Day 02 - Bangkok City / 9:42 pm

Diamond City Hotel

We took a 5-8 minute walk to the nearest Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS). Along Soi Phaya Nak is a typical row of dilapidated shophouses, a rather run-down elementary school.

N1 BTS Ratchathewi Station - Sukhumvit Line

The skytrain was sardine-packed due to the peak hours. All the stations to the skytrain are elevated. The platforms are built to accommodate trains of 6 cars, but trains of only 3 cars are in operation.

The first elevated level of the stations is accessed with stairs and often escalators, and contain the ticket booths, some small kiosk-like shops and access control gates. The second level (and third at Siam Station) is again accessed with stairs and escalators and contains the platforms and rails. Siam station is unique in the way that it is the only BTS station utilizing an island platform to facilitate transfer between lines. All of the other stations are built with side platforms. Additionally, many stations are equipped with ramps and elevators which allow wheelchair-bound passengers to access the ticketing hall and platform from the street level. The distance between doors is equal throughout the train, regardless of whether they are in the same or different cars and the locations where the doors will be after the train has stopped are marked on the platform. For security and safety, security personnel are stationed at every platform and all ticketing halls.

Transferring to Silom Line at Siam BTS Interchange.

Thais are really considerate people from the way they queue up within the yellow Q-lines on the platform. No such things as crowding at the door area as everyone lines up in a single file. In fact it seems that their culture is to obediently wait for the next train in the event if they cant board the train unlike some countries.

Arrival of BTS 3 carriage train

The whole journey seems very squeakish in terms of sound like as though the tracks need some maintenance and the route seems to have many sharp turns navigating through the messy streets of Bangkok. Alighted at S6 Saphan Taksin Station, which is actually next to the famous Chao Phraya River - Fare 30Baht (S$1.20); 12 mins.

The station is connected to the adjacent Sathon pier where the all Chao Phraya Express river boat services call. Over at the pier, there was a Chao Phraya River Express Transportation Map. The rationale for this trip was to try out cruising on the public boats. The system provides fast, inexpensive transportation in traffic-congested inner Bangkok, Rattanakosin (old city) and Nonthaburi with cheap pricing of 9-32 Baht, but operates 0600-1930hrs daily only. There are several routes - local line, orange, yellow, blue line. Local stops at every stops while the respective colours make limited stops.

Travelled on Orange line, depicted by the orange flag on the long-tailed boat. We paid at the counter to head to N9 Tha Chang Pier (13Baht). Generally this ferry comes at a frequency of 7-9 mins and does not wait at the pier for passengers, otherwise it will defeat tyhe purpose of being express.

As noted before, Chao Phraya River is still as polluted as ever, murky brown & greyish water. Along the way, we passed by the Oriental Hotel (one of the classiest hotel in Thailand), Rachawongse (Chinatown), Memorial Bridge with the nearby Little India and Tha Tien with its dried seafood market and notable temples opposite.

Inside the Chao Phraya River Express. Seatings in the front, standing at the back. Driver navigating with a steering wheel in front (note the brown chair right in front), while 2 crews at the back holding flags while aligning the boat with the pier and the other being a ticket inspector.

Wat Arun Temple (วัดอรุณ) Temple of the Dawn, perhaps so named because the first light of morning is reflected off the surface of the temple with a pearly irridescence

Dhosa Kiridhorn, half elephant half demon (Yaksha), giant guarding an exit to Grand Palace

Beyond the entrance is a courtyard with a central chapel (bot) housing the Emerald Buddha. However, the Emerald Buddha is about 66cm high and sits so high above worshippers in the main temple building that the gilded shrine is more striking than the small figure it cradles.

Painters doing a touch-up job on extensive murals depicting scenes from the Ramakian.

Chakri Mahaprasad Hall, a building in a style influenced by the Italian Renaissance

Canons at the weaponry and warboats section

Sanam Luang (Royal Field) is just a patch of shadeless expanse of dying grass, ringed by flocks of pigeons, pigeon hunters, homeless people. Despite its shabby appearance, it does fulfill many festivals and ceremonies on certain days.

Sanam Luang

After walking under the merciless sun for about 20 mins, we finally arrived at the famous tourist site of Khao San, via Th Chakraphong, North of Sanam Luang. Khao San is a day & nite shopping bazzar selling all kinds of pasar-malam stuff with some places selling knock-off designer items, and even fake student IDs. It is basically a Caucasians' haven with the number of pubs springing around every corner. Firstly, we stop over at a fruit juice stall to quench our thirst (roughly 25B).

MacDonalds at Th Khao San, Banglamphu

After lunch, we flagged a cab and travelled to Hualamphong หัวลำโพง Train station. It was our 1st cab ride in Bangkok and our observations is that most drivers do not understand English; they only seem to comprehend famous tourist spots, or the place is its in Thai language. Most of the cabs are metered (but one have to remind the drivers or ASK them whether the bloody meter is on anot). As you can see, the station was built in an Italian Renaissance style, with decorated wooden roofs and stained glass windows since Year 1916.

Platform 12 of Hua Lamphong Train Station.

Now our schedules were kinda messy, Chinatown wasnt the next ideal destination to go. In the end, we decided to go to the shopping districts of Siam. We were fortunate to get a cab driver who could communicate well in English, so we got quite alot of tip-offs like whats there to see and which night market is better. MBK is probably deteriorating...there was nothing new and the items there aren't cheap either. The electronics area on the 4th storey is probably a mess...almost every stall sells handphones & accessories and it is all repeated.

Ahh...The brand-new Siam Paragon. It is just like our posh Paragon S.C. with your typical desginer goods and costly food chains.

Siam Paragon Entrance with synchronised water display

We proceeded to Central World Plaza (CWP)(formerly World Trade Centre) a short distance away. Wow...this shopping centre has really went for a huge cosmetic change internally & externally. Like all posh shopping centres, everybody's bags need to be screened by security officers before entering.

Light and water display outside CWP.

write about yourself here like how you lived through a crisis like the morrocian crisis. erps, have you studied about that before and about your test, how easy it is and how much confidence you have to pass and get all A1s for all subjects, add in your own wish here, and what you would do if target is not reached, like slash your wrist, eat many many painkiller pills at one shot and die. lol it's suicidal thoughts. stay away from that. but you need to enter a reality, everyone's doing that- it's the trend, so why not follow it. unless you want to be an odd one out. cause slashing wrist is soo common in girls school not in boys school. boys suicide, just like die gracefully from 30th storey, just look on the bright side, maybe you have lived in a lie too long and so you have found out the turth now, just think. optimist wins. you have entered into a world of reality



We know life's hard, truth is hard, lies are hard, they are all hard to accept when they have been found out, and i'm rushing history homework on the Abyissian Crisis about Italy and Abyssia going into war and that the League Of Nations cannot stop this from happening, and beacuse they are formed by means to stop war and peace-keep the countries together, they have thus failed to achieve that. I think i tend to hold a class for history instead of telling you about me, i'm basically a what subject-realted lover (humanities) and thus I am more analytical and critical about things, and likes to study about dead people, haha. lol. it's history what can you expect and also geography, it amazes me. I really like it alot, so what have you? Again to find this answer you need to enter into your own reality and reflect




it's amazing. amzing how people change the way of things, like how I used to hate outdoors in Band felt it was a complete waste of time, i've acquired to like it more, i guess people change, their thereotical means and applications in life just goes on into a new direction, and see things in another perspective, i guess- it's all in the mind. It really amazes me how these comes into action, from someone so pessimistic has changed his own view of things, and thus my friend is scoring much better, being more optimisitc and not think of his old way of suicidal thoughts, which are pretty daunting. and thus we need to see things, in another light, another perspective and another new way, to enable us to open up our minds, and make more new things, the new way it is. done with the old back with the new

i've hiatus-ed.

Day 02 - Bangkok City / 9:42 pm

Diamond City Hotel

We took a 5-8 minute walk to the nearest Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS). Along Soi Phaya Nak is a typical row of dilapidated shophouses, a rather run-down elementary school.

N1 BTS Ratchathewi Station - Sukhumvit Line

The skytrain was sardine-packed due to the peak hours. All the stations to the skytrain are elevated. The platforms are built to accommodate trains of 6 cars, but trains of only 3 cars are in operation.

The first elevated level of the stations is accessed with stairs and often escalators, and contain the ticket booths, some small kiosk-like shops and access control gates. The second level (and third at Siam Station) is again accessed with stairs and escalators and contains the platforms and rails. Siam station is unique in the way that it is the only BTS station utilizing an island platform to facilitate transfer between lines. All of the other stations are built with side platforms. Additionally, many stations are equipped with ramps and elevators which allow wheelchair-bound passengers to access the ticketing hall and platform from the street level. The distance between doors is equal throughout the train, regardless of whether they are in the same or different cars and the locations where the doors will be after the train has stopped are marked on the platform. For security and safety, security personnel are stationed at every platform and all ticketing halls.

Transferring to Silom Line at Siam BTS Interchange.

Thais are really considerate people from the way they queue up within the yellow Q-lines on the platform. No such things as crowding at the door area as everyone lines up in a single file. In fact it seems that their culture is to obediently wait for the next train in the event if they cant board the train unlike some countries.

Arrival of BTS 3 carriage train

The whole journey seems very squeakish in terms of sound like as though the tracks need some maintenance and the route seems to have many sharp turns navigating through the messy streets of Bangkok. Alighted at S6 Saphan Taksin Station, which is actually next to the famous Chao Phraya River - Fare 30Baht (S$1.20); 12 mins.

The station is connected to the adjacent Sathon pier where the all Chao Phraya Express river boat services call. Over at the pier, there was a Chao Phraya River Express Transportation Map. The rationale for this trip was to try out cruising on the public boats. The system provides fast, inexpensive transportation in traffic-congested inner Bangkok, Rattanakosin (old city) and Nonthaburi with cheap pricing of 9-32 Baht, but operates 0600-1930hrs daily only. There are several routes - local line, orange, yellow, blue line. Local stops at every stops while the respective colours make limited stops.

Travelled on Orange line, depicted by the orange flag on the long-tailed boat. We paid at the counter to head to N9 Tha Chang Pier (13Baht). Generally this ferry comes at a frequency of 7-9 mins and does not wait at the pier for passengers, otherwise it will defeat tyhe purpose of being express.

As noted before, Chao Phraya River is still as polluted as ever, murky brown & greyish water. Along the way, we passed by the Oriental Hotel (one of the classiest hotel in Thailand), Rachawongse (Chinatown), Memorial Bridge with the nearby Little India and Tha Tien with its dried seafood market and notable temples opposite.

Inside the Chao Phraya River Express. Seatings in the front, standing at the back. Driver navigating with a steering wheel in front (note the brown chair right in front), while 2 crews at the back holding flags while aligning the boat with the pier and the other being a ticket inspector.

Wat Arun Temple (วัดอรุณ) Temple of the Dawn, perhaps so named because the first light of morning is reflected off the surface of the temple with a pearly irridescence

Dhosa Kiridhorn, half elephant half demon (Yaksha), giant guarding an exit to Grand Palace

Beyond the entrance is a courtyard with a central chapel (bot) housing the Emerald Buddha. However, the Emerald Buddha is about 66cm high and sits so high above worshippers in the main temple building that the gilded shrine is more striking than the small figure it cradles.

Painters doing a touch-up job on extensive murals depicting scenes from the Ramakian.

Chakri Mahaprasad Hall, a building in a style influenced by the Italian Renaissance

Canons at the weaponry and warboats section

Sanam Luang (Royal Field) is just a patch of shadeless expanse of dying grass, ringed by flocks of pigeons, pigeon hunters, homeless people. Despite its shabby appearance, it does fulfill many festivals and ceremonies on certain days.

Sanam Luang

After walking under the merciless sun for about 20 mins, we finally arrived at the famous tourist site of Khao San, via Th Chakraphong, North of Sanam Luang. Khao San is a day & nite shopping bazzar selling all kinds of pasar-malam stuff with some places selling knock-off designer items, and even fake student IDs. It is basically a Caucasians' haven with the number of pubs springing around every corner. Firstly, we stop over at a fruit juice stall to quench our thirst (roughly 25B).

MacDonalds at Th Khao San, Banglamphu

After lunch, we flagged a cab and travelled to Hualamphong หัวลำโพง Train station. It was our 1st cab ride in Bangkok and our observations is that most drivers do not understand English; they only seem to comprehend famous tourist spots, or the place is its in Thai language. Most of the cabs are metered (but one have to remind the drivers or ASK them whether the bloody meter is on anot). As you can see, the station was built in an Italian Renaissance style, with decorated wooden roofs and stained glass windows since Year 1916.

Platform 12 of Hua Lamphong Train Station.

Now our schedules were kinda messy, Chinatown wasnt the next ideal destination to go. In the end, we decided to go to the shopping districts of Siam. We were fortunate to get a cab driver who could communicate well in English, so we got quite alot of tip-offs like whats there to see and which night market is better. MBK is probably deteriorating...there was nothing new and the items there aren't cheap either. The electronics area on the 4th storey is probably a mess...almost every stall sells handphones & accessories and it is all repeated.

Ahh...The brand-new Siam Paragon. It is just like our posh Paragon S.C. with your typical desginer goods and costly food chains.

Siam Paragon Entrance with synchronised water display

We proceeded to Central World Plaza (CWP)(formerly World Trade Centre) a short distance away. Wow...this shopping centre has really went for a huge cosmetic change internally & externally. Like all posh shopping centres, everybody's bags need to be screened by security officers before entering.

Light and water display outside CWP.