After that 4 days, 3 nights trip in year 2015 and 3 days, 2 nights visit the year before in year 2014, i am upping the ante this year with the relaxing 6 days, 5 nights stay in Bangkok! Key word is "relaxing" and that's exactly what i did after an incredibly stressful time with my house renovation and work.
Therefore, i didn't even check out a ton of places that i should have; in fact, i was actually deliberating on not having this itinerary online as i didn't do "much" and with less than 1,5000 photographs taken over six days, i admit i was caught by surprise with the relatively low number as i have always been trigger-happy!
Whatever the case, the main reason you are reading this post is because i have decided not to let my photographs go to waste. As usual, do click the main days (day one, day two etc) to access more information and pictures.
Day One (23 April 2016)
[10am Singapore Time] Making it a point to check in early every single time i need to travel out of Singapore, we arrived a hundred and fifty minutes before departure and i got to see, touch, feel and smell my pathetic life's very first tulip via Tulip Times @ Changi Airport.
[12.39pm Singapore Time] The plane departed after 15 minutes after schedule. A number of firsts in this trip; first time taking Thai Airways although you will find it hard to resist too for a fare that's only about S$220 with a check in luggage allowance of 30 kilograms!
[1.35pm Thailand Time] All time henceforth shall be based on Thailand timing! Anyway, we arrived slight ahead of schedule and we opted for the Airport Rail with a transfer at Makkasan to Petchaburi MRT station and eventually to Sukhumvit Station
[3.43pm] The heat wave was unbearable and we finally got to Park Plaza Hotel. I was so glad this hotel was a mere 2-minute walk from the Asok BTS station; if it's lemontea hotel, i bet i would have died of heatstroke.
[4.30pm] Anyone can remember what's the shopping centre next to Asok BTS? It's Terminal 21 and i must really slap myself for not giving the Pier 21 food court a second glance in 2015 - food was good and unbelievably cheap!
[7.15pm] I wanted somewhere near for the trip's first night market and no where's as convenient as Ratchada Train Market (Talad Rot Fai). Maybe because we were quite tired, nothing actually caught our fancy.
[9.00pm] What's the best way to relax in Bangkok? Nothing kinky lah! It's just an hour of clean and superbly comfortable Thai massage at this parlour near our hotel. Needless to say, we slept well that night!
Day Two (24 April 2016)
[10am] To deem the trip as relaxing, one must strive to sleep as much as one could. And this explained why we were only out of Park Plaza hotel at this timing. Our first stop - breakfast at Pier 21 @ Terminal 21!
[11am] It's a Sunday and you shall get no prize for guessing correctly where we went. Of course, we had to get our ass down to the Thailand's biggest outdoor shopping arena; Chatuchak Weekend Market where i had a delicious piece of grilled pork, got my legs massaged, chilled out at a cafe and grabbed a serving of that must-order coconut ice cream!
[6.13pm] A pity Alex wasn't good friends with the heat and we had to cut short our visit at about 3pm. If i were with my mom, it would be quite easy for us to stay past 6pm. Nevertheless, i managed to continue my shopping when the sun set; this time at the revived Suan Lum Night Bazaar!
[9.08pm] Alex had MacDonald's (no surprise) whereas my tummy decided to hold on a bit longer to a place with better, cheaper food. Never had i been so obsessed with food courts - we were back at Pier 21 in Terminal 21 again for my late dinner!
Day Three (25 April 2016)
[11.30am] It's my 36th birthday and i slept in until my stomach started protesting over the lack of food. Compared to my overindulgence in Japanese cuisine back in 2014, i only had Japanese food once this time at Tonkatsu Wako!
[4.09pm] Window shopped at Centralworld but the high prices (comparable to major departmental stores in Singapore) kind of drove us to take the BTS to Phaya Thai! With ample time, i pulled Alex into a pretty Chinese temple (昭應廟) with a history of more than 150 years!
[4.46pm] There's only one reason to be at Phaya Thai at that time. With most night markets closed on weekdays, we had to make do with Asiatique the Riverfront! It was way more happening than my last visit here and even though i would love to stay longer, i was exhausted and in need of another session of Thai massage!
Day Four (26 April 2016)
[10.36am] Without opting for hotel's breakfast has its benefits as this means i can pop by breakfast at Pier 21 in Terminal 21 once again. To be frank, i am at Terminal 21 on a daily, sometimes twice-a -day basis.
[11.56am] Chinatown; crowded, messy, noisy, jams - it's been a while since my last visit! There were subtle changes; the white orchid hotel i used to stay in on a number of occasions has a new name now!
My objective to be there in the late morning was more to explore the wholesale market along Sampeng Lane! If you ask me, Pratunam pales in comparison but do note that i am looking at it from a man's perspective.
[2.00pm] Lunch was settled at a Lao Li's restaurant (海外天) where bird's nest and shark's fins soup were indicated as specialties on the menu. After the meal, we dropped by a local foodstuff shop and purchased a carton of worth of gow sai, pork floss etc.
[5.00pm] Unloaded our purchases back at the hotel and we were hitting the street again; literally as we walked from Asok BTS to Phrom Phong BTS! Entered Bangkok's latest shopping mall; EmQuartier where we got a bite of the bake cheese tart that's currently taking Singapore by storm!
[6.30pm] Local food again and since Thong Lo BTS was just a stop away from Phrom Phong, we cast our votes for Sukhumvit Soi 38 Food Street. Personally, Pier 21 serves better food!
[7.17pm] Imagine my disappointment when i got the location of Neon Fest and found out it was only open from Thursdays to Sundays! Well, the disappointed one was me as Alex had a blast with the extreme rides at Chang Carnival! I needed to get some shopping and decided to try our luck at Suan Lum Night Bazaar, which was open! Yipppeeee!
Day Five (27 April 2016)
[7.40am] Alex insisted he wanted a non-shopping item and i purposely arranged for a boat ride along Chao Phraya river early in the morning where we would get to an imposing yet totally beautiful structure!
Sadly, Wat Arun (also known as Temple of the Dawn) was undergoing renovation and to enter without being able to climb up the temple kind of defeat the purpose of going in the first place.
[9.14am] After breakfast at Gloria Jean's cafe, Alex didn't seem keen to walk under the hot weather and he just wasn't interested in temples and palaces. I did persuade him to walk to Khaosan and we kind of lost out way! At this juncture, we hailed a cab to bring us to a place that Alex specifically wanted to go.
[9.33am] Yes, we visited the Dusit Zoo. Yes, in that bloody warm and humid weather that even the tiger had to soak its butt in the water. Did i enjoy myself? Not really. Did Alex enjoy himself? I bet he did.
[1.00pm] My enjoyment came at lunch when i got to try out the famous lobster tom yum noodles at P'Aor (ร้านพี่อ้อ)! For a person who doesn't take spicy food, even Alex gave this the thumbs up.
[3.44pm] Got a few packets of snacks from Big C and it's time back to the hotel for a rest. Most importantly, i needed to take a bath and remove the grim and sweat from my body.
[7.30pm] Haunted house exploration! Okay, i am kidding as i am totally not keen in checking out such places when i am overseas. In actual fact, we were back at Asiatique the Riverfront and this abandoned residence is part of the waterfront; what's strange is at the back of the building. Click here to read more.
Day Six (28 April 2016)
[10am] Paid almost double the pricing from a normal street massage parlour even though this session at Urban Retreat was seriously worth the money spent!
[11.50pm] Checked out from Park Plaza hotel and left our luggage at the lobby while we had our final meal at where else but Pier 21 food court! Did last minute shopping for friends who had asked to buy tamarind candy!
[3.00pm] Cleared the immigration - the hotel helped us call for a cab and we reached Suvarnabhumi Airport in like 45 minutes. Traffic was heavy at the airport and we had to embark at the tarmac!
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Expenses
Airfare (Thai Airways) - S$220.10 per person
Hotel (Park Plaza Hotel) - S$87.68 per night
Baht Changed - S$900 worth
Credit Card Bill - Please Don't Ask