[DIARIES] 20150111 Day 1 Bangkok - Chatuchak, Nana

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Day 2: [DIARIES] 20150112 Day 2 Bangkok - Pratunam, Victory Monument, Siam

Day 3: [DIARIES] 20150113 Day 3 Bangkok - Pratunam, Siam, Asok, Thong Lor

Day 4: [DIARIES] 20150114 Day 4 Bangkok - Floating Market, Pharnakorn, Chinatown, Khao San Road

Day 5: [DIARIES] 20150115 Day 5 Bangkok - Pratunam

Two weeks after my Hong Kong-China-Macau trip, I'm flying again! This time I'm heading to Bangkok as my birthday trip and it has been some time since I set foot on Bangkok. I remember the last time I came was 1996, when I was still a small child together with my family. This round I'm visiting the land of sawadee with my girl friend and as usual, I will be travelling on my own itinerary.

AirAsia flight safely landed at Don Mueang Airport mid noon. After checking out immigration and getting a sim card from the airport, we head directly to the bus stop outside the airport to grab a bus to the nearest BTS station. The A1 bus will directly bring us to the Chatuchak BTS terminal, which we will then take the public transport to the nearest station near Pratunam.

No idea why many people prefer to line up to buy the ticket when you can just get a Rabbit card (similar to our version of RapidKL card). The Chatuchak terminal is a very busy station and the line to purchase the Rabbit card was long. However, the staff is able to clear the lines sufficiently. Fortunately the counter staff is able to speak some simple English and the transaction went through smoothly without much hiccups.

Dragging our big luggages, we disembark at Ratchathewi Station, which is about another 15 minutes to our hotel at Phetchaburi 15 Alley. One thing I would suggest is to have a BTS station for Pratunam, given the popularity of this area with the tourists, but I guess nothing much can be done.

We stayed at Lemontea Hotel, which is a rather new and chic hotel at Pratunam area. Location is rather inconvenient within the Phetchaburi alley but is compensated by the convenience of having their own 7-11 store right next to it and also the alley of massage parlours. The hotel is also very close to Pratunam Market.

The chic hotel with wooden interior and furniture doesn't come cheap by Bangkok's standard with price per night from RM150 and above. However, the service are top notch with polite and English speaking staff. We were greeted with their signature refreshing lemon tea (sorry no picture!), which taste like something I had when I was young where the lemon tea powder was used.

After checking in and unpacking our luggage, we waste no time and quickly head back to the BTS station because today is Sunday, which is also the last day of the weekend to catch the Chatuchak weekend market before it closes.

The BTS might not be the cheapest mode of transport but it is one of the most convenient one to skip the horrific Bangkok jams. We took the original route to where we board the BTS earlier and it is already late afternoon with a few more hours left to walk and shop before the market closes. The BTS station is located next the Chatuchak Park, which is also a very popular park among the locals.


We can see the huge crowd heading towards the Chatuchak Weekend Market which is another 300 meters away. Tourists and locals converged from various directions via various mode of transport.


Luckily the weather in January is rather cooling around 20°C+, otherwise I couldn't imagine myself squeezing my way through sweaty bodies in a hot afternoon.


The market is so big and we have no idea where to start shopping, but first thing I knew is that we must get ourselves a serving of the famous coconut ice cream here.


There are a few stalls selling coconut ice cream in the market but the one I'm heading to is one of the more famous stall which is located near the Entrance 1.


There's a short queue but was clearing pretty fast. While waiting, everyone was given a complementary coconut drink which is freshly opened. I personally felt that it is a very nice gesture, complimenting your customers for waiting, especially if under a hot sun. I get to choose three toppings from all the available ones, just point on which topping you would like and the girl will prepare for us.


This mouth watering dessert only cost us TBH 35, so much cheaper than all those selling in Malaysia.

Read more about the coconut ice cream in a separate detailed post:
[FOOD] 20150111 Chatuchak Weekend Market Coconut Ice Cream @ Chatuchak, Bangkok


After the ice cream would be free for all exploration, especially on the street food. Basically the street food in Chatuchak are pretty much repetitive with commonly found ones such as coconut ice cream, pork satay, fried pork, BBQ seafood, squid (quill) eggs, manggo sticky rice etc. The pork satay stall above is one of the better ones that I tried ,and it only costs THB 10.


I wasn't expecting such a tender meat because pork meat served in Malaysia are typically dry and hard. I guessed they used some other parts of the pork which I guessed to be the neck part or a special part of belly. Overall the meat is well marinated and surprisingly good for a first try. Despite being excited but the satay, I decided to conserve some belly space to hunt for other food around.


Encounter this funny guy who was selling fried squid and quill eggs. I was basically snapping anyting interesting while walking and took a few pictures of him and his stall. He looked at me and said some Thai words and pointing his food. I was assuming he is saying "eh don't just take picture la, buy some also la". I politely give him a smile and walked away because I was not interested in squid and quill eggs at the moment.


The market basically separated into indoor and outdoor where the certain parts of the indoor market will be opened everyday while the remaining stalls and outdoor stalls only open during the weekends. While most food and beverage stalls are located outdoor, the indoor market mostly sell other daily products such as handicraft, garments, medicine and other daily necessities

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The market is so big and it would probably take me a whole day if I were to visit stall by stall. As time is running out, we only concentrate at what we intend to buy to speed up our shopping journey. Chatuchak market is probably the best place for a good bargain as I notice other places are selling the similar products at a higher price. Spotted this interested oversized T-shirt of 20XL which I think is for display only because I don't anyone can be big enough to fit this T-shirt.


Continue exploring the market, with all sorts of merchandise from shirt, pants, caps to cheap replica of watches, bikinis etc. If only I had longer time to visit this place. Next trip to Bangkok I must arrive before the weekend.


Bought a bottle of the local orange juice after a long walk in the market. The local oranges taste very much like mandarin oranges and lime combined. The vibrant orange colour tricks me to believe that it is very sweet but in actual fact is more like a lime juice with sourish taste. The freshly pressed orange juice cost between THB 20 or more, depending on bottle size.


The day is getting late and the fried and BBQ pork looks very tempting but I had to reserve my stomach for dinner later. Left Chatuchak market after spending about 3 hours here. Took the BTS back to Ratchathewi Station to get changed before my birthday celebration.

Read more in detail about Chatuchak Weekend Market via a separate post:
[PLACE] 20150111 Chatuchak Weekend Market @ Chatuchak, Bangkok


I kinda like the January weather in Bangkok, especially this year where it is cooler than usual thanks to the chilling winter breeze from Southern China. We took BTS towards Nana station to head to one of the famous sky bar in Bangkok.


Having difficulties in reading the road signs because all I can read is just the numbers. Most of the time I depend on gps location to pin point my location and then tried to look for road signs to guide.


The road side stalls looks tempting but would skip for this round. It is very common to find such road side stalls all around Bangkok. I would definitely not going to starve in Bangkok.


After about 10 minutes walk and a few junctions, we arrived at what seemed to be a luxurious condominium instead of a building. Being confused for a second, I quickly spotted the signboard outside the condominium and was able to confirm that we are at the right place. The entrance to the skybar is rather hideous at the rear of the condominium and dodgy by itself due to the dim lighting.


We were warmly greeted by the receptionist and then brought to our table. It's a totally different atmosphere here with majority of the patrons being foreigners, enjoying a glass of cocktail or mojito. The waiters and waitresses are very friendly and professional, making sure that you are being served properly. I would applaud the hospitality of the Thais, it's definitely a class of its own, making you feel welcomed everywhere. The service industry in Thailand is a notch ahead of Malaysia.

Read more about Above Eleven via a separate post:
[PLACE] 20150111 Above Eleven Rooftop Bar @ Khlong Toei Nuea, Bangkok


I asked for some cocktail recommendations from the waiter and basically they will ask whether you will prefer sweet or sourish.


We also ordered a seafood platter as finger food to go along. Basically rooftop bars are known for their environment and not so much about food but Above Eleven still serves some pretty decent food and I heard it's one of the best rooftop bar in Bangkok in terms of food with their Peruvian & Japanese fusion food.


The night view from the rooftop bar, not too spectacular but not too bad as well. What's most interesting is actually the restroom for gents where I actually get to pee directly on the glass panel, overseeing the night view outside.


We left the bar after some time and decided to skip Srinakarin night market due to insufficient time. Instead, we took a short walk around Nana area, which is famous for its night pubs. Colourful cabs is also another eye catching element in the city of Bangkok.


The Nana Plaza nearby the Nana BTS station claims itself to be the World's largest adult playground. However the entrance is rather dodgy and hidden. Well I guess that's what makes it a playground?


There are many pubs within the plaza, each having their own "methods" to invite you to their pub. If they see you with a partner, then usually they will just leave you alone as I noticed the girls are very interested in Caucasians or single men.

We left Nana Plaza and head back to our hotel at Pratunam and call it a day after the long travelling.

Day 2: [DIARIES] 20150112 Day 2 Bangkok - Pratunam, Victory Monument, Siam

Day 3: [DIARIES] 20150113 Day 3 Bangkok - Pratunam, Siam, Asok, Thong Lor

Day 4: [DIARIES] 20150114 Day 4 Bangkok - Floating Market, Pharnakorn, Chinatown, Khao San Road

Day 5: [DIARIES] 20150115 Day 5 Bangkok - Pratunam