Sunday, June 20, 2010

Sawadeeka Bangkok! - Day Two

Second day in Bangkok saw us waking up as early as 5am. We were told to get ready at the tour company's office located just below our hotel at 6am. Today's itinerary involved two hours of driving to the province of Ratchaburi, 109 kilometers south of Bangkok. Our main destination; Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.

Going to Ratchaburi, we had to first endure the busy road of Bangkok. We spotted so many of this pink cab. My niece called it, her cab and insisted that we board that taxi at least once while we were there.
pink cabbie

Tuk Tuk, Thai's version of tri-cycle.
tuk tuk

Breaking the fast, Bangkok style.
breakfast bangkok style

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, known to be one of the attractive traveling sites in Bangkok, we wouldn't want to miss the opportunity of a life time to witness buying and selling activity from the comfort of our small rowing boat!

dumnoen saduak2
I must say that, what attracts tourists to flock this place is because of its rare sight; hundreds of vendors and purchasers floating in their small rowing boats selling and buying or exchanging their goods. You can even experience traffic jam amongst the many rowing boats. And when that happened, all the vendor needs to do is take out his long fishing-rod like stick with a hook on its end, throw it to any boat that causing the jam and pulled it away. I find that very amusing!

dumnoen saduak
Once described as Venice of the East.

They live here...
dumnoen saduak3

They sell crafts, fruits...
dumnoen saduak4

dumnoen saduak8

Grilled bananas and red meat...
dumnoen saduak5

And of course, fresh young coconut to quench your traveler's thirst :)
dumnoen saduak6

After having our taste of shopping on a rowing boat, we were brought to watch snake show. I wasn't keen but at the same time badly wanted to fight my Ophidiophobia. And I did it. I finally know how snake skin feels like. Dry and scaly.
cobra show2

cobra show

dumnoen saduak7


Departing from Damnoen Saduak, we headed back to the city. 30 kilometers before we reached Bangkok city, we stopped at Rose Garden. The site comprises 75 acres of perfectly manicured grounds with a lake as a central feature. Certainly a place for gentle strolls and picnics, the resort also offers a number of excellent restaurants alongside cultural shows including handicraft skills, Thai boxing, and sword fighting. For the children’s entertainment there’s also an elephant show, and for adults, the site has its own golf course and a spa.

But of course, we didn't go there for golf or spa.

rose garden
We had the chance to witness Thai Cultural Dance show at the theater hall. The show comprises of Thai's prominent cultures such as Ordination Into The Monkhood, Fingernail Dance, Thai Boxing, Dance From The North East, That Wedding Ceremony, Kala Dance and Yoey Dance. Click HERE for more information of each performance. Unfortunately, we were seated kinda far from the stage and my tiny compact camera wasn't built for far distance shoot. But I had them captured. Just that, I don't remember where I stored the video recording. My bad.


Right after the performance, we rushed back to our hotel to get ready for tonight's show at Siam Niramit. The distance between Rose Garden at the city isn't far but considering Bangkok's traffic jam as one of the worst in the world, a 20 minutes drive could prolong to one or two hours!

We managed to arrive in time and had our dinner. The show package has the option of having with or without buffet dinner but I recommend you to take the dinner buffet package cos the food and of course the show worth the money. We paid MYR90 per pax but after watching the show, there's nothing to argue about the pricing.



siam niramit

As most stage theater's rules, no camera or video allowed inside. We must be inside the theater on time or else, we have to wait outside until the intermediate break takes off. So, no pictures inside.

But.

I can tell you one thing... it was a spectacular stage performance. One that you must witness with your own eyes to agree with me. It was so enchanting, breath-taking and not forgetting beautifully colorful. It is a must-do while in Bangkok and you can actually purchase the ticket online. Just like we did. Read HERE to find more info of Siam Niramit.

siam niramit4


We all went back, satisfied. It isn't the best word to describe our feelings but yeah, that's to wrap our Bangkok Day Two.

Stay tune for Day Three!

9 comments:

  1. Berani juga kau bergambar sama tu ular. Eeeee geli saya hehehe.

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  2. Hehe...sia pun kegelian juga tu. Kau tingu lah muka sia, tidak dapat senyum bagus2 cos ticklish betul bila ekor tu ular mau slide pigi kaki sia...

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  3. good stuff! and helpful! ada juga bikin refer nanti :D

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  4. Punya berani ko pigang ular.. Geli saya oh.. You know, I've never been to Bangkok.. I always wanted to go but with the recent political situation, I have to postpone. I'll definitely go one day..

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  5. Nice blog carol. more reason to travel and blog about it.I like the floating market too..interesting and didnt expect it could be so dirty hehehe. i'll never touch a snake, apa lagi do like you did nie.bangkok is indeed an interesting place to visit.

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  6. hola Kay..

    kay, tu sirung ba dorg panggil apa sana?
    till then, PERTH..PERTH..PERTH.. (^__^)

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  7. Manda... That's what I hope this blog will turn out to be. Buli kasi bagi helpful info. Thanks :)

    Mimi... When we were there, ada juga sikit2 tu riot tu but it was a peaceful one. Nasib juga la.

    Deana... Thanks! I wasn't bothered with the dirty water. More amazed with the 'traffic jam'..hehehe

    LJ... Sia pun tia tau. Didn't think of asking :) Yep, soon is Perth!

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  8. oh no. I missed going to the floating market. Now I reconsider of going to Bangkok again just for it. huhu.

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  9. Jipp...if you're going Bangkok again, besides the floating market, do go and watch the Siam Niramit show. I think it's worth watching. You get to understand Siam's history via acting within two hours. Siok!

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