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Saturday, February 18, 2012

GETTING AROUND IN BANGKOK : MY WAY

My First day in Thailand dawned with my arrival at Suvarnabhoomi Airport, Bangkok from Chennai, India. Since I am a bit of explorative guy, I opted to find my own way to Howard Square Boutique hotel, where I had a reservation. Prior to my departure, I had explored the route maps of Bangkok through Google Earth & roughly calculated the distances. It was around 27 kilometers from the Airport to my hotel. I hired a taxi and after a little bit of negotiation, the driver guy settled for 900 Bahts. Similar distance by cab in India would have cost me more than that. I arrived at the Hotel after an hour. The way in which Thai people speak English is little bit different. I have to strain my ears to catch the phrases. Once settled in my room, I started to explore the neighborhood by walk. Howard Square hotel is situated at Bangkna area in Bangkok, which is almost a remote location. The only good thing is, it is having a nice restaurant & bar by name B-Oak in the vicinity. You can get several Indian dishes there. For short distances Motor Cycle Transport is there, wherein you can pay 10 or 15 Bahts for short distances such as 1 or 2 kilometers. Tuk-Tuks are also a better option for short travels in Bangkok, which is also economical. It is really difficult for a vegetarian to survive in Bangkok, since you can find shops selling meat everywhere. You have to survive mainly on Fruits, till you get yourself adapted to Thai Veg food, which in fact is very spicy. Another better option to move around in Bangkok is by Sky Train, where you can get One day pass. You can find the exact fares in my earlier posts. Some hotels offer the free cab drop to the nearest Sky Train station at specified hours. I will take you through the major attractions and malls in Bangkok in my upcoming posts.