Bangkok Day 5 - 19 Jan 2016

This was an equally tiring day as I had to arrive at 9am at Bangpoo for the final broker interview.  Checking out early in the morning and with all my luggages at the reception, I rushed out for my long journey (again) to the industrial site.

Along the way, I was feeling a bit sleepy.  I thought it might have been the drink I had the night before.  Well, only a few meetings today, so it was alright.  

lunch with super spicy tom yum at Philips Factory

I was supposed to complete all meetings by 12pm and head back to hotel.  However a last minute meet up was arranged and this delayed my departure to 2pm.  After arriving at the hotel at around 3.30pm, I rushed out to a nearby massage parlor for a 1 hour oil massage.  Either I was really tired or too stressed, the short session soothed me really well!   

After massage, I jogged back to Holiday Inn to grab my luggages and a taxi to the airport.  It was a journey filled with intense anxiety as I was seriously pushing the time boundaries.  The initial traffic gridlock did not help calm my nervous nerves.  I arrived at the airport in the nick of time, just before the close for check in baggage!!!!   My check in luggage increased from then 11kg to now 21kg!! All the rushing made me so hungry (then again I was surprisingly hungry most of the time during this trip!) I bought myself a mango sticky rice box.  Alas, I failed to consider the boarding time, and ended having to bring it on board to eat!  

It was a short leisure cum work trip with lots of late nights and early mornings, and I reckon I will need a few days to get back those lost sleep!

Bangkok Day 4 - 18 Jan 2016

A very early wake up today for work of course.  I was up and ready to be picked up at 7.45am!!!!  The journey to the factory at Bangpoo Industrial was surprisingly smooth and I had a good conversation with my 2 colleagues.  After an hour's journey, I finally arrived at Bangpoo Industrial.  Philips Lights has been occupying this plot for many years and now it's time to appoint a broker to help dispose this site.

Lunch was a very simple affair at the factory's canteen.  

Due to the schedule of my stakeholder, what was supposed to be a 3/4 days' work became a full day stay at the industrial site.  I ended up returning to my hotel at around 6.30 pm instead.  After a very brief rest and a change of clothes, I brisk-walked over to nearby Emporium.  The newly constructed and refurbished mall is huge and spreader over two sides of the Phrom Phong BTS station.  I headed directly to the restaurant section in EMQuartier and was confronted by a spiral of restaurants over 3 floors!  This was an interesting walk to shop for your choice of dining.

I eventually settled at White Story and ordered a Honey Lemon soda drink which was immediately refreshing.  The pumpkin soup was decent but the side bread took all the shine away as it was warm and toasty, enhanced by the light creamy butter!  The main course definitely was a show off, the size of the ribs was ginormous!  I was surprised I almost finished it off!

After a very filling dinner, it was a nice stroll back to the hotel.  Stopping by at Boots to grab some items before heading to the hotel's pool side cafe, Zeta Cafe, where I claimed my complimentary drink.  It was my first Chivas Regal, and the atmosphere was nice with the soft glows of the lights reflected over the calm pool and towering buildings surrounding around.  And yes, I was so ready for bed after the drink. 

Bangkok Day 3 - 17 Jan 2016

After a late night out the day before, it was a lazy wake up again, this time without the aid of an alarm clock.  Today was a solo exploration of the city without my friend. 

I clocked in at the familiar (and very popular) Platinum Mall for some quick purchases.  The initial intention was to grab a cab, but then I realized it was only a 15 walk from Chitlom BTS (accompanied by the harsh rays of the sun though).  After shopping, I gave another shot of the local Thai chicken rice.  Only this time, I had made sure I tried the locally famous chicken rice.  I had gone for a taste last August, but apparently it was the wrong stall!  Kuang Heng was a traditional stall selling chicken rice since the 1930s.  The portion was small, and the rice was mushy.  This was much tastier than the rest I've tried in Bangkok and I can see why it's famous.  However, I still preferred the Singaporean version any day. 

I rushed back to hotel for a quite dip in the pool, which was filled with Caucasians and basking in the glow of midday sun.  It was refreshing since I was sweating tons on my way back!  I checked out of Courtyard (my leisure hotel) and headed to Siam Paragon for some mandatory activities like getting the rich Hokkaido milk, shopping at the Gourmet Market, and catching a 4D movie (The 5th Wave).  What I did not managed to do this round was to get some Montong.  Well, this wasn't exactly a leisure trip anyways! 

rich Hokkaido milk with Belgium Chocolate

After movie, I headed back to Courtyard to pick up my luggages and took a cab to Holiday Inn Sukhumvit (my work hotel). I was pretty disappointed that Holiday Inn doesn't allow complimentary early or late check in check out.  It used to be my favorite brand.  

Holiday Inn Room

After putting down my bags and a quick change of my top, I headed down to the bustling Silom for dinner at Silom Complex's Banana Leaf Thai restaurant.  Although I'm not a fan of Thai food, I do love their steamed river prawns and fragrant fried rice.  A sweet melon juice was also in order to complete the meal.

Green Curry fried rice

garlic steamed prawns

Some bargain shoppings along the street as well in Silom, which is famous not only for its 'red lights' but also night market.  Oh, not forgetting purchasing essentials at Boots.  I was such typical Singaporean with so much purchasing this trip!!

It was an early return to the room to prep myself for a super early start the next morning.  Oh how I hated waking up at 6.45am!!

Bangkok Day 2 - 16 Jan 2016

 I had arrived on Friday night so as to spend the full weekend in Bangkok.  It's a city you will not get tired off, although this was probably my first time traveling solo here.  Well, lucky I've got a local Thai friend, Tour, to accompany me today.

A lazy wake up morning in the cushy bed, I was up, showered and ready for my day's adventure, wherever Tour will be taking me to!

First up, it was a quick bite stop at MBK.  I had the usual shark soup to warm my tummy before taking my first ever public bus journey in Bangkok!

Hot claypot coup!

I arrived at Chinatown's Sampeng Market.  This was my first visit to the bustling market even though I've been to Chinatown numerous times before!  The crowd practically clogged the streets and you really need to slowly navigate in order to move ahead.  Even so, there was a sense of orderly around.  There was a variety of shops selling various stuff, but less touristy as Chatuchuk Market.  The prices here were also competitive as they slashed it to very low rates!  The only grim I had was the journey there, otherwise it would be the perfect bargain market to visit!

first public bus ride in Bangkok

After satisfying the shopping cravings, it was a taxi ride to Body Treat for a full scrub and oil massage.  I was here back in August 2015, and this time, the session was just as relaxing.  

Dinner is something I've not tried before at a local favorite joint P All.  This is located near to Ratchathewi BTS at exit 3, walk with the flow of the traffic, turn left at the first junction, at the end of the road ramp, cross the road and into the small road alley Soi 7.  You will notice a lot of shops selling Islamic stuff.  Turn left upon hitting The Brother Suite and walk for 3 minutes and you will arrive at the shop. The restaurant closed every Monday, and there was already a queue even though we were early!  

entrance of P-All

The star of the show definitely belonged to the lobster noodles.  The 5 treasure noodles contained, needless to say, there were 5 main ingredients: Lobster, salmon, mussels, stuffed crab, and stuffed squid.  I ordered the standard B 699 version, which was big enough for my tummy.  Actually, it was meant for 2 pax, just nice for Tour and me to share.  Although the star was the lobster, the tomyum broth was so yummy it made the glass noodles to tasty. 

5 Treasure Noodles

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After dinner, it was a stroll around Bangkok city before heading back to rest my head for the day. 

Bangkok Day 1 - 15 Jan 2016

Seems like pretty much these days that I have to had a mad rush from work to home to airport for most of my trips.  What to do when the flight is in the late evening?

I arrived at the airport in time for checking in plus a quick bite and buying some duty free items.  After getting a gift for my Thai friend, I arrived at the departure gate for my first business trip of the year.  This was my first Thai Airways flight since 2005 when I flew to Nepal.  Although it was a short 2.5 hours flight, I was still anticipating the wonderful memories I had when I flew with the airline many years ago (even though it has fell several rungs down the ranking list since).  I can never forget my first Thai flight back in 1992 where they served me medium steak for my flight to Bangkok!!  This time, though, the food fell short as I was greeted with fishy smelling fillet and rice.  

I touched down in Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport at late hour, feeling so sleepy.  I was starting to dread the long queues at the immigration, luggage pick up and taxi stand, something that is becoming synonymous with the airport.  Luckily that did not happen.  Instead, the queues were short and the baggage came quickly!  The only downside was the super long walk to the immigration. 

I finally arrived at Courtyard Marriott after a 35 minutes taxi ride.  This is the 'budget' brand of the Mariott conglomerate but it was still a decent 3-4 star quality hotel with smaller room.  I had a very quick shower and immediately headed to bed after midnight, feeling so drained from a full day before.  

2015 Year of Travels (Taipei, Tokyo, Bangkok, Melaka, Surabaya, Jakarta, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur)

Kicking off 2015 in the city of Taipei!  Well, it was kinda a cheat since I was already there since 2014 for Christmas.  But nonetheless, it was a nice chilled start to the new year!

My first flight out of Singapore for the year went to a place I have been longing to visit: Japan.  Although it was a business trip, my virgin trip was filled with anticipation for all things Japan.  Tokyo was eccentric and great and I loved my seafood, but I was down with this irritating fever (which turned out I contracted the petty E-coli virus).  Well, I did make the most of my sickly self!

Just 1 week after my short 4 nights trip to Tokyo, I jetted off to Bangkok for my CNY holidays!  It was a 6 nights affair and that meant I should be able to explore a lot of Thailand.  But the E-coli virus acted again, and I was down with 6 days of high fever instead!  Still, had lotsa great local food thanks to my local friend, Tour!

March came and I returned to Shanghai for another 2 nights for work!  It was a nice cool weather and I saw a few plum trees dotting the city.

I returned to Melaka for my birthday in April!  The 2 nights' stay was shorten to only 1 night due to an urgent request of a travel companion, which totally downed my birthday spirit.  But it was still a nice break in a few ways.

May saw me visiting Surabaya for the first time, but it was for work.  It was a one night stay, and it essentially was more than sufficient as there was nothing much to do in the city.

I returned to Indonesia again in June, this time to Jakarta, and also for work.  Oh how I do not miss the snarling traffic!!  The Ritz Carlton was nice though! :)

End of June until early July saw me returning to Sydney for the Hillsong Conference, as well as catching up with Edward, Eliss and Ernest!  It was nice 7 nights trip that saw me visiting the Blue Mountains and a few coastal townships!

A month later, I returned to Bangkok again in August for yet another 6 nights stay.  Almost a revenge make up trip for the one I did not enjoy in Feb, this time it was great fun and relaxation, with lots of massages and great food!

September saw me flying twice for business.  First stop was Seoul (5 nights), and I returned to my favourite Siloam Sauna for that much needed Jimjilbang!  Two nights was spent there!  It was also a much welcomed trip as I escaped the hazy Singapore air.

Just one week later, I flew back to Tokyo!  6 months since, and it was a nice autumn breeze greeting me this round.  6 nights of stay, with a side trip to Nikko, oh what a great trip it was!  This was probably the best leisure cum business mix trip so far!

After an almost monthly travelling, there was none for October and November.  Well, I had to do my ICT so I still managed to escape office for a week.

Come December when I was ready for my Christmas holiday, I was jetted off back to Jakarta again for a 1 night business trip.  This visit was worse than the last in terms of traffic.  I supposed due to the year end holiday season.  The main highlight was meeting up with an ex colleague, and it was so much fun catching up!

Just one day after my return, I drove up north to Kuala Lumpur for Christmas.  4 nights there of essentially lazing around, sleeping 9-11 hours each night, strolling the malls for cheap bargains, and stuffing my tummy crazy with tons of food!!!  After Kuala Lumpur, it was a 2 hours drive south back to Melaka.  What was supposed to be a 3 nights stay was again shorten, this time to 2 nights due to my sudden fever and weaken system.  But still, it was a very resting time in Melaka where i slept so many hours, and ate so much great food!

So in summary, 2015 has more work trips (7 of them) than leisure ones (5 of them).  Probably the first time work trips exceeded leisure ones.  I had a total of 12 holiday stamps to my passport, 1 lesser than 2014, but the leisure trips were much longer than before.  2016 is looking to be another year of over 10 stamps to my passport, hoping more leisure trips this round.