The Travelling Feet

This post is still a continuation of the previous post entitled: Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary

My travel story on my trip to Bangkok and Cambodia will be put on hold for now until I answer someone’s question regarding how we came up with the itinerary for our trip. And thanks to you Rayanne for reminding me about it otherwise, I would have completely forgotten about this bit.

In planning for the trip’s itinerary, since most of us do not have the budget needed to check out the tourist attractions in Bangkok, we just settled with checking out the views of the city while travelling and malling since it was free.

As for Cambodia, after seeing the list of places included in the 2 days 3 nights package tour at Bou Savy Guesthouse, I thought that 2 days would be enough to check out the must-see attractions.

For my friends who wanted to see the tourist attractions in Bangkok, I informed them to make sure they visit the Grand Palace, Reclining Buddha and a couple of temples then just check out the tour packages being offered at any tourist agency office (since I got lazy looking for info about Pattaya). I guess the plan worked since all of us enjoyed the trip. But if you were to ask me how to plan your Bangkok-Cambodia itinerary, I’d refer you to the link above on what things to consider when planning your travel itinerary.

Here are a couple of pointers that may be of help too:

Be Flexible

You need to have a lot of patience in planning your trip. You may no longer count the number of times you’ll be scratching off an activity off your list to accomodate your schedule and that of the place you will visit. It is also best to have a back up plan in case your original plan doesn’t work. Doing this will allow you to maximize the time you spend on your travel. Instead of cancelling a scheduled tour, you may want to consider a different option just in case the travel/transpo fees are too high, it rains or your train leaves you.

instead of going to a zoo in Pattaya, my friends booked for an elephant show instead at a cheaper rate

Consider your Budget

If you have money, you can ride the bus going to Aranyaprathet, Thailand’s border. But if you are on the budget-conscious side, ride a train instead. This also applies when planning where you will stay in Bangkok and Siem Reap. Also bring extra cash or bring your credit card just in case something goes wrong with your accommodations where you end up spending the night at a not-so-cheap place.

comfort vs budget?

Calculate Time

If your plane lands at 1pm, it is not wise to travel to Siem Reap by bus since you will end up spending the night in Aranyaprathet as the Immigration office from both borders closes at around 5-ish (not sure about the exact time). In cases like this, you have to plan if you will spend the night at a cheap hostel or stay at the train station and create your own makeshift beds there like the rest of the locals.

you won’t be alone if you decide to spend the night at the Hua Lamphong Train Station

Be Familiar with Your Destination

If you decide to go on a packaged tour in SR, tendency is the one who will arrange for the tour already knows where you need to go so you wont have trouble here. If you decide to hire a tuk-tuk driver and explore the city on your own, they are also knowledgeable. Determine if you would want to hire a tour guide or not.

There are a lot of tourist attractions in Bangkok and its nearby provinces. It’s up to you to decide what places you will pick. Remember that you do not have the luxury of time to visit all of them (unless you are staying for a month here). So knowing how long it will take to reach one destination and the costs involved is a must unless you will let a travel agency decide for your trip, which in this case, is one flourishing business in Bangkok. You will see a lot of them there. It’s just a matter of finding the cheapeast tour packages.

You can either let a tour agency in you travel from Bangkok and SR take care of your trip details or you can follow your own itinerary. You can even have it arranged before you leave, courtesy of your travelling agency here. But be sure to research so that you will know what to expect when you arrive there. This is also important to determine how to spot scams. Just like here in our country, there are also scammers both in Bangkok and SR. I think they exist anywhere. So being prepared and knowldegeable of their culture and place will be very advantageous.

left side: Khao San Rd, home to a lot of budget hostels; all major temples surround it too
right side: malls, MRT, BTS Sky Train, Hua Lamphong Train station, a couple of budget hostels
be wise in deciding where you want to live for the next couple of days in Bangkok

Brainstorm with your Travel companions (if you have one)

A successful trip relies on great teamwork with your travel companions. Sometimes, a trip gets ruined if your travel companion whines all the time. You need to discuss with them the type of food you will eat, the amount of money you need to spend, the place where you will spend your nights and the places where you will go. If Traveller A wants to stay in an air conditioned room and if you can’t afford it even if you share the rent of the room (since you only saved up for a fan room), let the person know that so you can both decide. Who knows, you might end up not paying at all as Traveller A “might” offer to shoulder the expenses just to get the airconditioned suite at some posh hotel

After you have done all of that, then it is time for the next step…

Reservations!

It is best to book for the place where you will stay to ensure you will have a roof to rest once you arrive there especially during peak season.

looking for a place to stay in Soi Rambuttri when we arrived in Bangkok after our SR trip

Actually, we only booked for our accomodations in SR. I didn’t bother booking for one in Bangkok since I saw that there were a couple of cheap guesthouses listed online which did not show any rates and photos. So I decided we’ll find a place to stay in Bangkok when we arrived in the area. This decision worked for us and it doesn’t mean it will also work for you too. But if you want to take that risk of looking for a place to stay when you reach the place, by all means, go ahead and do so, just make sure you accept the consequences.

So if you were to ask me what a typical travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap itinerary looked like, it could be something like this

Eight Day Tour Itinerary: Overland Trip from Bangkok to Cambodia (patterned from our trip)

Day 1 - January 18
Head to airport and travel to Bangkok (Cebu to Clark – 7:20am | Clark to Bangkok – 8:45pm)

Day 2 - January 19
Bangkok to Siem Reap Trip (12-hr trip)
Dinner and tour of Old Market

Day 3 and Day 4 - January 20-21
Tour of temples and explore the town

Day 5 - January  22
Go back to Bangkok (9-hr trip)
Explore Khao San Road/Sukhumvit, go malling or if you are on the more curious side, visit Patpong
night market shopping

Day 6 - January 23
Grand Palace (am not sure if they open on weekends)
Wat Pho Reclining Buddha
Chatuchak Weekend Market (if this falls on a weekend)
Pratinum Mall (an alternative to the Chatuchak Market but airconditioned)
malling at Central World, Siam Paragon, etc.

Day 7 – January 24
Tour Bangkok or its Province

Day 8 – January 25
Early check out at hotel/guesthouse/hostel & leave your stuff there and come back for it in the afternoon
Last minute tour and shopping before heading back to the airport by 6pm for your 11pm flight back home or whatever schedule you have

For a 7-days tour or less, consider which is important. You can tour the major temples in Siem Reap in a day but consider the time it took you to reach that place and try to assess it if you’d be contented with a day tour. If you are undecided, then do not book for a package tour or a 2-nights stay and decide if you’ll extend your trip once you reach the place. If you are really pressed with time, then you can settle to stay in Bangkok and perhaps schedule a trip to SR in the future.

One of the few things that you may like when travelling to Bangkok and Siem Reap is you’ll have 6 stamps in your passport as compared with just settling in Bangkok. That’s if you are collecting

passports stamps you will accumulate when going to Bangkok and Siem Reap, stamp freak!

If you are torn between travelling to certain places, better check out photos of those places published online and decide if you’d really want to miss out on the opportunity of seeing those great structures. Unless you travel out of the country a lot, then you must think hard and prioritize the places you really want to see to avoid getting a headache on how to create your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary.

Goodluck!!! ^_^

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – You are reading this now
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

Bangkok, Thailand offers different modes of transportation for tourists and locals. So if you are planning to visit Bangkok soon, don’t fret for you won’t have problems visiting different places in Bangkok with all those transportation vehicles available.

You can certainly reach Thailand by plane, train, bus or boat. And when you arrive in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, you’ll be amazed at the assorted transportation available for you to choose from.

Bangkok has different modes of transportation: bus, taxi, tuk-tuk, motorcycle, MRT, BTS, boat and train when going to nearby towns. Except for the boat and motorcycle (which only allows 1 passenger), I’m happy to say I’ve tried all of the rest!

Boat

For those of you who wanted to go to a certain area and skip the city traffic, you can also try riding the River Express Boat. This is also a good choice of transportation if you want to feel the breeze coming from the Chao Phraya River.

During rush hour, the ferry boat gets crowded too. However, the fare is really very cheap compared to the other modes of transportation.

If you want to save time and money in transferring from one tourist destination to the next, you can take the River Express Boat. Since there are great tourist attractions you’ll pass by, you can simply ride one from the 1st pier and enjoy sight seeing as you ply the Chao Phraya River on to the last pier. Along the way, you will be able to see Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), the Grand Palace, Wat Po and many more.

Phra Arthit Pier

It only takes a couple of minutes for the boat to unload and load passengers so you need to be very quick or you might be left behind. I saw a foreign couple running towards the pier to catch the ferry boat that just docked but they weren’t lucky. I think it took less than 5 minutes for the boat to dock in the pier before it started its engine and headed for its next stop.

BTS Sky Train

Bangkok is included in the Top 10 Worst Cities for Traffic around the world. So a ride to your destination via the BTS Sky Train may be the ideal choice if you don’t want to get stuck in traffic down below.

photo credit: Franz Golhen

The great thing about riding the BTS Sky Train is that you will get a good view of the city from up above. Most of the shopping malls in Bangkok are accessible via the BTS so if you want to save money for transportation when you visit Bangkok, it is best to get hotels, hostels or guest houses near BTS Stations.

Bus

Aside from Bangkok’s tuk-tuk, our version of tricycles, buses are the most common mode of transportation in this country. If our country has jeepneys, Bangkok and Thailand in general have buses and tuk tuks. What’s great about these buses is that they are numbered and have designated bus stops. If you want to know your way around Bangkok with these buses, those free maps you’ll get in the airport, hotels, guest houses and from travelling agencies won’t do you any good since bus numbers and their corresponding routes are not printed on those maps. It’s best to ask a local what bus number to take when going to a certain destination or simply google the info. LOL. The asking part will be another challenge as some Thais may not be able to speak English well and won’t understand you too.

photo courtesy of Ilya Plekhanov

The good side about these buses are they are very cheap. It may cost you approximately 15 baht to reach a certain destination whereas a tuk-tuk driver may charge you 70-100 baht. And when you get lucky, you can find red buses with blue stickers (which a friend told me) that may take you to your next destination for free! Yep, Bangkok have free bus rides. I even got lucky to ride one of them. On my way home from the Chatuchack Market, I rode the MRT and on my way out, I had to ask the MRT security officer where to exit and what bus number to ride. I had to wait for around 20 minutes (waiting for your bus is one of the downside though if you are in a hurry) for my bus number and when I hopped in the bus, asked the conductor if I’m on the right one and asked how much the fare was, I was happy to hear that very beautiful word – “FREE”.

On our way to the Mo Chit Bus Station from the Airport’s Transport Center, there was a confusion with the bus we rode and we end up being dropped off at the bus station instead of the bus terminal. This wasn’t bad at all since we get to save on our expenses. I budgeted 85 per head for the Airport to Train Station fare yet we only spent 43 baht. Not bad at all!

Hopped on to this bus which charged us 24.50 for three heads from the Mo Chit Bus Station to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station.

If you want to save on your transportation expenses when visiting Bangkok, I would highly recommend taking the bus. Just ask what bus number to get on. And if you are travelling in shorter routes, hailing a taxi cab is also suggested. Case in point. From Soi Rambuttri to Siam Paragon (4.5km ), we only paid 47 baht for the taxi whereas a tuk tuk ride would have cost us 80-100 baht.

Motorcycle Taxi

Motorcycle taxis are the same as the “habal-habal” here except that they only carry 1 passenger per trip.

photo credit: motorcycle.com

This is by far the fastest way to travel within Bangkok especially when traffic reaches its peak during rush hour. The only downside to riding this one is that you will inhale all the pollution, you get exposed to the sun’s rays if you are OC about that and you may have issues with your safety. I’ve never ridden one since I never knew their existence until my friend mentioned he rode one in going back to where we stayed. I think he paid 100 baht for the trip. A little bit expensive but will surely get you through the congested streets.

MRT

If there’s a Sky Train, there’s also a subway train in Bangkok and that is the MRT. Those who go gaga over shopping may find the MRT convenient since this line connects to the weekend Chatuchak Market. From the Kamphaeng Phet Station (2nd station) to Hua Lamphong Train Station (last/18th station), I only paid 40 baht. From there, I just waited for a bus to take me back to where I was staying in bangkok. Not really bad considering the traffic I had to endure.

waiting for the MRT to arrive

I wonder how the BTS and MRT looks on a normal work week rush hour.

Instead of cards, you will be given this little black chip which you have to insert in the counter on your way out.

I find the BTS and MRT facility clean. The only problem with the trains (regular, BTS & MRT) are that their lines only cater to 3/4 of  the city. I say this based on the free maps we’ve been following. When checking out the map of Bangkok, the left side is your gateway to temples and other tourist attraction whereas the shopping malls are located in the center and the other right half side of the map is where you’ll see the train railways.

Taxi

A common mode of transportation almost anywhere, a taxi in Bangkok may cost you cheaper than riding a tuktuk when going on short trips. During moderate to low traffic, taxi drivers charge by the meter. But when the traffic gets heavy (especially at night), fares will soar high since they’ll be charging you on a per trip basis.

photo credit: crankyyankees.com

When this happens, you can either haggle with them or get off and take the next taxi and see how the next driver will charge you. Also, you may have to pay for toll fees too. This could happen on trips going back and forth the Suvarnabhumi Airport and other areas.

Train

Bangkok’s Hua Lamphong Railway Station is situated in the heart of the city. It provides commuters cheap fares to nearby train stops and towns within Bangkok and the province of Thailand.

passengers gets cozy on this 6-hr train ride to Aranyaprathet

Tuk Tuk

Perhaps one of the most distinct transportation that screams Thailand is this vehicle. Although there are also tuk tuks available in Cambodia, the design of the two is different.

Till now, I still don’t know the basic rate when hiring a tuk tuk. Sometimes, tuk tuk drivers charge 70-100 baht for a trip to the shopping malls if you are coming from Khao San Road. Also, I hailed a tuk tuk once since my feet were too tired to walk 3 blocks from where I stayed and the 1st tuk tuk driver wanted to charge me 100 baht. No way! The second one asked for 60 baht and I haggled for 30. Despite grumbling and scratching his head, he agreed. So your haggling skills will definitely be put to use in situations like these. Otherwise, it’s best to just walk or ride a taxi, which I find cheaper plus the fact that it’s air conditioned too.

no farting allowed??? LOL

If you are in a hurry to reach a certain destination while carrying loads of shopping goods, hiring a tuk tuk is the best choice especially during rush hour since the streets will be packed with vehicles. You just have to brace yourself and hold on tight to your seats as some tuk tuk drivers can drive madly and you might be thrown off your seat. Just remember that before riding a tuk tuk, discuss with the driver the cost of the trip.

And if you’re up for more adventure, you can also help this baby elephant find its parents and maybe get a free ride too. Who knows? LOL

————————-

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

Disclaimer: Long post ahead

This is a continuation of the articles I wrote here:

Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet

After arriving in Aranyaprathet, we hailed a tuk-tuk to take us to the border. We went inside the immigration office in Aranyaprathet, filled up some forms and handed over our passports. Since we were going out of Thailand, we had to go through these steps, the same ones we’ll be doing when we reach Poipet and back. We filled up these forms with our information in it – name, address, visa number, address in thailand, address in siem reap, etc. They’ll attach the form to your passport and the receiving immigration counter of the country you’ll cross will take it off and replace it with the form you will fill up in their office.

I realized that Poipet was just a few meters away from Aranyaprathet. Aranyaprathet and Poipet are the towns that separates Thailand and Cambodia.

Being on a country where immigration counters are only evident on airport terminals (or peraps on ports in Mindanao?), I had no clue how one looked when crossing borders. Also, this was our first time to travel out of the country so we were kinda clueleess on what to expect here.

After going out of that immigration office in Aranyaprathet, we went out, walked a few steps and looked for the same immigration counter in Poipet. We then found this sort of like guard house where police officers were stationed. We tried to ask them for help but they told us we need to pay a certain fee for that. Upon the mention of the fee, I immediately told my companions to walk away and keep looking for the immigration office.

Prior to our departure, I did a couple of searches online and found out about these types of scams. They’d sort of like extort money from you but in truth, we don’t have to pay anything.

So the best way to confirm this was finding the immigration counter ourselves too.  And at last we found it! It looked like your usual LTO counter or even a Lotto outlet where you just line up and hand over your passports and that immigration form again. We then confirmed that since we are holders of a Philippine passport, we don’t have to pay any fees unlike other countries. During this time, I learned that if your country is a member of the ASEAN organization, you are free to travel within its member countries by merely using your passport. That was a relief!

After we collected our passports, we were then greeted by a couple of drivers who were trying to convince us to take their cabs. I guess it was due to some horror stories we read online about hiring these drivers only to find out being ditched on the road that we didn’t pay close attention to any of them. There was a bus waiting there and someone kept telling us we can ride the bus for free and they will take us to the official taxi office of the country. Still clueless and without any choice at that moment we just rode the bus. And while we were in there, the guy asked us to give him a $5 tip. He kept saying that the taxi would cost us $45. I guess that one included the tip for the guy. When we reached the terminal, we again asked how much is the rate to Siem Reap and they said $45. At this point, we had to question them since we read on online forums that it only cost $40 for the trip. We were also hesitant about our online readinsg since our sources were dated 2 years back.

By this time, we found a traveller and asked him if he’d like to split the cab fare with us. We didn’t agree with the $45 cab fee, we insisted on paying for only $40. It even came to a point where they got angry at us and started shouting because we won’t budge in with their rates. They refused to give us a cab if we don’t pay the $45 taxi cab fare first. It’s like pay first, ride later. Of course we didn’t agree to this as they might ditch us in the middle of nowhere! I guess one cab driver took pity on us and agreed to take us to Siem Reap for only $40. That was really one awful incident back then and we were just glad we got out of there.

Over the next few hours, we travelled in the “wilderness”. It was really a bumpy and dusty ride. Good thing we were riding on an airconditined taxi cab. Oh, when we read some information online, it was mentioned that the make of the taxi cabs were that of a Toyota Camri. But not the grand one, ok? The taxi cabs were really the ugly camris. sorry. I couldn’t help but notice but they were indeed the old and ugly Toyota Camris.

As we travelled, we had a visible view of the soil in Cambodia. It was orange. I’ve never seen so much orangey looking color in my life. The dust was colored orange. Houses we passed by were covered with orange dust, so were the trees and grasses. The tractors that were fixing the roads were covered with orange mud. The cow was also covered in orange dust. Speaking of cows, my friend couldn’t contain from commenting that the cows in Cambodia were malnourished. This was because all the cows we passed by were too thin. They were just tied along the road grazing on the orange colored grasses on that barren land.

I also learned on this trip that airline companies pay the Cambodian government to not fix their roads from Thailand to Siem Reap so that foreigners will be forced to go to Siem Reap by plane. This was what I learned 2 years ago. I am not sure if the situation there had already improved or if it’s still in the same state now.

One thing’s for sure though. On this trip to Siem Reap, I realized that I am lucky to be a Filipino. I am lucky to have the Philippines as my homeland where we are blessed with abundant natural resources and we get to experience this. We may also have issues with our country but despite our government’s shortcomings, I am so grateful that I am from the Philippines.

P.S. Due to the horror and ugly scene we had at the Taxi Office, we failed to capture shots of the road going to Siem Reap.

After our arrival in Bangkok, we had a bit of trouble finding our way to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station and we were grateful that we still made it in time for the 5:55am train schedule that would take us to Aranyaprathet, where Thailand’s border is situated. We planned to cross the border going to Siem Reap in Cambodia and since we do not want to spend around 300-400 baht for a bus ride going to this place, we decided to ride the train instead where we only had to pay 48 baht each. This was my first train ride experience.

I never knew what to expect on this ride. I couldn’t picture something like those we see in India since this was Thailand but I wasn’t being complacent too. Once we boarded the train, we walked to the farthest end of the train where we found cushioned seats and settled our stuff. Across our seat were two Caucasian couples (i think) who were also on their way to Siem Reap. I think I was expecting the train to be filthy and smelly but I was wrong. Although this was not a luxury train, I can manage riding this one since it doesn’t stink at all.

While waiting for the train to leave, we managed to take a couple of photos and bought food from peddlers selling sticky rice, beef/pork, water, juice, hotdogs and all other stuff.

sleepy heads

me, after a quick nap; Donnie, wide awake and ready to kill

The guy in the yellow shirt was with this girl in a white tank top below. We were teasing Donnie with that guy over there.

posing after the nap

a guy on the other seat was sleeping while the train went choo-choo

another signature pose from Donnie and Leah

the seductress look

Donnie and his hotdog

This hotdog on a stick really tasted weird. But since it was a waste of money to throw it away, Donnie just consumed all of it while constantly complaining how yucky and weird it tasted.

trees

more trees – going dead

dry land

a single tree

a hut

The train ride was a scenic 6-hour trip. The farther we travelled out of Bangkok, the lesser we saw houses. Instead of seeing greeneries everywhere, all we can see were those dry looking trees and the brown earth. The road going to Siem Reap is even worse (not in the bad kind of way). Instead of brown soil, you’ll see red earth soil + “malnourished” cows.

a lone tree

It took us 6 hours to reach Aranyaprathet since we had to stop at every train station we passed by to pick up passengers.

railway

We never really got the chance to see those passengers embarking and disembarking from the train since we were seated on the farthest end of the train. Those passengers never bothered going to that side so our side of the train wasn’t really crowded. We only realized this on our way back to Bangkok since we sat on the train box where people tend to load and unload so it was kinda chaotic on our way back.

The train is also equipped with its own bathroom so in case nature calls, you don’t have to wait for the next train stop. And since you are travelling out of Bangkok, you’ll get the chance to get some fresh countryside air.

If you are planning to go to Siem Reap via Bangkok and if you are not in a hurry, I would suggest you take the train so that you can see Thailand’s country side. Riding the train is also ideal especially if you are on a tight budget.

————————-

This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
Arriving at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport

This is a continuation of this article: My First Trip To Bangkok

Finally! After 3 hours of being up in the air, we finally landed at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok!

Donnie, beaming with happiness

Yup, that’s me with Leah, back when I was still thinner

Donnie, enjoying the pose on the walkalator

The Suvarnabhumim Airport was really huge. I no longer remember how many walkalators we had to ride to get to the immigration section.

Everytime we looked up as we were riding the walkalators, we could see these type of ads lurking on the ceiling of the airport.

Their Baggage Claim area was also huge. I just failed to notice if they have a German translation agency.  One thing I noticed, was that after we got our baggage, no one checked the airline bag tags to ensure people got their respective baggages. This was kinda weird for me since I was used to having my baggage checked if it corresponds to the tags given by our local airline carrier here. If someone were to steal a luggage here in Bangkok, it would really be easy since the airport officers doesn’t check the tags.

Although we researched on how to go to Cambodia from Bangkok, I guess we failed to research the best way to get to the railway station from the airport. Since we saw an airport bus and learned that it was free, we immediately hopped in it without thinking twice on where it’s headed. We thought that we could easily find our way to the train station after we were dropped off at a terminal outside the airport. But this turned out to be one of the most stressful events we had to endure that night. (I was just exaggerating about the stressful part. We were not stressed. We were just amused at how the events turned out.)

Since there were no taxis passing by this area at this hour, we asked a couple of locals on what bus we need to ride to go to the Hua Lamphong Railway Station. We need to be there before 5:55am since the 1st train that leaves Bangkok for Aranyaprathet leaves at that time.

Up until that point, we had no idea that we are in for some major language issues. The Thais are basically not that good in speaking in English. As a matter of fact, the Philippines is the only Southeast Asian country whose 2nd language is English. The rest of these countries are not yet that adept at speaking in English which was why it took us a long time to communicate to the people we were asking on where we need to go.

At first, we asked 2 guards on duty at the terminal if they can tell us what to bus to ride. We were already explaining ourselves to them in broken English hoping that they would understand. They just nodded every time we speak and they kept smiling but in reality, they had no idea what we were saying.

We were saying “how to go to Hua Lomphong Station going to Aranyaprathet”, “where is the train station”, “train station”. Those were phrases and words we kept repeating. No one seemed to understand us. Not even the lady at the ticketing counter inside the terminal. Not even the staff of 7-eleven. We were already signaling “train station” “choo choo chooo” “train station”. We were like kids trying to mimic how a train normally sounds in the hopes of those 2 guards recognizing what a train is but to no avail.

notice the guy wearing pink behind Donnie? That guy’s sleeping soundly

We just waited on these benches while we figure out how to get out of this place and managed to take a couple of pictures.

notice that guy behind me? That’s the same guy on the picture on top, still sleeping

While we wait for a miracle to happen, we just found our own amusement through that sleeping guy. We kept on taking our pictures to keep our sanity while at the same time disturbing the guy from his sleep. We were really bad tourists

We surely can’t afford to miss that 6am train going to the border of Thailand and Cambodia. If we miss that, we either spend a fortune riding the airconditioned bus or end up riding the next trip at 12 nn. That meant sleeping at the border once we arrive there.

Leah, trying to wake up the sleeping guy by talking/singing loudly but she wasn’t successful

In this photo, if we only had DSLRs here, we could have captured the guy’s dripping saliva as he slept peacefully in his seat

The thing is, we were all cheapskates. So instead of taking a bus that would bring us to Aranyaprathet in less than 4 hours at around 300-400 baht each, we preferred to go on a 6-hr train ride going to Aranyaprathet which will only cost us 48 Thai baht each.

After a long time, the personnel at the train station figured out where we need to go so they told us to wait for a certain bus that would take us to the Mochit Bus Terminal. When that bus arrived, we boarded immediately. It was a double decker bus. The first level was used to store all the luggages. We climbed the stairs to the second level and found us seats in front of the driver. Everyone was asleep. there were 3 vacant seats and 1 was a vacant seat next to a monk. Leah instructed Donnie to sit beside the monk. I learned that night that monks were not supposed to sit beside a woman. Or that women are not allowed to sit beside a monk.

The bus ride was really comfortable. We were dropped off at the Mochit Bus Terminal and was instructed to ride a taxi going to the Railway Train station. There we saw colorful Toyota Vioseseses and rode a pink Vios. I think we arrived at around 5am in the train station. After buying our tickets for our train ride, we grabbed something to eat at one of the stalls outside the station. That’s our first encounter of an authentic Thai dish and it wasn’t bad at all. By 5:55 am, we boarded the train leaving for Aranyaprathet and enjoyed our 1st train ride in Thailand.

For now, we bid goodbye to Bangkok as we headed for Aranyaphratet and crossed the Thai-Cambodia border at Poipet. After 3 days, we’ll be back in Bangkok. Although Donnie is inkling to roam the streets of Bangkok, he hads to wait for we had to visit the temples of Angkor when we got to Siem Reap.

P.S. During this time, I had no idea about blogging yet. So I was never that obsessed at taking pictures of every detail of the trip. Had I known I’d be working on my own websites in the future, I would have taken countless pictures of our trip! And I only had a borrowed camera with me. I was worried the battery would die soon too.

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This is a series of blog posts documenting my trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap and back in January of 2011. If you haven’t read the first posts, please check on the links below:

** Off to Bangkok and Siem Reap
#1 – The Accidental Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap in 2011
#2 – Trip to Bangkok and Siem Reap: The Planning Stage
#3 – How to Create Your Bangkok to Siem Reap Itinerary
#4 – Arriving 5 Minutes Late on our Connecting Flight to Bangkok
#5 – En Route: Clark to Bangkok
#6 – Touchdown Bangkok!
#7 – Suvarnabhumi Airport a.k.a. Bangkok International Airport
#8 – Bangkok Train Station: Waiting for our Train Ride to Aranyaprathet
#9 – My First Taste of Authentic Thai Food

Unfinished Series from my 2008 Trip…
My First Train Ride From Bangkok to Aranyaprathet
My First Trip To Bangkok

You might also find this useful:
Modes of Transportation in Bangkok
Things to Consider When Planning Your Travel Itinerary
The Cheapest Way to Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi Airport