :((

So I skipped cruising Chao Praya with boat. Failed to do this on second time.

I squeezed time visit Siam Area again, to have pic with this

SIAM

A proof that Jakarta is sooo left behind.

Taking 10 pm train back to hotel, I found this train is still packed with people! From many nationality with their shopping bags.

Buat saya ya, tanda satu kota udah maju, banyak orang asing menggunakan transportasi umum! For me, we can call a city well-developed, when the foreigners comfortable enough to use its public transportation.

Till next post 😉

Bangkok Trip : mendadak reuni

Now I remember, why I slept early….I had to do my 1 hour 30 mins run in the next morning. 

Day 3

So, I did! And there was a 5 and 10K race that passed the hotel. I was amazed that the track wasn’t clear. I saw many of runners waiting for traffic light!

Bah! Sama-sama saja ternyata! Tujuan saya sih jelass. … run to Lumphnini Park, Central Park-nya Bangkok kali ya 🙂

Menurut peta sih, cuma 3 K  dari Hotel ke sana. So there I was.

Pas masuk parknya (buat yang nonton IG story saya) mungkin lihat ada race juga. Wih, dua racswe dalam satu weekend.

Senang deh dengan Lumphini Park ini, di pusat kota, tapi banyak pohon, bersih, bebas pedangang asongan. But no worry, there are some food/drink vendor. Sudah disiapkan tempatnya. oh ya, 1 loop = 2,5K.

Pas di satu spot, banyak runner meletakkan botol minumnya begitu aja. Di taman Mall BXC sudah diambil orang pasti.

Lumphini Park

Kelar lari saya lelah luar biasa, malas banget lari balik ke hotel, so I took BTS! Begitu sampai National Stadium Station, adik saya cari sarapan. Sudah deh jalan ke arah MBK Mall, ternyata masih banyak yang tutup.

Nah, di belakang MBK Mall ini, ada Universitas Chulalongkorn.

Dan dekat sini, ada Pusat Makanan Halal. The Halal Center of Chulalongkorn University. Girang bukan main…sebentar….ternyata semua restoran (masih) tutup!

Bah! Nyesal juga kemarin malam tidak begitu explore. So, take a note, there’s a The Halal Science Center  Universitas Chulalongkorn.10 mins walk from BTS National Stadium.

Ternyata juga, lagi ada race yang kaus, medali dan goodie bag-nya nuansa pink! Adik saya nyesal ngga cari tau. So, 3 races in a day! Next time I travelled abroad, pengen ikutan local race yaaa 5-10K aja deh. Buat lucu lucuan.

Lalu kami masuk komplek University-nya, nembus (of course) national Stadium. Lalu Lihat nama pemenang Asian Games tahun 1970-an. Ada beberapa Atlet Indonesia!

The Winners, saw Indonesian names

Dan dimana kita sarapan? Mc Donald samping hotel -___-

Lalu saya beli post card near-by (sudah pada tiba semua post-cardnya) then…check out pindah hotel.

hotel Bagus bintang 4, ada yang bayarin…hahahah. Girang banget, biasa hotel budget, ya bebss…

Slightly after check-in, we took BTS again to Terminal 21! Food Courtnya is a must visit menurut saya sih. Banyak benar variasi makanan (tapi yang halal dikit).  Dan jangan lupa, pesan Crispy Fried Oyster di Pier 21 Food Court ini! ENAKKK BETTT!

aya antri yang tidak serve pork aja, vegetarian. Pas saya pilih menu (display food-nya di lemari kaca), ada cowok bule belakang saya.

Him : What’s that are you ordering.

me : Actually, I’m not sure,  most likely Fried Tofu with Sweet Soy Sauce. But yeah trust me, I’m Asian. 

Him : *smiled* yeah, not rich! 

Kampret!

Fotonya buram, yang dimaksud makanan saya pojok kiri atas. Enak deh! Murah lagi ngga sampai Baht 100! Ukuran Food Court-mall ya.. Setelah itu, cabut lagi karena ke BTS agak pinggir kota demi….

Tempat cukup hits untuk kawula muda Bangkok, The Commons. 

Ya Allah tapi tempatnya jauh betttt dari BTS! Akik jalan 1,5 K boooo! Ngga Nemu Tuk tuk, tidak ada bus besar. Ternyata ada model kopaja gitu. Tapi tetap, berhentinya di tempat tertentu, ngga sembarangan berhenti. Oh ya dekat The Commons ini ada Mesjid. Saya numpang Sholat Ashar di situ. Dan rasanya parkir pinggir jalan di Bangkok bebas preman berbalut tukang parkir modal priwitan.

Lagi ngopi di sini, teman saya Haris, teman saya orang Malysia yang tinggal di KL (kita kenal waktu habis Berlin Marathon) kasih kabar kalau mau ke Bangkok juga.

Dia liat IG story saya. Katanya sampai jam 7-an, sampai city center jam 8 malam.

“wait for me, let’s have dinner together”

Ya begitulah kalo overshare jajajhahahhah.  Pas jalan balik ke BTS, back to City Center, lewatin jajaran ruko ruko yang menawarkan Thai Massage. Harganya sekitar 300 Baht. Duh, tergoda banget karena emang pegellll banget. Cuma kata adik saya,yakin ngga tempatnya bersih. Lagian karyawannya ya..gitulah,,,you know what this country famous for. 

Akhirnya cuma strolling around, lihat-lihat Mall Platinum yang macem ITC itu, terus di nunggu Haris di Central Mall. the biggest mall in Bangkok. Dan bagusnya BKK, BTS station and mall have been integrated. Jadi ngga naik turun tangga lagi. But at that time rasanya kaki saya mau copot…janjian sama si Pak Cik ini.

Beliau nongol jam 9 malam! Pengen gw selepet :)) TAU GITU GW BALIK HOTEL DULU MALEEHHH! 

so, between Jakarta (Tangsel) and Subang (Kuala Lumpur-dekat airportnya KLIA bukan Jawa Barat ), met in Berlin, we met in Bangkok again, coincidently! yah…akik anaknya emang internesyenellll – regional gitu dehhh! 

mendadak reuni!

Bangkok trip : bloody tourist

Day 2

Everytime I travelled to a city famous for its food, I refused to order breakfast at the hotel. I go where the local do. well ya…sort of 😀

We had breakfast near by the hotel, served  American Breakfast (Pancake, banana, capucino and orange juice), it cost Baht 120! (less than around IDR 60,000). Expensive, probably yes compare to nasi uduk or lontong sayur. But the place was nice. In Jakarta probably it would cost IDR 80,000, at least.

Well, anyway, our intention was to visit touristy spots, places that we visited decades ago.  We took Grab Car service to the Grand Palace. The driver was an old man, Chinesee-Thai and speaks English very well. Thing we barely met in Bangkok. We had chit chat, I told him we were re-visiting this city again…bla…bla…then he told us:

“Don’t be so nice to Chinese Tourists! They’re very rude! If they cut your line, go punch them!I hate them. They are very noisy”hahahahhaahha

These Chinese (mainland) Tourists had became issue, in some extent, however, we cant blame them, they have THE money.

I told Mr. Jed that we wanted to see Wat Po as well, then he said.

“You know, they’re 7 types of Buddhist which represent the day you’re born. The reclining Budha represents people who born in Tuesday, the laid-back ones!”

bet the old Buddhist weren’t Triathlete nor Runner! Otherwise, Monday will not be a rest day! 😀

Grand Palace opens at 8.30 am. It was cloudy at first then slightly rain. Entrance Fee Baht 500, free for Thai. Quite expensive compare to Indonesia Tourism Site, but…you pay for what you expected.

The Palace was very clean, public toilet like ones in shopping center and even free flow drinking water.  It is nice, considering Bangkok lies near equator as well. So, here we are again, reminiscing our trip when we were teen! A 17 yrs old me vs 27++ yrs old me. I didn’t change much, did I?

We were here on New Year Holiday in mid 90’s, so we roam around, not only admiring the beauty, but wonder were was our picture taken. I somehow can hear my late mom said to my dad “Pa, fotoin mama di sini donk sama anak-anak” 🙂 of course, having a self portrait is a privilege in rolled-film camera, wasn’t it?

Then we proceed to Wat Po by foot, it’s 1 KM apart, under one hot sunny day in Bangkok. Enterance Fee is Baht 100, the condition of the tourism site is as good as The Grand Palace, yes, including the toilet. (Saya tuh suka parno kalo ke toilet umum di Indonesia, WC di Keraton JOgja ajaa…ya gitu deh. Kompensasi Harga Tiket Masuk yang murah kali ya 😦  ) we wanted to hire a guide, but it was Saturday, cant find one.

then and now

We forgot the idea that we wanted to see Wat Arun! next visit then! we didn’t came here either years ago.

In Wat Po, ticket fee includes free a bottle of mineral water, the are is  clean, provide free drinking water, and even ATM inside the complex in case you want to buy sorvenir yet run out of cash! Now I understand, why Thailand is Amazing! hal hal kecil untuk memajukan parawisatanya benar benar diperhatikan! Saya sih tidak masalah bayar situs sejarah agak mahal tapi terawat! 

We took rest in restaurant near by, had of course the manggo sticky rice, cost Baht 80. Yummy! then we took public bus.

note: Sekali lagi, di sini saya merasakan ketinggalan Jakarta dalam menyediakan transportasi umum yang nyaman, untuk tourist sekalipun. Their public bus serves better service. 

we took bus to of courseee……The famous Chatuchak Market! the journey took 45mins.

Mango Sticky Rice

Bus Ticket

Welcome!

muslim food stall at Lot 12

Tips from Iqbal, get in from Lot 23. It offers better tenants. So we did what he told us. we were hungry, saw so many Indonesian moslem , I asked them where can I find HALAL FOOD and one of them said  LOT 12! Just ask any Indonesian you met where to find this or that! :)) Seems most of them know this place by heart with closed eyes.

I’m not a shopping person, I  fed up cleaning my parents old house and get rid of their stuffs that made me  hate shopping. It’s wants more than needs. I was puzzled, why (Indonesian) fly to Bangkok only for shopping. On my second day here, I understand! Ya emang pengen dibeli aja rasanya semua barang-barangnya! Murah-murah bet! lucu lucu banget! harus kosongin isi lemari kayaknya ke sini! 

In case you wonder, I came back  empty-handed. I didn’t come to Bangkok for shopping, yet I do find this place is interesting. Saw many buyers come with big luggages.  I bought a lot of snack, drinks, snack, drink, repeat! It’s heaven!

We took BTS back to Siam Area. Chatuchak, being new point of interest offers better rapid public transportation (there’s also MRT near by). Came back to hotel, I needed a rest. Although the night is young ,  I’m not! :))

Main Expenses

• Grab from Siam to The Grand Palace  around Baht 100-150
• Grand Palace Enterance Fee Baht 500, Wat Po baht 100
• Bus Fare from Wat Po to Chattucak Market Baht 18 (30?) lupa. Murah lah. Kalau naik Grab 100Baht++

Bangkok Trip : Sawasdee Ka!

Hallo! I recently made a trip to the capital of Thailand. Re-visitting this city after more than two decades.

Day One

We took the famous low-budget airline, of course, that arrives at Don Muang Airport. When I’m done with Imigration Check Point, I could recall dad took my pictures on the stairs. I guess, the airport hasn’t changed much. I had no Thailand Baht with me, so I found ATM to withdraw.

Took cab to Siam Area, where we stay, drop the baggages, and found lunch. It close to noon.

Honestly, I didn’t quite remember what Bangkok looked like in mid 90’s, but not so much different from Jakarta. There was no Bangkok Sky Train back in that time, traffic was as worse as Jakarta.

But now, the city is much developed! Compare to our capital city :-/. That was my impression on the first 3 hours after I explored city center a little bit. The BTS were integrated to main office buildings, very convenient to move around.

Kotanya lebih manusiawi dibanding Jakarta. Jajan di kaki lima aja bersih, pada buang sampahnya sendiri. Sekali lagi, ini impressi saya selama 3, jam pertama di sini.

BTS intersection on Siam Area

After we had our lunch, we wondered around aiming to visit Central Embassy, when they have Open House on the top level. It’s a book stores integrated with various food stalls. Gee, I love its ambience. Food are quite expensive though, for IG content (daaaa!), I bought a cup of coffee

Coffee and a book

We took BTS of course for mobility. So we bought Rabbit Card.

Rabbit Card

back to hotel, check-in ( I stayed in Ibis Hotel), took a quick nap (umur tidak bisa dusta, lelah bangun shubuh) , we took Grab Car to Lhong 1919. An area consists of shops and restaurant at the river bank if the famous Chao Praya.

Lhong 1919

The building was once an Army Barrack during the war, and they turn into shopping complex rather than demolished them.

So, there I was again! Took self potrait, with Chao Praya at the back. Hahahahah

17 yrs old me vs 27++ yrs old me

Drivernya ngomel macet, padahal dibanding Jakarta ngga ada apa apanya :))

Many Thai we met speak little English.

Terus pas cerita besok mau ngapain di Bangkok and we crossed the bridge over Chao Praya.

The driver : Wat Poh

Us : just roaming around, find good places to eat

The driver : No, Wat Poh. and her finger point something

Us : oooihh Wat Poh, kita pikir nanya What For

We took grab car again (because there’s no BTS around) to cross the river to visit Asiatique another shopping and dining complex with mini playground for kids and Wheel Ferris.

Asiatique

I like how the city council managed the river. Ciliwung dan Cisadane ngga mau dibuat rapih kayak gini apa ya? Or is it too late?

Chao Praya from the bridge

Night View from Asiatique

Chao Praya from Lhong1919

Had dinner here, it is a challenge to get back to hotel at 10 pm. Compare to Singapore, aksesibilitasnya untuk public transportation masih kalah jauh. Jadi repot, tapi males pake TukTuk. Supirnya pada rese sama turis (katanya).

We took taxi but the driver refused to use argometer. This was the least unpleasant experience. Tapi ngga mahal mahal amat. Ternyata ada bus langsung ke SIAM.

As for the bus, not all are new like Trans Jakarta, but it used tap and the door automatically closed.

No, Kopaja and Metromini on the main road but they do stop only in the designated place. Bukan suka suka aja behentinya. di Jalan Jendral Sudirman kopaja kaleng masih ada lhoo)

Main expenses :

• Taxi from DMK to Siam + toll fee : Baht 200 + 70
• Rabbit card : 100 baht for card, 100 baht for top up. Card is not refundable.
• Grab Cars to Chao praya around 100 Baht per trip.
• Makan/ngopi dan jajan lain kan tergantung selera yaa :)?

I started to like the city.