Thailand Trip

Posted by admin as Hot Cities

Itinerary: Jiangyin–Shanghai –Bangkok-take plain to Phuket-take ferry to Phi Phi Island, same way back to Phuket-BKK-SHA. Six days in Thailand, it’s a fantastic trip.

Shanghai It’s two months since I went back to Jiangyin. But this time, it was only a short stop for Bangkok. I didn’t have time to see more but rush for flight departure.

Bangkok - Bansabai PH said it was the nearest and cheapest hotel to the airport. Maybe last month it was true but not in Oct. it’s now neither nearest nor cheapest one. The international airport has been effected since Sep 28 just after the farcical military coup. We didn’t have chance to experience the old airport. Yes, it’s a truly beautiful and gallant airport like Pudong Airport in Shanghai. Maybe more imposing and splendid in my point of view but the management was awfully confusing. Parking lot was so big that the driver who came to pick us up got lost to find his van. After 30m, we were on the way to Bansabai, tired but excited.  

Grand Palace We, 6 girls, took two taxis to the grand palace next morning, expecting traffic jams. Fortunately, we didn’t meet with the long queue as it is the day to memorize King Chulalongkorn, Rama V - The Fifth King of the Chakri Dynasty. It is said he is the greatest King in Thailand history who abandoned over-600-year slavery systems and kept the country independent from colonial conflicts between British and France. It took around 45m from Bansabai to Grand Palace. We just catch the escorts show. We bought 6 tickets 250TBH each and rushed for the golden palace. All the buildings are shining in the sun. Thai people came quite early to make prays in peace and harmony. We were required to dress formally, in smart casual clothes and take off our shoes and caps when entering Temple of the Emerald Buddha. We were not that acquainted with Thai history so we couldn’t read between the lines but from the Thai faces, we knew that how important temples are in their daily life.

Chao Phraya River After visiting Grand Palace, we took our breakfast in a restaurant just opposite it. It’s the first time we tried Thai food, it was ok - Pai Thai(Thai fried noodles with seafood or chicken) not special. Then we rented a boat to Chao Phraya River and took part in floating market. But it was not truly floating market, only two or three small local boats with fruits and tools circling the big tour boat. Anyway, we saw the mother river of Thailand and we were afraid the houses beside the river is easy to be flooded if continuous rain.

Kaoshan RdGirls were anxious to shop in Kaoshan Rd. It was a nice stay. We bought many nice cosmetics in Boots during its promotion period and the salon, piece of cloth for bikini in beach. We tried Thai McDonald‘s, much sweeter tomato sauce but it was ok.

Siam Center We hanged around the Siam shopping mall but were not interested except the impressive construction center. People said it was the biggest shopping mall in Asia but we didn’t find interesting things. We passed the BTS and had a delightful searching for drinks and native cuisine. Finally, we tried the mango ice cream and TOM YUM GOONG spicy Thai prawn soup with lemongrass and lime. It was ok but later we found more tasty TOM YUM GOONG. After dinner, we almost missed our plane because of the traffic jam and refusal to drive to the new airport from several taxi drivers. Our thinking way in Shanghai didn’t work in Thailand. At last, we paid 100B more for the taxi service.

Patong beach – Baan Nern Sai Resort Sawadee’s service is good. When we set foot on Phuket island, appointed nice van is waiting for us. About-1-hour-drive, we arrived at Baan Nern Sai Resort. We didn’t have to go back to the beach though we saw there was still lots of people there. Next morning, we had a nice and quite breakfast. Nice mountain view with sorts of beach outline. We had American breakfast, toast with butter+strawberry, fried egg and tea or coffee, juice and fruits. After breakfast, we checked out, went shopping in the beach, booked tickets for going to Phi Phi Island. 350TBH per person and 700 TBH round trip including minibus transfer and boat ticket. We only bought one way trip and eventually, we paid 400TBH/person for return way. So it’s good and convenient to book round trip package with one agent.

Phi Phi Don – Banyan Villa We took around 1.45h in Paradise Cruise 2000 from Phuket to Phi Phi. It was amazing sightseeing on the deck. Tourists from all over the world sat together, sunbathing and chatting or sleeping. What a peaceful picture.  It only took 5m to walk to Banyan Villa. Amian, our diving coach, had already been awaiting us. He is a Thai Chinese, a nice guy. After checking in, we made a plan for tomorrow with Amian. Now the point is to find a nice restaurant and have a seafood dinner.  We met with a heavy thundershower in the evening, actually, there is always thundershower in the later afternoon. Thai waiters in the restaurant opposite Banyan Villa were very kindly to say “Ni Hao, Wo Ai ni.” It turned out to be the best food we had in Thailand.

Phi Phi Le Here I have to briefly introduce Phi Phi Island. Phi Phi Island has two parts, Phi Phi Don (the larger of the two) and the Phi Phi Le. Phi Phi Le with its only beach, tucked away in amazingly picturesque Maya Bay, was the recent site for the filming of the movie “The Beach”. As a government protected island, there is no development or accommodation, which makes it a perfect island gateway. Phi Phi Don has numerous idyllic tropical beaches lining its southern and eastern shores, with numerous bungalow style hotels. The main tourist center is Ton Sai Bay, a small and bustling village, with a string of bungalows, hotels, shops and restaurants. Despite the many visitors everyday, the natural beauty of the places still remains. On the morning of Oct 25, we prepared for deep diving with the help of Amian. After a short lesson, we grasped a little knowledge of how to react in the sea if emergency. Then we were armed with diving clothes, especially the heavy belt with stone. After few minutes in the water, we were ready to go further deep. It was a fresh trip and we met all the problems Amian taught on the deck. Fortunately, we conquered all the difficulties and took pictures with Nimo. PX and I dived to 16m in the deep blue sea. It’s a really fabulous experience. In the afternoon, we rented a longtail boat, 900TBH for three hours to snorkel in Maya Bay. The sea turned out to be emerald green. We saw the natural swimming pool near Maya Bay. I got a little seasick when the boat anchored in Phi Phi Le. Luckily, Amian was worried about us and accompanied us there. And he helped me snorkel to get rid of seasickness. It was so beautiful see sight that I had ever seen before. After few minutes snorkeling, I sat on the beach, watching and listening. I said there was always rain here in later afternoon. We met with again. It was so cold suddenly that we could only hide in the small cave. What an unexpected experience. We were supposed to see the sunset but now we could only hide from the thundershower. Amian decided to lead us to Maya Bay from the back to avoid 200TBH/person if entering from the front. We passed though the zigzag cave and unexplored forest then a quite bay in front of us. We found the interesting fish which could circle you around. Sands in Maya Bay are really smooth and exquisite. No wonder it’s called lover’s bay. Rain stopped in 20m and Amian helped me snorkel again. He was very nice to catch the starfish and Nimo for me. How nice! Oct 26, we got up very early to watch the sunrise at the top of the mountain. It almost exhausted our energy but we didn’t see the majestic sunrise expected. We hanged around the shops and spent two hours on the beach. Then we headed for Patong for last island day.

Patong beach We were excited to see the beach at night. Actually, we saw the ladybody on the street, asking if you want to shoot with her. I didn’t like the man-made, twisted beauty, neither HX. It was the paradise of people wherever they came from, cheap alcohol and pro. Anyway, to us, these were not interesting. We were more interested in specialities, such as Thai silk, lovely wooden cat, cheap bikini, candle flowers and delicious food. Night was always mystious and tranquil. Next morning after breakfast, we rushed to the beach. Not so many people, we had time to bargain for water activities. We were all good players. In 15m, we got 1000TBH/person for parachute jump and banana boat. It was not bad for us and we had big fun especially when thrown unexpected into the sea from the banana boat. We took lots of pictures and it was really happy hour. We went back at 12pm to hotel. Checked out and ready for shopping in Patong town. We had to buy some things back home and HJ had to buy Levi’s for friends. It was a nice experience to take bus and calculator the timing back to the airport where our plane was delayed around 1.5hours for some mechanical problems. It was ok if no more delay. Cathy got sick maybe sudden relaxing from excitement. Anyway, we only had last half day in Bangkok. We could sleep and did nothing but wait for departure.

Bangkok – Bansabai It was almost midnight we arrived in Bangkok and we took taxis back to the hotel. It was much more convenient than expected but we had to pay additional 50TBH for taxi service and twice toll fee total 45TBH for each taxi. So if next time we go to Bangkok, no need to book van in advance. Next morning, we slept till 9am, after breakfast, we checked out. PH was still thinking of her little lovely snack but we didn’t have time for that. Maybe next time. The traffic jam even far away from the downtown, you can still feel it. Our fight was 50m delayed but we were glad to gain more time for shopping. Girls are crazy for shopping, whenever and wherever.

It was an fatastic trip, nice tour company, nice Thai people, nice sky, nice sea, nice weather. Everything was under control. We enjoyed very much.