Day 5: Flying Home ...

Finally, today marked our last day in BKK and our flight was scheduled at 11.45am. The pick-up van was punctual at 8.30am to send us to the airport. The journey seems pretty long as it's their rush hour & abit jam.

Arriving at the Int'l Airport, gosh! There was a long Q at Cathay Pac's check-in counters. Found that they were not veri efficient & was a long wait... Even the clearing at customs was slowed as some passengers forgot to fill in their departure cards.

Mom insisted on last min shopping, luckily i asked her to locate the departure Gate first as seems not much time left... Really bought some snacks at higher prices in the airport lo!

On board our Cathay flight, I was thrilled that this was a newer plane wif upgraded in-flight entertainment vs the one we flew to BKK. I played around wif the cool shiny controller & explored its new program menu. Wow! Can even opt to listen to whole music albums! There's TVB programs & variety shows too! Watched the 《超級無敵獎門人》 & had a great laugh! The short flight home was my happiest moment manz! I appreciate the cleaniness Singapore offers, especially the air... i guess our air quality is one of the best in Asia!

The only reason i could think of why s'poreans like BKK should be it's near home & cheap enuf to spend wif our strong currency... but this is certainly a place i dun enjoy.

Day 4: Final Shopping ...

This would be our last shopping opportunity in BKK as we would be flying off tml... Seriously, i tink i am really not a born shopper, which is good in a way! As today was Monday, we saw many Thais wearing yellow tees to pay respects to their King. When we were walking on the Skywalk from Chit Lom BTS, a Thai man stopped us in our path & chatted wif us... Again? Can't believe lor! He said this area is ex to shop, sugg we go futher down to this Thai Export Centre where things r supp 30% cheaper & only open till 1pm every Monday. After talking to him, we walked a few steps down & was approached by another middle age chinese man! He asked if we r chinese and intro him as a Thai-Chinese & worked as a doctor in nearby hospital. Sei, this was our 3rd encounter wif strangers who chatted us up in the same area!

Bird eye's view of Erawan Shrine (四面佛)

We decided to stick to our plan & strolled down to Platinum Mall. Cos the day bef was so crowded till we were unable to shop. Shopping on a weekday was great as no need to jostle wif the wkend crowd. This time i managed to walk in an organise manner to comb each level. Lunch was at this mall's food court and i tried their local braised duck rice ... still pref our Sg's version. Been eyeing the Thai desserts & gotta try today liao! At the desserts stall, i asked the aunty what it meant by Thai dessert ~ Ice Ball? She couldn't really speak english & put some colourful strands in a bowl to show me! I tot besides that she would add toppings like our ice-kacang! To my dismay, it really only contained the coloured strands covered wif coconut milk & a plain ice ball! Wanted to try its other famous dessert ~ Mango wif Sticky Rice ... ahh, this time was good & these 2 desserts r really the only thai food i had thru'out, haha!

Thai Desserts ~ Ice Ball

Mango with Sticky Rice

Nearing 6pm, we finished covering the mall ... that's half a day too! Had a snack of cheese hotdog & drink before proceeding back to CentralWorld. After walking abit, we decided to have a good dinner & returned to Fuji Jap Restaurant! This time, mom sugg i could try the Tonkatsu Set. Was really filling after the sumptuous dinner! We strolled to Siam area again & had wanted to locate Hardrock Cafe initially but gave up ... went back to the lighted pathway outside Siam Discovery & re-shoot photos instead.

Tonkatsu Set

Outside Siam Discovery
This ends our day for an early nite back to hotel to pack our luaggage...

Day 3: Chatuchak Wkend Mkt & Suan Lum Nite Bazaar...

Planned to go Chatuchak Weekend Market as it only operate on Sat & Sun... Have to go early as it will be veri warm & crowded by noon. We set off after breakfast in our hotel and boarded the BTS from Chong Nonsi to Mo Chit.

Arrived at Mo Chit & followed the crowd to walk to Chatuchak... the stalls operate from 8.30am and it's nearly 10am when we arrived. The place was super huge and many pasar malam stalls lined both inside & outside. Seriously, after awhile will walk till lost direction! The variety of stuff sold here are slippers/sandals, caps, accessories, tees & shorts, luggage bags & backpacks etc. Besides these were their handicrafts, scarves, buddha statues. We really walked till veri tired... my initial plan was to spend only 2 hrs here! But end up by lunch time, only walked a part of it!

Decided to look for lunch place ... judging fr the pollution in BKK, i dun dare take the risk to eat the street stalls. So, I chanced upon this jap cafe wif alfresco seats & biz seems good! I saw an aunty eating a set which looked yummy... so i asked the waitress & it's their Spare Ribs Set Meal. Sounds good as i could see thru the glass where a man was bbq-ing the ribs! Woo! This was one of the best meals i had, check out the pic here... Mom had a Terriyaki Chix Set.

Spare Ribs Set... Fantastic!
Terriyaki Chicken Set
Take a break, have a coconut drink!

After a fufilling lunch, we continued exploring the wkend mkt ... by now, we had alreadi bought a few items, haha! The real shopping finally began... I was still feeling sluggish as it's really hot! I was perspiring like mad! Rmbr Denise told me muz try the coconut drink so i went to buy a coconut, sweet indeed =) Realised the discounts also not fantastic unless u purchase in bulk. We got some caps, sandals, shorts, bag, accessories & souvenirs. The shopping bag was a gd buy as we used it immediately to carry all our stuff, haahaa! Korean-Style Cap










At Pathumwan's Lobby

We left Chatuchak nearing 4pm! Boarded the BTS to National Stadium, MBK again... Went to cool down & rest our tired feets at Pathumwan Princess Hotel & snap some pics at its lobby! It's so cosy till i wished i had stayed there! Settled our dinner at MBK's food court, which i had eyed the same stall i patronised earlier ... this time muz try it's Drumstick wif Rice & Egg. The serving so huge till i couldn't finish up & if the drumstick was warmed up, it sure would had tasted better!

Like our Nasi Lemak ...

Travelled from MBK to Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which i failed to go on my 1st nite. This was abit out of the way as need to change at Sala Daeng BTS to their underground MRT (Si Lom Station)... separate tickets needed. Their MRT seems newer and we alighted at the next stop, Lumphini. The Bazaar was juz within mins fr the station. As we strolled in, we passed by a massage shop & the masseurs showed us the charges... it's 100 THB cheaper than the one we chk at MBK. It seems good biz too. When we seemed indecisive on which package, one of the masseurs offered us 1 hr head to toe massage for 200 THB each! That's a bargain ... meaning Sgd 8 only! So we went in to try out ... this was my First time having such a luxury treatment, esp for my tired feets & serious backpain fr the shopping! Would recommend this if anyone keen for a massage in BKK, they own a few units of massage shops in this bazaar... the shop called Relax.

After a good rest & a short nap at the massage shop, I still felt sleepy... haha! We strolled around Suan Lum Bazaar, read tt this place is gg to be demolished for developments... The set up was more organised wif proper pathway vs Chatuchak. Somemore, it's more cooling to walk at nite. But seeing the stuff seems almost the same, we din really walked much. The mark up price here also higher. Discovered that in BKK, we couldn't photograph freely the displays & items they sell... cos i saw a stall selling veri cute 'cakes', which r meant for display but was told need to pay up if wan take pic! Similarly, rmbr at a stall this aftn... a foreigner wan take pic at the caps, also was warned by the stall-owner. This part i really dun understand... if take pic, isn't it free publicity for the stalls? Visitors could intro their frens to visit these stalls too!

Today was pretty fufilling as we visited two bazzars and manage to buy things lo!

Day 2: River Cruise + Exploring BKK City...

Woke up veri early & our hotel serve pretty gd variety of american breakfast, some jap food & siew mai/bun. After a good breakfast, we went to the lobby to wait for our tour leader at 8am (BKK time is 1 hr behind Sg). As there's nothing much to do while waiting, I tested my photography skill at this lotus flower at the lobby...haha!

Finally, Patoon arrived at 8.30am to pick us up and our day tour comprised of visitors from Sg, India, Philippines... We reached the Central Pier to board the River Express Boat. As a picture speaks a thousand word, follow me thru the cruise by viewing the album below!



Gotta share wif u my nasty experience...who says Thailand is the Land of Smiles? Our guide allocated half hr for us at Wat Arun. As mom wasn't really keen to to climb the temple's steep stairs, we strolled around the temple's exterior to snap pics. Came to this cardboard standee where u can pop ur face in to snap pic... took a pic here for mom & myself. Shortly, 2 young jap gals requested me to help them take photo & i happily obliged. But who knows, suddenly 2 fierce Thai women stopped us & demanded each of us pay them 40 THB! I was horrendously shocked! Then i realized on the foot of the standee inscripted the pricing (who wld hv notice that?) Thou the amt is small, i was unwilling to give them for their 'extorting' attitude! I felt if this svc is chargeable, they shld had inf us 1st. The Thai woman demanded if i dun pay up, have to delete the photo in front of her... i showed her mine & del, but din press rite button & she tot i deliberate din wan del it... so, i deleted it 2nd time. She continued dun let me off, saying there's another pic inside... but i quickly walked off & saved my mom's pic. Despite all my travels, I found this was an unforgettable bad experience, esp i felt that temple grounds shld be sacred ... not operate biz in such manner!

After we finished touring Wat Arun, we were whisked to one of their largest Jewellery & Gem outlet... upon stepping in, free soft drink r served & we viewed a short video on how precious stones r extracted & refined. Followed on, two sales-ladies followed us thru'out the place hoping we would make some purchase. At the end of this half day tour, we opted to visit the famous Erawan Shrine (四面佛) located in the city centre. However, due to traffic jam & the long travelling journey... it took us almost 2hrs to reach!

Had a brief view of Erawan Shrine & it's crowded wif devotees. Upon stepping out, we were stopped by a black guy. He appeared friendly & spoke gd english...claiming he's a doctor working at the hospital nearby. He chatted wif me & adviced me to shop at Siam instead of this area. Well, we wonder if there's really such nice ppl or do they have some hidden agenda? We headed to CentralWorld and found a cheap & nice Jap resturant ~ Fuji Jap Restaurant (Level 6). Mom & I were famished... i had a Beef Steak set & chose a Salmon Terriyaki Set for mom. The servings were huge & delicious! At the end of the meal, there's even free coffee/tea/ice lemon tea served! For the 2 set meals, I only paid SGD 17! Good food certaintly made my mood better (^0^)

Beef Steak Set available only during lunch hours... generous serving of salad too!

Salmon Terriyaki Set
Took me awhile to find out how to walk down to Platinum Mall... Wow! As today was Sat, the mall was flooded wif both tourists & locals. There's 6 levels of shopping here & it's mainly a wholesale ctr... u will only get gd discount for bulk purchase. The quality of clothes r pretty much like our Bugis Village or This Fashion. Decided to racee first & to return again on Monday! It's another huge mall & would take hours to finish... est ard 50 - 100 tiny shops on each level!

After walking Platinum Mall, we went further down to Pantip Plaza... the IT Mall, it's like Sim Lim Sq but more messy & unable to find a gd webcam there. Haiz! Then, we crossed the dangerous junction to Pratunam Complex but there's nothing much. Decided to head down to Siam Center for dinner. By then was 8pm & its food court did not have as much variety as MBK. Slightly more costly & this meal was the worst thru'out our trip... had Fried Longevity Noodles wif Pork. Came to Siam Ctr as i wanted to chk out its Converse Shop, saw a design i fancy but the colour left was not nice... Geez!

I do enjoy the stepped path outside Siam Discovery! Both sides r framed wif tall palm trees and lighted fire touch at the foot of each tree. It's veri breezy sitting here wo... nice ambience! Called it end of today as we were dead-beat! I starting to have back-ache liao...

Day 1: Arriving at Bangkok...

Been looking forward to my Bangkok trip wif mom as i'm dying to fly away! Chose this destination as my orignal plan to Lijiang was aborted... BKK is budget mah. Today commenced our 5D4N trip. This backpack rep me waiting to get onboard at Changi Airport... heehee!

Boarded our Cathay Pacific CX712 at local time 1.30pm. I was thrilled to ride on my fav airline again! To my little dismay, the in-flight entertainment system only have music, the movies r switch off. The lunch was yummy (usually i dislike airplane food). I had pork wif rice, while mom opted for chicken wif baked potato. This is my 2nd lunch in the day, haha! Haagen Diaz ice-cream is usually served on CX flights ... I love it!

Before long, our 2hrs flight touched down on Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Int'l Airport. Abit lost searching for our tour leader to pick us up. Finally found this gal who intro herself as Patoon, she sat us down while waiting for the 9-seater van & started asking if we interested in watching some 'aguar show' (the famous thai tranvestite show!) or day tours... haha! I asked her to teach me how to say 'Thank You' in Thai ... it's 'Khaawp Khoon' (for men, add the word 'khrap' behind; for ladies, add the word 'kha' behind) ... to me its pronuciation sound like 'cartoon ka'! Similarly, their Thai greetings (can be used in many ways, Hello, Gd Morning, Gd Afternoon etc) is commonly what we known as 'Sa Wat Dee' (add Khrap for males/ add Kha for ladies behind it). So as a gal, i've to greet by saying 'Sa Wat Dee Kha'!

By the time we checked into Narai Hotel at Silom Road, it's abt 5pm! Took a short rest & decided to head to MBK Center. Our nearest BTS was Chong Nonsi which was 15mins walk fr our hotel! Purchased the BTS Sky Smartpass for 130 THB (only 70 THB can be used) for convenient sake . The counter gal gave me the wrong change & was certainly unfriendly when i asked her abt it... wat a bad experience at the start of my trip!

Arrived at BTS National Stadium station which had a skylink to Tokyu (jap dept store in MBK). Security was tight as each person entering fr the station had to pass thru' a scan. Subsequently, i realized all the major malls in BKK require similar security checks. Wa sei! MBK Mall is really huge wif many shops lining each level. My pre-departure research discovered that we can show our passport at its info counter to get a Tourist discount card for discount at selected merchants. So naturally, we got the card bef exploring the mall....

Had late dinner at Level 6 food court (there's another more ex eating pl at Level 5). Settled for their local tze char stall & prior to purchasing food, need to buy their coupons. I tried tis delicious Fried Rice wif Shrimp... chose this stall as there was a pretty long Q, haha! It's a well deserved wait & i decided to return again.

Fried Rice with Shrimp

When we need to ans the call of nature, i bought mom to the adjoining 5* hotel ~ Pathumwan Princess. Wow! I luv the ambience at this hotel & the design is modern & chic...

Ended our day slightly early as we were both tired & need to wake up super early the next day for our half day tour.... as such, have to postpone my orginal plan to tour the nite bazaar tonite.