Hi Everyone!
I believe those who love to travel and stay in Asia will love to travel
to surrounding countries in Asia due to our budget constraint. As such, we
usually plan for trip that will not “hurt” our wallet too much yet maximise our
travel experience!! Thus I would like to share my budget friendly travel plan
to our friendly neighbour, Thailand :D Travel experience and review will also
be shared in this post.
Overview
Disclaimer: This
plan is based on 2 persons package where I went with my boyfriend J I believe that if you are travelling with more people (in group of
4), the plan will be even more budget friendly as you guys can share transport
cost!!!
Day One : Having to reach Bangkok
at about 7pm, we plan to travel from the airport to our hotel to put our
luggage before exploring
DMK
Airport ® Hotel (On Nut) ® Talad Rod Fai Train Market
Day Two : Before conquering
the famous chatuchak weekend market, we need to have energy. As such, we will
be visiting a famous and vintage breakfast house (On lok Yun) for soft and
traditional bread. At the later half of the afternoon, we will be immersing
ourselves in the pretty scenery of European style ville at the chocolate ville.
On Lok Yun® Chatuchak Weekend Market® Chocolate Ville
Day Three (Read here): We set off at about 6am to reach huahin,
an outskirt of bangkok where we get to enjoy the majestic view of santorini
park as well as playing with the sheep at swiss sheep farm. We took a breather
from attraction by visiting the FN outlet which sells many local designers
products before setting our foot at Venezia park. Lastly, we did some shopping
and fill our tummy at their local night markets (Cicada Market & Plearn Wan
Street )
Huahin® Santorini Park® Swiss Sheep Farm® FN Outlet® Venezia® Cicada Market® Plearn Wan Street
Day Four (Read here): We travel back to bangkok where we step
food at the shopping heaven (Platinum Mall & Pratunam market). We can’t possibly
say that we have visited Bangkok without trying local delights. Hence we visited
Ban Khun Mae restaurant for authentic thai food as well as desserts at Mango
Tango and After You café.
Bangkok ® Platinum Mall ® Mango Tango® Ban Khun Mae® After you Cafe® Pratunam market(night)
Day Five (Read here): It’s our last day of our trip. We did
some last min shopping at Pratunam
market and platinum mall before visiting the Caturday Cat Cafe
Pratunam Market (morning) ® Platinum Mall ® Caturday Cat
Cafe
Summary
Date
|
Day
1 (23rd Oct)
|
Day
2 (24th Oct)
|
Day
3 (25th Oct)
|
Day
4 (26th Oct)
|
Day
5 (27th Oct)
|
Summary of Activities
|
Airport
®
Talad Rod Fai Train Market
|
On
Lok Yun ®
Chatuchak Weekend Market ®Chocolate Ville
|
Huahin
®
Santorini Park ® Swiss Sheep Farm ® FN Outlet ® Venezia ®Cicada Market ® Plearn Wan Street
|
Platinum
Mall ®
Mango Tango ®Ban Kun Mae® After You Café
|
Pratunam
Market®
Platinum Mall ® Caturday Cat Café
|
Morning
|
On
Lok Yun
|
-Santorini
Park
-Swiss
Sheep
|
-Pratunam
Market
- Platinum
Mall
|
||
Afternoon
|
Chatuchak
Weekend Market
|
-FN
Outlet
-Venezia
|
Platinum
Mall
|
Caturday
Cat Café
|
|
Evening
|
Talad
Rod Fai Train Market
|
Chocolate
Ville
|
-Cicada
Market
-Plearn
Wan Street
|
-Mango
Tango
-Ban
Kun Mae
-After
You Café
|
|
Stay
|
S50
Sukhumvit Hotel
925baht(SGD37)
|
Phranakorn-Nonlern
Boutique Hotel
2600baht
(SGD104)
|
Juntima
Boutique Hotel
725baht (SGD29)
|
Hotel
Vista Express
(SGD64)
|
|
Room Type / Breakfast
|
Double
Room
No
breakfast
|
Double
Room
Breakfast
incl
|
Villa
No
Breakfast
|
Double
Room
No
breakfast
|
Day 1
Due to the long post, this part one of the trip will focus on my trip to Rod
Fai Market, On Lok Yun, Chatuchak and Chocolate Ville.
We bought the ticket during Scoot’s Promotion which is about 2
months before travel date!! It was only $150 per pax inclusive of taxes
and surcharges. To ensure that we have the most enjoyable trip (since it’s
our first trip oversea) without burning a hole in our pockets, we have
researched and planned more than a month :D
So on 23rd Oct 20 started 15, we our happy journey to Thailand!!
Yeah!! If I was to choose which budget airline to choose, Scoot is definitely
my choice. Reason being, their seats are among the most comfortable and
spacious I’ve ever tried…
 |
I am so excited to fly to the “Land Of Smile”
|
 |
The colours in the scoot cabin even hype me up for this trip
|
 |
See!! The ample leg space. Even my boyfriend with long legs find it comfortable
|
At
about 1900hrs Thailand time (which is one hour slower than SG), we arrived
Bangkok Don Meung Airport!!!!
 |
View from the sky of Don Meung Airport as the airplane circulates
|
We can’t simply shop and dine with our luggage… Therefore, our
first stop is definitely – Accommodation!! After seeking help from the friendly
airport staff at the tourist information counter, we took bus A1 at Exit 6
which brings us directly to Mochit Station before continuing on the BTS to On
Nut Station. You don’t have to worry missing the stop because practically
everyone alight there and the bus driver is so used to having tourist that they
will simply ask u to alight without prompt. The whole journey from DMK to On
Nut Station takes merely 1 hour.
Transportation:
· Bus A1 à Mochit Station = 30 baht/pax
· Mochit BTS Station à On-Nut Station = 42 baht/pax
· Total Travel Time à App. 1hr
A 10 mins walk from On Nut Station will bring us to our
accommodation. Along the way to the hotel you will pass through Tesco and
the mini night market in front of it. I have to resist my shopping desire while
passing by the mini night market as that wasn’t our main purpose at that
moment. We have to quickly find our hotel to check-in our luggage so that we
could set off to the next destination. Soon we walked into a quiet alley where
there were no street lights to lit our way. We were also forced to walk by the
road side as there was no proper footpath for pedestrian. Luckily the road is
wide enough to cater pedestrians walking along side. With our GPS, we found our
first night hotel in Bangkok. Actually, even without GPS, it is easy to locate
the hotel. All you have to do was to go through Tesco, walk all the way
straight till you see the hotel sign where you turn into the alley.
 |
The room was clean and big. Simple decoration and green background gives us an illusion of being in the nature. The king size bed was very comfy and large enough for 2 adults. Like any other girls, hairdryer is very important to us as it helps to dry our hair fast and allow basic grooming. And in this hotel, hairdryer was provided.
|
 |
| Although the bathroom is slightly cramp, it is very clean. |
 |
| View of the bathroom and toilet. |
 |
The windy and pretty pouch area where you can wait for taxi service.
|
 |
| There are also clocks to cater to different tourists from various time zone |
 |
| The adorable fat cat. |
 |
The hotel staffs at the reception were friendly. The place was highly secured where there is 24 hours security guard on station. Cat lovers, will definitely like this palce as there were 3 adorable and friendly cats to accompany you :)
|
Accommodation:
S50 Sukhumvit Hotel
713 Soisawatdee 4 Sukhumvit 50 Rd. Prakanong, BKK Thailand 10260
Cost: 925 baht Excluding breakfast
Talad
Rod Fai Train Market
After check-in our luggages, it’s time to fill our stomach! So we set
off to our first night market – Talad Rod Fai Train Market. It was not easy to
get a taxi from our hotel as taxi seldom pass-by the quiet alley. Luckily, the
friendly hotel staffs were extremely helpful. Upon understanding our request to
call for the taxi, they went to the main road to flag and direct it to the car
pouch so that we do not need to walk. We took taxi to Seacon Square yet right
after approaching the destination we realized that we should have dropped at
opposite seacon square to avoid the 20 mins traffic jam.
When you alight, you will find that seacon square is kind of
quiet. Don’t be fooled by the sight because once you continue walking, you will
start to see pushcart lined up near the entrance of the train market.
 |
Walk along the bars and indoor shops and you are reaching Rod Fai Train Market soon…
|
 |
| We Reached!!!!! |
 |
RodFai Train market was actually an abandon train market which was converted to an open-air bazaar selling a variety of food, fashion products as well as vintage collectibles. It feels like our Pasar Malam. These colourful tentage surely add colours to the shopping experience there.
|
 |
| The food stalls that helps satisfy our hunger |
 |
| The live band singing outside the bar. The ambiance there was really chillax. |
 |
| Vintage Furniture were also sold there. This set simply caught our eyes. |
 |
| Vintage Car on display outside the shophouses and bars |
Location:
Talad Rod Fai Train Market
Operating Hours: Thursday – Sunday , 1700- 2400
BTS: On Nut (But need taxi journey
Transportation Cost:
· S50 Sukhumvit Hotel —–> RodFad Train
Market : 140baht/taxi
Total Travel Time = 1 hr (Due to Traffic Jam)
· RodFai Train Market —–> S50 Sukhumvit Hotel:
100baht/taxi
Total Travel Time = 20 mins
Day 2
We woke up in the early morning, breathing in the fresh air while
traveling to the next destination – On Lok Yun. Located in Bangkok's
Chinatown Area, On lok Yun specialises in traditional breakfast. Locals and foreigners
would flock over to enjoy good coffee and bread. It has been gaining popularity
among Singaporean. Despite being located a little far off from the city, I
insisted on paying a visit as I can't resist the food temptation. We travelled
there by taxi as taxi is still required to travel from the closest MRT station
(Hua Lamphong) to the shop. It was kind of hard to locate if you didn’t do any
homework prior visiting. We managed to get a map online and printed it out
prior which later helped the taxi driver found it effortlessly.
It was just on the same street with the old Siam
Plaza. Everything in the shop, from the decor to the variety of the food,
is so traditional and vintage.
 |
| On Lok Yun's Map. Credit: @loloeatablethai |
 |
| The Famous On Lok Yun |
 |
| Bread With Kaya (36 baht): Best toast ever!! I never regret coming. The cubes of steam bread was the best I ever tried. It is so fluffy and soft. You can literally imagine biting stacks of cotton pads. Pair it with the sweet and fragrant kaya, it was a perfect match. Simply too delicious. Unlike the kaya found in SG and Malaysia, this kaya came with condense milk. How I wish i can fly to BKK more often for this. French Toast (35 baht): The shop was not stingy with their ingredients as you will realised that the layer of egg coating the toast were thick enough to give that strong egg aroma. The crispy outer egg covering create a contrasting taste texture with the soft and spongy bread. American Breakfast (75 baht): We ordered the american breakfast to try. It consist of the omelette, bacon, ham and sausages. As they run out of ham, they replaced the ham with chinese sausage. American breakfast tends to lose out in taste when compared to these two dishes as it was kind of normal. It tends to be slight more oily. I would say that it is good to try, but to come back specially for this dish.... nah! I will not.. |
On
a Side note, I will that the staff were very helpful and friendly. We are
probably the only foreigner there at that moment. Without being prompt, they
pass us the English menu and recommend their specialties to us. While waiting,
cups of cold Chinese tea was served. The food was served so fast that I hardly
have time to camwhore.
With our stomach filled, we head over to our accommodation today –
Phranakorn Nornlen Hotel. Phranakorn Nornlen will surely give you a fabulous
staying experience. From reception to corridor to every single room and every
single inch, it was well-decorated with wall art! I swear I will definitely
come back here when I revisit Thailand.... Probably by end of 2016. (Ps.. bf,
you must bring me back and sponsor my trip hor.. ) !
Location:
On Lok Yun Restaurant
72 Charoen Krung Road
Operating Hours: Daily 0600 – 1600
Phranakorn Nornlen Hotel
 |
View of the room : Each room was decorated with their unique theme.
|
 |
The painting was just fabulous!!
|
 |
In many theme hotel, it is just the room that is decorated. But in Phranakon Nornlen, the toilet was also decorated. Very antique and clean toilet. Those copper pipes were functional. They serve not only as decoration, they are workable shower facility. Boyfriend love the water hose also as he find that the water pressure was superb to relieve any soreness after whole day of shopping!!
|
 |
They are so attentive. Even towels were folded into the elephant sculpture. How i wish i can know how to do that. They even hold class to teach you the art of folding.. but we just can't find time to attend.
|
 |
We really admire how creative and artistic the thais are…. I really resist the temptation of "taking" the crochet bottle carrier home.. oops..
|
 |
The common area for resting. In the morning, it serve as a "canteen" for the buffet. Oh ya.. Forget to mention, this hotel only serve vegetarian food.
|
 |
I assure you will be super satisfy with the environment …..
|
 |
Decoration Near the Entrance of the Hotel..
|
 |
An open-air concept café at the rooftop. It was such a pity that we didn’t have chance to try a cup of coffee as it was only operating from evening till 10pm. We have already planned for activities for the night, so we have to give this a miss.
|
Accommodation:
Phranakorn-Nonlern
Boutique Hotel
46 Thewet Soi 1, Phranakorn,
Bangkhunprom, Krungkaseum, Bangkok, Thailand
Cost :
Once again, we did the check-in and left for our next destination.
Shopping Heaven - Chatuchak Weekend Market!! It’s the paradise for shopping
lovers. The shop lots itself enough for you to shop up to few days as the price
is just too cheap! Most of the items like clothes, shoes etc were just under
500baht / piece!
 |
| The entrance of Chatuchak Market |
 |
Coconut ice cream (30 baht) : a must have item especially shops under the hot sun. Remember to find the authentic stalls -- The one with the flag. It is so cheap.
|
 |
| Camwhore with my favourite ice cream |
 |
| Different variety of product |
 |
Different variety of product
|
 |
With this price you just have to shop shop shop!!!
|
Quick meal to settle our tummy. Within chatuchak, there are areas
designated for food. We choose this eating place because as a typical Singaporean,
I have the mindset “got queue means nice to eat". Nah.. This place
disappoints me the most. It was very warm and packed. You can imagine 30 plus
people sitting under a big tentage with maybe 2 - 3 fans. You practically
"drip sweats every single moment". The heat really kills our
appetite. The food wasn't nice to eat. It is good to consume if you need fuel
boost for you to have energy to sustain for more shopping session. I
urge you to take a quick glance at surrounding table, you will find that every
table has large portion of leftover food... Best and efficient way to fill your
tummy is to buy those snacks and quick bites from those push cart instead of
stalls selling main food.
 |
Fried Rice : It was bland with no fragrant. Imagine frying a egg with plain rice and no seasoning, that's the taste you get for this dish. Random vegetable was threw as ingredients.
Prawn tang hoon : The only taste the noodle/tang hoon has is soya sauce taste. No marination nor natural taste of the prawn being infused into the dish. BE prepared to find that the prawn was not fresh.
Stirred fried Vegetable Stem: It was the only "edible" dish we order. It is kang kong fried chilli.
Total Cost: 700 baht |
Location:
Chatuchak Weekend
Market
10 Kamphaeng Phet 2 Rd, Chatuchak,
Bangkok 10900
Operating Hours:
· Saturdays – Sundays: 09:00 - 18:00
· Fridays: 18:00 -
24:00
We shopped under the hot sun from noon to around 4pm. The heat was
unbearable. Scorching sun drained out our energy. We decided to leave earlier
than plan. We will definite reserve the chance for the next time in view of the
unbeatable price offered by all the stalls….
Our final destination of the day – the beautiful Chocolate Ville
:D :D :D
Don’t get it wrong, it was not a ville selling chocolate. The
fantastic scenery will stunt you!! However, there’s only one way to go over
there which was by taxi and the traffic was horrible!! It even provided us some
chance to take a half hour nap in the car!
 |
| Along the way: Can you recognize who I am? |
 |
| Chocolate Ville's Decoration Infused With Halloween Theme |
 |
| Chocolate Ville was filled with European Theme Buildings |
 |
| Scene of Chocolate Ville |
 |
| Somehow I remember seeing your father somewhere |
Decided to sit down, enjoy food and this beautiful scenery while
waiting for the sun to set because some buildings really look nicer when the
sky turn dark. There are really lots of table around. Best view is to request
for seats by the riverside.
 |
Our dinner for the night : slightly expensive but normal. Not fantastic.
Carbonara (185 bahts): The carbonara taste super normal and taste to be very "gelat" after a couple of bites.
Spicy Buffalo Drumlets (290 bahts): The spicy drumlets were supposed to be their speciality. I thought that it will taste nice or at least taste like Singapore pizza hut drumlets. But nope. It is just spicy and dry. When you bite in, the inner meat taste like water boiled chicken. It would have taste better if there is tinge of sweetness for the sauce.
Hongkong Style Char Siew Polo Buns (290 bahts): It was the ultimate failure. The polo bun crust was flat, dry and tasteless. There isn’t any buttery taste. The char siew taste very artificial where there is no sweetness in the meat. All you taste is the red colouring.
Japanese Peach Juice With Collagen / Lychee Juice with Collagen (90 bahts each): Our Favourite. It was mentioned that the juice were specially imported from Japan. It really tastes nice. The collagen taste like japanese konnkayu jelly. The peach juice and lychee juice are carbonated. The collagen and the juice paired so well that we wanted to go for second cup.
|
The stunning night
view finally set in. Our entire wait is worth it. After numerous photos taking session, we decided to head back to the
hotel for early turn in. There are taxis parked right at the
carpark of the ville. Be prepared that to be “chopped” by the taxi drivers as
they know you have no choice but to depend on them to leave the place since the
ville was not easily accessible.
 |
The stunning night view from the tower : had our dinner under the moon light along the riverside
|
 |
The stunning night view from the tower : had our dinner under the moon light along the riverside
|
 |
The stunning night view from the tower : had our dinner under the moon light along the riverside
|
To learn more about how we spent our adventure in Hua Hin (read more) or Bangkok café (read more), do visit the individual post :D
Follow
me at instagram : @jacefootprints
Location:
Chocolate Ville
Transportation:
· Phranakom Nonlern Hotel —–> On Lok Yun = 130baht
(suggest you print out map in Thai language for taxi driver to understand more
easily.
Total travel time = 30 mins
· On Lok Yun —–> Chatuchak Weekend Market = 100baht
Total travel time = 30 mins
· Chatuchak Weekend Market —–> Chocolate Ville = 270baht
Total travel time = 1hr 10 mins (serious traffic jam)
· Chocolate Ville —–> Phranakom Nonlern Hotel -
500baht (fixed price, there were very little taxis occasionally will go there
so some taxis will standby outside to make offer to you)
Total travel time = 35 mins
SHARE
