greggoestravelling: Day 2 in the Land of Smiles: Bangkok (June 2015)

Day 2

Breakfast @ Macdonalds

We decided to see if there are any menu that is unique to Thailand and certainly there is!

Famous Buddha clap Ronald

Caution: This is a must photo op with Thailand's Ronald when you are there!

Curry Pie

Stir fry pork with rice

The curry pie tasted a bit like our version of curry puff but it was uniquely good. The stir fry pork was disappointing. They used the pork patty for the stir fry pork while the sauce comes from the thai sweet chilli sauce that they offer at the counter.

Erawan Shrine

Opening Hours:

0600 - 2400

We visited the Erawan shrine that is diagonally opposite the Central World shopping centre. The shrine is famed for their four faced Buddha. We decided to visit the shrine to pray for good results for our finals.

Location of Erawan Shrine
Retrieved from: Google Maps

Erawan Shrine

Ritual performance

For a fee, you can get the dancers to perform a dancing ritual for good luck.

Central World

Opening Hours:

1000 - 2200

We decided to head indoors to the Central World shopping centre to have our lunch and some snack while avoiding the sun.

Remember to ask for your tourist privileges to obtain tourist discounts. Tax refund at this mall with a minimum spending of 2000 baht is around 6%

Tourist's discount privileges

Lunch at Central World

Our lunch is at a local Thai restaurant in Central World. Price wise its about 150 baht per dish.

Croissant Taiyaki

Crossaint Taiyaki as the name suggest is a crossaint in the shape of a fish. There are 3 fillings to choose from: Red Bean, Cold Custard and Sausage Ham. We ordered the custard and sausage ham. Both were good and are highly recommended!

Crown Tailor

Opening Hours:

1100 - 2000

Thailand is known for their cheap and good tailors. I have decided to try the Crown Tailor and were impressed at their services. If you are in Thailand, you can consider getting your tailored pants, shirts or suits done here.

Crown Tailor is located just outside BTS Nana on exit 3.

Location of Crown Tailor
Retrieved from: Google Maps

You can either purchase the cloth from outside (if you know of any source of cheap quality cloth) or purchase from the tailors. They have 3 different grades of cloth at different prices.

All in all, I tailored a full suit that includes the pants, shirt and suit, using their cloths. They will first measure you and then ask you to return the next day for a fitting and make necessary changes. For jacket suit, a second round of fitting will be required. Hence, do give about 2-3 days allowance. I will recommend tailoring on the first few days of arrival in Bangkok.

I cleared mine in 3 fittings. Thankfully, they were very receptive at making changes. The total damage for the suit was 5700 baht.

Terminal 21

Opening Hours:

1000 - 2200

Terminal 21 is a themed based shopping mall with each level constructed with different themes that are associated with different countries. One of the theme is London! Look below for more spoilers.

The shops at the upper level of Terminal 21 consists of many small retailers where bargaining is allowed. Do remember to bargain!

Japanese Ice Cream

We bought this gimmick ice cream where the dry ice at the bottom of the cup creates a foggy atmosphere for the ice cream. The fog disappeared quickly before I could capture them.

Contact lens

For one day acuvue moist, the cheapest I have found so far is in MBK where the offer was 700 baht a box (min 4 boxes). The standard rate in Thailand is around 750 baht per box.

Food fair

Do check out the basement of Terminal 21 for any ongoing food fair. I bought a box of hei bee hiam looking food which is very tasty. It has a crispy, sweet and spicy taste which goes very well with rice.

Dinner at Somboon Seafood

Opening Hours:

0800 - 2100

Another must visit place when you are in Bangkok. They are famous for their fried curry crab and the fried fish. We only came to know about this place at the recommendation of the concierge staff at Terminal 21 as we were inquiring if there are any good food around.

Baskets of crab

Must order dishes:

1. Fried Curry Crab (Heavenly Curry Egg Sauce)

2. Fried Fish (Addictive fish sauce)

3. Kang Kong (They added the local fish sauce)

It is surprising that Kang Kong can be very tasty without any sambal chilli. The Thais fry the kang kong with their local fish sauce that made it very tasty. A must try!