He stopped crying when his mom lifted him and let him hold on to the adult railing. And he cried everytime the train stopped. Oh well, our stop is here. We're getting off at Thong Lor and headed down to Soi 38 for the night food market. More street food joy!
31 July, 2008
Eating near Khao San
Taking a break at Ricky's Coffee in Banglampoo. Good reviews. Decent prices. Near the Four Sons House. I'm waiting for my fried rice with tuna in pesto sauce :)
Another ride along the river
This time we're headed to Banglampoo / Khao San. 13 stops away, 17 baht each.
30 July, 2008
Day 4
- We took the BTS to Chit Lom station. We walked through Gaysorn (an upmarket shopping mall) to get to Narrai Phand but it was closed
- We headed to Big C Rajadamri where we found a factory outlet store with cheap Levi's and Dockers (as cheap as 850 Bht for jeans or khakis)
- Went to Big C but didn't find any mini items like we were told
- Took the BTS from Chit Lom to Siam. Went to Siam Square looking for Lam Som Tam Nua on Soi 5. But we stopped before that at a alley between Soi 5 and Soi 6 with a nice sign that said Food Plus. It was a lane filled with stalls on the left and wooden park benches on the right selling about the same thing along the whole way
- We found a table and sat down. We looked around only to find that we were in a sea of locals and all the menus were in Thai. The stall next to us, however, was very well patronised. So, to go with the flow, I had 'chap fan' from this stall which was extremely good. If you were to try the food here, have the minced pork. Verdict:Price was 35 Bht/plate of 2 meats +egg + rice, loved it! Excellent experience - probably the best local food we've had
- Walked around Siam Square, lots of nice little shops selling clothes and knick-knacks, own designs, very interesting, this place reminded me of Oxford Street in Sydney
- We saw Hard Rock Cafe from afar, couldn't get to it as it started to rain. We walked into Siam Centre and had coffee at Black Canyon Coffee. Tip:Buy 1 free 1 on Wednesdays!
- Took a taxi outside Siam Paragon to the Platinum Fashion Mall
- Walked to the Chit Lom Station (approximately 15 minutes) and took the BTS back to Asok
- We had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms along Soi 12, Sukhumvit. Verdict: Different setting. A one-off thing to do when in Bangkok for the first time. Foot massage cost 60 Bht/15 minutes, all money goes to a good cause
- Walked down 2 minutes along the same soi to Crepes and Co. Verdict: Lovely setting, friendly staff, affordable, comfortable and relaxing. It's a nice place to go to with friends, wide selection of sweet and savoury crepes
Day 3
- Our day began at 10 a.m., an hour later than yesterday
- We took the BTS to Saphan Taksin
- Took the local river taxi (with the orange flag) to Tha Chang (N9). Fare was 17Bht/person. Tip: Boats with the orange flag stop at every pier while boats with the yellow flags are express boats that skip a few piers. The tourist boat is 120Bht/person/day but it is only worth it if you want to do everything along the river. Oh, and you buy your tickets on the river taxi itself, much like sitting on a pink Mini Bus.
- When we got off the boat, there were many men walking around telling people that the palace was closed. We ignored them as many have warned us about these lurking con men. Walked to the Grand Palace, entry is 300Bht/person.
- Walked out to Wat Pho at approximately 12 pm. Paid 30 Bht for a coconut (we saw that it was only 20 Bht around the corner)
- Outside the Wat Pho was a sign that stated 'Enter via the other gate'. There were two 'guards' stationed there, one told us that the temple was closed for lunch and that we were to visit the other temples which were open i.e. the Lucky Buddha etc. We ignored this guy and walked to the other temple entrance only to find that there was no such thing as
'closed for lunch' - Wat Pho entry cost 50Bht/person. In the shrine of the reclining Buddha, we donated money to get coins that were dropped (one each) into the 108 gold 'pots'
- Whilst still within the grounds of Wat Pho, we saw the amazing circular rainbow phenomenon
- Took the river boat from Tha Tien (N8) to Ratchawongse (N5). This cost 22Bht/person
- Walked and got lost in Chinatown for an hour. We could not find any decent eateries for lunch
- We walked back to the pier and took the express boat to Sathorn (N1), got back on the BTS, alighted at Sala Daeng station
- Initially, we walked into Silom Complex to look for a good place to eat but the food court had no air conditioning
- Got out back and went to this quaint little noodle bar called Nooddi Bar. Verdict: Reasonably priced, good food - I had tom yum udon and P had tom yum fried rice which was different and nice, horrible service, grumpy and unhelpful staff, we didn't enjoy the overall experience here
- Walked down Patpong Road, passed Patpong market which was in the midst of opening. Many men were walking up to P asking if he needed a 'masssaaaagggggeee???'
- We eventually reached the main junction (approximately 20 minutes from our lunch place) at a busy cross junction
- We followed our Nancy Chandler map to a lane that said 'all your money will melt away' - Soi La Lai Sap. Verdict: we didn't find anything particularly great about this place
- Walked back to Sala Daeng where we stopped for a drink
- Walked to Silom MRT (approximately 5 minutes away from the Sala Daeng BTS) for our first MRT experienced. There are guards stationed at the entry that do a brief check on your bags
- Alighted at Lumphini station straight into Suan Lum Night Bazaar
- We sat at Safari Steak enjoying the a/c, ice cream and ice cold water whilst we waited for the stalls to open.
- The shops open. Again, we followed P's systematic way of covering all bases by walking aisle by aisle, one end to the other. After about an hour, we realised we had only covered one block and there were several others!!!!!! Tip: For first timers, when you reach the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, take a look at the location map and check out what you want to see or purchase and go straight to it - it's less tiring
- Dinner at a restaurant in the middle opposite the Safari Steak restaurant. Tip: look for the beer garden with many food stalls or an outdoor food court located at the back end of this place
- Took the MRT back to Sukhumvit, stopped at 7-11 for an ice cream and bottled water
- We were so exhausted - we decided that the next day will be a chill-lax day
Day 2
- Took BTS to Nana for tailors along Sukhumvit Soi 8 and Soi 14. Found quotes for a simple short dress to be too high (minimum USD 100)
- Took BTS to National Stadium - MBK.
- Lunch at food court upstairs. Verdict: Reasonably priced, wide selection of local food.
- Took a cab to Platinum Fashion Mall from Ratchadamri (we stopped at the wrong station) and experienced our first Bangkok jam. Cost: approximately 50Bht
- Platinum Fashion Mall - Verdict: Better bargains compared to MBK
- Walked up and down each aisle on all six levels till our feet broke
- Crossed the pedestrian bridge to the Pratunam market (outdoors) but most were closing.
- Walked across the Klong Saen Saep river into Central World
- Watched 'Dark Knight' at the SFX Theater in Central World (was uncertain whether the movie was in Thai or English as we forgot to ask when we bought the tickets). The cinema was extremely comfortable and clean with lots of leg room space. Tickets were 120Bht/person
- Froze to death in the cinema as we were still in our shopping attire (t-shirt and shorts)
- Dinner at Maccas , Amarin Plaza.
Day 1
- Checked in at Baan Sukhumvit
- Late lunch at Basilco, Soi 20. Verdict: Reasonably priced, comfortable ambiance, decent pizza portion
- Went to Chatuchat via the BTS Sky Train
- Dinner at The Emporium (10 minute walk from our hotel). Verdict: Pricey, food not that great, limited selection. Tip: Most food courts utilise the coupon system i.e. purchase coupons at coupon counter, return remainder for money so that food vendors don't handle the cash, much like Canteen Day at school
- Walked to Suda Restaurant at Soi 14 for some fish cakes and beer. Verdict: Cheap and good
You don't wanna be stuck in this
Mad traffic jam near Siam Paragon. That's about 4 lanes one way, and 1 the other way. We're walking.
The Circular Rainbow
I forgot to post this one yesterday. We were still on the Wat Pho grounds after visiting the reclining Buddha when we saw this amazing phenomenon. A complete circular rainbow! We've both never seen this before - have you?
29 July, 2008
Pleasant, but still way too big
At the Suan Lum bazaar. We've only covered one block. Had to stop for dinner. Might go for a foot massage next.
Trendy & unfriendly
We stopped for lunch at this quaint noodle bar in Silom. The service was exceptionally horrible! The waitresses were grouchy and unpleasant. No cameras were allowed (weird) so no photos of the interior. I had tom yam udon which was different and quite nice.
Off to the night bazaar
First ride on the metro - feels a little more civilized. Off to the suan lum night bazaar. We're early!
HE's watching
The sleeping Budha is huge. Oh, and we almost got conned by a tout dressed up as a guard. More on that later.
The river looks like "teh ais"
We're taking the local river taxi up to Tha Chang. 17 baht. I'm siting next to a local lady. Can't get cheated that way. Off to the Grand Palace from there.
Now for the scenic stuff
We're headed off to the last stop on the Silom BTS line, Saphan Thaksin. From there, we're taking a river taxi up stream to the Grand Palace. Not sure if we should just take the local taxi or the tourist taxi for 120 baht. We'll keep you posted.
McDonald's - check!
Went to see Uncle Ronald. The samurai pork burger is just "so so". They love their sweet sauce(s) here.
28 July, 2008
Thai movie experience
We can't believe it ourselves. The movie just got cut off. Just when Joker was about to wreck some havoc. Now how do we say "fix it lah!" in Thai? Oh, that's us by the way :)
Gonna watch Batman
We're using this bran excuse not to walk back to our hotel. Feet's killing us after all that shopping. We're at Central World. This place is huge!
Shoes. Just lots of it.
Platinum Shopping Mall is better than MBK. More wholesale options. Not that we're buying truck loads. Yet.
27 July, 2008
2 dinners in 1 night
First round at the Emporium food court wasn't enough. Eating fishcakes now at a coffeeshop off sukhumvit.
Oh, and everything seems to be fried over here. Tasty though :)
The JJ experience
Look at that! A scoop of coconut ice cream in a coconut shell. It looked yummy. The queue was really long. Would love to try it next weekend (if we can locate the stall again)
And...Of course we got lost (several times) the place is hugggeee!!!
It rained towards the end and it got wet and messy, rain falling on you from a dirty tarpaulin, kids duck-walking in puddles splattering dirty roadside water on your legs - but the shops stayed open (approximately around 5.30p.m.). Overall, it was a good experience and we will be back next Saturday :)
Baby elephant walk
Holy shit! They've taken it to a different level, instead of walking a dog, they're walking their elephant!
On the way to the hotel
In a crummy looking public taxi, with poor shock absorbers. At least the air-con works. 400 baht
Happy happy joy joy!
Here we are! LANDED at the Suvarnabhumi airport, acting like kids in the a playground, both restless in the plane, ever so eager to begin our holiday!
What's up with the queue?!
30 minutes and counting. There's absolutely no system with the AirAsia check-in process. The queue looks very long behind me, and I'm nowhere near done. Flight's at 10.40. So much for being early on a Sunday morning!
First time on the SkyBus
We decided to take the SkyBus to LCCT this morning.
The verdict? You can't beat the price. 9 bucks per person as compared to 70 by cab.
The Bad: Creaky bus (think Sri Jaya in the 90s), noisy ladies, occasional mosquitoes
The Good: air conditioned, more leg room compared to an Air Asia flight, KL-Putrajaya highway, on time (just over an hour), relatively clean & comfortable
The Weird: paying only upon arrival before stepping out of the bus
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