'Bangkok Bangkok' Blog 1

Time: 10.54am
Location: Where else for now?

Day 1: 10 March 6am

I have been working so hard for the past weeks that I hardly had the time to feel the emotions rush in for this trip. It's my first trip to Bangkok with 4 of my bestest friends from NAFA days. Our budget flight was scheduled at 9-plus so I had to drag myself up at 6am...

Jen's secondary school friend was also coming along for the trip. We shared a cab and picked up the rest at Jen's place. Then it was back the familar way to Changi Airport. (Loyang everyday... trip also have to go pass this way to Changi Airport!) We had a quick breakfast of Mr Bean and we're on our way to jet off to BANGKOK!

We arrived in Bangkok about 2 hours later and we were immediately surrounded by eager people who tried to tout us into renting their vans for about 1000THB. (Which is approx. less than S$50) Prices were as high as 1800THB and they were very persistent...but we played it safe, and took a cab for 400THB to Baiyoke Suite Hotel.

The first cab ride was definitely something to remember by. I've never had the chance to sit in a cab that travels at AT LEAST 110km/h. Many times the young driver was 'racing' with my friend's cab (There were 8 of us) like we were in Initial D. He told us that he is a Thai boxer and has represented his country in competitions...and with that, he whisked out a magazine which his picture. Since he's considered quite famous, here's a picture of him... you people might recognise him.



Our hotel room was really huge. It was the largest hotel room I've ever stayed in...comparable to a chalet...with a joint kitchen and living room, a bathroom and a separate bedroom. All this for a mere S$60 per night for a twin sharing room. I shared my room with Ting and we were practically flabbergasted by the size of the room. (Or rather, Jen's hubby room...'cos our room was still beng made) Well, we didn't have much time to settle in, 'cos we were off to Chatuchak! (Oh, before that, we were at this mall for lunch...but that's not important. The waiter's funny though, 'cos when we asked him to recommend the good dishes, he honestly told us not to order a particular dish, 'cos they didn't know how to make it. HAHA)

We boarded a cab for about 200THB (Which was considered expensive) and we were on our way. Most cabbies here don't like to use the meter even though it's a requirement there. Not sure if it's against their law though...

Chatuchak is HUGE. MASSIVE. And VERY HOT.... There were separate streets that specialised in different wares. Similar to Shih Lin Night Market in Taiwan, there is even a pets street. A lot of little doggies were being sold... I even saw little tiny squirrels being chained to their cages. It's a freaky sight though, 'cos most of the animals were really quiet and restless. It was as if they've been injected with some drug. Dogs are obviously a popular choice there, with more than 80percent of the stalls selling dogs or dog products. Ivy must've felt in heaven there... her doggy, Silver, is one lucky fella.



I'm so glad I had my Birkies on, otherwise my feet will be bruised with blisters at the end of Day 1. Most of the stalls close around 7pm, and by then, the damage done to my wallet was about S$100. Lace purses for S$3.50! T-shirts for S$8! Undergarments at 3 for $8! I was in heaven.

We left Chatuchak for a nice Japanese dinner at Siam Paragon. It's similar to our Paragon here, flashy, high-end and there's even security guards and metal detectors being set up at the entrance to prevent terrorists. The interior is simply stunning. Though Thailand is not as cosmopolitan as us here, the interior there is really beautiful. Chandelier lights, floral wallpapers and artistic installments. Our Paragon pales in comparison. Thailand definitely has a lot of good designers..... I just wonder if they're well-paid. Thai boys and girls are quite pleasant looking too. In fact, they dress really well, and their fashion designers are really good, if not better than us here. (Ops, I've offended many)






The Japanese food is definitely something that I'll have again. It's at basement of Siam Paragon and the dishes are DEEEELLLIIISSSHHH... Prices are about 290THB for a bento set...which is relatively cheap, considering how good are dishes are.





After a hearty meal, it was more SHOPPING! The stores close quite early though, much to our disappointment...but we were thrilled just to stroll around the supermarket. Just look at how neat their displays are! It's almost as if if one customer takes a pack of chips, a staff will immediately come by to arrange the shelves! The joy on Ting's face explains it all.




We went into one of their department stores, somewhat like Seiyu or Taka and they were already fast approaching closing time. We saw their staff line up in one straight line to sign-out (or punch their cards) and everything was so orderly. There was also no security guards to give us that 'killer look' in order to shoo us out of the stores. How nice.

Ting and I evaluated our buys that night and we had Ivy and Jane for a sleepover. I guess the room's simply too big for just the 2 of us. :)

End of Day 1.

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Day 2: 11 March 8am

We had to wake up early for the breakfast buffet as they end at 10am. (SO EARLY!!!) It's a normal spread of pancakes, waffles, cornflakes, eggs.... but the milk was sour. And me, being gullible me, thought it was sour 'cos it's goat's milk.

*Sheesh.

We decided to go back to Chatuchak as we have yet to 'accomplish' our mission of covering the whole area. This time round, we took the Tuk-tuk. The guy charged us just 20THB for the trip, which is like 5THB per person (4 in a TUK-TUK!) Well, we should've known that there's never such a good deal...'cos less than 5 mins on the TT (Short for Tuk-Tuk), and after he gamely let us posed on his TT, he suggested driving us to some jewellery outlet. We refused but he persisted, and said that they'll let him have free petrol/ diesel if we go. He even said 20THB to go Chatuchak is very cheap, and we just have to help him by looking around for 15mins.

Ok, no choice.

It's a huge jewellery place, with like loads of salespeople with eagle-eyes spying on you. You get free soft drinks there, but they will quickly usher you into the showroom. It's so hard to pretend to be interested. A friend (Can't rem who) mentioned that the jewels are of inferior quality though they claimed to be ISO guaranteed or something.

When we came out empty-handed, I wonder if the TT driver was going to scold us or something. He did ask if we bought anything, and we said 'No'. He kept quiet... hmm. I wonder if we bought something, he'll have a comission.

Aniways... we were off to Chatuchak again! It's like way hotter this time and I was craving for 7-11's Slurpee. Luckily, they had ice lollies at 3THB a pop! Yummy! I had 2 of them in a roll. This time, I bought even more lace purses as gifts and I think the stall owner must've been pleased to see us back. Bargaining was a little hard though, as most of them usually won't want to reduce their prices further.

We had fried chicken from the roadside stall...yes, right beside a smelly drain. It was supposedly quite famous, and yes, it did taste pretty good. (Except having to bear with the stench coming from the drain) The tables were actually sewing machine tables and we had like really tiny stools for my really big butt.

We then went to a shopping mall...can't recall the name...think it's Big C or B or something. By the time we're there, half the shops were closing so we had to settle for dinner at MK steamboat. Check out this sighboard...it says 'Yum Saap', which is also my senior, Kevin's, favourite phrase. It means 'shrewd' in Cantonese or something.




Steamboat was a simple affair. We ordered just a few of the regular dishes and it's relatively cheap for the 8 of us. Less than S$5-S$6 per person. I think we loitered along the streets to shop a little bit more... they had a lot of road-side stalls and they're usually really cheap (And you can BARGAIN!)

At the end of Day 2, my feet was tired and my back was sunburnt. Sigh!