Temple Hopping in Ayutthaya, Thailand (26 Photos)

temple-ayutthaya-thailand

We spent a day  trip in Ayutthaya to explore some of its temples and see what it has to offer. This is a province of Thailand which was once the capital of Thailand and is located north of Bangkok. It took about 2 hours travel time from Bangkok to Ayutthaya (including traffic). As we brought … Read more

My Elephant Nature Park Experience by Save Elephant Foundation

During my last week in Thailand, I visited the Elephant Nature Park by Save Elephant Foundation which is located in Chiang Mai. It was a day of awareness as I learned about the plight of these gentle giants and how Lek, the founder of Save Elephant Foundation, is pushing the cause to stop the abuse … Read more

Backpacking Southeast Asia for 9 Months

I resigned from my corporate job last January 2012 because I wanted to go on a long-term travel adventure. I was able to accomplish it by backpacking for nine months in seven countries in Southeast Asia. Vietnam-Cambodia-Thailand-Indonesia-Singapore-Malaysia-Philippines I haven’t exhausted all the places in Southeast Asia which I could’ve done simply by hopping on a … Read more

The Cooking School in Chiang Mai Experience

I have quite a number of reasons why I love Chiang Mai. One of the reasons, perhaps the most important, is the food. Thai food is good. I don’t need to convince anybody of that. And it is outrageously inexpensive, too! So I thought, what better way to celebrate this spectacular reason than with signing … Read more

A Day at Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand

Today, I fed and bathed elephants that were rescued from abuse and neglect. I visited the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai and spent a day with these gentle giants. It was a beautiful experience to be with them up close.

Elephant Nature Park Day Trip by Save Elephant Foundation
Chiang Mai, Thailand
October 24, 2012

save elephant organization
with female elephant Jampeng

elephant save elephant org
after taking a bath, they covered themselves with mud for protection (from the sun and from insect bites)

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First Impressions of Chiang Mai, Thailand

I travelled from Bangkok to Chiang Mai on a Thursday night and the ride took 11 hours by bus. It wasn’t a grueling transport. I just had to deal with a couple of pesky female backpackers sitting on the back who seemed high or drunk. They kept talking to my seatmate (their friend) about how crazy the party was the other night. Their voices were so loud that everybody could hear them boisterously laughing as if they owned the bus.

Bangkok to Chiang Mai – 500 Baht (you can find cheaper tickets if you search enough)

bus chiang mai
backpackers, from Bangkok to Chiang Mai

In the middle of the night, they asked one of the bus staff to turn the air conditioning off. The temperature was already unbearable and they didn’t have any jackets/blankets on, but the staff didn’t do anything. Curses flew everywhere which practically disturbed a lot of people. Funny how they previously laughed at their friend for bringing a hoodie in Southeast Asia, but they had to suffer during that cold bus ride that night.

Anyway, the trip ended early in the morning and I arrived in Chiang Mai with arms open.

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A monk, eating from his bowl, early in the morning.

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Digital Nomad Life: One Month Plus in Bangkok, Thailand

For a month and a half, I stayed in Bangkok, Thailand. I flew in from Singapore and arrived in in this urban city with a 30-day visa stamped on my passport, I decided to stay here longer instead of going back to Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Here’s a high-level overview of what to expect about life in Bangkok as a digital nomad.
Note: Expenses mentioned are based on my experiences. Prices may vary depending on your level of comfort.

night life bangkok
Khao San Road, Bangkok

Accommodation

We had a friend who was very generous to share her space for us to stay. So we grabbed the opportunity since we didn’t have much time to scour through other places in the city. If we searched hard enough, we could possibly find good deals in other places in Bangkok. But we didn’t because we wanted to save money and spend more on other important things such as food.

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apartment in Bangkok

This meant that the hassle of searching for a place to stay was no longer a problem. My friend’s apartment costs about 5000 baht (160 USD) per month.

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A Relaxing Break after Backpacking

I’ve been carrying two bags with me that amounts to almost 20 kilos, and I’m lucky enough that I’m able to hand-carry them inside the aircraft. I don’t have to pay for luggage fees every time. The trick is not to look like you’re having a hard time with your bags and I’ve somehow perfected the act of being innocent so that the check-in counters wouldn’t mind me carrying another bag on the plane.

carry backpack
Changi Airport, Singapore

Anyway…

When I arrived in my room inside a cheap hostel in Bangkok, I suddenly felt my shoulders hurt. I took a break and tried to shrug it off. However, when I went out for a walk and brought my backpack, I could still feel pain.

Maybe it was the bad posture when I slept at the airport (to save on costs) or maybe my shoulders have grown weary because of how many hours of carrying bags in transit.

airport sleeping
Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok
Slept on this bench for more than 8 hours

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Handmade Postcards Project for a Cause

I met with my friend, Den of TutuOnTheRun.com, the other day in Bangkok. I bought a few postcards from her volunteering project which was one of her assignments in VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas).

VSO is an international development charity that works through experienced volunteers living and working as equals alongside local partners. It is the largest independent (non-governmental) volunteer-sending organization in the world. – VSO | Wikipedia

vso bangkok
Volunteer and discover the world.

She applied for the organization back in 2002 but she was denied application since she was told she needed more professional experience. Ten years later and after acquiring experience as a teacher, she’s finally going to make this pending dream into a realization.

Although Bangkok has become her comfort zone for over a year, she’ll move on with her adventures for a greater cause.

bangkok art fair
Spreading the news at an art fair in Bangkok’s Model Coffee.

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Six Months on the Road

I was doing my daily routine of going online to work when it hit me. I’ve been on the road for six months. Six months! I quit my job in January and I’ve travelled to different places ever since.

Transit

Here’s a list of places I’ve been to in the past six months. Some I stayed for a few days, most I stayed longer. Duration of my stay indicated are just rough estimates.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – 2 days
Mui Ne, Vietnam – 2 days
Siem Reap, Cambodia – 1 month
Bangkok, Thailand – 2 weeks
Singapore City, Singapore – 6 days
Cebu, Philippines – 2 weeks
Boracay, Philippines – 5 days
Cebu, Philippines – 5 days
Manila, Philippines – 1 week
Cebu, Philippines – 2 weeks
Manila, Philippines – 3 days
Siem Reap, Cambodia – 1 week
Singapore City, Singapore – 4 days
Bangkok, Thailand – 1.5 months
Bali, Indonesia – 1 week
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – 2 days
Dungun, Malaysia – running on my 1st month

Looking back, it seems that I’ve been to so many places in the last half of the year. It’s not that I can’t go to these places if I kept my previous job working in a contact center. Heck, I travelled to 4 countries and 8 local destinations within 8 months and still kept my full-time job. I’ve also had six consecutive trips in six weekends while juggling my part-time projects online. It just came to a point that I wanted more than the weekend trips.

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5 Things I Love About the Terminal 21 Mall in Bangkok

When I stayed in Bangkok, Thailand for more than a month, aside from coffee shops, one of the places I frequently visited was the Terminal 21 mall.

I was introduced to this shopping and dining center by a fellow travel blogger and this became one of my favorite hangout places. For someone like me who’s constantly on the lookout for good internet connection to work on my online jobs, I always need a conducive place to do my tasks. Bangkok’s Terminal 21 was able to give me what this digital nomad’s lifestyle needs.

terminal 21 asok
Terminal21

To give you some highlights, here are five reasons why I love the Terminal 21 mall in Bangkok, Thailand:

1. Themed Floors

Bangkok’s Terminal 21’s floors have different themes. These themes are patterned to famous terminals around the world. They are inspired by the cities of Tokyo, London, Istanbul, etc. When I first visited the mall, I couldn’t help but admire the way they built the complex to give a unique experience every floor.

terminal 21 theme
Themed floors

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Staying in Urban Bangkok

It’s funny because even if I stayed in Bangkok, Thailand for more than a month, I didn’t really go to as many places as possible. In fact, I was just stuck in the city, frequenting coffee shops to open my laptop and work. I was focused on doing my online jobs so I could prepare for better things in the future.

However, one thing I looked forward to everyday was the food. I was always happy with the choices that were available to me. According to my friend who now lives there, best local food are found on the streets. Since they’re found on the streets, it’s expected that the costs are also budget-friendly. This is great because I don’t really eat as often as I can but when I do, I have so many options to choose from.

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Street Food, Bangkok

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Leaving Bangkok

Two days. I have two more days before I travel to another destination, Indonesia. I haven’t figured what I’m going to do there. For sure, I want to hit the beach and relax!

Bangkok MRT

It’s funny because I never got to explore other areas of Bangkok when I’ve been here for more than a month already. Even the usual places such as the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha), the Floating Market, etc. I haven’t checked them out. I can run so many excuses like being so busy with work and all my other online commitments but that won’t do me any good. Still, these places haven’t enticed me as much and I’ll visit them some other time.

Terminal 21 Bangkok
Terminal 21 – being a mallrat

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Visa Run in Aranyaprathet-Poipet Border, New Policy?

The other day, my passport visa stamp was going to expire so I needed to go to the Aranyaprathet-Poipet border in order to re-enter Thailand. Only, I was surprised by a policy shared to me at the immigration counter in Cambodia. They asked for 200 Baht since I was going to leave the country (Cambodia) on the same day.

I have a flight next week so the most logical thing to do was have a visa run to refresh the number of days for me to stay in Bangkok.

passport cambodia
passport stamps

From Hua Lamphong station, I hopped on the same ordinary train since this was the cheapest option available. I only paid 48 baht to get to the Aranyaprathet border. I didn’t sleep the night before so the 6-hour ride went by quickly. This is usually one of my techniques whenever I hop on long bus or train rides which makes 12 or 18-hour travels a breeze. Of course, just make sure your belongings are secure. I couldn’t tell how many passengers sat beside me cause whenever I’d open my eyes, I had a different seatmate every time. But then, I’d just doze off again because of not having enough rest the previous night.

train to aranyaprathet
train ride from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet – 48 Baht for 6 hours

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