Tuesday, October 28, 2014

His 31st: Bangkok Day 2 - Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Grand Palace, Mr Jones

Day 2 was a tourist thing. After going to Bangkok for soo many times, this is my first time doing a tour of Bangkok temples. hahaha...
Well, birthday boy request so must grant him right....
 
Anyway, we were up early so that we can finish by noon before the super hot sun comes out and also we had a full day lined up of activities!
 
We woke up at 7am and had breakfast before heading to Saphan Taksin BTS to take the boat.
At Saphan Taksin, head towards Exit 2 (I think), the sign where it tells you to go to Sathorn Pier.
 
 
The Chao Phraya Tourist Boat drops at certain piers as listed below in the picture.
THB 40 per ticket/ 1 way.
 
Our route for the day is Wat Pho, Wat Arun, Grand Palace.
Drop at Pier N8 Tha Chang for Wat Pho and Grand Palace.
Wat Pho is on your right hand side when exit to the road, while Grand Palace is on your left (white walls).. but have to walk like 15min before you reach the entrance.
To get to Wat Arun, it is opposite of Tha Thien Pier. Take a crossing shuttle boat THB 3 per person.
To get back to Central Pier, take back the crossing shuttle and wait for any boat at N8 pier.


 
The benefit of taking a tourist boat is that there is an English speaking guide who will introduce briefly about the surroundings while you're on board.
When reaching N8 pier, just get up and go behind the boat and they will know that people are dropping off so they will stop. Otherwise, they will not stop.



 
Wat Pho latest announcement. Increase in entrance fees!!!!!
Please take note - WEF 1 January 2015 - 200 BAHT!

 
I really didn't expect Wat Pho to look so huge..... and this was one of the reason why we over run our schedule. opps. #badplanning

From here, I shall let the pictures do justice. zip for now.
Big Buddha.



 
Chanced upon one of the temple that they are teaching.

 
The thing about temples in Thailand is their carvings and architecture is so intricate.
But after awhile, I just get confused and blur cause all look similar. haha.. sorry, my bad.
With all these pictures taken by the tourist GGH, I just kept walking and seeking shelter. Super HOT.  

 


Tourist shot. Yes, been there done that.
 
Next, because we over run (we were at Wat Pho for an hour plus), we quickly made our way to Wat Arun and climb the flight of stairs. Before I actually saw this, I was quite excited. But, I kinda hesitated after that after seeing the very steep flight of stairs with each step being so short!
Me wearing a size 7, had to put my foot slanted to have a safe landing.
I sweated man, not over the sun but the nervousness.. haha..

 
Super steep.

 
I was glad I made it safe. It was beautiful and very windy!
Beautiful because you get to see the landscape of all the temples. Quite a scenery.
Going down was scary though. Just focus on one step at a time and not look far if you are afraid.



 
Very quickly we made our way back across and headed for the Grand Palace.
We were already running late, and we decided to just do a quick one at Grand Palace.
Turns out, we underestimated too! The Grand Palace is really grand. Imagine it takes you about 10-15 min to walk from their "back door" to their entrance.... (follow the white wall)
 
When we reached, there are guards who will check your outfit.
No bermudas or shorts. No tank tops or any revealing tops. And that's y I wore my pyjamas pants out. hehe. and a long sleeve shirt. hehe. Well researched.
But GGH doesn't have  long pants except those work pants so he had to rent over there. It's free but have to pay a deposit (THB 200 per item) that's fully refundable.
 
Entrance to the Grand Palace is a whooping THB 500 per person!!! That's like SGD $20!!!!
Woah. damn ex. but bo pian right. Come 1 time that's it. Take as much picture to make it worth it.

 
And again, I was amazed that Grand Palace was soooo huge!!!!
When we entered, I said, we can forget about the rest of our planned afternoon. :(
And that includes my planned trip to Chocolate Ville. No fate to that place.

 
What really impressed me was the wall paintings that tells a story and when you capture the image, the gold colour shimmers and strikes out in the picture.
Very intricate painting and there's a lot of it on the walls. Amazing effort.
 
 
And, a tourist shot again. :)

 
All gold and grand.

 
This place is the prettiest. Built in western style for royal residency, and it serves as guest house for royal guest.
For a moment, it didn't feel like I was in Thailand. Even the trees are properly cut in shapes. haha.
 


 
Guards who doesn't smile.




 
You ask me what's so special about this person cutting the tree...
Everyone was snapping away.. because the ladder was just leaning against the tree, with just a man sitting at the bottom of the ladder. And the ladder didn't topple!
We looked underneath the tree, there was nothing metallic or hard to support it. Amazing eh?!
Please, when you ever go inside, please find out an answer for me. Thank you very much.

 
By the time we ended the whole temple tour, it was already 1plus PM. We were famished!!!!
I couldn't wait till we get back to town, hence we just settled for one of the road side stalls along the way back.
It was delicious!!!! Not because I'm hungry lah. But really, very tasty! I finished 1 bowl by myself. :)

 
In summary, we told around 3.5hrs - 4hrs for all the temple, and note that this includes Grand Palace being done in a slight rush. So, please buffer time for all of them if you intend to take your time.
 
Because we were late for Chocolate Ville already, we decided not to rush to his fitting but relax and chill. Decided to give Mr. Jones' Orphanage a try this time round since it is pretty.
 
 
Every where in this café is so instagram worthy. All so pretty!
I was forced to sit down and order the food first when I immediately just kept snapping after going in. haha...

 
Menu looks so pretty too!

 
While waiting for our snack, what else right?!!?!


 
Don't forget to brush your teeth.
Mocha
Pardon the shadows, every angle was bad.
 
 
We order the waffles with strawberry. Look pretty, but it was awful.
Lots of whipped cream.
And the waffles is so-so only.
And it's so much more expensive than After you!
We ordered a mocha and iced drink with this waffle, it cost THB 530 altogether! $20??!!?!?!
More ex than Singapore man.
My first and last time entering here, cause it's just not worth the money.


 

 
Our mid-afternoon was spent on his fittings and resting..
And then our evening became bad. Because we got the wrong info and went to the old rod fai, we took almost an hour plus in cab due to traffic jam. And we missed our massage too.
:(:(:( Super upset about wasting our whole evening unable to do anything.
 
Rod Fai Market is behind Seacon Square. Nearest BTS is On Nut but you will still have to take cab there about 5-10min.
I regretted not taking cab from our hotel. We took train to Chatuchak. *curse myself*
 
That's the end of our bad evening, and our Day 2. :(:(:(
 
 

Saturday, October 25, 2014

His 31st: Bangkok Day 1 - Centara Watergate + Somboon + After You

Back from holidays!
Went to Bangkok for the boy's birthday treat.
This time round, even though I was there the longest time (5D4N), I didn't shop much cause most of the time was spent searching for good food instead of shopping. I think need to ask the girls to go for mainly shopping trip. :p
 
So, we took tiger air and reach there at a just nice timing 3pm. And for the first time, I took the airport city link train to town instead of taxi!
It is sooo convenient!!!! And it took around 45 min !!! FAST!
 
I booked Centara Watergate Pavillion which is just opposite Indra Regent. Very convenient.
You can see the hotel sign when you drop at the train station bridge.
It is opposite Amari Watergate and Indra Regent.
 
From the airport, go to Basement 1, take the City Link Train (Blue Line) to Ratchapranop.
Fast and cheap! THB 45 per person only!
 
 
 
 
 
 
The concept is similar to hose up and coming boutique hotels, where the check in reception is located on 9th floor.
And it's all bright and chic at the reception desk!
Like the GLOW hotel I stay before with the girls.
 
We quickly checked in at 18th floor, highest is 19th. Just great. :)
 
 

 
The was so-called their sunbed, Moon Sabai. Can tan and nua. Originally I thought still can swim but too shallow cannot swim :(
 
 
This was taken the following day after our tiring day so please pardon the stone look.
 
 
The Room! White and clean concept. I like! Very spacious too!

 

 
 
One thing that you have to note - Their concept of the toilet is very weird. The curtains as you can see below the picture, is actually outside of the toilet. Which means, the person outside can open it. lol..
Guess this is for the more cheeky people.
Too much info: No, we do not belong to those group. :)
(I'm dating an UNCLE! duh) hehe


 

So if you open the curtain, you basically can see the toilet and the entrance door from your bed. Very transparent.
 
 
So, having stayed 2 nights (we switched hotels midway, so experiment more hotels)
 
Here's my review:
 
Overall, The room is spacious and clean. Bed is very comfortable too!
Service wise, all are very friendly.
Mine didn't have breakfast included so no comments. Breakfast are readily available along the streets.
Situated conveniently near the Airport Line, this is a better hotel option. I didn't like Baiyoke even though I didn't stay there before, but I chose this because it is a newer hotel, and I stayed before at Centara group which is reputable.
GGH prefers this hotel than the next one though. Because of the clean concept I think.
One bad point to note is: The soundproofing is extremely bad.
There was a group of Singaporeans beside our room and we could hear them talking and closing the doors. BAD!
So, your take. :)
 
After a short rest, we went to Canali Collections (beside Baiyoke hotel) to tailor make his shirts and jacket.
Never tried this but was recommended by his friends.
 
The service is very friendly, prices are relatively cheaper as well. A shirt cost approximately THB 700 (3 shirts) depending on the quality and of course the package.
Pants for THB 900
Suit is THB 3,500 
 
Definitely relatively cheap.
 
However, having been to Amari Watergate Paul's Fashion, I prefer Paul as they have more selection of materials and patterns. But of course, their prices are slightly more expensive, about THB 800 - 1,200 for a shirt.
I think for plain basic colours you can go to Canali, but if you have enough colours in your wardrobe, try the one at Amari. Lots of fabric options! And I think, Paul has better taste in workmanship. i.e more trendy cuts.
 
After Canali, we also went to Amari to make additional 2 shirts because Canali didn't have the dark blue colour that GGH wants. So, there.
 
By the time we were done, it was time for dinner!
We went to try Somboon Seafood!
We chose the one nearest to us, which is at the newly open Siam Square One.
A more atas outlet than the rest. They are very famous for their Fried Curry Crab.

 

 
Our dinner orders:
 
Fried Curry Crab (Medium) THB 450
Morning Glory (kang kong)
Prawn with glass noodle in hot pot
Total came up to THB 1105
 
The crab is really cheaper than in Singapore so it's worth it.
The taste is a unique one. It is not spicy but rather sweet curry.
The sauce has butter and lots of egg that makes it very tasty and fragrant to just eat with rice.
However, VERY OILY. because of the butter.
I didn't really like it at first taste, but after a while, it was quite addictive. haha.
Try it since I doubt you can taste this in Singapore. It's either you like it or don't kinda feeling.


 
Can skip the glass noodle. Had better ones elsewhere. T&K serves a great bowl!


Having not much of a night for our first day, we just roamed along the Siam night market and digest!
And, we (or rather me) decided to go for desserts!!!!
The much raved about After You café.
We went to the outlet at Central World 7th Floor.


 
Their wide selection of desserts!


 
We order a Baby Shibuya Toast with bananas. Baby because we ate so full and was afraid we couldn't finish.
Haha.. but we were wrong! We finished all up and couldn't get enough!
Now I believe what's the big deal about this Shibuya Toast.
It's really heavenly!!!!!!!
As I'm typing away, I feel like having this again!
The thick block of toast, has butter melted inside.
It's crispy on the outside and fragrant and soft on the inside. It isn't oily (I don't usually eat butter block like those in singapore) and this was just nice!
Even the ice cream taste great!
Though they serve the honey, we didn't put any because it was already sweet as it is because of the butter and ice cream.
Simply awesome. MUST TRY AND MUST GO EAT!!!!


I'm in love with this!!!!!
 
 
After that, we ended our day early as we have a tourist thing to do the next early morning..........
*cannot believe I did this in BKK* lol... after so many times in BKK.
Stay tuned.