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Wednesday 26 March 2014

Singapore/Bangkok 2014 - Day 1

Date of travel: 17.03.2014


We nearly need to postpone our Bangkok trip due the unrest political rallies.  The death of 2 innocent children outside Big C Supermarket seemed to "wake" these trouble makers up.  Now they had shifted themselves to Lumphini Park, do whatever protest they like without affecting their fellow country men's living hood as well as tourists.  Good.

Packed only few pieces of clothings in luggage but not sure why it was freaking 12kg when I weight it.  Must be the toiletries, sigh....

If you had been following my Dayre and Facebook, you roughly knew what had happened....  yeah...we sure glad that we make it back alive.  My travel story starts here........... (while memory is still fresh)


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This Bangkok + Kanchanaburi Trip is made up of:

Destination:  Bangkok + Kanchanaburi (Thailand)
Duration: 17 - 21 March 2014 (5 days)
Mood of Travel: Free & Easy with a day tour to Kanchanaburi
Companions:  My sis, bro-in-law, niece, nephew and my younger son King Luis
Flight: Scoot, S$192 (all in with return, exclude meals)
Accommodation: Novotel Bangkok Platinum Pratunam Hotel, damage: S$160 X 4 nites = $640
Currency: Thai Baht, it's easy to convert to S$, just divide by 25

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Though boarding time was 5.45pm, King Luis was craving for God Fire Ramen from Ikkousha Hakata, so we reached Terminal 3 at around 2.30pm for Ramen Champion.

They were having promotion, order 2 bowls of ramen and get a plate of gyoza free!

Heehee....... spicy broth was too addictive....

After the meal, we joined the rest of our family members, checked-in at
Changi Airport Terminal 2.

Nephew Karsten looking like a big boy here.

Both my niece Janelle and I looked lovely in this photo ^.^
Heehee.... die die must self-praise >.<

I know I had said this countless times, but I just need to repeat - I LOVE our Changi Airport!   Very very much!

Orchid Garden - this little indoor plot of garden is Terminal 2 Departure Hall's icon.





3rd floor of Terminal 2 is worth exploring though not known to many.  Just take the lift near Orchid Garden.  Let me bring you up
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There's a movie theatre (which I couldn't take pic of) and a game arcade.  King Luis can play forever here....
There's also a food kiosk next to this arcade but it's kinda expensive.

Be hold....... - Sunflower Garden!!


Surrounded by about 500 sunflowers.  Yup yup, they are REAL!

Noticed some sunflowers' seeds are not black.
They are so beautiful against the blue sky........

Don't miss this sunny garden if you depart from Terminal 2!


Was almost reluctant to leave but we'd got a flight to catch....

Board up Scoot, wasn't looking at anybody in particular, but spotted handsome Edmund Chen (陈之财) and XiangYun (向云) with their family on the same flight!  Both of them were so friendly, they smiled back!  I mean it takes effort to smile back at strangers, it's not easy to be humble.  Some half past six bloggers I know, they thought having a few thousand readers is consider famous, start to put on airs when nobody knows who the hell they are when they walk on the streets lolxx...... it's so easy to get 大头症 .....

Took off,  2hrs of flight was a breeze and we landed safely.
The air crew whom bid us goodbye was crazy cute, she went: "On behalf of our crew members we would like to thank you for travelling with us........... Now, let's get out of here!"  Waahaahaaahaaaa........

Managed to catch a pic of Scoot's seats before alighting.  Singtel ads on headrest "Surf all you want, no bill shock!"  That's at S$15/day.
Some seats were yellow, while some were bright blue.  I still prefer Jetstar's leather seats :X

Blur pic of  Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Queue at custom was long, as usual.  Thanks to Karsten and Janelle, we were given priority queue and we were out half an hour's time.

In the airport, data roaming was 299 bht for 7 days from this provider.  They didn't have lesser days to offer, so we grabbed it, after all it's only S$12!!
Remembered Singtel's offer?  Waahaahaa....... enuff said....

Went along with my sis to take train.  Not exactly a good idea although the intention was to beat the traffic jam.


Train ride was comfortable.....

........ especially when you had someone cute to cuddle <3
If I squeeze King Luis this way, I am quite sure he would bash me up >.<

On BTS, but forgotten which station...
It's clean and nice, very pleasant for passengers.  But once left the comfort, walking around with those luggages was plain torture.

Everybody was famished except for me, I can survive on one meal nowadays.  It was past 9pm when we reached the vicinity of Siam Square.

Most restaurants wouldn't take in any customers at this hour.
Food Republic at Siam Centre was the nearest and only option left.

Pad Thai

Banana and chocolate crepe

Oyster Omelette

We ordered more than the above, but most were being whacked off and I wasn't in a mood to take photos. Needless to say, food is much cheaper than Singapore but I lost  the receipts together with my wallet.   That part of the story will come later...  Lights went off one by one while we were eating, god damn it.....

Novotel Platinum Hotel was just too far away.  Walking wasn't a fuss, the nightmare was to carry the luggages up and down the flights of stairs.  No more taking train the next time -____-

Stepped into the hotel, I was shocked.   The lift lobby was the area of my house's living room only!  My sis explained to me that reception is at the 6th floor, it's unusual!

So, here's the reception area and the lifts with that upside down elephant leads to hotel rooms.

Another pic of the hotel lobby, photo taken in the next morning.

The pretty lounge area, also at the 6th floor is always quiet.

Sparkling welcome drinks was served.  They should serve orange juice or milk for my little niece and nephew though.

The children had fun rocking the glasses though.

No 13th floor for a understood reason, but why no 8th floor??

The room was spacious and cozy, sorry that the quality of the photos aren't too good.
The queen size bed and pillows were very comfy, not too soft, not too hard, ultra nice to slumber onto.  The only complain is that it's difficult to pull myself up away from it each morning.

See through washroom which would be cheeky and fun for couples, but not for mother and son -___-
No bath tub only standing shower, I don't have time for tub baths anyway.

The vanity counter with necessary toiletries and hair dyer.

The bar counter, with complimentary box of..... condoms.
Just wondering...... does the hotel replenish this item daily the way they replenish mineral water for us?

Might as well post the rest of the photos taken in this hotel.  The below pics were taken in one of the noons during our stay.

Swimming pool and gym is located at the 9th floor.
My sis chose this hotel cos' they like and use the facilities here.  For myself, I only bath and sleep in hotels during travels.

The gym which I just took a photo from outside.

Outdoor lounge beside the pool.

Mini infinity pool....

The shower area was impressive with beautiful shower cubicles, lockers, mineral water dispenser and 2 sofa benches as good as beds.
It's perhaps the best hide-out if you are too tired to go anywhere before flight and after checking out from the hotel room.

Day 2 will be an adventurous day at Erawan Waterfall and the elephant ride which we almost died from it. My hubby thought I was joking cos' I was so calm.  But seriously, we were nearly drowned.  Stay tuned cos' I am going to blog about this lousy and irresponsible tour agent.



Bangkok/Kanchanaburi Day 2 Part I - click HERE
Bangkok/Kanchanaburi Day 2 Part II - click HERE
Bangkok Day 3 - click HERE
Bangkok Day 4 - click HERE
Bangkok Day 5 - click HERE


9 comments:

  1. Is there a cover screen for the toilet glass at Novotel?

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  2. Is it convenient to shop around the hotel by walking?

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    1. Hi Nicky,
      Super duper convenient! It's link to Platinum Fashion Mall, road across is Pratunam Market. 7-eleven, 24hrs Mcdonald, Starbucks is just 1min walk away. Do continue to read my Day 2 to 5 to find out more. Thank you.

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  3. Hi! How do you apply for the data roaming in thailand? Does it come in the form of a sim card or..? Will appreciate your reply so much since its our first time going there!

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. And on your next visit to Bangkok try to do a bicycle tour. Its amazing! Never seen so much before in my 2 day stay. http://www.gobangkoktours.com

    ReplyDelete