Travel Expenses: Bangkok, Thailand

I was really just in transit in Bangkok for my Monday flight to Laos. But I figured I stay over the weekend and try to see the places I wasn’t able to go to last time, like Wat Po, Wat Arun, Ayutthaya and the River Kwai. Fate has other plans, however, and I ended up staying in bed whole day Saturday.

Still, it was a weekend well spent. I spent Friday night going to where the locals go, thanks to Ming, and Sunday, I discovered where to buy dollie clothes and accessories in Bangkok’s Chinatown. Damnit, it’s hard not to shop in Bangkok!

Bangkok 2009
June 5 – 8, 2009
Exchange Rate: US$1 = THB 33.70
THB1 = Php 1.30
In THB In PhP
Land Transfer
Aranyaphratet to Bangkok THB 207.00 PHP 269.10
Government bus

Accommodation
Shambara Boutique Hostel THB 1,170.00 PHP 1,521.00
Single a/c room, shared bath

Transportation
Tuktuk to bus station THB 80.00 PHP 104.00
Taxi THB 486.00 PHP 631.80
BTS Skytrain THB 160.00 PHP 208.00 1
Chao Phraya River Express THB 32.00 PHP 41.60
Airport bus THB 150.00 PHP 195.00 2

Food
Meals and snacks THB 1,168.00 PHP 1,518.40 3

Miscellaneous
Admission Fees THB 100.00 PHP 130.00 4
Medicine THB 255.00 PHP 331.50 5
Doll things THB 1,640.00 PHP 2,132.00 6
Toilet and tissue THB 35.00 PHP 45.50
Toll THB 45.00 PHP 58.50 7
Internet THB 250.00 PHP 325.00 8

Total THB 5,778.00 PHP 7,511.40


1 This was for the new Smartcard Skytrain ticket, which is reloadable, and valid for 5 years.
2 Airport bus was more like a van with travelers packed like sardines.
3 Surprisingly low. THB 114 was spent on water and Gatorade.
4 Both Wat Po and Wat Arun charges THB 50 admission fee.
5 A box of Clarinase for my terribly clogged nose.
6 Evil!
7 The taxi driver insisted we take the expressway from Morchit to KSR
8 It was only supposed to be THB 150, but I made the mistake of using that THB 100 per 20 minutes Internet at the Bangkok airport.

Posted

in

, ,

by

Comments

3 responses to “Travel Expenses: Bangkok, Thailand”

  1. Guam Blog Avatar

    I love Thailand! I was over there a few months ago just before they started having the riots and the airport was closed down for a few days. Anyway, I made it back home to Guam safe and sound. I’d love to go back again sometime this year.

  2. davidd aka puuikibeach Avatar
    davidd aka puuikibeach

    I wish you’d made the trip to Ayutthaya. I would have been interested in how much it cost. When we made the trip, from Bangkok, it was FREAKING EXPENSIVE! We couldn’t figure out how to get there cheaper, other than maybe taking a bus, which would have been really, really slow!

    The travel books talked about taking a boat. Yeah, right! It seems like the boat was about $130.00 (USD), and it doesn’t go all the way, and it takes all day just to get there.

    We ended up with a private car and driver. The driver didn’t speak English, of course. It was an interesting experience. We toured the Wats in Ayutthaya on bicycles — supposedly bicycles are readily available for rental there, but noooo…. finding a bike rental place was a major undertaking.

    So yeah, I would have been REALLY interested in seeing how you would have managed a day trip to Ayutthaya.

  3. nina Avatar

    It seems like I’ll be making that trip to Ayutthaya, David. I’m leaving Vientiane earlier than planned, and will have loads of time to spend in Bangkok. I plan to go there by train. The river boat you mentioned might be the cruises that ply the chao praya. That is expensive.

Leave a Reply to Guam BlogCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.