I must be one of the very few who has never been to Thailand. :(
Well, i can finally say i made it to Bangkok! :)
It was my very much long awaited trip and all it took for me and Mark was to find another couple and about 2 months for me to book my Air Asia tickets and arrange my accommodation. Opting to pay RM 400 for my return flight was an easy job and an 'OK' deal (seeing that those really cheap seats always makes you arrive/ leave at odd hours). Booking 4 nights at the Bangkok Loft Inn for a good deal of RM 120/night, was an even easier thing to do (i love using Tripadvisor to find the best rated budget hotels!)
The most difficult part of planning this holiday was .... getting myself mentally and physically prepared for what was to be expected in Bangkok - the Songkran Festival, better known as the world's biggest water fight! Yup, i had no idea i was arriving there on the first day of the Thai New Year.....no wonder it was easy to buy my flight tickets online. hmm.
More of that to come later...but first, the hotel which i stayed in for 4 nights. ..
Mind you, this quaint and cosy little hotel is NOT situated in the town area, which is just to my liking as i was quite keen to avoid staying in a hotspot area during the Songkran craze!
Anyways, i'm giving like 8/10 rating for my hotel!
Look, I even got a welcome drink upon my arrival at the hotel!
Loved it that our king-sized bed was super big in a spacious, spotless clean room.
This is a little business corner for travelers to utilise the available pcs and reading material.
A 3 minute walk to a 7-Eleven store allowed me to stock up on some late-night snacks. As you travel through Bangkok, you can practically find a new 7-Eleven store with every blink of an eye. Do they have one like every 100m? Bought some really soft pork mayo sandwiches for just 10 Baht (RM 1).
Opted to try the hotel breakfast on one of the mornings. ..
There wasn't THAT much in quantity (why waste right?) but more than enough in terms of variety.
I got an ala carte order along with it, and had chosen the Western set. Ain't a 'ham' kinda person but oh blimey, those cocktail pork sausages were to die for!
Healthy hearty meal to start the day!
Why does pork tastes so much freaking better in Bangkok than my own country? There's no explanation on Google!
A simple stew pork rice like this tastes da bomb! This was sold from a tiny shop nearby our hotel.
No need for condiments.
And only 30 Baht! Where to findddd (in KL)...
Another nearby eating point was this food court / market.
When it comes to Songkran, this is the closest Mark got to getting himself wet. LOL.
ok, we were a bit more sporting than this la. haha...
Frankly, it was not as bad as i had imagined it to be. I blame all the
If you are allergic to water, it's a must to avoid all hotspots. Try as much as possible to travel using the BTS and its Skywalk that links most major shopping malls in town. Sure that means a LOT of shopping time, but if you really need to get onto the street walk, have a good vision to plan your route ahead. Literally. That means avoiding clumps of people standing around any form of water source - ARMED (with the biggest water guns you've ever seen).
On our part, there was no escaping this water blessing ritual when our own hotel holds it own mini water fights every day. We soon found out, if you can't fight them, join them! ^^
I must admit, taking revenge was the best part. How else and where else would they allow you to throw tons of water at passing tuk tuks and total strangers, without pissing them off?!
Of course it was still fun to attempt the occasional run-away stint once you're totally drenched.
Mark showing the thumbs down to Luen for staying the driest among all.
The white powder on our faces is a symbol of protection to ward off all evil.
The first 3 days of Songkran was hell break loose in the town centre. Just look at the beeline leading to the BTS. Guess where the locals were heading to.....
The MALLS!
Shopping??
Apparently no.
The malls hold major public water fights in an enclosed area.
While some would prefer to join in the suds party!! Check out all that foam!
As awesome as it looked, yours truly preferred to only take pictures from afar. After all, wouldn't want to disrupt my main intention for coming to Bangkok, right?
And definitely wouldn't want to be trembling wet and cold all the way back to my hotel later.
Where shopping is concerned, Bangkok is my new found paradise.
The Chatuchak Weekend Market is so huge, one could easily use up all their baht buying all kinds of stuff in this place alone.
Though it was the holidays, about 70% of the stalls still remain opened to visitors.
Smitten by this particular stall selling mango and sticky rice, just because of the mango hat worn by the lady seller.
A simple noodle stall outside Chatuchak market.
Sorry, i didn't mean to laugh at the translation of their menu.
Later found out that these vegetables (huge basin of pickled mustard!) were laid out for customers foc. Not so hygienic though, i swore i saw flies hovering all over.
Nice juicy pork satay on a stick. Now, drool.
From a hot sweaty walk in Chatuchak, came the easy breezy stroll in glitzy Siam Paragon.
This was actually the queue for tickets to entering Siam Ocean World. Must be good, perhaps will try it out next time.
They even had a Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in this mall.
For sure this wax figure is Leonardo.....
Seen at the entrance of the cinema. So Cool.
Tuk tuks are rather tricky - you really have to be careful not to be taken for a ride when it comes to haggling. Once you've decided on a fee, then you can smile all throughout the ride as it really is a fun and daring way to zoom through the busy streets.
Me and Ember feeling a bit 'crushed' in that tiny tuk tuk.
Unfortunately, it's not all fun during Songkran as i realised when i was walking through Pratunam wholesale market. It was closed! Bummer... so eerie-looking somemore..:(
But, i still managed to buy some really cute keychains from Chatuchak.
Got this cool North Face backpack for 700 Baht!
My haul of clothes from only 2 floors of Platinum Mall!
I'm so bummed out i didn't have time to go to all floors though. HuuHuu...
Pink and green eggs only at Bangkok?
Walking along the streets of Bangkok can be pretty scary as the electric cables lay really low and whatmore this!
Stay tuned for my other postings of discovery Bangkok......
Khap bun Kap.
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