Travelling in Bangkok
The taxi system at the airport is one of the best I have seen. They separate you in to three cues depending on the size of the taxi needed, you then print a ticket which indicates which lane your taxi is at.
At the hotel, we were told that our room would not be ready until 2pm. We decided to take a walk and find a restaurant or bar. On the way, I was explaining that we must not use a tuk tuk as after completing a dissertation on Thailand, I had heard so many horror stories. We had just about turned the corner on the street where we met a local police officer who told us we were heading in the wrong direction. He then wrote down some recommendations of places we could visit. He said that Thailand makes great quality clothing and is famous for its silks. As he was explaining all this, a tuk tuk was driving down the street. The police officer pulled it over, shuffled us in the back and told the driver where to take us. Before I could even blink I was in the back of a tuk tuk which was driving down Thailand’s equivalent of a motorway (sorry mum). We thought we were heading to a shopping mall but soon realised the police officer had sent us to a shop that tailor makes suits and dresses. The sales man immediately asked if he could take us to the show room. I tried to explain that we were just ‘looking’ as soon as he realised we were not buying he showed us to the exit. We left feeling rather embarrassed. Luckily, the tuk tuk driver was still outside. He then insisted on taking us to the tourist information centre where we were able to get a much-needed map before we headed back to our hotel.
Our hotel
We stayed at the Siri Sathorn in Saladaeng 1 and it was beautiful. The staff were dressed in traditional clothing, yet the hotel itself is very modern. Our suite has its own kitchen and lounge area which has double doors in to the bedroom and ensuite. My favourite part of the room is the sliding glass doors which open on to our private terrace which has two sun loungers and quite possibly the best view of the city’s skyline. The hotel also has a gym full of cardio equipment and a selection of weights and benches. The gym overlooks the outdoor pool area which is a great incentive to work out. The staff provide you with fresh towels for the gym and pool.
Cuisine
We played it relatively safe and ate at the hotel both nights we were in Bangkok. this was mainly because the food was so good. The first night I had a Green Curry which tasted a lot better than it looked. I asked for the spice to be medium and it definitely had a kick to it. On the second night I opted for a minced beef with basil spring onion and chilli dish with boiled rice. This was definitely my favourite. The food is also ridiculously cheap. A main meal cost around 170 Baht which is about 3.80GBP.
Attractions
So our main day of touring was a bit of a fail. Using a map I decided we would head towards the Chao Phraya river. I had been recommended to get the river taxi which allows you to jump on and off at all of the different attractions. We decided to walk to the river as it didn’t seem too far from the hotel. On the way we passed Wat Huala Lamphong temple. The temples are so colourful and beautiful and they really stand out from their surroundings. We then met a local lady who said we were going the wrong way. She started to walk with us. After trekking for about 30 minutes down some less welcoming back streets she had led us to a boat port which is not what we were looking for as they are expensive and do not allow yo to explore at each location. The local lady also expected money for showing us which I was completely naive to. At this point we were out of our comfort zone and decided to head back to the hotel.