12 things to try out in Bangkok

Bangkok is my happy place. I really don't know why but amidst being a busy metropolis with thousands of people all over, I feel happy visiting it. Maybe because I have not lived in a huge city as that of the capital of Thailand. 

I found that there is a lot of things to do and see there. Here are some of the  exciting things to I have done in Bangkok so far:

1. Visit the Wat Arun Temple. You can read more about my story at this blog post.

2. The city has its fare share of old Catholic Churches as all religions are being respected here despite being a predominantly Buddhist country. Me and my friends were able to visit one of the beautifully preserved Catholic church also detailed in this post.

3.  Visit an attraction/restaurant like Chocolate Ville. My story here.

4. Be close to some famous people and have a photo opportunity with them. All possible at Madame Tussaud's Bangkok. Our fun experience can be recalled on this post.

5. For a fun and romantic night, why not try a cruise. There are a lot of Chao Phraya Dinner Cruises to choose from. Me and a friend had an amazing time. You can read about it here.

6. Shopping and walking around is such a treat in Bangkok. There are a lot of nice places worthy of an instagram photo as well as places worthy of time for good or cheap finds. This is taken at Siam Paragon.

Funny and cute statues outside Siam Center.

7. I don't quite get tired of temples and awesome unique structures. When a visiting friend came to visit, I joined her adventure to visit the Grand Palace. However, we got lost and ended up in another temple which is also amazing. It was still a good day :)

8. Try out Bangkok's colorful taxis. But due to the city's traffic, it might be a good idea to try some alternatives such as riding a public bus, or the BTS or MRT. 

Otherwise, trying out a boat is not that bad too. I tried one when I had to go for a morning appointment. I had to let 3 boats pass me by because it was so full! Finally, I was able to squeeze in to the 4th boat.

Or ride the famous and colourful tuktuks of the city.

9.  Be adventurous and try visiting a floating market. Our half day tour here.

10. See the city and dine with good food and great view at Baiyoke Tower. Details here.

11. Discovering nice restaurants with good ambiance is a nice treat.

12. And of course, satisfying the palate is not to be missed. I never get tired of Thai food though I've been here for 2 years now. It's still as exciting as the first time I tasted it. From the street foods, to fancy dishes, these are all accessible in Bangkok.

I have yet to come back to Bangkok and discover other amazing things to do. I will make sure to share my stories on this blog. Thank you for reading 'til next post! :)

Silom Thai Cooking School

I've never been really into cooking. It was only eating that I was interested in. Until I had to cook for myself so that I can replicate the Filipino dishes from home and save some money. 

My colleagues encouraged and helped me get the recipe right. I enjoyed cooking the same dishes until I came to think that I can also learn to cook Thai while in Thailand. Inspired by a friend who took a cooking class whilst in Chiang Mai, I set out to the goal. However, Chiang Mai is far from me and Phuket has expensive classes. I grabbed the chance to attend one when I went to Bangkok for an official business.

I chose Silom Thai Cooking School because of the great reviews and their afternoon class. I booked online and noted the meet up point of which is Silom Soi 11. I arrived 5 minutes ahead of time and found there were a lot waiting with me.

The staff appeared on time and asked to get our voucher. We were then grouped and introduced to our teacher. She led us right away into the market to start our afternoon session.

It was fun because they gave us wooden baskets each and she explained the ingredients that we needed. She then placed some ingredients to each of our baskets and so we carried it to the school with pride :)

Arriving at the school, she made sure that our things were locked in a secure cabinet and that we wore an apron and our hands washed clean before beginning the lesson. First thing was a discussion and activity wherein we extracted coconut cream and coconut milk.

Then we had to transfer to another room wherein the ingredients were placed and we were instructed on how to cut them.

When we were ready, we brought our trays to the real cooking area where the gas stoves were.

I was eager to listen on when to turn on the stove and to mix the ingredients. Our teacher was very helpful in taking our photos as well as giving clear instructions and encouraging everyone that all we're doing good.

There are different menus for each day of the week and because I attended the class on a Tuesday, we cooked:

Tom Yum Goong

Pad Thai 

Curry Rice

Fish Cake

and she taught us how Mango with sticky rice was prepared. 

We had to eat every after cooking. At the end of the class, I was so full! The teacher was kind enough to let me pack my Mango with Sticky Rice for take away. 

All of us we're given a recipe booklet to take home for instruction and souvenir!

I was so happy to have attended the class and make one of my goals come true. A really good and memorable experience I had while in Bangkok.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

How to Apply for South Korean Visa in Thailand

When we heard that there was a tour offered by a company for the hospital employees to South Korea, we scrambled to complete the requirements. Our Thai colleagues were blessed to be visa-free if they travel to South Korea. It was easy to google requirements for the Visa especially for Filipinos in our home country. Our case was different. We are working in Thailand and had to pass the requirements to the Korean Embassy here.

I started off by taking note of the basic requirements:
1. Application Form (C-39 (Tourist Visa)downloadable from the Korean Embassy website)
2. 1 Piece Passport size colored picture 1.5 inch photo (taken within last 6 months,front view against white background)
3.Original Passport (should be valid for more than 6 months)
5. Original and Photocopy of valid visa/s and arrival stamps to OECD member countries for the past 5 years (if applicable, and Korean visas will not be counted).
6. Original Certificate of Employment (including applicant's position,date hired, compensation, address, office landline number, e-mail address)
7. Original Personal Bank Certificate (must include account type, current balance, account opening date, Average Daily Balance (ADB).
8. Bank Statement (original or certified true copy of bank statements/ passbook for the last 3 months)
9. Photocopy of Income Tax Return (ITR)

I contacted the Korean Embassy in Thailand and they required additional documents such as:

1. Accomplished check list for C - 39 application.
2. Re-entry Permit in Thailand and copy
5. Certificate of residence (if any)
6. Work permit and a copy(in case the applicant is holding a working visa in Thailand)
7. Employment certificate from Thai company in English (indicate position and salary)
8. Business Registration Certificate of applicant’s company
 (in case the applicant is the owner of the business)
-  English  with notarization from Thai Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
10. Airplane ticket
11. Hotel reservation
12. Tour schedule in English (plan in details for each day)

But since we were going with a Tour agency, the embassy asked us to let the agency provide the following documents:
1. Tour client confirmation letter
2. Business Registration of Thai tour agency
3. Business Registration of Korean tour agency
4. Tour schedule

I bugged the tour agency for the requirements and even rewrote my application form for a number of times as no erasures were allowed. When everything was ready, I flew to Bangkok to present our documents. There is a Korean Consulate in Phuket but they do not process Visas.

So I went to the Embassy before 10:30am and waited for my queue. I was called to Window 1 and I presented our application form and requirements. I did not have to pay for the fee because because we were applying for Tourist visa and our intended stay in Korea is less than 60 days. They gave me a claim slip and asked me to come back after 3 days.

My roommate flew to Bangkok after 3 days and claimed our passports. We were happy we were granted our Korean visas!

I'm excited to write about our Korean Trip very soon! Thank you and 'til next blog.

Experiencing Bangkok Floating Market

Me and my good friend continued our journey to Bangkok and were both curious as to what it feels like to be in a Floating Market. We researched about it and found that we can book online. We paid around 500THB (14 USD) for this half day join in tour. 

We were picked up from our hotel at around 7am. The van had 12 people in total, including the guide and driver. The ride lasted for almost 2 hours. We were then asked to board a motor boat towards the floating market.

We started to be in awe when we saw some stalls on the side. There was an area where we got off the motor boat and arrived at what looked like the entrance of the market. The guide told us that we can walk through the stalls on the side but the real beauty is when we ride another small boat that is rowed manually through the canals. This was not included in the package and so each of us were asked to pay 120THB (4 USD). Indeed, being rowed through was the way to experience the floating market. Here are a few of my snapshots.

A boat- stall

Products for sale included a wide range of souvenir items and spices. 

Different types and styles of clothing made in Thailand. 

Tropical fruits in season.

So, this is how it looks like when some guests find something interesting in one of the stalls. Their boats park right in front of it.

Cute paintings from a local artist. 

Because I was not able to eat much for breakfast as we left really early, I could not stop myself from eating some chicken barbecue

as well as coconut ice cream.

Though the merchandises sold were the same as that of the usual night markets, it was still a nice experience. After the market, our group was taken to another place where elephant riding was offered. We didn't try this out so we just waited for the other guests. We were driven back to Bangkok and arrived at our hotel at around 2pm.

Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!

Buffet Dinner at Baiyoke Tower

A friend of mine really wanted to try out the dinner buffet offered by Baiyoke Sky Tower. When we were in Bangkok last year, we tried to walk in but was overwhelmed by the crowd hovering in the counter. So before coming back to the city, we booked online and readied our voucher. We were not able to get the slot for dinner at 17:00H, so we opted for dinner at 20:00H. We paid close to 700 THB (roughly 20 USD) each.

We would have wanted to catch the sunset on the Revolving Deck located at the 84th floor of the Tower. Entrance to the tower is already included with the buffet. However due to meetings and preparations, we arrived at 7pm. We were informed to take the lift to the 83rd floor and take the stairs to the 84th floor. The 83rd floor's view already took my breath away. I tried to take a photo but my reflection from the glass wall is obvious.

It also has a giant poster perfect for photo opportunities.

I took the short flight of stairs to the 84th floor and this greeted me.

At first, the revolving deck made me dizzy but I later got used to it. There was a thin wire to keep the guests from falling over. The view was magical. I can see how big and busy Bangkok is.

At certain stations, they placed signs on how far a certain country is from the tower. I learned that my beloved country is about 2,205.64 km away.

We stayed on for a few minutes and then decided to go the 78th floor to eat. Before going in to the dining hall, I can't resist to take some selfies from the mirrored walls. #sorrynotsorry :-P

The staff happily gave in to our request of a table near the windows. The perfect spot to take in the view while enjoying dinner with a good friend.

It was an international buffet and it was wonderful to choose from sushi, pad thai, steaks, pastas and a whole lot more. Cake slices of a lot of kinds were for dessert along with fruits in season. I loved that the drinks was not for one round only. I can get a second or third glass of iced tea or fruit juice. I was not able to get take a photo because I was already famished. 

I was so full and happy to have fulfilled this on my bucket list. On the way down, we saw this model of the entire tower.

Some say that it was not really nice considering the number of tourists coming but it was still a great and memorable experience to dine at Thailand's tallest and most scenic hotel. Thank you for reading and 'til next blog!