Back from the Land of a Thousand Smiles, Bangkok, Thailand.

It's really an amazing place, and I was really fascinated by it. OK, we admit, we didn't go to the cultural places; we didn't even go to Chao Phraya river or the Floating Market! All we did was shop, eat, walk, sleep, shop, eat, walk.... but it was fun (despite the fact we're at least $1.5k poorer, excluding the emergency swiping exercises we did).

The first night we arrived, we dumped our single baggage at the hotel, and strutted out to get some middle-eastern dinner at Sukumvit. After dinner, we realised, there was a flood!



Very exciting, though I did feel a tinge of pity for flood victims on the other side of Thailand.

Since it was late, after dinner (at about 10 plus BKK time, 9 SG time), we called it a day. I was really fascinated at the amount of people who were still roaming the streets, the street hawkers who are still selling stuff as if it was only 6 pm in the evening. I thought to myself, "This is gonnna be a great trip." And boy, wasn't it true?

Day 2
BOBAE TOWER, PRATUNAM & SUAN LUM NIGHT BAZAAR

Wy & Ej took us to Bobae Tower. A must go if you're hunting for baby clothes, t-shirts, pyjamas, undergarments etc at wholesale prices! Finding short sleeved pretty tops were easier than finding long sleeved tops. But the moment we found a shop selling simple but pretty long sleeved tops, we went...buy, buy buy!



For some reason, we were rather ambitious that day, so we stretched ourselves to cover 2 more shopping havens; Pratunam Market & Suam Lum Night Bazaar.

At Pratunam, think Geylang Hari Raya bazaar, but more compact with shops, with less lighting. I didn't find much bargains there, but people looking for pretty short sleeved tops will go ballistic there.



This was taken at a bridge linking Pratunam market to Pratunam Plaza (the shopping centre itself, not the bazaar-like type). There's a halal food stall at Pratunam plaza, and I think it was only about 60 baht per plate max (about SGD$1.50).

That night, we went to Suan Lum Night Bazaar. It was much cleaner & neater than the street stalls, but of course the stuff was slightly more expensive. I didn't buy much here, but AH & EJ got rather excited looking at the jerseys and t-shirts there. Me & Wy gave way to them; we sat & chatted along the way while the guys engaged in their fair share of retail therapy.

After bundles of buys, we headed back to the hotel, and it was less than a few minutes before we headed right into slumberland.

DAY 3
GOT OUR SUITS TAILORED, then MBK & SIAM PARAGON

By a stroke of luck, we managed to find the tailors we've been looking for. Manhattantailors, somewhere near our hotel, the Twin Towers, actually. I got a suit tailored for 4000 baht, and AH got a set for around that price too. I can never find a jacket I like over here; they're either too small or short (sighs, my body is not half as thin as the typical singaporean's body). I hope that jacket fits me well when I really wear it.

MBK was huge! But it didn't really appeal to me. I thought the stuff were similar, and not too cheap either. But there was a halal stall at MBK too, and the food was alright.

Night time, we walked around SIAM Paragon. That place is also huge & rather posh too, but being street shoppers, we didn't buy much. Just went in for a whiff of aircon :p

When our legs were giving up on us, we hailed a cab, called in dinner from Mak Yah's Muslim Restaurant, ate in, and booom...slept for another day of shopping that awaited.

DAY 4
CHATUCHAK WEEKEND MARKET, FITTING AT THE TAILOR'S & SUAN LUM AGAIN!



This place is a bargain palace. Things are rather cheap (I got a pretty dress for a colleague's 4 yr old daughter at only 100 baht ($SGD 2)! I bought earrings for 4 for $100 baht (meaning, each for SGD$0.50) for my female teammies & some cheap pens for the guys.

Other stuff included home furnishings that AH bought for my SIL, and loads of erm....non-authentic-adidas jackets for my sibling & bapak. And of course, banana chips, durian chips & dried-freeze durians Wy recommended. There are several halal foodstalls there (in the middle of stalls selling clothes & other knick knacks) but we chose to go to a rather cleaner & better ventilated one. Spicy, hot Thai food!

Chatuchak was hotter & more crowded than Pratunam, anytime; with the shops set up everywhere, hawkers peddling iced lollies & shoppers themselves. It's a weekend market, so imagine the throngs of people headed there.

A push-cart selling fruits went into the already narrow lanes we were in, but thank God for that, coz we bought 10 Thai guavas at 10 baht each (only about 40 cents). We thought about the baggage limit..but heck...we got them anyway.

On the sardine-liked packed humans in Chatuchak, AH summed it quite well,"The whole of Bangkok is here." We managed to get out of there in 1 piece at about 3 pm, and headed back to the hotel with a 200 baht taxi ride. Phew~ What a great relief.

After a nap, we were all recharged again & went to the tailor's for a fitting. I was quite depressed looking at huge my jacket turned out to be (coz that meant that I'm fat) & got even sadder when I saw how shapeless I was when I tried the jacket on. I got the sweet Thai lady seamstress to alter my jacket, so I hope now I won't look like a floating balloon.

After that, dinner at Mak Yah's (Yummy tom yam again!) then off to Suan Lum night bazaar. AH bought me a set of thai silk which I chose and love so much. Now, all I gotta do is find a nice tailor soon.

Once again, we only called a day when our legs & eyes started to give up on us.

DAY 5
BOBAE TOWER AGAIN!
LUNCH AT SOI SURAU - NANGPHAYA MUSLIM RESTAURANT
TRIP BACK HOME

Headed back to Bobae Tower for last minute bargains. I was left with less than 1500 baht (appx SGD$60) to spend. But...I managed to get 4 working shirts, 3 more tops, 2 pashminas (am not even sure when I'm gonna wear those pashminas!)& a make up pouch with whatever remaining baht I was left with. I think both AH & I were quite relieved with those buys.

I am a very disciplined shopper and it's quite hard for shops to earn my money & this annoys AH. So I think he was happy when I spent on stuff I really liked & was willing to pay for, heee :p



Lunch was really good. We saw street hawkers selling tidbits but with very little cash left (plus we were full to the brim from the lovely 520 baht lunch (About $20 for 4 people), we left for the hotel....where we started...yes, the arduous task of packing!

We managed to do it though, and thank goodness, not much excess baggage.

And after all that shopping, we rewarded ourselves with a foot, back & shoulder massage at Bangkok airport, soon after we checked in. What a blessing....truly blissful.

Apart from the bargains in Bangkok, several things fascinated me too. Like how much the Thais love their King and how they wear the yellow t-shirts celebrating the King's 60 years of ruling so proudly.

How gentle they spoke, and how lovely the Thai language sounds.

How Thailand is such a massive piece of land, and that it is such a unique place, owned by themselves.

And not forgetting the traffic too. Jams are perpetual there but it's amazing how organised the chaos is like on the Bangkok roads. AH sat infront in cabs most of the time, and I think the trips on the cabs have made him more religious by the day; what with the amount of prayers muttered each time we got on the road.

We're still rather tired from the trip, but I want to update this now, so I can capture the spirit of Bangkok that's inside me now.

Great place, great company. I can't thank my hubby enough for the trip. Thanks dear :)