My stay in Bangkok and Pattaya may have been very limited, but nevertheless, time did not hinder me from enjoying my stay in such beautiful and organised places. Now, let me just give you a few tips to give you a smooth sailing.

AIRPORT

Take a good note as to where your baggages must be retrieved
The Suvarnabhumi Airport is located in an 8,400-acre land, which caters a lot of counters, sections, restrooms and different areas. It's also quite tiring to walk around in circles, trying to figure out, where in that vast location is your luggage.

Foreign currency exchange stalls are every where
To save a lot of time and effort, you may opt to visit any one of them and have your currency converted to Thai Baht.

Food chains
The long walks and wait might deplete your energy, but no worries, for the airport houses a wide variety of food chains. The location of the food stalls depends on the area:

International Departure = Level 4

Main Terminal = Level 3 and Level 6

Domestic & Transfer Area = Level 2

Main Terminal and Baggage Claim Area = Level 2

For the more specific list of dining spots. Click here

Free maps and sim card
Grab a hold of free maps and a sim card. Well, the maps are the necessary ones. These handy yet helpful pieces of glossy paper can be a lifesaver. It is embedded with information around the city from landmarks to hotel phone numbers, and if it wasn't for those advertisements, the maps wouldn't be that big. Never mind, it's foldable.

TRANSPORTATION

From the airport

Public Taxi
If your hotel/transient residence's location is a couple minutes drive from the airport, you may take this option, to save you time and effort, especially when you have a lot of extra baggages with you.

The taxis are and should be metered. If the taxi driver is trying to bargain with you by offering you a one time-big time rate for your journey, just politely decline and find another one.

Here's the rate to be considered:

Metered fare + airport surcharge fee (50 baht) + expressway fee

Car Rental

This option is good IF, you carry a lot of baggages, at least 5 people in the group, and the place where you'll be staying is far.

They offer a flat rate, regardless, where your destination will be, for as long as it is in Bangkok. You may also choose between a sedan and a van.

Airport Rail Link

The airport provides 2 transit options:

Subway Link (Blue Line)

Pretchaburi Station to MRT (Subway)

Sky Train

Phayathai Station for BTS Sukhumvit Line

This option is considerably, faster and cheaper.

photo from Simply Thailand Tours

Head over to google maps to check if your location's near any of the stations of the rail link.

Around the city

Tuktuk and Taxi

One is a locale transportation medium, capable of giving you an unhindered view while dabbling the mixed air and pollution of the city. The other one, is modern and can lift your heavy items with ease. 

As to which is the better, I highly suggest the latter.

When riding taxis, ALWAYS, ALWAYS tell the driver to use the meter. Otherwise, they're going to give you a price, high enough to build another Temple of Dawn.

They do not ask for tips and they give you the best route possible, for as long as you and I understand each other with regard to the route.

Out-of-town trips

From Bangkok to Pattaya, the most convenient way would be is to rent a van. A must tip is that the driver should know how to speak both in Thai and English. Second, he must know all the possible routes and the places. Lastly, his services must not have an additional hidden charges.

Our driver happened to be a fellow kababayan, who has been living in Bangkok for 12 years. He's multilingual (Tagalog, Thai, English) and he's the one who plotted our itinerary to save us time. Our first itinerary was much of a fail because we were trying to squeeze in several places within 8 hours, including the travel time. Plus, he gave us the best package possible.

If you're coming to Thailand, he offers lots of packages, so be sure to check him out.

Etc

• Ask for a card from the hotel receptionist of the hotel where you're staying. Keep it and show it to the taxi/tuktuk driver so he'll know where to drop you off.
• Save a copy of the places where you'll be staying, in your phone or have it printed on a paper. Make sure it's readable. Remember, the name of the place must be in both in Thai and English language. Unless, you can speak their mother tongue or you want to exempt yourself from all the headaches of having to do all the gestures.

photo from google maps

• Do not litter
• If you're going to Thailand for the sole purpose of importing goods to your country, then I suggest to pick a place anywhere in the vicinity of Pratunam. Located there are the malls and market stalls that offer their products at a low price.
• Bangkok is a busy yet developing country. Expect traffic at 12 midnight.

          Our first morning in Thailand was spent in Pattaya, the van that would take us there arrived at exactly 6am. It was a close call because I had just finished my egg's ben when we were informed of its arrival. While waiting, I took a shot of the the part of the open-bar that captured my attention.

           It was a 2 hour drive from the capital, so I just decided to put on my headphones and get a shuteye. On the way, I was awakened by my mom to disembark the vehicle while pumping it with gas. We would would need to stay at the shed a few meters away from the gasoline station. The reason was simple, it is a safety precaution so that when some hazardous event occurs at the gasoline station, the people will be far from harm.

          Not only was I impressed of their concern to the public but I've also witnessed that Thai people are organised too. It is manifested by making the cars fall in line while waiting for their turn to be serviced at the station.






         
          Since the Khaow Kheow Open Zoo is the nearest from the border, we decided to prioritise it on the itinerary. The word, 'open' itself already tells you something about the place. Some animals like the deers are free to roam around the area, so that people may interact with them. If you get too close though, they move away. Don't worry, they will not lay a hoof even on the tiniest strand of your hair.

          Maps are given at the entrance. Just by looking at the map may easily fool one individual into thinking that the size of the land is 'pretty alright'. However, the entire land where the zoo is situated is actually more than 2000 acres. It is quite unimaginable to tour the place by foot, so the best bet for one to enjoy their stay and make the most out of it, is through a vehicle. 

         I was really there for the penguins and kangaroos, so I was devastated when this illustration welcomed me. If I was a kid, I'd probably cry or throw rocks on this wall.

Then, there were monkeys. One of them even showcased his skills.

Meerkats love the camera #teammerkat

Drained ostrich eggs, hand painted by the locales are sold for 350THB. 

And this guy just tested for himself the toughness of an ostrich egg

The next stop is the Pattaya Floating Market. Famous for people who love to take shopping to a new experience. The vendors and the goods are on a boat instead of a stall. The management even offers a ride for a few bucks to tour around the place using a boat. The downside of the market is that you'll have to cough out 300THB before they will let you enter the place. That being said, we chose to just look around and not proceed inside the market, and on the way I met these cute little guys:

 The Nong Nooch Botanical Garden is not far from the market. We arrived at the location just in time for the festive buffet. Upon entering, you would notice the beautiful, well-maintained garden which expands up to 500 acres. The aerial view is stunning, so if you have a drone, I highly suggest you rent a bike and try to maintain your balance while controlling your flying toy.

Although the owner is a female, she is into sports cars. In fact, she has a huge garage dedicated to her collection ranging from hummers, classic mobiles and mini cooper. For sure you won't miss the garage because it is located near the entrance.

Kids who are by nature, hyper and playful have a specific spot too where they can run and be free.

A little after the feast, I managed to sneak out of the group while waiting for the cultural show to start, so that I can snap a few photos. For the duration of the stay in Nong Nooch, I intentionally did not take photos simply because I wanted to enjoy the show and absorb everything. At least I can say that I was able to take in information and trample down the misconception that Thailand is all about Muay Thai and elephants.

If you are in the area, a day is not enough to roam around Nong Nooch. Nevertheless, if you don't feel like going to the Elephant Village to interact with the elephants, I highly suggest you pay an extra fee to experience what it's like riding the gigantic, 4-legged, brainy mammals. Also, do not miss out on the cultural show and elephant show. They are educating and at the same time entertaining that is a sure way to remove the bad vibes.

Also, if you are looking for a driver who is well-versed in Thai, English and Tagalog, I suggest you give him Mr. Rendie Valenzuela a call. He's a Filipino who emigrated from General Santos City to Bangkok, 14 years ago. He owns a travel company dedicated to places in Thailand. He offers a bang-for-the-buck packaged deals like a $350USD per pax, minimum of 10 people

     Cliche` as it may sound, but it is the best line that would describe my trip to Bangkok.

What would have been an entire 2-day adventure to Thailand turned 1 1/2 because of the terrible delay caused, but as I have said a million times before:

"No matter how bad the situation may look like, there's still one positive thing that will come out of it"

I found out that the best time to capture the transition between night and day onboard a plane, is between 5:00pm and 6:00pm.  The one I captured did not do any justice to what the naked eye can see and the majestic beauty the sky has to offer. It was indeed a blessing in disguise.

The original plan was to go straight to Pratunam after dropping off the baggages. There we would shop (because it is open 24/7) and have dinner, but because we landed in Bangkok 2 1/2 hours before midnight, hailed a taxi which set the price to the roof, arrived at the hotel only to find out that Agoda cancelled our booking without even informing us, we were already too tired that we chose a pricey hotel. It almost came to a point that we just wanted to lay our exhausted body and go to a slumber, but wouldn't that be gross? No worries for we still managed to visit the bathroom to refreshen ourselves before we succumbed to our comfortable beds.

The start of our adventure in Bangkok started at night, right after we finished visiting Pattaya. The same driver and van that took us to Pattaya dropped us off at the River City Scape near Sheratton Hotel at 7:00pm. Ladies covered in Thai dresses greeted people, who would then pin flowers and share a photo with you. Afterwards, we were asked to exit the building and wait for the cruise ship to arrive, which is located at the rear of the establishment. We shared the spot with a lot of other tourists who flew from different continents.

At 7:45pm, the Chao Phraya Cruise docked and took us in. The real adventure has commenced. We were offered a place near the window, which was very favourable to us, imagine the entire cityscape in full view with nothing to hinder the beautiful setting.

A petite Thai lady dressed in fishnet black, packaged with a deadly weapon right beneath her feet greeted us and entertained the lot for the duration of our cruise. Impressively, she could sing english, korean, chinese and japanese songs with a little bit of her mother tongue-accent manifesting once in a while.

Not long after the lady's greetings, we were  escorted to the buffet table that offers american, italian and thai cuisines, all with a twist of Thai cooking.

The trip does not only boast of sumptuous foods and mesmerising view of their skyscrapers, but what majority of the people were after is the stunning perspective of the Temple of Dawn--the holy grail of all the temples in Bangkok.

Our last day in Bangkok seemed like we were contestants in Amazing Race. Every thing that needs to be done and seen were squeezed in 6hours. The upside was, locations of the landmarks were near each other. Plus, the prices of commodities are very cheap. Imagine an 80THB shirt, considering that the quality is equivalent to those sold at the malls here in the Philippines. Downside? the time.

The Wat Pho (The Temple of the Reclining Buddha) and The Grand Palace are near each other.

We first visited the Buddha, and if I have to say it myself, I would prefer it to be called the Chillin' Buddha, because it looks so chill and relax--just like me.

As a little courtesy and respect, visitors are not allowed to enter the main temple where the Buddha is seated. Bags are offered at the entrance for free.

Upon entering, there's already the Buddha saying 'hi!'

Guests are also prohibited to touch her, but you can take photos as much as you want and you can handle. Here's the reason why:

Noteworthy are the details and designs encrypted basically on every party of the entire perimeter. From the statues, doorways, windows and sculptures.

And yes, taking photos is a serious business.

The discipline and cleanliness of Bangkok are highly commendable. Drivers are not in a hurry to die. They know when and how to give way to other motorists. They fall in line while waiting to be serviced. As much as possible, motorists would not even dare push their car horns unlike others who treat it as a musical instrument. Not only it's annoying, it's also adding up to the pile of noise pollution.

Now, if there’s a good, then definitely, there’s a bad. Linguistics. The case in point here, Thai people clearly does not have a good command of the English language. I’ve been to a lot of countries who consider the English language as a very foreign matter but they can still understand you and express themselves in a manner in which a tourist can understand. At one point, I told the taxi driver to drop us off Platinum Mall. Instead, he said Pratunam. Good thing, I had saved a transcript of the place translated in their mother tongue.

I propose you come to Thailand if you want to mix relaxation and shopping combined in a busy city.

So long, Bangkok. I promise to come back for more. It was a good experience, nonetheless, considering that we were there for not more than 48 hours.