Bangkok: Walking Aplenty

Semester has started yet again. With classes ending early this week, I thought why not document my Bangkok trip before I get swarmed with assignments?! :)

In January, Mich and I went to Bangkok with a mission in mind: experience Bangkok to plan for our family trip in July...*cough* excuses *cough* We want to minimize the chances of my mom walking long distances only to find out the destination isn't worth the ache after all. Fineee, it's also to de-stress after my finals haha

Thailand is geographically so close to Malaysia, I don't know why haven't I made trips to the Land of Smiles more often...particularly Bangkok! I've only been to Krabi two years back. Late is better than never, though (although I wish I went earlier to save me clothes money lolol)!

---Day One---

Arrived on Thai grounds via Air Asia and had my Thai friend from LIMA '13 pick us up from the airport! To be clear, he offered cz he's been pestering my friends and I to visit for years now.

Thinking we'd only see him at the Arrival Hall (with a handwritten sign hahaha), what a surprise to actually see him waiting for us as we walked out of the jetway! He allowed himself in using his military pass...shhh! We even got to use the Priority Lane as opposed to Foreign Passports lane thanks to him. So fast! So fun!

Hello, Major Tony!

It was nice meeting a friend after some time, catching up while waiting for the check-in luggage. Him picking us up was pretty awesome cz we arrived late with low energy levels and empty stomachs. Yay to chauffeuring!

First stop was Siam Star Hotel in Pratunam. We stayed in Pratunam because it's the center of the city, where many places of interest are within walkable distance. Thanks to Mich who made most, if not all the arrangements cz the planning was during my finals.

Checked in, left our bags, hopped back into the SUV-looking Chevrolet vehicle (I'm not car-fluent, okay) and headed to Chinatown for dinner! Hurray!

Along the way to Chinatown, we had a mini tour and facts-about-this-building session in the car as we passed by government buildings and glittery-walled temples. Major Tony constantly went "On your right is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs", "We're on the street which name means The Road the King Passes", "That's the Grand Palace!"...etc

When describing Wat Benchamabophit, he said "This temple is famous. Its walls are made up of.. umm... an expensive stone...I forgot the word". After two guesses or so, we figured it out- marble. Googled it and bam! It's called The Marble Temple *crick crick crick*

lots of money worth of bright lights at the Chief Minister's office

Lek & Rut Seafood

*Detailed blog post on Michelle Noms

The two famous affordable seafood restaurants on Yaowarat Road- Lek & Rut Seafood and T & K Seafood are differentiated by colours red and green respectively. Both so similar, they're almost mirror images of each other! I don't think you can go wrong with either because their menus are mostly the same, if not entirely.

The reds of Lek & Rut Seafood

(Source: Travel To Everywhere)

The greens of T & K Seafood

(Source: BK Asia City)

I can't vouch for which is better because I didn't try both. Not knowing what's the difference anyway, we went with Lek & Rut as Major Tony's preference although T & K was our initial choice.

Whether you prefer dining with the crowd by the roadside or in a more conducive indoor environment, they have both for you! Many people were standing outdoors waiting for tables, when there's actually empty tables indoor. I guess outdoors gives an "authentic" experience? Or they just didn't know there's an indoor lol

We're all for having our hair smoked from the grilling activity nearby and speaking at the top of our lungs cz the vehicles are just so noisy, but at the point of starvation (it was 10pm Malaysian time and we haven't ate since brunch), any seats will do!

(Source: No Shame Adventures)

Sat our butts down and immediately placed our orders. Major Tony, being a very nice host wanted us to try more dishes than the few we ordered, so he called his friends to join us (to finish up the food and split the bill, geddit? hahaha) and seriously over-ordered because we were so stuffed that the food was literally till the top of our throats!

sweet chili sauce

The tomyam was BOMB! So flavourful, I can finally rest in peace having tried a good tom yam (the ones I had in Krabi was mediocre to blah). Its taste was similar to the MAMA tomyam noodles' soup- sweet enough and spicyyyy. The grilled prawns were sooo fresh and creamy. The grilled mussels were very fresh too...and HUGE! The egg gravy on the crab was very savoury...a little heavy on MSG though :P Goshhh, salivating while recalling the details for this post!

I also tried grilled escargots for the first time! It tasted very similar to cuttlefish, but the texture was too chewy for my liking. Oh and in case you're wondering why so many grilled food, I noticed Thais like to grill everything. Even at like 5.30am, I found a pushcart selling grilled food at the morning market. Like...who eats grilled squid for breakfast? O.O hahaha

grilled mussels

Mich loved the prawns' creamy brains

grilled escargot

grilled squid

Meeting Major Tony's friends was a lot of fun. They asked us random questions about ourselves and Malaysia, made a lot of jokes, teased each other. They're hilarious and gel so well together that made me realize if you have the right friends, you'll always enjoy your time together.

Anny, Major Tony, Thanya, Mich, Hukwang

Sweettime

As if dinner hasn't filled us to the brim, we made a pit stop across the road for dessert before heading to the carpark hahaha To be fair to them, the three ladies didn't eat as much as we did so there's space for dessert.

Before our desserts even arrived, Thanya excitedly asked if we wanted to have durian together O.O As much of a foodie Mich and I are, we had to decline. Our capacity has been reached.

Ginkgo nuts in soya bean, Bean curd with Chinese fruits, Bean curd in ginger soup, Red Rubies

The desserts found at Sweettime are basically Chinese desserts. Mich and I both liked the Gingko nuts in soya bean the most. 'Bean curd with Chinese fruits' is just "Lak Bi" or Six Flavours Soup. Our usual favourite Thai dessert- Red Rubies (water chestnut in coconut milk) was rather disappointing here cz it had a funny smell, maybe it's the coconut milk they used.

---Day Two---

Rise and shine! It's time to roam the city!

Note: I look too fair in certain photos because I was itching to use Mich's Too Faced Born This Way foundation cz I love it...but it's a shade too light for me LOL #fail

Siam Star Hotel is a seven-storey hotel at the end of a quiet backlane. It isn't as bad as it sounds cz the city hustle and bustle is just next door. It was a satisfactory stay, except for their uninformed elevator maintenance from our third day onwards. Climbing up to the 7th floor isn't bad cz we both do cardio workouts, but it's batshit crazy bad when my knee was busted.

The location of our hotel is strategic in the sense that it's near morning markets, Platinum Mall an the Ratchaprarop Airport Rail Link is only a 5-minute walk away.

The Airport Link is the train which goes to the Suvarnabhumi Airport, just like KLIA Transit going to KLIA.

Our first destination of the day, Jatujak Weekend Market was a couple of train stops away including an interchange at Phaya Thai station to get on the BTS. The Airport Rail Link stations are usually less crowded, so that's very nice. Also nice is the security guards at the stations who were very helpful when it seems like we don't know where we're heading lolol

I must say, we felt rather safe in Bangkok because we constantly see security guards and policemen around. Maybe because of recent threats, security has been tightened.

Ratchaprarop - Phaya Thai

Phaya Thai - Mo Chit

Jatujak Weekend Market

Journey down the escalator of Mo Chit station, Jatujak Market is just around the corner! Being there at 9am, many stores were just about to open for business. We made an early trip to start our shopping when the Sun wasn't too hot, and made it out at slightly before 4pm (OMG, I didn't know we were there for so long! I had to refer to the time taken of a photo). It gets hot around 1pm onwards, not only because of the Sun but carbon dioxide overload from the crowd.

The market is a HUGE maze! The help of a guide would be very useful to cross off soi (lanes) you've explored or to get to the divisions you want. We saw some tourists holding the guides, but unsure where to get them, so we were walking by intuition.

(Source: Bangkok.com)

Also referred to Chatuchak or JJ Market, you can find all sorts of things here. Clothing, cute pajamas, bags, footwear, lots of military-inspired clothes, bath towels, fake plants, artworks, street food, kitchenware..and more!

first buy of the day!

"If you see what you like, get it right away" is a rule many live by when at JJ Market. The reason being a detour to find the same stall is not an easy feat, so since it's dirt cheap anyway, no need to think twice for something that caught your eye hahaha

While that's true to a certain extent, we found that there's quite a number of repetitive stores selling the same clothes, so don't beat yourself up if you decided to "walk first" to make up your mind. After all, if it's meant to be yours, it will be yours :P

Must try at JJ Market is the original coconut ice cream! Coconut ice cream is a new craze in Malaysia recently, it's a no-brainer to try the pioneer. It's called Coco JJ, and it has a flag on its ice cream to distinguish itself from its rivals lol

It's only 40 Baht (that's approximately RM4!)!!! And we're in Malaysia buying them for RM10 or more, wuuuuut?! The toppings at Coco JJ are way yummier too! I got myself red bean, while Mich got sticky rice. Both sooooo good. They had other toppings available too, like corn and nata de coco.

Now that I'm back in Malaysia, I'm so reluctant to spend RM10 on coconut ice cream. Maybe I will give in if I'm having cravings...but we'll see.

Lunch stop to refuel was at a famous chicken noodles soup shack. I don't know its name, I just call it 'Wait For' cz that's the only thing I can read on the banner hahaha

I have a feeling it's not halal or pork-free although there seems to be only chicken on their menu...because there's a cartoon pig on the banner.

We got a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a plate of steamed chicken rice to share (price range is around 400-500 Baht per dish). Portions are quite small, so it's not very filling.

Mich ended up not liking the chicken noodle soup cz it tastes like herbal chicken, so we exchanged food. I found the soup tastes somewhat like boat noodles soup, but less pungent (I don't like boat noodles), more herbal-ish.

Fueled up, it's more exploring the market! We walked till it seemed like we were walking in circles before calling it a day and moved on to Union Mall. MUST get the JJ Market guide when we go back in July cz we have a feeling we didn't completely cover the entire landscape.

Chatuchak Market - Phahon Yothin

Union Mall is just above the Phahon Yothin MRT station, a stop away from the Chatuchak Park MRT. Since it's so nearby to JJ Market, most people visit both on the same day for convenience.

Union Mall

Thai university students love to shop at Union Mall, where the clothes are more boutique style. The quality is slightly better and price is of a slightly higher range as well, as compared to clothes bought at JJ Market.

(Source: Aroimakmak)

Personally, it wasn't my favourite shopping place because my mind automatically only accepted 100baht-150 Baht clothing hahaha The cheaper, the better!

Don't get me wrong, the price range in Union Mall goes from as low as 150 Baht to as high as 699 Baht. You can still get cheap-ish items, but I wanted to spend at the markets instead of the mall :P Didn't buy anything there, other than Mich's really nice top..and a Dairy Queen ice cream.

Energy was low by the time we were done exploring Union Mall. However, we still had one destination before going back to rest- Unicorn Cafe.

Bangkok has lots of cafes sprouting everywhere, just like KL and JB! You can definitely dedicate some time for cafe hopping. We didn't cafe hop cz our motive was just to shop and explore the markets, time constraint you see. Not disappointed cz to me, most cafes serve the same thing. Plus, for the price of its food and drinks, I'd rather spend on cheap ass clothes hahaaaa

Audrey Cafe will be visited at some point or another when I go back to Bangkok in the future, but this time, we went for Unicorn Cafe cz of it's theme. I mean, we don't see a unicorn-themed cafe around much as opposed to the many similar industrial-themed cafes.

Our route from Union Mall to Unicorn Cafe went like this (you can say it's quite out of the way):

Phahon Yothin MRT- Chatuchak Park MRT - Mo Chit BTS - Siam BTS interchange - Chong Nonsi

Number One Brand Tea

The Chong Nonsi station has a Number One Brand Tea kiosk, something Mich was desperate to find. She loves tea, fyi.

They sell all sorts of tea. Thai tea, milk tea, black tea, oolong tea, green tea and mooooore! It's very basic and simple, not hipster at all, but that's good cz it tastes good without needing to be fancy schmancy.

Number One Brand Tea

Various locations listed on the website

Official | Facebook

Unicorn Cafe

The cafe is quite secluded that we needed the aid of Google Maps. Prior to our trip, Mich contacted the cafe and was given a very detailed information from the opening hours to the directions of getting there (not much info on their Facebook page).

I don't think we'll be able to locate the cafe even with the direction given cz we had to walk through quiet streets and lanes that can get a little dodgy after sundown.

Step inside the pastel-hued cafe, it instantly feels magical. Magical also because we finally had cold air and a place to sit LOL

We ordered some food to try out since we're gonna spend some time resting there before heading back anyway. Their menu is quite very extensive- spaghetti, waffles, cupcakes, cakes, pancakes, pies, crepes and drinks.

The Galaxy Soda, 70 Baht is pretty to look at and tastes like lychee. Rainbow crepe cake was decent and edible, but the cream was too dense and crepe layers too thick. Spaghetti carbonara bacon that came with rainbow-hued strands was not bad too, but the bacon bits were soooo hardddd!

Overall, the food there was okay for a themed-cafe. Through my experiences, you're usually paying for the appearance of the food and drinks, not the taste at all..so they usually suck (i.e. DC Comics Super Heroes Cafe). Unicorn Cafe was acceptable in terms of taste, it wasn't disgusting or makes you choke.

Rainbow crepe cake, 130 Baht

Spaghetti carbonara bacon, 200 Baht

If you're a big fan of My Little Pony or unicorns in general, the unicorn plushies can be your companion while you have your meal! There's also a unicorn onesie to wear if you wish to turn into a unicorn for your limited time there. Do note that it may not be very clean, as there were some very obvious stains on the plushies, what makes you think they'd clean the onesie if they don't clean the soft toys, right? :P

Unicorn Cafe

Sathon Road, Bangkok

Monday: Closed

Tuesday-Sunday: 12pm-8pm

Facebook

We went back to Pratunam right away for a few minutes of rest and a little bit of freshening up before heading out to Talad Rod Fai Srinakirin.

Exhausted and wanting to save remaining energy for exploring the market, we decided to hire a GrabCar. GrabCars are extremely convenient, it's HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to use wherever you are that has this service.

I love how GrabCar's fare is fixed, so it doesn't matter whether there's traffic jam or not, or if the driver is unscrupulous to use the longer route. Furthermore, the driver is most likely able to speak at least basic English. It's also more cost-effective if you're with at least one other person to split the fare since if you're traveling far, the sum of fares paid for public transportation would come up to the same. So why waste energy, right? heheh 

Definitely gonna continue using GrabCar in our future trips!

Our driver, Dew is a university student majoring in English- communication made easy! He was really friendly and informative that he easily became our new Thai friend! Anyone who needs his chauffeuring services when you're in Bangkok, let me know!

Talad Rod Fai Srinakirin (Srinakirin Train Market)

Major Tony was worried we'd be lost in Bangkok without his guide..like a typical uncle hahaha But no need to fret, we'll always find our way! I think he just felt bad he couldn't bring us around, although we didn't mind cz we enjoyed roaming around on our own anyway!

(Source: Bangkok.com)

Talad = market, Rod fai = train. Hence, it's the Train Market.

Talad Rod Fai Srinakirin is one of the two train markets, the bigger one than Ratchada. It's an open-air bazaar that's sooo big, you'd better equip yourself with a good pair of shoes and be ready to walk! I wore slippers cz my Converse was killing my feet.

There's a variety of items sold at the Train Market. Clothing, footwear, contact lenses, bags, phone casings, fragrance, pre-loved goods, foooood. We didn't try any food, unfortunately. I think we were too tired that we didn't have the appetite.

Talad Rod Fai Srinakirin is easily one of my favourite markets, I like it more than Jatujak even! Okaylah, maybe I'm biased cz I managed to get myself a jumper for 100 Baht and a maxi dress for 140 Baht there :P

Took another GrabCar back to Pratunam and our feet were aching like mad by the end of the night. What better time for foot massage?!?!?!?!?! Yahooooo! I loooove foot massages more than body massages, and since I'm more in need to relieve my sore feet, bring on the pressure!

The next half of my trip was spent dragging my legs around Bangkok. Why dragging? I busted my knee by wearing the wrong pair of shoes. It hurt so bad, it became my mission to buy a new pair of proper shoes and a knee guard before returning in July.

So please guys, don't be like me :P

Next Bangkok post will be up soon!!