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Bangkok

Vietjet air flight to Thailand

Thailand: Flying from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok

Date: 1 November 2019

After 11 days of travelling, I was now on a VietJet flight to Bangkok. I began my trip in Phuket, where I spent two nights on the island before landing in Ho Chi Minh City. I spent nine days in Vietnam, and now I’m flying again.

Clouds over Vietnam sea
We were flying over the Gulf of Thailand
Vietjet air flight to Thailand
The flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Bangkok takes 1.5 hours

VietJet lands at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Arriving Suvarnabhumi airport Bangkok
I always feel nostalgic whenever I land at Suvarnabhumi 🙂

Whenever I take the travelators at Suvarbahumi (of which there are many to get to immigration), it would always remind me of my first visit to Thailand in 2009, which was my first international trip, and how this blog got started!

I had booked my stay at In A Box Hostel for my arrival in Bangkok. The hostel is just a 1-minute walk from Ratchathewi BTS station. I chose to stay in a hostel because I would be moving to a nicer hotel later, and also, it had been a while since I experienced a hostel. The last time I stayed in a hotel was back in 2015.

I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to find any photos I took of the dorm, and I thought I did. That said, In A Box Hostel looked fairly new and had very nice rooms with clean, comfy beds for 300 THB (₹670/$9/€8) per night in the shared dorm. But this… was pre-COVID. As of this writing, they don’t offer shared dorm rooms, only private rooms.

I don’t blame them. Even if I were to travel again soon, I don’t think I will stay in a shared room (for safety reasons).

Anyway, I had to visit a DJI service center to get my brother’s gimbal repair. Another reason for staying at In a Box Hostel was because the DJI service center was a 10 minute walk away.

I went there and the people were generous to fix the gimbal at no cost! 🙂 That was one of the things I needed from DJI. The other was a drone, something that had been on my bucket list for years. I was waiting for the DJI Mavic Mini, which would have been a great starter drone for me, but the DJI staff told me they weren’t sure of the release date, even though it would be soon.

Indian restaurants Bangkok Thailand
I walked all the way to a shopping center called Indra Square, which had a bunch of Indian restaurants opposite to the mall
Thai KFC spicy chicken rice bowl
I ended up eating at KFC. They had this spicy rice bowl that I wanted to try out!

I always try the local menu at major fast food chains, just to sample dishes I won’t find back in India. The Thai KFC spicy rice bowl was a tad too spicy for my liking.

Ryo camera Indra square Bangkok
Indra Square was filled with tourists from South Asia, buying every thing from clothes to chocolates… even from a camera shop?
Market bangkok shopping complex
The Market Bangkok mall

Whenever I am in Bangkok, I usually try to stay in Sukhumvit and near a BTS (metro station). It’s a very convenient area to be in and the food choices are very diverse. Although BTS fares have risen, I avoid taking taxis to get around Bangkok.

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Siem Reap to Bangkok by bus… my experience at the Thailand border

Date: 16 May 2018

Today saw our tour of Cambodia come to an end. This journey began when I met up with my girlfriend in Chiang Mai, Thailand, then flew to Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s capital), then took the bus to Siem Reap, spent a day exploring Angkor Park and today, we depart for Bangkok. But instead of taking a flight, I figured we would cross international borders by road instead.

Giant Ibis bus to Bangkok
We booked the 7:45am bus via Giant Ibis. Tickets costs $32 per person. The bus was hardly full.
Green fields Cambodia
It’s not that flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok are much more expensive. I just never crossed international borders by road before so I thought I’d get to experience something new.
Cambodia public school
I also wanted to see more of Cambodia’s countryside and the way of life out here (pictured is a public school)
Hill Cambodia countryside
But much of what I saw were farmlands
Giant Ibis bus rest stop Cambodia
We would stop once along the highway for a rest stop break
Poipet road Cambodia
Closer to noon, we had reached the border town of Poipet
Happy Mart Cambodia highway
Poipet isn’t big but it is the most developed town I had seen along the way since leaving Siem Reap
Cambodia Thailand border crossing
The bus would drop us here and then pick us up again from the Thailand side. We were all given badges and asked to follow our guide.

Our bus came with a guide who had a look at our passports before getting down from the bus and when I told him I was from India, he was like “oh”. He told me Indians and Chinese often face hurdles with immigration at this border. We were also told we would have to pay 100 baht to Cambodia immigration upon exit.

Poipet departure Cambodia border
That green structure is the Cambodia immigration for departures

It was crowded inside but lines moved fast. The Cambodian immigration officer asked for the 100 baht but did not give a receipt or anything. I still wonder why we had to pay money upon leaving Cambodia… and that too in Thai baht.

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Thailand: Taking a stroll in Lumphini Gardens, Bangkok

Date: 06 April 2015

Today was my last day in Bangkok. Being a short layover from my Japan trip, I still managed to go to the Maeklong Train Market and Amphawa Floating Market — two attractions I hadn’t been to before. I wondered what else to see before leaving Bangkok. And so I looked at the map and decided to head to Lumphini Gardens, Bangkok’s largest public park.

The easiest way to get to Lumpini park is to take a BTS to Sala Daeng Station and leave via Exit No.6.

But before entering the park, I stopped by Burger King to have lunch.

Burger King whopper meal Bangkok
Burger King doesn’t sell beef burgers back in India, so this would be my last before departing Bangkok
Lumpini park entrance Bangkok Thailand
After lunch, I walked across Rama IV Road to the memorial statue of King Rama VI.
Lumpini park map Bangkok Thailand
A map of Lumpini Park
Cycling in Lumpini park Bangkok
Lumphini is a multi-purpose park, popular for cycling, jogging or simply relaxing
Lumpini lake panorama Bangkok city
There is an artificial lake
Monitor lizard in Bangkok public park
Which has a surprising number of monitor lizards
Lumpini park monitor lizard Bangkok
Who all appear to be an attraction at the park
Monitor lizard approaching man Bangkok
Except when they get a little too close to humans… that freaks some of us out
Monitor lizard Lumphini gardens Bangkok
They are the second largest lizards only after the Komodo Dragon
Swan boats Lumpini park Bangkok
You can rent these pedal boats to go for rides across the lake
Lumpini park bridge Bangkok
I walked around some more
Lumpini park children play area
Lumpini park is a multi-purpose park, with sections for children…
Performance dome Lumpini park Bangkok
… amphitheatres for live performances
Lumpini park garden Bangkok
…and plenty of lawns to relax in the shade
Water sprinklers Lumpini park Bangkok
It was really hot today so I walked closer to the sprinklers
Lumpini gardens hearts Bangkok Thailand
I’m guessing this area is popular for wedding photography
Chinese Tower Lumpini gardens Bangkok
There is a Chinese pavilion
Lumpini park two way Bangkok
It was scorching hot and I found myself walking towards wherever it was wet
Cycle track Lumpini Park Bangkok Thailand
Or walking in the shade
Lumpini gardens BTS station Bangkok
But I was bored and decided to leave

Lumphini Gardens isn’t much of a tourist attraction but if you want to see some greenery away from Bangkok’s concrete city center, or if you want a quiet place to cycle or skateboard around, then this public garden is worth visiting. I took the subway and went to a mall just to kill time before I headed to the airport to catch my flight back to Bangalore.

Previous post from this series:

Thailand: Amphawa Floating Market in Samut Songkhram

 Thailand: Maeklong Railway Market in Samut Songkhram



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