Thailand Trip Day 1: Jim Thompson House and Chatuchak Weekend Market

My family and I decided to have an out of the country trip! Yay!

There’s a catch though, mom said that I’d have to arrange everything on my own… uh, oh! But since its either that or no travel at all, I did my my best to organize it.

Read: 2015 Thailand Trip Itinerary with Family

So, we came to a decision, picked Thailand and booked our flights. I asked my dad for help with accommodations since I have no idea on the matter – we used Agoda and got a good deal (I think?). After that, I searched for tours online – since we were travelling as a family we wanted less room for error – so our days were booked with travel agencies and private drivers.

December 26, 2015

Our flight was scheduled at 6:20 AM so we were at the airport at around 4:00 AM. We checked in and settled payments – I thought the tickets I booked was already all-in, it was only when we were getting our boarding pass that we discovered that it didn’t include the Travel Tax. (So that’s one thing I learned and need to note.)

We arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport at around 8:30 – but we took a lot of time in the immigration and the comfort room breaks. Hahaha. Anyway, it was around 10:00 am we met the driver that mom knew through a friend of a friend.

I had a hard time remembering his Thai name, but he said that we can call him ‘Jo’ instead. He can speak English enough to understand what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go. He drove us around Bangkok on our first and last day – which was really convenient for us because we could leave our bags inside the car.

Since our check in was still in the afternoon, we went to our first stop: Jim Thompson House.

Tickets were priced at 150 Baht for adults and 100 Baht for 22 years old below (valid ID with birth date is required).

Tours are required to see the house – it will last at around 30 to 45 minutes and is available in different languages (If I’m not mistaken, I’ve heard English, Korean and Chinese).

Although I’d have to say that even if we got the English tour, I had a hard time understanding what the guide was saying. My mind had a lag time in processing the details. 😦

Here’s what I think: Jim Thompson House is a go to if you’re interested in history, Thai culture, art – specifically textiles and well, Jim Thompson himself.

Personally, the highlight of our visit here was when we saw the making of silk threads from cocoons!

After looking around and taking pictures, we had lunch and made our way to Centre Point Hotel, Silom. We checked in, settled our things and rested a little bit.

Ohh, look, they call their skytrain BTS – like the Kpop group Bangtan ❤ *Squeals like a fan girl!*

Centre Point Hotel, Silom is a 4Star hotel (which surprised me because I thought it was one of the budget hotels) and in my opinion, it has an ideal location. We didn’t know this before but our hotel was quite near Chinatown (one Tuk-Tuk Ride) and Asiatique (one Free Ferry Ride). Aside from this, Robinson Mall is just beside it and there are many other stores and stalls nearby.

Checking in at the concierge.

After our quick rest, we made our way to our next stop, the largest market in Thailand, the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Since the driver dropped us off in the parking area of Jatujak Green – which was the night market that’s alive at around 6 pm – we kinda got lost in trying to find Chatuchak.

While finding the market, we saw many street vendors – here’s what caught my attention… they were selling these!!!

If only I was daring enough to try it. HAHAHA. :))

Given that I am not into shopping, I was overwhelmed by everything. The place was really big so it would help that you have an idea on what you’re looking for and you know what sections you want to focus on. Also, make sure to really look around and haggle with the prices so you can get a good deal. 🙂

I wanted to take one of these cuties but I was afraid I’d break it on the way home. 😦

Even if we were only there for a limited time, I was able to see many street food, try coconut ice cream and buy some souvenirs. 😀

Here’s a picture of me enjoying the ice cream like a little kid. 😛

We went back and passed by an alive version of Jatujak Green – because earlier, it wasn’t open yet so it looked so desolated.

After shopping, we made our way back to our hotel to get ready for tomorrow… aaaanddd that’s how we ended our day 1 in Thailand.

Always wondering where to wonder next,
Raya

Here’s our 4-Days compilation video edited by my sister! ❤