4D3N in Bangkok 曼谷之旅

27th - 30th March 2016

My very first trip to Bangkok, Thailand. Air Asia Go was offering promotions. Flight ticket + Hotel was below RM400 each person (there were 4 of us). Of course, what kind of hotel would you expect? It's a budget hotel obviously. We stayed in Nasa Vegas Hotel in Ramkhamheung. The location is pretty convenient, it's opposite ARL station. There is also a Family Mart across the road from the hotel lobby. Overall it's not that bad.  Remember one point, you get what you paid. If you have the money, you could always choose a better hotel. 

Our hotel didn't provide shuttle service from the airport. You can always choose to get taxi, public bus or private car service from the airport. We saw a private car service counter once we got out from the arrival hall. From airport to Nasa Vegas Hotel, one ride only costs 800BHT. We had our ride in Camry car. (Note: if it was on weekdays/peak hour, they'll use the express way & you have to pay extra for toll) From the same counter, we bought a sim card, it was 330BHT, give or take. A 7-days with 1.5GB data package (tourist package). 

Day 1: Chatuchak Weekend Market

It's a must-visit-place in Bangkok. Note: WEEKEND MARKET, it only opens on weekend. An enormous market filled with food, clothes & souvenirs. There is 2 entrances (if not mistaken). I found the other entrance (NOT the photo above) has cheaper stuffs & more local food. Most of the stalls are repetitive or similar (in price & products). I like the artsy stalls in the middle of the market where it's a bit hidden & most likely people would have missed it. You can see paintings, sculptures & other artworks. Those are for sales, of course. I found a young illustrator's work, he sold magnets with his artwork on them & also notebooks, t-shirt and so on. I bought some magnets with beautiful illustrations on top for my friends as souvenir. 

Coconut Ice Cream (2 toppings) - 35BHT

Fresh Orange Juice (PS: I found cheaper one at another entrance)

Street wire in Bangkok is crazy & quite scary tbh. 

BTS - one of the convenient public transport choices. 

Take BTS to Saphan Taksin station for Free Shuttle Boat (from 5pm-11pm) to Asiatique. 

Night 1: Asiatique

I expected more tbh. It seems a little different from the video I saw online, maybe Asiatique upgraded. Still, worth a visit. lots of restaurants & shops. They have Ladyboy performance in Asiatique. We didn't watch it cause we weren't really interested & the ticket price ain't that cheap either. 

Day 2: Shopping Day with lots of walking

We wanted to go to Pratunam Market, it opens from 4am to 9am. We were late, cause we decided to sleep in a little cause day 1 was exhausted. No worries, there's Platinum Fashion Mall opposite where you can do shopping. It's like Kenanga Mall + Sungei Wang Mall. The more you buy, the cheaper the price is aka retail price. Go to night market, you can get lots of cheap clothes. Just go discover the area. We tried a famous Wan Tan Mee shop at Soi Petchuri 19 (walking distance from Platinum Fashion Mall). The portion is quite small, the taste was good but kinda overpriced. 100BHT for one bowl. That street has lots of street foods. 

A coffee truck in front of Platinum Fashion Mall. It's really good. We tried their Thai Coffee & Mocha. The price is cheap/affordable, definitely way cheaper than Starbucks. 

At Soi Petchuri 15, you can find several massage shop. During their Happy Hour, about 3pm to 5pm, they offer promotion such as 200BHT for foot massage (1 hour).

You should always try their street food. Surprisingly good even it doesn't look good. I don't know was it me or what, it's less street food than I expected it to be. One more thing is that they should have given more dustbins on the street.

Day 3

We had our breakfast at Plearnwan Panich, Thonglor 13. The area is a Japanese Village. A nice & quiet place to enjoy your breakfast. Then, we went to Madame Tussaud's, in Siam Discovery. I thought the nearest one from Malaysia would be Hong Kong, I was wrong. We bought the ticket from their website. Get their early bird ticket! Have to enter before noon but you can stay longer as your wish. 

Yes, it was pretty fun. Well, it was my first time in wax sculpture museum though. Might as well just enjoy taking photos.

Erawan Shrine 四面佛 

Lots of people went there to pray. It's nearby Central World. 

Mango Tango, Siam Square. 

Dessert time!

Siam area has different shopping malls and you can also find massage shops over there. We tried Lek Foot Massage. Thai Massage + Hot Compress, 350 BHT/1 hour. It was amazing. At evening, we had our dinner at INTER (opposite Siam Square One). A Thai restaurant with local dishes. Their Tom Yum Gong & Pork Shoulder Meat were good. Oh yes, they have Siam Night Market, from (BTS) Siam station all the way to National Stadium station.

Day 4

We were grabbing the last chance to enjoy massage before we left Bangkok. We wanted to go to Lek again, but in the morning, their massage therapists were not in yet, they usually start working in the afternoon which is why morning they will be short-staffed. We tried the one next to it, Chang Foot Massage. Their interior looks more modern & cleaner. 300BHT for 1 hour Thai Massage. Not bad. 

After massage, we went to Central World. We had our lunch at Taling Pling, also quite a good place for Thai food. Outside Central World, there was a market with FOOD & souvenir stalls. Last chance to grab some snacks & souvenirs. In Bangkok, you can see lots of stalls that sell handmade leather-like stuffs, such as passport holder, notebook, bags, keychains, wallets and so on. Various colour choices. If you bought one, it came along with FREE charm(logo) & name(they help you "carve" your name on it). Check out the photo below. My new card tag (on the right) that I bought over there. 

Ladies would get crazy in Bangkok, cause there's lots of clothes, technically a shopping heaven but sometimes you might be careful about their quality. Food-lovers would love it as well. I found most of the food are quite sweet. Sour & spicy are inevitable. They also sell lots of juices. We didn't get the chance to try their tea, my friends were asking me whether I tried their Thai Tea. Too bad. We only got the chance to drink their Thai Coffee, especially when your mum can't live without coffee. I didn't really see any Thai Tea around (maybe I wasn't looking for it). If you plan to stay in Bangkok for longer days, I suggest you go discover further places than just in Bangkok, might as well go check out more of their night markets. We didn't go to Floating Market because most of our friends that went there don't recommend. It simply waste of money & time, they said. Bangkok is a huge & hectic city, it's a place that I would definitely revisit, I haven't explore some other places in Bangkok. Bangkok is a city that you wouldn't just go once.