AMAZING THAILAND.

The original plan was to see either Seoul or Beijing however the former was in a melee with their neighbor up north while our country is still wrestling with China over the Scarborough shoal ownership. So Thailand was a plan C that became a reality. No regrets as the trip was fun filled, we learned a lot during this trip without breaking our piggy bank.

Day 1 – PLANE ALWAYS LATE
PAL lived up to its expectation - Plane Always Late. We sincerely hope that with the entry of the San Miguel group, a lot of improvements will be instituted. Just don’t let the pilots drink and fly because that would be a BAD combination.

After we dropped our stuff at Baiyoke Boutique Hotel, we went to Madame Tussaud's at Siam Discovery. We were star struck or should I say wax struck. The museum contained 70 wax figures of famous international and local personalities such as Angelina Jolie, Yao Ming, President Obama and Dumbo. Yes, Dumbo the flying elephant. Dinner was at 9th Café at Siam Discovery.

Day 2 - BANGKOK AND BANGNA.
Part of the tour package was a half day city tour. We crossed Chao Phraya river going to Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), went to Wat Intrawihan (which houses the tallest buddha), quickly checked out King Chula Longkorn Statue and Vimanmek Palace and “shopped” at Gems Gallery. Lunch was at Grand Diamond Hotel foodcourt which was also part of the package. After lunch, we went to Ikea at Bang Na which is said to be the biggest Ikea store in Asia. Dinner was at 9th Café again. We rode the Sky Train (electric city train) to and fro Ikea. Ikea was located outside Bangkok.

Day 3 - AYUTTHAYA TAYO
Every waking day during the trip was special but this would be the best and unforgettable. The 6,000 Baht whole day tour brought us to Ayutthaya. The historic city of Ayutthaya is a Unesco Wolrd Heritage site. We rode the bus going there and a cabin cruiser (small ship or a ferry) on the way back to Bangkok. We went to the following tourist sites:
(1) The Bang Pa-in Palace. This is also known as the Summer Palace, is a palace complex formerly used by the Thai kings. We went Ho Withun Thasana, Phra Thinang Wehart Chamrun, Phra Thinang Varobhas Bimarn Residential hall, Aisawan-Dhipaya-Asana pavilion.
(2) The ruins of Wat Phra Si Rattana Mahathat (Woravihara), Sukhothai, at Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This site contains the head of buddha that is made of limestone and entangled in roots.
(3) Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, Ayutthaya. It is situated on the city island in Ayutthaya’s World Heritage Park in Pratu Chai sub-district.
(4) Wihan Phramongkhon Bophit. It contains one of the largest bronze Buddha images found in Thailand

We had late lunch at Grand Pearl cruiser. Dinner was at Crystal Grill Restaurant located at the 82nd floor of Baiyoke Sky Hotel. We capped the day with a 360 degree of Bangkok from 1,014 feet via Baiyoke Sky hotel's revolving viewing deck. The eat-all-you-can buffet dinner was a steal at 600 Baht considering the entrance to the view deck cost already 300 Baht.

http://www.grandpearlcruise.com/index.php#iternary
http://baiyokesky.baiyokehotel.com/

Day 4 – DREAMWORLD?
The original plan for the day was to check out Grand Palace, Wat Pho and National Museum, we ended up going to Dream World in Pathum Thani Province. It’s a local amusement park which is not up to the standards of Disneyland in HK or Universal Studios in Japan. My personal assessment is that Enchanted Kingdom is better organized and has better quality however Dreamworld has more interesting rides. Oh well, what’s more important is that the kids enjoyed and it was family bonding to the hilt.

After taking 1,200 shots from our new D90 dslr, 4 tired pair of legs every day, getting sun burned and learning a lot from the trip, the next step is to plan for the next trip!