Travel: First International Travel to Amazing Thailand Day 1 Bangkok Tour
Why Thailand? There are a lot of reasons why we choose Thailand and here are a few of those. First, it is one of the best countries in Asia to go to for first-time travelers. Second, it is rich in culture and tourist attractions, third it is the best place to shop since it is very cheap and lastly it is a tourist-friendly country.
Ever since I got my passport in 2016 I've always been eyeing to travel to Thailand, because of the good reviews I've read. So when I told my office-mates that I like to go to Thailand I didn't expect them to have the same thoughts as mine, and that's how we agreed and eventually created a plan to travel this year.
After we purchased our plane ticket we started searching for various tourist attractions in Thailand and sorted them on which day to visit. We also had an advanced booking in Klook and to the place where we would be staying. Even though we struggled in reaching our target pocket money it didn't stop our will and determination to travel instead we stayed positive all throughout and we made it.
Flight Day
On the day of our flight, we were too excited that we arrived at the airport at 3:00 pm 6 hours before our departure time. Well, you can't blame us, especially me because that was my first international travel and I'm so thrilled about what's going to happen. In addition to our out-of-the-country excitement, we came early because we are excited to see the new Mactan Cebu International Airport and also to prepare ourselves for the immigration process. We've heard many stories about offloaded passengers who even if they have presented valid documents to the IO still end up not getting to their flights and that kind of scared us. Luckily we passed the Immigration smoothly you just have to be honest with your answers, stay calm, and be positive but not too complacent.Arrival Day
After hours of waiting, we finally boarded the plane from Cebu airport to Suvarnabhumi Airport for 3 hours and 50 minutes. We arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 12:10 am and got caught up in the immigration area due to long lines of other tourists. While waiting for our turn we had a chance to look around the airport and I observed that it is very spacious and clean as well as the bathrooms. They have booths for money changing, tour packages, pocket wifi rental, 7 eleven and etc.I thought I would have a hard time passing Thailand's IO, but I thought wrong because the officer was so cool that he even greeted me with an advanced happy birthday and told me to smile on the cam. hehehe
The first thing we did when we passed the IO was went to a money changer to exchange our money for Thai baht, so we can pay the down payment for the pocket wifi we'd booked online and also for the taxi fare. The travel time from the airport to Panpan Hostel was 30 minutes (hmm quite far) and when we arrived, there was a letter addressed to us containing the stay info, wifi information, our key card, and room key.
Accommodation
For our accommodation, we decided to stay in a hostel because we are looking for a budget-friendly place with a nice service and location and we got that at Panpan Hostel. We had a great time staying here the owner is very friendly and accommodating, the place is very neat and clean and it's very homey.
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Facebook: Panpan Hostel
Day 1
We woke up at 7 am and had our free toast and coffee for breakfast at the hostel. We went to SuperRich International Exchange to change our dollar for baht luckily it is just near our hostel and they have the highest currency exchange. After changing our money, we booked a grab car to take us to Sathorn Central Pier. When we arrived we bought a boat ticket to take us to N9 Tha Chang Pier where The Grand Palace is located.
Note: N9 is the station number and Tha Chang Pier is the station name. The boat will stop at every station to drop off and pick up passengers, so be mindful and watchful at every station so you won't miss.
Our first destination for our first day in Thailand was the famous Grand Palace located at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. Originally we planned to tour the place for half of the day but after seeing the place beforehand we thought it was impossible because it is made up of complex buildings and there were a lot of temples surrounding the area and 1 day wouldn't be enough to finish touring the place. We wanted to stay longer but we thought that it would ruin our planned itinerary if we do also there were a lot of people inside so imagine the competition in taking pictures folks and not to mention it was too hot and humid. 😄😄😄 But amidst it all the place is amazing and historical.
Note: N9 is the station number and Tha Chang Pier is the station name. The boat will stop at every station to drop off and pick up passengers, so be mindful and watchful at every station so you won't miss.
Our first destination for our first day in Thailand was the famous Grand Palace located at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. Originally we planned to tour the place for half of the day but after seeing the place beforehand we thought it was impossible because it is made up of complex buildings and there were a lot of temples surrounding the area and 1 day wouldn't be enough to finish touring the place. We wanted to stay longer but we thought that it would ruin our planned itinerary if we do also there were a lot of people inside so imagine the competition in taking pictures folks and not to mention it was too hot and humid. 😄😄😄 But amidst it all the place is amazing and historical.
* The Grand Palace
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* Wat Pho
The Wat Pho or "Temple of the Reclining Buddha" is one of Bangkok's most attractive temples. It is a much-visited temple complex due to its location just a walk away from the Grand Place and the huge Reclining Buddha image it houses. The temple that is officially named Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimonmangkhalaram is one of the six temples in Thailand that are of the highest grade of the first class Royal temples.
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While walking towards our next destination we came across some Thai volunteers for tourists and they suggested a different tourist attraction. We thought that it would be nice since the locals themselves suggested it so we agreed and they called a "tuktuk" to take us to Pier 7 where our starting point was. When we arrived at Pier 7 we then asked how much the tour was and he told us it would be 800 baht each we were shocked because it was too expensive and they would only take us to just one destination (which is by the way just across the pier). They tried to lower the price and convinced us but we declined and told them we'd find another. Good thing we have the internet to rely on and so we canceled our original destination and proceeded to another place which is nearer to our current location.
That's when we decided to go to Wat Arun since we are near N8 The Tien Pier (just a minute's walk from Pier 7).
* Wat Arun
Wat Arun or "Temple of Dawn" is a Buddhist temple in Bangkok district west bank of the Chao Phraya River. Wat Arun is among the best-known of Thailand's landmarks and the first light of the morning reflects off the surface of the temple with pearly iridescence. Although the temple had existed since at least the seventeenth century, its distinctive prang (spires) were built in the early nineteenth century during the reign of King Rama II.
We were supposed to visit Wat Arun during sunset because we read that it has a very nice view at night time but we have other plans at that time.
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Expenses
- Plane ticket - ₱ 7,000 each back-and-forth
- Terminal fee - ₱ 850 each
Online Paid Bookings
- Panpan Hostel - ₱1,407.72 each
Arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport
- Wifi rental - 2,000 baht / 3 (666 each)
- Taxi from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Panpan Hostel - 448 baht / 3 (150 each)
>> Breakdown (273 taxi fare, 50 driver service charge, 50 toll fee, 75 toll fee)
| Items | Price |
| SuperRich Money Changer to Sathorn Central Pier | 100 baht / 3 (33 each) |
| Ride orange ferry boat to N9 Tha Chang Pier | 15 baht each |
| The Grand Palace entrance fee | 500 baht each |
| Water (inside Grand Palace) | 20 baht |
| Lunch | 209 baht |
| Water | 10 baht |
| Wat Pho entrance fee | 100 baht |
| Taxi from Wat Pho to Giant Swing | 67 baht / 3 (22 each) |
| Tuktuk from Giant Swing to Pier 7 | 100 baht / 3 (33 each) |
| N8 The Tien Pier to Wat Arun and vice versa | 8 baht |
| Wat Arun entrance fee | 50 baht |
| Dinner at Home Cafe Tha Tien | 175 baht |
| Tha Tien to Panpan Hostel | 300 baht / 3 (100 each) |
| Stopped by at 7/11 | 19 baht |
Total Money Spent | 1294 Baht |
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