BANGKOK x Part 2 : Days 4 - 5

Finally back with the second & final part of my Bangkok trip. I just kept delaying it because I had no time to update & went to Korea on holiday right after that (upcoming post on Korea soon). Better late than never though, right?

DAY 4

Ordered room service for breakfast because I overslept. Yay for room service, I got to eat in my pajamas! 

Lunch was at SomTam.... again. But the food is too yummy I couldn't resist.
Exact same orders as well - ultra spicy (tongue-numbing) tom yam soup, pork, chicken wings, sticky rice & somtam (not pictured).

After that we basically spent the whole day shopping again.. What's new? The theme for today seems to be "AGAIN". Haha!

Went back to Siam square, Siam centre & Terminal 21. Didn't matter that I had gone already because most shops had new stock so there were new things to see & buy. I'll never ever get sick of shopping.

It may not seem apparent at first glance but Thailand is quite on point with its fashion scene. Always go there to buy clothing from their talented local designers. I would probably even go so far as to say that I prefer their clothing more than that of their western counterparts.

However, I've noticed that the shopping in BKK is getting slightly more expensive, although still cheap by Singaporean standards of course.

This was all in a day's work.... Yes, all of my shopping from today alone.

My shopping bags strewn all over the counter of the shop when I went to try clothes in the fitting room as it was a case of too many bags, too little room....

Bye bye $$$$ :(

Thank goodness most places in BKK, including the departmental stores, were having a sale though!

Dinner at Central World Departmental Store.

Had my nightly foot massage & called it a night!

DAY 5 

Nothing too exciting today since it was our last day.

Overslept on our last morning so we were quite rushed for time.

Hotel lobby

Since Garlic & Onion was just a few doors down from the hotel, decided to grab a quick lunch there again.

My favorite dish there is the rice crackers with minced pork dip! Ordered 2 portions on my last visit & did the same again today. For the other dishes, ordered the same ones as the previous visit as well.

A trip to Bangkok would not be complete without a visit to Mango Tango for dessert! As the name suggests, all desserts in there are mango flavored. Really refreshing especially in the humidity.

 

Managed to squeeze in a massage at the spa in Central Zen before having to make a beeline for the airport to catch our plane back!

Back home.

Cannot wait till the next time I'm in Bangkok again!

xx

ask.fm/nicsammx
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Chilled Sunday evening x Dempsey

With many dining options in its vicinity, Dempsey is the place to be for foodies.

House at Dempsey used to be one of my go-to places whenever I was looking to just chill out & enjoy a fuss-free, yet yummy, meal. Haven't been there in awhile so made a spontaneous decision to head down for dinner on Sunday evening.

Only gripe I had about my meal is that quite a few things on the menu were not available due to the lack of certain ingredients, which resulted in switching our orders twice.. Apart from that, service was prompt, food was good & the atmosphere exuded the right balance of chill yet cosy vibes.

Ordered the squid ink pizza as my main even though it wasn't my first choice since my original order was one of the items that wasn't available. Fortunately, as weird as squid ink pizza sounds, I didn't end up regretting it. The crust was thin & crisp, just the way I like it too.

Non-alcoholic Mint Berry Fix.

A berry good cocktail (am I punny?)

Perfect drink for the summer.

Pineapple Pitstop.

Pineapple with 2 types of cucumbers.

& as the saying goes, "there is always room for dessert".

Thus, after doing some shopping, I got my froyo fix at Glacier in Orchard Gateway. I've never heard of this froyo brand before so I'm guessing its new to the froyo scene.

Upon seeing dispensing machines where you can dispense the froyo flavor of your choice yourself, I was more excited than I probably should've been. #cheapthrills #stillakid

In terms of toppings, there were quite a lot of options - both healthy & unhealthy!

Froyo was not bad, but after trying the best froyo from Pinkberry & Snog (both in London), this paled in comparison.

No prizes for guessing which froyo is mine.... Hint: I'm greedy.

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Yet another abrupt ending, but will be posting part 2 of my Bangkok trip soon so keep a lookout for that!

xx

ask.fm/nicsammx

instagram.com/nicsammx

BANGKOK x Part 1 : Days 1 - 3

Warning: Prepare yourself for an onslaught of visuals.

Today's post is going to be about my first getaway for this summer.

Destination was none other than Bangkok! Went for a total of 5 days.

Going to Bangkok is pretty much an annual pilgrimage of sorts for me. I've been going there almost at least once every year since I was young. Can never get enough of the good & yet inexpensive shopping, food, massages, etc!

BKK is definitely a place I'll probably never get sick of despite going again & again.

Something a handful of people were asking me before my trip was why I was still going even after the recent military coup in Thailand, especially after it was widely reported in the media.

Well for one, the curfews have already ended! When I went, I didn't encounter any rallies or see any signs of disharmony. It hardly felt like the military had usurped the PM's power & completely taken over. People just continued going about their business as usual. 

DAY 1

Was my first time taking SCOOT! airlines ever as I wanted to try it. I'm usually quite a loyal SIA customer but since SCOOT is supposed to be under SIA I decided to give it a try. For such a short flight I figured it wouldn't be that bad.

Sat on biz class. Although it was nothing fancy & SIA's business class is obviously way better, it was still a comfortable 1hr25min journey. There's inflight entertainment if you've an iPad/laptop as well (not sure about economy class though).

The aircraft seems rather similar to that of SIA so I wouldn't be surprised if both carriers used the same planes.

Took a peek into the economy section & for such a short flight it seems fine too! Of course there is more leg room in biz though.

Lovely view from the plane just before touching down in BKK.

By the time we touched down in BKK, it was already 8p.m & we took a cab to our hotel.

Just in case you aren't familiar with BKK, just a small tip: make sure to tell the cab driver to use the meter instead of letting them fix a price. 

Stayed in Hotel Vie since I had a good stay previously.

Welcome drinks from the hotel!

Random fact: Apparently Kim Woo Bin's gf who's quite a famous model in Korea as well, had a photo-shoot at Hotel Vie & stayed there! Told you it was random.. LOL.

As silly as it may sound, one of my favorite things about BKK are the hotels! The standard of a hotel is a huge factor whenever I'm on holiday. Compared to other countries, the hotels in BKK are way more luxurious, which is great news for people who are particular like me!

Booked 2 suites since I was with my family and there are 4 of us. 2 people per room.

Went in search of a supper place right after checking into our hotel. Ended up at this rather new establishment - Garlic & Onion cafe restaurant which served authentic thai food!

Highly recommend this place & even ended up going a 2nd time!

My favorite thai snack!

Riced crackers with a minced pork dip.

 Ordered 2 portions of this & finished more than half of it by myself.

Many other thai restaurants have this dish on their menu as well so you don't have to come to this restaurant specifically.

Address:

Langsuan Road (just a few shops down from Hotel Muse)

Nearest BTS station: Chid Lom

Whenever I'm in BKK, I almost always have a massage right before going to bed so of course, that is just what I did after having supper.

DAY 2

Took the BTS train to Siam since it was only one stop away from our hotel.

Pretty much covered most of Siam's shopping attractions (i.e. Siam Square, Siam centre, Siam discovery, Siam paragon) today.

Shopping in Siam, especially Siam Square, is the best. So many cheap & great finds! The department stores in Siam Paragon & Siam Centre also houses many of my favorite local designers!

Siam Paragon

Siam Square

There's also a new mall in Siam Square called Siam Square square 1. Its relatively new so quite a few shops are not opened just yet. There's a hello kitty cafe as well so I've marked it as one of the places to visit on my next trip to BKK!

Lunch at one of my favorite places for authentic thai food - Somtam!

As the name suggests, their Somtam really is one of the best I've tried!

Every dish I've had there has never disappointed.

Another one of their signatures are their chicken wings. Beats KFC hands down.

Address: Somtam Nua, Siam Square Soi 5, Rama 1 Road

Also managed to squeeze in a visit to Terminal 21 for more shopping - another one of my favorite places to shop in BKK! It's a proper mall which houses mainstream stores such as H&M, as well as individual stores similar to the ones in Siam Square.

Went back to the Siam area after that & had dinner at Greyhound Cafe in Siam Centre. Another place I always visit for a meal whenever I'm in BKK. They dish up some really yummy fusion thai food!

Clam chowder soup

Thai iced tea granita ~

DAY 3

Woke up slightly earlier to take a cab to Chatuchak (jatujak/JJ) weekend market in the morning. Another place I always have to visit whenever I'm in BKK.

Usually prefer to go in the morning & leave at around noon since the sun tends to get even stronger come afternoon.

If you don't like squeezing through crowded small alleys under the sun's glare, then chatuchak probably won't be your cup of tea.

'm not a fan of being exposed to UV rays but I personally think braving the heat is worth it for all the hidden gems I find there! From clothes & homeware to the pets section, there is something for everybody.

Bought this floppy hat to keep the sun's rays at bay!

Bought this really refreshing coconut ice-cream from one of the roadside carts in chatuchak to combat the heat with.

Topped with nata de coco jelly, peanuts & red bean.

Need to have this every time I go to chatuchak. Craving for it already :(

Do keep in mind that chatuchak is really big so make sure you roughly know which soi (section) you want to go to beforehand.

Went back to the hotel to freshen up before heading out for high tea at the Grand Hyatt Erawan tea room.

Our hotel provides a free tuk tuk service to certain locations so we took advantage of that to get there! Tuk tuks are one of my favorite modes of transport, always get a cheap thrill out of riding them! haha :)

Doesn't look like a lot of food but by the 2nd tier I was stuffed!

Address: 494 Rajdamri Road, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

Phone: +66 2 254 1234

Came back to the hotel yet again to check out & move hotels to Hotel Muse.

Another hotel I've stayed at numerous times. Would go so far as to say that its one of the best hotels to stay in in Bangkok. Its listed as one of the top 20 hotels in Bangkok under trip advisor as well!

Location wise, its near Chid Lom station, which is easily accessible by the hotel's complimentary tuk tuk service. From there, its only one station away from Siam.

Welcome drinks again - vodka, limoncello, & the other 2 are nonalcoholic. The thais really are one of the best in terms of hospitality!

Booked the Yama Residence.

I think decor definitely plays a huge part in a room & I love the decor of the whole hotel.

My chill corner on the comfy sofa.

No makeup whatsoever, which was how I went the whole entire tripppp.

Hotel pool

Went to Urban Retreat spa for a relaxing 2 hour full body Thai massage.

Photo creds: Urban Retreat website

Photo creds: Urban Retreat website

Photo creds: Urban Retreat website


Address: BTS Asoke
Website: www.urbanretreatspa.net


Crossed the road to T21 to have steamboat for dinner at MK restaurant after. Was most excited about having their duck but we only found out that it was sold out by the time we were seated. Probably because by the time we came it was already 8p.m.

Total bill was 394baht which is around $16.... After living in the UK I often convert currency into pounds as well, which makes this whole meal 8GBP.... in UK you can probably get a plate of rice & just one other side dish....

Why is everything in Bangkok so cheap!!

Spontaneously decided to head to Siam Paragon for their midnight sale after dinner. Shopped so much in the span of one & a half hours.... We were one of the last to leave the department store & almost got locked in.

After dumping our shopping in the hotel room, I was thirsty so decided to head upstairs to the hotel's rooftop bar to drink.

It's called The SpeakEasy & is actually an award-winning bar! I'm not a drinker nor do I go to bars often so I don't really know what makes a bar award-winning but I guess I can see why The SpeakEasy is one.

I don't really like going to bars as I've the impression that its filled with rowdy, drunk people & that isn't exactly my scene.... Fortunately, this bar was the exact opposite of that. It was a classy atmosphere. Music by the live DJ was really good, & overall it just had a really chill vibe. No monkey business from any of the patrons. Totally my type of bar (if I were to have a type of bar).. HAHA.

To add to all that, the view from the 25th floor, undoubtedly, did not disappoint!

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That's all I've for part 1 of my trip to BKK. Part 2 will be up soon!

This post may have seemed slightly repetitive, especially since I seemed to have the same routine everyday - shop, eat, massage, eat, shop, sleep. Wish I could have this routine everyday for the rest of my life though!! haha.

Also, I'm thinking of just doing a separate post on a guide to BKK so it'll be easier to read through if you're planning your trip. Thoughts?

xx

ask.fm/nicsammx

instagram.com/nicsammx