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Amazing Thailand: Expected the Unexpected (Day 1)

25 November 2008 21 views 45 Comments

Attention: Extreme long post below. Reader discretion is adviced.

Same old words again. Time really flies. After 20 days back to the River City, the great moments in Thailand can never be dished out. In the first place, why should I ?

It has been almost a decade, our family stop travelling overseas. Money and time has always been the main hindrance. Now that both siblings are working, our dream finally came true. This time we decided to visit Thailand. The niggling doubts regarding the safety of the city due to political issues never got in our way.

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The nostalgic moment began on Oct, 24th. Bangkok and Pattaya awaits our arrival. It was a jaw dropping moment when I first stepped into the arrival hall of Suvarnabhumi (meaning the Golden Kingdom in Thai) International Airport. What aroused me most was the beautifully designed and practical architecture that promotes an eco friendly environment. With the world’s tallest control tower, 3rd largest single building airport terminal, Suvarnabhumi is one of the most busiest airport in Asia.

Suvarnabhumi International Airport
Suvarnabhumi International Airport

Taking a deep breath, whispering to myself, “Here am I, Bangkok!”… Greeted with friendly smiles and Sawadeekap, we headed straight to Thailand’s tallest hotel, Baiyoke Sky Hotel. Once again, Bangkok never fails to amaze me. Looking at the skyscraper, I am expecting more from it.

Baiyoke Sky Hotel
Baiyoke Sky Hotel

Rising 88-storeys above Bangkok’s skyline, 309 meters tall, the hotel has 2,060 steps from the bottom to the top. It takes over one hour to reach the top. The area inside the hotel building is 179,400 sq.m., or about 30 football fields. There are 1,740 windowpanes in the hotel building, which is almost the same number of windowpanes used for over 200 town houses.

The 46th Floor
The 46th Floor

After checking in at 18th floor, Lobby.. 46th floor would be our next destination. The connecting room did not dissapoint us. As what I’ve seen from Flickr, I was expecting this scenic view.

360 degrees Bangkok view
360 degrees Bangkok panaromic view, shot at 84th Floor

From the moment on, every seconds count. A shopping paradise awaits us at the central, although I am not into it. We decided to walk around the city central. Rushing down with anxiety, we somehow forget to ask which way to go. Asking around with no idea where the shopping mall is, we later found out that it was impossible to walk to that area. With no delay, my eager-minded sis quickly approached a Thailand’s ubiquitous taxi, Tuk Tuk. I wondered it was a wise decision..

Thailand Ubiquitous Taxi, Tuk Tuk
Thailand Ubiquitous Taxi, Tuk Tuk

Although the bumpy, sweaty and adventurous ride, it was somehow faster than taxis in heavy traffic as weaving in and out is easier. It cost 4 of us 20 baht for two Tuk Tuks. Totally worth it! It was only RM1 each Tuk Tuk. A word of advice, you should always bargain before you get on a Tuk Tuk. Nevertheless, taxis in Thailand are very affordable as well. The colorful taxis were another amazing discovery. You’ll get a full range of taxi colors from bright pink and orange to combinations of orange and green or blue and red. It’s a scenic sight to see those colors roaming around Bangkok.

Colors of Bangkok
Colors of Bangkok

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Here we are at the City of Life, in the middle of modern and fashionable shopping district with several large shopping centers. We first arrived at an enormous marble shopping mall which is once known as the biggest malls in Asia, MBK Center, also known as Mahboonkrong. It is particularly well known for its many vendors of mobile phones and other electronics, as well as furniture stores. For me, it was like Sungei Wang shopping in Malaysia.

MBK Center
MBK Center

Walking through the pedestrian overpass linked to MBK and the Bangkok Skytrain National Stadium station, we came across to other shopping malls. The malls are in better condition, more high-class one after another. Namely Siam Square, Siam Discovery Center and finally “The Pride of Bangkok”, Siam Paragon. Siam Paragon has became a popular spot for Thailand’s upper class, tourists, rich foreigners and locals who come to be seen.

Siam Paragon, The Pride of Bangkok
Siam Paragon, The Pride of Bangkok

Walking through these malls can be quite tedious. Likewise, It was an eye opening moment indeed and a total change of our impression to Bangkok. The city becomes even stunning when night falls. The view from the hotel room after sunset draws much of my attention to keep on shooting. Here it is the exotic Bangkok, lights gleaming invitingly.

When Night Begins
When Night Begins, View from Hotel Room

The cheapest place to shop in Bangkok is with the outdoor/night markets (if you bargain). Due to the typical congested traffic that delayed our dinner, we arrived late for the night market located just below the hotel. Just before 10pm, most vendors started packing due to the rain. It was a dissapointment for my sis and mum. For me, a bit… as there were less crowd for my night market photography. Who cares for the shopping?

The Art of Bargaining
The Art of Bargaining

Finally, our visit to the open air Revolving Observation deck at 84th Floor, Baiyoke Sky Hotel concluded our first day in Bangkok. The roof is fully lit up, glowing high in great distance. Shining around, people from miles away are able to view words displaying “Welcome to Baiyoke Sky Hotel”.

The Lights of Baiyoke
The Lights of Baiyoke

Day 1 has given me the capital of exotic Thailand, the first impression of endless high rise buildings, busy expressway flyovers and billboards of western companies advertising in English. Most probably, this is our first time, we aren’t quite sure what to expect.

Adventures continue here in the next post: Tradition live on too (Day 2)


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