This was my first international trip. I was at Bangkok for whole 14 days. The trip was planned to be more of relaxation vacation.
Bangkok is a place that has everything… temples, shopping malls, wildlife, ocean, night life.. the list is endless. The place is for everyone irrespective of age and gender.
First Impressions
Bangkok is clean, silent and has wide & smooth roads. Talking about traffic, Bangkok also has traffic but very less compared to Bangalore. Drivers never switch lanes no matter how fast the other lane is moving. One can hardly see using horn. This is something that we need in Bangalore.
Language, Culture & People:
Language spoken in Thailand is Thai. English is rarely used by the people although most of taxi drivers, shopkeepers communicate with you in English. They will not understand if you speak at a normal speed. You have to tell them word by word that too in their accent. NOM. They cannot pronounce ‘R’ and they pronounce it as ‘L’. Most of times, ‘T’ will be pronounced as in “Thunder” and not as in “Tea”. If you want to say to the taxi driver that you want to go to “pan-tip plaza”, you need to say him as “pan-thip plaza” and “U turn” as “U thurn”.
Major population follow Buddhism. You will see Buddhist Temples (these are called as “Wats” in Thai) everywhere. People are very friendly and innocent. Put in another way, they don’t know how to cheat. Even if you don’t know the place, tell the name of the place to the taxi driver and he will take you there in a shortest possible way without roaming around the city. They speak very softly and expect you to speak in the same way. Sometimes, increase in volume of my voice and extra actions/gestures would used to make them frightened. You also need to drag each word while speaking.. that is how they speak.
If you are a vegetarian, well you will find it not so easy here. People here mainly eat pork, every kind of sea food and meat. You will get sea food stalls across the roads everywhere. If you are a person who loves to eat sea food, you will get an opportunity to eat the creatures that you even can’t imagine.
Shopping & Bargaining:
Probably one of activities that you can’t avoid in Bangkok is shopping. Each of shopping malls here is almost 4-5 times bigger than Forum, Bangalore. The main shopping malls are MBK, Siam Square, Platinum Fashion Mall, Central World & the IT shopping mall “Pan-Tip Plaza”. At the MBK, you will get everything. It is like all-in-one hub. Platinum Fashion Mall is a girls’ paradise. Pan-tip plaza was my favorite during my stay. It has every IT stuff that you need or wish to buy. “If it is not there at the pan-tip plaza, then it doesn’t exist”. It is also infamous for selling most upto date pirated softwares. I had a glance on what kind of CD/DVDs they sell. They sell softwares, games, music, movies and even porn. You will get the OS the day it is released. Each CD usually costs 100 & DVD costs 150 bucks.
Apart from hi-end shopping malls, Bangkok also has retail road side and wholesale markets. Chatuchak weekend market and Pratunaam market ,which is opposite to the Platinum Fashion Mall, are most famous. No item should be purchased without bargaining. Bargaining is in wide practice and tourists are expected to bargain before buying anything. If you have that skill, well you can purchase that item to almost half of the price what the shopkeeper had told initially. You should liberally use phrases like “make less”, “make discount”, “for me”, “please” with smile on your face. This will often end in fair deal.
Transportation & Communication:
Skytrain, public buses, taxis, tuk-tuks (autos of Thailand), boats and bike taxis form the transportation. Skytrain are most cheap and preferred. Even if you go by taxi, then also it will be cheaper compared to meter charges of taxis in India. Chao Phraya river flows through Bangkok. Boats are cheaper if you want travel across/ along the river. Tuk-Tuks are famous in Bangkok and every tourist takes a ride on it. But beware, these tuk-tuk drivers are clever and you might end-up paying high. For alone travelers, there are bike taxis, you will get pillion ride. Prices are relatively cheaper compared to taxis.
It is always better to get one local sim when you stay at Bangkok. Purchasing sim requires no id proof and is pre-activated. Bangkok also has more than 15,000 free wi-fi hotspots provided by “true” operator. Almost all tourist places and all bus stops are wifi hotspots. Happy browsing but the speed is less.
Tourist Attractions:
Major tourist attractions in Bangkok are all Buddhist Temples, Grand Palace, floating market, wildlife, ocean & beaches, night bazaars, infamous bars, thai cultural shows including siam niramit show, Ayutthaya (old ruin city like our Hampi), dinner cruise on Chao Phraya River… etc
I visited Grand Palace & all major wats (takes one or more than one day), safari world (it is a wild life sanctuary where you can do jungle safari and also has various shows of dolphins, seals, elephants..etc. takes half-day to one day ), Siam ocean world ( where you can see weird & wonderful ocean creatures.. takes half day ), floating market ( it is 110 km far from Bangkok.. but must see..) , crocodile show ( where you can see persons inserting their head & hand into crocodile’s mouth ). I also did elephant riding around jungle for around 45 mins 
. Saw the Siam Niramit show which is about thai history, culture, and festivals. It has world’s highest stage and gives world-class performance. It is bit expensive but you will not regret watching it.
I think the post has become too long.
Will post photos in next 2-3 blogs…
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. This is how my morning begins.