Bangkok Sightseeing Shortcuts

If you have only one day to go around Bangkok, you might want to take my quickie itinerary. These 2 places I visited on my only free day in Bangkok (it was a Sunday) fulfilled both my bargain-shopping and my photo-opp-ing needs.

Chatuchak Weekend Market. (MRT-Kamphaeng Phet) This should be your first stop in the morning, before the hot noontime sun hits the stalls and there are less people. This weekend-only open air market (reminiscent of the old Divisoria) is quite accessible as the Kamphaeng Phet station is smack dab in the middle of the market. I’ve heard so many people call this bargain-hunters paradise overwhelming which why I was afraid to go at first, but then I remembered I’ve shopped at the Greenhills tiangge during Christmas time so I shouldn’t be daunted by anything.

Chatuchak has everything from Thai silk goods, Chinese décor items, glassware, steelware, wall hangings, tons of trendy clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, leather goods, artwork…I could go on and on! I was only there for a few hours but ended up with 4 photo frames (US$2 each), a short silver grey bubble dress (US$5.40), set of 4 candle holders (US$10.60), a hand-painted wood hanging (US$10), a bright printed summer dress (US$16), 3 chunky necklaces (US$2 each), a chiffon skirt ($10) and 2 Thai silk pillow cases ($6 each), and silver dangly earrings ($12), ceramic ashtray and vase (US$0.30 each). I was eyeing some woven bags, more tops and skirts but thank God I had to force myself to leave for my next stop. What’s great about shopping in Chatuchak is that, perhaps because of the language barrier, don’t pressure you into buying anything. Negotiating is common, but I’m always embarrassed to do so which I know is quite un-Pinoy. I tried the “walking away” technique but no one came after me, so I usually settle for a 10% discount, and felt elated when I went all the way up to 30% off for some purchases.

Before I left I got lunch at the Toh-Plue restaurant which wasn’t all that fabulous, and I wished I could have tried more of the street food they were hawking at the market.

Chaopraya River. (BTS- Mo Chit) The second part of your day can be devoted to a trip down Chaopraya River by the Express Boat accessible from the Central pier. Since I had limited time, I chose to stop over at the Tha Thien pier where the Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha) and Grand Palace. On the way there, you can ogle the beautiful riverside hotels like The Oriental, Shangri-la and The Hilton. Across the Tha Tien pier you can also visit the Wat Arun (Temple of the Dawn). The river cruise is perfect in the afternoon because on the way back you can see the Wat Arun basked by the sunset. Of course I missed my stop which is why my time got even more limited--- but its ok I also got to witness a fish feeding frenzy which one of their weird tourist activities there. Actually it was easy to get back on track, the ferry “conductors” are very helpful in pointing you to where you should get off, just as long as you tell them where you are going. Taking the express boat is a lot like taking a Philippine bus, they have conductors on-board collecting fare and they issue those small, thin paper tickets.

In touring the Wat Pho which has the biggest Buddha statue in Thailand (you cant fit it in one photo), you will be asked to wear head-covering and take off your shoes. The Wat Pho is also the site of a traditional Thai massage school conducted by the monks, and if I had arrived early enough I could have tried a head or foot massage for the price of a donation. Outside the Wat Pho, tons of tuktuk drivers offered a riding tour for only 20 Baht (when I wouldn’t accept the tour they tried to flatter me into it) but I seriously thought I could’ve walked to all the sights they were suggesting. However, it was getting dark and I was channeling Sarah Jessica Parker by taking the river ride in a Vietnamese silk printed sundress, I decided it wasn’t appropriate to stay late while being alone.

After this long day, I took myself to a nice dinner booked myself a massage of course!

Lavana Spa, Bangkok

I'm a massage junkie. Which is why I was happy to find myself in the land of Thai massages. And even happier to find a fabulous, affordable, exotic massage called "Oil Massage with Herbal Balls" at the Lavana Spa, Bangkok. It was a relief too, to recover my faith in Thai massages. After all, 2 days before my fabulous Lavana massage, I spent 200 Baht (US$6) at a creepy Thai massage place called Kreuw Beauty along Sukhumvit Road for a lousy 1-hour massage. I've had better Thai massages in Cebu! Kr-eeew smelled musty, had itchy pajamas and a half-hearted masseuse. Just a tad bit louder than the Thai radio station in the background was the flirting antics of the male customer and female masseuse in the next cubicle. I learned that not all Thai massages in Thailand are good. I will remember that when I go for a Balinese massage in Bali.

For 1,400 Baht (US$40), Lavana Spa will provide you a relaxing 2-hour oil massage in a private room with its own shower. The music is aptly instrumental, with ocean sounds and birds chirping. They serve hot tea in their spacious reception area before leading you up glass steps lit by candles to your room. The masseuse applied the right pressure, because they bother to ask you what kind of pressure you like, as well as which areas you would like them to concentrate on, even before you leave the reception area. The Herball Ball treatment came the last 30 minutes of the massage. Thai herbs (or it could be tea leaves for all I know) are wrapped in a hot towel-ball and pressed against your entire body. A good way to soak up the oil from the massage, and the hot compress is very comforting. The massage ends with a full head treatment, which is exactly what I needed after a full day shopping at Chatuchak and sightseeing at Chaopraya River.

Lavana Spa is located at No.4 Soi Sukhumvit (Suck-om-vit) 12, conveniently near the Sheraton Grande where I stayed and right beside the popular Thai restaurant called Cabbages & Condoms where I had dinner.

Thai Clothing Brands

I really love checking out locally made clothes in the places I visit. Bangkok, Thailand is definitely a fashion hotspot. Just walking through the busy streets and taking the MRT provides you with an unexpected fashion show. The locals look so fashionable, from their hair, to the accessories, their clothes and shoes. And you can tell what's this season's trend: every other girl is wearing a short tent or bubble dress which I used to think looked baggy and shapeless but this trip changed my mind.

Its a chicken and egg situation. Did the funky fashions come from the cool local stores which available at most Thai malls? Or are the avant-garde, high-quality local designers a response to the Thai youth's innate fashion sense?

Whatever the case may be, no self-respecting woman should skip a trip to Siam Central, Siam Square and Siam Discovery which are shopping havens right next to each other and conveniently located at the MRT/BTS train interchange. Check out the following stores:

• Jaspal - a mini-Zara with a men's section, ladies section which wasn't particularly impressive to me unless you're a "basic" dresser, but I was so bowled over by the shoes that I immediatly snapped up a pair. This month Jaspal has a 70% off sale! Maybe the new collections will be much better, I may have caught the dregs of last season when it came to clothing.
• Greyhound - I positively fainted from wanting to buy something from sleek clothing label Greyhound, but it could possibly be also from the price tag. They have avant-garde but classy tops, pants, jackets and dresses, as well as a casual clothing line called Playhound. A friend of mine told me that Greyhound has already made its London Fashion week debut although I wish they'd make an online debut because I cant seem to find a website.
• Jim Thompson - He's the entrepreneur who made Thai silk globally famous, then disappeared while trekking in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. His legacy is top quality (slightly premium priced) Thai silk goods like scarves, pashminas, bags, dresses, wallets, ties. The designs are classic and delicate, I bought framed notecards of his famous prints just so I could take some Jim Thompson home.

I also zipped through the Greenhills-like Siam Square and saw a lot of moderately priced clothes, bags and shoes but its more of a "trendy" than a quality buy in this area. But the real "trend" and low-cost shopping mecca is the Chatuchak Weekend Market which I set myself to visit another day.

Stephen King reviews the Harry Potter series

One of the greatest horror fictionists of this era reviews the series by one the greatest childrens novelists of all time. He has some very insightful things to say:

"The clearest sign of how adult the books had become by the conclusion arrives — and splendidly — in Deathly Hallows, when Mrs. Weasley sees the odious Bellatrix Lestrange trying to finish off Ginny with a Killing Curse. ''NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!'' she cries. It's the most shocking bitch in recent fiction; since there's virtually no cursing (of the linguistic kind, anyway) in the Potter books, this one hits home with almost fatal force. It is totally correct in its context — perfect, really — but it is also a quintessentially adult response to a child's peril."

"Jo Rowling set out a sumptuous seven-course meal, carefully prepared, beautifully cooked, and lovingly served out. The kids and adults who fell in love with the series (I among them) savored every mouthful, from the appetizer (Sorcerer's Stone) to the dessert (the gorgeous epilogue of Deathly Hallows). Most reviewers, on the other hand, bolted everything down, then obligingly puked it back up half-digested on the book pages of their respective newspapers."

"If all those creative spells — produced at the right moment like the stuff from Crusoe's ship — were a sign of creative exhaustion, it's the only one I saw, and that's pretty amazing. Mostly Rowling is just having fun, knocking herself out, and when a good writer is having fun, the audience is almost always having fun too. You can take that one to the bank (and, Reader, she did)."

You can check out the rest of the article here.

Coming Soon

Trips to Penang, Port Dickson, Bangkok, Hongkong and Singapore. Yahoooooo! Now I really wish I had that cool digital SLR camera.

Shopping High

ing Its one of the best feelings in the world to splurge on something and the hours later after your actions have sunk in, to still be happy with what you've bought. That "shopping high" is what I'm feeling today after a visit to a small shop called Wondermomo in Plaza Mont Kiara, which sells designer wear at a fraction of the retail price. I don't even know how they do it and I didn't want to ask how they're able to give good prices for their stocks. (To be fair, they're probably bargain hunters in the US). The selections are few but quite varied, from Diane von Furstenberg to Chloe to Calvin Klein. They also have shoes, bags and belts. I was able to score Citizens of Humanity jeans for RM200 (US$57) and a Shanghai Tang dress for RM116 (US$33). They might not be from the current season, but who cares? I felt so vindicated when I surfed online and found that COH jeans typically cost US120 ++ and Shanghai Tang dresses fall in the whopping $400 - $500 range. Whoopee!

In other news I also bought 2 new pillows and 2 sets of Cotonsoft bedding sets, one of which is already in place on my bed, and the other in reserve for my guest bedroom. For an amazing RM246 (US$71), each bedding set comes with a fluffy reversible comforter, a fitted sheet and 2 matching pillowcases. I'm definitely going to have a good night's sleep with the aircon running full blast.

I'm a Child of the 90s

When I drive to work every morning, there are only 3 English stations I can listen to, Hitz-FM, Fly-FM and Mix-FM. All of them do their own brand of morning show complete with DJs banter, little skits and interacting with callers. The one I most enjoy listening to is Mix-FM when they play Almost 90s at 9, which is 5 tracks in a row and you're supposed to guess which one is not from the 90s. (Note: I shouldn't even be in the car at 9am, listening to 5 tracks. I should be sitting at my desk. But somethings are hard to change!).

The other day's 90s selections were "I'll be There For You" by The Rembrandts, "Say What You Want" by Texas, "Never Ever" by All Saints and "Can't Help Falling in Love" by UB40. Can you remember what you were like, and what you were doing when you first heard these songs? I totally can! It was so much fun, with every track, to remember how different I was back then. I remember college and sitting in the Rizal Foyer, friends and the show "Friends", walking in Greenbelt Park, the first time I saw En Vogue perform at the Grammys, how I tried to scream and shout just to sing like All Saints when they did "All Cried Out", how we used to drive around Paranaque singing songs from Usher's first album. Back then, I couldn't ever imagine where I would be in 10 years. I was optmistic and idealistic and imagined so many possibilities. Listening to 90s music reminds me that its great to feel that way.

The Other Boracay

Boracay in July, which is the island's off-peak season, is a different experience altogether. In my 2nd trip there this year (which I made with even more effort since I had to fly in from KL), I was pleasantly surprised not to spend my time lolling around on the beach for 3 days, with the requisite kayak ride so that I get at least some exercise and don't feel guilty about staying up all night drinking in Club Paraw, Pier 1, Hey Jude or Juice.

There are fewer people on the beach and it doesn't seem like Greenbelt magically transported to Aklan. The prices are much much lower. We got a beachfront "penthouse" room with a veranda courtesy of Casa Fiesta in Station 1 for only P430/night/person. I finally got to: island-hop (with snorkeling and a visit to Crystal Cove and Puka Beach) for about P400, banana-boat for P150, parasail for P900, and take a beautiful sunset glide over the water in Boracay's famous paraw.

Gigi was totally right also when she said that Boracay is different depending on who you're with. I'd like to thank my off peak Bora squad consisting of her, Marj, Mai, and James for a shared sense of adventure, love for good food, ability to help me stick to a budget, and total cam-whoreness. I'd love to book another P1.00 Cebu Pacific trip with these guys soon.