Bangkok Adventure - Day 1

Since the last trip with the Tier 0 group to BKK, I've been sorta wanting to go back again to check out a few things I missed, plus I was feeling a bit regretful for not buying enough clothing the last time round. I had only settled on 4 tops the last trip and told myself to get more this time round or it wouldn't be worth it.

We only had four days to work with so we made the best of it, taking the earliest flight possible, reaching BKK by 8am. We then cabbed down to Oriental to stay. I'm more of a fan for budget hotels but since Xinn could get a discount, we figured what the heck.

Vicky, Xinn's colleague was out of town for that weekend, so there weren't any special arrangements, but still it was an awesome room nonetheless.

With a lot of things we had set ourselves to do, we got started, and were out in no time headed for our first stop...well...food.

Given that the BTS/MRT train service in BKK is some times more favourable and at times, more efficient than taxi, we took the ferry over to the nearest station. Before catching the train though, we did wander a bit to the back area and found a place to munch.

The first thing that caught babe's eye was Phad Thai. The auntie at the stall was loud but very friendly...she was also frying up a batch of yam cake and when I asked what it was (cause I was initially unsure), she just plucked a piece off the yam cake and offered it to me with her bare hands.

I didn't mind, food's food, so I chomped on it. =)

The Phad Thai was pretty badass, we asked for "medium" chili, but after 2 bites I was perspiring like I just got out of the shower!

Aside from the Phad Thai, other snacks were also available, like street side cut corn, which I had back in 2004!

Once meal time was over, we were off again, this time to go shopping at MBK.

The idea was to shop, but we found ourselves walking up to the food area to munch once again.

The marshmallow-ish crepes were the first item on the list, after which we headed to the foodcourt to look for a dish I read about, Stewed Pork Limb with rice.

It doesn't look like much, and it's really "that's pretty much it" when you look at it. Apparently though, the stall cooking the dish "Tokzung" has been around for 40 years, so they know a thing or two about stewed pork.

The meat was stewed until it was super tender, the skin and fat just melt in your mouth, I couldn't bare to down most of the fat, but a few pieces were heaven!

It was like eating home cooked food, super delicious!

In the end, we couldn't find anything to buy there just yet, so we headed off again, this time to Platinum Fashion Mall.

BUT FIRST, we chanced upon Bangkok's Art and Culture Centre, since Xinn wanted to take a look, we popped by the place.

The place has a sorta esplanade/lasalle vibe going on, a lot of students walking around the place in their artsy fartsy clothing, very much like what you'd expect in an arts location.

Babe seemed to really enjoy walking around the place, this wasn't part of our itinerary but we figured we'd compromise.

Next stop, Platinum Fashion Mall! We wanted to walked to the place but we wanted to try out the local transport like we did in Hong Kong back in 2010. Mind you, unlike Hong Kong, BKK's transport system is a bit hard to make out cause we couldn't find signs that told you which bus went where, and so we ended up relying on google maps and locals to get directions.

The bus system in BKK is old school, no EZ Links, no automated machines. Each bus has a bus conductor (The lady in the middle of the above picture) who'll wait until all the passengers are seated, then walk towards them to get payment.

Did I forget to mention, this was also the time we experienced BKK's legendary traffic jam...first hand!

We were just 4 stops away, and the distance according to the map was 1.3km. We easily took about 45minutes to cover that distance! What started out as "exciting" soon turned into "wow ok first and last time we're doing this"

Our bus didn't stop directly outside Platinum Mall, so we had to walk, and along the way soaked in more sights and sound.

Soon we found ourselves at Platinum Fashion Mall. I didn't want to leave empty handed from the place so I ended up buying 3 T-Shirts...good start indeed. =)

By the time we were done, it was almost 4:30pm...dinner was at 6 and we had to freshen up! A quick bargain with one of the Tuk Tuk Drivers outside the mall, and we were off towards MO BKK.

We didn't really have a lot of time, so we quickly showered (cause we were in serious need of it) and got dressed up for a special meal that evening. =)

Dinner cruises along the river in Bangkok is a common attraction to tourists...sure it wasn't a local-ish thing to do, but how often do you get to have a romantic dinner for two on board a boat right?

When we were planning the trip, we couldn't decide if we wanted the Loy Nava, or the Chao Phraya Princess Dinner Cruise. The latter had a more modern "yacht" with an international buffet on board, plus music and the works. It was too commercial and we wanted something quieter...so after some research, we went for the Loy Nava, which was on board a refurbished Rice Barge.

Let me start by saying that I DO NOT REGRET BOOKING THE LOY NAVA!!! It's AWESOME!!! The food is pretty good, it's an ala carte set, Babe and I both took different sets which we shared, a traditional Thai cuisine and a Thai Seafood set as well.

The performances were so so, just one lady on the whatchamacallit instrument, and two dancers who will come out for three sets of performances, I don't think it's bad, I'm probably not one who is attracted to such performances I guess, still it was interesting to watch while on a boat, and if bored, babe and I just chat. =)

Apart from the performances, there were a few sights to see too, keep your eyes open and you'll find some interesting stuff along the river to snap a photo of.

The cruise was actually pretty empty, we figured 6pm wasn't a popular timing cause when we returned to land, there were quite a number of people for the 8pm slot. Our 6pm dinner included us, a Malaysian couple, and two other couples from Europe.

The cruise bill (without drinks) totaled to approx SGD$64 per person...but when you factor in the boat ride "sight seeing", the performance, the free pick up and drop off from your hotel, plus the quality time, it was a worthwhile experience =)

By the time we got back to the hotel, babe met up with Jeng, another Thai colleague who was posted to Singapore for a few months last year. They chatted for a bit before we made our way back to the hotel to wash up.

So far Day 1 was turning out to be a blast. Then came nightfall, and we were off on our way to Patpong to check out the "night life".

Sorry I didn't bring my camera along so no snaps available. To be honest it wasn't much, according to Babe, it wasn't like Phuket where the bars were open so you could stand from outside and look in. We decided to go for a Thai massage which cost 400baht for 1.5 hours.

Terrible terrible terrible! The lady who was attending to Babe did a half-past-six job, she wasn't using any effort at all, and apparently kept asking babe for a tip...screw that! The guy who attended to me kept groping all over the place, and not there were no trigger points in the areas he probed no? Felt like sitting up and punching him in the face.

The massage really ruined things, but after a day of visiting MBK, an art centre, a shopping mall, getting to ride a tuk tuk and local bus, not to mention getting to eat all that amazing food and that really awesome-romantic dinner on board the Loy Nava, the massage was just a small prick in what had been a great start to our vacation.

Will try to find time to write up about Day 2. Day 1 will end here for now. =)