Thai Takes - Bangkok

Finally ... could find some time to ramble about my recent Bangkok trip. Although I didn't get to explore the city much coz we were there for just 3 days, I managed to snap everything there was to snap (Blogger's Syndrome! Ha! Ha!)

Day 1
Arrived at 5.30 p.m. and checked-in the hotel.

Day 2
Basically it's checking out the hotel and the surrounding areas (Sukhumvit Road) during the day and a visit to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar in the evening.

Day 3
Took the BTS skytrain to explore the Sukhumvit-Ploenchit-Siam roads.

Unlike the city which was so like KL, the hotel was a different experience altogether. The stay at the JW Marriott was a truly Thai experience. Picture this. The moment we set foot at the hotel, we were greeted by the smiling staff in their traditional Thai attire. Once inside, some exotic aromatherapic fragrance immediately calmed our nerves. In a corner, there's a PYT playing a soothing tune on her Thai lute. While waiting for the hotel keycards, there're the clay Thai Goddess sculpture near the lift and the wood carvings on the walls to admire. As for soft scape, orchids, lotus, torch ginger, chinese bamboo decorated every nook and crany.

In the room, the fruit basket was replenished every day with the local rambutans and bananas. The soap and shampoo were also of Thai "flavour" - they were based on local herbs such as ginger, jasmine, mint, etc. The housekeeping team - with their dazzling smiles and Sawadees - showed us the best of Thai hospitality. But my favourite would have to be their fresh orange juice with a local twist. Mula-mula minum terkezut because it's not made of sunkist orange but limau hijau. Lama-lama, kinda get the hang of it - manis-manis pahit. Cuma there's one Thai experience that I can do without - their "pork" culture. Nak makan kat hotel pun was-was. Nak tak nak kenalah jadi vegetarian...

Anyway, we later discovered the many halal restaurants (serving middle-eastern, Malay and Thai fares) along the Nana Nua (Soi 3) road and back alleys. Jgn tersilap pegi Soi 4 sudah le ... I do think the Sukhumvit area is a good place to stay if you are not on a shoe-string budget. The BTS skytrain also plies this route. If you are into middle to high-end shopping, just hop into the skytrain and it will take you to places like the MBK (which is akin to Bukit Bintang Plaza), Siam Paragon (Bangkok's version of KLCC), etc. If you're into flea-market thingy like me, the Suan Lum Night Bazaar is just 10 minutes away via taxi or tuk-tuk.

Overall, I would say that my Bangkok trip was worthwhile although I didn't get to bring back any imitation branded bags! Hu! Hu! I read in the papers that the Thai government had this massive raid in December last year. Really hard to find those good quality imitation Coaches and LVs. Rasanya kat Petaling Street lagi senang jumpa ... Besides that, I also didn't get to visit the floating market, the Chatuchak Weekend Market, The Grand Palace, The Temple of the Reclining Buddha, Jim Thompson's House, etc. Maybe next time (entah bilalah tu ...).