[5D4N] Bangkok travel (shopping + Hua Hin 1D trip)

When we think of Bangkok, the first thing that comes to our mind is SHOPPING. It is no doubt a shoppers' paradise in Bangkok and I can guarantee that anyone and everyone will have something to bring back from Bangkok. So.. before I jump into bragging about my Bangkok shopping haul.. Here's what went down in my 5D4N trip to Bangkok with my friends.

Where we stay : KC place

Why KC place? It's affordable, comfortable, neat and its location is central [less than 3 minute walk to Ratchaprarop station (airport rail link) & Pratunam market] I definitely recommend this place. Although it is located at a very dodgy alley especially during night time, you'll soon come to appreciate on how convenient the location is.

Tips: If you plan to stay in KC place while arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, I'd suggest you to Just take the airport rail link (city line) to Ratchaprarop station. It's cost 40Baht and it's so much cheaper than taking and being con by taxi. If you're from Don Mueang Airport, then you'll have no choice but to take taxi Uber/GrabCar. Apparently another group of my friends took the taxi and he charge them 400Baht to KC place.. that's like 10x our cost !

Day 1 

Arrived at Suvarnabhumi late afternoon. Went to get our traveller sim card at AIS booth (299Baht). Took the airport rail link to Ratchaprarop (40Baht). Checked in at KC place. Head to Yaowarat, Chinatown for dinner @ T & K Seafood. After dinner, we walk around Chinatown to have some street food. Later that night since it was raining slightly, we head off to Big C opposite Central world to shop for tidbits.

Chinatown / Yaowarat

Big C

Day 2

Spent our 2nd day at Hua Hin area for a day trip. Among the sightseeing places that we went to was Santorini Park, Swiss Sheep Farm, Venezia, Plearn Wan and Hua Hin train station. That night we also went to Chocolate Ville which is located back in Bangkok itself. 

Our transport? We took a private van with driver which cost around 5500 baht + 400 Baht (additional for Chocolate Ville). 

Yes it expensive but I must say the private van is good in a way that it's very comfortable and spacious (the van is able to fit 10 ppl but they only allow 4-8 ppl) and you can catch up with some sleep peacefully while the driver does his driving. So far the driver we had was good in terms of his driving, being able to fetch us here and there to our destination and patiently waiting for us to finish. However, he know very little English, so... yeah.. language barrier.. 

*note the 5500baht is not per person

We left our hotel at 7am, and its a 3 hours journey to Hua Hin from Bangkok. 

Our first stop - Swiss Sheep Farm.

Admission fee: 120Baht

Basically a 'mini zoo' with few animals such as sheep, goat, horses & rabbits. Halloween is coming up, hence the spooky decorations around the area. The main attraction for Swiss Sheep Farm would be meeting the alpaca. You wouldn't see them outside because they are kept in a small air-condition room at a far end. You'll have to pay additional 100Baht to go in, the guy will provide carrots or feeds for you to feed the alpaca and also plastic to cover your shoe. 

Just so you know.. it stinks inside. 

Next stop - Santorini Park

Admission fee: 150Baht
The most mainstream attraction in Hua Hin. Is actually a theme park with very nice ambiance for taking loads of photos. As you can see, the place is mostly white and blue (my fav!), hence a great place for taking beautiful photos. There are a few shops there for you to shop around and their restaurant are just nothing to shout about.

Next - Plearn Wan 

In my opinion, best place to visit in Hua Hin among the rest. This place has a unique architecture and is occupied with shops that sells foods and touristy stuff. Did I mention that its admission is free too? 

 

Next - Venezia

Admission fee: 280Baht - 580Baht depending on package

This is by far the most disappointing sightseeing places in the area :( 

Although there are nice decorations and (very) few activities for you to do around there, it's basically like what most people described on Tripadvisor, the place is literally empty/dead/like a ghost town with many shops left vacant. But on the bright side.. there won't be many people around to photobomb you. Besides, there's a upside-down gallery & 3D art gallery which is probably the only best source of entertainment in that area (loaded with aircond too to beat the heat!). 

Overall, its just not worth the money. 

Bonus - Hua Hin Train Station

Believe it or not, what's so fascinating about Hua Hin Train Station is basically this one building here. It took us less than 3min to take photo of this structure, have a feel of the train station and then we left immedietly. 

Last stop - Chocolate Ville

Admission fee: Free (Unless you eat there)

Like I say, Chocolate Ville is not located at Hua Hin. Is in Bangkok itself. So we weren't able to make it to evening to catch the sunset since we came all the way from Hua Hin. 

They say evening is the best time to visit Chocolate Ville, and I can see why.. If you notice there's a lighthouse, you can actually climb up there to catch a panoramic view of Chocolate Ville. So imagine when it's during sunset, it'll be very beautiful. 

Food there is on the pricey side (tourist area.. what do you expect?) with mainly western dishes and also famous Thai dishes.

Day 3

Our third day consist of mainly.. SHOPPING. 

Started off with Pratunam market @ 6am (Pratunam is just 2min. walk from KC place. Directly infront of Baiyoke Hotel. Do take note that the market opens at 4am - 9am).

Also *most of the market in Bangkok usually sell clothing in whole sale price if you buy 3 or more pieces. 

Later we head off to Siam area (Siam paragon, Siam centre, Siam square) mainly for dessert 

After You @ Siam Paragon

Petite Audrey Thai Mille Crepe

Lunch @ Som Tam Nua

After Siam area, we walked to Platinum to continue shopping. However, I find that Platinum mall is slightly on the expensive side compare to Pratunam market.

After all the shopping, we head back to our hotel for foot massage (the place is call Junsawang, located next to our hotel). 

That night we head to Rot Fai New Train Market for dinner and more shopping ! This new train market is one of my favourite place to have street foods and also shopping. I definitely recommend going. There, I found a stall that sell very nice Thai milk tea. Sorry I couldn't remember which stall was it, but I remember it was a lady mending it. 

Day 4

We started our day by going back to Pratunam market at 6am to buy somemore clothing (girls.. LOL). That afternoon, we headed off to grand palace by taking the boat from Sathorn (central pier). We sat the blue flag boat which is the tourist boat and paid 40baht for one way ticket, they have a full day pass which is 150baht if you plan on stopping at most of the pier. 

We stopped at Maharaj Pier because it is the closest pier to the Grand Palace. Due to tourist overcrowding and time constrain, we didn't enter the Grand Palace. But we did snap a few pictures outside though. 

Tha Maharaj Pier

So we hung out at Tha Maharaj Pier since we skipped Grand Palace. Tha Maharaj is filled with small shops, cafes and restaurants. It is quite a nice place to chill and hang out if you have plenty of time. 

That evening we headed off to Asiatique from Tha Maharaj, again we paid 40baht for one way. 

Asiatique

Asiatique is another popular tourist destination where many locals and tourist flock there to shop, eat and have fun. They open during the evening, hence it is rather cooling to hang around there especially since it is located near the pier. There's plenty to shop around there but price wise is slightly on the pricey side. 

There's a free shuttle boat from Asiatique to Sathorn Pier starting 4pm - 11:30pm (last boat 11:15pm).

Day 5

Pratunam again, our final call for shopping before we leave. After that we head off to Chatuchak weekend market. If you want to make the most out of chatuchak market, I suggest going there at 9am because this market is damn H-U-G-E, I'd say bigger than Asiatique. *Do refer to the map for better guidance and avoid getting lost. 

The famous coconut ice cream

Chatuchak have like.. everything... from street food to clothing to accessories to basically just anything for you to shop. Price wise would be slightly cheaper or around the same price like the stuff at Asiatique. Because it is open air, it can get really really hot. So remember to wear light ! 

Unfortunately for us, we didn't have much time to explore the whole place since we have a flight to catch during the evening. 

That's all the time we had for our first Bangkok trip !

When I'm in the need of shopping (and food), I'm so gonna book my next trip back ASAP !

Till then,