Jamming Again At Last

We are at last back jamming again. The slight pain from my fingers is definitely worth it. I actually liked that feeling, i can't for my fingers to be harden again, from all the playing of guitar. We managed to jam 2 songs successfully. JJ even managed to capture it on video, i had this wild thought of posting it in youtube...hmm...

After jamming, it's all down to celebrating JJ's birthday. Great Don actually mistook his birthday and celebrated actually one month way in advance. But like what he mentioned too, another reason to get together. It's a plesant feeling of course. We even had a messy cooking session where me and Don became the head chef and started to cook 9-person share of food. It turned out alright, not as good though but i guess it's just a process of the making of great chefs, isn't it Donna?

JJ's birthday (in advance)

At last, i met Farhan after so long. He ORD-ed and even found a job. Happy for him all because he really spent his army days fruitfully. I guess it's very lucky of him to have travel to so many countries in this short span of 2 years...He's going to be a draftsman soon, something i should be doing but hate doing...oh gosh...goodluck to him...imagine facing rigid drawings, floor plans and AUTOCAD everyday...it's hell...

At Last.....

After countless of interviews and applications for numerous jobs, finally, i got a job. I'm glad that it was related to not only what i studied but also my interests as well, what's best is that i get to work at the same building as Dear's. Oh how great..


I can still clearly remember how demoralised i was when i went for my very first interview. NS certainly left me out of touch with the outside world, so much so that i flopped that very first interview. But then, it made me realised the saying 'success comes only after failure' and it tasted especially sweet. That very day, i wasn't in any mood of any day at all. I didn't blame myself, or did i? Any consoling by Dear wasn't of any help as my mind is just filled with flashes of the failed interview.


I was then motivated, changing my paths, and seriously, thanks to Dear's help in helping me find tons and tons of organizations. I send resumes after resumes, cover letters after cover letters and applications after applications. I was almost numb to it so much so that i nearly click on every 'apply job' button each time i see one.


The job i got arrived as a good news just hours before when Farhan was at my house. I can still remember how nervous i was when i first went for the interview. Thankfully, it was the most successful interview i've ever went. I had a good hindsight that i'll get a call from her after she mentioned that she will only call me after the interview. It's just that, i didn't expect the call to be so soon....she called me back that very late afternoon. I was due for 2nd round of interview at the officer itself by the deputy head there. Yet again, it went well and i was unofficially employed. I didn't spill out the beans because afterall, it wasn't official and i wasn't sure of it so i still continue with my job searching.


And finally 2 days after the 2nd interview, i received the call from them, telling me the details of the job being offered to me - travel consultant officer. I was thrilled. I'm going to go to the human resources department on Monday and sign the contract. At last.....i felt relieved...


Thank You Dearie..

Movies and more Movies...

Watched so many movies recently, both on movie theaters and off my computer screen as well....I shall give me ratings of them individually.

First, let's start with

'What happens in Vegas'

In the city of New York, high-strung stockbroker Joy (Cameron Diaz) is dumped by her fiance, while laid-back carpenter Jack (Ashton Kutcher) is fired from his job. Emotionally distraught, they both travel to Las Vegas where they meet in a hotel room that had been double booked. After clearing up the misunderstanding at the reception, they proceed to engage in a night of partying and never ending fun, resulting in the two getting married in an inebriated ceremony. Soon after the fog lifts, they decide to divorce, at which time Jack takes a quarter from Joy and drops it into a slot machine as she walks away. As he is leaving with the slot machine still rolling, he hits a $3,000,000 triple-jackpot. They were supposed to go on their own way but due to the $3,000,000 won by Jack with the quarter of Joy, the two must figure out a way to share it since they are still legally married. Once back in New York, a judge declares that the couple cannot divorce until they attempt to co-exist for six months, while being monitored by a marriage counselor weekly. They will be permitted to keep half the winnings from Las Vegas if they cooperate. If either party does not, their fortune will be confiscated. As the newlyweds devise more and more cunning schemes to undermine one another and keep the other's share, Jack and Joy ironically find themselves in a position they didn't expect...

A very funny comedy, one of the funniest romance comedy i've ever watched this year. The moments whereby they tried making things difficult for each other to the time whereby they discovered they really start to fall for each other, so much so that the money wasn't of any concern anymore. Highly recommended.

Rating: 5/5

'The Incredible Hulk'

THE INCREDIBLE HULK kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular superheroes of all time. In this new beginning, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk. Living in the shadows-cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross (Liv Tyler)-Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross (William Hurt), and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power.

I missed the first part of The Hulk if i'm not wrong, therefore didn't really think much of it, perhaps bringing the thought of 'oh, just another marvel movie, should be kind of expected with all the actions and blah blah blah'. I wasn't wrong but then again, it's much much better than what i've expected it to be. I would think that there's a sequel to it after Ironman appeared right at the end of the show, offering his help to capture Hulk.

Just another thought of all marvel movies, why must all marvel superheroes be 'tagged' with either a girl they like or a girlfriend?

Rating: 4/5

'Get Smart'

In the all-new action comedy Get Smart, Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) is on a mission to thwart the latest plot for world domination by the evil crime syndicate known as KAOS. When the headquarters of U.S. spy agency Control is attacked and the identities of its agents compromised, the Chief (Alan Arkin) has no choice but to promote his ever-eager analyst Maxwell Smart, who has always dreamt of working in the field alongside stalwart superstar Agent 23 (Dwayne The Rock Johnson). Smart is partnered instead with the only other agent whose identity has not been compromised: the lovely-but-lethal veteran Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway). As Smart and 99 get closer to unraveling KAOS master planand each otherthey discover that key KAOS operative Siegfried (Terence Stamp) and his sidekick Shtarker (Kenneth Davitian) are scheming to cash in with their network of terror. Given little field experience and even less time, Smartarmed with nothing but a few spy-tech gadgets and his unbridled enthusiasmmust defeat KAOS if he is to save the day.

Steve Carrell is like the Ben Stiller of the old times...he's definitely suitable to be a comedian or any role in a comedy simply because his face is already a joke. Funny! It's quite a lame movie but isn't that's what makes the audience laugh out loud most of the time? One of the funniest movie of the year...

Rating: 5/5

Gonna watch another two movies which has just been release - Don't mess with Zohan and also Wanted. It felt as though i'm back to those movie crazy days...

Xero4 @ Sentosa

At last, Xero4 managed to get ALMOST everyone to Sentosa. It's ages since we have gathered and not even to mention at Sentosa. The last time we visited this place is in December, half year down, we are here once again, will we be going Sentosa come December again? I wonder.....

Enough said, everyone was ready and by late morning, we hit Siloso beach. Sunny atmosphere, bikinis babes and half bare bodies greeted us. We soon find ourselves a shady spot, leave our bags and there we go, soccer first! Don knows how desperate i am to play soccer once again..

We played against other people shortly and by the half hour mark, JJ was already down and out with his so called bad injury. Gosh, he really does nothing but sit there, claiming he needs to rest..

It was really shagged playing beach soccer because of uneven terrain but nevertheless, very very fun. Frisbee followed shortly, it was quite a difficult sport i would say but very interesting. I always envy those who can throw their frisbee to the intended target so nicely, i just couldn't get the knack of it.

Then came the destestable volleyball. Somehow for some reason, i hate this sport. It never fails to make me feel pain, and it's not just pain but very very painful, as though someone's hitting my arm's bone with a hammer.

Now let's mention the most wonder event of the day. I managed to get myself injured, after some attempts to do some nice dribbling moves with my soccer ball. I ended up with a sprain at my left ankle and it swells right away.

Here comes the hunks

All lookings at babes...

The beach is nice

The weather's good as well....

We started play beach soccer and it's all so messy

Tired..

Shagged..

They must be figuring out how to play this difficult 'plate'

My swollen leg has already proved a barrier to my movement..

At last, Xero4 says goodbye to Sentosa!

My swollen ankle just keeps swelling, getting bigger and bigger, like a pig's leg. I delayed the consultation to doctor, thinking that i'll get quite a number of days of MC, in the end, i only got 3 days MC. Till now, it's still swollen and painful. I wonder how am i going to put on the boots come Thursday when i have to report to wait...how i wish i could extend the MC....

Post Exam Celebration

Her last paper finally came and she completed it with great relief. We celebrated for her months of hard work, stress and given her some reason to pamper herself. I stand to gain because of that as well.

Went to Ajisen. Whenever we went to Plaza Singapura wanting to find a place to dine, it seems that choices are so limited, even though it appears that there are many many food outlets.

Just 2 days after her exam, it's our Bangkok trip. Never mind the troublesome luggage and finding of routes..Never mind the hot weather..Never mind the jams and polluted air along the streets...all because we did enjoyed ourselves..

It's the 3rd time i'm overseas together with her and it's certainly fun..i want more trips with her...what's next Dearie?

Pre & Post Bangkok Trip

Now for the pre and post Bangkok activities i have with my army mates. Let's start with the pre. Congrats to Jay who ORD at last. His 28 days SOL (Suspension of Leave) certainly came as a shock. Didn't expect a soldier of his behaviour would get into this kind of shit. Thankfully, he was given a lighter punishment instead of being charged to DB (Detention Barracks). It's just a month plus before his ORD date that such unfortunate incident happen, so count himself lucky and unlucky as well bah.

Till now, with just 29 days left to ORD for myself, i asked myself, so is National Service harming or causing us trouble or is it doing us any good at all? It's the first in my very own opinion. Now i'll say why.

- One of my pal since Tekong all the way until the same camp, he got his leg injured with the possibility of being wheel-chair bound after a fall during guard duty.

- One of my best pal in army got his spine scanned during his last visit to specialist, just months before he ORD, only to find out that they missed out the fact that his spine is crooked, which might require surgery and by the time he get his dates for the surgery, he's out of service and no more medical cover.

- One of my friend went on to school after National Service only to realised that he has lost touch with the outside so much so that he need to start refreshing his stuff all over again.

- For me personally, other that those sayings on how army can change a boy to man, i think i haven't learnt much during my army days. Apart from some good friends i've made, nothing relevant i learnt in there is of much use to me.

Well, enough of those crap, back to the my friend's ORD. He, being a filthy rich guy whose family own a car distributing company and a large bungalow and 4 cars, invitied those NSFs over to his house for his ORD bbq party.

Shawn and Edmund

The ORD Guy

Civilian and Doggy

The rest...

For now, i'm officially left with 29 days, with few days of OFFs and leave to clear, plus MC, i'm left with like 10 over working days....count down with me!!

Post Bangkok activity: Pulau Ubin Visit.

My office, System Office as it's called, has its NSFs planning for this trip long ago, ever since March. Planned but never fulfilled. And at last, a day after my trip, i was informed of this trip. Yipee. Got a day off from my boss and off i went, joining the GUYS on this Pulau Ubin trip.

Reached Tanah Merah at 8.15am, only to find the weather not kind enough. After much discussion, we intend to stall the time, hoping god would do something about the weather. We went to have our breakfast first with Changi Airport, Popeye Chicken in mind. Wee!

Fancy eating fastfood early in the morning. Not those type like hotcakes or big breakfast like MAcdonald but fried chicken and fries similar to KFC. I have previously ate their chicken so this time round, i tried something new, their fish burger. Well, apart from the tasty cajun fries and the delicious whipped potato with cajun sauce, nothing else i ordered fancy me.

On our way to the airport at the Skytrain.

We were busy getting our friend to join us..texting here and there...

Soon, food filled the table

I think god heard our prayers and soon, weather turned fine. We also managed to get Edmund to join us, if not, his leave will be wasted totally.

The organizer and leader

When Edmund arrived, everybody started 'bullying' him. Not only he was late but also because there's simply nothing else for us to do...so he became the centre of attraction...

Shawn never fails to lead

At last, we pay $2.50 each for the boat ride which is just 10 minutes away. It's been a long time since i last went to Pulau Ubin, if i remember correctly, the last time i went is 7 years ago with my secondary school classmate.

On our way to P.Ubin..

The moment we reached there, we rented our bikes...and off we went. The weather is not too hot, more of cloudy, most probably because of the earlier rainfall. But still, we had our worries that god might play a joke on us again...

Off we went to our biking experience..

Due to the earlier downpour, we have difficulties riding. The uneven and muddy terrain made our ride much worse..Not only our shirts were stained by those mud but our bag as well...gosh. I sure have to thank Edmund for bringing my his slippers, if not, my new white shoes would have turned brown. Phew...

By then, some of us were shagged..

We have some serious difficulty riding up this slope...brakes were useless here..

The System Office Guys...

We managed to reach this quarry. The gate wasn't able to stopped us from entering it. It's a new view over the quarry inside.

Silly Naked Boys..

The nice view of the quarry..

We then made our way down into this path and found the lake there...We tried looking for some fishes but there are nowhere to be found..

Fish-searchers...

Enjoyable trip came to an end. Drizzling rain and muddy terrain are the only spoilers, other than that, everything is a perfect experience with the guys..We were totally shagged by then. Thankfully, we had our meal @ Changi Village - Nasi Lemak...Woot!

Shagged.....

Bangkok Trip..

At last, i managed to upload all the photos into my computer and into this post. Took my quite some time. So before you proceed reading, be warned that it's quite a photo feasting post. It's been 10 days since i'm back at Singapore from the land of smiles...

Lots of first time happening on this trip.
My first trip with Dearie and my parents as well.
It's my parent's first free and easy trip.
First time travelling in budget airline.
First time we went to Bangkok without any tour guide.

With so many first times, i took on the task of being the tour guide. So i prepared myself heavily for the trips. Thanks to lots of people as well who poured in their recommended places, guide and itineraries. I'm glad that ShuXia helped me with most of the planning. Along with that, she helped me in the booking of the air tickets and also recommended this great hotel as well. Kudos to her. Another main person behind this planning would be my brother. His 3 months stay in Bangkok certainly didn't go to waste. Those 'must-go', 'must-eat' and 'must-try' are all possible thanks to him. We managed to make our trip a more fulfilling one because of those tips from him.

After concolidating everyone's guide, i came up with by own after compiling them up. Therefore, introducing Kelvin's Guide to Bangkok

Siam Square / Siam Paragon / Siam Center/Discovery Center / MBK Center

Getting There:
Siam Square is in Pathum Wan district and is bordered by Henri Dunant, Rama I and Phaya Thai roads. Opposite across Rama I Road are Siam Paragon and Siam Center/Siam Discovery Center, which can be accessed via the Bangkok Skytrain's Siam station, as well as a pedestrian bridge; MBK Center is across Phaya Thai Road, and accessed from the Bonanza Mall, via a covered, air-conditioned pedestrian bridge.

Watching:
- 4 movie theaters to watch movies nightly

Restaurants
- Hard Rock Cafe – Popular tourist spot in Bangkok.
- Scala – Chinese restaurant on ground floor of cinema.
- S&P – A Thai restaurant chain with a Thai and international menu.
- See Fah – Another Thai chain of restaurants.
- Coca – The first Thai suki (Thai steamboat) restaurant chain in Thailand.
- MK – A popular Thai suki chain restaurant.

Shopping:
Aside from chain stores, such as a two-story Watson's pharmacy branch, there is a myriad of shops and boutiques, selling local designer-label apparel, jewelry, music. The Bonanza Mall, opposite MBK Center, is a warren of stalls selling discounted fashion items .

Mahboonkrong, or just MBK (National Stadium BTS Station) There's a heavy emphasis on clothing, especially the cheap and trendy teen type, but the floor devoted to electronics is Bangkok's best place to buy a mobile phone, MP3/4 player, digital camera etc. Thai, Asian & Western food and a section of the 6th floor has been dedicated to handicrafts and souvenirs. Don't miss the dried fruits and Chinese-style snacks like pork floss at Champ on the 4th floor, near the central escalator. The top floor has movie theatres and restaurants, and there's a large Tokyu department store bolted on the north side facing the BTS station. MBK is just across the street from Siam Square and has a connecting walkway through the perennially crowded Bonanza Center, which offers more of the same.
Inzeen Shoes @ level 1 and 3 has shoes sold at 199 baht. At Boots Pharmacy, ask for discount coupon.

Dining: Zen Japanese restaurants Location: MKB, Siam centre, WTCRating: THE BEST JAPANESE FOOD!

29 Plaza, 2nd floor of MBK links you to 29 plaza. Lots of manicures stuff and also teenage fashion. 200 baht for manicure and 200 for pedicure. Good skills but cramped area.
Pantip Plaza, 604/3 Phetchaburi Road. A six-floor shopping mall devoted to computer gear, and famous for its pirated media. Opens at 10:00. Closes at 20:00.

Siam Center (Siam BTS Station) [8] is one of the older malls in these parts, and has a good range of eating options.

Siam Discovery Center(National Stadium BTS Station) [9] is a newer, more upmarket addition to Siam Center. Loft [10], on the 3rd floor, is a Japanese home decoration store, with an array of bizarre plush toys on offer. Real authetic Levis stores which sells cheap jeans.
Siam Paragon (Siam BTS Station)[11]. Shopping mall right at the heart of Bangkok, anchored by the Paragon department store and also featuring the Siam Ocean World Siam Ocean World aquarium, the largest in South-East Asia. The fourth floor has a very good (if pricey) selection of modern Thai arts and crafts, as well as a large Kinokuniya bookstore. Great eating options in the basement, including a gourmet supermarket, two food courts and a canal-lined strip of fancy restaurants.

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Chinatown

Getting there:
Ordinary buses 1, 7, 8, 37, 49 and 75 will take you into Chinatown, some stopping on Charoen Krung, others on Worachak road (near the Thieves Market) though the river is normally a better bet due to the consistent traffic jams round here. The Tha Ratchawong pier is just a few hundred meters from Yaowarat road and Sampeng Lane.
Get off at the Ratchawong Pier, and walk up from Ratchawong Road to Sampeng Lane and Yaowarat Road. Ordinary buses 1, 7, 8, 37, 49 and 75 will take also take you here, but it's much better to travel by boat. The Ratchawong Pier is just a few hundred meters from Yaowarat Road and Sampeng Lane.
When you reach the Odeon Circle, a huge ceremonial Chinese gate marks the entrance.
An alternative to get to Chinatown - and to avoid at least some of the traffic - would be to take the underground (MRT) to Hualamphong station, and either a taxi or tuk-tuk from there.

Shopping:
- Pharcists and goldshops are all around
- Stuff ranging from garments, textiles, stationery. Roasted nuts are good as well. Usually cheap and wholesale.
- Be careful of motorbike and gangfights etc
- Antiques can be easily found at thieves market (Nakhon Kasem)
- Usually open until around 6pm…

Sampheng Road – Allow match and mix of certain stuff like accessories. Hair accessories super cheap.

Dining:
- Mostly Cantonese cooking, with dim sum, seafood etc.
- Yaowarat road restaurants are more expensive as compared to those in little sios (streets).
- Nam Shing - Yaowarat (Chinatown) , MBK 3rd floor. The restaurant to eat shark fin/bird nest....(bt might be slightly overrated) – worth the price, including the zi char.Recommend stir fried galic soft shell crabs but don’t order salad prawns...Average spending around 1200 bahts in total..
- T & K Seafood - Location: Chinatown (Not sure if they have one at MBK)The must try are sharksfins soup (only 300bath), birdnest soup (100bath). The prawns (big n juicy!), the crabs (very nice, so fresh n sweet)

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Phat Phong Night Market

Getting there:
Train to Sala Deang BTS Station

- Red Light District

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Suan Lum Night Bazaar

Getting there:
MRT Train to Lumphini MRT Station /
Take the skyrain to Sala Daeng & den transfer to MRT & alight at Lumphini. Suan Lum is within walking distance frm Lumphini MRT stn (note: do tk note of the diff lines for the BTS, i cant rem if i chged lines @ Siam to go to Sala Daeng)

Info:
- Night Bazaar opens from 3pm to midnight.
- Sells gifts, clothing, jewellery, fruit, CDs
- Similar to Far East but super cheap.
- Has a beer garden with lots of entertainment and food.
- Quality of goods are higher than those found in Chatuchak weekend market.

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Chatuchak Weekend Market

Getting there:
The Skytrain's Sukhumvit line runs north from Victory Monument to Chatuchak/Mo Chit, where it intersects with the Metro Blue Line. SRT's Bang Sue Train Station is also accessible by the Metro, and may be an option if heading north or northeast.

Sight-seeing:
Victory monument - Constructed in 1941 after the French Indochina War to commemorate those who lost their lives

Buying:
- Buy whatever you find because you hardly find the same thing @ other store again.
- Open 7am, reach there early to beat the crowd and heat, avoid this place is raining.
- Beware of pickpockets.
- Advice girls to wear spag so that you can try clothes on easily.
- 700 baht for fake Levis ¾ pants.
- Discount of 100 baht is considered a lot because storeholders aren’t ready to bargain.
- Plain T(60 baht), sun dresses(100-150 Baht)
- Bikinis (450 baht, free size)

Eating:
- look at price and menu before eating

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Pratunam Market

Getting There:
You can reach this market by BTS Ratchathewi station from there, exit down the right-hand stairs, take a right at the next main intersection and walk down Phetchaburi until you see Platinum department store, the market is directly across the street from Platinum Fashion Mall. Or exit at BTS Chidlom (Chitlom) station, turn north (right) at the Gaysorn Plaza corner and walk past Big C and Central World to next intersection.

Info:
- Largest and cheapest clothing market in Bangkok
- Closed on Monday
- Open 24 hour
- Sells also watches, handicraft etc
- Can go to Platinum Fashion Mall located in Pratunam if can’t find what you want in the market
- Platinum Fashion Mall is located on Phetchaburi Road, next to Pantip Plaza and opposite Pratunam Complex, a 14-storey mall. It is also near Central World Plaza.
- Platinum Fashion Mall - The clothes shops operate on the principle that buying 1 piece is a retail sale and warrants retail price, but buying 3 (or sometimes more) pieces is wholesale and you get the wholesale price. An example of pricing structure is 1 men's shirt retail 250 baht, 3 shirts wholesale 500 baht.

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Khao San Road

Getting There:
The metered taxis will try to charge you a flat rate of about 200-300 baht to take you to Khao San Road, rather than use the meter (which would mean no more than an 80 baht fare from the Silom district, or 100-150 from Sukhumvit road).
As a rule, avoid the parked taxis and hail a moving taxi (red light on dash board indicates available). Recommend to go at night.

Shopping:
- Great deals, anything from jeans to silk. And also silver jewellery.
- Most restaurants on Khao San serve freshly brewed coffee.
- There is a branch of the chain Coffee World (great brownies!) across from the McDonald's in Buddy's shopping center.
- There is a very nice Starbucks in a converted house around the middle of the street.
- Prakorb's House, 52 Khao San Road (see eat section) has good coffee, a selection of herbal drinks and a peaceful atmosphere in which to enjoy them.
- Iced drinks: Coconut milk, iced and drunk directly from a fresh coconut is a cheap and good way to cool the body. Coconuts are available at all the restaurants on Khao San Road.

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Must Do/Try

- Beer's very cheap. Avg 1SGD or less if you buy from supermarket.

- Baskin Robbins -- Yummy! Single small scoop 35baht Large scoop 55 bahts. Yum!

- Manicure and pedicure

- Thai massage

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This guide took me days, alongside with the map which i crop and edit and got it printed out. Plus most importantly, the wonder travel guide i got from the library and the map from my brother. He made that great contribution by lending us his Bangkok's map. To think that he has such a treasure. In short, that map is basically everything about Bangkok i would say. Even though maps are available all around Bangkok for free, especially at the airport (there are tons and tons of them, but seriously nothing beats his. Kudos to him.

ShuXia spent the effort to do a itinerary for MR crew and even though i'm not going with them, she didn't forget me. Thanks ShuXia. It was useful but in the end, we didn't follow it throughly but it's also thanks to her itinerary that we got our activies all planned out well. Seriously, 5D4N for Bangkok wouldn't be even. Like what my brother mentioned, he was there for 3 months and there's still lots of places in Bangkok he didn't managed to go. Think it's more of what your intention of going Bangkok..if it's just shopping, purely 5D4N would be just nice.

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Itinerary [Planned According to BKK Time] (Credit to ShuXia)

[DAY ONE] 5th June - Thursday
- 7.50am - Tiger airways TR 102 Flight to Bangkok
Remember to travel light, luggage limit per person only 15kg.
- 8.30 am – 9.00am
Reach Samran Place and Leave luggage with Counter, Check if they have any packaged tours.
- 9.00am – 10.00 am
Have Breakfast in nearby places.
- 10.00-12.00pm
Walk around nearby shops.
- 12.00pm – 1.00pm
Check In Samran Place and Unpack things
- 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Lunch at A & W near Samran Place
- 2.00pm – 7.00pm
Shopping at Siam Square Shopping Centres (ie. Siam Square, Siam Paragon, Central World Plaza) If no time, can skip MBK and 29 Plaza & other nearby shopping centres. Dinner there as well. Don’t have to spend so much here, not the cheapest shopping places. But can buy original levis, sports stuff, lingerie, contact lense etc.
- 7.00pm – 10.00pm
Make way to Khao San Road. (Taxi) Have dinner here and roam around Khao San until 10pm
Much night scenes and ang mohs.
- 10.00pm – 1.00am
Make way to Memorial Bridge Night Market (Sa Phan Poot)
Quite a lot of cheap clothes
- After 1.00am
OTOT

[DAY TWO] 6th June - Friday
- 9.00am – 10.00am
Have Breakfast at Hotel
- 10.00am – 6.00pm
Walk to Platinum Mall and Pratunam Market (turn right from Samran and keep walking straight, it's about a 10 minute walk.)
Wholesale Market. Said to be Best & cheapest place for shopping. Recommended for everyone to shop together to take advantage of wholesale prices. (3 piece and above)
- 6.30- 8.00pm
Have Dinner at Siam Area
- 8.00 –11.00pm
Walk whichever we can’t finish @ Siam
- After 11.00pm
OTOT

[DAY THREE] 7th June - Saturday
- 9.00am
Breakfast at Hotel
- 10.00am – 5.00pm
Make Way to Chatuchak Market (take Skytrain to Mochit Station) From the entrance of Samran hotel, turn right and follow the path., you'll turn a corner after an internet cafe and you'll see the steps leading up to Rachethewi BTS station
I’m sure you all have heard of CTC Weekend Market. Freaking HUGE place. Very hot as well, so please wear casual and comfortable.
- 5.00pm – 7.00pm
Dinner – Siam Area
- 7.00pm – 12.00am
Suan Lam Night Market (Take Taxi)
- 12.00am
OTOT

[DAY FOUR] 8th June - Sunday
- 9.00am
Breakfast at Hotel
- 10.00am – 12.00pm
Grand Palace and Sight-seeing
The place with tiger and piglets is called Si Racha Tiger Farm
- 12.00pm – 6.00pm
ChinaTown & Dinner there as well
- 6.00pm – 8.00pm
4-faced Buddha
- 8.00pm – 10.00pm
Healthland Spa Location: Sathorn road (walking distance frm surasak BTS)Tel no: 0-2637-8883. 350 bth for 2 hrs of thai massage. 850 bath for a 1.5hr aromatherapy massage Must make advance booking (at least on the morn itself for a nite massage) 'coz it's really packed. Their last massage is 10pm ending at 12 midnight
- After 10.00pm
Phat Phong Night Market
Sin City of BKK, Much nightlife, Many sleazy women and tiger show, haha. Also has night market here.

[DAY FIVE] 9th June - Monday
- 9.00am
Breakfast at Hotel
- 10.00am – 5.00pm
OTOT day [ie. Visit MBK, 29 Plaza or other places that you didn’t manage to complete in previous days]
- 29 Plaza is famous for cheap manicure and pedicures.
- 5.00pm – 6.00pm
Return to Hotel room and Pack Luggage
- 7.00pm
GATHER AT SAMRAN PLACE LOBBY WITH LUGGAGE and Check out of Hotel. Take Taxi to Airport. DON’T BE LATE
Can ask Lobby to help call for meter taxi
- 8.00pm 9.00pm
Reach Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, can walk around airport area and duty free shops.
- 6.00pm
Check In at Tiger Airways Counter
- 8.10pm – 11+pm (SG Time)
Board Flight TR 109 back to Singapore
Home Sweet Home :)

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I took the initiative of searching for maps online and found two good sites.

http://www.wikitravel.com/ and also http://www.mybangkokmap.com/. Without these two sites, my guide and maps wouldn't be so complete afterall. I sorted out the places of interest and did a map analysis, cropped them and got them printed out. Useful during the trip i must say. This time round, it's finally credit to myself.

Map of Chinatown

Samran Place in Red

Grand Palace in Blue

Khao San Road in Black

Phat Phong and Suan Lum Market

Pratunam Market, Pantip Plaza and Siam Area

And so with all of the above, i turned in early the night before to tried and get ready for that early flight, thinking that i must have ample amount of so that i'll be able to enjoy my holidays fully. BUT, i slept only for 3 hours because it's just not me to turn in that early....

Woke up at 3.45am and by 4.15am, all of us were on our way to the airport. Arrived at the airport, there's already quite a small crowd. Thankfully, we checked in first and managed to sit together. =)

Had our breakfast at The Hans before we book in.

Han's Breakfast @ Budget Terminal

Enjoy the difference (I felt the difference but certainly didn't enjoy it)

Flight were on time and left as expected. Great flying experience before the flight and not long after i'm up above those clouds, i began to feel sucky. Stupid seats at really awkward angle really made me feel very uncomfortable. Luckily, i have my PSP and mp3 player to keep my company.
We arrived at the airport as expected as well. Everything went smoothly. When we arrived, we got luggage and after coming out of the exit, we help ourselves to those free maps. Different maps with different kind of infomation, how to even get lost in Thailand!

Bearing in mind the advice my bro gave, we hopped onto a meter-charged taxi and we were on our way to the hotel. Jams already appearred even before we reach the hotel. It took us near 35 minutes to reach the hotel.

We were able to check in at near 10am. That's really good. So what Jo said is so true. We didn't need to wait till standard check in time - 1pm.

We dropped our lugguage back in our own rooms, have a quick shower (the weather is already unbearable) and out we go, A&W was all on, mummy and my mind. We followed our brother little guide and we go there in a moment after feeling kind of lost.

A&W!!!! Miss it?

The smell of the chicken, the taste of the fries, the sizzling sound of the root beer, all seem so familiar. It's like i'm back to the past. Really missed those food. I aimed their huge chunk size chicken, their root beer and of course, the chocolate sundae! Hmm...yummy!

Huge Chicken, Yum Yum!

Remember this?

Their debut curly fries...

The beer that never gets you drunk

Chocolate Sundae...yummy!

After lunch, we were ready to go for some real kick ass shopping. It's a great exercise as claimed because at last. We regretted after walking awhile because the weather is so hot, so much so that, umbrella and sunglasses became our best friends.

'A half-bucket tour guide'

It was easy being tour guide. I had difficulty reading their map, and it actually look me quite some time to figure out our destination and our location but then again, i'm glad i have enough brain to brave on the task on leading my tour group. =)

We shopped at MBK and bought lots of things. My shopping list became of no use when the variety of items there are too much to spell it out. We spend half a day there and soon, it was dinnertime.

We had our dinner at Shabu-Saki (Japanese Style steamboat). We queued for awhile before entering. It didn't disappointed us especially when it's considered cheap to us as well.

Their variety of drinks

Their soup are really tasty

Look at the La-La, it's so tasty that we couldn't stopped eating that

Japanese style of serving those food. Cool..

Again, upon brother special request, we got ourselves into their local products shop. They sells lots of products that cannot be found in Singapore. But best of all, their cashew nuts, highly recommended by brother. Dad bought 8 big packets of cashew nuts straights. He must be really nuts like my brother. They sell almost everything (dried products) you can name, Dried Mango strips, all kinds of nuts, chips etc etc..

Local Product Shop

Their pork floss roll, cashew nuts and cuttlefish strips

We went back to at around 7,8pm Bangkok time. Have a quick shower (it's free anyway plus it's hot!) and at the same time, check out our hotel rooms.

Their Mini-Bar

After all that, i started unpacking what i've bought for that day. I didn't even realised i've bought so much already. I'm so shocked that i went to check my wallet to see if i have enough Thai Baht to last for the rest of the trip, thankfully, i did. It's just that their stuff are really really cheap.

I love their cup noodles, ever since that Phuket trip with Don

What's holiday without alcohol at night, too bad nobody's drinking with me..

I love this pair of shoes, mere 12 bucks (Sing Dollar).

Two fake Armani and CK wallet, one for me, one for my brother.

I stopped the temptation of buying 3/4 in Singapore all because of this!


My XXX Man Utd Jersey! C.Ronaldo this time round.


Believe it or not, i can't live without this

That very first night in Bangkok, we headed to Khao San Road. It was great. On our way, we past by some really nice monument with the one below being Victory Monument. We arrived at Khao San Road shortly with a cheap cab ride. It was crowded with lots and lots of Ang Mohs.

Street stalls and hawkers filled the streets. I'm yet again in the lookout for some cheap bargains..

The Victory Monument


The Buzzling nightlife @ Khao San Road. Ang Moh rules here..

I'm not done exploring the hotel room. We filled up every single empty spaces we could find because there's simply too much stuff.

Messy room....housekeeper will have trouble..


Their toilet are really clean.



They even have a bathtub


One of our take-aways....

Dad had wanted to walk to the Siam area but i insist of taking the BTS as i've never taken one before. It's just for some experience sake. I regretted anyway because it was peak hour then. They still uses the farecard system which has long ceased in Singapore.

Their BTS Farecard

We arrived at Siam after just one stop. It's such a huge area consisting of Siam Paragon, Siam Centre, Siam discovery area. In between them, there's this super large parade square and it's Adidas have their event there..

Again upon brother's recommendation, we hopped into the Cream and Fudge factory where they served really nice ice cream. Dad and mum shared one mint flavoured ice cream, i took one . It was not cheap but then it's still considered affordable. It's however really worth the money. It's not too sweet and tasty at its own flavour.


My Mint flavoured ice cream.

We had an early supper that night as well. We went to MK restaurant at Tesco Lotus. It's a place yet again recommended by brother. He mentioned that everything there is cheap. It's just a super gigantic supermarket, a few times bigger than GIANT or Carrefour i think.

AT MK Restaurant, we order a few dishes and especially the duck meat which brother strongly recommended. Alongside, we order some dishes and tried it out.

The highly recommended duck meat

Beehoon Soup

Char Siew Bao

Pork Ribs

Wanton Soup

Dessert - crushed ice and mized fruit.

Tesco Lotus - the largest supermarket in Bangkok

They have almost everything - apparels, accessories, seafood, dried food, drinks, etc etc..

I bought this @ Tesco Lotus...first time buying a shirt @ a supermarket

I fell in love with this Potato Chips when i was in Phuket and now, i'm back again!

The next day, we went to Chatuchak market. It's a quite a long ride there because of the jam. While at traffic junction, you can see someone walking in between cars and carrying a basket full of flowers. The cab driver beside me intend to get one for himself and replace his old one. I guess the flower will bring them luck. I tried asking the driver that's this for our of curosity but obviously, he doesn't understand English. In Thailand, it's quite frustrating that we can't communicate well with the Thais. It's like a chicken talking to a duck.

Driver's lucky charm, i assume!

When we arrived at Chatuchak market, it was burning hot. The market was so huge that we don't know where to start. We walked our way through those narrow alleys. The things there are super cheap as well. Much cheaper that the ones we saw in MBK.

The crowd at Chatuchak market

Street hawker at Chatuchak market

Mum bought this sewing machine. It's amazing how it works...

We spend near half day there and as it was raining soon, we headed back to the hotel which yet again, tons of stuff.

Every night when i reached back to the hotel, i would surely ordered room service. We chose different dishes every night. For all our 4 nights there at the hotel, we had our supper at our room. Their food are really cheap as well, around 4 bucks (Sing Dollar).

Our 2nd night supper, stir fried chili shrimps with rice and Bee Hoon soup

We also have one of our meal over at their restaurant. Their service and food are so nice that mum was intending to give them a real big tip, dad joined in shortly.

Different kinds of thirst quenching drinks..

My Chilli Seafood Pasta!

Stir fried chicken

I'll consider this the best dish at Samran, Stir Fried Noodles with Shrimps.

That night, we visited Suan Lum market. I'm curious how it was described in the guide as that they have a large beer garden over there. And indeed, they have a large communal area with drinks vendor, beer girls everywhere.

Special landmark of Suan Lum Market

Something interesting i spotted while i was shopping around Suan Lam. Three little cute kittens. They looked as though there were born only the way before. But they were taken or rather played by two super young kids. They shook the basket, grab the kittens and throw them back. Gosh...i tried stopping them but they continued...ZzZz...poor little cute kittens..

Mother managed to buy a fake watch for my brother which my bro has been asking for, which cost 70+++ (Sing Dollar). Crazy brother...

3 little cute kittens

The next day, we were back at Siam area. We had Mac there. I spotted Breadtalk from afar. Little wonder that they have expanded till Thailand. They even got their outlets in China already...

I tried their mcFlurry. It was smaller as compared to the one in Singapore but definitely taste nicer.

That night when we were walking back to our hotel, we saw a man walking his elephant. To think that such things still exist in Bangkok, which i later found out that it's actually illegal to walk an elephant on the street.

The man walking his elephant

My supper that night....

We arrived at Chinatown the next day. No question why it's called Chinatown. This place is so chinese. First time i see sooo many chinese character in Bangkok. Singapore's chinatown didn't even have so much 'Chinese atmosphere'.

Chinese signs filled the streets.

We walked through the streets of Chinatown and arrived at the Thieves market. This place sucks, all because there's nothing much there and worse, the walking paths are so narrow. Well, god bring this sucky trip to a halt by pouring drizzle rain.

Pistols and rifles can be found at the thieves market...i was stunned to see this in fact.

Upon the guide Shuxia gave, we arrived at this restaurant - chinese restaurant at Chinatown. Birdnest and sharks fin seems to be their speciality. We ordered several dishes, Sharks Fin, Birdnest, crabmeat roll, black pepper crab and goose. Their best dishes would be the crab, sharks fin and bird nest....i missed it...aww..

Their bird nest displayed nicely..

The sharks fin

Yummy...it took my quite long to finish this, all because i taste it, not eat it

Crab meat roll

Black Pepper Crab

Goose's legs

Finally, bird nest. It's really nice....

We went to Central and Erawan Shrine after that. While walking towards Erawan Shrine, we saw this big event located at the empty parade square outside Central. The Thai must be too, crazy about soccer as well. Euro 2008 is also a big thing to them.

The Euro 2008 Mascots

We did went to the Platinum mall as well. Bought lots of clothes there. They have got nothing but tons and tons of clothes, especially for the ladies...

Our last dinner at Bangkok were especially nice. We had our dinner at Siam Paragon, MK Gold restaurant. We had steamboat there. It's quite classy and their food is really nice, except for the soup which i don't really like it.

My Mango Juice

Our boiling steamboat

On our way home, we tried flagging for metered taxis, but all started charging 100 baht instead. Dad think it's not worth the money and we took Tuk Tuk instead which charge us 60 baht. Think when it turned night, all taxi start to charge instead of on-ing their meter, perhaps it's because of the jams..

Our Tuk Tuk ride back...quite scary actually..

Not to forget mentioning the free breakfast at the hotel. I woke up early to have their breakfast every morning, that's because their breakfast is soo nice.

Chinese style Char Mee

My American Breakfast

Toasted bread...

We left for the airport at around 5pm that day. We gave the stuff a big tip before leaving because it's really a nice hotel with great service and great food. We had our dinner over at the airport and their food aren't as nice as compared to the hotel's. Already i'm missing the Hotel's food...oh. gosh..

Checking...in...

Wanton Noodles

Stir fried chili shrimps with rice

We reached Singapore half an hour late due to some cock up at the hotel. Overall, a nice trip (all because i don't have to pay for our food, dad did the paying) and i could love to go back there again some time....