Hotel
Booking hotel for family of five isn't easy. It's either you get two separate rooms or connecting rooms. We felt residences gave exactly what suited us. Booked our stay in Bangkok with Conrad Residences. Its nearest walk able BTS station is, Ploen Chit. About 1km one way. There's also a shuttle bus that you can take to and fro the hotel at every 15 minutes interval.
We booked the two bedroom deluxe suite - two bedrooms, two bathrooms, 1 living room and 1 kitchen. Was of good luxurious space we had, though we were out exploring most of the time. Very impeccable service too! The son lost his soft toy in midst of housekeeping, we had thought our search for it will be ignored by the hotel staff, but a call upon them, they found it in their laundry room and returned it to our room.
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| Conrad Residences, Bangkok |
A friend also recommended another option for family accommodation, Grande Centre Point, Ratchadamri. It has two and three bedroom options, and its location is very near major shopping centres.
Dreamworld
There were nine of us in travel. We booked a grab van from our hotel to Dreamworld, Bangkok. About 45 minutes drive from Bangkok City, this amusement park is worth a day of fun. It is dated, definitely not as dreamy as Disneyland, but it kept the kids happy! While we thought some short hours of play within is suffice, it's so huge that a day isn't enough. Catering a full day play from the start of its opening hour to closing is wiser.
We got our tickets on klook. There are different price packages to suite your play appetite. We went for the admission with unlimited rounds of each ride except, Snow Town, Go Kart, Bicycle Boat, Bump Boat, and game stalls. With this, there's only one time playing with Alien, Haunted Mansion and Bump Car. A good enough entrance ticket for us. And it's less than $20 per person! Depending on Klook's promo. Kids below 90cm enters free. Where else on earth can we find entry to an amusement park for less than $100, for family of five?! The game stalls within are highly affordable too. It's about $2 per play if I recall right.
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| Game stall |
The Animal Farm within was where the littlest and I spent most time on, while the older kids went on the adventurous rides that he can't get on due to height limit. It was fun! I mean anything with animals and feeding animals delight! There were the lory birds, goats, sheep, rabbits, pigs and small dog room. Food is at an additional cost of less than $1 per portion. An additional entrance fee is required to enter the dog's room. We paid about $4 per pax to enter. The kids love dogs!
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| Feeding lory bird |
We didn't manage to complete visiting the attractions, or get on all the rides due to time. And we spent too much time during lunch, the crowd was huge and service was slow at the KFC within.
The Hollywood action show and colours of the world parade happen only during the weekend. We caught the action show, but not the parade. Too much fun, too little time! Was a Sunday we visited, and was not too crowded. Rides wait were between 10 to 30 minutes, while some rides do not have queue at all. There's also a water fun zone within, so bring your gear along if you intend to bask under sun and water.
More pictures over on our Instagram
A great time of fun and visit for family! We headed back to Bangkok City on the same grab van that brought us here. They would usually offer you a return trip, at a price you both agree.
Damnoen Saduak floating market and Maeklong Railway Market
We spent a day at both the floating and railway market. Damnoen Saduak floating market is largest in Bangkok with about 1.5 hours drive from city.
This
floating market is extremely touristy owing to its popularity. I find
that it lacks some local authentic experience, but still a good visit.
The floating shops you can find are gifts, clothes, arts and food. Some
on boats and some by the river banks. The prices are much higher than on
land, but of course, it’s an opportunity to bless their livelihoods. We
spent more on food and fruits than the non-edibles.
The morning we visited was
relatively quiet. Not many shops were opened due to covid. After some
shopping from our boat, we had lunch at a ‘restaurant’ by the bank which was also house to the owners. A nice and interesting experience for us. No idea how to get there or name of the eatery, but it was where our
boatman brought us. Other boat stops included the temple and coconut plantation.
I think visiting the smaller and unpopular floating markets would make the experience more authentic. But since we did this floating market, it's a must to visit Maeklong Railway Market. It's just a 20 minutes drive away from Damnoen Saduak floating market.
More images on Instagram
It felt like our local wet market at Maeklong Railway Market. A walk through it, we see the selling of dried and fresh produce, seafood, exotic fishes and of course gifts and souvenirs for the tourist crowds. There are a couple of cafes within that you can enjoy a cuppa while waiting on the train. I must say, the visit is only exciting and fruitful if you witnessed the oncoming of train and how quick the stalls fold and unfold to make way for the train, as well as after its departure. Do plan your time well. We caught the train entry at 2:30pm and stayed around till 3.30pm to witness it's departure.
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| Train Schedule |
I kind you not, but their stalls are all laid out so close to the train tracks that you find it uncomfortable, yet it's their daily drill. The train passing by is so close that you can reach out and touch as it goes by, not recommended to do so though. With covid still lingering, many stalls were not opened. And perhaps, due to the time of visit, about 2.15pm, some stalls are already done for the day.
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| Dried produce |
And here's the most memorable part of my visit, I was tasked by the cafe owner of Punjung Cafe to hand some drinks to the train driver. In short, the train stopped by to receive the drinks from me! So cool. Drinks have the power to stop a train. Oh well, it could have been his order from the cafe.
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| Drinks for train drivers |
Shared a video on Instagram reel too.
The visit was an insightful experience and eyeopener for the kids to see the bustling commerce of these floating shops at the floating market, as well as the race of time with oncoming train and stalls folding up to make way.
Chatuchak Weekend Market
Other than shopping at commercial malls, Chatuchak is a must visit in Bangkok. It's a shopping experience that we don't get it local. Being the largest market in Asia, navigating it can be confusing. So I don't have a detailed share of this place, but we walked where feelings led us.
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