So the first week, I had the Penang trip and slowly my soul flew back. Then it was KM grading with LKY mourning in the second week. The third week was a trip to Bangkok with Quet and the final week was letting my soul fly back, going for more KM to condition, exercise and diet. WWork is starting next week *groans*
Bangkok 3rd trip, 1st - 4th April
Think the previous Bangkok trip was in 2008-2009, making 7-8 years ago. It's been a long while, it seemed kinda fresh yet somewhat stale. This trip was with Quet, Wed to Sat. I didn't have much in mind, save for Thai massage cos it was just 3 days after my KM grading. I wasn't that sore but felt like a long long time since my last massage. Just knead me like a dough for hours... Eat some nice food, especially the Thai food. Go Thailand, must eat Thai food, not like my previous 2 Chiang Mai which was Chinese food, duh...
Quet did ask me what I wanted to do, go, eat. For me, massage, buy mom's stuff - supermarket, eat at the Somboon suggested by my KM friend, After You honey Shibuya toast as per Muttons raving about it. Eat a good meal of Thai cuisine. Go Chaku chupt to look look see see cos I have never been there. The rest I am on with anything. Quet did quite a bit of food research buy we have limited stomach and meals too. So we just played it by ear.
So the flight was 10.45am so I had to be there 8.45am. I woke up at 6am to get ready. There wasn't much to do since I had packed the night before, so just bathed, changed and double checked all my passport and cash. Took the Mrt with my two backpacks. Loaned a transformable bag from Quet in view of my mom's shopping request. Quet was late due to her sister and while waiting, I had my sg egg kaya toast coffee breakfast. We went in and Quet had her breakfast eggs and coffee. We walked a bit but I decided against the alcohol, unsure if it would wake me in the middle of the night, despite Quet's snoring issue.
On the plane ride over, I was drawing on my own KM 武林秘籍 with stick figures and notes on new techniques. Quet was reading LKY's book on I-pad. We arrived without too much trouble. But the queue for the SIM card took a while. Some dunno why maybe cos is Xiaomi, held up the queue. Got the SIM and went to the taxi queue. Going by meter seemed ok until the cab driver sneakily after Quet dozed off, drove off the highway into the jam. It was hot and stuffy and the jam took extra time. He pretended to have heard the wrong road and feigned until Quet woke and clarified. So it ended up slightly less than the flat rate of 500 baht, 475 but took over an hour. I didn't know the streets enough though I kept awake during the journey. It seemed whether meter or flat, they want to make that 500 bht so the return journey, we went for flat rate and had a smooth journey. Guess, just pay that next time.
Really stoned after that and checked-in. Only have two single bed if on smoking floor. There was a noticeable cigarette smell that after a while went into the background. Got the front desk to bring a pair of scissors and some air freshener. Then we relaxed a bit but hunger drove us cos it was already 4pm plus then. We headed to find Somboon the original one to try their signature Curry Crab. We walked along the sky bridge link from Holiday Inn which I roughly remembered from one of the earlier Thai trips. We walked for 2 stops and reached Siam Square where it gets confusing. Had problem navigating and resorted to turning on Google Map (Thankful for Google Map anytime) and we got to Siam Square One. It's a smaller mall but new and youthful obvious from the many Japanese food and some Korean food, also the retail mix. We asked for directions and went up to the 6th floor. We walked about and found it at a corner.
We sat down gratefully and ordered the medium Curry Crab, fried rice, prawns vermicelli and braised pork knuckles. The fried rice was superb, best one I ever had. Plus eat with the curry crab is very shiok. The Curry crab is not spicy but has an initial mild taste compared to the Punggol seafood chilli crab but as you continue eating, there's a very tasty and flavorful fragrance. I was happily eating. The vermicelli was good but had a spice I kinda disliked, fresh peppercorns or basil? I ate it still and the braised pork knuckle was delicious. Not porky and very soft and tender. Lip-smacking. It wasn't a cheap meal. Almost S$100 cos the crab wasn't as cheap but it was definitely worth it. A full belly.
We walked around Siam Square One and tried to get a massage slot but it was full. Then another didn't allow reservation, just walk in but we had just eaten. Told us to come back Iin 2 hours. Which we did but it was full then. We walked about and headed into one cafe White flower? which had a nice display of cakes but we were too full. So we had a lassi each and shared a coconut ice cream. Very refreshing. We also walked to the beauty clinics as Quet helped checked out the prices for Botox and Ulterea? which I learned about these cosmetic enhancements and their price tags. Ouchy. After our failed attempt at massage, we looked for a pharmacy cos my face had been scratched during the previous KM session on Tuesday. I wanted to get a cream cos it felt itchy and a plaster to cover it so I won't scratch it at night. We headed into Watson which had a pharmacist who looked at my face and suggested an anti inflammation cream. I had an anti scar one. Bought my waterproof plaster too. Then we looked for a other massage place, Lek. It turned out that night we had a good 2 hours of Thai massage under two skilful ones. The subsequent visit wasn't as good. Not even standard. After the massage, my neck didn't creak at all. We walked about a bit along the night market. Stopped at the earrings stall. Then went back to the Watson, buywater and stuff. Walked back tto the hotel. I bathed first and laid in bed. I fell asleep after putting on the amulet.
Fell in a deep sleep but was woken by snores. Checked my watch, it was like 3am Bangkok time. So I was awake until the snoring abated around 4am and fell asleep again. But still woke about 6am. Couldn't sleep anymore so went to the bathroom, freshen up, take a dump, take a shower. Then hang around the room, quietly look at hp wifi and flick the tv channel. Waited for Quet whom woke and by 9am, we left to get a taxi to go to Thong Lor street 13, where Roast is at.
Roast is an all-day brunch place that serves good food. We reached there without the misadventures Quet and her brother had previously. It wasn't opened yet so we sat outside with other customers, at least 3 more tables, mostly in pairs, who were all waiting. Then it opened and we headed in. Famished cos we only ate breakfast in Changi and a later lunch/early dinner at Somboon the night before. I ordered the pan chorizo and a seafood soup. Both are in big portions. Quet ordered her grilled ham and cheese with egg and asked if we could share the french toast. I told her by all means. Super hungry, anything would do. Had their signature espresso cubes latte. It came with the espresso frozen as cubes with a bottle of milk and syrup so you can add to your preference. Food came, and it was the french toast with ice cream and maple syrup. We had our dessert first and just walked it down quickly after taking enough pics. Delicious, the vanilla ice cream had vanilla seeds. Then our mains arrived. Took pics and pics and I started eating. Working through a pan full of potatoes, chorizo, 2 eggs, cheese, bell pepper with crepes and the seafood soup full of 料 but there was a funky basil taste but I still finished it. Quet went to the toilet which was outside and remarked it was very hot outside so we slowly ate and stoned around. After eating all the food, we had their signature tea, a strawberry and a lychee one. Really taste refreshing, dunno how they roast their own tea to that standard. More pics and finally we left. Another S$100 meal but definitely enough to last hours. We walked around the area and there was an After You there and we went in but the thought of another bread was too much. I had hit my bread quota somewhat. Plus their drinks are the milky and heavy chocolate versions. We left without ordering.
Then caught a cab to Terminal 21. It was another mall which had an atas supermarket below. I wanted something light to drink like fruit juices but it was via card and there was a super long queue for the card. Forget it. Saw a bubble tea and had a nice light Osmanthus tea. Glad for the cold drink to cool down. We got a massage slot then walked around a bit. I bought 4 fruity soaps from a shop. Others didn't catch my attention. Just walked. We ended up at the basement and went to this small shop, Mama banana? Which sold fried banana fries and we bought a pandan lemongrass drink to share. It tasted different from the goring pisang expectation and was nice to chew on. The cheese was cold type not melt. Was a bit is good. The drink was refreshing. Then I went for a 30min back and shoulder one which was ok but not great. Mine ended earlier so I headed to the supermarket. Found most of my my mom's request except for dehydrated mangosteen. Looked and bought and later paid. Quet didn't turn up so I waited outside and saw her. I went in and couldn't find her. Then I went out again and saw her so I waved. She pointed me to another shop where I could buy the seaweed requested by a KM friend. Then put all in my bag pack and hold some in hand and we walked back to the hotel. Along the way, we went to the Embassy, a posh mall to go to the food court for dinner. Quet was saying it was pretty good. We headed into a bootes and I bought a facial wash. All the cream for my wound and the sun block on the face is kinda uncomfortable. We headed to the basement which had a cashless card system like Marchie. Walked one round and I got a tea and a Chiang Mai style curry noodle called Kao Soi. It tasted pretty good though it came with onion, pickled veg and a fried thing on the side with the noodles in a bowl. Not sure how to eat, I dumped everything in and ate it. No papaya salad surprisingly cos the food was predominantly northern thai. Quet had a pork knuckle with hard boiled egg. Still ended up in Central world though shops were closing but Quet managed to buy a pair of shoes. Then we walked back to our hotel.
I woke up even earlier than the first day... and lay awake until I really couldn't go back to sleep so I went to freshen up and shower. I decided to go eat breakfast and let Quet sleep more peacefully cos she's a light sleeper so I woke up, she also woke up. I bathed, she woke up. I got my stuff and headed over. The 24hour Macs was reminiscent cos we went there before years ago. It had customers sleeping inside. It was still early, 6-ish so I ordered a egg muffin meal with coffee. Tried to read one of the 3 books I brought along for this trip and the progress was slow. As slowly it reached 7.30am, they woke the sleeping customers up. Cos their biz is coming in, not proper to be sleeping. Interestingly those who were woken, soon bought a meal from Macs and ate it and left. That's why I don't want to do crazy flights timing. Anyway by 8.30am plus, I went back to the hotel. Quet slowly got ready and ate her meal at the Starbucks which wasn't open when I went to Macs. My turn to snooze in the hotel. On the way to taking the rail to Chakuchap, I was stoned and went to the fruut juice stall in the rail and bought one and chugged it down. The hit of vitamins and the cold woke me more. It was 9.30am but the sun was out in force. When we arrived, it seemed closed. Though it was meant as a weekend market but Quet mentioned she had gone with Aiwin at 10am on a Friday before. So we hid in the MRT station where they had some shops inside until it was after 10am. We walked back, under the umbrella and some shops had opened. With many parallel lanes that ran parallel, not much signs, just walked down and see what was interesting. I didn't have anything in mind to buy, just to look and see what it's about. Saw many things which even if I buy, won't know what to do with it. Saw a puppy stall when we walked and heard yelping. Puppies were in cages for sale. It was getting hot even in the shelter of the zinc roof stalls. A particular husky puppy looked at me with its blue eyes while the rest just laid down. I gave it a stroke Billy the stall holder reminded me no touching. A pity and pitiful cos as Quet mentioned, if nobody buys, after a certain age, killed. But how to bring a husky back to sg. My home also no air con and it's a bug dog. Later we stopped in a cups, plates shop and bought a Cat cup and a Cat plate for Tab. It's really cheap by sg standards some Korean tourists were buying entire sets of plates and bowls of a particular crab design. We walked on. Nothing much else caught the fancy and the heat made me just want to look for a cold drink which ironically the drinks stall inside weren't selling cos they haven't finished opening. We decided to leave and outside, along the roadside stall, bought a chilled Coca Cola and had another "就是为了这个而活" moment downing gulps of ice cold cola. We headed back to drop the things in the hotel, bought more fruit juices to put in the hotel fridge and came out looking for lunch.
Lunch was a Thai restaurant called Taling Piling inside Central World. We ordered 6 dishes; Tom Yam, Green Curry, Pad Thai, Pork belly slices, Pomelo salad and Pandan chicken and a plate of white rice and I ate them all up, to Quet's amazement. Had the Thai milk tea, super gao, too. After such a heavy lunch, went back to hotel to sleep. We rested and slept and came out about 6pm to look for food. Went to After You in Central World and got a seat quickly. With no qualms about bread, I ordered the Shibuya honey toast with added banana, their most delicious chocolate drink and Earl Grey squash with jelly for Quet. The chocolate drink was delicious. I agree with it being the best. Thick, tasty n not overtly sweet. Then the toast came and we demolished it. The toast was really fluffy and light and crispy and goes wonderfully with the honey and ice cream and bananas. It's like eating a waffle with ice cream and a banana sundae. Excellent. With that we went to look for Quet's Undress shoe shop near Siam Square One area. Using the Goggle Map, we got near there. Saw a Hello Kitty cafe prominently there. We found it without much difficulty and Quet bought 5 pairs ofshoes Iin half an hour. We went to look for another outlet inside Siam Square One too. Then we headed for a massage at Lek, which wasn't as good as the first one. After our 2hrs, we went back to the hotel. Along the way we went into Big C, where I bought some more pork floss love letters cos these were the cheaper brand. The ones I had bought were a pricier brand and I wasn't sure which ones my mom wanted so I bought extra from both. Also found the dehydrated mangosteen. Bought more water and we went back to the hotel.
I still woke up early but since Quet wanted to go pray at the 4faced Buddha, so after some delays where I fell asleep here and there. We headed for breakfast in Macs. Then Quet went to pray and I headed back to dabao more fruit juices and go back to the hotel but the lady was away. I waited almost 10mins but no one came so i went back to the hotel in case Quet came back. Messaged her and on her way back she bought the juices. Then the plan was to stone at the hotel and come out for lunch at the food court in Central World. We rested until noon then walked over. Had the pad thai, a different version from what I had the day before. Finished that and had a papaya salad. And also mango with glutinous rice with coconut milk drizzled. I had hit all the Thai food I wanted to eat. We were too full for dessert so head back to hotel and bathed then check out late at 2pm.
Then walked back to Central World where I suggest going to the Mr Jones Orphanage which Quet mentioned she had seen but never gone in cos always end up too full. It was a teddy bear nautical theme cafe. I had a strawberry waffle with ice cream, syrup and lots of whipped cream inside. And a pink bubblegum flavored milk. Quet had a blue berry cheese cake and a tea. Had pics with the teddy bears and just whiled away the time.
Then it was time to go to the airport. Reached there without much hassle and checked in the luggage, 11th. I checked in both bags and hand carried a small bag of the pork floss and my bag pack. We ate at a restaurant which was pricier but better than the rest according to Quet. My special noodles reminded me of BaCuoMee, only it's a bit spicy and had luxurious 料 and with a drink, costing like S$15+. That was dinner and we boarded without any problems. Once the plane took off, I fell asleep and woke and we were almost there. Another 45mins more thing.
Arrived in Sg but getting the luggage took quite a while before they appeared. Bought a Lemon cello and a beer. Since it was 10.30pm, took the train back and then at 12am I took a cab from the mrt station. Just to help save a bit overall from buying the alcohol. Bathed and slept.
This Bangkok trip, I revisited some parts that we went to in the first trip. Things have changed a lot since then especially the retail mix, the malls and the cafes. Definitely ate a lot until it's like 3 pax. Did have a small few items for myself. Mainly the Herm soap and my few box of food. The rest are the photos and experiences.
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