Elephant Ride at Bangkok

Day 9
Nov 20, 2013
Bangkok, Thailand

It was only the night before that we were able to find a supposedly cheap way to get to the Elephant camp of Damnoen Saduak so we can ride an elephant (something we can't do in Manila) - we found a tour operator near our hotel which offered to get us there for 1800 Baht in a private van. We thought it was a good offer since the tour packages we found online cost more or less 2000 Baht for each person.

However, we found later on that we still need to take the floating market tour worth 1000 Baht (definitely a tourist trap) since that was the only way to get to the Elephant camp. Furthermore, the elephant ride would cost an additional 500 Baht. (Checking online further now, I found this tour which only costs 1150 Baht.). I guess it was really important to research online prior to the trip to make sure to get the best deal possible.

Boat ride to the Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Expensive items for sale at the Floating Market

Damnoen Saduak Elephant Camp

Elephant feeding at Damnoen Saduak Elephant Camp

We also went to Damnoen Saduak Tiger Zoo for some photo-op with a few tigers (something we can actually do in Subic).

Damnoen Saduak Tiger Zoo

Back in the city, before our flight back to Manila at midnight, I decided to splurge a little and try Thai massage - I figured there was no better place to experience it than in Thailand. And so I went and looked for massage parlors and found myself in upscale Breeze spa in the 5-star Amari Watergate hotel. It was definitely the best way to end the 9-day trip.

Estimated Expense:

City tour of Bangkok

Day 8
Nov 19, 2013
Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok would be the last city of our 9-day, 4-city vacation. To get there, we took a cheap Nok Air flight which left Changmai at 8:30 AM. We arrived in Bangkok an hour later and took a taxicab to get to our hotel. The cab we got unfortunately got lost - the driver took a wrong turn in a one-way lane and got caught up in a traffic he caused. It's good that we had GPS in our phones so we knew the hotel was already near and eventually decided to get off the cab and just walk since the cab meter was already at 450 Baht.

After a few minutes, we finally found Hotel Vista Express Lodging which was located in the middle of a very busy marketplace. The hotel room we got was cozy and the shower area was elegantly designed.

It was already 3:30 PM when we got to the Grand Palace - 30 minutes before closing time of Wat Phra Kaew (!) which is located within the vicinity of the palace. Wat Phra Kaew is the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand and it houses the statue of the Emerald Buddha.

A giant demon (Yaksha) near the entrance to the temple

Golden Chedi at Wat Phra Kaew

Main building of Wat Phra Kaew

External decorations of the Ubosoth, the main building of Wat Phra Kaew

After being forced by security personnel to get out of the temple complex, we spent the next hour around the Grand Palace and its perfectly-manicured lawn.

Grand Palace

At 5 PM, we looked for a way to get to Wat Pho where the 15-meter high and 43-meter long reclining Buddha can be found. A "helpful" bystander we asked for directions told us that Wat Pho was already closed and he suggested that we just instead take a "cheap" boat tour which would pass by a few sights around the city. He really did not leave us any choice as he already called and instructed a tuktuk driver to bring us to the dock. Once in the dock, we knew at once that the boat ride was a tourist trap so we just walked towards Wat Pho, which we found was actually still open until 630 PM.

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Temple Tour of Changmai

Day 7
Nov 18, 2013
Changmai, Thailand

For our third and last full day at Changmai, we booked a tour of the temples around the city. The tour costs 1250 Baht which included all entrance fees and a lavish buffet for lunch. We visited several temples including Wat Phra Singh, Wat Chedi Luang, Wat Suan Dok, and Wat Phra That Doi Suthep located at Doi Suthep mountain.

Wihan Lai Kham at Wat Phra Singh

Murals inside Wihan Lai Kham

Phra Ubosot at Wat Phra Singh

Wihan Luang at Wat Phra Singh

Wat Chedi Luang

Main Viharn Hall at Wat Chedi Luang

Wat Suan Dok

Wat Phra That Doi Suthep

After the tour, we were back at the hotel where we spent the rest of the day relaxing and just enjoying each other's company over the excellent Pad Thai at the hotel restaurant.

Thai Iced Tea

Pad Thai