PRATUNAM MORNING MARKET
We started Day two early at 5am when the sky is still dark because we wanted to visit the Pratunam Morning Market near our hotel! Headed out without makeup and in our sleeping clothes because we intend to go back and continue our sleep after shopping. Haha.
This has got to be my favourite shopping place in Bangkok because the clothes are sooooo cheap! The reason why we visited so early is because that's when the apparels are all sold at wholesale price! Of course, have to buy at least three pieces from the same stall lah. Some will insist you get three of the same design (in different colors) to enjoy wholesale price but most are happy enough to let you choose three different designs. Apparently the prices all turn back to retail at around 10am.
There are so many people dragging trolleys around so it's inevitable that you get your feet rolled over by some trolley wheels at some point in time but it's all worth it for the cheap clothes. Haha. I managed to get tops at 60 baht each (around SGD2.50) and dresses for 100 baht each (around SGD4). YES SO CHEAP!!!
Anyway, one thing about Pratunam Morning Market is that not all the stalls sell pretty designs so you have to make an effort to slowly browse and look out for nice ones. At first when I just entered, I was kinda sian because most of the clothes are not my style. We all thought we would go crazy over the clothes at the first stall but nope, we wandered around for quite awhile without buying anything. Then, I started getting desperate when my uncle said "if you don't buy anything here it's unlikely you will buy from elsewhere because here is the cheapest." Haha. My first buys were actually impulse purchases, and also my most expensive buys - three dresses at 170 baht each. Actually it's only SGD7 and the quality is really good but I felt a bit heart pain when I moved on to a whole row of stalls selling dresses at 100 baht afterwards.
When we arrived it was dark and we shopped till the sun rise.
Huge and very yummy ice coffee to refresh ourselves after a morning of shopping~
Time for breakfast! If only Singapore's Mcdonalds can have chicken porridge too.
Our initial plan was to go back and continue our sleep after shopping but in the end we only went back to bathe and immediately set off to our next shopping destination! Wow, shopping is really powerful, can energize someone who had only 3 hours of sleep that night, and only 1.5 hours of sleep the night before.
Bought mango sticky rice from a street stall while walking to the BTS. That's my grandfather behind me saying "Aiya, like that also want take photo..." Hahahaha.
It was very yummy! Why are glutinous rice in Thailand so much more delicious than the tasteless ones in Singapore?
Another street stall selling fried stuff! Bought some pork chunks and they are SO GOOD. I really like how there are so many things to see and buy along the way from our hotel to the BTS station.
OOTD for the day! Summery floral top from www.earthdoll.co, paired with denim shorts. Perfect outfit for a sunny day out in Bangkok! Anyway, I am so glad that it didn't rain at all the four days we were there. I'd rather a super hot day than rainy day on a vacation!
Went to the Erawan Shrine but didn't managed to see the Four Faced Buddha as the glass was covered.
The train was less crowded for the rest of our trip as compared to our first day. This day, we bought the one-day pass (130 baht) as we needed to train to quite a number of destinations and it is very worth it since a single trip ticket is around 30-ish baht.
CHATUCHAK WEEKEND MARKET
Check out the pretty pink flowers that welcomed us at Mo Chit station!
We heard of the coconut ice-cream at Chatuchak so we went to buy from the first stall we saw, outside the market! Turns out this is not the famous one as it doesn't have a flag on top of its ice cream. We later saw the "real" one further inside Chatuchak. Haha.
But still, this is also yummy! Can choose any toppings you want, and pour yourself. So put many many! We chose nata de coco and glutinous rice (because at first we thought that is pomelo). Turns out the glutinous rice is so good, I regret not topping more!! Haha.
Yum! Craving leh. I wanna go back and have this again! Good snack for hot weather!
Finally inside after much jostling.
Wah the weather at Chatuchak is really super hot! But also lots of awesome buys! Bought some shoes at 150 baht each (SGD6) and a floral top at 100 baht (SGD4) and a pair of shorts for 50 baht (SGD2) and accessories at 120 baht for 12!!!!!! (SGD5. Do the math, only 40 cents each!) Also got a couple of tees for bf here. One of them had the text "I have no idea what you are talking about" because it describes him so perfectly well. Hahaha. Then another one had a cup of coffee saying to two other grumpy coffee "Sorry I am latte" a pun and also in reference to how I am always late for our dates. Haha.
Chatuchak has a wide variety of stalls and not all are fashion-related, so it was more interesting! Guys wouldn't feel so bored here as compared to Pratunam Morning Market or Platinum Mall where almost everything is female fashion. Google 'Chatuchak Market Map' to see for yourself how huge the entire place is. We only covered part of it!
Gave up by 2pm because we already bought many things and was hungry! Took the train back and had lunch at Nara Thai Cuisine.
Group photo of the day!
Afterwards, we went back to the hotel to have some rest before the next activity!
Actually wanted to try on the clothes I bought earlier that day but was so tired that I decided to take a nap first but ended up sleeping all the way until it was time to set off again!
Night market stalls already set up outside our hotel! Seriously missing the street food and cheap shopping in Bangkok as I write this.
The road which we cross every day, hand in hand. Crossing the roads at Bangkok is always an adventure.
The omelette smells so good!
Family photo on the bridge which we walk on everyday, near our hotel.
Bought this cute watermelon pouch from one of the street stalls.
MASSAGE AT HEALTHLAND
Took the BTS to Asok station and uncle brought us to this sharkfin restaurant nearby as we were still early for our appointment.
Shiok coconut drink!
There was a whole wall plastered with celebrities and on one of them we saw Fiona Xie!
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One bowl of shark fin soup each. So yummy.
Deep fried fishmaw and other seafood.
Finished up our food feeling very satisfied and walked over to Health Land, ready for our massage session! A must-do in Bangkok since it's so much cheaper there.
The reception area is huge and felt like a hotel lobby with a counter and several sofas for guests to wait at! However, the service staff was quite rude -_- Prices at Healthland are also more expensive when compared with many cheaper options around Bangkok.
I pointed the spices to my aunt and said, "wah, they make until so real...." then she said, "huh? This one is real!" hahahaha. I thought they are plastic replicas like the fake food outside restaurants because it was displayed in the middle of the lobby.
I chose Thai massage with herbal compress (800 baht), which is something like the above. It is very scorching hot, so if you are afraid of hot water, should avoid this. If i come here again, I would probably choose aromatherapy. Still prefer the type of massage that doesn't involve so much stretching because I actually felt more stress than relax. Most customers tip, so make sure to bring some smaller notes along!
Spotted my colleague here after my massage! So coincidental!
We didn't want to take the train and walk so much afterwards so we took a cab back to the hotel! Only 100 baht (SGD4)! I would totally take the cab instead of the train around Bangkok if not for the heavy traffic in the day.
Stopped at the night market instead of our hotel so that we can buy some food back for supper!
Buying Phad Thai! So happy because on this holiday trip, I tried most of the Thai food I like!
Mango sticky rice from this stall too~
This area is like outdoor tze-char, and we also bought some food back from one of the stalls.
The best thing was the fish! The meat was fresh and tender and slightly salty. Is there anywhere in Singapore where they sell this?
Okay such a long post for Day 2.
Day 3 and 4 up next!
Read part one here: http://www.estherxie.com/2015/03/bangkok-2015-part-1.html
Other travel entries on: http://www.estherxie.com/p/wander.html
Am always on the lookout for more travelling/staycation opportunities. For advertising, sponsorship, or collaboration, email to the-ice-angel@hotmail.com :)