Bangkok Getaway 2017
Hello everyone!
I know I missed my weekly blogpost last week, and I'm about to make up for it, because this one's about my 3 day 2 night trip to Bangkok in one blogpost! Of course, that would mean there's a vlog coming this week as well so I hope you guys are excited!
Travelled with Joyce this time!
In case you're wondering why we were going to Bangkok for just 3 days, we were actually there with Luminous dental group! They're a Singapore-based company and they just opened a branch in Bangkok which they wanted Joyce to check out, so Joyce brought me along so that I could help her film and snap pictures and of course, be a travel buddy!
Our flight was at 12ish, so we got to the airport at about 0930
We wanted to get one of those wifi egg things but they were sold out so we ended up getting SIM cards when we reached Bangkok. It was quite a bummer because we had quite a lot of time to kill but we grabbed some brunch at the departure hall to kill some time before slowly walking over to our gate!
We took Tiger Air!
I don't know how many of you know this but I really dislike airports and flying, it makes me feel jittery and highly irritable. Taking a budget airline does not help one bit- we were meant to take budget air in order to show how easy and inexpensive it would be to head over to the Bangkok branch.
Did feel pretty stressed for a bit.
The irony is, Joyce LOVES planes and airports.
I like the bit about seeing a different country, I just hate the actual travelling bit. Being squished with loads of people in a small space just does not help. I'm just not the best with crowds and small spaces. The flight was alright, I would say it's not my favourite, but definitely not the worst. Thankfully the trip from Singapore to Bangkok was just 2 hours so it was enough to have a (really bad and uncomfortable) nap.
I should mention that I've nothing against Tiger, they were very nice and efficient. I just don't like being squashed into a metal flying container with barely any space between the seats. I feel irritable just remembering what it was like. But for a $190 ticket, I guess some people are willing to forfeit their comfort. I on the other hand, prefer to put myself in a less anxiety-inducing situation.
DAY 1
ENOUGH OF THE BAD STUFF.
We landed a little early at the airport and we grabbed a cab to the Hotel which was in Siam, opposite Siam Paragon. The check-in was a tad bit bumpy because the room had been sponsored and there were some paperwork that we weren't prepared to handle, but it was settled pretty quickly so all was good!
Also, these shot glasses were filled with lychee juice which they served us while we were at the check-in. So refreshing!!
Mini room tour which you will see more of in the vlog!
The view from our window
Lift lobby
View of the pool from the lift lobby.
Siam Station!
The first thing we did was to drop by Luminous in order to familiarise ourselves with the route so that it would all go smoothly on the actual day that we were going to film the process from getting to the clinic to the procedure itself (which was day 3).
This street-side barbecue looked so good..
Hopped on over to the Esplanade Mall after!
We did get really cheap accessories here!
Made time for some fried chicken!
I know this is available in Singapore but my goodness it was really delicious. If I have to eat anything fried I'd go for fried chicken or fries, and that's pretty much as far as I'd go! It's the only time that the reflux is worth it.
Rod Fai Market!!
I've never been to Rod Fai, and I'm so happy that Joyce brought me, we did quite a bit of shopping and ate a fair bit too! It was crowded, but the general vibe was pretty great! I needed to be mentally ready for the crowd in order to not feel cranky, so here's a fair warning - it's pretty crowded. Then again, I wouldn't say it's horrendous because it was open air and all that.
The lights are just so pretty!
It isn't a terrible crowd, if I'm honest!
Barbecue squid and scallop! The chilli was just amazing.
Started Joyce's food challenge here!
This was part of her video for Luminous, where she had to eat local foods that may stain the teeth. We weren't too sure about what local food would stain the teeth so we decided to make a list of very iconic Thai street food and go around for them instead!
Tom Yum
Basil Chicken!
I do apologise for the blur picture. I must say it tastes go good! Not the mince that I'm used to but still good! The Tom Yum was on the sweeter side which I absolutely LOVE! It was really really amazing, it would be something I'd crave for!
Got some acrylics done!
I thought I'd give myself a pretty interesting experience and get some acrylic extensions done. My goodness I'd no idea that it would take over 2 hours so we had been sitting there till past midnight (SORRY JOYCE LOL) but my goodness my nails look so pretty and all for 1000B (approx $40) which is just crazy, it would easily cost 2-3 times more in Singapore for sure. I did gel polish on top of that - white marble and pink glitter, so it did cost a little more. The extensions cost 700B and the additional designs cost 300B. Different designs wentat different prices of course!
It really was quite the experience!
Took a tuk tuk back home!
Breakfast at the hotel.
Today's agenda: Shoot with Garrett Popcorn!
I think it's pretty obvious by now that our 'getaway' was more of a business trip, but thank goodness work is fun or else it would have been quite a boring trip to blog about.
Funny thing was that we had planned to go to the Morning Market but we overslept and woke at 0830 instead of 0600, so we scrapped the Morning Market idea for the day and headed for breakfast before heading to the pool to snap some photos and to have a little dip!
The pool was alright~
We didn't spend too much time in the pool because we mostly took photos, but we did splash around a bit and it was quite nice and relaxing!
Headed out afterwards!
Central World~
Got me a Krispy Kreme. I did regret not getting the original instead.
Platinum Mall!!
Had more Tom Yum Soup!
This one had more coconut milk (I think), so it wasn't very spicy or sour, so I did prefer the one I had at Rod Fai the night before! This was still pretty yummy though!
We also had the famous Wanton Mee later on!
I must say that the soup based one wasn't as exciting. The dry noodle was so delicious I loved it. It's right next to the Pratunam Market which is just a walking distance from Platinum Mall! They do close pretty early (about 1600) and we had gone there at about 1530, so it was really near closing time, which also meant that it wasn't sjuper crowded which was GREAT!
I suppose they are preparing for the night market~
Pratunam Market was quite the experience as well. It was much more crowded than Rod Fai, and evidently so, because the things were so muhc cheaper, the crowd though, not my fave. There were more street vendors as compared to shops that you can sit in of course. We didn't really eat the street food because we were pretty full from the Tom Yum and Wanton Mee.
Heading back to dump our loots at the hotel~
Hokkaido Cheese Toast (SO AMAZING)
Pablo Premium Cheese Tart
Mango!!!
Headed back to Pratunam Market to get some dinner!!
It's a lot less squeezy at night, which was something I definitely appreciated. There were a lot more street foods and little food joints opened during the night which is great if you lived nearby! We didn't really live a stone-throw away so we didn't really have the privilege of having the street food so easily accessible to us.
Back at the hotel!
We got more Basil Chicken which was so so delicious and the Phad Thai which was probably my favourite. These two dishes are my favourite Thai foods I just love them! Also, they were pretty cheap, about 60-70B each?!
Popped by After You for some dessert!
Yum~
I know this dessert cafe is super popular, we had to go really near closing time because before that, there was no way we could get seats within the hour. Just so you know, we had our dinner from Pratunam Market at about 2230 and we were having this dessert quite near midnight. It was crazy!
Can't leave Thailand without having a massage~
By the time we were done with dessert it was past midnight, so we did have a little walk to find a place that was still opened. The one we had originally wanted to go to was closed, but thankfully we spotted this place near our hotel (which was great since I was getting bad blisters) so we went over in a heartbeat!
It was so nice, they gave a short shoulder massage at the end as well and was just so so great, I LOVED IT!!
Morning Market
I'll be honest, I felt that was one of the most annoying places ever, frankly I hated it didn't matter that everything was so much cheaper there, I was just not having it.
It could be because Joyce and I did not see anything we liked and that the stuff we wanted weren't anywhere to be found. I'd say we were both pretty disappointed. Mind you we woke up a little later than 0600 which was later than we have planned, we then had quite the rush to the market so we probably weren't in the best of moods.
Did I mention the crowd?
I swear I was going bonkers, I was so mad that I left empty handed. Mind you, we haven't had breakfast and me without coffee in the morning is just.. terrible. I would never want to set foot there again, probably more of a lesson than an experience for me if I'm honest. I don't know how Joyce does it (it wasn't her first time at the market, let's just say that).
FINALLY, breakfast.
I found that my appetite had dipped drastically on the last day. I wasn't sure if it was because I was just so mentall worked up by the morning market that I just wanted to sleep and not head out and face the world or it was one of those situations where you don't feel hungry because you've been stuffing your face for the last two days.
Breakast was amazing, nonetheless. I'm easily satisfied with eggs and bacon.
And coffee. Always, need coffee.
It was time to film what we came to Bangkok to film!
We took a ride on the BTS for two stops to Phloen Chit, which is the nearest station to the Luminous Dental Clinic. If I'm not wrong, it was at the Ploenchit Centre Building which was really near the station!
AND WE'RE HERE!!!
Apparently you can pick films to watch while you get your treatments done!
The little waiting area.
Reception~
The reception area has a little photobooth which I thought was so cute!
And into the room we go~
I'd say she did pretty good.
We were told that a lot of people tend to tap out by the third round (there's a total of 4) of whitening but oddly, she did all 4 rounds despite the sensitivity!
It was hilarious because she claims to have low pain tolerance, so I bet she was going to tap out by the first round. I did a little instagram live with her followers and some did bet she'd tap out by the seond round. I don't know if that's what motivated her to keep going but hey, she made it!
Popped by the supermarket to pick up some nummies!
Then, it was off to the airport.
We had an evening flight, it was neaqrly 1800 when we got to the airport, I slept the entire ride because I was just so tired for some reason.
Joyce had bought this enar our hotel before we left. It was sooo good!
Dinner on the plane~
The funny thing was that we were both pretty quiet, I was just cranky and I guess Joyce's teeth were bothering her because there were random pangs of sensitivity every now and then. We ended up taking our food to-go because were were almost late for the flight (totally was not helping with our current situation).
I'd say we took a half an hour nap before we both started feeling better and felt like eating. Then again, squeezy plane may result in inconsiderate passengers which makes the flight ten times less enjoyable than it already is. I promise, both of us weren't exactly enjoying the lack of space. Like I said, thank goodness it was just a two hour flight. I know Joyce doens't really mind the squeeze but I probably will not want to take a budget airline again unless I absolutely have to.
And that's the end og the post!
It was just so dark during the flight home so we didn't take photos, plus the person in front of joyce just didn't seem to give a damn that the flight was already squeezy and had her chair reclined back far enough that Joyce had to cross her legs on her chair.
I'd say overall, it was a pretty jam-packed trip. I don't think it ended on a bad note for sure but I suppose we were both pretty burnt out from running around everywhere and constantly filming for the video and all that. I did enjoy myself, don't get me wrong! It was a different experience for me because I've never taken the trains in Bangkok and honestly it's just so easy, until you need to change from the BTS to the underground trains but I'm sure it's fine when you're familiar!
I hope you guys enjoy this blogpost, do look forward to the vlog that will be coming up this week as well! T'ill my next blogpost!
xx
Shayne
