I'm back from Bangkok....most of you have been asking how my trip was, and I'm sure that there will be more who do. So here's a post on it just to let everyone know. haha!
Day 1:
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Departed Sg at 9am on Valuair (Desmond- the fd on valuair sucks, pls feedback. Svce was gd tho'). Reached Bangkok ard 11am. Bernice and I dumped our bags at the Baiyoke Sky hotel, and took a cab to Chatuchak weekend mkt and spent the bulk of the day there. Was a bit bewildering on our first day....as we tried to orientate ourselves and make our way around the super congested city. Plus, it seemed nobody seemed to understand what I spoke and vice versa....so I left the talking/ bargaining to Bernice.
Day 2:
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After our buffet breakfast at the hotel, it was time to hit the shopping centres. We walked to the Siam Square,and MBK area(not very near mind u...we did it with the help of a map). Nothing exciting to report, just shopping. (I started to figure out the local thai accent a bit better, and honed my bargaining skills. haha!)At night, we took the sky-train (their mrt) to the Sukhumvit area for dinner at the famous, and posh Thai restaurant at Sheraton hotel. Gorgeous decor, great service, fascinating food presentation...all for $12 per person I believe.
Day 3:
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We ventured further away from our hotel this day. We walked to the sky-train station (freaking far!! was sweating like mad), and took the train to Central Pier. From there we took the express boat(only 16 baht!!) that took us over the Chao Phraya, the river that continues to flow unaffected, separating the original capital of Thonburi on one side of the river, from today's Bangkok. Many of the historic sights of Bangkok lie on on the banks of the Chao Phraya river which is why it's such a great way to get around. It's like a river mrt basically. Saw quite a lot of temples along the river....the architecture was quite beautiful i must say...but well, not very interested lah.
We got off at the Grand Palace stop...which was supposed to be a 'must see' site. But when we got there....we were told we couldn't go in cos of our sleeveless tops and sandals. Perfect 'NEH NEH' moment...in the end we decided to give it a miss, since we could see part of it from the outside anyway.
After that, we got back on the express boat, and made our way to Khao San rd. It's a famous back-packer's district that was featured in the movie "The Beach". It's filled with quirky guest houses and charming cafes, bars and stalls selling ethnic clothes, accessories etc. This was personally, my favourite part of Bangkok. For those of you who have been to Bangkok, you would know that it's a congested, polluted, busy, rather harsh city. But Khao San was much more laid back....it had a quaint, 'hippie' village quality to it. Plus got lots of eye-candy ang mohs around. haha! Pity we didn't bring along a bk to read...cos it wld hv been nice to just plonk ourselves at one of the funky cafes there and chill.
Next stop was "The Oriental" hotel. We had milkshakes and sorbets at the elegant, very English "Author's Lounge" cafe(this place is quite legendary apparently, because many famous authors like Joseph Conrad have stayed there). We would have had a proper English tea set there, if not for the cost. The waiters were very accomodating to us cheapos who just wanted to soak up the atmosphere....and even gave us free cookies wor. Talk about excellent service!
Finally, we took the express boat, and train again as we headed back to World Trade Centre (near our hotel) to watch a movie- "Batman Begins". Tickets were slightly cheaper there, and we basically had the whole theatre to ourselves (even got waiter serving us 'welcome drink' at the entrance. we were thinking 'warrau, so good one ah?') Btw, it's quite a good movie!! Not the typical frivalous super-hero action movie...it is quite deep and psychological. Doesn't hurt that Christian Bale is soooooo hot either. :p
Day 4
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After breakfast, had a massage at the hotel's spa. Quite painful and ticklish at times...but i guess the lady knew what she was doing..cos my body aches really disappeared after that. Some last min shopping after that, then it was time to head to the airport.
On the whole, it was an ok trip. I don't think i enjoyed Bangkok THAT much cos it was a congested, polluted, ermm...rather ugly (physically) and harsh city. I never like crowds, I'm not that mad abt shopping either. I would have preferred a more laid-back, quiet and scenic place to just chill....give me natural landscapes anytime. They allow me to reflect and rest more.
Walking around, trying to see everything while on holiday can be quite tiring I realize. Also...I guess I need to go away to a more scenic, ang moh country...cos all the Asian cities look the same to me, and I don't appreciate the culture/ architecture that much. Yes, go ahead, label me a potato. Being the English Lit student that I am, it's hard to get it out of my system lah.
Still, it was a good chance to finally see Bangkok, and to just get away from Singapore. Now that I'm back from chaotic Bangkok...I think I appreciate Singapore a lot more again...how green,neat and safe everything is. haha!
My term break will be ending soon, and work will resume on Mon. :( So i'm trying to cherish the last few days of my break.....catching up on 'me time'...cos I didn't really hv tt while in Bangkok. Guess I'm very particular about having that private space...to reflect,to read, to go into my music "La la Land". If I don't have that private space...I'll get cranky and feel unbalanced.
I am REALLY looking fwd to New Zealand in Nov....I am going to try my darnest to save up ok Eunice? I wanna see snow-capped mountains, sapphire lakes, rivers, forests etc. Think I really need that man....hmmm
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