Yaadein....Memories....

Bangkok - Thailand, Part 6 (Concluding Part)

2006-05-11T12:02:00.000+04:00

The last day at Bangkok. We had planned to visit Siam Ocean World in the morning & then a lil bit more shopping in evening before we start packing.

We left our hotel at 10am. Just outside there was a tuk tuk and the driver told us that he will take us to many places for just 10 Baht. We said we only want to go to Siam Paragon ( the Ocean World is located there). He said I will take u to a shop to buy clothes, we said no, we don't need any. He xplained to us that it was not necessary for us to buy, but that shop was owned by his sponsor, & for every passenger that he bought there, irrespective of the fact that they purchased something or no, he'd get a coupon, to buy diesel or gas for his tuk tuk... We said ok. He took us to this shop, where we looked around for 5 -10 mins. He also told us to tell them that v r from London...

After that he dropped us at Siam Ocean World without charging us anything.

Divya was thrilled to see the fishes, the sharks and the
underwater world...

Di & hubby seen here, with giant crabs.. yikessss...

This sting ray seemed quite camera friendly. Maybe he is used to people taking his pictures.

There was a car which doubled up as an small
aquarium for gold fish...

Hmm.. That is an idea...

We were also taken on a boat tour within the aquarium, to see how thing look different from the boat... It was fun... di thoroughly enjoyed herself.... running from one end to other saying papa papa seee bigg fishhh.. :-)

After reaching hotel back in afternoon, we had lunch, & then di & hubby went off to the pool for some time. In evening, di was sleeping, I told hubby to go n finish off the shopping. ( yea, I am one of the rare ones, who don't like shopping much!!!)

Di slept till quite late, she was feeling a bit unwell, so I gave her a paracetamol as a precaution. She was fussy n I was worried abt the flight the next day.

We told the reception to make the bill as we did not want any hassle in the morning. After making the payment, we went off to sleep.

In the morning at breakfast, surprisingly, the chef was considerate enuff to give us a packed box for di. We had been complaining that there are no chicken sausages that she loves to eat. So many days they kept on avoiding it, but on the last day, they make chicken sausages for divya.

As we were nearing the exit of the hotel, the FOM comes up to us n says, something is pending. We were surprised. We had made the payment, the day before n had not ordered anything after that. Anyway, when we reached there, he told us that we had taken an iron from the housekeeping & we had returned it broken!! And we wud have to pay a 1000 baht for an iron!!!

Broken!!! Why wud we break an iron... When we asked him to show it to us he showed the iron n said that an handle was broken. We were surprised as we had never noticed any handle. We informed the FOM, but he was adamant. When v asked him, what makes u think, we had broken an iron, he said bcoz the housekeeping found it hidden behind the chair.

I said " wait. U concluded that we had broken the iron bcoz it was hidden behind a chair!!!? What wud u do with an hot iron when u have a two yr old lil baby with u. Keep it within the reach of the baby? Naturally, u will put it away from baby's reach & that is what we did."

But try explaining things to an idiot FOM!!! When I asked him, if the broken handle was in the room he said yes we found it, but the housekeeping fellow throw it away. Now we were losing our temper with this idiot. Both of us trying to make him understand, but to no avail. In fact, he was downright rude n implied that v r liars!!!

That was too much to take... Hubby refused to pay a single baht forget 1000 baht. At that the FOM says actually the iron was for 1500 baht, & he was being nice to us n giving us a discount of 500 baht. Hubby dear says when I can pay 8000 baht to stay at ur hotel, I can pay 1000 baht also, BUT WHY SHUD I PAY WHEN IT WAS NOT OUR FAULT..

The FOM told us " we will NOT LET you leave the premises, without paying"

In the end, we paid 1000 baht as our transport pick up was already there & was getting impatient. We were so upset!! What an end to a beautiful holiday. More than anything we were more upset abt the attitude of the FOM. Hubby called up the owner of the hotel from the airport to report this. He was not available, but we did leave a message for him with our nos in Abu Dhabi to call us up. It was not the question of money, but the attitude n behavior of the FOM made us see RED.

We made it to Abu Dhabi safely... And the owner of the hotel did call us on the same day in evening. After listening to the entire story he did apologize to us for the FOM's behavior & told us that we wud be welcome anytime to Bangkok again as HIS PERSONAL GUESTS.

So it was a happy ending after all...

That gives us one more reason to visit Bangkok again... Doesn't it???

Ciao till the next place that we visit...

:D

KJ

Bangkok - Thailand, Part 5

2006-04-30T13:54:00.000+04:00

The next day dawned bright & sunny. We were off to see the Grand Palace, Emerald Temple & Wat Arun

The Grand Palace & the Emerald Temple are located within the same complex. We decided to go by the Chao Phraya River Express Boat. We took a train from Siam till Saphan Taksin & just outside the exit was the road for the Central Pier. Took a Chao Phraya Tourist Boat which was like a one day river pass. We cud use that as many times as we want to in a day. The boat had a English speaking guide pointing out to us the places of interest along the way on the river.

We got down at the Maharaj Pier to reach the Grand Palace complex. On the way we stopped for asking the directions. We were lucky as the person whom we asked, not only knew English, but also was a son of a policeman. He informed us that the Grand Palace wud be closed till 2.30 as there was an official function going on. He then guided us to visit Royal Cemetery or Wat Ratchabopit

He told us that we were lucky as Wat Ratchabopit (see the link for a video) place was open to the public today, usually it is off limits except twice or thrice in a year. It was a beautiful place, so quiet n serene, away from the crowds. We were fortunate enuff to be taken around by the Manager. He was surprised to see us & asked us as to how we know about this temple. He said that the king had just left 1 hr before we arrived. Obviously, we wud not have been allowed to wander around the area, if the king was there.

Like the Wat Po & the temple of reclining Buddha, this too was studded was precious stones. It was an amazing place. in the picture on left hand side is the door which bears the royal seals of the king, the queen, one crown prince & two princesses.

The manager was kind enuff to take us around &
explain things in details. While we were still there, the heavens opened up & it started to rain.... With thunder & lightning accompanying the increasing rainfall. It rained for around 20-30 mins. We thot wow, that wud be nice change from the hot & humid climate. But after the rains stopped. It was more HUMID than ever...

We saw many statues of Buddha, which were similar to Lord Vishnu.

We went to the Royal Factory & bought two more amethysts for divya. She was being pampered n molly cuddled by everyone, wherever we went. At Royal Factory, they offered to provide us free transportation, wherever we wanted to go. We said Grand palace.

GRAND PALACE & EMERALD TEMPLE

It CANNOT be described in words, seeing these
huge amazing temple n palace within the same complex. You need at least 5-6 hours to see the entire complex. Superb architecture & super art.

This is a 'must see' for all visitors to Bangkok. The Grand Palace complex, which includes the Temple of the Emerald Buddha (Wat Phra Keow) is unquestionably one of the wonders of the world today.

I will let the pictures speak for itself.

The Emerald Buddha
Within the enormous grounds of the Grand palace is the most exotic Buddhist temple and at the heart of the temple itself is a fabulous Buddha image, carved from one piece of Jade, which is the holiest and most revered of religious objects in Thailand today.

Click on this link & this to see a video of the Emerald Temple Grounds

The Golden Chedi of the Emerald Temple

Kinaree - mythological creature, half bird, half woman

Yak - A mythological giant

Stunning, isn't it?

The Grand Palace

We were so much busy exploring the Emerald Temple that we did not realise that it was almost the time to close the Grand Palace to visitors. Did not get to see the inside of the Grand Palace or The Temple of Dawn (Wat Arun).

But then I am optimistic, that way I have a reason to visit Bangkok again, right? :))

One more post to go...before I FINALLY conclude my Bangkok travelogue..( do I hear people breathing a sigh of relief?)

Till the next post...

Ciao

Bangkok - Thailand, Part 4

2006-04-23T14:34:00.000+04:00

Di was so tired in the morning on 3rd April that after having breakfast, she refused to go out anywhere n went to sleep.

After she woke up at 2.30, we went to the wholesale market near Indira Regent... Bought loads of dresses for divya... Felt like buying everything. You get pretty good stuff there.

The first day that Di sat in the Tuk Tuk, she kept on calling it auto. To every Tuk tuk, she kept on saying "auto stop"

After that we spent around one hour asking people how to reach Siam, all we got was confusing answers.. Until we asked a group of boys. They told us to get a Sky train from Chitlom & get down at the next station which was Siam. We wanted to visit the Ocean World at Siam & also MBK (a shopping mall). There are three main malls at Siam, Siam Centre, Siam Paragon & Discovery Centre. These malls usually have branded stuff which is more expensive. Siam was like Dadar at evening time. The Siam Centre was accessible from the skytrain platform itself. Siam Discovery centre are connected. Some how we managed to reach Siam discovery, but after that we asked ppl how to reach MBK or Siam Paragon ( Ocean World) but they did not give us the right directions. By that time it was almost 7.45 pm & di was troubling us a lot!!! So we gave up & found the nearest skytrain station which was the National Stadium ( connected to Siam Discovery)...

Cool!!! Two stations (Siam & National stadium) on each side and two malls (Siam Centre & Siam Discovery centre) in between & all interconnected... WOW!!!!

Just when we reached the main entrance for the skytrain we saw MBK opposite the National Stadium station. Decided to come back the next day as we were very tired.

The next day, to save ourselves some time, we decided to take a tour. Luckily, we were the only ppl that day & had the luxury of having a van for ourselves. We took the Temple tour as the Grand palace & Emerald temple, we decided to do the next day by ourselves.

To say that the temples (called Wat) in Thailand are AMAZING wud be an understatement. We can just wonder at the amazing statues of Buddha, be it the Golden Buddha or Standing Buddha or the Reclining Buddha. There are no words to describe how we feel, when we look at the mammoth structures, made of pure gold, studded with rubies, sapphires, diamonds & all the possible precious gems available. The end result is just simply stunning.....

The first temple that we visited was the Temple of Golden Buddha or locally known as Wat Traimit. This is the temple where the world's biggest Golden Buddha, aged more than 700 years was built. Weighing 5 and half tons, with dimension of 12'5" width & 15'9" height....

Di at the temple of golden Buddha

The second one was the Wat Po or the Temple of
Reclining Buddha. The statue was huge!!!Decorated with precious stones & the mother of pearl stone...The walls were exqusitively handpainted.

Wat Po is considered to be the college where u can learn massage. Our guide introduced us to the people who have learnt massage. We had decided to get a massage and the time was fixed accordingly for them to come to the hotel to give a massage to hubby dear at 9.15 pm.

The third temple was the Wat Intrawihan or the Temple of Standing Buddha..

You have to see them to believe it!!!

After the temple tour, we were taken to the Gems Gallery. Bought amethyst for Di & topaz for hubby n mother in law (have to keep her happy !!!). We decided to visit the MBK centre for some shopping .

Bought a lot of stuff for Di again and 3 handbags for myself ( yup, one of my weakness handbags!!!) and two to give to nieces, but got greedy in the end & decided to keep those as well!!!

We reached back to the hotel at around 8.45 & at 8.50 came a knock at the door. The masseur for hubby dear was already there. So for the next 45 - 50 mins, hubby dear was relaxing getting a nice massage. Di kept on saying "papa tired"

The above picture shows the feet of reclining Buddha. Notice the perfectly aligned toes?

The above picture shows the hand painted mural on the wall.

Di with our guide in the above pic

Di at the MBK Centre, getting a massage done

like father, like daughter.... :))

papa's rani beti...

To be continued...

:))

Bangkok - Thailand, Part 3

2006-04-20T10:47:00.000+04:00

WE reached Majestic Grande Hotel, Bangkok on 2nd April at 12.30 pm. We were upgraded to the executive floor... Wow!!! It was beautiful I must say... The hotel was pretty impressive. Located on Sukhumvit Road, 5 mins walking distance from the Ploenchit station, close to Siam (the shopping district, tho I did not spend much time there...) Di started crying "I want to go to Bangkok", the bell boy took her out in the passage n showed her the Bangkok skyline told here, this is Bangkok... After some time, she was convinced that she is in Bangkok now n not Phuket anymore!!!

As soon as we unpacked, the father daughter duo decide to chk the pool (how times have changed, before Di, hubby used to go n check out the bar... Now he checks out the pool!!!)

After having a light lunch (otherwise, we wud have fallen asleep) we ventured out of the hotel to have a look at the surrounding area. Our concierge informed us that there was a weekend market called Chatuchak Weekend market which will b open till 6 pm. He offered to call for a cab, but we asked him, how to reach there by train. We think, that the best way to soak in the place n area was to go by bus or train. Bangkok, has excellent train facilities, the Skytrain (called the BTS), and the Underground Subway Stations called the MRT.

I was so impressed. I wish we had kind of facility in Mumbai as well. ( there is no harm in wishing or hoping, is there?). Even though the train facilities are the best, people still travel by cars n get stuck in traffic jams for hours at end. The traffic is as bad as Dubai or maybe even worse..The roads are a lot confusing for the tourists who want to drive as well. So we stick by our plan to travel by train

By the time we reach the Chatuchak weekend market, it is 3.30, we still have enuff time to look around. But inside the market, it is so hot n stufffyyy n that gasp for fresh air n come out of the market immediately. Di also was feeling very suffocated, by the crowd n once we are out, she stops crying.. :)

While returning from there, there was an error in judgment on hubby's part as to which station shud we get down ( and men being men, he refused to ask anyone) I decided to let him have his way n realise his folly. We had to walk back almost for 25 mins before we reached our hotel.

On the way back, there were vendors on the footpath, like in bombay. Bargaining is a must. They had some lovely stuff for the house that we picked up.

Di was enjoying the attention that she was receiving. By the time, when we reached our hotel, the vendors knew her name & when we went out at night for dinner, all of them were calling her by name, hi divya, how are u? And being herself, she was walking around telling hi to all n sundry, saying bye, see u to some of them.

View from our room
View -JW Marriott frm our 20th floor lobby

till the next post...

ciao...

:)) KJ

Phuket - Thailand - Part 2

2006-04-17T17:25:00.000+04:00

The next day 01st April 2006 dawned bright n sunny n hot n humid....

The Safari operator came to pick us from the hotel at
10.00 am for a 10.30 Safari.

There are many options that u have, either you can take a 2 hr safari which will include the Elephant Safari / Monkey show / Ox cart riding & Elephant Show, the other option was a 4 hr Safari which wud have included, the above & canoeing & thai cooking ( fond of eating n not cooking) We did not take the second option as Di wud have been bored.

See some people enjoying the safari, we also enjoyed, but it was scary especially when the elephant goes down the small hill. We feel that we might just topple down from the elephant.

Here u see the two monkeys... :))

After the monkey show we had, the ox cart ride & then the elephant show. Di got a massage from the elephant... she was not at all scared!!! Hubby too got a massage n a kiss from the elephant!!!

Di enjoyed feeding the elephants....

After that, they took us to buy some precious gems, Thailand is famous for its sapphires n rubies.... did not buy anything.

Since that was the only one FULL day that we had in Phuket, we wanted to see as much as we can. The father n daughter went for a swim first in the swimming pool & then at the Patong Beach.

Later at night we went out for a walk, at many places we saw the Tsunami CD's available n wat surprised me more that was that people were actually buying it!!! I was wondering wat made people buy such a macabre CD, considering that so many people perished. Why wud anyone want to keep a CD which shows death n destruction. Hubby knew that it wud upset me, so we did not buy it.

The next day we had to leave for bangkok by 9 am flight n our pick up wud arrive at 7 am.

To be continued...

:))

Phuket - Thailand - Part 1

2006-04-16T18:08:00.000+04:00

Reached Phuket on 31st march 2006 at 12 noon local time. Very tired as we had left house at 7 pm the previous day. Did not sleep on the plane was watching Chicken Little n Chicken Run.
You have to catch a domestic flight from the Bangkok domestic airport. There is a bus shuttle service, between the Bangkok International & domestic airport. We landed at the Bangkok International airport at 6.30 BT(Bangkok Time). As the plane was taxiing down, we saw a small garden near the runway, well tended, with a small pond n a small bridge.

Our flight to Phuket was at 11.25, I wish hubby dear had booked an earlier flight. We were dead tired, wanting to zzzzzzzzzzzz..... The flight left at 11.45 & soon Di was fast asleep. The sight, when we approach Phuket airport is superb... surrounded by waters, like a pearl in the ocean. Phuket is also called the "Pearl Of Andaman" I wish I had the camera ready to capture the aerial view.

We stayed at the Patong Beach Hotel. People in Thailand are very friendly, but sometimes, it is difficult for them to speak or converse in English. As we were checking in the 2 -3 receptionist all were going ga-ga over Di. And Di being herself, was happily aswering to their questions like, wat is ur name, how old are u, where have u come from, etc etc... after we checked in she told them bye see u, they were thrilled, said that they have never seen such a friendly kid. She even gave huggies n kissus to some of them. We had asked for a sea facing room at the time of booking, but this room was not sae facing, I cud only see a sliver of sea from our balcony... We were so disappointed, when we called up the reception and asked them, they said that we had booked a deluxe room, if we had booked a superior room, we cud have had a sea view!!!

Thai sea food... amazing... the tiger prawns n the fried rice finished in no time... and off to sleep..

Next, we visited the Patong Market..... the night life is something to experience....Coming from the UAE, I was disoriented for a minute when I saw a couple cootchie cooing, I told hubby dear, the police is gonna catch them!!! He laughed hard & told me "You are in Thailand & not the UAE"... I grinned sheepishly.. how cud I forget that!

The Patong Market was full of entertainment clubs, bars, pubs, discotheques, body massage parlors, thai boxing arenas, you ask for it.. u got it.... Here is a link to small video.. you can see Di with her dad...

We had heard a lot about the Elephant Safaris at Phuket & wanted to go for one.. We booked with an agent outside the hotel for the next day.

To be continued...

My Blog of memories

2006-04-15T12:58:00.000+04:00

This is my blog of memories of the places that I have visited