Namtok Meal at McDo

I was looking for a place to eat lunch the other day when I encountered Ronald McDonald in a weird pose:
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When you are in Rome do as Romans do. So, Ronald tried to do as Thais do by clasping his hands the way Thai people show their respect to one another.

The weird Ronald McDonald pose made me realize that I had never entered a fast food restaurant in Thailand. I was curious on what peculiar items being sold in McDonalds branches in this part of the world.

I saw the regular burgers and fries of McDonalds. There was nothing unusual until I saw the “namtok rice set”.

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The Namtok Rice Set costs 69 Baht and it had namtok, rice and regular Coke. I am sure that this is a Thai meal because of its name.

My verdict to this rice set is two thumbs down. I didn't like the taste of their Namtok. It had a taste that I couldn't understand and the odor is “powerful”. This meal is not that spicy so it can be tolerated by my mouth.

My other complaint is that it is too expensive for its taste.

I guess that McDonalds namtok was not popular to the Thais because I didn't see it when I returned to McDonalds.

Well, McDonalds cannot blame the Thais because their namtok is a far cry from the real nam tok.

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The real nam tok (Source: Wikipedia).

McDonalds should do better in copying Thai dishes in the future if they don't want their meals to be ignored by their customers.

Dreamworld Bangkok Information

I thought that writing about Dreamworld Bangkok is finally over when I finished posting my third entry about by adventures to that amusement park. Sharing about my adventures to that place feels good but I felt that my posts lacked one thing. That thing is the information needed by those who want to visit Dreamworld.

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If you want to read about my adventures please go to the Part I, Part II and Part III of the Dreamworld Bangkok series. Read on if you want to know more information about this place.
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How to Go to Dreamworld Bangkok

I have reached Dreamworld by riding a van hired by the generous sponsors of the field trip of the foundation kids. So, I have no personal experience on commuting to Dreamworld Bangkok.

Dreamworld is located in the Thanyaburi District of Pathum Thani province. This means that the amusement park is not located inside Bangkok but located in a province north of the capital city.

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Google Map showing the location of Dreamworld.

There two ways to reach Dreamworld by car. One is by using the Bangkok Eastern Outer Ring Toll Road and the other is by using the Don Muang Tollway. Be sure to make an exit from either of the expressway before you reach the Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road.

If you use the Don Muang Tollway, the Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road is located beside the Future Park Mall. That mall is the biggest mall to the right. Turn right to Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road and drive about 6 kilometers or until you see the pink bridge to your right. Take a u-turn and then cross to Dreamworld using the pink bridge.

If you use the Eastern Outer Ring Toll Road then you should exit at Rangsit. Turn left to Rangsit-Nakhon Nayok Road and drive about 3 kilometers or until you see the pink bridge to your left. Turn left through the pink bridge to reach Dreamworld.

If you are taking the taxi then you can print the map below and show it to the driver.

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(Source: Dreamworld website)

You can also reach Dreamworld by riding a bus. Ride Bus Number 188 from Mo Chit Bus Terminal or Bus Number 538 from Victory Monument. Don't forget to ask the driver or conductor if they are passing by Dreamworld before you board the bus.

Hop off the bus when you reach Dreamworld and then you can ride the free shuttle bus to reach the entrance to the amusement park.
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Entrance Fee to Dreamworld

I only paid around 500 Baht for a ticket that provides one pass for each ride in Dreamworld Bangkok. There is a special package that cost 1,200 Baht per person. It includes round trip travel to and from your hotel in Bangkok, entrance to Snow Town and pass to all rides.
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Dreamworld Bangkok Rides

There are a lot of rides in this amusement park. You can see all of them here by visiting the website of Dreamworld. I will just feature the best rides that I tried during my visit to Dreamworld.

1. Super Splash

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This is the best ride that I tried in Dreamworld Bangkok. Expect to be wet when you try this. You can go to the bridge after your ride and feel the rain of water.

2. Grand Canyon

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It is another wet ride but less thrilling than Super Splash. Here you can ride a inflatable raft and then go down the river with twists and turns that will almost make you fall to the water. I enjoyed the Grand Canyon but I experienced the more wilder Rio Montañosa of Splash Island in the Philippines.

3. Sky Coaster

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I haven't tried the Sky Coaster because my ward is too scared of it. I think that it is the most thrilling ride in Dreamworld Bangkok because you are hanging in the air. The other guardians said that the Sky Coaster doesn't have a part where riders will be upside down. If that is true then the Star City in Pasay is much better because their Star Flyer made me go upside down.

4. Vikings

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The Vikings is a ride that swings like a crazy pendulum. I enjoyed this ride and what I like about it is I saw the different reactions of the passengers of this ship.

5. Cable Car

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This is the best ride for those who wanted to see the bird's eye view of the whole Dreamworld. Kids enjoy this especially when the cable car are above the castles and giant veggies and other views of the park.
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Attractions at Dreamworld Bangkok

There are things to see around Dreamworld aside from the rides. Here are my favorites.

1. Hollywood Action

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This is definitely fun to watch because of the well choreographed fight scenes and the use of mock tanks, airplanes, explosions and a nuclear missile. You should see this if you visit Dreamworld Bangkok.

2. Snow Town

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This is the same as the Snow World of Star City. I didn't enjoy this place because it is so cold. The kids love it because they can have picture with Snow Man, a mammoth, reindeer and other interesting things. There is a wide ice slide here but the queue is too long that's why I just tried it once.

3. Giant's House 

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I think this place is one the kid's favorite because they can see things at a larger perspective. This is the best place to pose for photos.

4. Colors of the World Parade

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This parade usually begins around 4 PM. I enjoyed seeing the big floats of this parade.

We also tried the Alien Show and the 4D Theater. The Alien Show is supposed to be scary but I couldn't keep myself from laughing especially when the “tentacles” were hitting my feet. I think I'm already too old for such shows.

So those are the things that you need to know about Dreamworld Bangkok. If you need more information then you can check the Dreamworld website. You can also ask me by leaving a comment.
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Hollywood Action in Dreamworld Bangkok

I was still shaken by what happened to my digital camera so I needed some diversion to remove my worries. My eyes saw the words “Hollywood Action” on the brochure of Dreamworld Bangkok. Curious, I brought Pod (my ward assigned to me during the day) to see what this is all about.

Will I see Tom Cruise? Or Brad Pitt? Or...gasp...the members Expendables? I saw in my mind the killing machines of Hollywood holding larger-than-life guns and filling criminals with holes. I imagined explosions and aeroplane and tanks and...wait I was already over-imagining.

So we entered a sort of warehouse that is suitable place for villains and saw many people on the bleachers waiting for the show to start.

The story was set at an abandoned factory probably outside of the city.

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The skulls and bones is the sign that this is a place of evil.

And one of the heroes suddenly showed up.

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Yes, he turned his back on the factory that is full of terrorists. Seems like he is not afraid to be shot by some sniper.

His partner appeared.

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They prepared the bombs...

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...and placed them all over the place.

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Foolish terrorists didn't know what's in store for them.

The two SWAT decided that it is unethical to kill terrorist by their own trick so they seek the help of a lady from the audience...

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...to do the dirty work for them.

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KABOOOOOOM!!!

The terrorists fell dead.

Unfortunately, maybe to great horror of the lady, tanks are impregnable to puny explosions.

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It seems like the terrorist boss knew where to hide when there's explosion. I bet he uses the tank as his bedroom.

The tank is big and scary alright but the SWAT just yawned and hopped on it.

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Then pulled out the terrorist boss.

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Of course the boss will not go down without a fight.

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Now it is his chance to avenge the death his minions.

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The big boss said, “You will feel the most painful of all tortures young lady. So painful that you will wish that you were never been born to this world. I will...”

The boss was such a blabbermouth that he didn't realize that the SWAT was already behind him. After receiving a lot of punches he ran away, started the missile and rode his airplane to escape.

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The SWAT hopped on the tank and shelled out chaos to the hangar. And boom the boss terrorist died and the missile was destroyed.

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And that's the Hollywood Action of Dreamworld Bangkok.

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The SWAT is celebrating their victory.

I am glad to watch this at Dreamworld and I can say that this the best attractions that that amusement park has.

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Want to read more about my visit to Dreamworld Bangkok? Please go to first part and the second part of this series.

Accident at Dreamworld Bangkok

This is the last scene before the terrible accident happened to me at Dreamworld Bangkok.

The incident is so grave that it injured my longtime companion and caused his eventual death. I mourned for my loss during that day and my heart shouted, “NEVER AGAIN!”

But before I tell you about the accident, let me continue the narrative of my adventures at Dreamworld Bangkok with my ward, who I call Pod. 

Being scared to death, pretending to be a Star Wars starship pilot and getting wet at the Grand Canyon rapids was not enough to Pod. My little companion wanted to see more of Dreamworld Bangkok. So, we immediately set out when lunch time was finished.

Our first stop for the afternoon is the giant refrigerator called the Snow Town.

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Brrrr...it is so cold that people had to wear jackets.

Snow Town is the same as Star City's Snow World. Both attractions promises the joy of being in a Winter Wonder Land.

As a kid who had never been inside a refrigerator because he couldn't fit from a tropical country, Pod enjoyed Snow Town. He wasn't even scared by the big hairy Yeti inside the glass cage at the entrance.

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Rawr! I'm a yeti Fear me!

I prefer the sun and the heat than the cold so I didn't have much fun inside the giant refrigerator Snow Town. But the kids love it. They entered igloos, rode a sleigh and reindeer, hugged Snow Man and posed for photos with the Mammoth.

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Too bad that the ice is too packed that it couldn't be molded to snow balls. Oh how fun it is to have snow fight. Aside from the display, the major attraction to this place is the slide.
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Pod didn't want to try the slide but he mustered enough courage to try it. He wanted to go to the slide again but the queue is very long. So, we went out of Snow Time for the other rides.

We went to the Super Splash next. He didn't get enough of the Grand Canyon so he wanted to get wet at this ride again. What's enjoyable with Super Splash is its steep a slide, which made my heart beat faster.

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The slide was exhilarating until we reached the bottom where my emotions turned to regret. My long time buddy, Canon Powershot A300 IS, hit my knee when the sudden impact at the bottom of slide moved my hand forward.

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Oh poor Canon. :-(

I was so disappointed with myself during that time. My mood got soured so that I din't enjoy the next rides. I know that I am doomed without a camera because pictures are vital to my blogs. Canon finally “died” few weeks after during the game between Azkals and Vietnam football team.

“The show must go on”, as many entertainers said, so I still brought Pod to all the rides that he wanted. We also went to the hilarious Alien vs Predator show and 4D Theater that spray water during some scenes. Another attraction that we visited is the Giant's House.

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Let's have dinner at this gigantic table.

Everything is big in this place. We saw giant matchsticks that have heads bigger than Pod's. There are giant ants, giant pillow, giant bed and a giant giant, no I mean a sleeping giant.

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Oh the baby wants to bring home some golden eggs.

The Giant's House is a perfect place for photos. Many kids liked the place.

I wonder if I could take home these gigantic utensils:

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We were just in time to witness a moving giant cake when we went out of the Giant's House.

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I thought that this cake is the giant's birthday cake. I was mistaken. Actually, it is part of Dreamworld Bangkok's “Colors of the World Parade”. We saw dancing mascots, an Egyptian princess and characters of fairy tales. This is Dreamworld's Cinderella:

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The parade is awesome but it pales in comparison to the parades in Disneyland. Well, at least the princesses are pretty.

Another attraction that we visited is the Hollywood Action. I believe that this is the best attraction in Dreamworld Bangkok. The stunts and the action made me forget about my worries for my camera. I will talk about this attraction in the next post.

The last ride that we tried is the cable car. This ride gave us excellent view of the whole Dreamworld, which I think is the fitting conclusion to my visit to this amusement park.

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There are many things that can be best appreciated when you are high above the ground, like this fruits and veggies:

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and this castle:

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And, of course, the lake and the fountain:

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That ended our visit to Dreamworld Bangkok. My ward and all the little kids from the foundation enjoyed the day. We saw in their smiles that they had a lot of fun. The other guardians too enjoyed the trip. I felt the joy too, despite the fact that my camera was damaged.

Looking back toward that day made me realize that the smile of those little kids are more valuable than material things like my camera.

Weekend Fun at Dreamworld Bangkok

I had a funny thought while taking this photo. I mused, “what if someone suddenly puked while this ride is vertical?” Oh I can imagine regurgitated bits of hotdogs, rice and gastric juices raining down on me. I am more disturbed by this thought than the swinging of the pretend ship.

My companion seated to my left didn't share my thoughts. He was clinging to the chair, surely afraid for his life.

We are at Dreamworld Bangkok and this is our first ride, which is called the “Vikings”.

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More like a pirate ship than a Viking ship, right?

Going to an amusement park is not on my list of “places to visit” in Thailand. This opportunity came when a friend asked me if I wanted to visit Dreamworld Bangkok. There is a catch, however, because I have to act as a guardian to a kid. That Dreamworld trip was a field trip for the children being cared for by a foundation and they are looking for volunteer guardians.

Most of the kids came from poor families. Some of them don't have families at all and live in an orphanage. The trip to Dreamworld is their opportunity to have fun and forget their problems for at least one day.

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I can feel the excitement of the little kids the moment they went down from their van. We didn't enter Dreamworld yet but they are having fun posing with these aliens:

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The orange alien looks like a cosmic Gangnam Style.

And the pink train:

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The kids oohed and aahed when we entered the park. My ward (who I will call Pod in this post) particularly enjoyed this buried giant.

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I asked Pod if he is a brave man and he answered “yes” after speaking a lot of Thai words that I can't comprehend. We went to one scary ride to prove his bravery and that is the reason why we ended up in the swinging ship of the Vikings.

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Sky Coaster as viewed from the Vikings.

His bravery ended the moment we left the Viking ship. He didn't want to ride other scary rides. The next ride that he chose is the Thunderbird.

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We imagined that we were driving a spaceship and shooting enemy ships. Kapow! Boom! Bang! - I really felt like a little child during that day.

I let Pod lead me to any rides that he wanted to try. It was his day after all. Too bad that he is too scared to try the more scary rides. I couldn't convince him to try Sky Coaster. Oh, I wanted to fly!

What Pod really wanted to try is the ride that will make us wet. He kept on asking me to go to the Super Splash and to this place:

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I had no extra shirt or pants but I still obliged. Kawawa naman yung bata eh.

Grand Canyon is like the Rio Montañosa of Splash Island. However, Dreamworld's Grand Canyon is much tamer and has less twists than the Splash Island slide. I still got wet despite of this. The little rascal, on the other hand, enjoyed it.

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Dreamworld's visitors preparing for a wild and wet ride.

Our stomachs are rumbling after that ride so we searched for the other guardians to eat our lunch. I was glad that they provided free lunch.

The first half of my day at Dreamworld Bangkok had been enjoyable. Pod enjoyed the rides too. The good thing is that we are on the “same wavelength”. I have no problem roughhousing with kids so I can play “muay thai” and horseback riding (wherein I am the horse) with my ward.

The first half of our day is just the beginning of fun. On the next post, I will talk about our visit to a big refrigerator and the terrible terrible accident.