Thursday, May 30, 2013

BKK: Land of smiles Day 4!

Last day in BKK before heading back to SG! Purposely chose the flight timing to be in the evening so at least we still have another half a day more to shop! This post is gonna be a rather short post, basically to share some photos of Day 4 and to consolidate this amazing 4D3N Bangkok trip! Woke up early in the morning to have their McDonald breakfast!
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I remember the Mcdonalds in BKK had chicken/ pork porridge in their menu when we ate on the second day so we decided to start our last day by having a good breakfast (most probably gonna skip lunch due to last minute shopping!)
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Chicken porridge on the left and pork porridge on the right! They should totally have porridge in Singapore. I remember last time they used to have it in SG leh, don't know why they never continue. They also have this "Egg and Ham Pie" which is SUPER DELICIOUS. I wonder when will i ever get to taste it again. Promotional/ seasonal item i think :(
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HEADED BACK TO PLATINUM MALL FOR MORE LAST MINUTE SHOPPING!

By the way, the above is like a 3D floor painting which if you take a photo from
a certain angle (which you can see from the photo) it will somehow look 3D!
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The only photo that i took in the mall. The rest of the time was spent shopping, LOL
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Red bull gives you wings to shop non-stop! Somehow feel that the glass bottle very waste. It's like after you drink finish (in less than 3 minute because it's a small bottle), you throw the whole glass bottle away. Glass can recycle de hor?
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SUPER BUSY STREET. No wonder there is a need for the airport transfer to be early in case of jam.
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I was right, we totally forgot about lunch. Heading back to the hotel and decided to buy some street food along the way while waiting for the airport transfer van to come fetch us. See the omelette rice above? It's the BEST OMELETTE RICE i have ever tasted in my entire life. How can just plain egg and rice taste so delicious! It's cooked by this old auntie at the road side, i look at her cook it from scratch but she just add in the normal salt, oil etc. WHY SO NICE?!
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No jam that afternoon and we reached the airport quite early. Came to BKK with one empty luggage and went back to SG with one full luggage and another big bag! Can you imagine the amount of things i bought in total! Oh my tians.
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Economy class on Thai Airways back to Singapore.
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Bought some dried fruits and pork floss back for my family and colleagues. Super not worth it to buy at the airport!
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Happy me in my comfy seat with pillow! The difference between economy and budget is so... indescribable.
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My on board dinner - Chicken noodle which i think is not bad! I totally enjoy on board meals, LOL
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Apparently the on board entertainment was down for the first hour (so angry!) but luckily i had my iPad Mini with a few preloaded movies. So i had some form of entertainment while having my meal! The system came back soon after.
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Last but not least, a group photo of the 4 of us who came to BKK together! :D

The above instagram collage basically summaries my entire 4D3N trip in BKK.

Being my first time at BKK, i totally love the place and it's definitely the shopping paradise that everyone claims! I remember a few friends telling me BKK is just for girls, guy's stuff are limited. Don't have high expectations or be disappointed blah blah blah but so far i'm lovin' it and would love to come back again soon! Plus BKK is one of the cheapest, nearest (3 hours flight away) and fun place to visit in Asia, anyone can easily plan a trip there anytime!

This marks the end of my 4D3N Bangkok travelogue. Hope you enjoyed reading it!

 BKK Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Brunei, Here i come!

At tomorrow around this timing, i would be on the plane to Brunei via the Royal Brunei Airlines! This trip was a rather last minute one which i managed to confirmed about less than2 weeks before as i need to apply for leave plus there was changes in the flight dates. Fortunately, everything went quite smoothly and tomorrow i will be leaving for Brunei! :D
For the past 2 weeks, I've been getting the same reaction and everyone has been asking the same question over and over again - "Har! Why of all places go Brunei? There got things to do meh?" I swear i get that at least 30 times in the past 2 weeks. I know I know, and i guess this time, i'm going there to find out the answer to everyone's question.

This time it's not gonna be those shopping trip that i always go but it would be more of a nature trip! The things that i would be packing into my luggage is totally different from what i usually pack. This time there's track shoes, more singlets (i'm even bringing my own water bottle! LOL) etc. I went through the draft itinerary and i'm really hyped up!

I can expect to visit the different places of interest in Brunei such as...
The mosque and grand palaces.

Activities includes are forest trekking...

DIVING/ SNORKELING!!! (Obviously i'm not expecting to see a seal like in the above photo, i just google image-d a photo of diving and this photo popped out, LOL) I heard Brunei is quite famous for diving, and i'm really looking forward!

Horse Riding! Something that i've never tried before!

Looking at the different activities, I can foresee the 4D3N trip to be quite tiring but guess what?
I will be staying at a different hotel each night and it includes the Best hotel in Brunei which is...

The Empire hotel and country club!

If i managed to get a 3G sim card over there, i will be constantly updating my twitter (@andystorm) and uploading photos on my instagram (IG:andystorm) as well so do follow me on these social media platforms to read updates of my Brunei trip! When i'm back, i will also be doing a travelogue on this trip, a total whole new experience in another country.

This trip is made possible by omy.sg and Royal Brunei Airlines!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Hello PSY! Hello Carly Rae Jepson!

For the past few days, i have been repeating two particular songs on my iPod, they are mainly...
"Gentlemen" by PSY
"Call me maybe" by Carly Rae Jepson

and the reason is because...
I WILL BE SEEING BOTH OF THEM THIS FRIDAYYY!!!! 

 The Singapore Social Concerts is gonna happen this Friday and Saturday with different artistes performing on each day and special thanks to Starcount and Nuffnang, i can has 2 tickets to this Friday's concert to meet Korea Superstar - PSY, Carly Rae Jepson who sang the famous "Hey, i just met you, and this is crazyyy~" and others such as Cello Green and Blush! I've so gonna sing along to PSY's Oppa Gangnam style and Gentlemen!!! HEY SEXYY LADYYYY, OH OH OH~

You can join me for the concert too by getting your tickets!
Checkout the official website at http://www.starcount.com/concerts

Hmm, what should i wear for this friday?

Friday, May 17, 2013

BKK: Land of smiles Day 3!

2 days into BKK and i'm already enjoying myself to the fullest. Almost finishing the money that i brought over that i have to do some oversea withdrawal from their ATM! That's so many thing to buy and everything is so cheap at BKK. I would definitely want to visit this land of smiles like every half a year to do some shopping and getaway from stressful work!
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Brought my Canon compact camera over instead of my Semi Pro because i had a feeling i won't be taking much photos since 3/4 of the time would be spent shopping and i was right! Wouldn't want to be lugging a heavy camera around (:
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Woke up early, skipped the complimentary hotel breakfast and headed downstairs to this stall that i passed by the first day i was here. The food looks not bad so we guessed it would make a good breakfast to start off the day!
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My char siew shrimp wanton mee!
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Duck meat dry noodles! The portion is a little small though, but still good!

Basically we finished visiting the places that we wanted to visit for this trip and the remaining 2 days would be to "re-visit" places that we felt we have not shopped enough at which is mainly - Chatuchak! Since it only opens only on weekends and that day is a Sunday, we decided to head down again for more shopping and to explore the rest of it!

.....................

Before i come to BKK, i did some readings on the country, like what to expect, where to go, what to eat and came across some scams stories and guess what? We walked right into one, which i definitely want to share here! LOLOLOL

Basically that day we wanted to head to Chatuchak, and wanted to try taking their public transport (train) there so we asked the directions from our hotel lobby and set off. First would be to take the hotel's complimentary tuk tuk to the nearest train station, then follow the MRT route and get off at Kamphaengpecth Station. Sounds quite easy right?

Halfway through the journey to the nearest MRT, our hotel's tuk tuk was stopped by another local tuk tuk, asking where we were heading to and they offered to bring us to chatuchak direct for 50 BAHT. (fyi, 50bht is like only SGD$2?) Obviously i know it's about one of those tuk tuk stories i read online and guess what? I have no idea what we were thinking but We boarded their tuk tuk. Our hotel tuk tuk driver must be thinking in his head - "This bunch of idiots."
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50 Baht for not 1 tuk tuk for the 4 of us, BUT 2 tuk tuks some more! You tell me where to find so good deal. LOLOL

Soon, they revealed their motive. They would require us to make a few stops along the way so that they can get "stamps" for their petrol card. Apparently, these tuk tuk drivers have these petrol card, once they fill up the card with e.g 12 stamps, they get to top up their petrol for free. To get stamps, they have to bring tourist to these designated places (e.g Gem factories, Tailoring shops) Regardless whether we make a purchase, they will still get the stamp. 

They told us, all we had to do is to pretend to be interested, hang around for about 10 mins then leave. It's a "win win" situation for both the drivers and us. We thought about it for awhile, almost wanted to get off but agree in the end.

Alighted at this Gem warehouse, saw other tourists like us (lol!) the girls pretended to try a few rings (I heard the gems are quite worthless, basically a scam.) and we left. Next was a Indian tailoring shop, now is the guy's turn to pretend to be interested in getting a new shirt or suit but after awhile they seem to know they are wasting their time on us and left us alone. So we left. Finally after 2 stops, we were on our way to Chatuchak. Whole incident was about an hour plus.
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As promised, we arrived at Chatuchak (thank god.) and paid 25 baht (SGD$1) to each of the drivers. The funny thing is, when we inquired at our hotel lobby on how long it would take for us to reach Chatuchak by train, they replied - "About an hour" and we took the same time to reach on the tuk tuks, and we paid 25 baht. What an experience i would say!

Not going to try it ever again though! It's still not safe! HAHAHAA

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Weather was super duper hot and i regretted not buying a singlet for Day 3. Brought along the hand weave fan that i bought the previous day! By the way, look at that pretty ang mo photo bombing me from behind! WOOHOOOO
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A stall selling all sorts of sausages. If i'm not wrong, we skipped lunch that day so we bought street food to snack on!
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The weather is so hot that we had to get drinks every now and then. Watermelon juice is the best! :D
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One of the stores in Chatuchak selling cartoon printed tees! So many different designs. I got the Stitch one!

This time, we split into 2 groups, the guys and the girls to shop for our own stuff. Bought while a number of stuffs but most of the time, we and weifeng were buying food and juices, and at one point of time, stopped by a cafe for a nice cup of coffee and enjoying air-con while the girls were perspiring under the hot weather shopping, this is life. LOL
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About evening time, we headed for Siam which is one area we have yet to explore... took the train.
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There was a huge crowd at Siam area and so many things to explore and buy along the streets. BKK is no doubt a shopping paradise in Asia! If you are a shopaholic and a first timer to BKK like me, you will definitely go crazy! LOL

Wanted to have something good for our last dinner in BKK, and we came across...
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Petite Audrey
Siam Center, 4th floor.
989 Rama 1 Road, Bangkok, TH.
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This cafe has very nice interior and deco, gives you an atas feel.
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Tried their fried mashed potato with cheese dip. Very nice appetizer!
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The main courses that we ordered. I had the abalone omelette rice set! :D
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Coke light in Thai.
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Read so much online about this Mr. Jones Orphanage cafe in Bangkok but didn't know it's in Siam center as well! Definitely coming back to try their desserts the next time. The interior design is so unique and special.
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There was a music concert outside Siam Paragon that day, super crowded.
Went over to MBK shopping mall after dinner to checkout the largest mall in BKK but was quite disappointed. I wouldn't even recommend this place to anyone unless you are looking for counterfeit or "inspired" stuff like LV bags or tees and such. Nothing much in the whole mall, or maybe i just did not explore further. Not intending to go there again.
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Some of the items that i bought throughout the 3 days in BKK. There's still one last day to shop ;D

BKK Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

BKK: Land of smiles Day 2!

Sawadee Krup! Rise and shine in the land of smiles! Woke up rather early before our half day tour for the complimentary breakfast by the hotel (which we only had once throughout the 4 days) Very basic buffet breakfast plus it's always crowded so we rather search for our own breakfast outside for the next few days. It's now day 2 in BKK! :D photo IMG_3421.jpg
Orange Juice, egg, ham, sausages, cornflakes and toast bread. Very standard, not very appealing.
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Waited at our hotel lobby for the bus to come fetch us for the half day tour. Decided to wear singlet for Day 2 and it was the best decision i ever made!!!! The weather was super hot plus we visited Chatuchak in the noon! Phew.
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Yes, i dyed my hair red for this trip if you have been wondering. LOL
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This half day tour is part of the so called package that we bought from the groupon deal. We can choose to go for it or not, but since it's my first time to Bangkok, we decided to just go for it. Basically it gives you an idea of the floating market (cheat our feelings one lor), visit the Wat Arun temple across the river, and also the 4 faced Buddha.
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4 of us all ready for our Day 2 in BKK!
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Went on the river cruise boat which brings us around...
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One of the AYG "I'm-on-board-the-boat-and-here's-my-side-view" pose. LOLOLOLOL
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Wat Arun, the temple of dawn which we alighted to visit the place.
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But before that, here's a glimpse of how the "floating market" would be like. FOL
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The guide on board told about these sacred fishes that lived along the river and how they brought luck to the locals blah blah blah and invited us to feed them at 100 baht for a loaf of bread. Just feed lor, the fishes are REALLY REALLY HUGE though. Must be tourists like us feeding them every day. that's why can grow until so big. Confirm.
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Alighted at Wat Arun. Was given about half hour to explore the place and for those interested to climb up the steps for the view and to pray, but we didn't. Chose to stay outside, walk around and take photos, HAHA
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Bought this flower band (hanging around my neck) for some cause. It's like to support this family who handmade these band to sell for a living. Something like that... everyone on the boat got one. Think it's 100baht also, LOL
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Bought mangoes and coconut juice to quench our thirst. The mango is really different, like guava kind.
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Headed back to mainland where we board the bus to visit the 4 faced Buddha. Even before coming to BKK, i have heard a lot about the 4 faced Buddha and i always thought it's like a temple or something. Little did i expect to be out in the open, outside a hotel. The tour guide gave us a brief intro on how the Erawan Shrine came about and what the different faces meant, and how we should go about praying. It was really quite interesting knowing all these history...
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I heard that if what you wished for came true, you should come back to this place to hire the dance troupe to "return the favor" to the gods and looking at the queue, it seem like this place is really popular for worshipers to visit.
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Came across this random painting and decided to act like i'm holding on to the balloons :D
"Sawadee Krup. Welcome to Thailand. the land of smiles."
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Decided to have McDonald for lunch before heading over to Chatuchak! (ignore the woman behind.)
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Took a cab over to Chatuchak weekend market! This is the place to visit over the weekends! Weather is super hot that day that's why i'm so glad to be wearing a singlet and the best buy among all the things that i bought that day was definitely the hand weave fan which i bought for only 100 baht! Every where you go there's food, drinks, apparels and more. Basically if you look at the map of Chatuchak, you will be able to see an overview of what they are selling.
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Food and drinks stalls are everywhere in Chatuchak. You go thirsty very easily because of the weather and i ended buying fruit juices and mineral water every now and then to hydrate myself. Try their famous coconut ice cream!
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There's this portion of the market that sells animals in general! The dogs are SUPER CUTE. All sorts of breeds and sizes.
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Even snakes and porcupines are on sale. So exotic.
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Met up in the evening with the rest and martin passed me this bag of fried insects -__-
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Took a tuk tuk from Chatuchak and headed over to BKK's Chinatown for dinner!
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With all these neon signage and such, no wonder this place is known as BKK's Chinatown - famous for their seafood, shark fins and bird's nest at cheap prices! Everywhere you go you will see stalls offering bird nest and shark's fin.
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Decided to settled down at this seafood place which seem rather popular for our dinner.
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Without looking at the price, we just ordered like a king! We ordered Sotong, one whole fish, Big prawns, fried chicken, Veggies, omelette and not forgetting a bowl of shark's fin for the 4 of us to share! A lot of food for 4 right!
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Everyone was super full at the end of the meal!
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Not forgetting to have bird nest too, we headed to the store right beside our dinner place and ordered a bowl.
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Bird nest which cost about SGD$8 a bowl i think. It was very refreshing when served chilled. Yum yum.
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Took a tuk tuk all the way back to our hotel. Even though we get to choose between 2 modes of transport (don't talk about train or bus) either taxi or tuk tuk, i would still choose tuk tuk because of the experience, plus it's quite cheap because the fare is divided between the 4 of us. This is something you can never experience in Singapore!
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That's all for Day 2!

I think the 2nd day in BKK was the most tiring out of the 4 days because we had to wake up early for the tour (not forgetting we slept late the day before), after which we went to Chatuchak and spend the day under the hot weather, at the end Chinatown for dinner. Nevertheless, it was fun fun fun and we made full use of our day in BKK!

BKK Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4