The body was well rested and it was already 10.30am by the time we stepped out of Lemontea Hotel! That should be the case for every overseas vacation; sleep to the fill although i am hardly the right candidate to lead by example.
Forgoing the hotel's breakfast meant a noisy tummy that was in need of some badly needed nutrients. Rescue came in the form of deep fried chicken skin; courtesy from a friend's husband!
Stepping into the bustle of Pratunam, the wholesale market that was sworn by many avid Singaporean shoppers as the must-go, must-buy place. I didn't find it fascinating and you may view more photos and read more here.
Those who couldn't stand the heat of the generally non-air-conditioned market may consider crossing the main phetchaburi road for its as famous cousin; platinum fashion mall!
Rice cookers; I bought one with a lot of fancy features (can bake too) for my mom a few years ago. However, she very much prefers the old school one which was priced a lot lower!!
In normal circumstances, i would not give a hoot on the items on the vendors' food trays but how not to take a second look when it's phallic in appearance!
The spread of Pratunam is much wider than i expected and i didn't even have time to check out the area near Baiyoke Tower.
A few pieces of chicken skin were hardly sufficient to meet the physiological needs of my tummy and the aroma of freshly fried chicken was so tempting!!! We did find the wanton mee before this although the queue of almost 15 persons kind of put me off.
We continued to roam around for a suitable location to have our brunch and the street just got quieter and quieter. Given my stomach's general dislike for street food, i am hesitant to have my main meal at a place that lacked of customers. Time to retrace my footsteps.
Locals waiting for their meat skewers.
When it comes to chicken rice, i have always lamented that nowhere is as good as Singapore! By the way, it does seem kind of horrifying to see the cooked chicken displayed in such manner. Oh well, the way we hooked them up in Singapore isn't exactly a pretty picture too.
Couldn't resist getting bag of Thai style sesame-sprinkled banana fritters! Pity the vendor didn't bother giving me the fresh batch of freshly fried ones and these were too oily for my liking.
Getting the signature drinks; in the past, it was mainly orange, and then pomegranate and now, lime! The professed acidity of lime to digest food means i have to get that!
Ah ma walking past a row of hot pants; the ironic sarcasm depending on which side of the fence you are standing on.
Strolled past SabX2 wanton mee again and i noticed that the group that was in front of us if we had queued had now advance to the head of the queue within 20 minutes. We just had to queue for the wanton mee and boy were we not disappointed! For my review, click here.
Crossing phetchaburi road via the overhead bridge to platinum fashion mall where we had arranged to meet up with a few of our travel mates. Those who were wondering where exactly is Glow Hotel may refer to the above photograph; Glow is at Shibuya 19 which is the building (with blue glass panes facade) on the right.
The one thing i forgot to pack in my luggage; an umbrella! The rain can be unpredictable even though luck was shining on us; no rain throughout the four days except for sporadic drizzles that didn't hamper our journey.
One of the best ways to get to another place in Bangkok was using its waterways! There's in fact a schedule and a boat trip from Platinum area to Chinatown was less than fifteen minutes! The only downside was the risk of having dirty river water splashing onto you.
This was one road i fondly remember as in my first trip to Bangkok, we stayed in Bangkok City Inn which was somewhat beside the Big C shopping centre. Psst, those who want to get their hands on local snacks should visit the supermarket at Big C.
Tees for the kids! The lady boss was so friendly and i actually returned back to the stall (located along the walkway from platinum fashion mall to Centralworld) the next day to buy a few singlets for the kids.
Arrival at Centralworld.
While the rest went for the Naraya, Alex and i went around in search of a coffee place to fix my caffeine addiction! I eventually chose Crepes & Co.
My western style coffee did its job although in terms of palatability, Alex's nutella beverage was amazingly delicious!
Toy train for the kids; a much safer transportation as compared to Zoomove! Imagine having to jump away from kids who know nuts about traffic safety! Don't believe? Please visit Star Vista basement one on weekends.
Boo dolls at Zen; the anchor department store at Centralworld which gave me the impression of Tangs at Orchard Road with very nice merchandise.
On the top floor of Centralworld where the movie theatre and high class supermarket were. No idea what the event was even though it could be related to the Mother's Day celebrations.
One of the many artworks in the building.
Met up with the rest for lunch at Siam Square! There were of course plenty of restaurants to choose from at centralworld but i had planned to check out Siam Square food hall.
Taking the spacious sky bridge would be the easiest way to get to Siam Square from Centralworld. Coincidentally, this is the same sky bridge that links us to Erawan Shrine, where a bomb attack that killed twenty persons took place a week later.
The notorious Bangkok traffic jams! Am i the only one who felt that the traffic jams in the City of Angels are getting from bad to worse?!
Had the cheng tng like Thai dessert at the Food Hall as we just had wanton mee a few hours before. The rest of our travel mates tried the offerings at the food hall and were generally of the opinion that they were unexceptional except for the chicken rice which was way too salty!!
As i was in between meals, a snack rather than a full meal would be preferred. Although with an appearance similar to jellies, these tasted just like a type traditional kueh Singaporeans are accustomed too.
Ang Ku Kueh - albeit in a much smaller form with only mung bean paste as a filling. The ones i had were not fantastic; at least not on the scale from the ones i got from outside Big C back in 2007.
Lower level of Siam Square where there was an aquarium known as Siam Ocean World; i had the opportunity to visit eight years ago when the pricing of one ticket was much more affordable! My short review of that place can be found here.
With a BTS station connected to the shopping mall, it made better sense for us to take the BTS back to Phaya Thai station and from there, walk back to Lemontea Hotel!
As of then, i was already familiar with the short cut to the hotel from the station. There's another shortcut more suitable for night usage as it was lighted. You would have to cut across the bluish grey building as shown on the photo although you have to keep your fingers crossed that the gate isn't locked.
My preference in the daytime was to walk along the railway tracks especially when you are unable to do the same thing back in Singapore!
If you are lucky, you would have a few resident occupants accompanying you!
The free roaming chickens - i still could not pinpoint if they were reared as food or as fighting cocks. Judging from the legs of the cock on the second picture, i believe it could be the latter.
The much walk-able dirt-path next to the tracks.
Local children having a soccer game; this is the kind of things i would like to see and experience when i am overseas. If i want to visit a shopping mall, i can always go to Orchard road.
Would you consider these slums? Those who have lived in kampongs before would know this kind of housing was quite common in Singapore back then; aluminum roofs, wooden walls etc.
There's even a working mini mart!
Right ahead would be the Ratchaprarop station of the Airport Rail Link where there's a proper pathway alongside the tracks.
Thai horror movies like Shutter, 4Bia had sent shivers down our spines and even though we didn't encounter any paranormal activity in Bangkok, we did notice an eerie-looking house that might be worth an exploration.
Lemontea Hotel in front of us! My feet were suffering from all the walking and a short rest would help NOT to worsen the blister on my right foot!
Hitting the streets again after a rest and a much needed shower! Vacationing in a city versus a beach is like two ends on a long pole; vastly different!
The sun was setting and we opted for the much easier to walk dirt path this time. Walking on stones can be difficult at times.
Spotted a mini shrine which included a statue of a Chinese deity and an obviously obese dog on the opposite path. I am not really an observant person and the last thing i want is to step on dog poo! Hence, whenever i see a dog, i would be extra cautious on where my next step is.
Lighted official path that i mentioned earlier which would lead to a building which would hopefully have its gate unlocked. I attempted the shortcut once and it was slight faster over the dirt path / railway track.
Taking the BTS to a station that i just went to the day before; Nana station as the clothier required me to test the tailor made shirts for fitting. It didn't take too long and i must say the fit was extremely good.
A thousand thanks to the traffic police officers who made it so much easier for us pedestrians to navigate the Bangkok streets; despite being enveloped by pollution, they continued to direct the traffic in a professional, non complaining manner!
Thought this was just a fire hydrant? Not sure what fire department connection means as i didn't see a phone hidden in the grass. Haha.
After meeting with my friends at Terminal 21, we took the BTS to Udom Suk and then hailed a cab to the train market that was moved from its original location; Srinakarin Train Market (Talat Rot Fai). For review and directions on how to go there, click here.
And in the midst of exploring the train market, we chanced upon Makura Cat Cafe and i had a very 'memorable' time. Check out the link here.
Taking the cab back to Lemontea Hotel and it took us about 45 minutes in pretty good traffic condition. The surprise was not on the time the cab took but the amount we paid; less than 200 baht! Anyway, it's massage time again and it was close to 2am when we were done! The first time i am the last customer...
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