Side Activities for Kids @ Asiatique the Riverfront [Bangkok]

Adults would be too busy shopping at the many stalls in Asiatique the Riverfront night market but how about the kids?! How are you going to pacify them when they have yet to grasp the concept of shopping to de-stress oneself? 

One attraction that came to mind would be the gigantic ferris wheel on the side of Asiatique; known as Sky Asiatique, i had the intention to take the wheel but was put off by the pricing of 300 baht per person! 

Anyway, that's only one of a few activities for your kids; there's also the good old carousel in the middle of Asiatique although most are concentrated on the market's fringe, near the ferris wheel.

Riding the kid's sized motorbike was nothing compared to what came to my sight shortly after; a strange device on display that gave rise to a few questions; how does this work and the lack of complicated controls which could only infer an easy operation (i think)?

Then i saw these two robots by the side of a container cafe; now, this would definitely attract the attention from kids and even i, as an adult, is interested to give it a try just to become "iron man" for a short moment! 

Tickets had to be purchased and i regret not taking note of the pricing. At least for that strange device, i can tell you the price is 250 baht for a ticket that admits two persons. And it's called the Sky Yoyo! 

Found another picture and that robot thingy was priced at 250 baht too! 

I would love to pay for a ticket to sit on the robot but i decided not to for the following reasons: there was hardly anyone playing and i can see the existing players were children a third of my age! 

And no way would i be chaperoned by masked adults on self balancing electric scooters! 

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Location

Asiatique the Riverfront

Bangkok, Thailand

For the itinerary of my relaxing six days, five nights visit to the City of Angels, please click here.

The Understory - Mid Canopy Walk @ Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Extension [Singapore]

After the memorable visit to the exhilarating HSBC Treetop Walk, i can feel my heartstrings tugging me towards the canopy walk at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve Extension when i saw the sign.

These photographs were taken more than six months ago, on New Year's Day, but i do remember vividly that i had the feeling this would be disappointment.

The concrete beams supporting the wooden planks only appeared a little more than half my height and i am considered as midget sized among my friends!

Good thing is that we were incredibly near to ground and could possibly "observe the different species of birds, insects, reptiles and small mammals that live among the shrubs, herbs and vines"; bad thing is this activity is not suitable for impatient people like me!

Even dad, who was way more patient like me, was just focused on walking straight until the end of the canopy walk. To be fair, it was drizzling just a few moments before and most living things would likely to be hiding from the rain.

Personally, i thought this would perform much better as a bouncing bridge for children even though this would inadvertently make the environment noisier and at the same time, less educational.

- The End -

p.s. short and sweet and i cannot imagine i have forgotten about my stash of photographs taken at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve earlier this year! More to come! :)

Fire & Dine Bar & Restaurant @ Asiatique the Riverfront [Bangkok]

Weather was hot and with many retail shops at Asiatique The Riverfront yet to open for business, we opted for an early dinner even though things are seldom as clear out as we honestly couldn't decide the answer to the question "where". 

This appeared expensive and given that i am more a social drinker (one bottle of apple cider beer a sitting kind), i was honestly hesitant to step in! We were eventually convinced, visually, by the menu outside, which featured delicious looking food.

As the name suggested, this was essentially a bar cum restaurant concept and with bar being placed first, the ambience was skewed heavily towards that with bottles of liquor on display at the main counter.

No doubt this would be a marvellous place for friends to catch up over food and wine. For two persons who were there simply for food, the place was too dark for my camera! Thank god for the air conditioning though.

And the glass of ice cold coke! 

Menu was extensive and once again, we were spoiled for choices. As i had rice earlier at Tonkatsu Wako, i shall give the pasta menu a try then! 

I think the waitress was surprised we didn't order any beer / wine / liquor although she did kindly pass us a serving of peanuts; we must have appeared hungry. 

Deep Fried Calamari 

Batter was important for any deep fried stuff and this didn't fail our expectations with the batter remaining crispy even after a while on the table. My grouch was with the squid meat which was way too tough! I can only give extra credit to the super eggy mayonnaise that kind of helped us to clean up the appetiser. 

BBQ Pork Skewer

Big enough to replace a meal course, this was delicious and i cannot stop thinking of its marination even right as it was not overly sweet and tasted somewhat like our local char siew, albeit a bit chewier. Unlike the batter of the calamari, you have to eat this when it's hot as the texture hardened significantly when the dish cooled. 

Olio Angel's Hair

I remember the Angel Hair from Saveur well and since i don't get to see it often in the few pasta / Italian eateries i go too; it made perfect sense for me to order it on my 36th birthday! 

This wasn't too bad but a tad too dry for me. It was also spicy with all the tiny pieces of chilli padi which i could somewhat accept. The thing i enjoyed most? The slices of nicely fried garlic! 

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Can't say i am 100% satisfied with my meal even though i would love to try out the slow-grilled chicken. The aroma was so enticing and i only saw the grill counter after i exited! I can be extremely blind. 

Location

10, Warehouse 10,

Asiatique the Riverfront,

Bangkok, Thailand

Opening Hours

Mondays to Thursdays - 5.30pm to 12.30am

Mondays to Thursdays - 5.30pm to 1am

Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/fireanddine/

Pricing

Deep Fried Calamari - 280 Baht

BBQ Pork Skewer - 130 Baht

Olio Angel's Hair - 220 Baht

[Subject to VAT (7%) and Service Charge (10%)]

For the itinerary of my relaxing six days, five nights visit to the City of Angels, please click here.

Urban Retreat - A Higher Class Massage Parlour @ Bangkok [Thailand]

I am not afraid to tell you that i would rather pay for that air ticket to Bangkok for daily Thai massages than to fork out close to S$60 an hour for the same session in Singapore. 

While i had been pleased and satisfied all this while with my 200 baht (about S$8-9) an hour Thai massage, i thought this relaxing trip should allow me to splurge a little bit more and i couldn't resist making an appointment for the upper-class looking Urban Retreat that's pretty near to Park Plaza Sukhumvit Hotel. 

Unlike the dark and dingy massage parlours i was accustomed to in the past, this was similar to the lobby of an expensive spa; bright, comfortable and it smelt good! 

Since we had to wait for our massage therapist to prepare the room for us anyway, i might as well take some time to read the laminated terms and conditions.

Thank god it wasn't lengthy and i even managed to hook up to the free WiFi to surf the web. Note that business appeared brisk and walk-in doesn't guarantee an appointment; i tried and failed. 

Time to wash the smelly and sweaty feet - they must be thanking me for allowing them such luxury as the scrubbing wasn't the touch and go style typical from those cheaper parlours.

It's a room that was given for the both of us! As with the lobby area, it was bright to the extent you can spot the stains on the mattress, notice the dust at the corners, if there's any. Piped music flowed through the speakers to soothe the mind and the aromatic air sought to lighten the spirit within us.

Trust me, there's a high chance i would have a good sleep even before the masseur enters! The environment was just too conducive and we couldn't wait for the session to begin! 

Let me show you the aftermath; Alex wasn't in pain. He wanted another hour of massage and we didn't have time as we needed to catch a flight! 

In summary, the massage was amazing and my masseur accurately pinpointed the areas that required extra care and i was very impressed with the entire experience; there's really a marked difference for paying almost double the pricing and for a stingy person like me, i am willing to continue to do so in the future! 

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Location

Super near to Exit 4 of Asoke BTS,

Bangkok, Thailand

Website

http://www.urbanretreatspa.net/ 

Menu

As above

Pricing

An Hour of Thai Massage - 450 Baht

For the itinerary of my relaxing six days, five nights visit to the City of Angels, please click here.

昭應廟: The Chinese Temple beside Saphan Taksin BTS Station @ Bangkok [Thailand]

Whenever i travel free and easy, there's one thing i look out for - the opportunity to explore a place that's not on my agenda and be amazed (hopefully) by what i found.

This Chinese style temple was noticed right after i disembarked from the skytrain of Saphan Taksin BTS Station; a refreshing sight given that my eyes had been accustomed to the magnificence of Thai temples!

As time was not a luxury given that it was a relaxed trip (yes, i had to emphasise that every single time) and Asiatique had yet to start its business, Alex didn't protest when i suggested to stop over for a while.

I erroneously thought the Chinese characters (瓊州公所) inferred the name of the temple. It sounded a bit strange as 公所 is more a public office than a temple.

Huge spacious courtyard that's an extravagance in the capital city. The practical soul in me would just think about the utter waste of space that could be put to better use; would have lost the charm though.

A small altar next to the entrance; since it was in a standalone structure and placed rather low on the ground, i guess many of you might have assumed this would house the land deity known as 土地公.

No confirmation with the lack of label and i doubt the altar was set up to honour a piece of incense infused coral! Well, god knows right?

With a history spanning more than 150 years, you don't feel its age by looking at the temple's facade. I was instead very impressed with the numerous statues of soaring dragons on the rooftop.

Entering the temple, i still didn't know who the patron saint was. The other decorative items on the main altar totally overshadowed the main patron; a strange phenomenon as most temples would build a sizable one to reflect its importance.

I did attempt to speak to the caretaker but my halting Teochew was a barrier to effective communication. Alex, as a half Teochew, was as bad.

Another altar on the side; initially thought to honour Mazu, the Chinese characters on top indicated 水尾圣母; a deity who hailed from Hainan Island and worshiped differently from Mazu. Some, however, believe Mazu is a manifestation from 水尾圣母.

This is the main patron saint and like you, i was surprised to see an ancestral tablet! Words indicated 108 heroic souls and the story was quite unbelievable.  

I read it in Chinese and my translation and understanding could be wrong. In a nutshell, people on the boat were murdered by officials who claimed they were pirates and the truth was uncovered because of a dream by a king and an coincidence; one of the bad officials entered into a tavern which belonged to a family member of the victim who recognised the item on the bad official. 

Legend said that the victims turned into gods after justice was served and after which, were said to ensure the safety of those travelling on boats. Interesting?

Well, i shall not comment too much given my skepticism when it comes to such things. Let's just enjoy the treasures that could be found within; like this ancient grandfather's clock; i could resist turning it into black and white.

Many plaques adorned the ceiling but i didn't take a closer look as the heat was getting to us then and i was perspiring nonstop! From experience, my shirt would stink badly if i continue to let the sweat soak through.

Walking past the fearsome door gods which were said to ward off evil. It's funny right? You have a patron saint within the temple, so why is there a need to have more gods? The only way to put things logically is to think of an emperor in a palace; he does need his guards, doesn't he? 

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Location

Beside Saphan Taksin BTS Station

Across Chao Phya Tower

For the itinerary of my relaxing six days, five nights visit to the City of Angels, please click here.