Thailand | Bangkok Summer Adventure 2011: Lessons Learned, Tips & Guides

As you may have read from my previous posts, Bangkok was where my first travel abroad is.  And being a newbie traveler, I had a lot of adventures and misadventures there. Here are some of the things I learned from the said travel. These things may be based on my Bangkok experience but I’m sure these could still serve as a reminder especially to newbies wishing to travel to their dream destination, wherever it may be. :)

Do not be late. Be at the airport at least two hours before your flight, much better if you're at the airport three hours before your flight. If you have read my first post in this series, I mentioned there that a friend arrived at the airport late, an hour or less before our flight if I remember it right. Good thing ours was a delayed flight, we never encounter any problem checking in. But I have friends who did encounter problems, just because they were late.

Make sure to have your clearances with you when you travel abroad, especially when you have contractual obligation or when you are working for the government.  They may not always look for it, but better be prepared than deal with some complications on the day of your flight.  Here in the Philippines, the immigration officer asks for this clearance so secure one and bring it with you.

Estimate your expenses and bring enough money (preferably your destination's currency rather than US$) to cover it rather than withdraw or convert your currency in the country you are visiting.  A friend of mine said that she’ll just withdraw some money abroad and so I decided to just bring some loose bills with me. Being a newbie traveler as I am, I also never bring enough money and decided to do the same and withdraw money in Bangkok. Of course, international withdrawal has corresponding charges and in Bangkok, banks charge 150 baht per transaction. And I made 2 or 3 transactions if I'm not mistaken, a lot of charges right?!? :(

Before traveling, check for the best places to visit and prepare some itinerary to avoid spending a lot of time and money on the cab or in the street.  Research for tourist places that are within walking distance from each other to save time.  If you have to commute, ask first from your hotel receptionist the best way to the place you are going and as much as possible, have him/her write down the name of the place so you wouldn’t have a hard time communicating it with the cab drivers. The same way goes with the name of the hotel you are staying, have it written down so you have something to show to the driver. In addition, always bring notepad and pen with you (one driver asked us to write down the name of the place and we don't have pen/paper with us, tsk!),  you'll never know when you're going to need it.

When abroad, limit the use of your cell phones (smart phones) for internet connection/web browsing.  I registered for a promo that says 70% discount on international phone charges (including web browsing/emailing) so I used my phone.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to monitor my real time usage and so when I came back, I was shocked when I received my phone bill. Argggg…never again would I use my cell phone abroad, unless for emergency!

~ oo00oo ~

This is it, the end of my Bangkok Adventure series. We may have adventures and misadventures there but we learned from it, most of all, we had fun, we enjoyed going around. Hope you too, dear readers, learned something and had fun reading/viewing photos here. Thank you and see you around! :D

Bangkok Adventure (day 1): Bangkok Summer Adventure 2011
Bangkok Adventure (day 2, AM): The City Tour
Bangkok Adventure (day 2, PM): The Grand Palace
Bangkok Adventure (day 2, night): Chao Phraya River Cruise

~oo00oo~

Date of Visit: April 29 - May 1, 2011