Bangkok

[lingling2]

kitty,
I stayed at Samran Place hotel lor, cheap and convenient =)...Me staying the same hotel next mth too =).

Baiyoke sky bery nice hotel hor...heard that it has the best buffet ;p.

Actaully hor, I haven tried any food at chinatown yet leh...cos always bz shopping at Sampheng lane...any recommendations? ;p.

Sunflower,
me goign in apr lor...which date u going? I going on 12th =).

 

[lingling2]

All,
Anyone knows wat the exchange rate of Thai Baht now?

 

[jule]

Im just back from Bangkok over the weekend. Was staying at Asia hotel, think I still prefer First Hotel.

The rate I saw in Bangkok was 22.5-22.7 on Sat.

 

[sunflower44]

ger2,

Hey! Me going on 12th too! I'llbe staying at guess what... SAMRAN PLACE, same as u! Hee... what a coincidence ya... =)

How many days u going?

 

[blanqq]

I'm planning to go BKK. For a change, i was thinking of staying either Arnoma or Biyoke Sky.. for a try. as i always stay Novotel for the last 4 trips cos of location.. Which one better ah?

Stay at Asia before, kena by scary thing... thereafter didn't dare to stay there anymore.

 

[lingling2]

sunflower,
Haha..so we staying at the same place, same date...hee...so excited...hee...

I checking out on 16th lor..wat abt u? ;p..

u taking which airline? I going by TigerAir leh.. =).

Jule,
I went to change $$ yesterday liao, rate was 22.83 lor...abit lower than 6mths ago...

All,
just read that Suan Lum Nite bazar will close end of April leh...hmm...

http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-market/suan-lum-night-bazaar.html

 

[sunflower44]

ger2,

Me checking out on 19th loh... going for 8D7N ahh... coz i'll be going for teeth whitening and dental stuff, need 1 week stay... Will be flying via Jetstar, arriving abt 2pm i thnk. U leh?

Now too many days, duno how to plan my itinerary hehe... Hws ur itinerary going to be like?
Btw tell me more abt Samran Place leh....the rooms, bfast etc.. I'm kinda worried coz its a budget hotel..hope wun be that teruk...

 

[karen07]

hi all,

Is the rate for Biyoke Sky expensive? Seems like this hotel has a better area for shopping. By the way, where is Discovery centre, paragon, emporium, platinum mall?

I saw all these places mentioned in this thread. But i have never heard of this places. Please enlighten me so that i could choose a convenient hotel to stay in.

I am planning to shop for house stuffs, clothes, etc... and also HM for this trip on 1st jun. Is planning for a 11D10N trip in thailand, might visit an island first before moving in to BKK.

Please help to give me advice.

Thank you!

 

[lingling2]

Sunflower,
Oic...me taking TigerAir on the 12th Morning lor...

Mine huh? Will be going MBK,Chitlom on the 1st day. Fri will be going to Platinium Mall..hee..Sat will cheong to Chatuchak..Sun still duno yet leh..tinking of going for spa and massage with hb...keke...

Samran place is a cosy place lor... But hor, the standard abit small....They dun have buffet breakfast but have al lar carte one...Their fried rice is nice but oily,they have western and asian bf...all with set =)...I loved their fried rice...Morning hb and I normally take fried rice cos we won't have time to take lunch..

Spent most of the time shopping...keke...

Btw, is it your 1st time to BKK?

Karen,
Yes,Baiyoke Sky is abit ex for me lor...but their Buffet bf is the best! =).

U can get a map frm the airport...

House stuffs can be found at the weekend market at chatuchak =)...

 

[karen07]

ger2,
Thanks!

Where is Platinium Mall, you have any idea what are they selling?

 

[peiyi]

why you dun wan to try PJ Watergate?

Good location hotel too, convinent for shopping. Pratunam Mkt only opposite that hotel.

Breakfast is buffet style

i recomend this hotel" Pj watergate" i stayed there every time i go bangkok.

 

[henkitty]

hi karen,

Platinium Mall is at prutunam..10 mins away from Baiyoke sky..is a wholesale shopping centre..more nicer & classy stuff from those at open market.. .from bags to clothes but minimum have to purchase at least 3 pcs if u r wif yr gal friends then it will be good..can share to make it 3 pcs..if u oni buy 1 piece oni then they will charge 100 batt extra per pc not worth it lor..

 

[flipfreak]

for ppl going in april, 13th april till 15th is songkran. so there will be lots of water splashing around. take care and have fun while u are there.

 

[flipfreak]

for those with the budget to blow, these are some of the nicer hotels in bkk other than your usual starwood, accor and intercon hotels chains.

lebua at state tower
sukhothai
dream bkk
metropolitan
luxx
the davis

 

[sunflower44]

ger2,

Hehe this is not my 1st time in BKK.... in fact it's the 5th time haha! =p

 

[lingling2]

sunflower,
heehee =)..wow, u been there so many times liao...=)...

so duringour stay there, it is their pour1 shui3 jie2....

 

[lingz]

hi, for shopping itinerary, would this be okie?

Day 1 (thurs) - Platinum Mall/Patpong or Suan Lum (compared Patpong & Suan Lam nite mkt, which is more "must go"?
Day 2 (fri) - MBK/Siam Sq
Day 3 (sat) - Chatuchak / Chinatown (dinner)
Day 4 (sun) - MBK / Paragon

Any comments? Thanks!!

 

[homeangel120]

HI designfreak and Kitty,

Thanks for ur input. I will depart to bkk this coming wed and back on sat night flight. So, hopefully i will still hv the time to go chatucak on that sat morning..

I have booked samran place, hopefully it's a nice and convenient place to stay...would like to try massage too if time permits...any gd recommendation? Thanks.

 

[flipfreak]

hi flowy, you shld check out the shopping centres ard mbk. don't need to spend too much time there. there is this mall opposite. can't remember the name. i think its called something bazaar. lots of ladies clothes there at good prices.

shld check out siam center, siam discovery centre, central world, panthip plaza, emporium.

skip patpong if u are short of time. nothing much to see unless daytime because night time is more sleaze than shop.

 

[flipfreak]

hi shirley,

this fri is a public holiday at thailand. something to do with the king's dynasty. could be packed at places.

weather is really humid right now. jj mkt can be really warm. bring lots of water and be systematic when you shop there. be careful as well.

 

[minssy]

hi flowy,

suam lum will be better since there are alot of little shops that sells nice stuff. patpong is more on 'red light district'. if u have time, its just good for see see look look....

siam centre, discovery centre, central world, emporium, siam paragon are all the high end shopping centres..nice to see but not that right place to find 'bargains'.

pantip is a place for PC stuff.. good for guys who love IT related stuff...

hi shirley,

there is a foot massage just next to samram.. its operated by a thai chinese... the ladies there wear pink..

for body massages, i heard healthland spa is cool.. there are quite a few posts on this place.. u may need to do a quick search..

 

[flipfreak]

i recommend bangkok oasis spa. excellent!

 

[homeangel120]

hi designfreak, can i know where us the bangkok oasis spa located? how's the price range? i never try thai massage b4, usually only goes for aromatherapy massage. When i read the forum that thai massage use a lot of pulling and tweezing, feels a bit scared....

 

[bloomiey]

Pantip plaza IT stuff still isn't as cheap as Singapore. Many things are slightly more ex than sg.

Anyone stayed in Pathumwan princess? Which is the nearest BTS station?

 

[flipfreak]

hi shirley. bangkok oasis the new bkk branch for the chiangmai oasis. i was there with my wife and 2 friends. they are located at 64 Soi Swaddee Sukhumvit 31 Road. U need to go into Soi 31 Sukhumvit. It is located among bungalows.

the website is http://www.bangkokoasis.com

thai massage is not rough as chinese ones. there are more twisting unlike bali massage.

but the one at bangkok oasis is really soothing. i fell asleep and started snoring within 10 mins.

i did the oasis pampering package. u get to have your own room with personal tub and shower and toilet. all open air stuff. be prepared to spend 4 hrs there. haha.

 

[flipfreak]

hi yanling. i would say the nearest station would be the siam station.

 

[deathstar]

Hi all,

I will be going to BKK during the water splashing festival. Anyone been there during that period before? Can share more like what to expect, will it stretch to the shopping malls, etc???

Thanks.

 

[homeangel120]

Hi designfreak,

Just checked out the oasis spa website...it's indeed very luxury...wil give it a try if time permits...thanks

 

[minssy]

hi deathstar,

my friend tried before some years ago.. she witnessed kids taking water from the drains and splashed at pple

 

[deathstar]

Sighz....

just as i expected. Heard similar rumours that they use drain water to splash others... Sheesh... i dun mind if its clean tap water but if its drain water... =(

Anyone has got further things to add??

 

[onebigday]

i just came back from bangkok too. this time i tried Health Land Spa: http://www.healthlandspa.com/ they're pretty professional (I went to the Sathorn one) and prices are more affordable. tried King & I the previous time but find Health Land Spa better. Ambience wise both are nice but massage i guess depends on the therapist too.

we found a new hotel called i-Residence just next to Chong Nonsi BTS. Pretty cool & comfy. there's a market called "LaLaiSap" next to it that sells pretty cheap clothes & accessories. Wotif has some promo for it now. it was such a far cry from the hotel that we booked so we backed out and moved there :-D Can walk to Health Land Spa Sathorn from there too.

 

[flipfreak]

i would avoid bkk during songkran. chiangmai and other cities still ok. ppl in bkk gets carried away. even thai ppl sometimes go other places to avoid it.

 

[sunflower44]

Oh no....
i'll be there during their 3-day Songkran festival... siao liao..... =(

Would it help if we stay in shopping centres ah? Surely they wun splash water at ppl inside shopping centres??

 

[d1amonds]

hi, i used to work in BKK (was on proj assignment) for nearly a year (back in 2002). The songkran festival is not tat bad in the main city areas. Tat time never seen splashing of drain water...err..maybe no drain in the main city areas...
anyway, no they won't splash when u r in indoors. but if u r walking along the streets, they might squirt u water with those toys water gun or maybe those driving in lorry/van/etc..might splash u with water from pail ( i think those water r quite clean).

my colleagues did join in the festival, they had few places (specific locations) like party gathering. I didn't join them but when i saw them came back, they were drench from head to toe.

 

[lingling2]

Sunflower,
me will there also lor...haiz...how to go shopping like that?

Anyone knows if places like chatuchak and chinatown will be open during the songkran? =(.

 

[deathstar]

hey ppl,

thanks for all the info with regards to the songkran festival. Will go there with an open mind and enjoy my stay.

 

[lingling2]

deathstar,
do u tink the shopping centers and chatuchak and chinatown will be open then cos I ill also be there during that period...=(.

 

[flipfreak]

hi sunflower. they will not splash u inside the shopping centres. but be very careful.

i jsut spoke to my thai colleague and she says alot of molestation cases happen during songkran.

 

[flipfreak]

btw try avoiding khao san during songkran. later kana drain water.

 

[karen07]

Hi kitty,

Thanks for your explanation. I think that place is good to buy house stuffs since i will be getting lots of plates, cups, etc...

But still thinking where to stay after seeing so many people introducing so many hotels.

 

[lingling2]

designfreak,
can u check with your coll whether chinatown and chatuchak will be open durign this period? tks =)

 

[flipfreak]

jj mkt opens only during weekend so shldnt be affected by songkran. but maybe not all the shops open. and they maybe splashing water there too.

chinatown shld be running at nite as usual. i dunno abt daytime. anyway most of the time ppl go at nite right?

following monday, all rd side stalls closed.

 

[lingling2]

designfreak,
tks for the infor...i will be goign to bkk on 12th to 16th , thus willbe spending my wkends there as well... Happens that 14th & 15th is the Songkran which falls on wkends...hmm...

Normally I go Sampheng Lane in the morning as they closed at 6pm...But I duno if not during songkran they will close early...hmm...any idea?

 

[ducky]

Hi girls,

Me going to bangkok in early may... heard good review of samran hotel... so will be trying this hotel this time... do u girls book the standard room or the superior? Got different?

Do recommend me shoppping around that area... thanks!

 

[flipfreak]

hi ger2. i have no idea abt whether they close or not. btw songkran is 13th to 15th.

 

[minssy]

hi duckyduck,

samran is ok.. cheap and good.. standard room is fine.. spacious and clean

shopping ah? MBK, siam paragon, siam square is an area.. from your hotel if u walk all the way straight along phetchaburi road towards prathunam area, there is prathunam market itself, platinum shopping mall, big c, central world plaza and gaysorn..

its all within a rectangle from your hotel and its a very common and popular area...

 

[ducky]

minssy,

oh okie... thanks a lot

 

[minssy]

hi ducky duck,

do spend a good afternoon to nite time in chinatown.. very happening.. day time: to check out various bargains in the tons of shops & stalls, nite time: check out the food

taking a cab there will be easier actually... it will not cost more than maybe 90 baht from where you stay..

 

[henkitty]

karen,

for household stuff you better buy it at the weekend market cos the prutunam is for ladies apparael and accessories.

 

[deathstar]

ger2,

i oso dunno whether are the shops open during songkran leh... Nevertheless, will keep my spirits high. =)

Quite sure major shopping centers like MBK, WTC and Siam Paragon will still be open ba..

Anyway, my main purpose there isn't to shop too. Actually plan this trip to visit the 4 face buddha and prey prey a bit. =p