Time really flies when u are on a holiday. By the time I am entering this entry, I will have taken my dinner and preparing to catch some sleep before the run in the morning.
Today was slightly different as I decided to skip breakfast all together and have lunch instead at the May kaidee vegetarian restaurant. Its a short walk from my hotel and since i have spend some time exploring the day before i was able to reach the restaurant fairly quickly. Its just behind Burger king and in the back ally. I count only one western couple and myself as the customer. Could be early as its 11am in Bangkok time.
All i did was to put down the food no. on the menu and pass to the chef. The food was prepared quickly and I think i over-ordered. I had a tom yam soup, a plate of green curry fried rice and a plate of fried spring roll. Thankfully i did not order any drinks if not, i will have throw out. The soup is ok with lots of vegetables in it. A little under spicy though (you can ask the chef to increase the spice when placing the order). The fried rice was good. I seldom take brown rice let alone with green curry so the taste is good. The spring roll is pastable; Its filled with carrots, rice noodles. The spring roll is crispy though.
After lunch its time for me to find the way to the Marathon start point. I was planning the night before on how to go there. by cab is good but i doubt can go as most road will be closed. Plus I don't want to spend the money on cab. By the river boat, also cannot as the last boat leave at 8pm too early for me to be there. So armed with a map and the 'go anywhere on foot' mindset, i set off. When I was able to cross the road from Khao San towards Tano road, a western gentleman stopped me and ask for directions to the king's palace. I asked if he is referring to the grand palace and guide him accordingly. I tell him to skip the roads and take the boat via the piers instead. He did ask on how to go there on foot but i am not sure.
Once I cross Tano road, its like back to walking in Chinatown. The shop-houses on both side of the road is bustling with people. There is a temple nearby and i see many people going in to make offerings. The offering include 2 eggs, 1 bacon on a plastic tray. I don't know if its for praying but i see many taking it with flowers so i guess its part of the offering. Unlike Penang, I have a easy time to walk around but cross the road is another matter all together. There is no traffic light to stop the cars during the predestination crossing so for the faint hearted, don't walk. Take the cab. I cross and walk over a bridge and into a small parking lot.
Little did i realize that the parking lot is next to the Bangkok temple of light which is next to the Ministry of Defence overlooking the grand palace and where the start/finish point is. In the middle of the road is a park large enough for honda Jazz to go through. I walk around and take some pictures of the grand palace, the Ministry of Defence and the temple. It took me under a hour to reach from Khao San to the grand palace and the map is not too helpful. The roads are all in thai while the map in english so cannot match the signs. I was only able to go around by roughly looking around for the Grand palace Pagoda. I decided to explore Banglampoo market and find many clothes there. There is also a supermarket there and i bought some tibits and water. I was looking for some clothes but decided to buy it later tomorrow after my run and massage.
I will upload the pictures later as it is getting late and I wish to have a good run tomorrow morning.
Showing posts with label Bangkok marathon 2011. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bangkok marathon 2011. Show all posts
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Friday, February 10, 2012
Daily Life: Second day in Bangkok
By the time I am writing this entry, I will have taken my dinner and enjoying some drinks in my room. As i am running so i take only soft drink instead of beer. The morning started with breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Nothing to shout at as I have eggs with ham, bacon and some toast.
As I am still not too familiar with the area, i decided to take a taxi to Royal Thai Army club where I was to collect my marathon items. They start run from 35 Baht and using the meter. I wish KL also have such cabs instead of trying to bargain through. I was lucky i took the cab as it is further than i thought. The journey cost me 50 Baht. The collection was not unlikely SG or MY but when compared, it does not show justice for such a important event in sporting. I count only one booth open (New Balance) and the collection was quiet. As I am a foreign runner, I had my tag/bib seperated prepared. The girl at the counter ask me to go and collect my marathon items but the lady there say i have to show the voucher. Its to say I have paid for the event but as I did it online, no such voucher can be found for me. I have to go back to where I collect my tag/bib from and ask them for help. They are helpful enough to collect the items for me and I left.
I took a cab from the club to Wat Pho where I intend to go to Wat Arun. Wat Pho is close to Grand palace and the traffice again was the killer. There are so many tourist buses at Wat Pho but the worse are at the grand palace. But as the Marathon starting point is near there, i have the chance to see the setup. The start/end point is opp the Ministry of Defence. The journey cost me another 70 Baht and the driver cannot speak english. I was able to go there as the guard at the Army club helped me.
I intend to take the boat to Wat Arun as i will be able to see more from there. (Grand palace also is too ex for me at 100 Baht per entry) I took the special transfer boat from Tha Tian to Wat Arun which is just across the river. Cost me 3 Baht. The view from Wat Arun is very nice indeed but the steps are very steep. Luckily I am wearing my shoes instead. There is a strict dress code when visiting the places of worship especially to the temple. Entry to the temple is another 50 Baht but its money well spend.
On the return to Tha Tian (another 3 Baht), I decided to take the journey to Central pier where I can take the skytrain to Siam. Siam is the interchange to go to Phaya Thai. I will need to be on my way to the airport and i am taking today to try out the route. There is no paper note to put in only coins allowed and i have to change at the information counter. The journey is very fast and the PA is in both thai and English so I can hear. There was a cinema at Siam paragon but there are no good shows so i decided to cut short my journey to siam and come back to the hotel after taking my lunch at KFC. The return journey is more fun as I take from one end to the other for this boat trip. It only takes 30 Baht regardless where i want to go. The pier i going is called Phra Althit and its very near to Khao San Road.
All in all, today trip was very fruitful and I looking forward tomorrow where I will move around Khao San area and spend more time resting for the big day on Sunday morning. I cannot imagine running at 2am.
As I am still not too familiar with the area, i decided to take a taxi to Royal Thai Army club where I was to collect my marathon items. They start run from 35 Baht and using the meter. I wish KL also have such cabs instead of trying to bargain through. I was lucky i took the cab as it is further than i thought. The journey cost me 50 Baht. The collection was not unlikely SG or MY but when compared, it does not show justice for such a important event in sporting. I count only one booth open (New Balance) and the collection was quiet. As I am a foreign runner, I had my tag/bib seperated prepared. The girl at the counter ask me to go and collect my marathon items but the lady there say i have to show the voucher. Its to say I have paid for the event but as I did it online, no such voucher can be found for me. I have to go back to where I collect my tag/bib from and ask them for help. They are helpful enough to collect the items for me and I left.
I took a cab from the club to Wat Pho where I intend to go to Wat Arun. Wat Pho is close to Grand palace and the traffice again was the killer. There are so many tourist buses at Wat Pho but the worse are at the grand palace. But as the Marathon starting point is near there, i have the chance to see the setup. The start/end point is opp the Ministry of Defence. The journey cost me another 70 Baht and the driver cannot speak english. I was able to go there as the guard at the Army club helped me.
I intend to take the boat to Wat Arun as i will be able to see more from there. (Grand palace also is too ex for me at 100 Baht per entry) I took the special transfer boat from Tha Tian to Wat Arun which is just across the river. Cost me 3 Baht. The view from Wat Arun is very nice indeed but the steps are very steep. Luckily I am wearing my shoes instead. There is a strict dress code when visiting the places of worship especially to the temple. Entry to the temple is another 50 Baht but its money well spend.
On the return to Tha Tian (another 3 Baht), I decided to take the journey to Central pier where I can take the skytrain to Siam. Siam is the interchange to go to Phaya Thai. I will need to be on my way to the airport and i am taking today to try out the route. There is no paper note to put in only coins allowed and i have to change at the information counter. The journey is very fast and the PA is in both thai and English so I can hear. There was a cinema at Siam paragon but there are no good shows so i decided to cut short my journey to siam and come back to the hotel after taking my lunch at KFC. The return journey is more fun as I take from one end to the other for this boat trip. It only takes 30 Baht regardless where i want to go. The pier i going is called Phra Althit and its very near to Khao San Road.
All in all, today trip was very fruitful and I looking forward tomorrow where I will move around Khao San area and spend more time resting for the big day on Sunday morning. I cannot imagine running at 2am.
Daily Life: First Night in Bangkok
Yesterday was my first night in Bangkok. I flew to Bangkok as i am taking part in the Standard Chartered Bangkok Marathon 2011. It was supposed to be in Nov 2011 but due to the flood they moved the date to Feb 12 2012.
My flight from SG to Bangkok was uneventful. Except that i arrived on time to the SG budget terminal and managed to get onboard in time. The flight was empty with most passengers sitting in the middle towards the end. I chose a seat to the passenger pathway and beside me was 2 empty seats to the window.The flight TR 2104 take off on time and we reach Bangkok international airport around 3pm SG time (2pm Thailand time (they are 1 hour behind)). As there were no immigration forms available on-board, I have to fill in one the ground after arriving at the airport. In a hurry I fill in the wrong flight no and the Custom officer scold me for it.
From the airport is where the nightmare starts. from many blogs i know that there is a free shuttle bus from the airport to the public transport center and the airport rail. As I am a little free, I decided to take the less traveled route which is to take the shuttle bus. I exit from Exit 5 from the depature floor and upon reaching the transport center, know that Bus no. 556 had been terminated since 2010 Nov. So the customer service show me a slip, showing me to take bus no .555 instead, drop off at Din-Daeng road and take bus no 171 or 12 to Khao San Road where I am staying.
The first half of the journey was ok. When i boarded bus no 555, I am the only foreigner and as Thai people seldom speak english, I have to show them the slip. Thankfully one for the passenger know where I going so let the bus conductor know. Thai public bus is driver only drive while there is a bus conductor that will issue the ticket accordingly to where the passenger is going. Surprisingly they can remember who is going where and she let me know when I am nearing my stop. Bus no 12 is a non-aircon bus and very frequent. But i decided to wait for bus 171 as its air-con and has less pickpocket. I count 25 bus 12 before bus 171 arrive. As usual, I am the only foreigner on the bus and it introduced me to Bangkok traffic. Luckily its air-con or i will sweet like a pig on the bus. After passing the Democracy Monument, i alighted. Before I alight, there were some Thai female students who were laughing away, I guess they seldom see a foreigner on a public bus. The whole journey cost me 49 Baht and cost me 4 hours of traveling time.
I am staying at Sakul House and at room no. 301. Its a corner with the hotel signboard next to the room. I am ok with it as its a window room with me able to see the floor below. As i arrived there around 5.30pm, there were street hawkers selling their items so I had my pad thai with chicken and egg and some meat skewers. Street Food in Thai is cheap, less then 100 Baht is my dinner. I turn in early as I still need to go and collect my race pack on Friday.
My flight from SG to Bangkok was uneventful. Except that i arrived on time to the SG budget terminal and managed to get onboard in time. The flight was empty with most passengers sitting in the middle towards the end. I chose a seat to the passenger pathway and beside me was 2 empty seats to the window.The flight TR 2104 take off on time and we reach Bangkok international airport around 3pm SG time (2pm Thailand time (they are 1 hour behind)). As there were no immigration forms available on-board, I have to fill in one the ground after arriving at the airport. In a hurry I fill in the wrong flight no and the Custom officer scold me for it.
From the airport is where the nightmare starts. from many blogs i know that there is a free shuttle bus from the airport to the public transport center and the airport rail. As I am a little free, I decided to take the less traveled route which is to take the shuttle bus. I exit from Exit 5 from the depature floor and upon reaching the transport center, know that Bus no. 556 had been terminated since 2010 Nov. So the customer service show me a slip, showing me to take bus no .555 instead, drop off at Din-Daeng road and take bus no 171 or 12 to Khao San Road where I am staying.
The first half of the journey was ok. When i boarded bus no 555, I am the only foreigner and as Thai people seldom speak english, I have to show them the slip. Thankfully one for the passenger know where I going so let the bus conductor know. Thai public bus is driver only drive while there is a bus conductor that will issue the ticket accordingly to where the passenger is going. Surprisingly they can remember who is going where and she let me know when I am nearing my stop. Bus no 12 is a non-aircon bus and very frequent. But i decided to wait for bus 171 as its air-con and has less pickpocket. I count 25 bus 12 before bus 171 arrive. As usual, I am the only foreigner on the bus and it introduced me to Bangkok traffic. Luckily its air-con or i will sweet like a pig on the bus. After passing the Democracy Monument, i alighted. Before I alight, there were some Thai female students who were laughing away, I guess they seldom see a foreigner on a public bus. The whole journey cost me 49 Baht and cost me 4 hours of traveling time.
I am staying at Sakul House and at room no. 301. Its a corner with the hotel signboard next to the room. I am ok with it as its a window room with me able to see the floor below. As i arrived there around 5.30pm, there were street hawkers selling their items so I had my pad thai with chicken and egg and some meat skewers. Street Food in Thai is cheap, less then 100 Baht is my dinner. I turn in early as I still need to go and collect my race pack on Friday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)