We went to Bangkok for a short 5 days trip over the weekend before CNY! This time round, it was definitely an eye-opener trip for me to see how Bangkok has changed and the places that I have never explored before. There's much more to do in Bangkok than just Platinum Mall. We had a 11:20AM flight on Jet star at Terminal 1, and we took bus and train to reach the airport, with our luggages. I'll bet you don't know how good it feels to be heading overseas in the midst of working adults heading to their offices. Hee! We reached the airport about an hour before boarding.. and quickly checked in so we can shop around DFS plus eat breakfast.
We settled down at Wang Cafe inside to have our morning cuppa and a bun! Happy bun people :D
We managed to get a window seat. It was a horrible flight despite it being only slightly over 2 hours. There was lotsa turbulence going on, it was as though the pilot was having a hard time trying to get the plane up. Despite it being a morning flight, we couldn't sleep well.. Basically we just couldn't wait to get the flight over and done with!!
We've touched town at +62! Happy boy ^^
We took the airport railway link to our destination, Ratchaprarop station. It's a really convenient and cheap way to get out of the airport, but it also depends on where your hotel is. Staying at Pratunam area is the best, because all the shopping malls are located there!! I was feeling sick when I touched down in Bangkok, feeling cold all over and having a runny nose. I knew I was on the verge of falling ill...
Our home for the next 4 nights was Hotel Vista Express. It was really hard to find this hotel!! It is located just beside Four Seasons International Hotel and there is a 7-11 just opposite the hotel entrance. Ask the locals and they won't know what Hotel Vista Express is, you need to ask them about Four Seasons and they'll direct you. Thais are generally very friendly and willing to direct you to the right direction if they know the way. We were walking along Indra Square area and tugging our luggages along, we stopped to look at our map and this Thai man asked us what hotel we were looking for and directed us in the right direction.
Our hotel location was good once you know how to get your way around. Actually, it is just opposite Platinum Mall and very near Shibuya 19. At Shibuya 19's entrance, turn left and walk into the alley. See the 7-11 and turn right into the even smaller alley. The entrance of the hotel is really not obvious, it is hidden in the midst of shops selling wholesale female clothing. Which makes the entire area around the hotel a shopping haven for the girls!!! The stuff at the alley are waaaaay cheaper than that in Platinum Mall, but you'd have to buy like 3 pieces of the same design to get it at a low price, like THB100.
Lunch at Fuji Restaurant in Platinum Mall! It's a famous Japanese food chain in Bangkok, serving decent Jap food at totally reasonable prices. I had my favorite sashimi (in a boat!!), warm tamago, soft shell crab maki, .... The food standard is kinda like Sakae Sushi, my favorite Jap casual dining place is still Sushi Tei! I was feeling hot and having a throat infection and downing a lot of ice here helped to boost my energy for shopping later on! We were choosing between Fuji and the food court for lunch, then Woody said hopefully my favorite sashimi will cheer me up! Indeed it did!! Thank you baby!!
Didn't take anymore pictures once we started shopping around Platinum Mall, and we headed to Pratunam market near Baiyoke Sky to shop around and bought street food like pad thai, pineapple, grilled fish with rock salt back to our hotel to feast. We skipped the heaty stuff like tom yum goong and mango sticky rice because at that moment, I felt sick to the point whereby I felt cold in the hot weather... At night, I tango-ed my parents who were in Genting and talking to them really perks me up a little! Complained that I was sick and my mum asked me to take the Chinese medicine (actually it's the same as paracetemol) and went to sleep after that.
As you can see, I am feeling so much better than the day before!! We woke up late on this day because we wanted to get ample rest and not fall sick! I felt so happy in the morning when I didn't feel hot to the touch. In fact, I felt excited for a brand new day in Bangkok!~ Weee.
We went shopping at the area outside our hotel, the dirt cheap but wholesale clothings. Super happy girl that day because I managed to get my shopping done before lunch time!! To compensate for yesterday maybe? :D
Lunch time! We took a tuk tuk to Terminal 21. IT was my first ever experience on a tuk tuk despite being to Bangkok a few times. It really isn't as scary as how people say it to be, just that the air can be really bad as it is opened air. Also, we have to haggle the price with the driver each time before we step onto the tuk tuk. It can be quite expensive, as they always quote THB200 no matter where we are heading to. If you go on taxi by meter, it may be cheaper. However, tuk tuk as tuk tuk are, they are like gangsters of the road and they can weave in and out of the traffic whenever possible.
Gourmet Market at the basement of Terminal 21! It has quite a few food stalls, all are of very unique and interesting foods! Terminal 21 is a new mall located right beside Asok BTS and has one of the most interesting concept for a mall. Each level represents a different country such as Japan, Rome, London and Sans Francisco, and the escalators act as departure and arrival gates. The Thais are so creative!! It was such a joy to be walking inside the mall, everything is so prettily decorated, even the washrooms are of different themes each.
Cafes, eateries and restaurants are everywhere so you don't have to be afraid of running out of things to eat.
We settled for lunch at MK Restaurant, the locally famous cheap and good steamboat place! I read online that MK is even more well-known than McDonald's among the Thais, is this true? I thought that the soup broth was quite healthy because it was bland, and the crispy pork was good. The thought of it makes me drool.
Kamu milk tea!
Shopping time!! The shops in Terminal 21 sell generally expensive stuff (because it's a atas shopping mall), so you gotta look carefully at which ones are the stuff that you can purchase for half the price at markets. Although most of them are expensive, there are always hidden gems too! They have lots of nice stuff for guys, so guys can't complain that there's nothing to buy...? :D
We had to rush off to our next destination so we didn't manage to finish walking all the of the lower levels. We bought A LOT of Taokaenoi back from the Taokaenoi Land located at the basement. Uhm.... thinking back, we have no idea why we bought so much. Lol. CNY snacks maybe!?
After that, we hailed a tuk tuk to go back to our hotel. We didn't take a taxi because the traffic looked bad. Look at this chillax dog observing the traffic...quite human-like. Mocha's friend!
We had planned to go on a dinner cruise. We booked ours with Loy Nava Dinner Cruise.
They have complimentary pick-up service from your hotel to the pier and they'll drop you off at your hotel after everything too. Our pick-up service was scheduled to be 5 - 5:15PM, and we reached our hotel at 5:10PM. The driver had been waiting for us since 5PM, got pretty angry at us for being late. Why...so....punctual..... He also reprimanded us and kept nagging on the bus to his female partner. Felt bad because it really is our fault and we were the first customers he picked up. Thank goodness the next group of tourists staying at Siam area were not angry about the pick-up service which was late by 15 minutes.
We reached the pier just slightly before 6, despite the traffic jam going on. Although we were being scolded, we couldn't help but to feel excited about the dinner cruise because we've always wanted to try it!!
I'm really glad we chose to go on a traditional rice barge instead of the other commercial dinner cruises like the Chao Phraya Princess cruise.The rice barge was quite a cozy affair, as seats are limited to about a maximum of 60 pax. As we cruised on the Chao Phraya River, we saw many other dinner cruises as well, such as Wan Fah and Grand Pearl. Still happy with my Loy Nava choice!! We went for the Sunset Cruise at 6PM and paid THB1600 each for it, and got to choose either Thai or Seafood menu for it. We got to see Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn). Overall, the food was good and the experience was worth once in a lifetime try.
After the dinner cruise, we headed back to the hotel for a rest and washed up before heading to Sapanphut Night Market! It is quite a gem, slightly less touristy than the rest of the night markets. 
Cute little bunnies selling for just THB150!!
Baby in his Hello Kitty land~
That's the end of our first 2 days in BKK! Will be blogging about Days 3 to 5 by this week, I promise!! Hee. Meanwhile, if you'd like more updates, you can follow me on Instagram @twinkletea because I am super active there as compared to here. And if you're even thinking about my Taiwan Travelogue, I promise to finish it too!! Hahaha, so busy.. Alright, good night all! x
