Bangkok, Land of Smiles (Part I)

Yay, FINALLY I have some time to actually sit down and get into the blogging mood.

Been so busy recently with my FYP (final year project) that I can't even have proper meals or rest 

( the boyfriend nags all the time on this but I know he cares, I'm lucky ❤ ).

Soooooooooooooooooooo..

Bangkok; The Land of Smiles, party city, lots of ladyboys 

and A HELL LOT of CHEAP SHOPPING!

Before I begin on my journey, few tips to share:
1. ALWAYS insist on metered taxi(s)
2. It's easier to shop with a backpack
3. Bargain, bargain, bargain!
4. Do your very own research online on the places you want to visit
(I'll relate all these to my very own experience below)

Day 1

We spent half of the day in Krabi and got to Bangkok around late evening. Landed at the Don Mueang International Airport because we took Air Asia and there's no BTS that's linked to it, so we took a taxi. The traffic congestion is REAL BAD during peak hours. 

After almost 2 hours, finally we got to our hotel, Chang Siam Inn. It's a boutique hotel, located very near to Pratunam Market and Platinum Mall (walking distance). 

Price: Affordable
Cleanliness: Good
Staffs: Quite helpful
Recommended: Yes

We went to Chinatown for dinner and I would say there's shark-fins, seafood, desserts and pomegranate EVERYWHERE. There's not much shopping can be done though as most of the shops were closing and the food are just okay. The only good bargain that we gotten was some stuffs from Watsons; the L'oreal's conditioner and Sunplay's sun lotion were really cheap.

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Day 2

Got up real early as we planned to hit Pratunam's morning market as I've read online that we can get REAL CHEAP SHOPPING there (I always do my research before my vacations). We got down to the hotel's lobby at around 6am and asked them for direction. They were all surprised that we are heading to the market that early, the only response we gotten was "the market doesn't open till 10am, there's nothing this early". After much hesitations, we thought why not go there and check it out? If there's no market, we'll come back for a nap.

After 15 minutes' walk, JACKPOT. Says who there's no Pratunam morning market? Seems like the locals know little about this place (tip #4). If I could only describe this market in one word, I'll choose HEAVEN! To be specific, it's a SHOPPING HEAVEN for GIRLS. Although it's not really that big, you will still be spoil by choices and the prices are REALLY CHEAP but with the condition that you must purchase wholesale (3 pcs and above). That wasn't really a problem as I had two girlfriends with me. 

Pratunam Morning Market

Before we leave to the market, there's locals whom were kind enough to remind us to carry our bags in front instead of sideways as there are many cases which the thief would just slice open your bag without you knowing. This is where tip #2 comes handy, the backpack! And true enough, about 10minutes into our shopping hunt, one lady was complaining to her husband about her bag being cut open at the side and she was missing some of her stuff. From that point onward, we became more paranoid and hold them bags closely as though we were pregnant women. We bought a whole lots of stuff from that market. One big tip, the market closes at around 8-8.30am, so you might want to sacrifice your sleep.

As for Platinum Mall, there are lot of choices too (floors and floors) for girls' stuff mainly but there are also men's stuff. If you want to compare, it's still not as cheap as the ones from the morning market but it's still okay. Then, we went to the infamous Terminal 21 to look see as I heard that the mall is made up of several themes. At the entrance, we had to went through security checkpoints like those in airports with a security watching you. The thing beeped and my friends and I actually stopped without knowing what to do while the security guy just smiled. After walking into the mall, then I realized that it was just part of the "Airport" theme (we were jakuns, I know). 

Notice the security checkpoint?

Just like an airport

This one really captured my interest

The only thing that we done there was have lunch, snapped some pictures around and visited every floor's washroom as all of them has different theme each. My favorites were the Paris and Greece ones, super classy. 

With the trusty travel partner

I'm a kitty ❤

We hit Siam Paragon next as my friend told me that it's a MUST to watch a movie while you are in Thailand as they have some cultural thing. Sadly, we didn't get the chance to experience it as the movies' timing were all off from our schedule. So, I am still curious about the cultural thing that he was talking about. We went back to the hotel to wash up and have a little rest before heading out for dinner. The next pit-stop after dinner was the Lebua Skybar @ State Tower. Instantly became well-known after the movie "Hangover2", this place is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay overcrowded but the drinks were good and the view from above was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!! 

The dining area

Bangkok at night ❤

Their price for a cocktail would be around 550thb (without tax), and I ordered the "Hangovertini" which was from the movie. It was good, worth the cash and I love the wind up there. But if you want a quiet place to chill and don't wish to be squeezed in a sea of humans, I would not recommend this skybar.

Next on the list is to party somewhere (Mr Boyfriend's to-do-list). Most of the websites or blogs would recommend going to RCA where most of the happening clubs are there but we chosen somewhere different. 

Grease Club

They have 4 floors but only the third floor was the real deal and on the 4th floor, you can have shisha apparently. The space was pretty small and they don't really have a dance floor but they do have a LED ceiling which was pretty cool comparing to the ones back in KL and they have really nice bartenders. Sharing a video below recorded while we were partying. If you followed me on Instagram, you would have seen this before. 

We left at around 1am plus, close to 2 and went back a little high but it was all good. Partied like a rockstar in Thailand, checked!

*One more tip, all clubs are only allowed to open until 2am. Apparently if you are still there after 2, the authorities could actually arrest you. We got to know this from our taxi driver while on the way back (thank God we left early as the club opens till 4am but we were all too exhausted to stay).

I guess I'll just blog till here for now. So, day 3, 4 & 5 will be up in the next post. 

At the mean time, hope you guys enjoy reading this. (:

Much loves, xoxo.