Day 1: Phuket

We were supposed to go to Bali for our first ever family trip overseas! Unfortunately, Mount Agung begged to differ and didn't allow us entry sigh! Thankfully, after all the refunds and whatnots, we were able to re-book to Phuket instead. So here we are... our first ever family trip to Phuket and here's day 1... waiting to board our early flight!

Upon reaching Patong, we decided to head to Banzaan Market after checking in to the hotel for lunch as we were so famished! Loving all those fresh, yummy seafood at such an affordable price albeit the haggling!

After having our tummy filled to the brim, we walked around Junceylon Mall.

By evening, Angels were excited to head back to the hotel to go for a dip in the swanky hotel's pool!

After a refreshing dip and freshening up, we headed to the night market outside Banzaan Market for dinner! There were many local varieties including Khao Kha Moo, chicken rice, seafood, etc... so we tapao and ate by the veranda like how the other locals did LOL! Unfortunately, no photos as we were struggling to eat and hold our styrofoam boxes with care... except for dessert, this knocked up mixed ice-cream!

Once we were done checking everything here, we headed back to our hotel as we were just too tired then. This time around, we stayed at Forty Winks Hotel. A quaint, steam-punk design hotel with friendly staffs. FYI, we booked our rooms via Agoda. When we arrived, we were upgraded for free as apparently the rooms we wanted were fully booked! We were so grateful for this! Though small, they also have a 'working' swimming pool which was a huge plus point! I was so in awe with the unique facade and design... especially our room as you can view the photos below! Another plus point, it's just a 10 mins walk to Jungceylon and 15 mins to Bangla Street! So convenient, no hassle to roam around the busy town by foot! I may be singing praises here of the hotel but rest assured, it wasn't because of the free upgrade. The hotel itself was truly great overall and I liked it a lot!

Next: day 2 in Patong

Bangkok: last day

This post consists more on rants ya...

Nothing much on the last day as always. Well, we have to take the cab to Don Mueang Airport by 12.30 pm so we had only like 2 hours max to roam around. After packing, checking out and leaving our luggage at the concierge, we walked to the nearest mall i.e. The Street for a last minute shopping. When we finally got a cab to the airport, I was feeling nostalgic... having to leave so soon... my holiday is ending... etc...

And then cab driver had to being cunning lah... trying to squeeze more money from us =.= Really?! On our last day?! Well, he claimed if we do not follow the meter, his flat rate would have been 300 Baht and he'll pay the tol. BUT as we wanted meter, upon reaching the tol, we paid 70 Baht. And then upon reaching the airport, meter showed 159 Baht and hubby gave him 200 Baht to keep the change. Instead, he INSISTED we pay him another 30 Baht!!!  Bloody hell!!! At first we didn't get it as we were dead tired. And then I realised, he wanted to make it up to his 300 Baht flat fee!!! BUGGER!!! We just had to meet a dishonest Thai on the last day of our trip! Definitely a turn off! As it is, we were already not feeling as much fun and excitement from this trip... so this definitely had us thinking of going to other places instead. No more Bangkok, maybe for another few years or so. Just stick to Phuket or the likes. Really... jeez!

The main thing we learned from this trip, try to stay nearer to the places we want to go to. Spending unnecessary money on the trains, though small, were actually a lot plus tiring plus time wasted. If we did not stay at Palazzo Hotel, perhaps stay somewhere in Pratunam or Sukhumvit area then we don't need to waste time taking the MRT. We can just take BTS to wherever we wanted to go. Definitely a lot of time and money saved. Well, the only reason why we stick to Palazzo Hotel is because of Lemongrass and Huay Kwang night market. I guess we have to change if we decide to go to Bangkok again in the near future.

The one thing I've observed, not sure if it's due to the poor currency, everything seemed more pricey. Food is still cheap but accessories, clothes, souvenirs, etc are expensive. I could easily get a dress for around 100 Baht previously but it's 200 Baht at least this time around. Mind you the local ones double the price ya. Also I kept converting it to RM so it's actually extra more pricey! This time around, I honestly can't shop as freely like the previous trips with everything so expensive with average to poor quality. I became more picky and spent more on worthy, quality stuff! In the end, our luggage was pretty light as we didn't buy much LOL!

A lot has changed since the last time we came to Bangkok. As mentioned before, more pricey, more tourists, over-commercialised, over-saturated and even night markets were different and expensive! Bangkok has evolved into a city of lights of some sorts, making it less localised and more westernised or touristy. Even this time around, we have chosen to walk more at the malls... well, aside from the heat, it seemed more safe and comfortable. We have always been to the streets and markets but seldom malls. So this time we walked until our hearts content in the malls LOL! Maybe as we grow older, malls are better options too... cooling as compared to outdoors with many sitting areas.

I guess we need to target other places aside from Bangkok from now on... need to save more $$$ to travel further! Japan? Australia? London perhaps?

So, until the next time we travel...

Bangkok: day 3

This was a much disappointed walkathon at first as I actually have a shopping list for this day especially stocking up for my bazaar and crafts. I had planned for Platinum Mall and then Palladium Mall. After which we could dropped by Dasa Book Cafe before heading back to the hotel. Unfortunately, it all went south.

Platinum Mall has changed into a tourist destination with much touristy appeal. I could not locate much local products as it was 99% from China plus the prices have increased tremendously! Nothing wholesale was as cheap or affordable anymore. Also it was so crowded, filled with so many tourists especially from China buying China made products in Platinum Mall Bangkok. Hmmm... how weird is that! So in the end, we left empty handed, can you believe that??? Platinum Mall = empty handed!!!

Anyway, we didn't even go to Palladium as it's on the opposite side of the main road and we have to cross the busy intersection so in the end, we scraped that off purely for our safety and we were darn tired. We switched to Central World as we find it more appealing for us and there seemed to be many bazaars outside the mall which turned out for the positive... loads of local food and some local products... nice to browse through though a little too hot.

The plus point here which I truly liked was the overhead walk path connecting from the Chit Lom BTS station to all the shopping malls! That had me in awe! No need to cross the busy streets below, no need to rush for the tuk tuk, no need umbrella! Just walked across the overhead path in peace and shaded! So I was wondering when they will connect it to Palladium so that we don't have to risk our lives crossing that busy intersection!

Some photos here taken from that overhead walk path:

So near yet so far... passing by Palladium from opposite after exploring our options and decided not to cross...

We had lunch at Platinum Mall's food court first before crossing over to Central World. Though no more free tissues with high level of noisiness, the food is still good and is the cheapest amongst the food courts we have been to.

Platinum Mall food court

We had these yummy, fresh grilled prawns at the Central World outdoor bazaar!

After checking out the bazaars outside and filled our tummy with fresh prawns and coconut water for tea time, we went inside Central World and another walkathon ensued until we noticed the cinema! Spider-Man, here we come! You can read my full review of the movie here:
http://www.sholee.net/2017/07/mpov-spider-man-homecoming.html

Spider-Man: Homecoming @ SF Cinema, Central World

Central World sure is a big mall! We didn't finished walking after the movie and just looked for dinner. In the end, we settled for MOS Burger as we never had it before and it's not available in Malaysia. It was steep in pricing compared to McDonald's but the burger was awesome! Crispy salted fries with fresh tasty patties, it was definitely way better, really delicious and good!

MOS Burger, Central World

All in all, it ended on a high as Central World made up the boo hoos we had. Also, we went to Huay Kwang night market before going back to the hotel. After a good walk and some supper, we hit the sack, not looking forward to the next day which was our last day in Bangkok. Sad but true.

Next: last day

Bangkok: day 2

This was the day I looked forward to the most! Well, it's the obvious since we are visiting TrueLove @ Neverland! If you've never heard before, TrueLove @ Neverland is a dog cafe where you can meet Siberian Huskies! Loads of them! We can touch, pet, hug and play with the dogs... such an endearing visit which had me pumped up!

The above info was Googled

We took the train from Huay Kwang MRT station to Ari BTS station and then walked about 20 mins to the secluded cafe guided by Waze. Thank goodness for Waze! Very reliable! Also we went for the first session i.e. 12.30 pm so it wasn't as hot as we reached just before noon and it wasn't crowded yet.

Upon reaching the cafe, we had to queue to buy our tickets plus filling up a form. After that we were shown to our table. Each ticket has a table number assigned to us so no free seating ya! The ticket costs 350 Baht and has 2 stubs i.e. 1 for a drink and the other for a slice of cake which have been included into the price.

The queue when we arrived... not sure why the photo cacat...

Our table no. 20... waiting impatiently while feasting on ice-cream cake and iced drink.

I have actually taken some videos when the owner was feeding them carrots... so cute and endearing! Not sharing it here though as the files are quite big. I've only took photos of this male alpha as he was truly a diva! You can see how clingy and cute he was trying to get extra carrots LOL!!!

After watching some rules and regulations, we were allowed to go in and I felt overwhelmed! Finally! Meeting Hachiko's distant relatives LOL!!! We took many photos but I loved this the most! This fella actually licked me jaw! I was so in awe, not relenting to let go after that but there were others waiting in line... sigh!

After all the furriness, we decided to leave around 2 pm before the next session starts. We called for a tuk tuk to the BTS station which cost only 40 Baht and took the train to MBK Center. As we were famished, after scouring the whole mall for BarBQ Plaza but to no avail, we have settled for this. It definitely looked different, something we never had before so we gave it a shot and thankfully, it turned out nice and delicious. Not forgetting, their staffs were also attentive and everything was served promptly. 2 thumbs up from me!

For more details, you can check out their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/SukiNumber1/

Sukiyaki Number 1, MBK Center

After another round of walkathon, we saw this small, unassuming cafe with the price half of Starbucks. It seemed local, not sure but the coffee was good with a nice hangout ambience to rest our feet! Can you believe that our total bill for 2 coffee below was 105 Baht?!!! So worth it!!!

Here's their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cafe-Amazon-MBK/1004425939672927

Cafe' Amazon, MBK Center

After we were done with MBK, we headed back to the hotel to shower and then go to Lemongrass for a massage before dinner. It was so heavenly having an hour of foot massage after all those torture of walking endlessly! We have always favoured Lemongrass due to it's authenticity and value for money plus it's just a few minutes walk from our hotel.

Dinner at another roadside shop ala big fry 'dai chou' style. We came here before in year 2013 but this time around, not sure if we were too tired, it wasn't as good... just average and a little more expensive.

Next: day 3 @ Platinum Mall

Bangkok: day 1

I was so happy when hubby decided we should go to Bangkok during my birthday week so it's my first birthday away from Malaysia soil! Bucket list ticked!

When the day arrived, it seemed so surreal that I'm on vacation! Especially since I had to wake up at 2 am to catch our early morning flight LOL! This time around, we did have a few places in mind but in the end, we went to only a couple due to the weather, location and timing. So as per norm, I'll split my posts by days so there'll be a total of 4 since we were there for 4 days. Mostly filled with photos but those which have been shared on my Instagram will not be posted here again to avoid duplication.

Here's day 1, filled with photos for your viewing pleasure! After checking in to our hotel and had our filled of pork burgers for brunch, we walked to Huai Kwang MRT station to take the train to the famous 4 Siam Malls i.e. Paragon, Centre, Discovery and Square.

A blooming lotus on the way to MRT station

After walking around the malls, we decided to have lunch at Food Republic. The food here is totally yummylicious! Clean, quality controlled with many varieties of food, definitely worth exploring the food court here.

Even the toilet is so unique! Fantastic idea!

The malls here are well organised, definitely more concerned of customer's shopping experience with the appropriate tenants, displays and promotions etc. I was intrigued with this display in the middle of nowhere... then hub's hinted 'banana skin' + 'wet floor' = ???

Can you guess?

The malls are so supportive of their customers' tech savvy with such stations everywhere

Then I saw this signage when I was downstairs... curious me went up to check it out...

I really liked the creativity here

And then tadaa!!!

So many car showrooms right up here at level 4 I think! Don't see many malls with such tenants...

My catch of the day from the bazaar behind Siam Square for 200 Baht!

And then they had Line + Samsung Event!

All for 300 Baht!!!

Finally, after a tiring first day of exploring and walking, we returned to our hotel to catch a breather and bathe. After that, we headed to the food stalls behind our hotel for dinner. It's just 1 of the many food stalls by the roadside which serves yummy local dishes. And this was no exception as it was truly yummylicious, fresh, cheap and fulfilling!

Overall, our first day had started on a walkathon mode! By the time we returned to the hotel, I was just too tired to even noticed the noisy compressor and dozed off immediately! We had gotten a room on the new wing and the air-con compressor was really loud plus our shower head was not working that well with water not hot enough and then a hairdryer which was not working. Thankfully, they have allowed us to switch rooms to the old wing the next day! Thank you, Palazzo Hotel!

Next: day 2 @ Neverland.

16th Wedding Anniversary

This is a throwback... a post to capture my happy moment especially since we were able to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary with our children... I am truly a happy mom!!! As we had to attend a cousin's wedding on our anniversary, we had unintentionally celebrated it pre and post.

Pre was a sumptuous Japanese dinner at Rakuzen which filled our tummies to the brim! A yummy meal filled with laughter... truly a memorable night! Unfortunately, I couldn't find the pics of that night, most likely with hubs.

This was taken on our actual anniversary during cousin's wedding at a Chinese restaurant in Cheras:

Us dressed to the nine's!

Post was something Italian at Tino's Pizza! Yummylicious cheesy pizza to savour and appease our taste buds! Honestly, it was a fun-filled night with Angels!

Us in casuals!

I am truly grateful and thankful that God has blessed me with such a beautiful family to call my own. After all these years, hubs has been supportive, understanding and loving... I'm proud that he's my best friend and also my soulmate... muaxxx xoxo!

Mom's 68th birthday

We celebrated mom's 68th birthday a couple of weeks ago with some meal and movie at Paradigm Mall. It was fun and easy with us, the children, busy window-shopping and catching Pokemon! LOL! To be honest, it's sis Alvina, bro Ryan and me lah! The youngest of the lot, bro Chris, was not interested but he does know the theories LOL! Mom was flabbergasted that her older children was so engrossed with Pokemon Go! LOL!

We had coffee here at Franco but not sure what happened to the art...

Lunch at Sushi Zanmai but the taste was off that day...

Dinner at a shop near home and the food was off too...

It was truly an enjoyable day and we had the most fun catching Pokemon! I think we had never played together like forever! Definitely a memorable day for me... I hope so it was for mom too...

We watched Skiptrace as mom is a Jackie Chan fan hence the reason why we were at Paradigm Mall as limited cinema was showing this movie then. Or else we would have been at Sunway Pyramid with more Pokemon to catch... oopsie Daisy :-)

The Lee Clan

And bro Ryan just had to do this.... Poliwag with mom!

Believe it or not, now our family group chat in Whatsapp has become Pokemon Go chat room LOL!