Timeless Elegance: And thou shalt drink forth...

Friday, August 05, 2005

And thou shalt drink forth...

Water Dispenser!
Isn't that interesting? As we all know in Thailand it's impossible to drink direct from the tap (unless you want to lose weight..through diarrhoea) so they actually do have a water dispenser by the road for people to collect water!

Except lar...that, you have to pay lor. Ranges from 1B to 5B only according to bottle size. In fact, to save money on water, clement and I go for the cheapest bottled water in 7-11...which is 6B. C&S more high class wor...they opt for those above 10B. Hehe.

We spotted this on our way to Central!! Heh~

Actually I kinda regretted not walking around my hotel more...because there are so many shops around my hotel which I never got to see because 1st day, we came in the evening, shops were closed. 2nd day, we took a shuttle bus to the BTS, so never walked past it. And when we did, it was already night. 3rd day, we went Pratunam, so it was a different route.

On this 4th day, we walked the same route as we did on the 1st day, and then I realised there are also shops here too. But it's the same stuffs we had been seeing for the past 3 days lar...clothes, bags, shoes, wallets...actually there was this place doing manicure and pedicure...but because we started out late (we left the hotel around 10.30), so I didn't want to waste more time. Plus this 4th day is our last day!! And it's a very nice day because me and clement were on our own.

Before that I felt kinda "stressed" with C&S around...because the 2 of them so ang-moh and we are so "rojak"...I felt weird whenever I speak to clement in chinese with the 2 of them around. And must speak chinese mah...in case the thais understand english...especially when talking about money stuffs...

Anyway, we walked around 10 mins to Central. Central is a very big shopping centre, something like our Takashimaya lar. Many floors of shopping to do! They had cosmetics on the 1st floor, a supermarket too. And then the rest of the levels were all clothings. What struck me was that there were 2 men standing at the door to open it for you, kinda reminds me of Harrods. Haha.

So it was grand...and since clement and I were running out of money, we went there to change!! Oh my, the rate they gave was damn good lar...haha. And it's our very own UOB bank wor. Made me kinda regret changing money in Singapore. But then again, at least I brought 100bucks over to change just in case I overspent. And so I did. Haha. Anyway I changed money first, and then we walked around to reccee what they have.

And they had so many stuffs! Even authentic Von Dutch stuffs okies. Haha. But with so many fakes going around...who will bother? LoL~ Clement and I also checked out their cosmetic section too...the prices are controlled I guess, so it's the same as what we got in Singapore, or even more expensive! And then we checked out their clothes and stuffs...it was okay lar, but I think they specialise in labels, so their stuffs were kinda ex.

Oh, but I have to mention their toilets!

Haha. Their toilets are damn grand lar. Outside the toilet is a vending machine and a sitting area for people to wait (especially guys to wait for girls). And then in the toilet itself, there's a section with sofa, so you can literally nua in there. It is seperate sections, so no worries of the smell of toilet. But there's no smell lar, because the toilet is very very clean.

I am so impressed! Haha.

Anyway, in that building there were a couple of restaurants, and there's this whole stretch of spa services. The spa is not your typical spa, it's those cosmetic brands spa (think Lancome, Clarins, etc etc). It's all there. Kinda high class. Haha. And anyway after that we decided to go straight up to the top floor, because there's this Food Loft which we wanted to visit.

Food Loft is very Marche-like, you have a card, and then you get your seat, you buy food, use the card to scan, and when you exit, you surrender the card. :) And it has an international cuisine too!! There's ramen, vietnamese noodles, hongkong dimsum, Singapore friedrice (?!?!) and of course their own Thai food lar.

Clement had Tom Yam Gung (Tom Yam with Prawn soup), and I must say, we were both shocked...

Tom Yam Gung

Can you see how red it is?

When clement brought it to the table he was complaining on how red it was. Haha. That's because he specifically told the chef "moderately" spicy (because lousy me can't eat very spicy stuffs...hehe) and so the chef proceeded to scoop 1 big scoop (think of the soup ladle) of chili powder in. And so, the soup became so red.

So I told clement he just have to finish it himself lor. And even him, was apprehensive about it.

Anyway before we start eating we took a lot of photos lar! Haha.

I had Dim Sum!!

My Cafe Latte...and the "Occuppied" Sign

Table Layout, Buying Card, and Our Food!!

Clement's Traumatised Look

And when we started eating, we saw something that we couldn't believe our eyes.

Gigantic Prawns in our Tom Yam Gung!

Can you see how big and fleshy the prawns are? Haha. There were like, 3 of them? Very worth the money wor...(Forgot how much liao. Haha.) Anyway the soup wasn't as spicy as we thought! It was, indeed, "moderately" spicy. But how can it look so red and yet be moderately spicy...I guess, it's their chili powder? Maybe their chili powder is not very spicy one lor. Haha. Just add to the colour only. Hehe.

Upstairs & Downstairs of Food Loft

We were seated on the 2nd level of the Food Loft, so we decided to take pics!! Hehe. On the 2nd level there were LCD TV screens on every pillar. It was showing some MTV lar...probably Thai ones, because we didn't understand. Haha. And then the lower level was the area where we came up from...well, it looks really posh and high-class. Lol~

Anyway after we fed ourselves we went to pay! Clement was mesmerized by this girl on our way to the cashier. Kept saying she's some model from Singapore. And I told him where got so coincidental one...chey~~~ Oh well, later on he conceded the fact that she might be a Thai-chinese. Well, I had to admit she's pretty also lar. Just not happy at the way clement kept looking.

Bleah~~

We went to this bookstore beside the Food Loft (think the likes of Borders), and see what kind of books they have. Forgot what it is called. Haha. Anyway we just wanted to while our time away...so look here, look there, and since there was a Starbucks in the bookstore, kay poh me went to take a look at their prices.

It was damn cheap lar!!! Made me kinda regret buying that stupid Cafe Latte in the Food Loft. Oh well.

After that we proceeded back down to the department store to look see look see again lar. Haha. And then, I had a brilliant idea to buy underwear again!!! Hahaha...

I already bought underwear on our 1st day in Isetan, but I still wanna look. Haha. And in the end I was tempted to buy again!

And so I did. Asked the sales assistant to measure me, and then she got the appropriate sizes for me. Was surpised to find that the bras I selected had extra padding, so if I don't like it, I can take it out! Actually I liked it the 1st day when I saw it, but I didn't look closer and thought that the padding was sewn in. But now that it isn't I was all the more happy to try! Plus they have a larger variety there too.

Well, clement fell in love with the changing rooms sia. Haha. Because he, who had to wait for me outside, was getting sleepy after our meal, and desperately needed somewhere to rest! And rest he did! There was a huge lounging area at the changing rooms, and it has high backed sofa at the wall. So clement happily told me to dump my stuffs with him and I can try for as long as I like. Haha. Trust him to be so happy over it.

And anyway, the changing room was so good too! There was a cushioned stool to sit on, and there were 3 mirrors...2 of them tilted at the side. So you can see yourself from front, left side, right side. Kinda cool. I liked it a lot wor...and wondered why I bought my bras at Isetan, where everything was so inconducive.

I settled on 2 pieces of bra, and had a free pair of panties to go along with! And I bought somemore panties too. Hehe. Though it's not really cheap (S$6 each), but by Wacoal standards, it's really cheap liao lar! 1 panty in Singapore is S$20 wor.

On top of the cheap price, I had a 5% discount too!! Thanks to C's pilot daddy who got the discount card for us while he transited in Bangkok for a night few weeks before. Hehehe. I shall never shop in Isetan again.

Anyway we exited the building, and then walked towards the BTS. From the BTS there was an overhead bridge that linked almost all the major shopping centers in the same area. Central is linked to it...and a couple of other shopping centers too. 1 of them is called the Gaysorn Plaza.

It's their equivalent of our Paragon. All the high-class boutiques, like Gucci, LV, Fiendi, Aigner? Blah and blah. Haha. But hor, we go there and use the toilet only lar, because we both cannot afford to buy anything lor.

The Interior High-Class Look of Gaysorn, and a cafe at the Basement

As we can see, it's like Paragon, so high-class that it's relatively deserted on a weekday afternoon lar. But it was interesting looking at the shop displays though. They have interesting concepts like making watches look like they are floating in the air.

Anyway after that we went to this World Trade Centre(the one in the previous post's photo)for a look-see, since we didn't visit it on the 1st day! It's very convenient because the BTS Sky Walk (the sheltered above-ground linkway) is linked directly there too. So we didn't have to breathe all the dust and dirt, didn't have to keep looking down on the ground for any potholes, that sort of thing. Very good!

There's King of Duty Free here, plus a departmental store (Central again I think. They have lots of it!) This departmental store sells Giordano! Giordano was on offer so kay poh us went to take a look. Haha. But hor, it was damn ex!! The price after discount is actually the normal price in Singapore. Bleah~ No difference lar. Haha.

The departmental store is smaller, so we didn't spend much time there. Instead we walked around a bit. It's like a very old building, the floor tiles are grey and all...looked quite gloomy wor. There were many shops selling pashimina at 199B, and I was tempted to get one for my mama. But I didn't know how big she liked so didn't get it lor...

Anyway I went to this shop where all the tops were on discount. So it will cost around 120B per top? Haha. I tried a few and settled for 2 lor. And after that 2 I didn't want to buy anymore because I didn't want to carry anymore lor. Hehe. Clement was already distracted by his hunger pangs and so we went to look for food!!

Well, I once tasted the KFC in M'sia, and it was heavenly. So we were thinking whether it would be the same as for Thailand too! And yes, the KFC chicken was damn good!! Haha. It's cheap, good, and what can I say? 1st class!? lol. Seriously speaking lar, Singapore's KFC really use old chicken sia...the taste in comparison is so much different.

They serve chicken on plates, they even gave us knife and fork. So, we tried to eat with a knife and fork lor. Haha. That's how they used to serve KFC in Singapore way back in the 1980s.

After we had our KFC clement needed orange juice desperately. Thought of going to some supermarket to get, but in the end I saw Starbucks and dragged clement in there. They have orange juice too!! By the way the orange juice we have at breakfast really cannot make it sia...it's really just orange syrup, or to say, Marinda Orange without the gas. Cannot make it!!!

And so we had orange juice. Haha. And some way along our way we saw this sports shop which was having a BIG SALE. And the cheapo in us of course went in and took a look! Haha. And the look was a long one...because eventually clement bought like a pile of clothings while I settled for another pair of crop pants. Heh~

I think our major spending was there lar. Clement signed his credit card for the purchases because we were running out of cash. Must keep 1000B for airport tax wor!!!

The credit card slip was damn stylo though, because though the currency was in Thai Baht, but then at the end it converted everything to S$, so we knew at once how much we spent. The damage was S$57! Which was damn worth it because clement bought like 2 tees (some branded ones), an Adidas berms, and my crop pants. So many things for so little money! Haha. I think we were just so lucky that we just happened to pass the shop and just happened the shop got sale and just happened everything he liked was cheaper. Haha. Anyway the shop was stylo...it promised that the whole shop was on sale...and everything had at least a 10% discount. Good eh...

Well, after that we proceeded to the Cabbages & Condom Restaurant which I mentioned in the earlier earlier posts which I wanted to go visit! Hehe.

Me and the Signboard! There's this walkway into the restaurant, this is the start!

Our Table-Ful of Condoms

A Closer Look at the Post Cards on Our Table!!

Thai-Style Satay!! Instead of rice, they gave us this cocktail of sweet cucumber salad. Nice!!

My Chocolate Milkshake & Clement's Honey Dew Juice Notice the cutlery all bear the restaurant's name. Cool!

Our Dinner!
They serve red jasmine rice (known as brown rice) and white rice, cut in a square, served on a round plate. It's at the far end of the picture! And we ordered a pot of soup, which they scooped it into bowls before serving it to us. And then there's the veggies and the huge fish. Haha. Maybe clement thought we lacked fish for the past 3 days lor...

Us and Dinner! Bad picture, because the waitress who took the photo shaked the cam. Haiz.

Condom Art This looks like...a male's anatomy?

Left Picture: How mushrooms are grown. Right Picture: Wheel of Aids? Supposed to educate you on how to protect yourself against Aids.

Free Condom?!Condoms are given when you pay the bill instead of mints

A Dig at the Political Scene? Haha.
So that was dinner! And after that we took a train down to Patpong!! The red-light district of Thailand! Haha. That's because they have a night market which I wanted to look-see lor. It's supposed to be famous for its fake LV bags, fake Gucci bags...and fake whatevers! Haha. Not to mention a place where you will see lots of bar-top dancers and stuffs like that!

Well, we decided to bo liao at the station while waiting.

Me at the Underground Station! Different from sky train!

Train Tokens!

Actually the underground train system is exactly like our EZ-Link system...contact card too! However unlike ours whereby single-trip tix need a dollar deposit, they give tokens instead, and you contact it onto the turnstile to enter.

And when you exit, there's a coin slot. Just drop the token in and out you go. Easy right? Better than the silly S$1 deposit for the card which we have here. I guess Transitlink probably want some advertising dollars out of that card.

Patpong was interesting!! We were kinda early, it was 10pm when we reached there. Many people were still setting up their stalls. In fact, it seems that they do so every night. It's like a Pasar Malam actually. Haha. But no food, just lots of stuffs. There are wallets, bags, sleepers, tee shirts, lava-lamps, japanese lamps, watches! I wanted to buy a wallet actually...there were many fakes, of all brands that you can think of. Wanted this wallet that cost 320B, but thought that I might see a nicer one elsewhere, so didn't buy lor! Now very regret leh... Coz it's ideal and the brand is Salvatore Ferragamo. Not to mention can bargain till 200B. Haha!

Anyway there were lots of ladies' shoes! All at 199B, and all looking very pretty! And there were fake Birkies (again!!) too! Didn't bother to buy shoes because ultimately I already had 1 pair (my own fake Birkies) and I already had a headache wondering how to bring it back. Haha.

And so we walked and walked and walked...and all along there will be men holding out cards screaming the word "SEX"...you know what they mean lar. Porno DVDs/VCDs lor!! It's quite funny, because since they can't sell it in the open, they will resort to this method lor. They will say VCD, DVD, and then shove the card in your face. Well, I didn't kena it, but I guess clement had to wave them away...haha.

It was okay, because the whole idea was damn funny. Haha. Then we suddenly came to this centralised place of the Patpong Night Market, and there were soooo many LV stuffs and Gucci stuffs! But hor, the LV stuffs are really ugly....1 look and you know it's fake. Because unlike the real LV in which you can see L and V, this one looks like VL joined together. Aiya it's just very fake lar, I was rather disappointed in seeing it.

On this same street, there were lots of a-go-go bars and all that lar, which features all the bar-top dancers and the thai girl show. Haha. Actually from outside you could look in...the bar top is just in front of the entrance. I guess it's also to let would-be customers take a look at the kind of girls they have? Dunno lar. And they are not very subtle either. One bar is called "Super Pussy". Enuff said.

But it was damn funny lar! Because clement stopped holding my hand when we got to the centralised area, as there were steps and very often he had to walk behind me. So in the end he had to let go. And then hor, outside all these bars there are always men trying to entice fellow men to go into the bars mah...ask men to go see show...so on and so forth. One of the guy put his arm around clement like buddy sia...wanna drag him off liao...Luckily I turned back. Haha. Then clement was like "no no..." and waving his hand. So after that I told clement he better hold my hand lor. Very unsafe leh!!

But we both thought it was damn funny lar! Haha. Looking at the way they hound guys to go into their bars...you may think got prizes to give out like that! Haha!!

In the end I didn't buy anything lor. Because we walked till the end of 1 side, there was the other side to go...and I was simply too tired to continue walking le. And clement's eyes were getting irritated from the long hours of contact lens wear. So I told him we better take a cab back lor. But clement asked if I wanted that Ferragamo wallet. I did! Haha. He suggested walking back and I gave him a firm "NO". Siao ah!!! Very far leh, walk back I will die...somemore have to keep squeezing through the crowds...dun play play lor...

While look-seeing I saw how those ang-moh bargain with the store keepers. Very interesting leh! They will take turns to press calculator until both side agree lor. Haha. Like that also can bargain sia! So smart. No need to waste breath one. Highly efficient somemore. Wahahaha~

Also ah, all the storekeepers seem to keep a catalogue of the stuffs they sell! Like if they sell watches, they have a catalogue of all kinds of branded watches. And they can produce an almost identical fake! Gotta hand it to them...haha. Clement wanted to get Tag Heur after watching C&S get theirs. Haha. But in the end he didn't stop leh. So if they sell bags, they also have a catalogue of the real thing. And they can produce an almost identical fake one (with the exception of the ugly LV lar). Really very li hai deshou...

There were baskers too! The baskers are so high tech. They hook-up a ktv system on themselves one okies! Think CD-player, speakers, mic. The woman holds a mic and sings, walking through the crowd. Her other hand is a tin container for people to throw money in. So li hai right? Rather than sitting one corner and sing, they are very pro-active wor, walking and braving the crowds. And they walk at an extra slow pace that they tend to cause bottlenecks. Jeez~

Yup...we took a cab back from one end...and while the driver drove back...we were both amazed at how much we walked. So tiring!!! And so we reached the hotel, we also had to pack our lugguage le. Going home le wor...

And this is our last day in BKK!!

Stunningly Gorgeous Y 1:35 AM