BKK Again & Again & Again

As promised, here’s the part about our lodging. I booked 2 hotels just in case the 1st one didn’t go well. Thank God I did that. The first hotel we stayed was Baiyoke Boutique Hotel, behind the more famous mothership Baiyoke Sky, part of the Baiyoke chain of hotels in the Pratunam area. Thinking that a boutique standard is Singapore’s Scarlet Hotel equivalent, I booked it without realising I was so wrong.

Photos of the lobby turned out ok,







But it doesn’t matter how nice the lobby is, right? The room is more important.



Far from the boutique standard I expected, the room smelt like last night’s seafood dinner with damp carpeting we didn’t dare to set foot on.

But nothing beat the view we had

Railway track means 2-hourly train passings, complete with authentic “choo-choo” sounds. Thank goodness we were too tired most of the night to be waken by it.


Nice yah? We swear from our morning ‘wakeup’ calls there’s a rooster living there somewhere.

Happy to check out of Baiyoke and into the 2nd hotel at LeBua, State Tower, Silom.

Welcome welcome…ooh nice…


Now we realised how we’ve suffered in Baiyoke Boutique…


LeBua, you had me at Chandelier.


6-star hotel does things differently. When we checked in with the reception, we were brought to our room immediately with the receptionist who ‘checked-in’ with us in the room, showing us everything and how to use the facilities.

Correction, I should not say “room” because what we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom suite due to full occupancy that day.

Well, I suppose we just had to make do. :P



Kitchen, complete with washing machine.

A surprise for the unsuspecting couple who accidentally selected the option “honeymooning” on the website while booking the hotel. Oh well, free cake is good cake.

A nice supper to look forward to.


Roses on the coffee table.


And chocolates.

It was then I felt this holiday was really coming together now.


The first time I had to shout to be heard because the hotel room was so big.

So that’s the living room & kitchen, now the rooms:

Ironing cum guest room


Masterbed room

Both rooms had attached bathrooms with separate tub & shower areas and Bvlgari toiletries.

There was 2 of everything – TVs, bathrooms, sofas and even balconies - 1 in the living room and another at the masterbedroom.

The view?


Breeze, the alfresco restaurant.

View at night:




All the balconies light up in sexy blue neon at night. Wonder what my neighbors are doing.

We also realized that the Baiyoke observation deck was a waste of time. The same view was right outside our balcony at LeBua.



View at night:



The pool:




With Jacuzzi area.


Thankful. Just thankful for our buffet breakfast with smoked salmon, grilled ham, fresh fruit juices and eggs benedict at the spread. Not to mention freshly ground soya milk complete with crispy mini youtiao. Photos not allowed, pity.

At night, we visit Sirocco, on the 64th floor, to lead the high life, in both senses of the word.

LeBua is also known as The Dome, and aptly so. The dome was visible from everywhere in Silom. Live jazz music from lady in orange on the right.

It’s hard to get camera night settings right!


Upon coming down the nice flight of steps feeling like a star.


Sirocco is a Mediterranean restaurant with a sky bar. While the diners dine and enjoy the view, the drinkers at the skybar can stand around them and look at their food.




Before drinks, slightly happy.



With drinks, very happy. What a sweet ending to my BKK trip.


This time, I left my heart at LeBua.

BKK Again & Again

Bkk is not only about shopping, some sightseeing is good for balancing out the frantic rushing from one shop to another. For that purpose, we visit Baiyoke Sky Hotel, the tallest building in Bkk, where an observation deck is created on the 80-something floor. Also because we stayed at Baiyoke Boutique, situated behind Baiyoke Sky, it was convenient to go.

Baiyoke Sky is quite grand, pity I didn’t pick the right Baiyoke to stay, but that’s another story for later.

The pool we were entitled to use but didn’t have the chance to.


At the observation deck, which we deviously slipped in for free. That’s a total savings for Bht360.


Ok, by now I think you get the point that Baiyoke is a VERY tall building.


Some boring cultural stuff at the gallery…


The BF has some fun…



Just what I needed for my phlegm…


Cheesy couple shots…


Oh, about the view…here’s some..





And then there’s more upstairs


An outdoor version of the indoor gallery observation deck. Apparently you can buy a dove for Bht50 and set it free here, though I think it might die the moment it flies out into the scorching sun.

The metal ground he’s standing is a revolving travelator that moves round the tower.


The view. Not much different from the gallery a few floors down.



It was so hot the photos looked over-exposed.


Dinner that day at a multi-award winning Thai restaurant called Baan Khanitha, in Soi Ruamrudee, for high quality Thai food in a traditional atmosphere at Singapore price. What a mouthful...

Really good tom yum goong, not too sour & not too spicy. Fires up your appetite.

Tamarind prawns

Thai salad & wrapped chicken.

We had green curry & mango sticy rice too, but no photos. All the dishes tastes so good. At Singapore price, I suppose the food has to be good. If you’re round the corner, I would recommend it for the relaxing dining atmosphere.

Stay tuned for final episode.

BKK Again

Having visited this famous Thailand capital for the nth time, I wanted to do a brief “highlights-only” entry of my trip but ended up with 120 photos I wanted to post. So much for ‘highlights’, I’ll probably split this trip journal into a couple of entries, also to make up for the lack of blogging these days.

So let’s see where a 4D4N free N easy takes me!

Khao San Road
So many times I’ve been to BKK, but the first time seeing Khao San Road, place of pubs, bars, angmohs and night activities.

Lotsa lotsa angmohs…


There isn’t a whole lot to do here, especially not shopping. Best to come when you’re hungry or looking for a place to chill & have beer, which was what we wanted anyway.


First, we searched for food…

…mini calzone roadside stall!


The satay here is different from SG. It’s heavily marinated and minced, kinda like a mushy sausage.

Chicken, beef & pork, they all taste the same.


But what could never go wrong is – Chocolate Condensed Milk Banana pancake. Somebody bring this to S’pore quickly please!


We find the least sleazy beer place to eat our roadside food and have some beer while watching people get drunk.


Watermelon juice for the lady and Tiger for the man. With what’s left of the most delicious roadside stall fried noodle I’ve ever tasted. Must be all the fish sauce, chili flakes, ground peanuts and sugar that gives Thai food such kick.


Me, greasy from the head & shoulder massage we had earlier in the day at Asia Herb Association. It’s really posh and affordable, I highly recommend.

If you are here over the weekend, a must go place is Chatuchak Weekend Market, a market so huge you’ll probably get lost among the clothes, furniture, accessories, household wares, plants, and animals being sold at the market. The animals! Oh how they tug my heartstrings!








…I want another puppy doggy!

3hrs is the limit I can stay in the sweltering humid environment of Chatuchak. After that, the experience deteriorates in accelerated fashion. On to the next shopping site, city centre Siam.


Typical Siam traffic. What a bugger.


To Siam Paragon for my favourite takeout soup. This time I try black chicken herbal soup and the flawless lobster bisque.


And Food Loft at Central Chidlom for this wonderful banana fritter with ice-cream. Inside the fritter contains not just banana, but chocolate cake, pear & pineapple. How do they make it? Anyway, it tastes lovely and very fine for food court fare.

And then as we strolled pass Siam Centre, we saw 2 phenomenons happening AT THE SAME SHOPPING CENTRE, SAME TIME, in separate atriums.

Thailand’s F4…handsome youths, spikey gelled hair with slick dance moves winning shrieks from every teenaged girl.


VS


“What do those guys have that I don’t have….”

......

At night, we go to the night version of Chatuchak – Suan Lum Night Bazaar. Contrary to the rumormill, this place is still very much buzzing with business and life.



The golden gate of Suan Lum


Rows of endless shopping…


The kinda restaurant surely meant for tourists only…


I rather eat at the centrestage hawker stalls. Yep, the stage with lip synching performers is still there!

Suan Lum is another good place for beers



Beer makes him happy.

To be continued…

Heartbreak

My dog decided to try to end his life a couple of weeks ago by swallowing a broken rusty needle.


Due to his “vacuum cleaner” attitude towards life, we discovered something was wrong with him after 1 week of constant vomiting. The x-ray result was undeniable, and a surgery was unavoidable. To make the decision of bearing anesthetic reaction and internal infection from the surgery versus him dying from the needle was one of the worse moments of my life. Needless to say, I did not have much choice, it was either take out the needle or die.

The vet removed the needle successfully in a 2.5hr surgery.

It was a broken needle about 3.5cm long.

See it, near the words “Lab Test/X-ray”.

However, the vet noticed complications with his intestines and suspected thread might be stuck in there. However when she opened up his intestines, she could not find any thread.

Poor guy was to stay in the clinic for 4 nights for further testing and monitoring due to his intestinal problem.


He pain, I heartache.


More heartache for me to see this. Both his paws were black & blue from the intravenous antibiotic drip and he did not like his clinic stay.


Shaved belly for the op.

And this is the scar from the op, with stitches attached. Seeing this often made my toes curl. And even more so when I have to wash and apply cream on that area twice a day.


Finally after 5days at the clinic he was released on good (intestinal) behaviour. How happy he was to be home. I could also heave a sigh of relief for not losing my beloved dog so early.

Happy to be reunited with his comfy bed again.

With the lampshade round his head he was so miserable. Under supervision he was allowed to go without it and boy did he miss licking his paws!



He had also lost weight from the ordeal. See, he actually has a waist now.



His fashion accessory for 2 weeks.

Update: Homie is fine now, hopefully he has learnt his lesson to stop swallowing inedible things!


Oh my baby, what will I do without you!

Encore to Big Girls’ Ride

Ending a scenic experience with altitude, we land on Earth and felt a familiar growling in our bellies. Afterall, it was dinnertime and unlike other girls, we eat!

Wanna make a guess where we went? It’s a place with long long long optic fibre lightings!





I’m so in love with the lights I’m gonna convince the BF to install them over our dining table in our new home.

So…where did we go? A hint:

The lights can change colour!!

Ok, I must be super suaku but ever since I went bankrupt from buying my house I haven’t visited any entertainment spots.


K lah, another hint. The place has a band with a very very big diva. But strangely the diva had a very small voice. Or was it the man who sang? Or was she a man? I donno, I don’t want to go there…

Still can’t figure where we went?

Yeah, we went to The “dwnd” Room spell upside down… drunk before we start drinking eh!


While waiting for food, what can we do? Take photo!

Rose wine arrives, yay! Looks like ribena but is a mix of white & red wine. Interesting, but can’t beat my apple martini

Forgive the excessive flash, but it’s actually an inverted pyramid glass sitting in another glass filled with iced soda, so it’s 2 drinks in 1.


Finally food arrives. Fish & chips, baby back ribs, garlic bread, mash potato, it was all good.


Best of all were the desserts. Warm chocolate cake with ice cream is always a must. Lemon tart is not bad too.


Oops, here we have a bdae girl. Which explains the Flyer excursion and glamorous dinner.

Happy Bdae! May your wishes of “no need to work, have lotsa money and travel the world” come true one day. Don’t we all wish for that on our bdaes….

Big Girls’ Ride

Anyone who does not know about that big circular structure at Marina Bay obviously never takes the ECP or reads newspapers. It’s called the Singapore Flyer, currently the world’s largest observation wheel offering panaromic and breathtaking views of our city and beyond, and it’s MY turn to ride it finally!

How upclose have you been to the Flyer? The closer you are, the smaller you feel.


Coming out of the carpark, this is what greets you – an unobstructed view of the flyer.

What I didn’t know was occupying the central atrium is a built-in rainforest called the Yakult Rainforest Discovery.

It has tropical trees and shrubs, lush vegetation,

streams,

mini waterfall,

and lotsa fake mountain rocks made of cement.


Lu caught this in between the fake rocks of the rainforest. She does have a bit of a photographer in her!


The rainforest is beneath the wheel, as deduced from the white steel legs everywhere. So when you look up, you’ll see this,

and probably also a view of mini-skirt-wearing-girls.


Bit scary to stand under the wheel.


We take some group photos at boarding time!




Didn't you know that Sat night is Mambo night in the Flyer? Hehehehehe!


This is the cabin.
Once inside the cabin at a low altitude, there isn’t much to do except take photos of each other.






OK! After gazing at my gorgeous friends and I, you may proceed to gaze at the scenery.

This is taken at a rather low height.



Looking around the Flyer,

There are cafes and restaurants within the premises and this is the alfresco part of it.


Marina Bay view.


Amphitheatre.


And a certain death.


It gets exciting as we approach the top.


And a little nerve rattling as we start rolling downwards..


Steep man!

Snapping photos in an anticlockwise direction, there are a few distinct sites which I attempt to classify:
1) CBD

One of these buildings used to be my office.




You can see I’m linking towards the floating stage.

2) The floating stage





3) The IR in progress

Right side,

Left side.

Total. If you want to make your money’s worth, I suggest waiting til the IR is completed before taking the ride. If not, all you’ll see is this ugly mess.

4) Golf course either Superbowl or Marina East


Evening view.
I apologise for the slightly cloudy photos, it rained earlier in the day and the cabin windows were slightly fogged up from the air conditioning within.

5) Tanjong Rhu & the other rich people apartments.

The Flyer is yet another thing they can add to the already swelling value of their homes. Whatever. I’m not jealous. ;P

The ride took slightly over half an hour and it was breaking evening by the time we came out. Just in time to view the wheel in its night colours.

Red

With the zhar bor who is very hard to ask out.


Blue


Orange


Green


White. Gosh I think we were quite bo liao to wait for all the colours…


And we end of with our favourite purple!

Lovely ride, lovely Singapore, lovely friends!

Showflats

An afternoon at Habitat Forum @ HDB Hub Toa Payoh. The entire 3rd floor of this place is a mock up of typical 2room, 3room, 4room and 5room HDB flats layout. It’s a good place to visit for interior design ideas and a feel of what government flats these days look like.

Starting with 2room flat

If you have ever visited 2room flats in Bukit Merah, you’ll know how unrealistic this showflat is.

No 2room flat occupant will do up their abode like this ‘studio apartment’ feel because they are either very old, very poor or a very huge family with many kids and belongings.


Masterbedroom and the ONLY bedroom.


Even I alone cannot live in a 2room flat…with a wardrobe this small, I just can’t!

Mosaic for kitchen wall??? Try cleaning up the grease between the tiles man…

In case you are wondering why everything is blue, each mockup has a theme….I think blue fits the mood of a 2room really well. That’s how I’d feel living in a 2room flat with a husband & 2 screaming kids!!!

Let’s UPGRADE to 3room now!

This is what greets us as we stepped through the main door.

Booth seats for your dining table, anyone? Cute huh…



1st bedroom.


Masterbedroom.

Notice that the mirrors beside the masterbed is actually a wardrobe on the opposite side!

The opposite side! This created a walkway corridor before entering the room, and also blocking out the attached toilet. Good idea! But no mirrors beside the bed for me….too distracting…


Blurry kitchen…

Mood lifted after seeing the 3room flat now? Let’s see the 4room!


Nice modern feeling upon stepping through the main door.


Shoe cabinets are always good & practical…but mine will take the whole bomb shelter…Pointless shelving on the wall, not my style.


Ah Longs or Man U fans will like the splash of red across the wall while they eat…


Raised platform bed with lights coming from under…am seeing a lot of this, is it the new interior design fashion? Then I must follow!


This is blur because of the glass. Cool yah! The wall has been replaced by glass for this study room.


Masterbedroom.
The black headboard is actually a very nice textured material that extends all the way up to ceiling. Very dramatic.

The bf appreciates…


Built-in wardrobe for masterbedroom.


All toilets look the same, so only 1 is pictured.


Kitchen quite spacious. I am standing in a yard area to take this photo. A yard is good for hanging clothes, washing machine etc etc…I always like practical usable spaces. Which makes me wonder why I bought 2 humungous balconies…

Think the 4room mock up is nice? U ain’t seen the 5room yet!


This is one part of the living room.


This is the other part.


And this is the other other part.

Separated by stringed curtains and wooden paneling. If this flat were a woman, she is alluring & seductive.


Beside the living room, the dining room.

But alas, after spending all their budget on the gorgeous living room, the 3 bedrooms look pretty normal...





Masterbedroom uses same wallpaper as living room.

And I forgot to take picture of the kitchen coz we kept ‘wowing’ at the living room…


I can only imagine how rich the supplier must be to have HDB as their customer…


Anyways go visit! I’m always excited & happy like a child when viewing showflats, but maybe that’s just me…