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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Bangkok Shopping Day 3 [Chatuchak Weekend Market, Thip Samai Restaurant, Mr Jones Orphanage Cafe]

Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Last post on Bangkok!

Although we were there for 4D3N, but the last day was really some last minute shopping at Platium Mall and catching up on packing so I'm not gonna have a separate post on it. 

It's a Saturday morning and we left the hotel (The 93 Hotel at Pratunam area) by taxi to Chatuchak Market. It cost us about 250-300 baht for 3 persons if I do remember correctly, and about 30 minutes to get there. We were really quite worried as it started drizzling here and there, but thank God that the rain eventually stopped, and we got quite a good weather due to the drizzle cooling off the entire place that morning.





We left the hotel at about 9.30 am and reached the market at 10 am, and spent the day there until about 5-6 pm in the evening, so remember to allocate one full day for Chatuchak Market. 

I'll be posting the photos as usual to let everyone reading have a feel of how the fashion is like at Chatuchak Market, but I gotta say that we enjoyed shopping here more than Platinum Mall as the prices were more friendly. 

If you've landed on my blog looking for Chatuchak Market Fashion then you should already know that this massive fashion heaven in Bangkok has many sections whereby you can get your clothes.

You should be looking for Sections 2-6, 10-26 for clothes, but when you're there I assure you that most likely you'll just be walking wherever you can find. If you feel that this particular section doesn't have what you want, move on to the next one and don't waste time. There are certain sections that you can see are way more trendy than the other sections (and prices are higher as well) so there is a good mix of both trendy pieces and basics. Below is a good map for reference!




Just a certain trend that I've noticed, most of the Asians (Singaporeans/Malaysians) do their research and land at the right places to shop for clothes in the different sections while the Caucasians will walk on the streets itself, buying from stalls along the streets and not inside the sections. They're missing out on the good stuff!

We decided to get a little snack from this friendly lady here. It was like twirled up potato chips with seasonings of your choice.

Where the cab dropped us, and one of the many entrances to the Chatuchak Market

The first shop we probably walked into was this shop selling all sorts of room sprays and diffusers. I actually got 2 bottles of oil diffusers that were at least 500ml (it's a big bottle) for 650 baht. It is really worth it as compared to getting it in Singapore. BUT, I totally forgot and decided to put it in my hand carry thinking it would break in my luggage. Yes, there is a NO LIQUID policy for more than 100ml liquids on board so I had to chuck it. It was such a waste. 






 Maxis selling at a pretty affordable price (150 baht). There were discounts as well as we bought quite a few pieces! It was 20% off total bill if I am not wrong.



Our favourite kind of shop, the ALL 100 baht shop! We saw two of them, and it was really no bargain, no frills. But the style were mostly vintage blouses and skirts, which were not really my kind of thing. 


Some of the blouses were really a good bargain for 100 baht (SGD 4).


Praise God, we found this shop selling coffee. The reason why we decided to get it is because we smelt the aroma of the coffee from a distance away. It has to be good, right!? It was 100 Baht (SGD 4) though for the coffee which is pricey but we got quite a tall cup and it was REALLY aromatic and sweet enough. Do give these coffee a try!

One thing I've gotta mention though is being on such a short trip really dehydrates us, especially when we are out shopping with almost a few kg load of clothes everyday. We couldn't bring enough water out with us and have to buy it every time. Do allocate some money for drinks along the way as it usually costs more than we would think. And stay REALLY hydrated because falling sick on a trip is definitely a frown upon and will not only affect you, but your buddies for the trip!

Goooood coffee



Random stuff you'll find along the way like these gorgeous household decorations

wish I could bring these home!

Got our leather goods from this guy over here!

the leather products are pretty good, look out for this shop. it's also cheaper than a few other shops we saw.

This shop served really good food (chicken rice mostly) at a decent price!

Price board. Ranges from 40~60 baht (around SGD 2)

This was glutinous rice and fried chicken topped off with fried shallots (it was amazing)

this was the more preferred plate on our table, with fragrant chicken rice and drumstick.

One of the better coconut ice cream was actually just beside this shop, so while we were eating the chicken rice we were busy eating the coconut ice cream as well. It was a weird combination but nothing beats having something ice cold under the hot weather!


My friend got her black backpack here for quite a good deal :)

Men's tee. They are usually knock offs of big brands like Super Dry.

One of the smaller shops selling denims at an incredible price (approx 100~150 baht).


near one of the train station area, where there are lots of street food

this is the queue for the thai milk tea


This area onwards (below) was one of the more trendy sections that I've mentioned. The prices have also gotten a bit pricier with clothes at an average of 200~300 baht. If I didn't remember wrongly it should be Section 1 or 2. It's also the section which I enjoyed the most!



TRENDY HIPSTER SHOES SPOTTED. they have platforms and even sliders.



I got this blue pair at 650 baht (SGD 26) in the end after endless haggling.

I wanted this pair of white platforms at first but they didn't have my size :(

This shoe shop claims to have only one pair per size. The shop keepers were quite friendly though, they even asked me for a shot after I bought the pair of shoes while waiting for my change. Guess they've placed me on their blog or social media. haha.

One of the "higher end" street with more stylish and upstreet fashion


After this stretch of shopping we were all dead tired, just longing for a huge couch to dive into. Unfortunately you can't get that at Chatuchak. We wanted to get out for dinner and decided to settle for Thip Samai to eat, after going back and forth wondering if we should head to Union Mall (another mall nearby Chatuchak with mixed reviews). We had to ask a few cabs before they even agreed to bring us to Thip Samai, which is yet another half an hour ride.

If you do not know, Thip Samai is famous for their Pad Thai (or Phaya Thai? I am so confused.). The place was crowded at about 7 pm, but it only took about 15 minutes for us to queue and be seated all together. If you ask me if this was worth the visit, I'd probably say not...:( 


They cook the Pad Thai in a systemic manner, almost like McDonald's

Getting there

The seating area

Fresh orange juice with chunks of fruit!

I thought it reeked of tangerine... It wasn't too bad.

Pad Thai

Honestly the Pad Thai it wasn't as heavenly as described by all the other food bloggers (unless our taste buds are spoilt by the choices there). My friend, Hui Ning said that INTER's pad thai that we had the previous day was much better. I would describe the taste of this particular noodles to be slightly moist, lightly seasoned and wrapped with a thin slice of omelette. There wasn't anything particular that stood out, even for someone like me who loves eggs/omelettes. I guess you can probably give this a miss if you do not know how to get there.

Ratings: 6/10 
Notes: Not worth the trouble finding it. Pad Thai were relatively plain and nothing special.

After dinner, we rushed back to the hotel to put down our stuff and rested before we head to Siam Area for our Full Body Thai Massage, as well as Mr Jones Orphanage Cafe at Siam Paragon.

It didn't take us long before we located Mr Jones as it was located at a mall. The entire decor of the cafe was fascinating, with the stacks of cakes on display. Unfortunately, we were there late at night, about 8 pm and most of the cakes were sold out. We didn't get to try the cakes we wanted to and could only admire from the menu.



Menu and prices


Chocolate + Kit Kat + M&M Cake. I /died/ of diabetes.

Rose tea which I enjoyed

Pancake that looked good


Honestly, I only admired the looks of the cafe, from the decor to the food. The rose tea was probably the only thing that I enjoyed. The cake was too sweet to begin with and the pancakes were awfully dry. I would prefer After You over Mr Jones Orphanage anytime. Perhaps it was also due to the timing that we went, most of the cakes were gone. 

Review: 5/10
Notes: Dessert didn't taste exceptionally good, and relatively pricey.

THAT IS ALL for our entire trip! I'll be sharing my Bangkok Itinerary below:


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Day 1 (Thursday)


12.40PM -- Meet for lunch @ Changi Airport

1:40 PM -- Bag drop by this time

2:20 PM -- Gate Close

2.40PM -- Depart SG

4.05PM -- Arrive at BKK

4.30PM -- Taxi to Hotel 

if not take Airport Express Bus A1

Address: 93 Soi Somprasong (Petchburi 17 Rd) Pratunam, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10400 (PRINT this http://www.the93hotel.com/location.html#!/page_info)

5.30PM -- Reach The 93 Hotel (BTS: Phaya Thai/Ratchaprarop) and check in, pick up an area MAP

6.00PM -- Walk to Siam Square and Mr Jones Cafe (Dinner first before dessert!!)

Dinner at Inter @ Siam Square Soi 9 OR Som Tam Nua @ 392/14 Siam Square Soi 5

7:00PM -- Siam Night Market (the stretch outside Siam BTS)

12:00 AM -- Cab/TukTuk back to hotel


Day 2 (Friday)

6:00 AM -- Pratunam morning market  + breakfast (street food)

10:00 AM -- Platinum Fashion Mall (Platinum 2 has more shoes/bags)

12:00 PM -- Lunch at Food Court

6:00 PM -- Cab to Dalat Rot Fai (BTS: On Nut/Udom but easier to cab) 

6:30 PM -- Dalat Rot Fai

10:45 PM -- Cab back Thip Samai Restaurant

11:15PM -- Eat at the Restaurant

12:00 AM -- Reach hotel

Day 3 (Saturday)

8:30 AM -- Cab to chatuchak market 

If by public transport : SkyTrain to (N8) Mo Chit Station (Sukhumvit Line), Take exit 1 and walk straight 100m to Chatuchak Park on your right.


Eat Chicken Noodle with Soup (must go before 1230pm) (http://foodiefc.blogspot.sg/2013/12/noodle-soup-with-chicken-at-chatuchak.html)

5:00 PM -- Union Mall  (it is at chatuchak area, and there is a night market at about 7pm~)

11:00 PM -- Cab back to hotel

11:30 PM -- Back to hotel



Day 4 (Sunday)


3:00 PM -- Make our way back to hotel

3:30 PM -- Take cab to airport

4:30 PM -- Reach Airport

5:35 PM -- Bag drop by this time

6:00 PM -- Gate Closes

6:20 PM -- Flight: BKK → SG


9:40 PM -- Arrive in SG


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Of course, if you had follow my entire blog, you would know that we didn't follow the exact itinerary. I think that's one of the thing for travelling, that you will have to be flexible in terms of your itinerary. Don't stick to the itinerary if it poses inconvenience. :)

That is all, thank you all for reading, I genuinely hope that all these can help in planning your ideal trip to bangkok especially for shopping. Do comment below if you need any help regarding planning of your trip or questions and I'll try my best to answer!

Set your eyes on the above,
Kristy  

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