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Thailand 2010: Arriving in Bangkok and preparing for Loi Krathong in Chiang Mai

By Mithun Divakaran
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May 14, 2011
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Bangkok, Thailand, Travel

Last November, I decided just a few weeks earlier to go back to Thailand. The main purpose of this trip was to witness the Loi Krathong (or Loy Krathong) festival, one of Thailand’s most beautiful festivals and one that I always wanted to cover. Although it’s a national festival, Thailand still doesn’t get a public holiday for it.

Usually falling in November, I first booked my flights in October via Cleartrip.com which had a really good offer: a return ticket from Thai Airways (direct flight) + 2,000 hotel voucher + 1,000 worth of credit for a Uniconnect Thailand SIM card + an entry to DreamWorld theme park… all for 16,742 ($375/€262). Awesome deal if you ask me!

But, one week prior departure, I won the chance to go see Linkin Park in Abu Dhabi! So I delayed my departure by a few days, and then again after I read Jay Park was going to be performing in Bangkok. I left for Dubai on a Friday early morning and returned to Bangalore late Sunday night. I then went to office on the following Monday and then left for the airport in the evening for my early morning flight on Tuesday!

Inside Thai Airways flight TG325 — The flight wasn’t full, so I had an entire row to myself

Thai Airways flight TG325 inflight chicken meal — The Thai chicken curry meal was yum

Unlike my first visit to Thailand, in which I tried to cover the entire country in 9 days (I did it, but I didn’t quite enjoy the experience), this time around I was only going to focus on North Thailand. Most of my time would be spent in Chiang Mai covering the Yi Ping Festival (as Loi Krathong is called in Chiang Mai), after which I planned to go to Chiang Rai & then a day in Pattaya before heading back to Bangkok.

Arriving Bangkok at dawn — Arrived in Bangkok at dawn

Inside Suvarnabhumi airport Thailand — Hello Suvarnabhumi!

Suvarnabhumi airport Thailand travelator — Sigh, the many travelators you have to cross…

Suvarnabhumi airport Thailand moving walkway — … to finally get to the visa-on-arrival section

Once I did get to the Visa-on-arrival counter, I submitted my form, showed them how much currency I was carrying and got my visa-on-arrival without having to pay the usual ฿1000. After that was customs and then collecting my bags. Last year, I took a taxi from the airport into Bangkok city which cost ฿320 but this time, I decided to take a shuttle bus.

Suvarnabhumi shuttle bus to Bangkok — The private bus going to Sukhumvit cost ฿150 (Rs. 222/$5/€3.5)

Suvarnabhumi airport from afar — That’s Suvarnabhumi airport

Sukhumvit from afar Bangkok Thailand — Getting near Sukhumvit took only 20 minutes

But then, Bangkok’s infamous traffic soon began. And my god did it last long! It took the bus nearly an hour just to get into Sukhumvit road.

I finally got dropped at Nana BTS station. I chose to stay at Thai House Inn, a place where I spent two nights at last year — because it’s 30 seconds walk from the metro station (literally) and its not far from all the malls. I needed to stay here because first on the list of things-to-do was to buy some camera equipment, so I had to have quick access to the shopping centers, especially MBK. Those whole followed my Singapore & Malaysia series must have read that I couldn’t pick up a good camera tripod while I was there. So this time, I just couldn’t go to Chiang Mai without it!

But first, I had to get some sleep! After a whirlwind trip to Dubai and then hopping on to another flight to get to Thailand, my body needed some proper rest.

I got up at lunch time, took the BTS SkyTrain and headed straight to MBK Center, one of my favourite malls in Bangkok.

MBK Center Mahboonkrong mall Bangkok — From Nana, the Siam station is only 3 stops away; costs ฿25

(Here is the map of the BTS service in Bangkok)

MBK houses Fotofile, the store from where I bought my Canon 7D and other accessories last year. Fotofile also manages the official Canon store and two other stores in MBK! List of things to buy included a 70-200 f2.8 lens, another 16GB card, an interval remote, and a good tripod. I went to all of Fotofile’s stores, a BIG Camera branch and jotted down the prices for all that I wanted.

MBK Bangkok food court — I had lunch from the food court which offers a lot of variety (though mostly Asian cuisine & fast food)

I left MBK and thought I’d check out some other stores.

Sukhumvit road Bangkok traffic — The traffic is like this from 8am to 8pm

Ratchaprasong skywalk Sukhumvit BTS bridge — The skywalk bridge connects to a lot of the malls along the Ratchaprasong area

Centralworld mall Bangkok Thailand — I didn’t even step into Centralworld last time

Ratchaprasong pavement Bangkok — I got down from the skywalk

I decided to head to the parallel Petchburi Road where Pantip Plaza is located.

Centralworld Bangkok mall — The side section of Centralworld Mall

Amari Watergate Hotel Bangkok Petchburi road Thailand — Amari Watergate Hotel is located on Petchburi Road

Platinum Fashion Mall shopping Petchburi road Bangkok — Right across Amari Watergate is Platinum Fashion Mall

Platinum Fashion mall Petchburi road Bangkok — Petchburi road is also famous for the Pratunam market area

Pantip Plaza is essentially Bangkok’s equivalent to Singapore’s Sim Lim Square and Kuala Lumpur’s Low Yat Plaza.

Pantip Plaza ground floor shop — Bangkok’s most famous IT mall

I came to Pantip Plaza because none of the camera stores in MBK (and the Siam malls) sold tripods from the brand Vanguard. I had a particular model in mind but even after stepping into pretty much every Pantip Plaza shop that sold camera equipment, none stocked products from Vanguard.

Pantip Plaza ground floor stores — I left Pantip Plaza disappointed

I wanted to try and buy everything I wanted from one store, so that I didn’t have to swipe my card three or four times and incur additional charges for each transactions.

Ratchathewi station empty land Bangkok — I decided to head back to Sukhumvit road

Ratchathewi station graffiti walls Petchburi Bangkok — It was nearing sunset and my body was telling me 4 hours of sleep wasn’t enough

Ratchathewi station platform BTS Bangkok — Ratchathewi station is at the far end of Petchburi road

Sukhumvit traditional Thai dance night — By the time I stepped out of the train, it was already dark. The sun sets rather quickly out here.

Sukhumvit Ratchaprasong skywalk lights Bangkok — I decided to check one last mall before heading back

Centralworld mall interior decor Bangkok Thailand — Centralworld is actually one of the biggest malls in Thailand

Unfortunately, Centralworld was quite badly damaged during last year’s ‘Red t-shirts’ protests and an entire section of the building was off limits because they were renovating it.

I looked up the store directory and saw that BIG Camera had a bigger branch here but unfortunately, it was in the part of the building which was under renovation.

After checking which ever stores were open, I left CentralWorld.

The one good thing I liked about the area I was in is that it’s actually full of Arab visitors, and therefore plenty of businesses exist catering to tourists from the Middle East and Africa.

Bangkok Nana Sukhumvit Arab restaurants — Which meant, plenty of Middle Eastern cuisine for me to eat!

Nana Sukhumvit Dubai center Bangkok Thailand — Yeah, it’s *that* Gulf-y!

I picked up a beef shawarma (฿50) and a drink from a 7-11 and made my way back to my room. I had kept the air conditioner on for a while to ventilate the room and rid it of the Bangkok ‘stench,’ which takes a little getting used to. (The ‘smell’ of Bangkok city is essentially the smell of fish sauce emanating in the air.)

I needed more sleep and I had to wake up early the next day. I assessed all the camera products and all the prices I made a note of. I had to pick up everything tomorrow itself and then leave early enough to get to Mo Chit bus terminal.

Next day

After waking up and breakfast at Au Bon Pain in MBK, I waited for the Fotofile stores to open.

MBK mall bags clothes small stores section Bangkok — Walked around the ‘street market’ stores on the 6th floor to pass time

Fotofile camera equipment store MBK Bangkok Thailand — I picked up an additional 16GB card, the interval remote and an extra battery for the Canon 7D from the Foto Thailand store on the 3rd floor

Fotofile MBK used lenses store Bangkok — Lots of second hand lenses for sale

The telephoto lens I was keen on picking up was the Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS Mark 1. Unfortunately, that model was recently replaced by the newer Mark 2, which was obscenely expensive and thus made finding the Mark 1 a challenge.

So I ended up picking up a brand new Canon 70-200 f2.8 non-IS lens and using the substantial savings to purchase a good tripod instead. I needed one anyway.

Official Canon store MBK collection display Bangkok — I picked up the lens from the official Canon store managed by Fotofile

Canon camera store MBK collection display Bangkok — None of these are for sale, just on display

The Canon store had a few Manfrotto tripods on sale and I considered the Manfrotto 055x Pro B but it was too pricey. I went down to the BIG Camera store and picked up a Sirui tripod for around 7k baht. The model was very good value for money and complimented my newly acquired 70-200 lens well.

With all my shopping done, I went to one of the two main food courts in MBK.

Fifth Food Avenue food court MBK mall Bangkok — Fifth Food Avenue is the name of this food court

Nasi Goreng MBK mall food court Bangkok — I was still on my Malaysia high, so I had Nasi Goreng (although they went overboard with the soy sauce) ฿160

After lunch, I still had some time to kill, so I went to Siam Paragon to find out where the Jay Park concert was going to be held.

Siam Discovery mall interior decor Bangkok — Siam Discovery, which is the older and slightly more wallet friendly mall

Strip Ministry of Waxing Siam Discovery mall Bangkok — Clever ad 🙂

Siam Paragon mall open area Bangkok — Siam Paragon mall is the more posh offering

Krungsri IMAX theatre Siam Paragon Bangkok Thailand — The Royal Paragon Hall was on the top most floor, near the cinemas

Cool gel attack Thai film cinema poster — Hmm, interesting

After finding out where Royal Paragon Hall was, I made my way out.

Audi showroom Siam Paragon Bangkok Thailand — Walked past the luxury car showrooms on the second floor

Lamborghini showroom Siam Paragon Bangkok Thailand — Last year, they had a ‘No Photographs’ sign on the glass

So this time, I went in and got up close to the Lamborghinis. You don’t realize just how big these sexy machines are until you stand next to them. I spoke to the sales girl and I asked her how much the import duties for these cars are and she told me it’s over 100-150%, including the many taxes on these luxuries… making them super-expensive in Thailand. She wouldn’t disclose how many they sell a year but at such prices, I’m guessing not many. I hardly ever saw one on the road in the two trips I’ve made to Thailand.

Once back in my room, I re-packed my bags and checked out. The lady who runs Thai House Inn asked me why I was leaving so early and assured me there would be plenty of buses, but I didn’t want to risk not getting a seat. Going to Chiang Mai early is what I essentially came for.

I took the BTS all the way to till last stop, Mo Chit station, and from there I took a moped taxi (to Mo Chit bus terminal, which caters to North Thailand).

But when I got to the terminal, a lot of the buses to Chiang Mai leaving that night were already full! Especially the luxury buses, and I had to go from one transport company to another to find available seats. Fortunately, I got a ticket in a regular push-back seat bus — it was their last for the night!

Last year I got a seat in a luxury bus which cost me ฿700, for which I just showed up at the station and got my ticket. Of course, the sold-out seats today were due to the Loi Krathong weekend rush. So word of advice, if you want the luxury buses during Loy Krathong weekend, buy the tickets in advance.

Not that the bus I got was bad or anything, it was just one of those regular buses used on overnight long distance journeys, in my case an 8-hour journey.

Bangkok to Chiang Mai bus night journey — A seat costs ฿403 (Rs. 597/$13/€9)

The bus made a rest stop for toilet break and for picking up dinner/snacks. In a few hours, I would arrive at Thailand’s second biggest city, and my second trip to Thailand officially begins!

Next few posts in this series:

Thailand 2010: First day in Chiang Mai for Loi Krathong; driving up Doi Suthep

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai cooking class; Loi Krathong celebrations in Mae Jo, Sansai

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Loi Krathong celebrations; first Grand Parade

Thailand 2010: Chiang Mai Zoo (Day 4, Part 1)

Thailand 2010: Last day of Loi Krathong; Sunday Grand Parade (Day 4, Part 2)

Thailand 2010: Heading to Chiang Rai by bus, Wat Jedyod and Golden Clock Tower

Thailand 2010: Golden Triangle in Mae Sai; Chiang Rai’s White Temple (Wat Rong Khun)

Thailand 2010: Pattaya — Beach road, Viewpoint, Jomtien Beach, Walking Street

Thailand 2010: Back to Bangkok — Chinatown, Patpong, Platinum Mall and Chatuchak Market

Thailand 2010: Gurdwara Siri Guru Singh Sabha, Sampeng Market, JJ market (again)

Thailand 2010: Damnoen Saduak Floating Market tour, Cobra show… and leaving Bangkok

Thailand 2009: Day 10 – Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha

By Mithun Divakaran
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Feb 05, 2010
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Bangkok, Thailand, Travel

Date: Dec 23rd, 2009

My last day in Thailand.

Woke up, had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and headed straight to MBK one last time as I had to pick up something my friend Jyothy Karat wanted from the Canon store. After saying goodbye to Kosin, I took a taxi (as advised) and headed for the Grand Palace which is located in ‘old Bangkok’.

Bangkok morning traffic — Morning traffic in Bangkok

The taxi ride cost me around 100 baht (Rs. 130). It was noon by the time I got to the Grand Palace and it was scorching hot.

The place is obviously very popular with tourists. I quickly bought my ticket and went in to avoid the mad rush of tour groups thronging the place by the bus loads.

I won’t be detailing its history, so if you are interested, you can read about the Grand Palace here and here. (The latter link has information on ticket pricing and dress codes)

Grand Palace Thailand Phra Si Rattana Chedi — Phra Si Rattana Chedi

Mithun at Grand Palace, Thailand — Self-proclaimed awesome Canon 7D user… me!

Grand Palace Bangkok Thailand Kinnon — Kinnon: A mythological creature, half bird, half man

The final stop (for me) at the Grand Palace was the Wat Phra Kaew (wat = temple) that houses the Emerald Buddha.

The Emerald Buddha, apparently from India originally and actually made of jasper instead of emerald, is seated on top of a structure and photography is not permitted from inside the hall. Which is why it helps to have a telephoto lens (thanks Jo!).

Wat Phra Kaew, Grand Palace Bangkok Thailand — The ceiling of Wat Phra Kaew

With that, I was done. Drank lots of water and made my way out.

Chakri Mahaprasat Hall Grand Palace — The Chakri Mahaprasat Hall

Prasat Phra Thap Bidon Grand Palace — Prasat Phra Thap Bidon

Next up — Wat Pho.

Other posts in this series:

Getting ready for my trip

The day I left for Thailand

Day 1 – Suvarnabhumi, Pantip Plaza, Fotofile & MBK

Day 2 – Bridge over the River Kwai and Tiger Temple (Wat Pa Luangta Bua) in Kanchanaburi

Taking the bus to Chiang Mai from Bangkok

Day 3 – Maesa elephant camp, ‘long-neck’ tribe village near Chiang Mai

Day 3 (Part 2) – Chiang Mai Night Market

Day 4 – Doi Suthep, Chiang Mai… and back in town

Day 5 – Leaving Chiang Mai for Phuket

Day 5 (Part 2) – One night in Phuket

Day 6 – Leaving Phuket for Ao Nang by bus (via Phang Nga)

Day 7 – Touring Koh Phi Phi (Maya Bay, Monkey Island & Bamboo Island)

Day 7 (Part 2) – Exploring Railay, Krabi

Day 8 – Flying from Phuket to Bangkok

Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

Day 9 – MBK, Siam Paragon… and ‘little Arabia’?

Day 10 – Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and finally leaving Thailand

Figures, lessons learned, and things I couldn’t do

Thailand 2009: Day 8 (Part 2) – Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok

By Mithun Divakaran
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Feb 02, 2010
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Bangkok, Thailand, Travel

Date: Dec 21st, 2009

As soon as I was done with lunch, I headed to the nearby BTS station (this stop was called Nana) and stood in line to get coins. The fares range from 10 baht (Rs. 13) to 60 baht (Rs. 83) and it essentially works like so:

– get 5 and 10 baht coins from the manned counters

– each stop is number coded, so you first choose your destination by selecting the number on the machine

– put in the required number of coins

– your card is issued

You need the card to get past the gates and only then can you go up to the platform. Once there, you generally don’t have to wait long. I had to get down at the last stop heading north on the Sukhumvit line, Mo Chit, to get to Jatuchak park.

Siam Paragon, Bangkok — Taken from inside the skytrain on the Nokia E72

It costs 60 baht but my god! The time you save! A ride which would have taken me an hour in Bangkok traffic took me just over 10 minutes. I can’t wait for Bangalore Metro to open! This service is such a time-saver.

Chatuchak Jatujak park Bangkok — Jatujak Park in Bangkok

Chatuchak (also called Jatujak or even JJ) Weekend Market is located near Jatujak Park.

Now, I’m not much of a shopaholic but while I was doing my research for my trip, JJ Weekend Market claimed to be the largest flea market in the world with thousands of stalls! I wasn’t going to count but it still intrigued me enough to go check it out.

I didn’t even know if there even was a “main entrance” so I just entered one of the lanes.

Chatuchak weekend market — She was promoting a product

I immediately realized why JJ was popular. You get everything! From clothes, fashion accessories, home furnishings, cutlery, food, fake brands, stationary, cool crap… wholesale as well as retail.

The guy in the pink shirt you see above was selling every bag inside his store (even the big ones) for 199 baht (Rs. 270). He kept calling every non-small eyed guy (including me) “Michael” and pointed towards his store in the hopes of luring us in. The tourists did find it funny hearing him go “M-O-I-kaal!” and I did step inside to see what the fuss was all about. There was a fairly large trendy looking Puma bag (good looking fake) I thought of picking up but I reminded myself that just because it’s cheap doesn’t mean I have to buy it. Especially if I’m really not going to use it. So I just walked away without buying it.

Which was a good thing because just down the road there was another store selling bags for 189 baht (Rs. 260) — but without any fuss [picture can be found below]. I realized what a clever marketing move it was that the 199 baht store was employing. Get people’s attention with a lot of noise and the notion that everything must go with 199 looking like the rock bottom price. Once people are in, take a hit on bags that may actually cost 250 selling for 199 baht but make up for lost profit by selling bags that may actually cost him 100 baht for 199 there by evening it out anyway. Clever.

Tip: Try and do all your shopping from Bangkok. I realized Bangkok is the hub and main distribution point for pretty much every other city in Thailand. Take for example the cool looking lanterns you see above. I saw the silver one first on the streets of Ao Nang — for around 1600 baht (Rs. 2,200). Obviously I didn’t buy it because I thought it was quite pricey. But here? Prices start from 300 baht (Rs. 410).

Just because JJ calls itself a ‘flea market’ doesn’t mean you don’t get genuine products here. There are authorized dealers for original Converse shoes (very popular in Thailand) and several other brands. But the thing is, I’d still pick up a good looking fake for hundreds less. The imitation is just that good!

Another cool aspect of JJ I really liked was the sub-cultures that existed within the place. You had various sections dedicated to different fashion. A series of stores specializing in hip-hop fashion, gear for rockers, reggae, etc. It was really cool.

I really want to profile the various sub-cultures at Chatuchak the next time I come here.

So did I shop much at all? I had already picked up a funky T-shirt (for 90 baht/Rs. 125) and I was looking for a Def Leppard t-shirt at all the stores selling rock gear. Some stores had genuine second-hands (the official merchandise but already worn) but those were selling for over 1000 baht (Rs. 1,300). Now, I love me some Def Leppard but I wasn’t going to spend that kind of money for a second hand t-shirt unless it was worn by Joe Elliot himself!

I had spent nearly 3 hours here and I could have checked out more stores but a lot of them began closing by 6pm itself.

I decided to leave JJ and so… puppiiiiiesssss!

Chatuchak weekend market puppies — Awwww… yet so cruel

They even had puppies for sale! I felt sad seeing them being sold like this. But when I heard 3000 baht (Rs. 4,100) for some breeds, I was more “Hey, that’s not bad” than “Awww, poor thing”.

Chatuchak weekend market food — Those are quail eggs

Chatuchak weekend market bag — The store that was selling bags for 189 baht

There was a lot of stuff I could have bought from here, especially clothes and shoes. But I had already spent enough and my bag was full enough.

Also, don’t cave in and splurge at JJ thinking everything is cheap here. Some items you’ll get in air-conditioned malls such as MBK Center for more or less the same price. So do go around Bangkok a bit before you decide to spend.

It was past 8pm by the time I finally left JJ market. Yet another place I’m definitely coming back to.