2 Nights in Bangkok

Eugene, Rena, Terence & I headed for Bangkok on 18 August - a much needed holiday! I "heartlessly" left Gideon behind and anticipated some time-off. Massages, shopping, blissful sleep and hassle-free mornings sipping coffee and enjoying my sunny-side up. Ahhhhhh...

Rena had a good start to the trip when she won a $250 shopping voucher after purchasing a Bally wallet. Although Eugene continued dreaming of what he could do if she had won the car or $250,000 instead.

We arrived at The Davis, Bangkok www.davisbangkok.net . Having seen the website, I had high expectations of our room. Unfortunately, despite an upgrade, the room we got was kinda old and the decor disappointing. This is supposedly a "Design Room" but most definitely not my kind of DESIGN. Ah well, we'll make do - as long as it is comfortable. Eugene & Rena's room added to my disappointment. The contemporary decor and glass panelled bathroom made me wonder how my "Design Room" could cost more than this room! So for those planning to stay there, remember to ask for the Corner Wing building which is cheaper for some strange reason. The rest of the hotel was very nice, though. The Lobby and ground floor bar with its very modern yet comfortable furnishings were a rather nice welcome.



OK, no time to waste and it was off for lunch. But first, helping Angie with her religious obligations at the four-face Buddha temple near the World Trade Centre. She wanted a dance for the Buddha and I learnt then that prices vary depending how many dancers you "hire" - 2, 4, 6 or 8!

Lunch was at MK Steamboat. When in Bangkok and not sure where to head for a meal, MK's the answer! Delicious steamboat in comfortable surrounds and a fraction of what you'd pay for regular steamboat in Singapore! We wonder how MK could fail when it came to Singapore couple of years back.

We were fortunate to bump into Terence's and Eugene's ex-classmate Ainsley who brought us to the fabulous Somboon for seafood. And of course the ever hospitable Anthony Low who took us to a North-Eastern Thai cuisine dinner.



Bangkok has started expansion of its many shopping malls and the latest ones are World Trade Centre and Siam Paragon. High-end luxury brands galore! A far cry from from the night markets, flea markets and road-side stalls. We wonder if the Thais were getting more affluent but learnt that the distribution of wealth is still pretty extreme. One thing's for sure - the Thais LOVE shopping and wondering in these malls. On any weekday afternoon, Siam Paragon is as packed as Raffles City is on a Saturday!



Night-life continues to thrive despite the regulation on opening hours. Most clubs and bars close at 1am but this does not deprive Sin City from its number of party-goers and "fun" seekers. Rena and I checked out one of the latest clubs - Bed Supper Club. It was a cool, sleak bar and club, with guests lounging on beds, literally! Clearly an "ang moh" hangout but the music was cool and crowd was pretty decent.



It was an OK trip overall. I came to the conclusion that BKK is not somewhere I'd like to visit again with the guys - for OBVIOUS reasons...