This
is my second visit to Bangkok last weekend. It has been 3 years! Just
prior to the trip, we got to know of possible protests that would be
staged that very weekend. But we decided eventually that we would make
the trip. Am glad we did! Thankful to God for the protection.
Arnoma
hotel is right smacked at the center of numerous shopping malls. The
rooms were clean and it was fun considering the fact that we had
connecting rooms.
Upon
leaving the hotel after check in, we were greeted with heavy shower
upon reaching our hotel. Just as we were making our way to the shopping
mall, we witnessed a flood! To the extent that it was amusing.
The
word "famished" was not sufficient to describe how hungry we were. We
settled at Central World, Yayoi for Jap fast food. Each meal was at a
neat price of 100THB. Sweet.
We
adjourned to Platinum Mall (the mall for wholesale shopping). It is
rather similar to Argyle Center in Hong Kong, just that there are many
more stores. The brochure indicated that there were in excess of 10,000
stores. Because I didn't have anything in mind, I did not make any
purchase. Furthermore, we were quite tired out from the travel.
Massage beckons! We retreated at for a massage at Central World. Hourly massage was in the range of 300 to 500 THB. Oh la la!
The
shops in the mall close real early. When we were done with massage at
around 9 pm, we could not find any dining place. The only option was
KFC. And it was really mediorce.
Early
on the next morning, we departed the hotel for one of the floating
markets that was about 1.5 hours drive from Bangkok. It was burstling
with activity.
Before
we knew it, we were on one of the tiny boats! All the other boats were
in close vicinty and the drivers had to manoveur carefully as there were
boats travelling in the same and opposite directions at the same time.
 |
| Traffic Jam |
We
didn't stop once to buy any of the items (maybe cos we were trying to
maintain our balance and trying to stay cool with the radiant sun). As
for the other commuters, they would be "pulled" over to the vendor boats
if they expressed interest to check out the items on sale with a S
hook. It ended rather quickly and we were also hoping to leave this
place soon. Perhaps it was the weather that made it a little unpleasant.
The
guide brought us to JJ Mall (shopping mall close to Chatuchat Market.
We had our lunch at Black Canyon Coffee. The chocolate drinks were still
as good, but the Thai food did not really measure up.
We
had a stroll in the Chatuchat Market shortly. Wasn't a bit pleasant
with the hot weather and occasional rain. In terms of the variety of
goods, it is a huge lot! Tend to compare it with Ben Thanh market in
Vietnam. Perhaps it was more pleasant given that it was under a roof and
shoppers would not be affected by the weather changes.
5 of us hopped onto a pinkie cab as we made our way back to Central World (yes, again). After spending most of the time in Naraya,
we headed to Dragon Seafood Restaurant for seafood. We had quite a
variety of items and it amounted to about 600THB per person. I
especially love the mango dessert towards the end.
On
the last day of the trip, our group departed for two different malls. I
wanted to visit MBK, while Hoon and Dor decided to check out Platinum
mall again. There were not many changes to the mall it seems. Or it is
just that I can't rem well. The thing is there are many Jap restaurants
in a number of malls. XR, Sok and I had a simple (or not so simple as it
was steamboat) fare at MK restaurant.
We also had ice cream desserts at Baskin Robbins back at Central. The rasberry and lychee ice cream were refreshing!
We had dinner at Mango Tree as we await the flight. It was the last dosage of Thai food for some.
