Sometimes Malaysia Airline has better promotions than Air Asia. After comparing both, I decided to go with MAS which is cheaper than the budget airline, AA by about US$20. It was a 3D2N weekend shopping trip to Bangkok to destress. I booked for a 2 nights stay at First Hotel in Pratunam because of its fantastic location that is easily accessible to/from airport by airport train as well as right in the location of all the wholesale centers and Pratunam wholesale market. I won't go into the details of the First Hotel as I have already provided my reviews at tripadvisor.com. If you are interested to know, you can read it at tripadvisor under First Hotel's review dated 24May2011.
After Immigration clearance at Bangkok Airport, turn to your right at the main hall and just follow the signboard to City Train which is at Level B1. Signboards are very clear as you can see below.
There is a customer service counter for the City Train just before the ticketing machines. If you are not very sure which line to take, you can check with them. They do speak English. You have to buy your train tickets at the machines and if you do not have loose change, you can change it at the counter next to the ticketing machines.
The ticket machine is simple to use. They have English as well. You just need to choose your destination, put in your money and collect your token. For me, I need to get to Phayathai Station which is the last station on the line. It cost 45 Baht.
The train looks kinda spacious. I only have one luggage so no issue with space. There are other tourists as well and there was enough space to move around. It was not crowded when I took the train about 2pm in the afternoon. At Phayathai Station, I can actully walk to my hotel, but I chose to catch a BTS train to Ratchathewi Station which is nearer to my hotel. So at Phayathai Station, follow the signboard to the BTS station.
At the Phayathai BTS Station, again queue up to buy ticket to Ratchathewi Station. It is only one station away and cost 15 Baht. After that take the train that goes towards On Nut. This time round, I was not so lucky. The train was very very packed but I managed to squeeze in with my luggage and stood right in front of the train door. Luckily it was only one station away.
This is the BTS train ticket. Snap a picture of it and use it as a map if you need to use the train regulalrly :-)
After alighting at Ratchathewi Station, take Exit 4 and walk down the staircase. Make a U-turn and walk to the road junction. At the junction, turn right. As you walk towards the junction, you will be able to see First Hotel in front of you, towards your right. It was a mere 5 minutes of moderate pace walk.
That is First Hotel on your right in the picture below and was taken at the opposite walking direction mentioned above. Opposite the Hotel is Petchaburi 20 Road. The airport bus stops at Petchaburi 20 according to the route in the Airport Bus website. However, I was told in the travel forum that Petchaburi 20 is a long walk to the Hotel but the map of the bus route shows otherwise so now I am a little confused. Maybe the bus is not stopping at the main road? Can't be, because the stop before Petchaburi 20 is the Platinum Mall which is on the same main road as the Petchaburi 20 signboard. Platinum Mall is only about 5 minutes walk (or less) away from the Hotel. Anyway, the airport bus ticket cost 150 baht and most likely it is gonna take you longer to reach the Hotel as the traffic on this road is quite bad. My train tickets only cost 60 Baht and I arrived at the Hotel in about 50 minutes.
Tuk tuk and taxis are plenty in this area. There is a message on the hotel's TV to advise guests against taking the taxis that are parked outside the hotel as they are touts and charge exorbitantly. Guests are advised to walk abit further from the hotel to hail the taxis on the road but how many guests actually know this? The notice is on the TV channel about the Hotel and if you don't switch to that channel, you would not know. As I was having breakfast at the hotel's cafeteria sitting next to the glass window, I saw many hotel guests that approached the taxis parked outside the hotel.
As you exit the Hotel, turn left. That is where all the shops and wholesale centers/maket is. A few steps away from the hotel is a massage center, looks very cheap (or inexpensive as the Americans will say) but I did not have a chance to try it out. From a peep, the environment looks very basic. As you walk along, you will see shops selling bags and luggage, shoes and a few small restaurants selling Thai dishes. Goods are basically cheap here and you don't have to bargain hard like in China. The neck tie selling for 50 Baht. Not sure of the quality though.
Further down, you will start to see many stalls and food carts selling all kinds of local food and delicacies.
This is just to show how congested the street is. The while building on the right is the Pantip Plaze, the computer center. Next to it is the Platinum Fashion Wholesale Center.
There is a Pizza a few doors away from the hotel. There is also a McDonald, a few 7-11 Stores, Starbucks and etc, all within walking distance from the Hotel.
As you continue walking, you will see more and more fooooooood ....
This was taken on both sides of the road on top of the overhead bridge to the Platinum Mall.
T Shirts anyone? 1 for 80 Baht, 3 for 65 Baht. The materials are very soft and cooling. It's also very thin! Good as pyjamas.
Looks delicious but didn't try. Next time maybe ....
Looks delicious but didn't try. Next time maybe ....
Bags ... T Shirts ... they are everywhere and the best thing is they are cheap and you don't have to waste time bargaining. If you are buying more, they are willing to give you a lower price and it is always with a smile. In China, you will probably have to raise your voice, practise patience or get chased out at the end of the day if you change your mind!
The shops/buildings here are all wholesale centers. Inside there are many smaller shops in lanes after lanes selling wholesale clothings, bags, shoes and accessories. It's a woman's haven. Men's clothings are limited.
Between the two buildings below is the Pratunam Market.
This is Pantip Plaza, computer wholesale center.
This is the inside of Platinum Fashion Wholesale Center. Shops after shops selling clothings, shoes, bags and accessories. No trying is allowed and they are mostly free size. The shops are lined in lanes after lanes and in the lanes, there are more lanes. It is like a maze inside. No matter how I tried to remember where I walked in from, I will still get lost inside. Price is already cheap but if you buy 2 pieces and above you will get it cheaper. I bought some dresses here for less than 500 Baht each. They are good quality too.
This shop sells some nice woman and man's T Shirts. I bought a few from here and the quality is very good. The owner gave me her business card when she saw me taking picture of her shop :-p. They are located at 281, 1st Floor of the Platinum Fashion Mall. They also have another shop at JJ Weekend Market Section 20 Soi 5 according to the business card. JJ Weekend Market? Never heard of. Will explore in my next trip.
Another one is this. This shop sells mainly couple Ts but also has T Shirts for ladies. I am sure you have seen some of these being sold in the market and they are not cheap. You can get these T shirts here for about 120 Baht single piece to 240 Baht for couple T. They are at 329, 1st Floor of Platinum Fashion Mall.
More of the shops at Platinum Fashion Mall
There is a food court at the top floor of Platinum Fashion Mall. I had my dinner here on the first day.
This is my dinner. Tomyum chicken noodle and drink that cost me 120 Baht. The tomum is delicious but not spicy at all.
Oh yes, it is hard to find free wifi in Bangkok. Most places charge for wifi usage e.g. my hotel charges 110 Baht for half hour usage, McDonald charges 60 Baht and Starbucks charges 150 Baht. This is one place at Platinum Fashion Mall that I later found out has free wifi.
The next morning, I started my shopping at Krung Thong Plaza, same row as my hotel, somewhere opposite Platinum Fashion Mall.
It is the same concept at Platinum Fashion Mall with rows and rows of shops in lanes after lanes but it is smaller here. Less crowded too.
Next to Krung Thong Plza is the Platinum Wholesale Market (or directly opposite Platinum Fashion Mall).
There are even more stalls/shops here. All the pictures below are taken as I walked in the Wholesale Market.
Huh, I like this T Shirt shop but I refused to walk close to it because I didn't want to spend anymore money. So I just took this picture from afar, to prevent temptation.
I walked back to the Hotel to leave all my shopping bags before visiting Pantip Plaza.
There is also a small foodcourt here.
I bought my lunch from this stall and it was only 45 Baht.
After lunch, I hop onto the BTS again to Siam Station.
Walked around the Siam Paragon for a while but didn't buy anything. After shopping at the market, you just don't feel like buying anything at the malls.
They had an outdoor food center here and I went to take a look. The weather was so hot and I didn't have the mood to eat so just took a few photos.
Have a closer look. It's their Thai pancake.
Next, I took the train to Mah Brong Kong Mall (MBK). Your shoppin starts from the station itself. Then follow the signboard direction to MBK.
There are two ways to enter MBK. Either through the MBK entrance to the left or through the Tokyu departmental store to your right.
Here's the directory. It's very creative and useful. Just take the card of the shop that you want to find and keep it with you as reference.
I didn't buy a single thing here as the price is generally higher than the market/wholesale center. The quality looks about the same to me.
There is also an upper floor that sells all IT accessories and gadgets.
That night, I had my dinner at one of the small restaurants outside my Hotel. This is pineapple fried rice. It looks plain but it is tasty.
The next day, I made my way to the airport in the afternoon around 3pm. This time I decided to skip Ratchathewi Station and walked straight to Phayathai Station instead to avoid the BTS crowd. I took a slow walk, dragging my luggage and extra bag with all my goodies and reached Phayathai station in about 10 minutes. To get to Phayathai Station from the Hotel, after you exit the Hotel, turn right and walk to the end of the road. At the junction turn right again and the station is right in front. The escalator is at the opposite of the road so I had to carry my luggage up the staircase to the station. The train was quite empty and was really hassle free to reach the airport. Cost 45 Baht for 45 mins ride. Cheap!
Decided to have a quick bite at the airport since I am early. Went to the Food Village at Basement. They serve reasonably priced food e.g. my rice with fried egg and fried minced chicken with basil leave was only 55 Baht. I had an extra otak otak (spicy fish paste) for only 30 Baht. Coffee and Drinks are 30 Baht to about 50 Baht. Compare this with other shops around.
Well, looks like a satisfying trip for me. I shall be back!
