Finally we're in Bangkok! It's my first time here while it is Rene's 3rd visit. I tagged along this time since I have wanted to join him before back in 2006 but due to hectic projects I couldn't easily take a leave from work. Now that i am still job hunting and have a ready passport, I can leave anytime.
We arrived at the new Suvarnabhumi airport earlier than scheduled. Immigration did not ask any questions. After picking up our luggages we exchanged some money to Baht and proceeded to the public taxi area.
These are some of our pics at the airport on our departure from Thailand 8 days later as we did not take photos when we arrived.
The taxi fare quoted to us is THB600 up to AIT in Rangsit province (42 km north of Bangkok) + THB50 surcharge and THB60 toll fee.
We checked in at the AIT Conference Center and got a double room (at the annex) which costs THB1900 + 7% VAT a night. The room has 2 double beds good for 4 people, and has aircon, ref (with 2 complementary bottles of water), cable TV (although mostly in Thai and no movie channels), a bathroom with hot and cold shower and bathtub. The room is quite spacious with lots of cabinets and desk space, a coffee table and chairs and a balcony.
Although the accommodation is great and Rene's training has full monetary support (he has per diem allowance), we requested to be transferred to a lower cost accommodation so we could save more for tours and shopping later on.
Rene and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the campus and showing me the important places like convenience stores, ATM/bank for currency exchange and cash withdrawal, canteen, bookstore and other important establishments. I will be on my own on weekdays since he will be at the Interlab for training.
Most of the students / employees there ride a bike to get around as the place is like U.P. So if you don't have one, you're going to do a lot of walking to get to places. There are very few people there at the time as it is the semestral break.
For our first dinner, we decided to eat at the hotel restaurant near the lobby to have me try it although we know it is quite expensive. We ordered tom yam and beef which cost us THB250. Luckily, the dishes were not as spicy as we have anticipated. They probably knew that foreigners generally cannot take the average spicy Thai dish so they serve it mildly. Anyway, chili is always available as condiment in case you prefer to spice it even more.
Related Entries:
Welcome to Bangkok! (7/15/2008)
Day 2 in Thailand (7/16/2008)
Day 3 in Thailand: Shopping galore! (7/17/2008)
Day 4 in Thailand: Grand Palace (7/18/2008, part 1 of 2)
Day 4 in Thailand: Dinner River Cruise (7/18/2008, part 2 of 2)
Day 5 Ayutthaya Day Tour: Bang Pa-In Palace (7/19/2008, part 1 of 2)
Day 5 Ayutthaya Day Tour: Wat Mahathat (7/19/2008, part 2 of 2)
Day 6 in Thailand: Inside the Grand Palace (7/20/2008)
Day 7 in Thailand: Future park, Patpong and Suan Lum in one night (7/21/2008)
Day 8 in Thailand: University Life (7/22/2008)
No comments:
Post a Comment