Day Three: Bargain and the Best

After the cruise, a lengthy shower capped off our day. As we were in a relaxed mode for most of the day, it was easy to cool down to sleep.

Our alarm sounded at 5am and we were able to leave our room dressed up by 615am for breakfast. By 645am we took a cab and headed to the infamous Chatuchak Weekend Market.

The ride going here (140 baht) from our hotel is the most expensive we’ve spent on to reach a destination. Hence, taxi riding to navigate Bangkok is fine for those who are not so very good on train rides and walking distances. (Although most malls are directly linked to train stations).

We told ourselves to just limit our shopping to one small plastic bag of pasalubong since we felt we have already committed shopping gluttony just on our first day at Bangkok. Although, since we were at our last day and I had still not accomplished my goal (to find a crisp dressy tops, a cocktail dress with an umph and at least three pairs of stunning cheap shoes), I bargained with my friend and pleaded to be allowed to have more shopping bags to bring home from the market.

The Bargain:

For only two thousand baht, I was able to accomplish my goal with extra bonus buys such as socks for my badminton club pals and cutesy Thailand pens for my friends at work. I was also able to buy three girly skirts and handcrafted statement shirts. I also brought home some cheap-priced rosemary herb and Pad Thai spices for mom’s cooking. Had there not been a baggage limit, I would have also bought lots of the very affordable home pieces especially the brass electric fans. Had quarantine not been an issue and had I been ready to enter into another relationship with a pup, I would have brought home the cheap-priced cutesy puppies with papers. My friend and I lost sight of each other and I was not able to locate our agreed upon meeting place so we ended up meeting at the hotel instead.

In the next few days, you’ll be seeing me donning my Bangkok buys. (Watch out for my blog posts!) Let’s put it this way… my Bangkok clothing purchases can last me a month of non-duplicating get-up.

I used to think that Florida outlet store shopping… Marshall bargain-shopping… and TJ Maxx shopping were overwhelming. Chatuchak shopping is crazily overwhelming. Although, I was never able to find authentic Kenneth Cole, Coach, Liz Claiborne or MAC Cosmetics at Chatuchak while in the US Bargain Centers, I did.

The Best:

Siam Paragon is the best mall I’ve ever seen (Top # 1 on my list… Central World being Top # 2 and Gaysorn being Top # 3). It’s definitely better than anything we have in the Philippines, and no match to the huge US Malls I’ve been to. It’s lie the very elegant high-ceiling Serendra shops we have at Fort Bonifacio are placed inside a very spacious mall.

It has a collection of fine brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Swarovski, even as it has fast food outlets at the ground floor. The stores have outstanding window displays, the department store has brilliant and creative center ceiling display and there is an extensive selection of cafes and restaurants where one can hang-out. The one which caught our eye because it displayed an affordable menu even if its interiors and offerings were at par (or even better) with our local Bizu Patiserrie, is Lenotre Paris. The tiramisu is very heavenly for something a little above 100 baht (not more than 150 pesos).

Siam Center is something like a teen fashion hub with concept and mall interiors attuned to the teen market. The mall is small and not high-ceiling compared to the very grandiose Siam Paragon, but it is very interestingly creative and unique with its lighted ad boxes with witty fashion statements and escalators with wacky graphic designs. This wins the prize for most creative and most interesting mall for me.

Siam Square is the oldest and the most dilapidated amongst the three Siam sister malls. It has a variety of very cheap start-up retail shops though. This would remind you of Greenhills Theatre Mall.

The best part: Siam Discovery Center which is comparable to Hong Kong’s Ocean Park water tunnel. It’s found under the Siam Paragon.

The best buys: The Triumph and Wacoal sale underwear inside the Siam Paragon department store.

The bummer part: The long taxi line we had to endure on our way back to the hotel.

Anyway, since we already checked out before we even left for the Siam malls (we just left our bags at the hotel lobby), our taxi going back to the hotel was also the taxi which brought us to the airport.

We had our dinner at the airport at the Sex and the City-inspired Tate Café. I tried their best seller, Breaded Chicken in curry sauce. Very unique and tasty, yet the serving was not too generous. It was filling though. My friend’s dish is mediocre though (Roast Pork Strips). I’d have to disagree with my friend – this café serves the Best Pad Thai.

Our flight was delayed as usual (Cebu Pacific) so we ended up sleeping at the cold steel chairs of Bangkok’s airport (no couches or padded seats like those in California or JFK).

The best part: We had a peaceful, good-smelling seatmate on our flight back to Manila.

The bummer part: The new NAIA Terminal Three operations suck. The Duty Free shop still not opened… Announcements were on tarpaulin… Signage billboards were handwritten… No banks or functional ATMs. The supposedly billion-peso airport had dysfunctional baggage rollers, not so sparkly tiles and small mediocre restrooms (the restrooms at this SLEX Gas Station are way better).

With God’s blessings, I am up to travel Hollywood, Europe, Singapore and Malaysia within the next 24 months. Stay tuned.