Wednesday, January 11, 2006
of recounting bangkok memories
she had to admit that the bangkok getaway was a great form of recharge for the soul.what a surprise since its a city of dust balls, soot, blaring horns, crazy jams and time consuming transport bargaining sessions. the trip was made in a bigger entourage this time, with andrew and jan, andrew's mom joyce and neville plus gary and mates. it was meant as a pseudo work trip for the other half who's helping the soon-to-be-wed couple andrew and jan with their new place. and man did she wish she had a better budget to stay at gary's hotel of choice, the metropolitan. ah well, there's always a next time.
to market to market...
the market was a haven for this bohemian queen where she found countless wants at the chatuchak market. mother of pearl jewellery, boho cushion covers and lampshades, huge avant garde art pieces for less than S$500, hippie clothing, summer hats, wooden home decor pieces and dirt cheap weekend chill outfits. how many places can you find great digs at such affordable prices? the positive chatuchak experience surprised her indeed. such a fine memory of them sitting in the middle of the market sipping watermelon freezes with michael buble humming in the background and the cool breeze blowing in their faces. she's definitely making a trip there when the new place is up this september.
to shopping to shopping..
she's always raised brows at people carrying fake products. but before some people start calling her snobbish, pls note that there is a clear distinction between carrying a lookalike and a fake. anyhow that's something that deserves a blog session of its own so she'll leave it as that for now. which brings us to maboonkrong. the palace of counterfeit products from abercrombie, nike to gucci and louis vuittons. that place sure is colourful and entertaining as hell. found this absolute balenciaga leather cum fake fur beauty on the ground floor of MBK. was glad she didn't give in to a S$200 balenciaga counterfeit though she would have gladly paid that same amount without the label cos she loved the design so much. crap.
to makan to makan...
aside from shopping, the food deserved endless praise as well. siam paragon mall's awesome high tech looking foodcourt puts ours to shame, really. if you're looking for authentic thai food at reasonable rates (S$40-$50), pls do make an effort to head over to the blue elephant. trust me, you'll not regret that trip, almost everything on the menu is excellent and the coconut flan dessert was to die for. cyan at the metropolitan hotel was such a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT considering how snazzy it looked (yeah, the prices too). she's never in her life seen a maincourse in a starter size, and to think they waited anxiously over an hour for the food to arrive. no wonder they kept serving bread rolls round the table (though it was really fine bread she must say). dropped by the QBar and Vertigo for some chilling out and goodness, how on earth did QBar get such positive reviews from newsweek as THE bar to visit in bangkok when it turned out sleazy and crappy? for a unique bar experience, try vertigo, this cool open air concept bar sits at the roof of banyan tree. totally rocked.
to knead and to run amok...
if you've got a high tolerance for pain, thai massage it is. went to healthland spa and the thai massage nearly killed us. so we got smarter the next time and opted for the aromatherapy sessions instead. damn good deals at S$15-$30 for two hour massages. she's got to reconsider visiting local spas from now on. she's also discovered the crazy streak in her when she fell head over heels with the tuktuk. those drivers are just mad! hahah, they are exactly what you see in the VISA ads (pierce brosnan and zhang ziyi on a tuktuk in thailand), their aggro yet strangely safe and deft road skills impressed the shit outta her. they've also got swift negotiating skills and far better attitudes than cabbies, and best of all, they get you out of horrendous jam situations and work great as backup hairdryers (jan would know what i mean). here's to the tuktuks!
to the first and last time...
on a fucking budget airline. first no assigned seat numbers unlike virgin blue, checking in took so fucking long that they had no time to look-see around DFS despite arriving at the airport so early, then to discover no fucking sandwiches on board even if you had money to buy them (and ending up eating instant noodles)? what's worse, the bad apple lot of singaporeans seemed to have manifested and gathered on the flight back home. kiasu to the core. bloody annoying. no way is she flying budget ever again. brrrr.
but nonetheless, the trip was once again made perfect with her loved one and great company. to mak, drew, jan, joyce (our chief tuktuk negotiator), neville, gary and mates, thank you guys for the wonderful and unforgettable moments of bangkok.
bee wrote this at 11:04 PM
