I was in a dilemma; on one hand, i have blogged on a 3 days, 2 nights Bangkok itinerary last year and didn't want to post a travelogue with similar content. On the other hand, some places i went to this time were not covered in past trips!
Guess the 1,200 photos i took were eventually main motivators for this 2015 itinerary; if i don't upload them to this blog, there's a high chance they would be hidden forever in the pictures folder that currently holds 398 gigabyte-worth of pictures.
Day One (06 August 2015)
[6.30 am Singapore Time]
Dad was kind enough to send us to Changi Airport terminal one and we arrived at 6.30 am, well ahead of our morning departure at 9.10 am. To cut down on expenses (so as to spend more in Bangkok), we had breakfast at the terminal's staff canteen!
Met up with the rest of our travel mates; a big group comprising of no less than 20 persons! As most of them didn't have breakfast and i already had by then, i decided to clear the immigration first to check out the airport's departure lounge and played a free game of UFO catcher with the boarding pass.
[9.15 am Singapore Time]
The JetStar plane took off from the runway; picture taken by Alex as the asshole finally had a window seat! Okay, must give him some credit for this shot that had a clear view of Singapore Expo and even Bedok Reservoir.
[10.21 am Thailand Time]
You know Bangkok is near when the view a few thousand feet below shows a beautiful layout of agricultural land.
[12.10 pm] Immigration was so crowded and by the time our companions had their passports stamped, cleared their bladders with some buying data plans at the 7-11 convenience stalls, it was already past noon. Instead of taking the cab, all of us were agreeable to try out the Airport Rail Link!
[1.08 pm] Arrived at Lemontea Hotel (Pratunam area) after a speedy train service that brought us to Phaya Thai interchange station in about half an hour! Additional time was spent walking to the hotel and bloody hell, i took the long way! Note: heard that it would be faster to drop at the station before; Rathchaprarop.
[2.50 pm] After a short rest at the boutique hotel, we broke away from the main entourage as the first item on my itinerary was to tailor made a few shirts! This time, we attempted to find a shorter route to the BTS station via the railway tracks and succeeded in halving the time originally taken.
[3.24 pm] Rajawongse Clothier (alight at Nana Station, exit 2) - it had been a while since i last visited and the shop facade remained the same. Pricing was a different story though and i guess you would have to wait a while before i blog about it.
[4.00 pm] Done with my measurements at 3.40 pm; we thought that a walk to the next station (Asok BTS) would be beneficial to counter the excessive food intake that was to come in the next few days. That station had a shopping mall that had been around for quite a number of years but i honestly didn't have time to check it out previously; Bangkok fans would know i am referring to Terminal 21!
[4.20 pm] Late lunch at Tohkai Yakiniku & Sushi restaurant @ Terminal 21 where i happily indulged in super chunky Salmon Sashimi.
[6.16 pm] Food again at Sukhumvit Soi 38 (nearest BTS: Thong Lo, exit 4) - recommended by a blogger who mentioned it was Thailand's equivalence of Chomp Chomp, Old Airport Road hawker centres; places you would bring overseas friends to if they drop by Singapore.
[8.00 pm] Set off from Thong Lo BTS station and transferred at Asok BTS station to Thailand Cultural Centre MRT station for our next destination. Extra time was spent buying individual tickets for over twenty persons as the machine doesn't allow you to make multiple purchases!
[8.55 pm] Talad Rot Fai Ratchada - a night market that was a spin off from the original that had since moved to another location further from downtown!
[10.45 pm] I could have stayed longer but our tired Alex could not wait to get back to the hotel and have a badly needed body massage. We hopped onto a Tuk Tuk (bargained to 150 baht) as it would be the fastest way to get to Pratunam in the event of a jam.
[11.00 pm] After dropping off our stuff at the hotel, it's time for massage at MB Massage Parlour! There were many to choose from along the street leading to Lemontea and this was recommended by a tripadvisor reviewer. Eventually slept at 12.30 am.
Day Two (07 August 2015)
[10.40 am] Had a fantastic sleep and woke up at about 9.30 am; forgo the hotel's breakfast and it's time to hit the streets after a bath! First stop: Pratunam Market which didn't quite impress me with a clientele that skewed towards the fairer sex.
[12.02 pm] Waited 14 minutes in the queue and another 15 minutes for the famous bowl of Soi 19 wanton noodles! Three words to conclude: very very good! Thanks to the pork lard, no less.
[12.30 pm] We arranged for a meet-up with a few of our travel mates outside the McDonald's at Platinum Shopping Mall! Strangely, i didn't spend much time in the highly acclaimed shopping centre and counted only once that i entered and was out in less than ten minutes.
[12.53 pm] Strolled five minutes under the hot sun to Central World as a few of them wanted to shop at the Naraya outlet! For Alex and i, we preferred to check out the rest of the mall with drinking a cup of hot coffee as my first priority.
[3.03 pm] Tea time at the Food Hall food court in Siam Paragon; i am aware i had ingested too much food and went with the less filling Thai style cheng tng.
[4.20 pm] Taking the BTS again from Siam Centre to Phaya Thai where we returned to the hotel via the rustic railway tracks.
[6.00 pm] With constant road jams, the BTS and MRT would be the most convenient mode of transport for people like us with limited time in Bangkok! Anyway, i am back at Rajawongse Clothier to try out the shirts!
[6.26 pm] Reached Terminal 21 after a leisurely pace to meet up with Alex and a friend with her family. I didn't want them to waste their time at the clothier and hence, had advised they checked out Terminal 21.
[6.35 pm] As the scheduled meetup time was at 7 pm; i figured i had some time to indulge in Japanese sashimi again at Sushi Den on the basement of the shopping complex.
[8.26 pm] Remember the train market i mentioned earlier that was moved to another location? Here we were at Talad Roi Fai Srinakarin! Travelling there can be a pain in the ass though; take BTS to Udom Suk, take exit 5, hail a cab and embark on a journey that took us 25 minutes!
[9.30 pm] Chanced upon the Makura Cat Cafe after a very urgent toilet session (you would not want to hear the details)! Managed to convince my travel mates to pay it a visit even though i eventually paid a hefty price; one of the felines peed on my beloved bag that was purchased in Seoul!
[10.08 pm] Mood was no doubt a bit dampened but we mustn't let unhappiness take root when we are overseas! If not, it would be a blatant waste of your time and money! Hence, we continued to check out the rest of Talad Roi Fai Srinakarin.
[12.15 am] Massage time again after dropping my cat-piss bag; the cab back to the hotel from the train market took us about 45 minutes! By the time i managed to close my eyelids, it was close to 3 am! Blame Candy Crush!
Day Three (08 August 2015)
[8.55 am] Breakfast at the hotel with less than six hours of sleep. The main reason why i prefer beach vacations sometimes was because i can truly relax with ample of rest.
[10.10 am] Departing for Phaya Thai BTS station again and of course we would take the shorter route! What i didn't realise was that the railway tracks were still operating as they did appear to be pretty rundown.
[11.03 am] Guess you do not need further introduction as to where we were! Hint: the most popular weekend market in Thailand and boy was the crowd crazy!
[12.12 pm] Over walking had taken its toll on our feet and Alex insisted on having a foot massage! I am grateful for his insistence as the massage was a godsend and the premise was thankfully air-conditioned!
[12.42 pm] Our feet had the strength once again to conquer the rest of Chatuchak Weekend Market! The momentum sadly lasted for about an hour or so before my ears started receiving the nags from Alex. The older he gets, the more he nags! Tsk!
[2.00 pm] For the comfort of my ears and feet (no way am i going to drag my feet back to Mo Chit BTS station), we departed for the hotel via tuk tuk again!
[4.08 pm] Left Lemontea hotel at about 3.00 pm and realised we didn't have lunch! The upper floors of Central World had tons of restaurants and Alex picked Honmono Sushi where i had my third Japanese meal for the trip.
[6.45 pm] Group dinner at MBK shopping centre! The last time i stepped foot into this place should be about five years ago! Gosh, time passes so fast when we are older.
[7.00 pm] Halal dinner at Yana restaurant! It's a pity we didn't get to sit together as a group as the restaurant was well known among the Muslim community and the entire place was full of diners!
[9.00 pm] After purchasing local dried delicacies for my mom, Alex and I checked out the makeshift night market at the nearby Siam Square!
[10.10 pm] Heard from our travel mates that a new massage parlour had just open for business that day and we popped by to try out their full body massage! Satisfying and i had a good sleep by the time it was 12 am.
Day Four (09 August 2015)
[6.40 am] Got into a cab after heavy bargaining with the driver who managed to get us three more good-sized cabs for fifteen of us. Usual me would have arranged with the hotel but a staff from Lemontea pissed me off when i asked about airport transfers on day three. Shall share more in my review of the hotel.
[6.51 am] No sunrise although it was still as visually mesmerising to have the sun rays breaking through the clouds! Badly taken picture though. :(
[7.06 am] Leaving on a Sunday morning has its perks; we got to Suvarnabhumi International Airport in less than 30 minutes and within half an hour, i was already having my breakfast!
[10.10 am] Jet was delayed by about 40 minutes and i wasn't complaining as it could only mean more time for me to shop! What i conveniently forgot was the distance to travel from one end to the other!
[10.47 am Thailand Time]
Takeoff was pushed back to this timing and translated into a longer waiting time for my poor parents who would be picking us up from Changi International Airport!
[1.40 pm Singapore Time]
Returned late but nevertheless, i am back in Singapore to celebrate her 50th jubilee birthday! Happy birthday, my country my home!
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Hyperlinks would slowly appear in this post and i do apologise in advance for the likely delays as i have yet to complete the postings for my Perhentian Islands trip!