Sunday, August 18, 2013

Thai Diaries: Part #1

12th August, 2013 (Monday)

Arrived in Bangkok after 4 hours of bus, 3.5 hours of idly waiting / checking in / boarding the plane and 2 hours of flight. It took us some trouble to find New Siam 3 Guesthouse on Khao San Road as it's a little isolated - most of the tuk-tuk cars and taxi drivers are not familiar with this area.

The front part of the guesthouse houses a mini Buddhist shrine of some sort and a small koi fishpond.

For the first day of the trip, we went to Terminal 21, which is located on Sukhumvit Rd, Watthana, Bangkok. The main attraction of this mega mall is that every level is furbished to depict some of the world's popular tourist attractions and features certain countries in the world. The goods sold here are high-end and branded, but there's also a small bazaar featuring French products, jewellery and bags that are more affordable on the lower two levels.
 Terminal21 logo.png 
  Terminal 21.JPG

Photo taken on the Level 1, but the lighthouse is built on the Ground Level. The theme is Carribean Beach Town.


On the 2nd floor, London.

Posing with a huge maneki-neko or 'beckoning cat' in Tokyo (Level 1). 

In front of a Japanese sculpture of a ninja or something which reminds me of The Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Group photo at the replica of The Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco on Level 4. Picture taken by a friendly English-speaking Thai girl.

The washroom on each level is different and features the style of different cities. This one is furbished to look like a bakery. I think it's the San Francisco (Pier) on Level 5. The potty was fulled with buttons that for a moment I was at lost. I think you can even select to have your backside sprayed clean after you poop. The washroom cleaner is on standby in the toilet and cleans the seat after someone comes out. 5 stars for the cleanliness level.


For lunch, we 3 girls went to Hachiban Ramen while Ah Jie and mom went to the shop next door for Western dishes. No idea why the picture came out like this when the original was fine.
Clockwise: 1:Soup noodle with roast chicken japanese style served with lettuce, memma, spring onion and kamaboko 2: Fruit Punch  3: Noodle in Pork bone soup and soya sauce with Japanese roast pork  4: Deep Fried Octopus Ball
 
Mine was number 3. It was quite delicious. :)

 
Zheng's was number 1, and tastes equally delicious.
 
Mom and little boy having fun posing at a paper doll figurine. Totally cute.

Verdict: Terminal 21 has some of the most beautiful designs and wonderful architecture, but it is not for the average shopper. Only upper class people (and perhaps European or American tourists) can afford stuff at this place. The food has standard pricing, though. And the POPCO popcorns are really cheap (59 baht / RM 6.00) if compared to Planet Popcorn in Malaysia, plus more delicious with a generous dose of caramel and chocolate. We walked around for 3 hours and got bored later 'cos there was nothing else to do.

Transportation available are bus, tuk-tuk cars and taxis, depending on where you are and how much you are willing to spend. Bus is the cheapest, but you may have to walk a distance since they only stop at the main roads. We took a taxi there, and it costs us 250 baht. (About 26 MYR)

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