Bangkok Holiday Trip - June 2017

***The following is the summary of the Bangkok Holiday Trip (June 2017) as experienced by Edwin Ang.***

Yes, I am back! Before I begin on this write-up on my experience in this trip, I would first like you to visit each separate day from my own account. This is to give you a little background to this summary I am going to write:

To visit Day 1, click Day 1! (22nd June 2017)
To visit Day 2, click Day 2! (23rd June 2017)
To visit Day 3, click Day 3! (24th June 2017)
To visit Day 4, click Day 4! (25th June 2017)
To visit Day 5, click Day 5! (26th June 2017)
To visit Day 6, click Day 6! (27th June 2017)
To visit Day 7, click Day 7! (28th June 2017)

Ok so now, I assume you roughly understand what went through for the whole trip. Now to the main point. Roughly a month ago, I was still working for the NYP bursary department, with this 3 other colleagues, namely John, Fenhui and Yutong. The 4 of us were hanging out quite a lot during those days so naturally we wanted to make full use of the Hari Raya long weekend. It was Yutong who first made a casual remark that she wanted to visit Bangkok.

And then the rest of us thought that was a pretty good idea. So a plan was formed. We wanted to only go on the Friday and return on the Monday, but the plane tickets were so expensive. At half the price, we get to stay 2 more days if we go on a Thursday and return on a Tuesday instead. We only booked the plane and hotel one month prior to departure. I felt that was very rushed, but it was still smoothly done.

Fast forward a few days after we completed the booking, we got fired from the job. Don't ask me why because I don't know why too. That's it. The trip to Bangkok is not a break from work anymore, but a random holiday trip in the month of June. Nonetheless, we stand firm that this trip is gonna be a good trip.

Fast forward again to Day 1, we arrived at the airport in high spirits. All 4 of us were excited for the trip. We reached Bangkok safely in the evening and spent the night exploring the place. We ate some street food, got lost at some ulu place, visited a night market and caught a movie together. We got our first-hand experience at Chang beer! It was a pretty good way to start the trip!

The street food over in Bangkok are super cheap. But, not many can handle its nasty oily nature. It is good only for small bites, not to fill your entire stomach. The movie experience is similar to Singapore's. So if you have better things to do than a movie, go and do your better things!

Thankfully, our hotel provides us with breakfast every single morning so we have one less meal to worry about. I tell you, Budacco is considered one of the best value hotels in the heart of Bangkok. Nice clean rooms with amazing service, not to mention the location of it. The Pratunam market is just a stone's throw away and there are tons of shopping malls to shield you from the prickling heat.

We went Bangkok without a solid plan of what to do on each specific day so we only planned where we wanna go when we woke up each day. Day 2 was starting to get a little confusing so I ended up leading them to walk on railway tracks for an hour. It was a good experience for me but maybe not for the rest, and definitely not for Yutong. (She hates walking long distances)

Of course, we checked out the Thai massage at night. If there is one thing Bangkok is famous for, it is their Thai massage. I don't usually go for massages so I can't compare the Thai massage to any other kinds. But I was thankful that the parlour we visited is an extremely clean one. It feels good to have someone stepping on my back and loosening up my muscles.

Day 3 got a little better. We visited an elephant zoo and spent half our day there. Elephants are sacred animals in Thailand so it is a must to see those beasts perform. It was an eye-opening experience to how zoos in other parts of this world operates.

We tried to visit the Chatuchak market at night but most stalls were closed. Our improper planning caused us to wonder why we are walking down a closed market sometimes. The huge learning point for us is that we really need to have a proper planning, in other words, a leader. Unfortunately, I didn't feel good about leading in this trip because I would be leading them to crazy adventures instead of relaxing shopping sprees.

Finally, we visited the full market on Day 4. There was so much to see and buy but we didn't buy much. John and me only wear a specific kind of clothing (sports clothes) so our range was very limited. The available sports clothes were of quality that couldn't meet any of our expectations. So we did not buy clothes at all.

Food wise we were pretty much afraid to spend because of the general hygiene in Bangkok. I bought a ukulele from the Chatuchak market so I am considered happy since I spent some money. We tried visiting Pat Phong at night and was scarred by the amount of sex clubs in that area. Pat Phong is a super dirty place to go at night. Lesson learnt.

Day 5 was sight-seeing day for us, finally. We visited the Grand Palace and went on a useless boat ride. Apparently, the language barrier was too much for us that we just went along with any plan that was thrown at us. That is how we got scammed so easily. Granted, it's better to get scammed and have something to do than to stone and nua on the hotel bed.

The tourists attractions were so freaking crowded. Most of the tourists are Chinese and they just pushed and squeezed their way through. We were so done with walking around aimlessly in the huge sea of human sardines. The hot weather only made things worse.

But at least we got to take a few photos so it's all good. As a happy-go-lucky person, I tried my best to cheer everyone up. It wasn't easy, but I didn't stop my jokes. I can feel the atmosphere getting lighter each time so I was quite happy.

The Big C supermarket there was the bomb. Like every other overseas trip, a trip to a local supermarket is one of the best things to do. The 3 of them stocked up on enough food to last them throughout World War 3. I, however, did not buy much as my money is almost gone.

The interesting aspect of the Bangkok supermarkets is, they allow us patrons to reuse their cardboard boxes to store our items. How cool is that! I wished Singapore would do the same instead of selling the cardboard boxes for their own gain.

Day 6 was go home day and we never felt more relieved. Honestly, this trip, half the time we are lost travellers. It still felt like a holiday break, but I feel stressed at times when issues pops up. Issues like not knowing where to go, or ending up in a dead street, makes me feel like crying. But I prefer to look on the brighter side of life; at least we are getting lost TOGETHER. :)

Getting lost can be fun if we are all the adventurous kind. But we're not. So if we are going on a trip again in the future, I'll be sure to plan out detailed proposals and backup plans. 

All in all, the trip itself was fun. I have never been to Bangkok so the first-hand experience will always be a good experience. The communication can definitely be improved and we would definitely appreciate a slightly larger group, especially since we have 3 extroverts on this trip.

And that's pretty much it.

It is I, Edwin Ang, signing out!

Bangkok Holiday Trip (June 2017) - Day 6 of 6

***The following is the account of the first-person-view from Edwin Ang.***

Woke up super duper early to type and complete my previous few entries. We went down for breakfast at 9:30am before going back up to nua on our beds until it was time to check out.

We checked out of the hotel at 12pm sharp and left our belongings at the hotel lobby. We pushed the Big C trolley cart and dumped it in some alley. Then we headed for a massage for the last time. We paid for a 90 minutes massage and it felt ever so good.

There was this noodles stall beside that we had to eat at because it looks and smells good. And my goodness, it really tastes awesome. Hands down one of the best foods we have eaten throughout the trip.

We then rushed back to the hotel and after gathering our items, we flagged a cab for the airport. We reached just in time before the luggage counter closes. We checked in 3 more additional items due to the sheer amount of stuff there are.

Then we went inside DMK airport and had to take a bus to board the plane. The sad thing is, we had a half an hour delay. Of course, when we took off, things went well.

AirAsia have really great pilots. I did not feel my ears pop as much and the ride felt really smooth.

We reached Singapore in a flash, at 9pm Singapore time. I quickly headed towards the alcohol department to get my Vodka. Yutong wasn't buying any so I get to use her passport to get another bottle.

When we were collecting our luggage, I accidentally took the wrong one for Yutong. It clearly looks like hers but there was a little too many stickers. I commented on the stickers but she just smiled blurly. Then me and John hitched a ride in Fenhui's parent's car.

On the way back, Yutong called me to tell me she took the wrong luggage. I felt so awful. If I were on the train, I would've headed back. Thankfully, she managed to find the dude who took her luggage too. John and me alighted at Bukit Panjang Plaza. He walked home while I waited for my parents.

Reached home at 11pm and that concludes my Bangkok trip!!!

Click here to return to Summary page!

Click here to go back to Day 1!

Bangkok Holiday Trip (June 2017) - Day 5 of 6

***The following is the account of the first-person-view from Edwin Ang.***

We tried to wake up super early to go visit the temples and the Grand Palace. We tried. The girls managed to get up earlier than us boys so good job to them. We ate breakfast at Budacco before heading back up to plan for our day. We have come to a conclusion that taxi rides costs as little, if not lesser than Tuk Tuk rides here in Bangkok, so we will stick to taxi rides all the way.

The girls came up with a solid plan of cabbing to the Grand Palace right away. It was a good plan. So we flagged a taxi and the ride to the Grand Palace costed us 200 baht. When we reached, we were told that the Grand Palace is closed for lunch. We were offered a boat ride around their village instead.

Those are fishes by the way

I don't even know why we accepted and paid 500 baht each for that boat ride. There was nothing much to see and it was over in 30 minutes. Thankfully, we alighted at a jetty nearer to the Grand Palace entrance. We purchased a patterned bottom each to enter the Palace. My "long pants" costed me 100 baht.

And we were right. Those without long pants are not allowed to enter. We went in and realized we need to purchase tickets to go all the way in. 500 baht per ticket. We paid and entered. 

The whole place was so freaking crowded and hot that it was a torture to navigate the place. Most of the tourists are Chinese and my, they were pushing hard. It was a huge giant sea of humans.

The temples were architecturally astounding, but otherwise boring to a Christian like me and John. And the place was so confusing that we don't even know which one was the Grand Palace.

I think this is the supposed Grand Palace.

We wanted to visit other attractions listed on the ticket but all others were closed on a Monday. We got tired of getting scammed and walking around aimlessly that we left the area and headed back to Pratunam at 3pm. Cab ride was 250 baht this time.

We alighted at the Platinum Mall and decided to settle our lunch there. There was this food court at level 6 which reminds us of Singapore. So we decided to eat there. My goodness, the food was so good. I ate my roasted pork as usual and drank the Thai milk tea. The milk tea was the bomb. Total coast of the meal is around 200 baht.

We went back out and hired another cab to take us to Chinatown. It is a supposed tourist attraction too. But when we got to Chinatown district, the entire place was dead. Like legit dead. All the shops are closed and streets were empty. We tried hopping around a few streets but we eventually concluded that we don't know what we were doing.

I managed to change another SGD100 for 2413 baht so I was quite happy about it. We then took a cab back to Pratunam. Both rides total was 400 baht. Yeah, 400 baht which just flew like that. We headed to Big C supermarket to buy some stuff home.

And yeah, that was the most legit thing we did today. I bought only 4 packets of chewing gum home. Then I grabbed a few Singha beers and a ready-to-eat chicken. Total spending at Big C for me was 611 baht. Not so sure about the rest. I know Yutong spent around 1k baht. She really took the whole place with her.

Well, the cool thing about supermarkets in Thailand is, they provided cardboard boxes for you to put your items in and check them in at the airport. How cool is that. We grabbed scotch tape for 24 baht at the counter and proceeded to load our items.

It was quite fun stumbling here and there just to make sure everything is in place before taping it up like a Christmas present. Then we just pushed the whole trolley cart back to Budacco. Randomly crossing the heavy traffic like a boss pushing a trolley cart, that itself is memorable. We even almost got knocked down by a trailer. Whew!!!

Then we headed to the Budacco dining area and chilled there. Drank beer and dismantled my chicken. Supper never felt so good. Was a little tipsy when we headed back to our rooms but we still managed to sit down for one hour and play card games. Finally, I got Yutong to game mode on. And I felt first hand her competitive game sense.

Surprisingly, she was quite good at Big 2 and managed to guess my antics. Or maybe it's just the nature of this friend group. Everyone seems to know what's going on in everyone's mind. Yutong was super red on just one cider and the sunburns. It was a great way to spend our last night there!

The girls promptly left our room at 3am and I went to bathe while drinking another bottle of Singha. Got so drunk that I spilled beer on myself. Time to sleep yo!

Click here for Day 6!

Bangkok Holiday Trip (June 2017) - Day 4 of 6

***The following is the account of the first-person-view from Edwin Ang.***

Woke up at 8am and went down for breakfast. Same old breakfast for the past 3 days. Starting to get tired of it.

The first thing we did after breakfast was to travel back to Chatuchak Market by Tuk Tuk (200 baht). We went to the market at the wrong time yesterday and it was already closed, so we made sure we went early today.

The market was really huge. 8000 stalls. Wow. We went to sit on this free tram ride around the market first to check out what's there. Then we started our stroll. We bought some snacks first. Thai milk tea and ice pop were the bomb. Then we walked further down and I bought 2 tote bags for my sister and mother.

Then I saw this ukulele stall and I couldn't resist it anymore. I bought one for 2200 baht and I'm out of money for the trip. I will be left with 1000 baht for the next 2 days. How great is that!

Hugging my ukulele throughout the market, I was careful not to set my sights on anything else. After walking around for 2 hours, we went to the JJ Mall beside the market for our supposed lunch. Same pad thai again for 99 baht.

There was this kid playing the electric guitar to busk and I was amazed when I saw that he actually had a pedalboard! Then we took the Tuk Tuk back to our hotel (200 baht). The girls went back to sleep while me and John went for a 2 hour massage. This time, we chose a different palour and it was surprisingly better, except for the presence of one ladyboy. *Shrugs*

There's a hot tub for our legs at the beginning and there's a complimentary oil back massage. It felt so good that I actually fell asleep. I only awoke at the 1 hour mark when I was asked to turn around. The stretching was amazing. My body loosened up tremendously.

Then we headed back to find the girls and it was 7pm. We rode a Tuk Tuk (150 baht) to Pat Phong to check out what's there. Apparently there's nothing much there because the area is filled with sex clubs. We ate dinner at this street stall selling noodles. It was crazy good. Humble little stall with enthusiastic waiters who can speak English and Chinese. Wow!

Disappointed, we visited this shopping mall beside this BTS station. They went into this cafe called After You to have supper. Then we wanted to find some decent bar to drink and chill at. But we couldn't find any decent bar in Pat Phong. We had to Tuk Tuk back to our district.

We stopped and alighted at the Big C supermarket to buy my beer. The alcohol section was literally heaven to me. They've got everything!!! But the prices are comparable to Singapore's so price wise, it was meh.

After getting my daily Chang, we headed back to the hotel. I drank and went over to the girls' room to talk for awhile before heading back to my own room and fell asleep promptly. Day 4 ended on a drunk note. HAHAHAHA!

Click here for Day 5!