TRIP!!

I'm excited too!!! just got back from penang a few hours ago.. HAHA..

ANYWAY!! TRIP!!!

things we MUST do when at trip

1. BUY FAKE BIRKENSTOCKS in chatuchak market..my aunt just got back and bought 5 pairs! two for herself, one each for my mom, my sis and me.. so i have 2 pairs now..can always have more..apparently only 199baht each.. HAHA..which is like RM20 which is like.. less than 10 sing.. haha.. AND my aunt got the address..she says the market is really cool but huge...one day also cannot walk finish.. so saturday morning there please?

2. in Pattaya.. i SO DON'T CARE.. we are all PLEATING OUR HAIR!!! with the small beads one.. u know? so too bad the two fat guys just gotta wait for us while we do our hair.. so exciting..haha.. gotta find my swimming suit..which reminds me.. haha.. if not will bring bikini!! haha.. but yucks.. so fat.. haha..

3. I WANT ELEPHANT!! very fun! the last time i went to phuket really fun! but smellyla.. ahahahhha...

4. er.. van or phoebe's house never mindla... haha.. phoebe and van decide and tell us.. HAHAHA..

will post up pictures of my penang trip soon.. not a lot la though..cuz we mostly ate.. HAHA..

can't wait to see you all soon!!! so exciting!!! tmr shall go change money.. oh yeah tina btw.. please help me check my mail before you come ya? my pr.. so confusing..student pass and pr at the same time.. and my m1 cheque! dumb.. and tina! when are you checking into to ke? i think i'm only going 28th.. haha.. and all the medical checkup for nus still haven't done also.. bah.. haha.. later onlyla.. HAHA..

only 1 week left before the trip!!!

for Yoga and Cil.. haha..
omg omg i'm so excited.. oh btw i'm back in singapore.. there's nothing much to do so I end up reading pattaya & bangkok tourism websites... haha.. anyway..

Yoga booked the Pattaya hotel, it's Sabai Lodge (right opposite sabai inn, but looks nicer.. haha..). It's US$168 in total, so everyone will have to pay US$28 (Yoga correct me if i'm wrong, or if you want to pay for the entire thing we dont mind.. hehe..)

hmm below is just the list of some things that we can do/see in pattaya:
1. the Nong Nooch tropical garden. It's a HUGE garden (at least from the map looks really huge) with lots of plants, and we can catch Thai cultural performances and Elephant performances there. It's around 15 minutes (or maybe slightly longer) away from Pattaya. A bit expensive though (not sure about the price, but the discounted price for weekend is B650, so weekdays shd be more). http://www.nongnoochtropicalgarden.com/en/aboutUs.asp

2. Ripley's Believe It Or Not. Apparently other than the Ripley's museum, there is a haunted house thing, 4D moving theatre, and an infinity maze (this looks really interesting). Can just pay to the one that you want to go to. This thing is right at the centre of Pattaya and open till midnight, so I guess if we have some spare time can just go there http://www.ripleysthailand.com/believe.htm

3. Alangkarn
Large theatre showing Thai cultural show. The show looks really good. We can have buffet dinner there as well (looks expensive) But I think there's no time to go for this one if we want to go for the transvertite show. http://www.alangkarnthailand.com/main.htm

4. Million Years Stone Park and Pattaya Crocodile Farm
Another park, this one has a zoo and LOTS of crocodile. You can take picture with tiger or see a crocodile show. (ok I dunno if anyone is interested, but I'm not that into crocodile, haha). The garden has lots of stones in it (as you would've guessed from the name). Also around 15minutes drive from pattaya. http://www.thaistonepark.org/index.html

ok other the four mentioned above there are some other things (which I find not v interesting):
- Mini Siam (replica of Thai monuments, historical buildings, etc. Since we're going to see the real thing in Bangkok find this a bit pointless)
- Elephant village. Yoga says he doesnt want to see & ride elephant. haha.
- Tiger zoo.
- Underwater world (like SeaWorld I guess)
- Bottle Art Museum. Replica of world famous places in bottles.
Let me know if you are interested on any of these, so i can go find more info.

For some reason I'm now a bit paranoid about the transport in thailand. Apparently the bus to Pattaya from Bangkok airport (the cheapest option) only runs every 2 hour. ahhh will find more info about the bus.. Can take taxi but it'll cost like 4 times more than the bus...

wah doing this is so fun, I should go work in a travel agency. haha. Cya SOON!

hotels

just to let you know what's happening to our hotel bookings:

1. Pattaya (9-11 july)
I've made reservations to the sabai inn, just need to pay (the deadline is monday, i asked the person to extend). Yoga says he's going to pay tonight (if not we can kill him lol). Total price is around S$ 280, so one person will have to pay around $46.6.

2. Bangkok (11-13 july)
New Joe is full, so I guess we're going for Train Inn (according to Ome the location is better anyway). So I called the hotel up and made reservation through phone. Confirmed again with the person through email, but they dont require any deposit (this is a a bit worrying, I guess will call them again before we leave for Hanoi). Oh prices will be 1000baht/night, 3 ppl in a room. So each person pay 666.6baht.

CONFIRMED!!!

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

Here i have good news for you all. YOUR BOOKINGS ARE CONFIRMED.
anyone backing off at this point of time shall be personally executed by me lol

WE are flying 2:05pm 9 Jul from HN reaching BKK at 4pm and oh ya me and phoebe 6:25pm Bkk - Hn 13 Jul heehee we have time to shop at their oh so bloody huge airport.

and the BETTER news is, today they AirAsia suddenly have some weird Bkk promotion, so your ticket instead of being 33USD (excluding taxes) is now 13USD!! haha. so ya... including everything else it comes to around 60.5USD per person. and for me and pheebs 172USD each.

GREAT HUH?! XD 19/6 is a lucky day i say. i booked all your tickets online with my friend's credit card...cuz i went down to their office and the ticket is like 30 bucks more!!! lousy ppl...

anyway.. woohoo!! 2 more weeks! cannot wait! lol!

happee!

hotels

ok. just a comparison between the train inn and new joe

new Joe:
700 Baht, triple. aircon, hot water, private bathroom.

train inn:
900 baht for first class (private bathroom, hot water, aircon, tv)
550 baht for second class (share bathroom, aircon, tv)
450 baht for third class (share bathroom, aircon, tv)
I think first and second is double, and third class is single (I'll call them up to ask)

the train inn will be a lot more expensive, esp if you want the private shower (coz phoebe does)

The triple room will be 2 girls and 1 guy in a room.

let me know if there is anything you strictly need in the room, eg the shower, you want double room, hot water, etc. If there isnt anything I'll just decide after I call up the train inn.

and van how's the air ticket booking? hope your card is alright, haha..

halo

haha Mae Yue looks like you're having lots of fun... hehe yes yes i want to do hair!!! (that's if i get to stay in KE... ahh the stupid NUS)

hm ok so Van is in the middle of booking the Hanoi Bangkok flight. (THANKS VANNN!!!)
we're taking the 11am flight.. so yups.

oh and Mae Yue, I think Yoga and Cil coming to your house on the 4th (they didnt tell you?), and I'll be coming on 5th night.. Yea i'm going to take the Novena bus, but I totally forgot to buy ticket, so have to wait until I come back to sg to see whether there's any ticket left..

and about the hotels in bangkok and pattaya I'll call them up next week I think. yups. so see you all.

my art work!

haha.. SEE? i did my sister and her friends' hair/makeup! my sister and the other girl beside me, i did their hair. The rest they did their ownla.. but STILL.. not bad horrr.. So when I'm in NUS, Tina!! do my hair for me!! can curl.. very fun.. HAHA.. I bought the philips one can straighten one.. and can crimp! HAHA.got hair picturesla.. can see better the hair..but it's still in my camera... lazy...

anyway.. i'm so glad we're going for our trip!:D like it's on the way! tickets booked alr from kl-hanoi, and bkk back to kl for yoga and me.. and van is booking now hanoi-bkk for us... haha.. and tina settling the accomodation in bkk/pattaya!!! YAY..

cil yoga tina!!! tell me when u guys reaching here so i can fetch u all! cil/yoga will be at the LCCT at KL right? Tina you're taking Novena from Spore? So you'll all reach on the 5th right? UPDATE Me!!

MY VOTE

okay..

1. afternoon flight to bkk (actually depending on what van can book for us hanoi-bkk). van is booking for all of us for hanoi-bkk right???

2. first itinerary..

3. if everyone wants train inn then it's okay with me. 3 for pattaya please!:D

4. yup 13th july come home.. mine only got morning flightla... HAHA.. i shall go book..

my votes

ok ok i confirm my votes.

1. hotel: Train inn in Bangkok and either number 1 or 3 in Pattaya. i agree that we save on flights rather than hotel haha.

2. flight: anything's fine with me as long as flight is cheap haha. and it's 276 US dollars from Hanoi to Bangkok and return, Vietnam airlines. very ex so yeah i guess we fly air asia.

3. travel plan: i like Tina's 1st option! the one where we take the afternoon flight.

yepyep.

choose!

ok. so these are confirmed so far

1. We (maeyue yoga cil and me) are coming to Vietnam on 6th July, Air Asia, reaching at ard 9am
2. We are going to Thailand on 9 July. (need to confirm flights. Van, how's Vietnam Airlines? the rest of you, choose between the morning or afternoon air asia flights.)
3. We are not taking the tour.
4. We are going back on 13th July (everyone ok with this right? then can book ticket back from Bangkok also)

so things that need to be settled:
1. How many nights you guys want to spend in Pattaya/Bangkok respectively? look at my previous post to choose the itenarery (ok i dunno how to spell that).
2. which hotel you want???
current vote:
mae yue : new joe (bangkok) and no. 3 (pattaya)
phoebe: train inn (bangkok). Pattaya??

Bangkok:
1. http://www.shambarabangkok.com/
2.http://www.khaosanroad.com/new_joe_guesthouse/new_joe_guesthouse/rooms_prices.htm
3. http://www.khaosanroad.com/top_inn/rooms.htm
4. train inn (look at my tag)

Pattaya
1. http://www.pattayahotels.com/Hotel-reviews/Tropicana-Hotel.htm (nice hotel + rooms)
2. http://www.pattayahotels.com/Hotel-reviews/Sunshine-Hotel-&-Residences.htm (cheaper than the other 2)
3. http://www.pattayahotels.com/Hotel-reviews/Sabai-Inn-Pattaya.htm (I think this has the best location)

3. oh and flights from hanoi to bangkok. I'm more inclined to take the afternoon air asia flight, cheaper to save on flights than on hotels.

ok so you need to choose: hotels, flights and travel plan in bangkok.

to tour or not to tour.

ok. The tour thing is not bad.. hmm..

I personally don't want the tour though, haha. Coz erm when I first thought of a trip, it was supposed to be "backpacking" across a few places haha.. and I want the experience of planning my own trip and see what happens when we get there, whether we'll get lost etc. (haha ok this sounds crazy but yeah). and I think tours does not allow to fully experience the culture sometimes.. (like without taking the public transport, eating the street food etc.)
and I'm just wondering, this tour will have other people right? I mean it might be a bit strange if it is us + Vietnamese families. and will the tour guide speak in vietnamese? (haha no offence to the Vietnamese here, just a concern that I have)

then Van maybe you can check whether we can just stay in Bangkok (dun take the flight back to Hanoi) and whether they can reduce the price if we do so. oh and the available departure dates as well.

but yes I agree that the tour will make everything so much easier and from the look of it, we do have some time to wander around by ourselves.

As a comparison , this is what I am thinking of doing if we dont take the tour

1. Take the afternoon Air Asia flight to Bangkok, reach bangkok at ard 4-5 pm, take the bus to pattaya (approximately 2 hrs), then after dinner can walk around randomly at the walking street thing..
2. Morning go and do the water activities.. afternoon... (hmm will find smth to do in pattaya, haha), then night watch the transvertite show..
3. Morning leave for bangkok, afternoon can go to one of the temples/museums on the east side, and shop/go to the night market afterwards
4. Morning till afternoon look and the grand palace, national museums, the jade temple etc (it's all in one area), then evening can go watch some cultural performances if you want to, or go shopping again, or walk around somewhere.. haha..
5. morning: Chatuchak market!! haha.. then fly back home..

since the hotel i'm thinking about (for bangkok) is in the west, mode of transport to the east will be the boat (yes!) and we can take mrt/skytrain around in the east side (it's only available in this side). hmm guess will have to take taxi at night.

the option above saves on air ticket (US$30) but will have to pay more for acommodation coz spending 2 nights in pattaya (assuming we're going for a better hotel)

another option will be

1. Leave Hanoi in the morning, reach pattaya in late afternoon. walk around and go for the transvertite show at night.
2. Morning do the water activities, leave for bangkok in afternoon/late afternoon. night can go shopping or do smth else..
3. here i'm thinking we can go to ayutthaya (also near bangkok, 1.5-2hrs), but the things to see there are also temples and palaces. apparently can take a boat up the river to go there (haha i'm obsessed with boats). or if not then we can go to the zoo/chinatown/floating market/other places of interest in bangkok.
4 & 5 same as above

this option means we have slightly more time in bangkok.

hm ok so everyone VOTE!!!!!! must state your preference. and if you vote for "No Tour" you must choose hotel in Bangkok and Pattaya (refer for a few posts below, it's labelled "trip")

just vote on the tag board if you cant blog.

thailand tour

HELLO

i just checked out a few vietnam-thailand tours and the prices are actually not bad and i think we get to see a lot of things, plus we don't know how to speak thai so yeah

got this 5day4nite tour, 269 US if we fly air asia, 319 US if we fly vietnam air

(and im like translating from vietnamese to english so maybe some of the names aren't correct haha)

day1: bus picking us up at the meeting place and bringing us to the airport, fly to bangkok. got thai tour guide over there picking us up and bringing us to The Twin Tower hotel (4star) then dinner and rest.

day2: breakfast in hotel. then visit the royal golden palace and the jade temple or something. and the golden temple with the 5.5ton buddha statue. after lunch we visit the royal jewelry center. then we set off to pattaya. on the way we visit the biggest crocodile farm in the world, more than 60000 of them scary creatures, then we go to our hotel Grand Sole (3star). after that we eat dinner, and go for the Tiffany's transvestite show <3 hoho

day3: breakfast in hotel. then we take the "highspeed" boat to the reef island. then we're free to swim or do all the underwater sports and stuff. then we lunch, and then visit the cultural village of the Noong Nuch tribe, watch performances, Thai wrestling, and ELEPHANT performances! then dinner, and we're free to do whatever we want (and here i'm thinking lets go to the Walking Street with all the funny kinky bars!)

day4: breakfast in hotel. head back to bangkok. visit Safari World. apparently a car or smth will bring us sightseeing in there. we lunch in Safari world, then in the afternoon we see dolphin performances, james bond performances (???)... then we visit the biggest snake farm in thailand... then we check in our hotel The Twin Tower (4star)

day5: breakfast in hotel, free for shopping til we go to the airport and fly back to vietnam! :D



so?? sounds good huh, i mean if we go by ourselves we'd probably be eating and shopping all day hahaha :P