biz n buzz

Shopping around the metropolitan can be tiresome if you don’t know where to go.  I dropped by Siam Square last Sunday to find some sassy blouse for next Saturday’s event.  Prom, wedding and party dresses are all around that area– whether for sale or for rent.  Five years ago, I had my wedding invitation done too in that area.  The name of the shop was Forever.  I couldn’t find that shop anymore as I’m suppose to recommend it to my friend, it might be located in another alley.

The famous Hard Rock Cafe is also in that area.  Currently the small park where teenagers use to hangout is under renovation.  You could easily spot that place as it has a big TV screen on the building right infront of it.  Travelling Bangkok is never complete if you’ve never roamed Siam junction.

Here is a travel buzz for people who are planning to go to Nevada. Glitter and glamour at the entertainment capital of the world should never be missed by any tourist going to this beautiful state. Las Vegas locals review Vegas with informative tips on how to enjoy your stay and never miss any opportunity. Get your doubts and queries be answered by just reading myrealvegas.com.

A friend of mine is coming over for a couple of nights stay in Bangkok to avail her free mileage. We had exchanged personal messages to find out where could they possibly stay on their short vacation. So I listed out four choices for her to stay. The easiest and most accessible hotels within the heart of the city.
1. Arnoma Hotel is 3-4 star I guess
2. Centara Grand at Central World
3. InterContinental Hotel
4. Erawan Hotel -5 star

It is convenient to book Bangkok Hotels online or anywhere else in US like New York Hotels or in Europe like Brussels Hotel.  Regarding transportation, the four hotels here that I have mentioned are either connected to the BTS Skytrain or only 5 minutes walking distance.

Here’s the tentative itinerary that I made for them.

• 1st day: (Friday)

Early morning arrival- ride a taxi going to the hotel. From Suvarnabhumi (su-wa-na-phum) Airport you can take a metered taxi on the departure area (top floor of airport). Metered taxi will cost you 400-600 Baht to Chidlom. If you take airport limousine it costs around 1,500 - 1,800 Baht.

RoE (rate of exchange) - as of  July 2008 is 1.00 USD= 33.7331THB /Thai baht

7:00 am- 8:00 Buffet breakfast
8:00 am -9:00 Prepare for Shopping walk from Arnoma to Central Chidlom using skywalk
9:00 am- 09:30 Roam around Gaysorn Plaza (there Bar Italia in the groundfloor has yummy green tea cake and more)
9:30 am- 10:30 Shopping at Central Chidlom (tea break at Angelina, 3rd floor)
detour using skywalk (take pictures of Erawan Shrine), walk straight going to Central World
10:30 am- 11:30 shopping at Central World Plaza (there’s Naraya and Jim Thompson on the 1st floor for pasalubong of Thai handmade products and Thai Silk)
11:30 am- 12:00 lunch at Central World Plaza
1:00 pm- 3:00 Siam Paragon shop or go to Ocean World on the ground floor
3:00 pm- 3:30 go back to Hotel
4:00 pm- 4:30 take picture of unique church in Holy Redeemer Church (Ruamrudee street, soi 5, Ploenchit station)
4:30 pm- 5:30 adventure in red light district in Silom Road also known as Patpong (or go straight to Baiyoke Tower 2)
5:30 pm- 5:45 travel by skytrain from Silom to Siam interchange (traffic time, better take skytrain than taxi)
5:45 pm- 9:00 sight seeing of the whole Bangkok in revolving tower of Baiyoke, 67th? floor then dinner at 66th? floor overlooking the beautiful cityscape and night sky.
9:00 pm-9:10 walk back to hotel (street vendors are all around this area) tell me if you want to buy electronic gadgets, it is around this area too but closes at 9:00. The name is Panthip Mall.

• 2nd day (Saturday)- 9:00 am- 4:00pm;

City Tour -you can approach the hotel counter for this. They might have 2-3 package to choose from. Or you can go to Chatuchak Weekend market (located in Mo Chit Station) in the morning and visit the Grand Palace in the afternoon then go back to the hotel.

4:00 pm- 5:00 pm -buy grocery/Thai foods at Big C
5:00 pm-6:00 pm; Dinner- within Chidlom area or side street in front Arnoma Hotel beside the small bridge. (depending on the weather)
6:00 pm- 6:45 pm- travel by skytrain,Chidlom to Asoke Station. Interchange in Asoke subway train going to Thailand Cultural Centre MRT station.
7:00 pm- 8:30 pm- watch Thailand Cultural show in Siam Niramit
8:30 pm-9:00 pm- back to hotel for packing of luggage
10:30pm- 11:30 Airport (check in 2 hrs before departure)

The only thing that is constant in this world is change? As the popular song from Jose Mari Chan goes..

“We’re on the road
We move from place to place
And oftentimes when I’m about to call it home
We’d have to move along
Life is a constant change… “

Moving from one place to another is sometimes unavoidable. Job change is the usual reason as individuals are forced to move to another place due to job changes or job requirements. My sister a couple of years ago moved to Finland with her whole family as her husband transferred work there. They have to pack a month or so prior to the trip. When they arrive there their thing haven’t reached there yet and it took like a month of waiting. They also have difficulty adjusting to the new situation especially for the kids. Moving entails physical and emotional adjustments due to the environment change. Language barrier, cultural difference, weather change, and more. If one of those could be addressed before hand then there would be little need for adjustment.

In the US moving from one state to the other would not be difficult. This would be in terms of moving furniture, things, goods, and whatever personal effects. In Boston area for example there is Movers Boston which could be called upon to handle all your belongings. Mostly these moving service providers have a properly trained manpower with the latest equipments for moving. Thus, one will get the best moving and storage experience ever as compared to a self-done transfer. Getting the professionals help in moving from place to place would make a big difference.

Theme parks are everywhere in Thailand.  One of my favorite destination is Safari World. Bangkok to Minburi by metered taxi will cost you approximately 200 Baht for one way. It is advisable that you take the ticket for the shows in travel agencies near you or around the city.  Inside Safari it will cost you 750 Baht for Adults whereas in travel agencies it is worth 350 Baht only.  So much difference right? That’s because 750 is for foreigner rate and 350 is Thai rate. But then once you’re in Safari you can’t insist for the discounted price if they hear you speaking in English.

An intimate and unforgettable travel experience back in the culture of old Siam or oldest city of Thailand. Perfect for honeymoon, sight seeing or if you’re planning for a unique marriage proposal.  A great idea don’t you think?

• A high-end cruiser called Manohra Dream overnight cruise will bring you to the historic sights in Ayuttaya and Chao Phraya river. It is a 3 days and 2 nights adventure. Price range is at 110,000 to 180,000 good for 2 to 4 persons only.

• Manohra Song overnight cruise have single cabin, double cabin and charter boat accommodation. Prices ranges from 41,000; 51,000; and 200,000 respectively per reservation. This is good for 2 to 8 person sleeping capacity.

*
Related site for Manohra cruise adventures.

Here’s a new buzz for everybody specially for the globe trotters. Traveling is one great way of experiencing different culture and a chance to appreciate the beauty of nature. In line with this, the nominations for new 7 Wonders of Nature of the world is being finalized at present. Last July 2007 the winners for the New 7 wonders of the world was announced and the places that grabbed the new title were (in alphabetical order):
1. Chichen Itza - Mexico, El Castillo
2. Christ the Redeemer - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
3. Colosseum - Rome, Italy
4. Great Wall of China - China
5. Machu Picchu - Cuzco, Perú
6. Petra - Jordan
7. Taj Mahal - Agra, India

Me, being a Filipino I support top two nominees from the Philippines: 1) Tubbataha Reef and 2) Chocolate hills. The rest I opted for other natural spots in 5 different continents like North America, Europe, Africa, Oceania, and South America. Only the top 21 nominees among the top 77 candidates will be short-listed.

You can visit www.new7wonders.com and find out what are the magnificent and breathtaking sites that you want to vote. Help support the Tubbataha Reef and Chocolate hills! Mayon Volcano is also nominated. Each voter can cast 7 votes, so there’s plenty of beautiful places to choose from.

This campaign will surely pave the way to the influx of tourist in every single country that was mentioned in the site. A great way to promote awareness of the preservation of environment to perhaps lessen the damage of global warming.

One of my multiply buddy came over here in Thailand for a short leisure trip. I was blessed to have met her and her immediate family yesterday. Things went out fine even for a short notice. God is really good to have arranged our schedules ahead of us. I have no idea where to bring them except in Siam Niramit. Me and hubby have been there once courtesy of Loxinfo and we really enjoyed it alot.

We fetched J, her bro and dad at Baiyoke Hotel and soon headed to the side street resto near Central World Plaza to eat dinner. I’m glad they seem to be an outgoing type of people. Always ready for an adventure. Next we took the Skytrain and interchanged in Asoke and took subway going to Thailand Cultural Center station. Actually it was not our main destination. It just so happened that Siam Niramit and Thailand Cultural Center were few blocks away.

The show started at 20:00 hours and we arrived just in time for other guests to have settled down. Tickets were normally sold at 1,500 Baht excluding buffet meal for an additional of 290 Baht. The catch is we only got the ticket for an agent price, triple lesser than the original. Big saving, ayt?

It was fun watching Thai cultural show the second time around. It was a bit significant for us being the last people to arrive– we were also the last people to come out of the venue.