Bangkok Shopping!!! (Part III)

12-15 November 2008

During our next few days, we checked out from Baiyoke Boutique Hotel, and upgraded ourselves to the very spacious Baiyoke Sky Hotel!! It’s Thailand’s highest hotel, up to 88 storeys. When we were checking in, we got a little lost in fact, as we had no idea that the lobby was actually on the 18th floor instead. But anyway, after some helpful directions, we finally made it in =)

Lunch was then spent with Siangde and Glen again. The latter introduced us to an authentic Korean restaurant along Sukhumvit Road. It was not bad. They even had a Kimchi Tofu soup, which was really tasty! But where exactly it is, I’m not very sure. But hopefully the picture will help you guys out if you are interested =D I do know however that it is near Asok BTS station.

Anyway, we went our separate ways again after lunch, of which Bingrong and I explored around the area. Since it was a Friday, we thought of trying our luck at Chatuchak Weekend Market, since we heard that it might be open on Fridays too. We decided to try out their train system, so on we hopped onto the BTS service, and made our way to Mo Chit station.

I must say that their train service is pretty good and high tech. Their mode of payment is very much like our own EZ-link card, in which your value can be stored for a maximum of 2 years, though the card is valid for 5. You can even watch short adverts and mtv on their mobile tv system, very much unlike our very own NEL line where it is muted, and it is constantly showing the ‘Be Aware’ video on repeat mode.  Besides, their air-con is constantly on full blast, which serves to be a welcome relief from the hot weather outside =)

Sadly, when we arrived, most of the stalls were actually not open. So off we went back to our town area, where we walked around the usual Central World etc, and Platinum Mall (again) for shopping, shopping and more shopping to the end of our day!!

After which, dinner this time was spent at… KFC!! The boy had cravings to check out how their chicken there is like, so we decided to give it a try.

Check out the way they serve!! They actually provide glasses for your drinks, knife and fork for your utility, trays for your food, and their sauces are in bottles that are on every table!! It’s soo interesting, because for the first time in my life, I can eat KFC without having to dirty my hands! The poor boy however found it a chore, haha… Too bad for him =D I like this idea anyway, as it helps to cut down wastage and save the world. The only bad thing is that with all these glasses and utensils, the tray ends up being pretty heavy…

On our last day, we had breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, which was located on the 77th floor.

Scenes from atop.

Not only that, their breakfast selection was really good! They had lots of international cuisines, which we ate to our hearts’ content.

And that’s a picture of me taken by the Boy who got bored after having such a sumptuous meal =)

After breakfast, we had more shopping at the nearby roadside markets, before we decided to head back to Chatuchak Weekend Market for more. However, it was such a hot day, we were dying from dehydration and exhaustion! And pity me, the city girl who really cannot live without shades, did not have one with her as they broke back in Singapore!!

Anyway, as the weather, crowd and lack of space was so bad, we left just after one hour. It’s a pity though as perhaps having more time to shop might allow me to end up with more goodies… But at least now we know, next time when we come back to Chatuchak, wear extremely light!! =D

And before we flew off back to Singapore, we headed back to Platinum Mall again to scout for some last minute shopping, as well as the nearby roadside markets more polo tees.

Dinner was once again back at the hotel where we had our breakfast. Being curious to try out their meals, for just about 20 SGD, you get to enjoy lovely scenes of Bangkok’s night lights, and be spoiled with good buffet food. Tis especially so for their otak and tom yum soup! The boy just couldn’t get enough of it.

So yeap, that’s us, signing out from our Bangkok Shopping trip. It was indeed a fun time shopping around with him. As usual, he was the kind soul who offered to carry as many of my shopping bags as possible, finding food, and going crazy just searching for the best priced polo tees!! I might have forgotten to mention that the boy really went high, buying lots of polo tees! In fact, I think he went back with at least 6 polo tees, and he even ‘psycho-ed’ me to buy 2!!

Bangkok Shopping!! (Part II)

12-15 November 2008

As you guessed it, our second day was spent shopping again. This time, we decided to explore the buildings around our hotel. Little did I expect it to be filled with more shops. And not just shops, wholesale ones!! This made me feel like Bangkok is like many many Lai Chi Kok(s) of Hong Kong!! I was truly awed.

The ‘highlight’ of the day I felt was actually me trying to search for a pair of white denim shorts. I did not believe that Bangkok did not sell any. But after a long time walking through the many markets and shops, I could not find any!! The shops either sold shorts of other colours, or the material was just not denim. I was about to give up and lament when finally, after almost a whole afternoon of searching, I spotted a nice one hanging on the wall of a shop, selling for only about $8. Whee~~

After which, we decided to return to the hotel for a quick rest. Bingrong’s friend, Siangde and his cousin, Glenn, were touching down in Bangkok on this day, and had decided to meet up for dinner.

So we met up at Siam Paragon (a place where I would never ever shop at due to its expensive items), after which we decided upon Orangery as the place for dinner. It was quite an interesting concept, as Orangery featured 9 dining restaurant cuisines in just one place, ranging from Lebanese cuisines to Japanese cuisines to their local Thai flavour.

While their ambiance was really nice (the picture above doesn’t do the place justice), I guess the food portion was a little too small for my appetite. But that’s fine dining, though two of the guys did feel full from their meals.

That’s us at Orangery

And here’s our group picture.

After dinner, we went our separate ways, of which, out of ‘impulse’, we decided to give Suan Lom Night Market a try. Having read on the Internet that it was undergoing renovations, we weren’t sure if it was still open.

But after some checking with the local policeman, we finally took a cab down to the night market. And the market itself was again another huge shopping area! They even have a stage with live performances, and bars for people to chill out.

In fact, the place very much reminded us of Holland Village with all its eateries and bars. Just that it allows for more shopping of food items, clothes, accessories and even furniture and art stuff =)

Anyway, my feet were so tired from all the walking that at the end of the day, I wished that I had a nice foot massage back at the hotel… That would surely rejuvenate me for more shopping for the next few days! Hahaha =D

Bangkok Shopping! (Part I)

12-15 November 2008

I guess my Boy knows how much I love shopping, for the fact that he planned the Bangkok trip for me just for shopping =) And with it being quite last minute,  we just get as much information from our friends, before flying down ourselves! (Apparently, a lot of our colleagues went to Bangkok recently, with 2 from just my side!)

Hearing how nice the Baiyoke hotels were, we decided to stay a few nights in Baiyoke Boutique Hotel before upgrading ourselves to the Baiyoke Sky to help save on budget.

Here’s a look at their lobby area. It looks really chic, and its lemongrass aroma was quite nice.

And here’s us against the arty farty background of our room. While the room looked pretty chic as well, just like the hotel’s lobby, the only negative thing I felt was that the toilet was at the back of the room, unlike most hotel rooms, where the toilet is nearer to the front of the room. (I would seriously love to clean my feet before entering my room, rather than to walk to the back of the room to enter the toilet in order to clean my feet!)

Anyway, as we arrived pretty early in the afternoon, before our check-in time, after we dropped off our luggage at the concierge, off we went to shop!! Little did we realise that just around the corner was already a street market! Imagine my ecstasy =)

But, every good thing came with a bad point. It was extremely packed!! The streets of Bangkok are made in such a way that it was pretty crammed, and there were just too many people walking around. What made it worse was that there were those mobile food stalls, that parked in the middle of the street. And with quite a lot of people doing wholesale, many a times you had to make way for their extremely huge wholesale bags/trolleys while trying to squeeze into whatever remaining space available.

Since the market was pretty close to our hotel, we decided to bypass it first, and head to the well-known Platinum Mall.

They even had a Christmas tree to celebrate the upcoming festival. But anyway, Platinum mall was my haven!! They had 6 levels of shops, and had everything that you can imagine. From tops, tees, jeans, dresses, to lingerie, costumes, shoes, accessories and many more! Although they focused more on wholesale, the shops also do sell the clothes individually, just that it is priced a little more expensive. Some of them are even nice enough to let you buy 3 that are of different styles/design. At the end of it, it was so tiring just walking in and out of the maze of shops that were of 6 levels in total, but hey, it’s shopping! I think on this day itself, I bought at least 4 tops/dresses.

With me ‘finishing’ Platinum Mall, we went on to explore the other shopping malls like Central World, Siam Paragon, Siam Square, MBK Mall etc. I guess those aren’t really my style, as they were like normal departmental stores. Which made me realised that I’m actually not a department store shopping person, but more of wholesale market shopping!!

Hence, we just walked around the area, and ‘played’ around the malls. Like this:

I’ll like to think that I pose way better than the Boy. Like, how can I see him with him hiding behind the big words?? Hahaha =)

Oh oh, and before I forget, something that we both find really interesting:

Pink taxis!! Actually, Bangkok had lots of really bright coloured taxis. A really different sight from the usual white, black and blue taxis that you see in Singapore. Not only that, their driving skills are actually quite good, that is, they just have fast reflexes. If any Singaporeans were to drive in Bangkok, I guess one can say that chances of getting into an accident is quite high because of the way drivers cut lanes =)

Anyway, after a whole day of walking and shopping, we finally decided to settle for dinner to end the day. With recommendations from his friend that MK had good food, it was thanks to my sharp eye that while walking from Central World to Siam Square that I spotted the restaurant, that allowed us to figure out our way to MK Trendi for dinner!

The restaurant is of steamboat style, where you can choose quite a variety of food. They even have packages for 2-3 people, just that you have some difficulty understanding some parts of the menu as they are only in Thai. Other than that, the food was not bad, but the soup was really good! So, do give it a try when you are there!

Love Revolution Part II

Hope you guys did not miss me, for I was away in Bangkok on a shopping spree!

Anyway after so long, here’s the remaining of the series. Apparently, there’s actually 10 vignettes in all despite the show having 12 episodes.

Episode 7
I really like trying out those “love flow charts” in magazines
If I don’t like the result
I go back to the question that I could have made a mistake on and I try again

That leads me to a moronic answer, and it’s way off
The more I go back and forth on the chart, even with the same questions
The results seem to get further and further away from the truth

Episode 8
When I’m about to run into someone,
I try to avoid them
The problem is they avoid me in the same direction
When I go the opposite way
They also go the opposite way
I really don’t wish to want to get in his way but…
When I decide not to move at all,
And try to let him go,
He ends up doing the same
Then we stare at each other,
And we can’t move at all.

Episode 9
When I take a test,
I always check over all my answers before turning it in
And I always end up changing something.

Sometimes, one of the other answers looks better so
I end up changing my answer at the last instant.

But when I get my results
I find out my first choice was right after all.

Episode 10
When I stub my pinky toe on a cabinet corner,
It hurts like nothing else

It feels like the pain will last forever
But at the same time
What if I get a cavity?
I can’t just wait for it to pass
It might be better to kill the pain with something that hurts more.

Many thanks to Ericia once more for the lovely reads =)

Bustling Bangkok

With: Bingrong
When: 12th to 15th November

More shopping!!! =)