Time to blog about my Bangkok and Siem Reap trip!
Honestly I wasn't really into going to Bangkok again because 1. I've already been and done all the touristy things and 2. Sam is probably not as into shopping as I am. And that's saying a lot because I am not a shopaholic. While I do enjoy a fair bit of window shopping, I don't actually buy anything unless I think it's super worth the price or on a massive discount.
However since Thailand is apparently a must do for S.E.A the agreement was that Sam would let me go shopping with minimal whining from him. Haha.
DAY 1
Got into Don Mueang Airport in the evening and was planning to take a cab to the airbnb I booked but the queue for the taxi was super long. So after one of the airport personnel told us it would be easier to take the shuttle to Mo Chit BTS that's what we did. The rain did not make things any easier as it meant traffic was even worse than usual, and that's saying something for Bangkok. Getting to the nearest station to the airbnb was pretty easy and the skytrain was quite empty when we boarded so we got to sit down. Alighting at Saphan Taksin BTS and a quick cab ride later(bnb was actually walking distance but it was late) we finally arrived at the apartment.
The apartment was really nice and for only £24 a night a pretty good deal!
Link to the apartment.
It started pouring soon after we got settled in so we just went to the restaurant at the bottom of the next block of apartments for dinner. It was Indian for our first meal in Thailand but it was pretty good Indian I must say.
Next morning we headed into the city because Sam had an interview to attend. Because you know, nothing is better than having to attend an interview while on holiday. So while that was happening, I went off to do a bit of shopping! At Platinum mall of course. For the uninitiated, Platinum mall is a wholesale mall where many blogshops buy their stock from. You can see many girls with massive suitcases stocking up on all these cheap and wonderful goodies. The main problem I faced is that you usually have to buy 2 or 3 items from the same shop to get the wholesale price but since I was shopping alone it meant I didn't buy some things I liked because it was probably the only item I did like. But I did get some savings like when I bought these two midi skirts which were 490 baht each but buying two brought the price down to 370 baht each.
After that I met back up with Sam for lunch where we had some tasty Korean fried chicken. Still no Thai food yet although I did get my mango and sticky rice fix in the Platinum mall food court when I had a break from shopping. I then convinced him to go back into Platinum mall because he needed some new shirts and probably a whole new wardrobe but unfortunately my powers of persuasion only managed to get him to buy two shirts and two tshirts.
A pretty long cab ride back to the apartment due to surprise surprise bad traffic.
Dinner was at Tawandang German Brewery at Rama III road. You definitely need to take a cab there as it is quite out of the city. I used the myteksi(also called Grabtaxi out of Malaysia) app to book the cab so I didn't have any issues with the taxi not using the meter or getting us lost.
The main attraction being of course the beer they make in house. So finally beer that wasn't Tiger, Heineken or Carlsberg.
Honestly I wasn't really into going to Bangkok again because 1. I've already been and done all the touristy things and 2. Sam is probably not as into shopping as I am. And that's saying a lot because I am not a shopaholic. While I do enjoy a fair bit of window shopping, I don't actually buy anything unless I think it's super worth the price or on a massive discount.
However since Thailand is apparently a must do for S.E.A the agreement was that Sam would let me go shopping with minimal whining from him. Haha.
DAY 1
Got into Don Mueang Airport in the evening and was planning to take a cab to the airbnb I booked but the queue for the taxi was super long. So after one of the airport personnel told us it would be easier to take the shuttle to Mo Chit BTS that's what we did. The rain did not make things any easier as it meant traffic was even worse than usual, and that's saying something for Bangkok. Getting to the nearest station to the airbnb was pretty easy and the skytrain was quite empty when we boarded so we got to sit down. Alighting at Saphan Taksin BTS and a quick cab ride later(bnb was actually walking distance but it was late) we finally arrived at the apartment.
The apartment was really nice and for only £24 a night a pretty good deal!
Link to the apartment.
It started pouring soon after we got settled in so we just went to the restaurant at the bottom of the next block of apartments for dinner. It was Indian for our first meal in Thailand but it was pretty good Indian I must say.
Next morning we headed into the city because Sam had an interview to attend. Because you know, nothing is better than having to attend an interview while on holiday. So while that was happening, I went off to do a bit of shopping! At Platinum mall of course. For the uninitiated, Platinum mall is a wholesale mall where many blogshops buy their stock from. You can see many girls with massive suitcases stocking up on all these cheap and wonderful goodies. The main problem I faced is that you usually have to buy 2 or 3 items from the same shop to get the wholesale price but since I was shopping alone it meant I didn't buy some things I liked because it was probably the only item I did like. But I did get some savings like when I bought these two midi skirts which were 490 baht each but buying two brought the price down to 370 baht each.
After that I met back up with Sam for lunch where we had some tasty Korean fried chicken. Still no Thai food yet although I did get my mango and sticky rice fix in the Platinum mall food court when I had a break from shopping. I then convinced him to go back into Platinum mall because he needed some new shirts and probably a whole new wardrobe but unfortunately my powers of persuasion only managed to get him to buy two shirts and two tshirts.
A pretty long cab ride back to the apartment due to surprise surprise bad traffic.
Dinner was at Tawandang German Brewery at Rama III road. You definitely need to take a cab there as it is quite out of the city. I used the myteksi(also called Grabtaxi out of Malaysia) app to book the cab so I didn't have any issues with the taxi not using the meter or getting us lost.
The main attraction being of course the beer they make in house. So finally beer that wasn't Tiger, Heineken or Carlsberg.
Their pale ale.
Really hoppy so my favourite of all.
The dark ale.
Pretty good as well.
Typical Thai food.
The food was not bad but also slightly on the pricier side for Bangkok. The restaurant also has live music the whole night which makes the atmosphere in the restaurant nice and lively. Most tables there seem to be locals having a night out as you can order 3L beer towers. The most amusing thing that I found was that in the girls toilet was a sink that had a sign about it saying "For vomiting only". None of that in the men's toilet though.
DAY 2
Late start the next day as someone coughsamcough wanted to wake up naturally without an alarm so that meant only waking up at 10am. After getting coffee in this hipster art cafe just up the road we made our way to this restaurant closer to the BTS for some lunch.
It's called Queen of Curry at 49 Charoenkrung, Soi 50. While they clearly cater to a lot of tourists where they had an option of either European or Thai level of spiciness for all their curries, the food was good. We ordered a bowl of chicken Tom Yam and some duck curry with both being delicious.
Next it was off to the main tourist attraction of Bangkok. The Grand Palace.Took the riverboat from the Saphan Taksin pier. Got onto one of the local ones which meant a ticket up to the Grand Palace was only 15baht as opposed to the 150baht for the tourist boat.
And of course while walking from the pier to the gates of the Grand Palace there were plenty of people telling you that you had to buy their shawls or long pants or otherwise you won't be allowed into the Grand Palace. While it is true that Thailand is quite strict on their no shoulders and no knees dress code, the Thai government actually provides rental of suitable clothing where you just have to put down a fully returnable deposit of 200baht. So we just ignored those touts although I did see a few tourists cave in and buy some clothes.
Why do all the statues look so grumpy?
A rooster man.
This is what Sam looks like when he's hungry.
EAT ALL THE FOOD!!
That pink crop top is in most of my tourist pictures cause I just keep it in my bag and throw it on when there is a dress code. And the hat was an excellent buy from Platinum mall the day before.
We spent about 3 hours there and although I have been there before, it was still a fun time as the compound really is quite massive so there's always more to look at.
That night we went to checkout Asiatique which is the newly opened night market. They provide free boat rides from the Saphan Taksin pier which meant there was a massive queue in the evening. But it was nice to get a free night boat ride. Had dinner in this fusion place as I was craving pasta for some reason. After that I wanted to get a massage as all that walking during the day gave me sore feet. And well, it's Bangkok so cheap massages are aplenty. I got a one hour foot massage for 390baht I think while Sam had a few more beers in one of the bars. Day 2 done!
DAY 3
I had planned the Bangkok trip to cover the weekend so that I could go to Chatuchak market. Sam was a bit grumpy about waking up early to go but since I wanted to avoid the crowds we left the apartment at 9am. Which is actually not early enough as the crowds were already coming in when we got there. After half an hour of wandering around, Sam had a funny tummy so he went back to the apartment first while I wandered around a bit more. Didn't actually buy that much since I had already had my fill of shopping from Platinum mall. I did enjoy just looking at all the things they had for sale as you can pretty much buy anything and everything in the market. I also stopped by this stall for some duck noodles which was served with coagulated duck blood. Overall it was quite yummy and I did enjoy the creamy texture of the blood though I'm not sure whether it's something that I would seek out if it didn't already come with. Stall food is not something that many people want to try for fear of food poisoning but to me as long as it's piping hot or there are lots of locals eating there, it should a-okay to consume.
The rain started getting heavier so I decided to head back to the apartment. We then went to the nearby mall to grab a snack before yet another massage! I just love massages. This time it was a full body massage and it was to be Sam's first time having a massage. And he liked it. Thai massages may not be everyone's cup of tea and it can be painful if not done properly but the place we went to was good and the masseuses managed to press all the soreness out of us. We had our massage at this place right next to Wat Yannawa. It was less of a massage parlour as they also provided traditional chinese medicine services such as cupping and it was filled with locals so I'd say it was a wellness centre.
Dinner was at 25 Degrees at Pullman hotel. Supposedly one of the better burger joints in Bangkok, I am sad to say that it was remarkably average.
That wraps up my Bangkok trip. This has turned into quite a wordy post haha.
