This post is wayyyy overdue. Blame it on the man duties I have to multi-task. Blame it on jam-packed agendas. Or simply, blame i on laziness.
After two weeks of rest, I decided to give myself a break. Or rather, the hub decided that I needed a break. An overseas one that is. So that broke my cardinal rule of not bringing the baby along on trips! We decided to go to the land of smiles and within the week, our airtix and hotel was booked. It has been 3 years since the hub and I travelled together ALONE. Don't get me wrong. I love that the lil one is with us on our trips but i suppose, time off is good in a time like this. Prior to leaving, i prepped lil k but unknown to me, the separation anxiety was more on me. How was i going to get my daily fix when i m a million miles away? There will not be any rolls to munch on when i m back! True enough my withdrawal syndrom started even as i arrived at the airport.
Upon arrival at bkk however,i caved in to the sights and embraced myself in the frenzy of escalating chaos. Yup, the jams were amazing. Thus we decided to tk the airport express to our hotel located near Asok BTS instead. It took us a total of half an hour to arrive. We first took a direct train to Makasan station and from there made a transfer to the MRT and alighted at Sukhumvit station. Exited entrance number 1 and viola, we arrived at the FX furama exclusive hotel.
I was pleasantly surprised by the room. Spacious, clean and bright. Only complaint i had -- the bed was too hard.
Don't expect too much from the daily buffet spread too. The photo may look pretty decent but the variety sux.
That night, we feasted at Tawangdang. It's a German Brewery and is actually a stand-alone huge ass bunglow. They have a branch in Singapore but of in bkk, it's way cheaper n nicer! There were performances too to entertain us. The vibrant colours and multitude of dishes made me momentarily forget my woes.
I absolutely adore Thai food!! Can't believe it's been this long since I've been to the land of smiles.
Day 2: Took the train to Citlom and Went to Central World coz I heard there's a host of Plan Wooden Toys over at the Toys R Us. However, I reckon we probably have half of the shop at home, thus we went home empty handed. Talk about self-control! I was impressed. We then headed over to Platinum Wholesale mkt where the galore of stuff was amazing. 6 levels (i think) of shopping! Platinum Fashion Mall is located smack in the centre of Pratunam, a 10-minute walk from either Ratchathewi or Chidlom BTS Skytrain. At the end of the spree, i was merely zipping through the lanes. Stamina didn't seem to be as good as before. I used to be able to shop the entire plaza for 6 hours non-stop without stopping even for lunch, but now, it's a whole new story. I was done in a mere 2-3hours. The hub was pleasantly surprised. :)
Had this for lunch -- Pork Rice. For only 65bht
Day 3: Chatuchak market. A weekend market which all tourists should go. For first-timers, conquering Chatuchak may seem like an impossible task, but worry not. Inside, one main walkway encircles the entire market, and it branches off into a series of numbered alleyways called Soi 1, Soi 2, Soi 3, and so on.
These alleys are grouped into sections, with 27 sections in all. You will find more than one category of goods contained in one section, and the same category of goods will appear again in the other sections. In terms of locating your category of goods, this system is rather useless; but it will come in handy when you try to locate your particular stall or where your exact location is on the Chatuchak map. I was actually not as enthusiastic as before. Perhaps age has caught up and thus the novelty has worn off. However, I was still keen to go try the highly acclaimed coconut ice-cream. A definite treat on a hot hot day!
YUMS!
How to get there:
Hop on the skytrain (BTS) to Mo Chit station, take exit no. 1 and follow the crowd until you see rows of canvas stalls selling clothes.
Another option is to take the subway (MRT) to Chatuchak Park station (exit no.1), then follow the crowd until you arrive at the small entrance that leads into the market (clothing section). For the plant and flower section, get off at Kampheng Phet MRT station (exit no. 1).
The weekend market is open on Saturdays and Sundays, 09:00 - 18:00 (strangely I was there at 10am and several stalls were still not opend), and Fridays 18:00 - 24:00. Plant sections are also open on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 07:00 - 18:00
After a long day of dehydration under the sun, we needed a good massage to rejuvenate. So off we went to Healthland which was located within walking distance from our hotel. That was one reason why we wanted to stay at Furama. For the proximity to this spa haven. Without fail, everyday we visited it for our daily dosage of massage.
On our last day, just before heading to the airport (yes, we are that hardcore), we decided to give ourselves one last treat -- Aroma massage for 1000bht for 1.5hrs. Used to be 800bht. hmmm..the works of inflation. If you are opting for a less pricey deal, the typcal thai massage is abut 500bht. that's for 2 hour of pamper.
One of the places which we dined at was the highly talked about Ban Khun Mae. I shall let the photos tell you the level of satisfaction:
BBQ Pig's neck
A must have at every meal: Yum Woon Sen. It's really quite easy to prepare. I wasn't quite over this whole Thai fiasco thus went back and tried replicating this dish. The hubs gave me at 88%. Below is the recipe if you are keen to try out:
Serves 2 | Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Ingredients:
4 oz pre-soaked mung bean noodles (glass noodles, cellophane noodles)
8-12 medium-sized shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1/2 small tomato, diced
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped cilantro leaves
Dressing Ingredients:
1 garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon lime juice, or to taste
1/2 tablespoon chili garlic paste
Method:
Dry mung bean noodles are very light. Soak the dry mung beans noodles with warm water for about 10 minutes (until soft). Discard the water, drain dry and set aside (use 4 oz of them for this recipe). Boil some water and add in the noodles and cook according to the package instruction (a couple of minutes or until the noodles are just cooked through but not mushy). Remove the noodles and drained. Using the same water, boil the shrimp until they are completely cooked. Remove and set aside.
Mix all the ingredients in the Dressing well (make sure the sugar is completely dissolved), set aside.
In a salad bowl, mix the mung bean noodles, shrimp, shallots, tomato, cilantro, mint with the Dressing. Toss to blend well. Add the roasted cashew nuts, stir to combine well. Serve immediately at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before serving.
Another Must have in Thailand! Succulent BBQ Big headed prawns!
There was a shop right across the street selling all mango desserts called Mango Tango. One of the famous Thai dessert is Mango Sticky Rice. Another must try!
The 4D3N was basically just eat, massage and be merry. Other worth mentioning places we visited was Somboon Seafood. Be warned that this place only accept cash.
The 4D3N was basically just eat, massage and be merry. Other worth mentioning places we visited was Somboon Seafood. Be warned that this place only accept cash.
The land of smiles is not only known for their food, pretty erm girls but also their creativity:
We chanced upon his Magnum cafe at Siam Paragon. Was tempted to head in if not for the very filling dinner we had.
On the last day of our escapade, we had almost 5hours between checking out and departure, thus we decided to visit the mall nearby -- Terminal 21. Once again, it was within walking distance! It is located at the BTS and MRT intersection thus very accessible. This cutting edge mall is called Terminal 21 aparently because it is located at Asok Soi 21. If I'm wrong don't blame me! The hubs was my informer and he has the tendency to over-exaggerate his knowledge. I was impressed with the design of the place. Every level had a country theme. London, Istanbul, Paris, America, Rome etc. What blew me away was that the interesting concept extended to even the toilets! The small little shops on every floor also make it a good place to hunt for gems.
Was really glad I went on this trip. Did me good. Hope that you found the above information useful! Till next time XOXO
Directory:FX Hotel Makkasan
1643 / 5 New Phetchaburi Road | Makkasan Ratchathevi, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Terminal 21
2,88 Sukhumvit Soi 19(Wattana) Sukhumvit Rd., Bangkok 10110, Thailand
Mango Tango
Siam Square Soi 5
Ban KhunMae Restaurant
458/6-9 Siam Square Soi 8, Rama 1 Road,
Patumwan District, Bangkok 1033
Tel: (662)250-1952-3 (best to call for reservations. the place can get pretty crowded)
Tawandang Bangkok
Rama III, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
+66 02 678 114 6
Pratunam Shopping Mall
Opening hours: 10am-10pm
Location: Petchburi, Ratcathewi
Location: Petchburi, Ratcathewi
BTS: The nearest Skytrain station is Chitlom (quite a walk if you ask me)
MBK Shopping Mall
444 Phayathai Road | Patumwan, Bangkok, Thailand (Old City)
Somboon Seafood
The one we went to was their Ratchada branch
167/9-12 Huay-Kwang Intersection,
Ratchadapisek Rd., DinDeang, Bangkok 10320
Tel. 02-692-6850-3 (best to make reservations)
Ratchadapisek Rd., DinDeang, Bangkok 10320
Tel. 02-692-6850-3 (best to make reservations)
Chatuhak Weekend Market
Chatuchak Market is adjacent to the Kamphaengpecth Station (MRT) about 5 minute walk from Mochit Skytrain (BTS) Station and Suan Chatuchak (Chatuchak Park) Station (MRT)
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