That was in 2009.
When I started working in 2010, I made it a goal to treat my family to an out-of-the country trip. For this trip, I had my eyes set on Bangkok. My primary consideration was the budget and the activities. Since there are 5 of us in the family, a trip within Asia was the realistic choice in terms of funding. Activity-wise, Bangkok had the most promise.
Because of budget considerations, my Bangkok trip plans started taking form only in 2013. I was constantly checking airfares in my quest to find one that will fit my budget. I initially set my budget at P30,000.00 for an all-in fare for 5 persons. I missed a couple of opportunities to book budget-compliant airfares with Cebu Pacific because we could not decide on the schedule and my parents and siblings had no passport yet.
In December 2013, I came across a fare promo of Philippine Airlines. The all-in fare was around PhP8,800 per person. At the time, CebuPac's all-in fare was around PhP8,000.00 per person. In choosing, I took into consideration the fact that PAL's fare included in-flight meals and 20kg baggage. In addition, the flight schedule of PAL was more reasonable. Hence, i eventually decided to go with PAL and booked our tickets with the help of an officemate who offered to use her credit card for the transaction.
Then came the part where I plan our entire trip. Again, due to budget considerations, I initially decided to do the entire trip DIY-style. However, after tons and tons of research, I was able to plan our 4 day trip. While all our activities in Bangkok are entirely DIY, I decided to set aside two days for an out-of-Bangkok tour and booked the same with the very reputable Tour with Tong. After hours of tedious planning, I was able to come up with this detailed trip itinerary, which I am posting here for guidance of those who would also like to plan their own DIY trip:
| Time | Activity | Expenses | Amount | Pax | Conversion Rate | Total | |
| DAY 1 -March 6 | 6:00 AM | Depart from Bulacan to NAIA Terminal 2 | |||||
| 7:30 AM | Check-in | terminal fee | PhP550.00 | 5 | 1 | PhP2,750.00 | |
| Travel Tax | PhP1,620.00 | 5 | 1 | PhP8,100.00 | |||
| 9:35 AM | Depart from Manila | ||||||
| 12:10 PM | Arrive in Bangkok (Suvernabhumi Airport) | ||||||
| 12:25 PM | Take ARL from Suvernabhumi to Makkasan | fare | ฿35.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP245.00 | |
| 12:40 PM | Lunch | ฿150.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP1,050.00 | ||
| 1:20 AM | Take MRT from Phetchaburi to Lumphini | fare | ฿22.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP154.00 | |
| Walk to Pantip Suites | |||||||
| 1:35 PM | Check-in, settle down, rest | ||||||
| 2:00 PM | Depart for Wat Pho | ||||||
| 1. Walk to Lumphini MRT Station | |||||||
| 2. Lumphini to Si Lom Station | ฿16.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP112.00 | |||
| 3. Transfer to Sala Daeng, Sala Daeng to Saphan Taksin | ฿28.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP196.00 | |||
| 4. Take Exit 2 and go to Chao Phraya River Express Boat Pier | |||||||
| 5. Take boat heading to Tien Pier (N.8) - Orange Flag or No Flag (don't buy Tourist ticket -Blue Flag) | fare | ฿15.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP105.00 | ||
| 3:00 PM | Walk to Wat Pho | Entrance Fee | ฿100.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP700.00 | |
| 4:00 PM | Take cross-river ferry from Tha Thien Pier to Wat Arun Pier | fare | ฿5.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP35.00 | |
| Enter Wat Arun | Entrance Fee | ฿50.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP350.00 | ||
| 5:30 PM | Take cross-river ferry back to Tha Thien Pier | fare | ฿5.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP35.00 | |
| DIY Chao Phraya River Cruise: Take express boat back to Central Terminal | fare | ฿15.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP105.00 | ||
| Dinner: Khao Ka Moo Bangrak (106/5 Soi Charoenwiang, Charoenkrung Road, Bangrak near Saphan Taksin Station) | |||||||
| Try: Khao ka Moo | ฿40.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP280.00 | |||
| pork and ampalaya soup | ฿30.00 | 3 | 1.4 | PhP126.00 | |||
| or Hai Soi Convent (popularly known as "Somtam Convent", 2/4-5 Convent Road, Silom, Bangrak, Bangkok near Saladaeng Station ) | |||||||
| Take BTS from Saphan Taksin to Sala Daeng | fare | ฿28.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP196.00 | ||
| Take Exit 1, straight ahead 2 bs to Soi Patpong on the right. | |||||||
| Sala Daeng to Lumphini | fare | ฿16.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP112.00 | ||
| Walk Back to Pantip | 1.4 | ||||||
| 1.4 | |||||||
| Day 2 | 6:00 AM | Breakfast | ฿300.00 | 1 | 1.4 | PhP420.00 | |
| 7:00 AM | Pick-up by Tong | packaged fee | ฿39,000.00 | 1 | 1.4 | PhP54,600.00 | |
| Fishing Village and having a brunch at the fishing village. | |||||||
| The bridge over the river kwai. | |||||||
| Erawan waterfalls. | |||||||
| Early dinner. | |||||||
| Boat trip to the Resotel. | |||||||
| Day 3 | Breakfast. | ||||||
| Elephant bath. | |||||||
| Tiger temple. | |||||||
| Late lunch. | |||||||
| Train ride along the death railway. | |||||||
| Back to Bangkok | |||||||
| Day 4 | 7:00 AM | Breakfast | |||||
| 8:00 AM | Depart for Grand Palace | ||||||
| Lumphini to Si Lom Station | ฿16.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP112.00 | |||
| Transfer to Sala Daeng, Sala Daeng to Saphan Taksin | ฿28.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP196.00 | |||
| Take Exit 2 and go to Chao Phraya River Express Boat Pier | |||||||
| Take boat heading to Ta Chang (N.9) - Orange Flag or No Flag (don't buy Tourist ticket -Blue Flag) | fare | ฿15.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP105.00 | ||
| Walk to Grand Palace | entrance fee | ฿500.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP3,500.00 | ||
| 11:00 AM | Lunch | ฿100.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP700.00 | ||
| Proceed to Chatuchak | |||||||
| Take boat Ta Chang to Central Terminal | fare | ฿15.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP105.00 | ||
| Saphan Taksin to Mo Chit (Chnage Line at Siam). Take exit 1 and walk straight 100m to Chatuchak Park on your right. | fare | ฿42.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP294.00 | ||
| Shopping | |||||||
| 3:30 PM | Chatuchak Park | free | |||||
| 4:00 PM | Bangkok Butterfly Garden and Insectarium | free | |||||
| 5:00 PM | Head back to Pantip | ||||||
| Chatuchak Park MRT to Lumphini | fare | ฿40.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP280.00 | ||
| Dinner | ฿100.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP700.00 | |||
| Lumphini to Phetchaburi | fare | ฿22.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP154.00 | ||
| Transfer: ARL Makkasan to Suvernabhumi | fare | ฿35.00 | 5 | 1.4 | PhP245.00 | ||
| 8:00 PM | Check-in | ||||||
| 11:30 PM | Depart from Suvernabhumi airport to Manila | ||||||
| Day 5 - March 10 | 4:00 AM | Arrive in Manila | |||||
| Projected Expenses | PhP76,062.00 | ||||||
| Airfare | PhP45,000.00 | ||||||
| Hotel | PhP10,500.00 | ||||||
| Projected Total Cost | PhP131,562.00 |
With barely a month to go, I am just praying that everything will go according to plan and without a snag.
There will be subsequent posts about each of or activities as well as tips for travel planning.
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