Bangkok Trip 1st – 4th January 2013

This is Michelle’s first trip to Bangkok, and my second time there, the last being 4 years ago. I must say that Bangkok have improved tremendously since! Their shopping is fantastic as always but they definitely have more restaurant options now.

When you arrive at the Suvarnabhumi Airport, I highly recommend that you get a 3G-enabled SIM card once you exit the customs. It costs SGD$11 and we get unlimited 3G access + 100 minute talk-time for 7 days. Totally worth it to google maps or do your social media updates.

Accommodation-wise, we booked a room at Arnoma Hotel Bangkok for the 3 nights that we were there.

http://www.arnoma.com/

It is just next to Big C Supermarket and opposite Central World Shopping Mall. A stone’s throw away from Platinum Fashion Mall, and perhaps a 5 minute taxi ride to Siam Paragon, Siam Square, and MBK. Yes, we took taxi rides even though the distance is less than 1km because our feet were dead tired from the walking. Please don’t judge us – it costs $2 at most, very reasonable.

Hmm, the first thing that I set out to hunt for is the Thai Girl Starbucks Card. It’s only available in Thailand and I found it at the first Starbucks store. So happy that I bought 4 of them straight away. (Michelle will begin resenting me from that moment onwards for making us drink so much coffee whilst we were there)

To be fair, she also had her moment of indulgence at the Cath Kidston store at Central World. It’s her dream come true and I was a really patient boyfriend.

The rest were usual shopping and shopping and walking, only stopping to have our three multiple meals.

We tried attempting to eat some Thai street snacks like their chicken satay, unknown animal’s meatballs, etc. The flat chicken satay (below pic) was nice but the rest were mostly a miss. I particularly disliked the balls and the faux sausage.

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Chico Cafe!

http://www.chico.co.th/

It’s a Japanese interior design cum cat cafe at Sukhumvit, near BTS Thong Lo. However, I strongly advise to take a taxi ALL THE WAY into Soi 53. It’s extremely secluded and we would not have found the place if we hadn’t ventured deep into a dead end. The place is naturally filled with Japanese, but it’s also filled with cats!

The coffee there is mediocre, but they have some interesting decorations there to spend some of your cash on. Nothing really necessary but all interesting to have.

We also had really good food at Greyhound Cafe @ Siam Paragon, we went back the second time round just to try their Complicated Noodles. It looks really simple but I guess when you put them together and stuff it in your mouth it’s special.

I prefer our first meal of lobster bisque and squid ink pasta though!

Our desert of choice that trip was Mango Sticky Rice at Mango Tango! We had this at Siam Square and it was a bit pricey. I think this place caters more to Japanese tourists than locals.

The last foodie place I’m going to recommend is Thai Kway Chap that’s found in Chinatown! It’s actually your kway chap noodles and pig organs in spicy peppery broth (think bak kut teh). It was the second most crowded stall in Chinatown other than T&K Seafood which I’m going to try next time! We ordered the “Special” bowl that costs 50baht.

Amidst our crazy shopping itinerary, we found time to meet my Thai friend Fon whom I met during my exchange at Schulich! She kindly brought us to Asiatique, the new happening place that’s next to the river and only opens at night! There’s a lot of bars and restaurants there to chill and drink the night away. The warehouse-style shopping seemed so-so, but there’s a huge ferris wheel to make up for it.

From a guy’s point of view, the BEST place to go buy clothes at is Terminal 21. Not only is there a floor dedicated to men’s fashion, the country specific themed toilets there are also automated with seat warmers and backside washers. It really makes for a good shit after eating and shopping. (Y)

It’s a pity we did not go on a weekend, so we totally missed out on Chaktuchak market. Anyway, it was a very fruitful holiday packed into 4 days. The duration was just about right because we totally ran out of money at the end, even after using credit cards for some payments.

I can’t wait for my next vacation in March! Next travel update will be on Penang, Malaysia~

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Here is another post on my Bangkok Trip 13th – 16th July 2013