2.2.1
Day 1
At
6.00 a.m., I went out of my house to go to Soekarno-Hatta Airport. I arrived at
2E terminal at 6.30 a.m. I said good bye to my mother who sent me to the
airport and then I joined the tour group. There, I was given a name tag and a baggage
tag by Emma. After all the students had arrived, Matthew told us our boarding
gate and time. He gave us a little free time. After Jessica Claudia had given
us back our own passport and boarding pass, Matthew asked us to go inside the
security check point. We brought our own baggage ourselves because there was no
porter. We were asked to queue in front of the check in counter to put our baggage.
The check in counter staff placed a luggage tag on my bagagge and he gave me
the baggage claim. But then, Yosua took the students’ entire baggage claim so
that they could be collected in one place. Then, we walked together to the
immigration area. I gave my passport and boarding pass to the immigration staff
and he stamped my passport. After all the students had passed the immigration,
we all walked to the boarding gate and waited there. Then, we went on board of
the plane.
We
were given Thailand’s arrival and departure card by the stewardess. I sat at
the front row while most of the students sat at the middle and back row. During
the flight, I played the interactive screen in front of me and filled the
arrival card. We also had lunch on the airplane.
About
3 hours later, we arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport. We got down from the plane
and walked to the terminal. We walked to the immigration and showed us our
passport and arrival card. After that, we took our baggage at the baggage claim
and we walked to meet our local guide. There were two local guides, Mr. Peter
and Mr. Bancong. They both can speak Indonesian quite well. Then, they led us
to the bus.
My
class got Mr. Bancong as our local guide. He is a friendly person. While we’re
our way to the restaurant, he told us some facts and daily life of Thai. Soon,
we arrived at Chan Siaw Restaurant.
Chan
Siaw is a restaurant owned by a Moslem, so all the menus there are halal. I sat
at a table with my friends. Since I don’t eat seafood, I only ate chicken and
eggs there. Our table didn’t finish up all the dishes because the portion was
quite big. The taste of the food was okay. Then, we continued our journey to
Wat Pho.
On
the bus, Mr. Bancong asked us who wanted to buy SIM cards. Many of us bought
the cards, including me. The brand of the SIM card is DTAC Happy Tourist. It
costs 300 Baht and includes 7-day internet package.
A
few minutes later, we arrived at Wat Pho. Mr. Bancong gave us our entrance
ticket which costs 100 Baht, and then he gave us free time to went inside to
see the Reclining Buddha and to take photos. We should take off our shoes
before entering the Reclining Buddha and put them on the plastics. Inside, we
could see a giant gold reclining Buddha statue. There were some of my friends
who took photos with the monks inside. There were also 108 alms bowls inside
the temple. If we donate 20 Baht to the temple, then we will be given 108 coins
to fill those alms bowls. It is said that if we did this activity, it would
throw away our bad luck.
After
that, Mr. Bancong called us and brought us to the 99 temples area in Wat Pho. He
gave us some information about the temples there, but I couldn’t hear him
clearly. At the time of our visit, there was also an event held in Wat Pho. It
was like a Thai traditional performance. We watched Thais dressed in Thai
traditional clothing doing their traditional dance.
We
went back to our bus and continued our journey to MBK. We were all confused why
MBK was placed on the first day. Mr. Bancong gave us information about MBK
while we’re on our way. Before giving us shopping time, he asked us to gather
first in front of Tokyu.
In
front of Tokyu, he handed out the SIM cards we bought before. Then he told us
that 2 hours later, we should gather again at that place. I walked around MBK
with some of my friends. We didn’t know what to buy so we only strolled around.
I found a nice and cheap black wallet so I bought it. Then, we walked to the
supermarket. I bought a green tea Kit Kat ice cream. It was cheap and delicious.
Then, we walked to the souvenirs area but we only looked around because we
didn’t want to spend too much money on the first day.
At
the appointed time, we gathered in front of Tokyu. We went inside the bus and
went to Asia Hotel to have our dinner. We had our dinner at Tivoli Coffee Shop.
It was a buffet. There were a lot of delicious food but I was quite full that
time so I couldn’t eat too much. The singer at Tivoli was unique because he
dressed up like Elvis Presley. He also treated us nicely. After having our
dinner, we celebrated Mrs. Seneng’s birthday for a moment.
Because
the day night had got quite late, we didn’t continue our trip to Asiatique. We
transferred to Ibis Sathorn Hotel and checked in there. Then I went to my room
with my roommate, Helga.
2.2.2 Day 2
In
the morning, we packed our baggage and put them inside the bus. Then, we had
our breakfast at the hotel. We checked out of the hotel and went to the bus.
In
the bus, we had a guiding session. Salita was the first person to guide because
she was the tour leader that day. A few minutes later, we arrived at Grand
Palace. The bus didn’t stop right in front of it, so we must walk a bit.
Grand
Palace is a really big place. It used to be the palace where Thailand’s kings
lived. Now, it’s still used for official events. It is the most popular tourist
attraction in Thailand. Actually, people are not allowed to bring flags and
banners to Grand Palace, as I saw many other tourist groups brought a stick
with dolls attached on them as the flag’s substitute.
It
was really crowded inside Grand Palace even it was still early in the morning.
I saw many tourist groups and many of them are tourists from China. We were led
by Salita and Mr. Bancong inside the Grand Palace. First, we walked to Wat Phra
Kaew. Mr. Bancong gave us some time to go inside to see the Emerald Buddha
statue. Unfortunately, I was on my period that day so I couldn’t go in. I
strolled around and took photos together with my friends.
Mr.
Bancong asked us to gather again and he led us to see the other buildings in
Grand Palace. We went inside a building with a throne chair inside and another
building with weapon collections inside. After that, we rest for a bit and then
exited the Grand Palace.
We
walked to a pier. We took a boat at Chao Phraya River. We stopped at a point
where we could feed catfish with bread. We can buy the bread for 20 Baht. It is
believed that if we see a white catfish, then it will bring luck. After feeding
the catfish, we visited Wat Arun.
Wat
Arun means the Temple of Dawn. We were given free time there. We could climb up
the temples’ stairs, take photos and shop at the market. I took a photo then I
went to the market. The market mostly sells Thai souvenirs like T-shirt, key
chains or elephant miniatures. The price is really cheap. Some of the sellers
can speak Indonesian. After buying T-shirts, I went to buy coconut. It costs 40
Baht. The coconut was sweet.
After
the free time ended, we went back to the pier and took the boat again to
another pier. We got down from the boat and walked to our bus. Then, we
transferred to Twin Tower Hotel to have our lunch.
We
had lunch at Golden Teak Restaurant at Twin Tower Hotel. It was a buffet. There
were a lot of delicious foods. I ate quite a lot. After having our lunch, we
celebrated the birthday of our friends, Chrisera and Maria.
Next,
we went back to the bus to continue our trip to Pattaya. On the way to Pattaya,
we had another guiding session. Before we arrived, we stopped at Sriracha Tiger
Zoo.
When
we arrived, we immediately walked to the crocodile show. We watched two tamers doing
attractions with the crocodiles, like putting their heads on the crocodiles’
mouth. I didn’t really like the show as it was quiet boring. After watching the
show, we were led by Mr. Bancong to see the crocodiles, tigers and pigs. In
this zoo, there is a unique thing. The baby pigs are breastfed by a female
tiger and the baby tigers are breastfed by a female pig. Unfortunately, we
didn’t see that event, but I was happy because I saw the cute baby tigers. Then, we went back to the bus.
Soon
after, we arrived at Big Bee Farm. There, we heard a presentation about the
benefit of bee products. Other than honey, they also sold royal jelly and bee
pollen. Because the price was quite expensive, I didn’t buy anything. They also
sells soaps, foods and drinks.
Finally,
we arrived at Pattaya. We had our dinner at Savoy Seafood Restaurant. As usual,
I only ate fried chicken and eggs. The fried chicken was really tasty. After
dinner, we headed to Alcazar.
Our
bus stopped at the Alcazar’s parking area. No one in our group wanted to watch
the show, so we all walked to Big C, a shopping mall near Alcazar. The shopping
mall was small. After my friend and I bought shirts, we returned to Alcazar. We
went inside Family Market and bought Pocky. There were green tea and cookies
and cream Pocky which costs 18 Baht. Then, we waited until 9 p.m. At 9 p.m.,
the some of the Alcazar’s transgenders came out in their sexy outfits. They
were really beautiful. We paid 40 Baht and we took a photo with them.
We
transferred to Mike Garden Hotel. Because my team would be on duty on the next
day, so we should gather first for some briefing and evaluation. The team who
was on duty that day shared their experiences and told us what we should do
tomorrow. After the evaluation, I went to my room to sleep. My roommate was
Celine.
2.2.3 Day 3
It
was a bad morning. The receptionists did the morning call at the wrong time. The
morning call should be at 7 a.m. but they called at 6 a.m. My team and I was
worried if all the students went back to sleep after they heard the morning
call, so Osel and Egalia went to the receptionists and told them that the
morning call should be at 7 a.m. At 7 a.m., the morning call didn’t ring, so my
team approached the receptionists again but they didn't want to do the morning call again. So,
my team did the morning call manually by phoning the rooms one by one.
I
had my breakfast first so I could stay at the lobby. Fortunately, all of the students
and teachers were ready at the lobby on time. After putting their baggage, they
had breakfast.
After
finishing breakfast, we put our baggage inside the bus and sat in the bus. Osel,
as the tour leader on that day, was the first person to began the guiding
session.
About
30 minutes later, we arrived at an orchid garden near Nongnooch Village. We
were given free time to take photos. There are a lot of clay works there. I
also paid 100 Baht to take a photo with the tiger there.
We
went back to bus and finally arrived at Nongnooch Village. We walked to the
garden and took a group photo there. Then, we walked to a stage to watch a show.
The show was quite interesting. It was a show about Thai’s culture, like Thai’s
traditional dance, music and Muay Thai (Thai Boxing).
Then,
we walked to the place where the elephant show would be held. Before the
elephant show started, some of my friends took photos with the elephants. The
elephant show was really amusing. We watched the elephants doing soccer and basketball,
painting, dancing, etc. After the show ended, we had lunch at a restaurant in
Nongnooch. The restaurant was crowded. The food tasted okay, but a waiter here
had a bad attitude.
After
that, we went to Gems Gallery by bus. In Gems Gallery, we took a ride and we
were shown the way to process gems. Then, we were brought to the gems shop. Of
course the gems cost really expensive. Other than gems, they also sell soaps,
lotion, beauty products, etc. I went out
of the shop and asked for a glass of Thai tea. It tasted delicious and it was
free.
When
our bus had arrived, we went inside the bus and continued headed back to
Bangkok. On our way, we stopped at a dry food market. At the market, I bought a
pack of Nestea Thai tea and Tom Yum spices. The market sells dried durian, but
I didn’t buy it there because Mr. Bancong sold the dried durian in a cheaper
price (300 Baht). The market also sells Pocky for 50 Baht, which is quite
expensive as it is only 18 Baht at minimarkets. A few moment later, we
continued our trip to Bangkok.
At
Bangkok, we had dinner at Royal Dragon Restaurant. They served a dish of
chicken wrapped in leaves, which I considered as the best dish I tasted in
Thailand. Other than eating, we also saw a unique performance at this
restaurant. There was a performance of a ‘flying’ waiter.
After
having a dinner, we headed to Asiatique. Asiatique is a night market on the
side of Chao Phraya River. We were given time to shop here. I walked around
Asiatique with my friend. We saw varieties of products being sold there. We
entered NaRaYa. The NaRaYa branch in Asiatique is bigger than the other
branches. I bought a bag and a wallet there and we must queue for a moment. The
queue line was quite long since a lot of Chinese tourists were buying up NaRaYa
products. Then, we exited NaRaYa and continued to walk around. We saw stalls
selling the same soaps and aromatherapies which are sold at Gems Gallery. The
price is two times cheaper at Asiatique. Other than shopping stalls, there are also
many restaurant and food stalls there. Actually, I really wanted to try all the
delicious-looking foods there, but unluckily, I had a sore throat that day so I
couldn’t try those foods. I regretted that I didn’t take care of my health
before going to Thailand. I ended up buying another shirt in Asiatique.
After
finished shopping, we transferred to Indra Regent Hotel. Mr. Bancong checked us
in and then my team and I handed out the key rooms. After another evaluation, I
went to my room.
2.2.4 Day Four
It
was our last day in Thailand. We had breakfast at hotel. The breakfast was
better than the breakfast in Ibis Sathorn and Mike Garden. After having
breakfast, I packed my baggage and then walked to Platinum.
Platinum
is a fashion mall. Each shops in Platinum offers different products. I think
that Platinum is the best place to buy clothes and its accessories. Since we
didn’t get much time in Platinum, I only bought a hoodie there.
I
went back to the hotel and brought my baggage to the lobby. After all the
students had gather, we put our baggage inside the bus and sat inside the bus. We
headed to Crystal Suites to have our lunch.
The
dishes served at Crystal Suites were okay. After having our lunch, we took a photo
group. Then, we continued our journey to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
While
we’re on our way, we said thank you to Mr. Bancong for accompanying us during
our trip in Thailand. Soon after, we arrived at the airport. We must check in
by ourselves. We waited in front of the check in counter for about an hour.
After
checking in, we said good bye and thank you once again to Mr. Bancong and also
to Mr. Peter, who was the local guide who accompany XIPAR2 class. Then, the
tour leader that day, Leony, led us to pass the security check. Next, we walked
to the immigration and showed us our passport and departure card. After passing
the immigration, we were given a little free time before our boarding. After
looking around, I walked to the boarding gate and waited there with the others.
At
about 5 to 6 p.m., we boarded on our plane. Inside the plane, I played the
interactive screen again. We had our dinner on the plane. We were also given a
custom declaration card by the stewardess.
Finally,
we arrived at Soekarno Hatta Airport. We got down from the plane by stair and
we took a bus to the airport terminal. We walked to the immigration and then
picked our baggage. Leony asked us to gather for a while. She led a prayer and
say thank you to the teachers who were accompanying us during our trip,
especially to Mr. Yakub. We were allowed to go home. But, at that moment, there
was a problem. Anastasia’s baggage couldn’t be found. After waiting for quite a
long time, she finally found her baggage. Maybe someone mistook taking her
baggage before and returned it to the conveyer belt. Then, I passed the custom
check and went outside. There, my mother was waiting for me. Finally, I went
home.
