Baiyoke Boutique Hotel

Wholesale Shopping

by xuessium about Pratunam and Baiyoke Markets: Indra Square

Sited in the Pratunam area, flanked by a number of hotels such as the Indra Regent, The Baiyoke Sky & the Baiyoke Boutique, I stumbled upon this paradise of wholesale shopping.

Unlike the body-to-body packed JJ Market and MBK, the Centre is almost devoid of tourists....which quite honestly, is quite god-sent! You'll see more of locals here.....hunting for the next available bargain. I wandered the Centre in awe, struck by the choices I faced. You'll get boutiques selling a galaxy of choices: Fashion men and women casual and work clothes, silk garments, toys, undergarments, souvenirs etc.

There is a food court here on the 2F, operating in the same Modus Operandi of the 6F food court in MBK Center. You buy coupons in denominations of 100 Bahts, pay for your food in these coupons, and get your fund on unused coupons before the end of the same day.

Open daily from 09:00 - 19:30.

And if Indra Square does not satisfy your insatiable need to spend Bahts till the last drop, the Platinum Fashion Mall (Think Chatuchak Market in a mall) is just walking distance away, another labyrinth of wandering eyes and sharp noses, digging for the next cheap and good deal. And on the weekends, the Pratunam Weekend Flea Market springs into life, clogging the streets around Pratunam with more human traffic. So how much Bahts you have in your wallet/purse/pockets? (grin) So how much Bahts you have in your wallet/purse/pockets? (grin)

Day 2 - Chatuchak Wknd Mkt / Dinner @ Baiyoke Sky

by pingerrain

"Taking the BTS Skytrain"

We walked to the BTS station from our hotel (it was quite a distance as the short cut was blocked by a construction project) and when we reach there, we were a little on the sweaty side. But nevertheless, we made it there.

To our amazement, the BTS systems are the old Singapore MRT system when we had our **magnetic cards, but the twist here is that, they used the magnetic cards for per-way trip and the tap cards for the *season pass holders.

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~Tip to note~

*Season pass holders (a.k.a BTS Skypass) get rebates (eg. single way 20BHT per trip, but season pass is like 18BHT) and it is faster not having to go to the machine everytime we reach a station to take the train to another place.

The season pass is 130BHT with 100BHT amount for the travelling and 30BHT card fee.
I suggest people who are going to straight top up their season pass to like 200BHT initially cause minimum top up amount is 100BHT.

The season pass can be used up to five years.
And the best part is that even if you dun finish all the amount in the card at the end, you can always keep it as a souvenir, because
magnetic card usually will be taken back by the automated gantry when you exit. :)

Magnetic cards can be bought from the machines you see in the picture.
The stations are divided into zones, in total 6 zones. Look at the station and note the zone, check the pricing for the zone and then you can proceed to buy your tickets in a breeze.

The buttons on the machines are the numbers of the zone, so just punch the buttons (it will light up) and put in the coins for the trip.
Please note also that one machine can only process one ticket at a time, so make use of as many available machines as possible if you are in a big group.

Then again, season pass is the best way to go.

"Chatuchak Weekend Market!!"

The train ride to the market is about 15mins.

Although getting to it is easy feat, but getting in and around the market is a tough case.

*** It's best you get a map of the Chatuchak market which is available at some of the stalls, you got to look out for it.. (I will try to get my copy scan and place up here, at the moment my scanner's not working, so please be patient)

You may also want to drop by this artist: Peach's shop inside Chatuchak; he's very talented in drawing and I had bought one tshirt he drawn on the spot!!
You also can find him on www.peachpost.com

"Dinner @ Baiyoke Sky"

We took the whole morning until afternoon in Chatuchak then retire back to our hotel for an afternoon nap.. (It's quite hectic considering we arrived in Bangkok only in the wee hours of morning!!

We then proceed on to take on the promotion discount the hotel (Baiyoke Boutique) provided to a buffet at Baiyoke sky (their sister hotel)

(Got to remember to dig out the coupon so I can tell you how much was it)

***Anyway, it's advisable to book EARLY for the buffet, to the extend you may one to book a day earlier and best not taking the last 1 or 2 hours slots.. Take the first few available hours!!! Cause the food will not be fantastic when the buffet hours are finishing..

But the view is great!! Because it's the tallest building in Bangkok!!

"Carousel viewing platform @ top of Baiyoke Sky"

After dinner, we went all the way up the building to enjoy the spectacular view of the city night lights!!

Jun Quan wanted to smoke up there (He said it would be cool to smoke at the top of bangkok!!) But there's a "NO SMOKING" sign up there~~

For those who are afraid of heights, you can really try this cause it isn't that scary and the wind up there is great~ (if it is windy.. It was then when we were there though...)

You need not to walk one round around the top, the platform turns.. (That's y i called it a carousel!)

There is only one exit so be mindful of people coming in and out, and there is a windchime at the top which provides a nice feeling of relaxation while the wind blows (actually it acted more like "you are getting near to the exit...")

Respect the Royal family

by heryanta

The King and Queen of Thailand is very revered by the people; so much that sometimes it felt almost in a religious way.

All over Bangkok you will see the pictures of the King and Queen; either in shops, restaurants, or even posters on the road.
When you go to the cinema, before the film start they will play a song in admiration for the King and people are expected to stand up in respect.

I know it can all be too much for a Westerner, but please refrain yourself from making fun of the Royal family and the Thai's admiration of them. This will be very offensive to most Thai.
The Thai are very polite and gracious people, if you make fun of the Royal family they probably will just smile and leave rather than try to argue, but when you disrespect their King you will lose their respect immediately.

Dried Fruits

by machomikemd

Dried fruits (or dehydrated fruits as thai's would say) are plentiful in bangkok, you can buy them anywhere. they cost about 90 baht (3 USD) a pack and you can select from many kinds like pineapple, mango guava, tamarind, pomelo, jackfruit and a lot more! It is cheaper to buy in MBK than in places like Siam Paragon, Siam Square, Central World or Gaysorn.

Watching Cricket

by Hewer

If you find yourself in Bangkok and want to watch a cricket match taking place elsewhere in the world, head to Wall Street on Sukhumvit Soi 33. They show all major international matches and the bar has a nice laid back atmosphere. I've been there a couple of times over the past few years and they always show it on the big screen.

You can also watch cricket at "Bus Stop" halfway down Soi 4. This is an open air beer garden. This is in the heart of a red-light district but the atmosphere in the bar is fine. I wouldn't recommend it at the moment though because there is construction going on next door (due for completion mid-2006).