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Tuesday, January 03, 2023

Last Day of My Week-Long Holiday to Bangkok in 2022 [Thailand]


>>> Day Six

For my last day in Bangkok, I decided to forgo my morning jog and just lie down to enjoy the view outside of my 5-star accommodation.  

All for a relaxing buffet breakfast at Grande Centre Point Ratchadamri! As this wasn't covered in my accommodation, it was a charge of 350 Thai baht (about S$14), nett, per person. 

Getting all ready to check out of the hotel.

As Grande Centre Point Ratchadamri provided quite a few complimentary bottles of drinking water, plus an automated beverage machine serving coffee, mocha, hot chocolate etc, I didn't even manage to open the second bottle of 5-liter drinking water purchased from the convenience stall.

Biding goodbye to our hotel room which provided us with a great stay for the past few days. One key takeaway; should I buy a dryer as it was so convenient to have clean, dry and warm clothing to wear after just a few hours! 

Booked a cab through the hotel.
Cost in total - 500 baht. 

Traffic was smooth and before long, we sighted the humongous signboard announcing the lanes that would lead to Suvarnabhumi Airport

After a while, two things shall welcome us to the airport; the golden statues of kinnaree and the 132.2-meter high Suvarnabhumi Airport's Air Traffic Control Tower.

Rushing to check in our luggage.

I always make full use of the maximum capacity allowed. Knowing I only had 50 kilograms in total and after the lesson learnt in Taiwan, I was conservative in my shopping and the four pieces of luggage was, thankfully, just one kilogram short of 50. 

So cute, the guardian giant was masked up! 

Elaborate display honoring the current monarch of Thailand; King Maha Vajiralongkorn, also known as King Rama X of the Chakri Dynasty. 

Reliquary housing a relic of Buddha. Shouldn't this be better protected given its rarity and prestige? In Singapore, the Buddha Tooth relic was heavily guarded and behind a (likely reinforced) glass window.

Six of the twelve guardian giants; all masked up, I believe I have spoken about them before since I visit Bangkok so often but couldn't quite remember the details. Some call them yakshas whereas other said they are Ramayana Giants, a character from this story known as Ramakien. 

The boring passage leading to the immigration counters; I recently watched a video from a YouTuber he mentioned that Singapore Changi Airport is the best as the operator strives to give you a relaxing experience. Passage as above does give a sense of foreboding fear.

Immigration was smooth though! 

More photographs of the iconic sculpture which came from a tale known as "The Churning the Ocean of Milk". Those who have watched Avatar 2 recently will remember this anti-ageing ingredient known as Amrita that was extracted from the tulkuns (whale-like animals); this same amrita was also mentioned in the tale.

Shopping time! Not really as I don't really shop for branded although I do enjoy window shopping for unique stuff like memorabilia, food, local products etc. 

My favorite had to be this OTOP store; OTOP stands for "One Tambon (meaning sub-district) One Product" and refers to a "local entrepreneurship stimulus program which aims to support the unique locally made and marketed products of each Thai tambon all over Thailand".

A large section under renovation. If memory serves me well, they used to house a lot of eateries. Let me add; expensive eateries and it's better off to dine at the publicly accessible eateries before you clear the immigration for departure. 

Not sure if the medication would be cheaper at the airport pharmacy. Singaporeans love to buy medication when they are overseas like in Malaysia and Thailand as prices are lower and you usually don't need a presciption.

McDonald's and Bonchon Chicken; my sister just got back from Bangkok before the New Year and was grumbling about how bad Bonchon Chicken was at the airport. Must be the same branch. 

Perfumes and cosmetics; I do need to purchase some perfume soon!

Floor plan for Suvarnabhumi Airport; total of 52 gates for just one terminal. It may not seem much but walking from one end to the other was tiring! 

Going to the right side of the "The Churning the Ocean of Milk" sculpture. I planned my route in a way that it would eventually lead me to my boarding gate.

Bottles of Absolut Vodka; I am always on the lookout to add on to my collection and it's hard during these past few years of non-travel given the pandemic. I usually buy from airports as the alcohol is generally duty free. 

Air travelers departing from Bangkok and forgot to buy souvenirs can consider these boxes of rice crispies. Samples are available and my favorite is crab curry! One box was about 145 baht.

Nearing the departure gates for my flight.

As there were quite a few passengers clearing the last hurdle for departure and the plane had yet to open its gate, I was in no hurry to join the queue. It's so much more restrictive once you are within the gate! 


Let's indulge in a cup of Gloria Jean's mocha. 
And a selfie before I boarded the plane.

Boarding via the aerobridge. In the past, I love to get on the plane via the ramp stairs as we can steal the occasional close-up shot with the airplane. That love diminished when I encountered heavy rain once and had to rush to the waiting bus! 

Always nice to take Singapore Airlines; so glad that I only managed to secure the tickets at quite reasonable price. With the air travel industry improving, I guess I would go back to my budget airlines soon. 

Must remember to take the earphones! 
I forgot about it when I flew from Singapore to Bangkok

SQ707 - the SQ girl is a classic! 

Window view - nowadays, full service airlines don't allow you to select seats for economy lite and value fares and I am too stingy to pay extra. Hence, I always pray the lovely counter staff would give me a window seat! 

This would allow me to take more photos and also time-lapsed videos of taking off and landing. And it's just so therapeutic to be able to look out and look at the cottony clouds. 

Google Image search is amazing; I managed to find out that the tall building at the back is Assumption University Suvarnabhumi Campus and that temple with wired domes (I think it was still in its incomplete, structural phase) is Wat Sri Rattana Thammaram.

Going to miss Bangkok.....
That was the feeling I had then.

Watching Reunion Dinner (团圆饭) - "a 2022 Singaporean Mandarin-language Chinese New Year comedy drama film" starring Lawrence Wong. It's an entertaining movie! 

Sufficient legroom for my short limbs.

Inflight lunch was beef with potatoes and a cake that tasted like chendol. Not bad tasting although not amazing enough for me to remember much about them.

View above the clouds! 
Always fantasize I could sleep on them.

Hey! I do recognize the islands! The bigger one is Tioman Island which I visited back in 2013 and would love to back again and the smaller island would be Pulai Tulai.

Peninsular Malaysia. Everyone is aware that East Malaysia doesn't mean the east coast right? For those who are  unaware, East Malaysia consists of Sarawak and Sabah and located across the South China Sea about 600 kilometers away.

Estimated three more minutes to arrival at Changi Airport
Entry would be via the runway alongside Terminal 3.

So much greenery in our neighbor's land. I always said we should learn Bahasa Melayu for ease of business correspondence in Malaysia given the proximity and the ample development opportunities.

This is already in Singapore's territory. Given our land constraint, the only way is to expand via land reclamation. Total land mass increased about 22% since 1965 (year of independence)!

The land of Singaporean men; national service, a rite of passage that almost all of Singaporean men would undertaken when they reach young adulthood. Pulau Tekong is where most of them would start their basic military training. I can even see my company in the picture; Viper! And I am most afraid of snakes.

Shipping; the traditional lifeline of Singapore.

Rolling across this bridge that connects both runaways of Changi Airport. It's quite amazing when you travel to the airport via car / taxi / bus and a humongous plane just nonchalantly crosses the overhead bridge.

Leaving the plane; am I the only one who feels like the weather completely changes when we arrive at Singapore? It suddenly seems a lot more hot, a lot more humid. 

Thanks for the ride!

Another look of the SQ airplane that sent us safely from Bangkok to Singapore. To be frank, I do get a bit nervous whenever I take the plane, especially what happened during 911 and also the mysterious disappearance of MH370.

Wah, so good for Changi Airport to provide this although I always support our taxi uncles and aunties. One key benefit, the taxis have a bigger boot for my luggage! 

One last thing to do; buy duty free liquor! No Absolut Vodka also okay; I can meet the limit with Suntory beer, Somersby Apple Cider, Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc or even Raffles Light. Man, I do sound like an alcoholic!

On the cab home; it sure was sunny!

Last but not least, indulgence of the mango sticky rice that I took away from King Power Duty Free at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Despite the 180 baht price tag, it at least managed to overcome the disappointment that I didn't manage to have any mango sticky rice when I was in Bangkok.

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