Mr & Missy in Thailand Day 5

A great day always starts with a great breakfast. I must say, our hotel does provide really decent breakfast! Not much variety but the quality is really good.

Thai-style fried eggs for breakfast!

We set out at 9am and our first stop was emerald Buddha. We had quite a hard time flagging a cab which ran on a meter.  Finally, we got one but our happiness was short-lived.


Initially, the driver seemed nice and asked what we've seen in Bangkok during our trip. Then, the first scent of a scam appeared. He handed us this thick touristy-looking brochure that featured various tourist destinations and asked if we wanted to go there. He also asked us if we wanted to go to the floating market. We repeatedly said no and said we wanted to go to the emerald Buddha. He continued driving without saying anything.

When the cab stopped (at a fare of 65 Bahts), we thought we had reached our destination but it was actually a private ferry that was about to charge us an absurd price for the ride. We knew that instance we had been conned. We demanded out and asked the same cab driver to just bring us to the emerald Buddha. And of course, the taxi meter was then reset, allowing him to earn another 65 Bahts. We were just glad that we escaped having to pay 2000 Bahts for a private ferry to Emerald Buddha! Phew

Finally, we reached our intended destination but with our day slightly ruined. However, enough with that and on to some pictures of our last day in Bangkok!

Inside the Grand Palace

Our initial plan was to take trolley Bus / tram around Rattanakosin Island for 30 Bahts per pax. Sadly, the tram service has been discontinued and we chose to walk to explore the area - Thammasat University, National Museum, National Theater, Phra Chan Fortress & Nagaraphirom Park before taking a ferry from Tha Chang Pier to Chinatown.

The National Museum, it was closed that day :(

Around noon, we took the ferry from Tha Chang Pier but in the wrong direction! As soon as we realized that, we alighted and waited for the next one which, luckily, came in about 10-15 min. 

View of Wat Arun from the ferry

We were starving by the time we reached Ratchawong Pier. It was already 1pm and we devoured this yummy soup of vermicelli with pork balls with a matter of minutes.  Mister still wasn't very satisfied and he got a few pau too! 

Delicious lunch!!

It was still too hot and we escaped into the air-conditioned shelter  & grabbed drinks. 

Refreshing pomegranate juice, just what we need on a hot day!

We  then continued our walk to Sampeng Lane Market.  It was really a market in a lane. Extremely cramped and stuffy!  It was a great place to hunt bargain items though as it is actually a wholesale market. However, we lasted only 1 hour under the heat and took a cab to Jim Thompson House at 3pm.  This particular cab ride was superb – not only the car air-condition was a great oasis to people like us, the driver also turned on meter!! 

Chinatown Gate

Here is the brief introduction about the house. 

Joining the English tour at 3:30pm, we had a great time taking a peak into the life of privileged ones from days of the past.  It was amazing to see how everything was so well-maintained, even the floor tiles from Italy!!! Definitely an hour well-spent.  

Outside Jim Thompson's House. Its been converted into a museum, open to public for free.

A little glimpse inside Jim Thompson's house

Since its 4:30pm and we were afraid of the infamous Bangkok Jam, we took a tuk tuk back to our hotel area.  It was quite dangerous and we needed to hold on to the bars but hey, it got us to where we wanted to go in a short time :D We reached Pratunam Market area just before 5pm and bought lots of street food to bring to airport.  We then quickly rushed to our hotel, repacked our things and took a cab to airport.  We requested our hotel to book a cab for us at 530pm and the flat rate was 500 Bahts. We know it was more than the metered fare but we wanted the convenience of boarding a cab from the hotel.  There was no way we could go out to the main road with our many bags. We reached airport slightly after 6, on time for our 8:05pm departure.

Back in Singapore! So exhausted but happy with all my purchases! See, there is huge difference in our bags before and after the trip :D

Adios!
xoxo
Miss N