I say Spurring.
This was one of those 'spur of the moment' kind of decision as we had filed our leaves at work to go head to South Korea. However we found ourselves going to Thailand. My parents (more like my father) has been arguing with me not to go to South Korea due to the threats of North Korea. I had everything planned already for my Seoul trip, got my plane tickets, reservations to spend the night and off course my visa, I'm all set! My mind is also set to go see those wonderful spring trees, Cherry Blossoms and the cool weather. Unfortunately, I didn't want to worry my parents so I just did what I was told. It's kind of hard travelling knowing at the back of your head, people will be worried. Despite the fact that Porky Kim's threats were rhetoric, it's still better to take precautions.
My friend A also cancelled on her trip but G still went to Korea along with her sister. Well G has been to Korea countless times so she wasn't a bit concerned about Porky even though the media is making a big fuss about it. Actually there are even more important news such as the bird flu outbreak in China but they did not publish it until now. I actually heard about the bird flu last March but with Porky Kim, taking all the highlights, the bird flu has been overlooked. Anyways.. it was just me and A on this trip.
We just booked our trip, 5 days advance before our actual flight and I kind of hurried the travel agency to get us booked it's a good thing they managed to acquire it. Luckily there were 2 slots left in PAL for April 23 (tues) to Bangkok so off we go.
Travel Agency: Airlite Int'l Travels & Tours Inc.
Tour Price: About $300 USD (This includes only Half day city tour, Siam Niramit Show and Ayutthaya Tour and 4D3N accommodations to Bangkok Palace Hotel ) Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho were not included but we went there by ourselves. (Entrance is 500 Bhat for the Palace and about 200 Bhat for the other two.)
Not Included: Food allowance, Travel tax, airport fees and off course airline tickets also not included.
SM Mall of Asia Office Tel: 632 - 8460262
Bangkok, Long Live the King and Queen
Thailand is the heart of Asia. I mean almost every tourist stops by in Bangkok every time they go on an Asian tour. Compared to the Philippines with only about 4M tourists in a year, Bangkok has about 16M tourists each year. I don't blame them, I actually feel safe walking around Bangkok! The Thai people knows how to take care of their tourists and are very respectful. Unlike here, they are usually scammed or always on a lookout for snatchers. Also, sad to say, there are also a lot of beggars here in Philippines because the poor people are the ones multiplying like amoebas. In Thailand, I didn't see any beggars and their population is less than the Philippines despite Thailand being the larger country. If only we could improve on tourist's safety, we have a lot to offer too... especially beaches, natural resources from provinces. Manila has nothing but pollution though, I recommend travelling to the provinces. (sigh) Most Filipinos don't see the bigger picture and scams on tourists not knowing the effect on the Filipinos' name and image. But I would commend on the Filipinos not residing in Manila as they are honest and people with a pure heart. Kudos to them! Only the ones touring in Manila should take precautions the rest are absolutely safe. Anyways I'm off my topic so here are some highlights during my travel to Thailand.
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| Sukhothai Traimit - Golden Buddha, made of pure 18Karat Gold and is believed to be valued at 29M British pounds! |
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| The Grand Palace built by King Rama is an absolute beaut. Your Bangkok trip is incomplete without it. |
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| Inside the Grand Palace, the color of Thailand is GOLD! |
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| Giant Thai warrior |
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| I think this is a miniature model of the Grand palace. |
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| Goofy pose along with the goofy warriors! |
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| Thai People are very polite, they will bow to you and say Sah Wah Dee which means Hello! |
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| The emerald buddha is also located in the Grand Palace however photos are not allowed so I don't have a picture of it. |
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| Just one of the many architecture inside Grand palace, the topiaries are also nice. |
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| Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn |
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| Wat Pho or the Reclining Buddha, 40m long and 15m high! |
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| The cutee elephant. I didn't ride one bec I found out that they are separated at a young age from their mothers and are chained up trained to carry people on its back. Their spine, supposedly can only support 50kg weight. I saw this elephant and I just didn't have the heart to ride it. I know many tourists are not riding them as well due to the facts about how Thais trained them which is a good thing. Stop animal cruelty! So if you feel proud that you've ridden one, well shame on you for being ignorant of how these animals were treated. |
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| Siam Niramit show is a must see! Its about the culture of Thai people. Their theatre is similar to Resorts World here. |
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| Shopping malls are everywhere! This is Central World. |
Ayutthaya,Venice of the East
After Bangkok we went to Ayutthaya province in Thailand the stage in Soul Calibur and Mortal Kombat video game! lol. (That's a fact though it's THAT famous). Only a two hour Bus ride from Bangkok, it's a site of mass murder, rape and enslavement of Siamese people. This place was destroyed by the Burmese army resulting in the ruins that are now popular tourists attraction.
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| Inside Bang Pa-In Palace, where the King hid from a small pox outage. |
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| This is where the King would take the Queen for an afternoon tea. |
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| Yin and Yang, the Chinese also went to Thailand to trade. No wonder the inside of this temple is made similar to the ones I saw in Beijing. |
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| Wat Phra Ram, just one of the ruined temples by the Burmese Army, now known as Myanmar. |
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| Despite it being ruined it's a pretty site, I'm sure in the past this was a horrible place. |
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| If you want to take pictures with a Buddha, your head must be lower than his. |
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| Ayutthaya is also known as the Venice of the East, they even have their own leaning tower of Pisa, Can you see it on my left side? |
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| Another reclining Buddha, made of wood this time and smaller than the one in Wat Pho. This is a Tuesday buddha. They have different positions of Buddha on each day of the week. From Mon - Sun and also an everyday buddha. So if you're born on a Tuesday, it will be lucky for you to pray on the reclining Buddha. I was born on a Sunday, mine is the Standing Buddha. |
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| After a tiring tour, we head back to Bangkok by cruising Chao Phraya river. Buffet lunch included it was good. |
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| Foreigners despite the intense heat loves to hang out on the deck! Tanning! How can they stand the heat? |
After our tour in Ayutthaya, we just went shopping! Cheaper to shop here and there are 1L yakults! I bought about 4 bottles and also about 10 300 ml I think, which made my baggage add up to 19.8 kilos! We stayed at Bangkok Palace hotel which is near Siam Square, the shopping district, walking distance. :)
We were also lucky to be able to ride one of PAL's new Boeing! I always choose Philippine Airlines if the travel time is greater than 3 hours.
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| One of the reasons why I choose PAL over CEB on long plane rides is their quality service and food plus you won't get bored with these on your seats. Plenty of movies to choose from, tv shows, music plus games and a controller. Equipped also with USB and LAN port. I also heard that by June, PAL will have wifi on board the planes. Can't wait to ride on one of those then! |
Overall I did not regret not going to Korea as I learned a lot about Thai culture and also Buddhism. My values and my way of living are actually a combination of hinduism and buddhism so I love that I actually learned a little bit about buddhism here. I admittedly, no longer believe in the church and Christianity. (No offence to the readers I hope!) My point of view in religion has changed since college.
I plan to go to US if I get the visa and off course the money, by around September next year. (I plan to celebrate my bday there.) So I guess I won't be travelling for a while this year. But then again, I also want to go to Cambodia on my bday in Phnom Penh to see Ankor Wat... if I get an additional bonus maybe I will add it this year. Korea will have to wait I guess for another 2 years but if I get rejected for a US visa, then next year for sure!
