Amazing Bangkok: Day 1

I have just gotten back from our Bangkok trip and am still living the memories of each day in my head. I was blown away from the moment i stepped off the plane and headed into their airport. I also noticed that even though a lot of them dont speak english, there are many that would go out of their way to help you out and get you to where you are going or to simply make you feel right at home.

Today I'll highlight the details of our First Days' Experience in Bangkok from the Airport, The Hotel we chose and the first visit to the mall area Siam Paragon. Also, Highlighted will be the eating and food experience along the way. Let the story of my Bangkok Trip begin, picture by picture. (all photos taken using HTC One X)

The Suvarnabhumi Airport was amazing. From the Design Details to the quality of service. It felt like I was in a futuristic setting but with the color and culture that was uniquely Thai.

Traveling can be tiring and with the moving walkways in their airport, gives you a moment to catch your breath, while it tours you across the majestic Suvarnabhumi Airport

From Inside and out I was amazed at how artistically designed the airport was. Far from most Squared Out Airport Structures, Suvarnabhumi was quite an architectural treat.

I had a harder time going through the immigration in the Philippines as the officer on our end had a lot of questions where she asked for my company ID, Travel Tickets, my old passport etc. In the Thailand side though immigration was a breeze, as all they did was look at my passport, and simply welcomed me to Thailand. 

There were lots of options in terms of mode of transportation from the airport to your hotel. You can choose the regular metered taxi, taxi fixed service, or if you are a bit more adventurous if not already accustomed to the locale - the Bangkok Train Station BTS. 

We took a metered cab(colorful selection of cabs - purple, green, etc) that brought us to where we had to go, in this case our hotel Inn Saladaeng. One should be careful though as sometimes the cabs tend to take the longer sorta scenic route thus enabling them to charge you more than what you would have ended up paying for. English is not a common language thus I strongly recommend to bring a dictionary with you, preferably an electronic one for less hassles(I have google translate on my HTC One X). I also used the application Navigator by MapFactor, this works on most of the android devices, to guide us through and was quite a life saver whenever we did find ourselves lost in the Metro. Just make sure that you download the application and the necessary maps prior to leaving for your vacation.  

Once we arrived at our hotel, Inn Saladaeng in Saladaeng Street, we were greeted by a very friendly lobby staff who spoke decent english. I was forewarned prior to leaving for bangkok that only very few people would be able to speak and understand english but thankfully this cute and quaint boutique hotel was able to do so quite well and even helped us set our itinerary for the whole trip advising us on what would be the most convenient modes of transportation and their rates along with updates on events that we might be interested in participating or visiting. 

The cute boutique setting of Inn Saladaeng 

Our Room was just at cute and neat. They even provided Free Wireless Service which was conveniently fast along with daily complimentary water.

It was quite a peculiar sight for me to see how almost every home was connected to satellite TV as opposed to the former cable technology. 

We had a nice view out side our room. The neighborhood was quiet and everyone around the area was quite friendly and helpful. Just be mindful though of pick pockets, the locals are pretty adamant at warning everyone about them.

 Inn Saladaeng was conveniently located beside the BTS, Bangkok's Metro Train system, making traveling around bangkok convenient and fun. We also found that unlike most Metro Train Systems, The BTS wasn't congested with people, advertising along the train station, though quite numerous, was very pleasant to the eye and seemingly had a standardization and was quite neatly presented.

Having fun prior to boarding the train. One had to make sure you have change, as the prepaid tickets are to be purchased over a ticketing machine and it only accepted 10 and 5 Baht coins.

In the train one can see these digital representation of where you are and what direction that train was going. It also included the map of the entire train system and their stops, making it convenient for anyone that takes the BTS.

 Our first stop was at the Siam Paragon Mall where an Ocean park was also located. The first thing we did once we got there was to eat as we were famished from our trip. To be honest the entire highlight of our trip was more of the food and we really dug in.

Pad Thai taste so different and a lot more richer in it's country of origin. Nothing like any Pad Thai I have had in the Philippines. Mango Tree in the Philippines would probably be the closest. 

I dont remember most of the names of the food we ate but this is just some of the few that made an impression. Tom Yum Soup was the right kind of spicy and savoury to taste. Be warned, most of the Thai Cuisine involves a lot of spice. 

The Food Court system was quite a unique experience for me. One had to purchase a Food Prepaid Card then use the card to pay for the Food here in the Siam Paragon Food Hall. If any money was left one was to go back to the Food Card Counter and get a refund. Convenient or not, this was quite fun and reminded me of former school cafeteria days.

DURIAN - Need I say more? The way they picked their fruits prior to giving to their customers in the Siam Paragon Gourmet Market was quite impressive. They had to go through so many and sniff and check if the fruits not only durian were upto international marketing standards before it was wrapped like this and handed over to us. 

The Thai Lanzones was nothing like I've ever tasted here in Manila. The sweetness was amazing, plus it was near seedless and had more of its fruity fleshy goodness for us to consume

They had little aquariums in the Siam Paragon Food Hall that served both as eye candy for the diners while  being a marketing teaser for what one would expect of the Ocean park Museum at the basement of the massive mall.

The Thai has a gift of graphic, and love color to the point of putting it in every place they can imagine.

One wouldn't find the need to look for a Starbucks or CBTL in Bangkok as there are so many others around that were both beautiful and elegant but quite affordable and tasty. 

I was impressed on how active and creative the Thai are when it comes to advertising and design. Who would have thought of putting an Big Ass LED Screen right beside a coffee hang out. 

I noticed all throughout my stay in Bangkok, that they have learned to live with nature in a beautiful symbiosis. From the moment you step off the airport all the way into their malls, you'll notice how they have incorporated the essence of nature into every architecture they put out. 

I loved the way this Mall was layed out. Each floor was for a particular industry or product category, making it easy for the consumers to find what they want or need without having to go around it lost and dazed. One though has to take note that each floor has a massive selection of brands and items to choose from.

As mentioned in my earlier description, the Thai people really love incorporating a lot of graphic art and color into everything they do and make. It makes shopping fun and pleasant.

Fortunate for us we were able to catch an actual MTV Thai Event in Siam Mall. They really layed out the set well. Simple but elegant.

After our mall adventure we decided to head home. As earlier mentioned, it was so easy to go from the Siam Paragon Mall and back because of the BTS line. One just has to get accustomed with the way the train system is layed out, which wasn't hard at all. The guards were very helpful and informative. 

This is the view of Saladaeng Street right as we turn from the BTS line. I love how  the vendors make an effort to keep the street clean. Not only do the shop owners participate in keeping the place clean, but so do the street vendors. 

Taking another break from our long day in the front porch area of Inn Saladaeng. The Orange juice was from a street vendor just beside our hotel. I noticed though that they love putting salt in most of their food including fruit juices. It was strange but tasty.

Durian is best eaten outside as to not make our room smelly. 

The lobby of Inn Saladaeng was very quaint and homey. We felt very at home here from day one.

Every establishment had a shrine similar to this. One shouldn't be surprised by them as the country is predominantly Buddhist. They are required to give 3 months of their lives as a monk here in Thailand. This is the reason why they are quite humble as a culture.

This concludes Day 1 of our Bangkok Adventure. More to follow.

Till then....