After enjoying a quick breakfast at Lotus Blanc Resort in the morning, Steven and I left to go to the Siem Reap airport at around 10:30am for our departure to Bangkok, Thailand.
While we were at the airport, we met another Canadian couple from Toronto, Dan and Joselyn, who have been traveling together for 3 months (with another month of traveling to go until they head back home!). They are so lucky to be able to find time to travel to so many different places around the world such as, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia! Their final destination before they head home is Thailand. Just like us, they were headed to the same flight as us to Bangkok, Thailand. Dan initially sparked up a conversation with Steven because he noticed the Canadian flag on Steven's backpack. At the same time, we couldn't help but notice that Dan had so many flags sewed onto his backpack of all the countries he's visited, so cool! It's so fascinating to hear the stories from other travelers. Anyway, we ended up chit-chatting with them for some time, while waiting for our flight. Not so surprisingly, the two of them were also planning to attend the Full Moon Party (which is a huge beach party with food vendors, people from all around the world, fire shows, fire jumping ropes, DJs, etc... that lasts overnight until the sun rises!). Steven and I were pretty stoked to go! We were also getting more excited about the event as we talked about it more and more! With Dan and Joselyn, we also discussed our other plans in Thailand, exchanged e-mails, and suggested that we meet up again sometime in Koh Pangan for the Full Moon Party!
While we were at the airport, we met another Canadian couple from Toronto, Dan and Joselyn, who have been traveling together for 3 months (with another month of traveling to go until they head back home!). They are so lucky to be able to find time to travel to so many different places around the world such as, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Cambodia! Their final destination before they head home is Thailand. Just like us, they were headed to the same flight as us to Bangkok, Thailand. Dan initially sparked up a conversation with Steven because he noticed the Canadian flag on Steven's backpack. At the same time, we couldn't help but notice that Dan had so many flags sewed onto his backpack of all the countries he's visited, so cool! It's so fascinating to hear the stories from other travelers. Anyway, we ended up chit-chatting with them for some time, while waiting for our flight. Not so surprisingly, the two of them were also planning to attend the Full Moon Party (which is a huge beach party with food vendors, people from all around the world, fire shows, fire jumping ropes, DJs, etc... that lasts overnight until the sun rises!). Steven and I were pretty stoked to go! We were also getting more excited about the event as we talked about it more and more! With Dan and Joselyn, we also discussed our other plans in Thailand, exchanged e-mails, and suggested that we meet up again sometime in Koh Pangan for the Full Moon Party!
After our flight arrived in Bangkok, Steven and I were still unsure as to where we were headed to because we didn't book our hotel accommodation in advance (although we had a hotel in mind, we were open to other options). Either way, we figured that we would easily be able to find somewhere to settle in, as we only planned on staying in Bangkok for the night. Dan and Joselyn found a good deal online for $13 a night at NASA Vegas hotel, which was a short distance away along the airport transit line. The original hotel that we were interested in booking charges about $35 a night (average pricing for a standard room), so at $13 a night, the price of the hotel sounded more appealing. I'll have you know though, I was a little bit skeptical BECAUSE of the low price. We had such a great hotel experience in Cambodia, that I was worried about what we were getting ourselves into because my hotel standards were set quite high. Anyway, Steven was attracted to the price of the NASA Vegas hotel and decided that we should head over and book it for the night. The train ride to the hotel was really quick (about 5 stops) for approx. 30 baht each. The outside of NASA Vegas appeared nice with a fountain and stairs leading up to the entrance way. My initial thought was, for $13 a night, so far so good! Once we met up with the receptionist, we asked about the availability of the Junior Rooms offered at $13 a night. Although the rooms were available, the receptionist said that she wasn't able to book a Junior Room for us, but was willing to book a Deluxe Room ($31) for us on the spot. Apparently, if you want to book a Junior Room, you need to book online only, weird! With no free wifi available for hotel guests, the receptionist pointed us out to an internet cafe located across the street. We were pretty annoyed with this, but decided to head over there anyway to proceed with our online booking.
Soon after, we headed back to the hotel receptionist, who then upgraded our rooms to the Deluxe Room for free (sweet!) and handed over our keys! Deluxe Room for $13 a night? I thought to myself, what a great value! After carrying our heavy backpacks all morning, I was excited to wind down and shower before we decided to head out again. Once we entered our room, my expectations for the room dropped even lower. Turns out, the Deluxe Room was not nearly as nice/adequate/standard as I thought it would be. I was certainly not impressed with the air conditioning that barely worked, rusty and leaky shower room with a window that you can't close, small room, mosquitoes flying everywhere, and extremely dim lights! For the entire time, I convinced myself to stick through with the hotel just for the night! But really, what could I have expected for just $13 a night?
After showering and getting ready to (eagerly) head out of the hotel, we decided to head to the weekend night market at Chatuchak station for some shopping and dinner. Steven and I used our BTS SkyTrain cards which we kept from the first night we were in Bangkok. We thought they were very handy for traveling around the city.
At first glance, the market seemed huge! There were so many little shops side by side, each selling similar goods as the other shops! Pure bargaining power for the customers, haha! The market also offered food stands which sold BBQ skewers, noodles, fruits, smoothies, and more!
Although we were both very hungry and looking for a place to eat for dinner, I was really hesitant and nervous about eating food from the market (it didn't look very sanitary/clean). Regardless, Steven didn't listen and decided to purchase some skewers for him to eat. Luckily, I packed a nutri-grain bar in my back pack and snacked on it until we found somewhere more adequate for dinner.
After showering and getting ready to (eagerly) head out of the hotel, we decided to head to the weekend night market at Chatuchak station for some shopping and dinner. Steven and I used our BTS SkyTrain cards which we kept from the first night we were in Bangkok. We thought they were very handy for traveling around the city.
At first glance, the market seemed huge! There were so many little shops side by side, each selling similar goods as the other shops! Pure bargaining power for the customers, haha! The market also offered food stands which sold BBQ skewers, noodles, fruits, smoothies, and more!
Although we were both very hungry and looking for a place to eat for dinner, I was really hesitant and nervous about eating food from the market (it didn't look very sanitary/clean). Regardless, Steven didn't listen and decided to purchase some skewers for him to eat. Luckily, I packed a nutri-grain bar in my back pack and snacked on it until we found somewhere more adequate for dinner.
Soon enough, our hunger pains were calling us. Desperately looking for some 'real' food, we decided to head over to the Siam Center for dinner. Once we arrived, boy was is really nice over there! The mall was beautiful, clean, and with bright lights. Designer stores filled the mall which included Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, and more! The famous Ocean World was also located at the basement of the mall!
We headed to the lower floor foodcourt/restaurant area and settled in a restaurant that seemed like a good place to eat! Steven and I both enjoyed a meal full of pad-thai, rice, and a beef meat dish! After dinner, we walked around the food court and stumbled across a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop!
Of course, we purchased a half a dozen to snack on (oh, how I've missed the sweet goodness!). We also headed to the grocery store located inside the mall to buy some Asian buns and snacks for our ferry ride tomorrow!
We headed to the lower floor foodcourt/restaurant area and settled in a restaurant that seemed like a good place to eat! Steven and I both enjoyed a meal full of pad-thai, rice, and a beef meat dish! After dinner, we walked around the food court and stumbled across a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop!
Of course, we purchased a half a dozen to snack on (oh, how I've missed the sweet goodness!). We also headed to the grocery store located inside the mall to buy some Asian buns and snacks for our ferry ride tomorrow!
We decided to call is a day after our little shopping day.
Oh and P.S, Steven started to feel sick later that night. Tsk tsk...
Posted by Rebecca
Oh and P.S, Steven started to feel sick later that night. Tsk tsk...
Posted by Rebecca
No comments:
Post a Comment