Bangkok (Part 2)

For those who read my "wall of china" long post previously, here is the other half of the ah ma long winded story.

THE BREAKFAST

The night before when we were on the way back to the hotel from Platinum Mall, the taxi driver was so friendly he kept chatting with us, talking about Thailand beliefs, Hong Kong celebrities and kung fu...funny guy =) He asked us where would we be going the next day, we said The Grand Palace. He gave us a valuable advice, because tomorrow would be Monday and all Thailand people would be going to work. So beat the jam and go out later at 10-11am instead.

Alvin got up the next day at 7.30am, he said he wanted to try the breakfast =_____= I'm definitely not a morning person, I'm more than happy to give up breakfast for more time to snooze. But he gave me that poor puppy face and said, "I will eat by myself".

 ......

"FINE! Give me 15minutes more to snooze and I will go with you!"

Man!

When I got downstairs and saw the choices for breakfast...free flow of BACON, SCRAMBLE EGGS and HAMS

SWEET JESUS!

THE PALACE

We finally reached The Grand Palace, smooth traffic, thank God! Shall I do the raccoon thingy again? PRAISE THE LORD!

This raccoon praising the lord is so funny I couldn't help it!

When we got down from the taxi, a stranger approached us and asked if we were going to the palace. Upon seeing us nodding, he broke the news that today was a public holiday and all the monks were praying in the palace. Hence tourists were not allowed to visit until 1pm. We were shocked O_o!!! Then he took the map from our hands and started to introduce to us all sorts of activities. Asking us to rent a boat from them for 1000baht! He even had the balls to say he usually offers 2000baht for other tourists but for us he gave 50% discount. With the boat, he will take us to here, here and there *doodling with his pen on our map*. Then I recalled yesterday the taxi driver told us today was supposed to be Thailand's people working day. Why was this idiot telling us the opposite and asking us to pay for boat ride. Alvin then took back the map and said no no no. The guy looked rather pissed and did us some hand gestures shoo-ing us away. WTF!

We followed other tourists and entered the palace, then we heard a tour guide shouting, "There are people saying the palace is closed today! Do not believe them!". *GASP* Thank goodness we didn't believe that scammer!

So we got our tickets and queued up to enter the palace. Many people got stopped because they were not properly dressed. No sleeveless, short pants, short skirt, slipper and leggings. Luckily we were told earlier by Reuben and Fann about this, so we were dressed well and proper. 

The panorama view of the palace, magnificent!

Some parts of the palace were still
under construction.

After taking this picture, I heard some
tour guide saying this is the lord of the devil.
ZOIKS!!!!

My favourite part of the palace. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha. It was all covered with blings! The craftsmanship of this architecture was something to be admired. You can judge by the way I hugged the pillar XD

 The holy Emerald Buddha is kept within the temple. We followed everyone into the temple and kneel down to pray in front of the statue of the Emerald Buddha. I read from the pamphlet that the outfit of the Emerald Buddha was changed 3 times a year, and the ceremony was done by the King of Thailand. Can you imagine the mighty status of the Emerald Buddha that he can get the majesty to change the clothes? Everyone were so quiet in the temple, even ang mohs clasped their palms and said their prayers.

I looked so small on the giant staircase.

No photography allowed in the holy temple.
So I sneaked one from outside.

Phra Thinang Amarin Winichai.

The throne hall was constructed as a royal audience chamber for receiving foreign ambassadors and conducting important state businesses and ceremonies (cited from Wikipedia).

The ang mohs were so obliged to take photos for us. Compared to the people from China. They were so noisy and kept hoarding the place and didn't give other people chance to take photos. It was so inconsiderate. Sometimes I feel so ashamed that I'm a Chinese =_= (Sorry to people from China, no pun intended).

Phra Thinang Chakri Maha Prasat

Phra Maha Prasat group

A huge tall guard was standing in front of the palace gate and tourists were surrounding him for photos. But the tourists from China kept taking photos with him one after another. Some other people from other countries were standing at the side waiting but the China people took their own sweet time. We were so pissed and took photo with a smaller frame guard at the side instead. He was standing at the corner unnoticed by people. Bias! Just because he was smaller nobody bothered him! When I stood next to him for photo, he SMILED! V^^V After that the rest of the ang mohs followed and took photos with him instead while the China people could hoard the other guard as long as they want!

It was 1pm in the afternoon and the sun were blazing right on top of our heads. We have been walking under the hot sun for 2 hours! We were all sticky and sweaty! 

LMAO!!! Alvin found his long lost twin!

Even the statue couldn't stand the heat and
borrowed my hand fan, LOL!

After that we left the palace and to our next destination, the temple of The Reclining Buddha! We asked for direction from one of the guard and he told us to walk along the walls of the palace and by the end of it we will see the Chao Praya river and opposite will be the temple.

THE TEMPLE

Amidst the hot burning sun, we walked for nearly half an hour passing the walls of the palace. It was SO DAMN HOT! I nearly died of overheat! And so we finally reached the Wat Pho, Temple of the Reclining Buddha! PRAISE THE LORD!

Paid 20baht for small changes to make wishes.

The 108 bronze bowls are said to indicate 108 auspicious characters of the Buddha.

After another 2 hours in the oldest temple in Bangkok, we were all dried up. Our next destination was supposed to be Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn. But we were so tired and hot already. So we just walked to the Chao Phraya river opposite and sat by the river to admire the view of the Wat Arun from far. We didn't have the energy to take the boat ride and walk another distance at the temple anymore, thus we gave up Wat Arun =(

After sitting by the river for half an hour, Alvin and I wanted to enjoy the luxury of air cond instead of sun and sweat, and so we decided to go to Siam Centre for some high end shopping! We tried to hail a few taxis but as soon as they heard Siam, they shook their heads! Finally there was one kind taxi but he requested for 200baht AGAIN. Since we were going nowhere, we agreed. The journey was longer than I thought. I nearly fell asleep in the taxi, zzzzz.....

SIAM CENTER

There were a few end shopping malls altogether in the Siam Center. But we only managed to walk Siam Center Shopping Mall, Siam Center Discovery and Siam Paragon. We wanted to go to the Madam Tussauds House of Wax but the entry fee was 800baht =S What if they have like 5-6 figurines inside only?! So we wandered around the malls instead.

And then I saw Naraya, the so called high end brand from Bangkok. I thought since people call it high end, I was expecting the price to be a bomb. But to my utter surprise, one bag was only 350baht?! O__o ATTACKKKKK!!!!!!!

We started to get bored in the shopping mall, and then I saw rows and rows of stalls outside Siam Paragon! It's time to attack the markets again! Cheap bargain stuff, I LIKE!!!

I nearly died of an heart attack when I saw this!

Poor Alvin was so tired carrying his heavy camera bag. Seeing his exhausted face, I offered to carry for him. But he won't let me. But every time I stopped to check out something, he would find a place to sit. 3 years with this man and he had never accompany me to shop for such a long time frame.

Poor thing.

I saw so many nice skirts and pouches but the price over here are a bit higher than Chatuchak and Platinum Mall. But after that I was so regret for not getting it! Because I can never find them at other places anymore T___T Me so regret! And so I came out with 3 golden shopping rules in Bangkok called 3S.

#1 See something?

#2 Suka?

#3 Sapu!!!!!

Please keep this rule in mind when you go Bangkok and you shall never have any regrets!

We paid another 200baht for taxi to ride back to the hotel again. Only God knows why the hell we always go back during rush hour =___=

THE MASSAGE

There is a massage parlour below the hotel. During my first night I wanted to have a massage but they were fully booked. So on the second night, I made a booking for a full body massage at 9pm after walking non stop for 2 days.

We wanted to try the noodle again but it was not opened T____T So we had our dinner at the hotel's cafeteria instead. We thought hotel food should be sucky, BUT WE WERE SO WRONG!!!! The food was awesome!!!!! And blended fruit juice is only 35baht! O___o Holy macaroni!

The massage parlour.

I always heard about how painful Thai massage is. But Reuben told me to give it a try because it was good and not painful, so I gave it a shot. While I was waiting, I saw a poster on the wall with drawings of how the full body massage is. It was like moulding clay, twisting your parts here and there. I had cold sweats =___=||| But the massage went well, a bit awkward, but acceptable.

After the massage at 10ish, I thought Alvin would be in the room but he was actually waiting for me outside in the tuk tuk (LOL). Felt so bad to make him waited for me for more than an hour, but he told me he would  be in the hotel room.

The next day was our last day and we had early flight =( So we spent the night packing, watched Channel V and slept early.

To be continued...

Bangkok (Part 1)

Many people said Bangkok is a dangerous place. Full with terrorists, violence and criminals. They painted the city with a scary canvas of blood and hatred. But nobody realize every city in this world have their own darker side. All we need to do is open up our eyes and see the brighter side of this beautiful city. The friendly people who are very well mannered, the delicious food, the wonderful views and their love for their own country and king. Can you find all that in your own country? The beauty of this city is much more worthy to be told than any other thing.

Brace yourself, super long post below. I divided each of them in different section. Easier for you to read, if you don't like the shopping part, you can skip it ;)

Alvin and I went for a short 3 days 2 nights trip to Bangkok. And when I said short, it was really short! It was certainly not enough to conquer Bangkok! Especially the shopping! We woke up at 5am in the wee hour and hopped on to our flight at 6.50am. Thank god Air Asia didn't delay our flight, which is what they are famous for. PRAISE THE LORD!

THE AIRPORT

We reached Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at 8.50am (9.50am in Malaysia time). Like a country mouse, I saw so many ang mohs in the airport, not the normal ang mohs I usually see in Malaysia. They all look like celebrities! While Alvin and I were lining up to get our passport checked, the queue was tremendously long, we kept checking out the ang mohs and see which celebrities they look like. Yes, boh liao =_=

The walking distance to the custom counter was so long,
thank God they have this escalator. Do they call this escalator? O_o

THE TAXI

So many cabs were waiting outside the entrance. You don't need to worry about not getting a cab, the drivers will greet you with open arms, what's missing is pom pom =_= Oh, all their taxis are PINK! ZOMG!

PINK TAXI!!!!!

We approached a taxi driver with our hotel's name and he said yayaya. We got on to the taxi and after leaving the airport, he realized he didn't know how to go the our hotel =_= Y U NO SAY EARLIER! He kept looking at the address which I printed on my itinerary paper. Let me repeat, HE KEPT LOOKING AT THE PAPER! His eyes weren't on the road! So dangerous! But within half an hour, we reached our destination safely. Once again, PRAISE THE LORD!

THE HOTEL

Upon all the great recommendations and comments from my friends, I decided to stay at the boutique hotel, Mystic Place. One word to describe this place, INDESCRIBABLE. Once the taxi stopped in front of the hotel's entrance, yhe staffs came running out to open the taxi door for us and carried our luggage from the boot like as though we were some VIPs.

All their rooms have different designs. But the room I wanted was still occupied. Since we reached earlier and in a hurry for the famous Chatuchak market, we changed to another room. One of the staff (note: tall, manly and cute) helped us to carry our luggage into our room *melted*

The interior in the hotel. The walls are hand painted.
And most of the decorations are recycled items.

Even the lobby and reception is so colorful!

Toifu, the little guardian dog who always hide under the table, LOL.

Our room 409. The key with cute plushy keychain!
Check out the shower, kinky! Everything is so cute!

The room has a sticky note tree on the wall for people to leave their notes.
Reuben and Fann used to stay in this room too and left us a note!

THE WEEKEND MARKET

After settling down our stuff in the room and rested for about half an hour, we took the free tuk tuk courtesy of the hotel to the infamous weekend market, Chatuchak. I was awed by the hugeeeeeeeee market. We walked for about 4 hours. I refrained from buying too many clothes although I saw so many cheap and nice pieces because later on that day we were supposed to go the the famous wholesale fashion mall, Platinum Mall. BIG MISTAKE! Biggest rule in Bangkok, whatever you see and you like it, just grab it! Don't think twice! Or shall I say, don't even think!

The market is full with pickpockets so Fann told me to put a bag inside my bag to protect my belongings. Even if the pickpocketer tried to cut my bag, there is still another bag inside. Good advice! Thanks to Fann and Reuben!

Bag within a bag, we call it...bagception!

Our first time in tuk tuk! Weeeee!!!!

I was a bit reluctant to try the food in Chatuchak, judging from the cleanliness. I have a weak stomach. Therefore we just had snacks. I didn't get to try the sticky mango rice and coconut ice-cream =( But the fruit juice was awesomeeeeeeeee! It was pure juice with no added sugar, but yet it was so sweet and fresh!And not to forget the fishy thingy! ( Sorry I don't know what it's called). It was so good!!!! We whacked 2 bowls!

Frozen banana covered with chocolate and sprinkles.
Saw it in many of my friends' photos. Sadly, not so nice =(

We just managed to walk 50% of the market. Time was running out, we need to go back to the hotel to freshen up and attack the Platinum Mall!

PLATINUM MALL

We asked the front desk to call a taxi for us to the Platinum Mall. I was expecting the staff to call, but she went all out to the street to hail a cab for us instead. 5 star service! We were caught in a horrible jam and the taxi driver had to leave us at the opposite of the mall, we had to use the pedestrian overhead bridge instead. We were surprised that the mall was stuffy, packed and a bit run down. But still we managed to grab quite a few stuff.

Alvin was pretty tired after walking the whole day with his heavy camera bag. We wanted to take a taxi back but nobody wanted to fetch us because it was rush hour! Everyone was asking for throat slitting price instead of running on meter. Note: They don't run on meter during rush hour. So avoid taking taxi during tat period. We didn't take the BTS because we didn't want to walk with so many bags in hand, we were already exhausted.

So we decided to have dinner first, McD with pork burger! ZOMG!

While eating, Alvin asked "Why does this part of Platinum Mall looked so brand new?" Then only we realized we spent 4 hours walking at the old phase! O_____o

After dinner, we tried our luck went to the new phase for some late shopping while most of the shops were closing already. But even though it was last minute, I managed to buy 2 bags. The shop has so many cute structured boxy bags, I couldn't make up my mind! While I was looking and looking and looking, the lady were staring at me and I asked her, "Are you closing soon?" and she gave me a smile. Point taken, I quickly grabbed 2 bags and paid. BUT I WANT MORE! T_______T

THE HOTEL (NIGHT TIME)

It was about 9 and still no taxi wanted to take us back. So we paid 200baht, while it was just about 100baht if it runs on meter. The hotel is a bit outskirt, away from town. With no night life, we were stuck in the hotel. Having no proper meal for the whole day, we saw a noodle stall below the hotel, so we gave it a try. IT WAS DELICIOOOOO!!!!!!!!! Does all food in Bangkok taste so good and cheap?! 30baht for a bowl of noodle with free drinks! Though it's just plain water, but it's free! We need to pay for freaking tap water in Malaysia! And thank God for channel V, we spent our night watching TV and slept at 11ish to rejuvenate ourselves for tomorrow.

To be continued...

Fashion report.

I'm not a fashionista. I don't follow the trend, I wear what suits me. I don't wear a bra top just because it's "IN" because I think it look dead awkward.

What the hell is this?!

I like bodycon dress and mini skirt. But just because it's the latest trend that doesn't mean people with bulges can wear it. I once saw a short chubby girl wearing a shocking pink bodycon mini skirt. Mother of God the view of her belly is in full glory! Yikes!

Modest, comfortable and suitable it's my way of dressing. So here's the fashion report of my outfit for Chinese New Year. Posing with our new outfits from head to toe is our practice every year.

DAY 1

Cheongsam inspired dress from A Model Studio online boutique.

Platform suede red heels from... I forgot the name =_= but the shop is in E-Curve.

DAY 2

Maxi flow long dress from Kitschen.

Heels (hidden underneath) from Charles & Keith.

DAY 3 

Skipped one day, was very sleepy and lazy on that day.

DAY 4

Sheer bat wing shirt from Phat Culture online boutique.

PVC leggings from Sungai Wang.

Pump wedges from Charles & Keith.

DAY 5

Knitted drop shoulder drape from Attire Attic online boutique.

Beach shorts from The Factory Outlet.

Bejeweled flats from Charles & Keith.