We arrived at Bangkok and checked into our hotel nearly at 10pm.
The Heritage Bangkok
198 Soi Narathivas 3 Narathivas Road, Silom Bangrak , Silom, Bangkok, Thailand, 10500
The room is very spacious and clean and there's 24 hrs front desk. The reasons I chose this hotel were because it's near the BTS station Chong Nonsi + walkable distance to MC's gym (3-5 mins walk) - Jett's Fitness 24hrs gym. It's hard to find decent hotels which are both near a BTS station and a gym. Price wise - it's really affordable for the space and location. We paid SGD $250 for a total of 7 nights for queen size bedroom! Chong Nonsi is actually not in central BKK, but as long as it's near a BTS station, I think it's pretty convenient!
Pretty much MC's dinner every single day ; also his brunch : 7-11. We have a 7-11 convenient store just 2 mins away from our hotel which makes things more convenient too. His usuals were usually: microwaved brown rice, 2-4 hard boiled eggs with truffle mayo sauce, chicken, or at times sausages and whatever microwavable healthy protein he can get. They have so many choices for desserts as well and we have been drinking their collagen / vitamin drinks whenever we walked past a 7-11 store xD
On the 2nd day, after MC's morning gym session, we went to Siam Paragon for lunch:
The legendary Thipsamai PadThai (169 bhat)
Michelin Star Go Ang Pratunam Chicken rice (280 bhat)
Major disappointment! MC claims Tian tian chicken rice from Brunei is even better in taste, and we don't even have to queue for it!! Over priced and overrated. He queued for nearly 45 mins for it.
Kaya bun (30 bhat)
We spent the whole day shopping around Siam area - you can hit Siam paragon, Siam discovery centre, siam square on the same day. If you have time, you can go to centralwOrld as well. I went to Erawan shrine to pray and repay my deeds.
Fun activities to do in Thailand #1 : Kanchanaburi Safari Park
There is a safari world in Thailand as well, which allows you to feed giraffes too, but the one at Kanchanaburi allows you to sit on a jeep and have bus tour to feed the animals as well. The time slots run out fairly quick and when I booked mine 1 month before, they only have the 9am time slot for the day I've chosen! They require you to pay upfront on booking to secure the slots. They only accept bank transfers, so I've actually asked my dear friend T to help me transfer the money!! You can transfer via apps such as Bigpay / prompt pay / Wise, but they will charge 10% extra for charges & tax; 15% for western union users; and 20% on top of the total fee if international transferthey give reasons being the money won't be debited into their acc, and they need to drive to nearby bank + parking fees etc. to obtain the money
Kanchanaburi is approximately 2.5 hours away from Bangkok, so I've rented private car to bring both of us there. 3900 bhat (~ SGD $150) for 12 hours. The car was spacious - black fortuner and the driver was on time. We even arrived at safari park 20 minutes earlier than expected.
Entry ticket per adult 550 bhat, 350 bhat for child
the entry ticket includes the bus touring, but buying sliced carrots for the animals - 100 bhat for 2 buckets
giraffe encounter 1000 bhat per pax
walk with big cats (tiger / leopard / lion) - 1000 bhat per pax
play with cubs / feeding them 800 bhat per pax
We only opted for the giraffe encounter :) All photos were taken by the friendly staff; they also took video for us~
Fun activities to do in Thailand #2 : Elephants' Home and Nature
Since we were at Kanchanaburi already, and I came across this elephant interaction place. it's approximately 45 mins away from the safari park. Thank you again T for helping us to transfer the $$ to secure spots! They have several packages to choose from, but we have opted for package E: elephant ride on bareback and elephant bath (approximately 1 hour+) - 1200 bhat pp (~ SGD $46)
We also paid extra for elephants' food which we each get 1 basket to feed them fresh fruits. The 2 elephants that we interacted with were Nook and Duk Dik. The person in charge explained to us that the elephants were rescued elephants who were previously involved in logging transports, circuses, etc. Duk Dik was almost blinded by frequent camera flashes. The owner took a lot of time to gain trusts from the elephants and make them happy at this safe haven.
It's very controversial where people claims we should not ride on elephants if this is a sanctuary, but they explained that they do not allow people to sit on a saddle and they limit the number of people per day / week to come. Just like mothers carry babies on their hands; when we sit on elephants bareback, it's actually a sign that they trust us.
We get to shower them and play with them in the water. Duk dik could sense my fear when I was on her, so she keeps dancing and I was really scared I would fall from her!! We got all wet after the activities, so do bring extra clothes and towels! they have clean shower rooms for us to freshen up after the activity.
Prior the session, they've asked us to remove all our valuables and put it in the room. I removed my necklace and forgot about it after that. I've only realised that I've lost it the next day!!! T__________T
it was my 2nd year anniversary + Christmas present from MC :(( I've texted the person there but they were unable to find it 😭😭😭
Fun activities to do in Thailand #3 : After The Rain Cafe
On our way back, we stopped by at After The Rain cafe. It was packed with tourists!! The food was surprisingly nice, and affordable. Their theme was tropical / rainforest and there's a canal where you can row boat and take pictures. They only have 2-3 boats and queue was super long. We waited for 45 minutes and decided to leave before our turn as we wanted to reach BKK before 7pm for dinner and we had to take into considerations the 2.5hrs trip back + jam during peak hour. If you have the luxury of time, then it's prob worth the wait as it's quite romantic to row through the canary and enjoy the sceneries.
Fun activities to do in Thailand #4 : Dogs In Town
If you're a dog lover, then you have to go to these dog cafes at BKK. This time, we went to Dogs in town as it's near to the restaurant I've booked for MC's birthday. They have different types of dogs where u can buy snacks to feed them.
Personally, I prefer TrueLove at Neverland where you get to interact with different types of huskies. Mainly because they have a designated photo session where all the huskies will queue up and take photos with you. With Dogs In Town, the dogs are all over the places and it's more difficult to interact with them.
Fun activities to do in Thailand #5 : Wat Arun Traditional Thai costumes experience
In order to get to Wat Arun, we used the boat. Using BTS, go to Saphan Taksin station >> Exit 2 of the station (Sathorn Pier) >> Chao praya express boat >> they'll inform you when to head down during the Wat Arun station.
You can use taxi go reach wat Arun too, but BKK traffic is no joke!! You might be stuck in traffic for few hours..
We were nearly an hour late to our appointment. I've pre-booked Mahasane Thai costume as I've read they have good reviews and air conditioner at their make up / styling room. They were super nice despite us being late. The hair stylist asked what style I want and I told them I want to make my face looks smaller xD
Clothes rental - 200 bhat per pax
Hair styling - 50 bhat per pax (additional 50 if you opt for make-up but I didn't)
MC last min added on hair styling but there isn't much difference for him tbh.. def not worth for guys to style their hair there 😅
I've also booked a photographer for an hour - 1500 bhat
Unfortunately, it was pouring heavily on the day and we couldn't take much of outdoor pics and the iconic wat Arun pagoda. We succumbed to having photos under the shade only. Nevertheless, it was a great experience to try out Thai costumes; you actually get to choose the colours u want hehe~
As wat Arun is near Icon siam, we cabbed there as it was still raining then. The mall is really huge!! We spent nearly an hour to sightsee at their ground floor for street food, and then head up the their higher floor to enjoy Great Harbour buffet (2199 bhat for 2 after offer!!)--- quality buffet with free flow sashimi. My tummy couldn't take so much food so it's always not worth for me to have buffet 😔
Chatuchak weekend market -- the famous coconut ice cream :3
Finally had my favourite fruit; it's been a while!!! But it's not as juicy as I thought it would be.
Tomyam noodles at Terminal 21 food court
Thai basil pork at Terminal 21 foodcourt
Food recommendations we tried during this trip:
Besides the Thipsamai (Michelin pad Thai) that was mentioned above, I highly recommend:
TEPPEN Food entertainment
They have 3 branches so far, the one I went was at Ekkamai.
From top left to right:
1. Zuwaigani kanimiso - 250 bhat; charcoaled crab roe ; it was really flavourful (tad bit salty for me)
2. Teppen ankimo burger - 180 bhat per piece ; they sprayed It with golden dust
3. Rainbow roll - 480 bhat; they do it aburi style by torching the sashimi in front of you
Middle left to right:
1. Sugaki (oysters) - 390 bhat for 3 pieces
2. White onion pork roll - 150 bhat
3. Ika warayaki - 290 baht ; served with dried ice so the food has smokey effect
Bottom left to right:
1. Gyutan Block warayaki (200g) - 680 bhat; they drizzled the meat and served it with flames before you - get the camera ready!!
2. 10 ocean don - 680 bhat; portion is quite small but sashimi were fresh and juicy!
3. Salmon sashimi - market price
Service : ♥♥♥♥♥
Food : ♥♥♥♥♥
Ambience : ♥♥♥♥♥
Price : ♥♥♥♥♥
Definitely recommend if you want to be entertained while eating. They also danced and gave us a free pudding for MC's birthday!
Sushi Juban
The one we went was the Phayathai branch. Authentic omakase experience, served by Japanese sushi chef. Price was affordable and they served their dishes creatively as well. I pre-booked but when I arrived, we were the only customers there for lunch. The environment was really cosy and the servers were very attentive.
Their omakase menu is seasonal but I've checked -- the variations were not huge.
They have a few options to choose from; MC had the 13 courses (1800 bhat) while I had the 10 courses one (980 bhat).
Service : ♥♥♥♥♥
Food : ♥♥♥♥♥
Ambience : ♥♥♥♥♥
Price : ♥♥♥♥♥
Here Hai
Here Hai is a Michelin star restaurant. Their dishes are quite pricey (for hawker standard). If you walk in, you probably need to queue up to 1-2 hours on peak hours. I've pre-booked this restaurant 6 weeks before going to Thailand, so I just need to wait for 10-15 minutes to get a seat. Seafood was fresh. I think it's worth it, but pls prebook to save time!!
Giant river prawn - 690 bhat
Signature Omelet crab with extra crab size M - 480 bhat
Stir fried mantis shrimp with garlic and pepper without rice - 420 bhat
Service : ♥♥♥♥♥
Food : ♥♥♥♥♥
Ambience : ♥♥♥♥♥
Price : ♥♥♥♥♥
For transportation, we used BTS or taxi -- for taxi services, I would recommend inDrive > Bolt > Grab; grab is the most expensive one out of the 3 -- nearly 20-30% more than inDrive. inDrive is the cheapest but most reviews said they couldn't hire cars through inDrive, while Bolt's price is in between both and has the most drivers..but I beg to differ. Towards the last 3 days, most of my trips were cancelled by Bolt drivers and I had to wait a good 10-15 minutes before someone took up my request. With inDrive, I get confirmation within 5-7 minutes, and the price is cheaper!! So at the beginning of the trip, I was using bolt and towards the end, I used inDrive. 10/10 recommend inDrive based on my experience :)
We've spent approximately 1300 bhat on taxis / BTS ; so inclusive of the day trip to Kanchanaburi, we've spent approximately 5200 bhat (SGD $200) on transportation
Food wise, we spent approximately 16,143 bhat (~SGD $620); a big chunk of it is actually 7-11 😂
Activities excluding shopping: 9250 bhat (~ SGD 352)
Air ticket was SGD $1016 for 2 pax
Accomodation was SGD $250 for 2 pax (7 nights - what a steal!!)
In total, we've spent around $1200+ per person for 7 days in BKK (excluding snacks purchases + shopping 😗)
The above is just a reference for those planning for their BKK trip.
Till next time~
