Time: 14 15
Status: Finally done with the photos from BKK. =]
Ok, I’ve been back for quite some time but I’ve only just uploaded the photos. Oops my bad. But hey hey, my excuse was that I was in Malaysia the last whole week. =p The post below states the places I’ve been to and recommendations on what you can try in Bangkok. So do read on if you are interested! (Warning: the post seems to be a little bit long as it bombarded with information on accommodation, food, spa, shop and nightlife).
Camwhore a bit. Me and BB in BKK.
I flew to Bangkok on the 6th June for a 4D3N trip after purchasing a deal from Outlet.com.sg. For $373, I get to fly via Cathay Pacific airline and stay at Tai-Pan Hotel.
Located at Sukhumvit Soi 23, the hotel is just a short walk away from Bangkok’s night life entertainment street Soi Cowboy. The hotel was not too bad though they do not provide basic toiletries. But you can easily purchase them from the hotel a couple of hundred Baht.
BB performing with the guitarist.
There’s also a small hotel bar where there’s a live soloist performing every night. His singing was not bad but he plays really good guitar. BB and his friend even went up on stage to sing on two occasions! Also, the thing I like about the hotel is that it is very near Heathland Spa!
Healthland Spa is a quite a big corporation . Even though it may be slightly more expensive than the smaller massage shops (still cheaper than hotel spa rates), this place guarantee “clean” and good massage. No worries there about “special menu”.
Me & cousin after the Traditional Thai Massage. Looking at our happy faces, you know how shiok it was.
The Asoke outlet that I went to boost a 7/8/9 floors (sorry can’t remember how many floors there were) of massage treatment rooms. And this time round, I went for the Traditional Thai Massage (450 Baht) and Aromatherapy Body Massage (850 Baht).
Of cos when you are in Bangkok, how can you not shop?! When you are in Bangkok, there are a few malls that you CANNOT miss. Ok, at least not for a girl cos the these places mainly sell girls’ stuff.
1)Platinum Fashion Mall.
Platinum Mall. Photo Credit: Tripadvisor.com
This mall is kinda like the City Plaza of Singapore. Wholesale prices everywhere. From what I have learnt, this is the mall that supplies to other sellers. You can actually see Thai people rolling a trolley and stocking up for their own stalls elsewhere. There are all sorts of stuff there, from bags and shoes to clothes and accessories. There are a total of 6 storeys for you to shop. Yes, you can shop till you drop! The trend recently is more towards “Korean” style. You will hear the owners say things like “this is imported from Korea”. This place is really for people who don’t mind “cheap” stuff. Think bugis standard. So if you only buy branded, you have been warned, don’t go there. But for “crazy shoppers”, please do consider spending your whole day there. I was there for say about 4 hours and I didn’t manage to shop every floor! Also, I ended quite tired after 3 floors down.
2) MBK.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Located right next to a BTS station, the stuff there are like Bugis Street priced. It is a tourist area so what you buy there will probably be more expensive than their local stalls. So I don’t really go there to buy clothes and stuff. What I love about MBK are the gadgets shops. They have a whole floor selling electronics and their accessories. Phone covers, camera bags, etc… You name it, they (probably) have it. I also go to MBK for the local food specialties stall. It is actually pretty expensive and comparable to Singapore prices but I have not found a better place to shop for such stuff yet. That’s my price for not doing my research. There’s also these “counter” stalls on the 2nd or 3rd floor selling cosmetics and perfumes. However, the authenticity of the perfumes and cosmetics are in doubt so buy with caution. I bought a 24 piece good quality brush set at only 500 Baht (~20SGD) though. Yes, I know it is fake branded brush set (they just have the same brushes printed MAC or Bobbi Brown on them) but I bought it as a non-branded brush set and for the quality. You may disapprove but I’m happy with my purchase. Also, I have heard from some places that the perfumes are authentic, just that they are of lower grade.
3) Siam Square.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
Siam Square
This place is very near MBK, just a street away. This a not really a mall, is more like a shopping area. Again, think Bugis Street. Here, you can spot some stuff that you’ve seen from Platinum Mall but at a more expensive price. Like I’ve said earlier, they take their supplies from there. Didn’t buy anything much from there though. Bought a few earrings and rings from this small accessories stall that sells them at only 20 Baht! That’s less than $1!
There are also other shopping areas that you can choose to go. Like Siam Paragon. Think Paragon here in Singapore. All branded and stuff. You can go there and eat though. There are a few restaurants there that’s not bad.
Also, there’s Siam Centre. This is like a regular shopping mall. Thus the price there are not cheap like those places I’ve mentioned above. MBK, Siam Square, Siam Paragon and Siam Centre are all next to each other. So is really convenient to go at one shot.
The next thing on my trip was FOOD! We ate mainly restaurants and only tried once roadside stall and some roadside snacks.
There is this Chokchai Steakhouse near my hotel.
Us at Chokchai Steakhouse
Beef stew that got everyone eating.
I had this Chokchai Steak that comes with quite a big piece of steak and a slightly bigger than golf ball size meat ball and it only cost me 270 Baht.That’s like $12 or so.
Is considered expensive for the standard there but compare to Singapore, it is pretty worth it.
We actually went to this place twice during our stay there. Other things on the menu that you can try is the beef stew. Out of the 5 of us, 4 of us ate that the second time we went. One of the nicest beef stew I have eaten so far. As for drinks, pretty standard though a must try when you are in Thailand is the lemongrass drink. You either love it or hate it though.
My crepe brunch.
I also went to this place called Crepes & Co. that serve really yummy crepes, both savory and sweet ones. Was brought there the last time I went Bangkok and it was so good that I have to go back! Good brunch place I would say and there are many Europeans who frequent the place as well. If you love a heavy brunch, a must try will be the Supreme savory crepe. I also like the Lasagne and Sukhumvit savory crepe. The restaurant is located at Sukhumvit Soi 12 and a quick taxi ride brought us there.
Transport is easily settled with metered taxis. Even for the further places, we paid about 100+ Baht. The near ones cost about 50 or less. You can also choose to take the BTS, their skytrain. Their BTS system covers the central Bangkok. They also have a subway called MRT. The MRT covers a bigger area but sadly I’ve not taken it.
Nightlife is famous in Bangkok. So the first night there, we visited Soi Cowboy, Bangkok’s nightlife entertainment street. The street is filled with pubs and bars boosting (topless) girls dancing on bar tops. Not all are bars have topless girls, only some. The more expensive one have “better girls”. One of the bars I went into even has some girls who stuff tissue into their bra! So basically all you have to do is to walk in and order a drink and you can “feast” your eyes on the dancers. Not sure if there’s any that require cover charge though.
So the next night we decided to go Club Hollywood. They are famous for “happening” performances. You can choose to either buy a bottle or pay a cover charge of 400 Baht per person to enter. So we paid for a bottle and head in, excited about what we will see. True enough, on the big runway stage, there stood a girl dressed in a skimpy top and an underwear, singing. The singers change after each song, rotating through the first half of the night. Song choices range from english to korean. After the singing performances, there’s a period of nothingness on stage. Music is still blasting the latest hits (though it was blasting so loudly that I went partial deaf for a short while afterwards). Then came the coyote dancers. They move from the stage to the side of the room and also to level two. Basically you are surrounded by them.
Free rose made my day!
The dancers however were just dressed in skimpy clothes but not naked/topless. I only learnt at the end of the night that the naked/topless coyote dancers are only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and that day was a Tuesday. So you know when to head down should you want to experience erotic Thailand. So sadly, not only did I not get the unique experience I went there for, I saw a bunch of fat disgusting guys (not really sure what country they were from) shaking their butts at the crowd. Probably drunk, they went up on stage to dance wildly. It was quite a joke. However, a free rose from a lady selling outside Club Hollywood made it all ok. She asked BB to buy me a rose but BB said “No, it’s ok”. But when she saw me, she said “I’ll give you free cos you are pretty”.That made my day! =] Didn’t take any photos though (for obvious reasons) but you can easily google it for videos and pictures.
Overall, Bangkok is a good place to go to me and I’d definitely visit again. In fact might even consider a yearly shopping trip =p
So if you have any good place to recommend, do share!
xoxo,
Ada
PS: Sorry! My post seems a little bit long. I apologise and thank you for taking your time to read. =]
June 30, 2013
Ada
Leave a comment
Ah-Da-Lin: Meanie @ Work 