Page 1 of 13 The big “GEE” from W.A. (West Australia) student project tour Bangkok <> 1 week in June 2013 Participants 1. Cameron, student from Wesley College, Perth W.A.
Links ●
About
●
Program Summary <> detail
●
Host Team
●
Please join
●
Conclusion, best places and overview
●
Credits
●
Favourites
●
Bangkoks best tourism Icons
●
Bangkok voted worlds best city 2012, see why...
2. B.PAC (Bangkok Personal Assist Concierge) members
3. YOU : Please join our program, photos, friendship and more, see how View this doc as a webpage
ABOUT: AusWaThai is a non profit volunteer group promoting bilateral links for Community, Travel and Business This Mission: “Work experience” for Wesley college student, Perth West Australia. The project has been approved by the college; design and “Road test” a tour concept to suit a tour for a typical family group from Perth, refer tour Program details Supervisor: Exec Tours Bangkok, inbound host team: B.PAC
This Publication: ● Today: draft program invitation to f.book friends Bangkok to join ● Tomorrow: Update with actual event photos and comments
photo album in progression Slideshow by map Location Social media: Bangkok facebook groups: ● Hospitality > Tourism > Nightlife > Models > Adventure +15000 members ●
Forum ask me Contact us: 1. This Project <> 2. facebook BPAC <> Aus: Phill > Thai: Arwee
Sponsors:
Aussie Reward tours Bangkok
Page 2 of 13 Program:
Join in for social and photos, summary schedule below, followed by detailed 02/06 Sunday night arrival Monday: ● Induction / Orientation base of Sukhumvit BTS Asoke ● Evening 3 rooftop venues Tuesday: ● Community / Charity event visit the kids in Khlong Toei join in for morning tea / lunch play with the kids in the (supervised) ages: 2 to 6 Donate: bring your old clothes to donate or your time and smiles or money up to ● Evening: Explore old city Rattanakosin Palace, Wat Arun and more Wednesday: ● Bike ride and canal tour in around Chinatown no hills lots of thrills ● Evening: 6pm Sundowner AustCham ● later: “Fright Night” at Mansion7 haunted hotel Thursday ● Ancient City Muang Boran 30km from Bangkok, see all of Thailand in ● 6hrs 100 + Icons ● Evening: Asiatique on the River shopping dinner Friday: Shopping / close down and say good bye Join in: Please do …. “Longdo” is a Thai word for “please try” Apart from the nominated venues we will visit Restaurants and foot massage, let us know if you can make it to events / places NB: some events require bookings so please let Arwee know ● prior to 03/06: email: arwee1Photo@gmail.com ● after 03/06: call us in Bangkok ○ Arwee: +66 85990071 <> Phill: +66 816322042 Contact us: facebook BPAC <> Aus: Phill > Thai: Arwee
post tour ask us questions in forum Detailed schedule below page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
you
Page 3 of 13 Tour Schedule Collage of day or event
Comments
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s
Sunday Arrival Flight Aus (WA) to Thailand (Bangkok) 6hr.45mins Get into the culture of Thai Smiles with Thai Airways link: Thai airways flight schedule Australia
VIP inbound / outbound transport option .. so cheap photo album in progression Slideshow by Location
Transfer from Airport: Taxi or Skytrain Our base location Suk Soi 19 Bangkoks best Beat See why...
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s photo album in progression Slideshow by Location
"Soi 19 Bis Directory" in the newsstand section home for our family Best Comfort accommodation Residental hotel 1 to 2 bedroom apartments We used a 2 brm about aud$75 per night Venue: 4star, Intensity: L, Price: L, Value for money: 9.5
approx 100Hotels within 500mtrs of BTS Asoke from 2 to 5 star Roaming report Cam...... says... ● Long flight but excited to be in Bangkok, easy transfer and checkin ● wandered out for a midnight snack and drink in open air food market nearby the hotel before crashing
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 4 of 13
Collage of day or event
Comments Monday: Induction / Orientation
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s photo album in progression Slideshow by Location
Orientation Asoke area brief introduction to why this is the Bangkoks best beat purchase local Thai phone numbers Terminal21 shopping Plaza it’s a premiere tourist attraction because of their design and theme.Venue: 5star, Intensity: L, Price: M, Value for money: 9.5
Benjakiti Park and Ratchada Lake The park is lovely, large lake in the centre and walk path around. best to be there at 6pm to see everyone stand still for the national anthem. You can hire bikes or water bikes and at one end is a fantastic caf’e and convention centre. Venue: 5star, Intensity: L, Price: NA, Value for money: 9.5 Lunch at Retro caf’e at Queens Sirikit Convention Centre International buffet lunch for 500bt .. crazy After lunch
Jim Thompson House rated in most popular tour, location Siam access via BTS (skytrain) or canal. Excellent cafe and the 20min tour is very interesting and informative Venue: 4star, Intensity: L, Price: L, Value for money: 10 MBK shopping centre the poplular peoples choice Tonight we’ll need a foot massage, Suk Soi 19 Massage shops are open until 1am... ahhhhhh!
Roaming report Cam...... says... ● Humid made it hard to sleep, sorted local sim cards in morning for cheap calls and internet ● Hot and sweaty wandering around the old village (may take some time to acclimatize) ● Contrasting view from modern hustle around soi 19 thru old age village and open park/lake ● Filling buffet lunch $15 all you can eat and no crowds ● Jump onto a dodgy looking canal boat ride lots of fun, cheap and fast bypassing all that road ● ● ● ● ●
traffic Jim Thompsons house an amazing experience full of artwork and an interesting story Skybar gave an awesome view of Bangkok the city stretches to the horizon Checkinn99 had a great range of tasty enjoyable food even knew most of the music Fortune told by the side of the road believe what you want – all I heard was lots of money for me Big exhausting day trying to adapt to Bangkok time – nothing opens till 10am and stays open very late, the place is for night owls page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 5 of 13
Collage of day or event
comments Tuesday: Community / Charity 10.30am location: Khlong Toei Foundation slum care child centre ● visit the kids ● inspect our charity project ● sponsor morning tea / lunch Please join in for social and photos
rest period
Afternoon Adventure Tour zone: Rattanakosin old city Local canal ride Saensaep Canal ride to Bang Lamphu This is local culture. The canal is not styled for tourism so it’s grass roots and good fun as long as you have a guide.
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s photo album in progression Slideshow by Location
Venue: 2star, Intensity: M, Price: L, Value for money: 9
● ● ●
Grand palace Wat Pho Wat Arun
Please join in for social and photos
Night markets Khaosaan Road ● crazy mix of local and expat for night makets, bars and restaurants Roaming report Cam...... says... ● Foundation slum child care centre kids excited to play with forang, kids taught good hygiene and eating habits we donated some clothing and paid for kids lunch ● Catching the local shuttle bus was a great little tour in itself ● Almost got scammed but laughed it off as we toured the grand palace which is truly grand with giant temples covered in gold leaf sight worth visiting ● in need of a bit of maintenance as I kept finding bits of temple loose ● check you sunset times and cloud cover as we missed the sunset from the Arun residence looking over the jaophroya river and wat akun. Waiting for the sunset we then missed seeing the giant sleeping budda which closed early (apparently needed a sleep) but the surrounding temples look impressive in the twilight conditions. ● Khaosan road night markets picked up some ID and discovered we had an undercover international bodyguard amongst us. Copy whatever you want. All ages and nationalities give the place a buzz. page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 6 of 13 Collage of day or event
comments Wednesday: Culture and Fright Night
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s photo album in progression Slideshow by Location
Co van Kessel Bush Bike Tour option for Push bike and/or Canal Street level, close to the action: 3 to 5hrs Venue: 3star, Intensity: M, Price: L, Value for money: 8.5 AustCham Sundowner 6pm (Sathon) All Commonwealth chambers meet for a sundowner maybe 250 guests
Checkinn99 Cabaret near the corner of Suk Soi 5 If time permits we will visit our great friends the M.O.T.H. (Music from the Heart) BAND then a brief walk to one of favourite fortune tellers, Khun Vee she is scary good
Roaming report Cam...... says... ● Scouted terminal 21 really cool clothing wanted to buy all but cash was lacking. ● Easy 5 hour pushbike tour fascinating back door insight into Chinatown and canal living, don’t forget to look into open doors and take lots of photos on the go. Chinatown markets very busy and lively easy to get lost in the crowd, canal boat ride down the klongs was a highlight away from usual tourist places, deserves the title ‘Venice of the East’. ● Mansion 7 walk thru in groups of 4 in single file, but not for long as no one wants to be in front or behind was a laugh for some but a scream for others good time
The inbound host offer “Arrival packs” such as local currency, Phones, sim cards for calls or the Net The local phone sim and web access saves a lot of money and lets you keep in touch page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 7 of 13
Collage of day or event
comments
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s photo album in progression Slideshow by Location
Thursday: Culture and comforts Ancient City Muang Boran ● 30kms from Siam centre ● 300 acres / flat surface, more than 100 Icon monuments of Thailand ● Tour on Pushbike / golf kart / open tram ● A visit to the Ancient City is comparable to a Thailand round journey within a day. Please join in for social and photos
Includes miniature floating markets and restaurant over lake. Photos galore !!! Duration: 6hrs from 9am BTS Asoke
Program for dinner and shopping Evening Asiatique The Riverfront ● newest riverside markets. ● modern, diverse, trendy, culture ● new home of famous “Calypso” ladyboy show Please join in for social and photos
Roaming report Cam...... says... ● another day biking around ancient city great opportunity to photograph icons, set out in shape of Thailand and icons in geological locations ● floating market setting for lunch relaxing, try out the boot camp training facilities and don’t forget sunscreen for the day ● asiatique markets another great eating place with lots of tourist type markets easy place to spend the night, ensure you que correctly
Local hosts means is good company, a friend with local knowledge and saving on time and money
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 8 of 13 Collage of day or event
comments
Photo collage to be added with link to Photos and venue/s photo album in progression
Friday:
Shopping zones Bangkok
Slideshow by Location
MBK Terminal21 Pratunam
Free time
The Aussie Pub n BBQ The Aussie Icon of Bangkok, located in Sukhumvit Soi 11 which has become the premiere nightlife Soi of Bangkok This week was their 3rd birthday party we we celebrated with them. Venue: 4.5star, Intensity: L, Price: M, Value for money: 9
Roaming report Cam...... says... ● 6 hours shopping a drain in one day, best to have a list and keep a focus on things you want otherwise you get easily distracted spending time looking at everything else ● Rejuvenating massage but be warned that killer little black stick probes some very sensitive places on your foot, can always say no stick or enjoy the experience
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 9 of 13
Collage of day or event
comments Flight to Perth WA Thai airways (TG) link: TG flights Aus to Thailand Thai airways plane/flight
Bangkok PAC Personal Assist Concierge “Get the most use a Host” local people enthusiastic to serve you
The host team branded under several names ●
Bangkok APAC (A Personal Assist Concierge)
●
BPAC Bangkok Personal Assist Concierge
●
Lets go Siam
view member profiles @ Team APAC
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 10 of 13 Conclusion / Related links Credits <> Photos <> Favourites <> The people <> The Places <> The Food <> Knowledge base <> why Bangkok <> Costs
Roaming report Cam...... says... General observations ● ● ● ● ●
Hotel – perfectly adequate considering little time you spend in your room (although aircond was pretty noisy) breakfast and bottled water a bonus for the price, cooked breaky a bit monotonous missing a cereal option Flights – night flying does not suit you have plans for the next day as it’s hard to get enough sleep on the plane Favourites – shopping (getting into spirit of haggling) and ancient city, really everything was worthwhile thai people – always seem happy, kind and respectful experiences – with limited time preplanning and having a local on hand is essential in the success of tour maintaining a schedule and focus on task vital or look back with regret on wasted time exhausting but rewarding at the same time be flexible and react to any changing conditions
Best Tips take a motorbike to beat sitting in daytime traffic, hang on and keep knees in tight and feet off the ground, these guys do it all day everyday ensure taxi use meters (or take the next one) free or cheap taxi/tuktuk tours will lead you to fraudulent shop scams language biggest barrier never sure what you are going to get even when using assistants take advantage of any shopping as time is limited, best if you have a list to focus on Credits We use and recommend B.PAC / APAC (Bangkok Personal Assistant Concierge), their motto is “Get the most use a Host”,. it’s a low cost option to use local hosts which saves time, money and adds value to the adventure. Photos: to be added during / after the program Public album in progression Slideshow by Location They will be used to update our knowledge base to share in facebook groups and public database Disclaimer: tour guest photos are uploaded into “Private” web albums. some are shared into BPAC’s public albums. Favourities too many to mention but here’s a few The people It’s the people you meet that makes the memories The places Bangkok is a big city (voted best city in the world 2012) very diverse, see the best on 1 page. The food Thailand leads the world in hospitality culture and food Tastes Bangkok is a world wonder Knowledge base Bangkok’s best Icons see all on 1 page Key websites www.thaibis.com/bangkok use the search box to select by any title. Why Bangkok ? voted Worlds best city for 2012 photo and link to stats
What does Bangkok offer? easy see our ideas at “what would I do”, if that doesn’t do it for you then please help us... email us @ impressmebkk@austhai.biz with your ideas, we really appreciate new ideas. What’s it cost sample tour prices <> Budget debate: how to save BIG $$$
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 11 of 13 Favourites to be detailed after the tour … here’s a few from 2012 tour (2 girls from Perth W.A.) Sunday stroll in a big City In the Western zone of “Sukhumvit” you can enjoy so much in a big city, it’s just like home transfer on the world’s efficient skytrain to world premiere shopping complex at Terminal21 a short walk to see a local village. It’s a small stretch about 500mtrs of old Thai houses, it’s a time capsule. We’re sworn to secrecy to protect the location and privacy of the residence.. Continue around the corner to a beautiful park and lake nested by the convention centre where you’ll can enjoy the biggest and best buffet lunch at the smallest of price. Then settled back and watch the transformation of the evening city skyline across the lake
Mansion 7 Haunted Hotel So much fun it shouldn’t be allowed a short ride on the subway, an underground rail system that has no graffiti, no violence.. what the .. in the location of Huai Khwang (suburbia) you’ll find a place called “Mansion 7” it’s not as well known to the tourists as it should, it is no where near as busy as it deserves, but don’t tell everyone. It’s not altogether spooky on entry as it need be so do wonder in and do try to be bold and buy and ticket and go in and then.... haa haa enjoy and when you come out wowza, the cocktail bar next door is just the place to arrest the pace of your heart
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 12 of 13
The people to be detailed after the tour Some of the beauty smiling people we meet in Bangkok will have a special mention we hope it will be you .. Please join
The Food As the most famous tourist and business centre, Bangkok is full of restaurants of every style of food: Thai, Chinese, Japanese, European, Indian, Arabian, etc. link to Thailand food ever heard the saying …. The food always tastes nicer with a smile? try it with anything
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion
Page 13 of 13
Bangkok’s Best tour Icons and Zones The most popular Family <> Shopping <> Icons <> Nightlife all on 1 page see more Warning... If the links go to our “tour leader database” (designed for the rocket scientist) so it might be a too “full on” try Bangkok Tourism made easy Novice to Advanced, which offers multiple choice to suit your style If your style is not displayed .. then your and “Individual” and kinda special Please tell us what you’d like to see, because we care, and we try
Bangkok awarded Worlds Best city 2012
Travel + Leisure Magazine has released its 2012
“World’s Best” list, with Bangkok voted as the top city in the world, followed by Chiang Mai, in the annual poll voted on by the American luxury travel magazine’s readers.
Voters don't lie! Bangkok named 'World's Best City by Travel + Leisure magazine
see the results
page up / down <> back to start <> conclusion