bangkok!

i had a blast during my weekend stint in bangkok with my good friend L. we went food tripping, shopping, river cruise and sightseeing.

on our first night, we went to a restaurant near our hotel called Cabbages and Condoms (http://www.cabbagesandcondoms.com). 

The place was beautifully made, with lots of mannequins dressed in clothes made of condoms. 

There were also a lot of signs promoting safe sex.

L and I were so excited to try authentic Thai dishes (and we were so hungry) that we ordered lots of food. For starters, we ordered spring rolls and pomelo salad.

Then we ordered pandan chicken and chicken and prawn noodles.

L then ordered red wine while I settled on the summery pina colada

The place was packed with lots of people though we didn't notice them since L and I were happily chatting the night away. We haven't seen each other since Boracay (Dec 09) and it was our first time to be on a trip together (aside from the Corregidor day trip) thus we had a lot of catching up to do!

Sadly, we weren't able to finish everything (we were so full!). We were also supposed to go to Suan Lum Night Bazaar but then it was a bit far from our area and we were tired so we just decided to go back to the hotel and rent a dvd. We ending up watching Sorority Row (a passable slasher flick) and fell asleep.

The next day, we got up really early and headed to Chatuchak Weekend Market. The place was so big that by lunch time, we were tired from walking and from the heat that we went back to the hotel to rest. Before going to JJ, we were ecstatic coz everyone told us it was the place to go, so we ended up disappointed when we were only able to buy a few things (I bought denim shorts and couple of tshirts while L bought a nice dress and a cute necklace, couple of shirts and some tamarind for our family). Later back in our respective countries, we found out that there was a separate JJ mall which was air conditioned and were selling better stuff (Too bad - but at least next time we know where to go). I also found out that the Pullip dolls that I wanted were also being sold in JJ Mall! (but that's okay, I didnt bring money to buy the dolls).

On our way to the hotel, we spotted some hawker stalls just outside the hotel. We decided to try them but then we wanted to rest already, so we bought the street food and ate them inside our room. It was so cheap that was very filling. We bought fried chicken, beef and chicken balls, vegetables and shrimp fried rice and 2 coconuts! Yummy!

We stayed in the hotel for the rest of the afternoon, mostly just chatting while watching tv and surfing the net. The protests were still ongoing during these period so we were also selective on where we want to go. We learned from L's colleagues that Suan Lum Night Bazaar were now filled with protestors (Whew, good thing we didn't push through there last night!).

By late afternoon, we started to get ready for our dinner river cruise. We reserved seats in the Grand Pearl Cruise (www. grandpearlcruise.com) the day before. The cruise will stretch across the Chao Phraya River, with dinner buffet, live music and a Thai musical show while taking in the beautiful sights of Bangkok at night.
On the way to the pier, we saw a lot of red shirts hanging out in the streets, cheering and waving at every car that passes by.

Here's a pic of our boat and some of the food offered in the buffet.

 Me and L with our welcome drinks (a very sweet four seasons)

Some of the popular sites in Bangkok that we came across during the night. Too bad, both of us only brought our point and shoot cameras (not that we have better cameras.. hehe) so our pics were kinda blurry and the pics did not do justice to the lights and sights we saw.

During dinner, a guy was serenading everyone with some old songs. After that there was a short Ramayana skit that was played out. Then on our way back, a girl (who we suspect is definitely Filipino) sang a lot of dance songs and the audience were happily dancing.

Overall, we had a great time at the cruise. We were luckily seated on the open area so it was refreshing to just sit back and relax the whole night. We got back to the hotel around 10pm. We were talking about our itinerary for tomorrow. It was our last full day before I go back home while L goes back to work. At first, we were not planning to do some sightseeing (I just wanted to go to the Palace but I heard that the red shirts were in that area and I was that keen on going to countless temples) but after the cruise, we decided to take our chance and go to Wat Pho - with the giant Reclining Buddha and was right across the Grand Palace in the morning then all out shopping at the Centralworld.

Day 3 and we left the hotel at 8am. First stop, Wat Pho. The place was quite big, there were several buildings, statues and trees around the complex.

It took us a while to go over the area but we finally reached the Reclining Buddha..and were amazed by how big it was!! Like a giant that they tried to hide in a big house.

After the walk along the hall, we paid THB20 and got some coins that we had to put in each of the pots. We had no idea what this meant, we just thought it was a donation and we can make a wish. I dont remember what I wished though (hehe) but i'm sure it was about my family, friends and world peace.

Next stop was walking across 2 blocks to the Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. While walking, the guy in a tuktuk stopped us and asked us where we were going. We told him we were going to the Grand Palace. To our surprise, he said that because it's Sunday and some Buddhism stuff, it was closed this morning. We thought it was weird because we checked the internet last night that it opens at 8.30am. He told us instead that he's willing to take us first to other nearby temples (lucky Buddha, standing Buddha and whatever Buddha he can think of) and then he'll bring us back to the Grand Palace by 1pm. We were already skeptical and not buying it because we didn't care about the other buddhas (we didn't have time, we wanted to go shopping in the afternoon) but he was only asking us for THB 400 for the entire trip. But then he listed down that he will also take us to some jewelry and flower store that we knew he was just joking us so I flatly told him, "No". I think he was a bit shocked that I was very direct with him but at least he left us alone.

We continued walking to the Grand Palace (we had to walk a few blocks to get to the right entrance) and when we got there, there were already so many people.. and yes, it was open! (that sneaky tuktuk driver! and i thought Buddhists were nicer). We felt that the entrance felt a bit like Disney (hehe) hence L's happy smile.

Turns out the Emerald Buddha is also located inside so we paid the entrance and went in. Again, there were so many structures and statues on the way to the Emerald Buddha.

We did not get a tour guide and we didn't read the brochure so we had no idea what these all were!

We finally reached the Emerald Buddha and at the front entrance, we had to pour the holy water on my head before going inside. No cameras and food were allowed inside so we couldn't take pictures of the Emerald Buddha and there were so many people and there was a cord in front we weren't able to get close to it.

We left the Emerald Buddha and walked towards the Grand Palace. Wow, it wasn't what I was expecting! It looked a bit more British colonial. No one was allowed inside though.

We left the Grand Palace by noon and head to MBK shopping mall. We were so hungry that we just went in the first restaurant we saw. It was a casual dining Thai restaurant but we were so tired that we didn't catch the  name and just ordered our lunch.
We first shared a (really!) spicy chicken dish and ordered refreshing drinks.

L ordered the rice toppings while I opted for a noodle dish (with the soup on a separate bowl).

After lunch, we proceeded to walk around the mall but we were both disappointed because MBK looked like Harrison Plaza (the description in the brochures were more like Greenhills). So we took the MRT and headed to Centralworld. We ended up staying there til around 7pm.

For dinner, both of us craved for Korean food so L remembered that were a lot of Korean restaurants near the hotel so we ended up in a Korean restaurant. It was our last night in Bangkok and we were famished from all the walking and shopping we did that we just ordered a whole bunch of food!

By that time, I barely had enough bahts left (didn't make sense to withdraw from ATM since the ATM will be charging THB 150) so L kindly offered to pay for the entire bill (Thanks L!). So I promised to treat her to a nice meal when she's back in Manila :)

At night, L fell asleep early (because she had an early day tomorrow -- back to work) while I was busy packing my luggage.

The next day, L left for work while I was still asleep.. I left the hotel before lunch and just stayed in the business lounge until my flight.

Overall, we had a great time in Bangkok! We are looking forward to going back in the near future!