So BKK was kind of impromptu and I booked Scoot air tickets a week later. There was this promo of 25% for all of the destinations. Our fly-bag-eat package for two in Sep 2019 was SGD511.51 inclusive of travel insurance. For years, I thought why I could not select the AXS payment mode whenever I booked Scoot's flight.
I was told that if I bought travel insurance together with air tickets or if the fare was on sale, I could only pay with credit card. Note that for Scoot, a processing fee of SGD20.00 per pax would be charged if you pay via credit card. For those paying via AXS, the processing fee is only SGD6.00.
**update on 28 Sep 2019
I understand that Scoot no longer charges SGD20.00 processing fee. Check out their website to verify again.
I'm only left with about 3 weeks to plan the itinerary. Luckily, I still have a copy of the 2017's BKK itinerary or I would die having sleepless nights for weeks. I even had to stop watching my Korean dramas for a while. In total, I had only spent three full days to plan out our 4D3N BKK trip. I have never been so proud of myself, like seriously.
Some points to note:
1) Bangkok is an hour behind of Singapore. If Singapore is 10am now, Bangkok is 9am.
2) If you are buying travel insurance separately or at the very last minute, check out Changi Recommends here. Pretty hassle free and the most important point is that they do accept application using passport where most insurance companies in Singapore could only allow Singapore NRIC or work permit holders only.
3) Get prepaid SIM card from Klook here. The usual 8 days unlimited package from DTAC, True Move or AIS is around 299Baht (SGD13.50). However, Klook is selling the same package at SGD4.80 (107Baht). Super good deal.
**update on 28 Sep 2019
The link shown the price as SGD5.90. However, when I logged into Klook mobile with my account, the price is SGD 4.80. You may try to check from your mobile instead.
4) For those of you who are arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, you may board the Airport Rail Link at Basement B. The fare is cheap, starting from 15Baht to 45Baht (SGD0.60 to SGD1.80). You may check out your fares at their website here.
Get tickets from Klook online here to avoid queuing up at the counter. Just collect it on your arrival date, flash the ticket and you are good to go. If you are buying a return tickets, you would need to buy two "one way ticket (single pass)". Klook has the BKK Airport and Siam Center pick up points.
5) If you are staying near Sukhumvit's area like us, you may cut through from Makasan airport rail via MRT. We boarded from Petchaburi to Sukhumvit station at 16Baht (SGD0.70). Check out the MRT's fare here.
6) Do get BTS One Day Pass from Klook here. Travel unlimited rides on BTS for a day within the operating hours from 6am to 12am. Note that this card is only applicable to BTS only and not MRT or Airport Rail Link. Just show your Klook's booking slip and exhange at the BTS counter. The staffs will pass you a card in return similar to our ezlink.
7) If there is a need to take a taxi, better get a metre-taxi. But, the traffic jams in BKK is terrible. There are tons of cars on the roads 24/7.
8) Tut Tuts do not work on metre, so it is advisable to confirm on the price with the driver before boarding.
9) Do always check with the restaurants on the dishes you would like to have. They do not usually state on their menus, but chances are the dishes are available. I checked with After You cafe if they have a baby size kakigori, and they have it. I have also ordered mango salad at Ban Khum Mae which is not on their menu.
~ Day One : Artbox ~
I have always thought that Scoot's in-flight meals are just meh. Surprisingly, their Nasi Lemak and Braised Chicken with rice were quite delicious.
Dabao recommended Sukhumvit Suites Hotel and it was one of the best hotels in BKK ever in terms of location and also the price. I booked through Agoda and OCBC credit card has a 12% discount during weekends. For our three nights stay, the total was SGD265.00.
SSH is located next to Asok BTS station and 5 minutes walk away from Sukhumvit MRT station. You could travel anywhere since BTS and MRT stations are just a stone's throw away. When you alight at Sukhumvit MRT station, go out by Exit 2 (Asoke). Turn left and walk around Interchange 21 Tower. SSH is just around the corner.
A 24hours Family Mart is just a 1 minute walk away from SSH as well. Yay for us!
Our first meal in BKK has to be the boat noodles. Take a train to Victory Monument BTS station and walk on the overhead bridge walkway all the way to the boat noodles shops. For a detailed map, please refer to my BKK 2017's post here. I would usually be patroning Pa Yak Boat Noodles. Their shop name is actually The Best of Boat Noodles and you may look out for their staffs in orange uniforms.
I noticed that there was a recent change in menu with additional dishes added. I tried the egg noodles in shrimp curry. Not spicy and real appetizing. Check out the list of all the boat noodles shops at Victory Monument here.
Total damage for two egg noodles, two fried wantons, four boat noodles at 200Baht = SGD9.00.
Some dessert time at After You Cafe after our not so full lunch. Since After You do not state baby size on their menu, a lot of people ordered the original size. They were all surprised when we were served the baby size instead. Everyone was strugging to finish their BIG kakigoris. Lol..
Total damage for baby size Thai Milk Tea Kakigori and baby size Shibuya Honey Toast at 350Baht = SGD16.00.
I was googling for some legit and affordable massage parlours in BKK and stumbled upon a blog by Trip Canvas. Check out their page here. Since Massage @ Le was situated near Terminal 21 which was also around 10 minutes walk from our hotel, we decided to give it a try. Dabao went for the foot massage with hot compress while I got the oil massage.
I wanted to try the one with hot compress but due to time constraint, I have to get oil one instead. Will definitely try out the hot compress massage the next time I'm visiting BKK. We paid 880Baht in total = SGD40.00. Do remember to reserve your session in advance as they are so ever popular and fully booked most of the time.
For those who frequent Artbox in BKK would certainly know that this pop-up night market goes around everywhere. But a good news for now is that Artbox would be stationed permanently at Chuvit Garden (BTS Nana station) from 29 May 2019 till Nov 2019. After which, one would need to search on their new location again prior to visiting.
We were lucky as SSH was a 10 minutes walk away from Artbox. Everything seemed to be falling in place for us during this trip. Our favourite haunts were all minutes away either by BTS, MRT or on foot.
Our little loots of the day as we bought nothing much from Artbox due to heavy thunderstorm.
Sukhumvit Suites Hotel
403-403/1, 407-407/1 BTS Asok Exit 6, In between Sukhumvit 21-23,
Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoeynuea, Wattana, Bangkok 10110 Thailand
+66 2661 7262 | +66 8 3555 9954 | reservation@ssukhumvitsuites.com
http://www.sukhumvitsuitesbangkok.com/
The Best of Boat Noodles
2 18 16 Phahonyothin Soi 13, Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Operating hours: 9am to 9pm daily
After You Dessert Cafe
Terminal 21 Asok, 1st Floor Tokyo
+66 2 061 5545 | https://www.afteryoudessertcafe.com/en/
Operating hours: Mon-Fri, 10:30am to 10pm| Sat-Sun, 10am to 10pm
Massage @ Le
19 19/1-3 Soi Sukhumvit 19, Khwaeng Khlong Toei Nuea, Khet Watthana, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110, Thailand | +66 80 829 9969
massageatle@gmail.com | https://www.massage-le.com/
Operating hours: 10am to 12am daily including of public holidays
Artbox Thailand
Sukhumvit 10 Alley, Chuvitgarden, Khet Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110, Thailand (Nana BTS station exit 4)
+66 99 098 2332 | https://www.facebook.com/Artboxthailand/
Operating hours: 4pm to 12am daily
~ Day Two : Siam Square | Talad Rot Fai Ratchada ~
There were mixed reviews online for Thong Kee restaurant. We just gave it a try and the dim sums were not too bad. Just that serving time was a little slower. Hey, we are travelling right so just relax. If we want to keep rushing, might as well stay in SG. Thong Kee is located opposite to Terminal 21 underneath Asok BTS station.
Total damage for 5 dim sums and a morning glory dish at 300Baht = SGD13.50.
We tried out Plum series tea and juice from the famous Cha Tra Mue located at Asok BTS station. Check out their branches in BKK here.
Total damage for seal mochi and teardrop mochi at 179Baht = SGD8.10.
Our main purpose was to visit Naraya and one could never leave this shop empty handed. I bought mini coin pouches for my colleagues, make-up pouches with mirror for family and a lunch bag for myself. Love it so much coz I could put in a brolly.
We spent almost an hour at Naraya going back and forth thinking of which design of bags and accesories to buy. In total, Dabao spent 1,000Baht (SGD45.00) and I spent 2,200Baht (SGD99.00). Terrible ah..
We stopped by our favourite Ban Khun Mae for lunch. The claypot prawn tanghoon was meh. Probably not ordering this dish the next time.
Total damage for 2 Thai milk tea, pandan chicken, mango salad, prawn tanghoon at around 800 to 900Baht = SGD36.00 to SGD41.00.
After some further shopping at the open space flea markets stalls next tp Siam Square One, we dropped by Mango Tango for dessert. Do always go for the set with pudding, sticky rice and ice-cream whereby you get to try a little bit of everything.
Total damage for Jasmine tea with Mango, the special dessert set at 340Baht = SGD15.50.
I heard that the original Talad Rod Fai Srinakarin is much larger than Talad Rod Fai Ratchada. The latter night market is more accessible by MRT train at Thailand Cultural Centre station. Go out by exit 3, turn to the left and follow the crowds. Everyone would be heading to the night market and you won't get lost.
We spent close to four hours eating and shopping at the same time. It was truly shopped till we dropped.
Our loots of the day!
Thong Kee (Asok BTS Station)
308-312 Sukhumvit Rd, Khwaeng Khlong Toei, Khet Khlong Toei, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10110, Thailand+66 2 653 1161 | Operating hours: 9am to 10pm daily
Naraya - Siam Square One
1-3 Floor Room No. 3/17-19, Rama 1 Rd., Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
+66-2-115-5020, +66-2-115-5080 | https://www.naraya.com/shops
Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Ban Khun Mae
458/6-9 Siam Square Soi 8, Rama 1 Road, Patumwan District, Bangkok 10330
+66 2 250 1952, +66 2 250 1953, +66 2 658 4112, +66 2 658 4113
contact@bankhunmae.com | https://www.bankhunmae.com/index.html
Mango Tango
Siam Square Soi 3, Khwaeng Pathum Wan, Khet Pathum Wan, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10330, Thailand
+66 2 658 4660 | Operating hours : 12pm to 10pm daily
Talad Rot Fai Ratchada
55 9 Ratchadaphisek Rd, Khwaeng Din Daeng, Khet Din Daeng, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10400, Thailand | +66 92 713 5599
https://www.facebook.com/taradrodfi.Ratchada/
Operating hours: 5pm to 1am daily
~ Day Three : Big C | Platinum Mall ~
My first time trying out Sabx2 Wanton Mee. The queue is not too long around 15 minutes. Do go for the pig trotter's rice. Wanton noodles is soso only in my opinion. Nothing to rave about. I won't queue for this. Cost is 100Baht (SGD4.50) each for the rice and noodles.
Had our bubble milk tea fix at Tiger Sugar located at Platinum Mall. Theirs are less sweet version plus no queue.
I never miss out the mung bean covered with gelatin dessert aka Luk Chup in BKK. Platinum food court sells it.
We bought too many stuffs from Big C that we had to Tut-tut back to our hotel.
We were pretty famished and looked around Terminal 21 for dinner. We made the right choice by dining at Baan Ying. All their dishes were superb! There is also a branch in SG. In total, we paid about SGD50 if I remembered correctly.
For our last night in BKK, we checked out a rooftop bar at Sky on 20.
Sabx2 Wanton Mee
2 Phetchaburi Rd, Khwaeng Thanon Phaya Thai, Khet Ratchathewi, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10400, Thailand
Operating hours: 9am to 3pm daily
Big C Supercenter
Rajdamri Road, Khwaeng Lumphini, Khet Pathum Wan, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon 10330, Thailand
+66 2 250 4888 | https://corporate.bigc.co.th/en/stores/bigc/rajdamri/
Operating hours: 9am to 2am daily
Platinum Fashion Mall
222 11th Floor Petchburi Road, ThanonPetchburi, Ratchthevi
+66 2-121-8000 | http://www.platinumfashionmall.com/
Operating hours: 8am to 8pm daily
Baan Ying Original Siam Thai Kitchen
Terminal 21 5th Floor | +66 2 102 0836
http://www.baanyingfamily.com/
Operating hours: 10am to 10pm daily
Sky on 20
19/9 Soi Sukhumvit 20, Sukhumvit Road, Klongtoey, 10110 Bangkok
Thailand
+66 2 009 4999 | h9343-re@accor.com
https://www.novotelbangkoksukhumvit20.com/bangkok-restaurants/sky-on-20/
~ Day Four : Bangkok to Singapore ~
Check out the list of best cafes for breakfast in BKK here. There are a few cafes covering different areas.
The all day breakfast at Breakfast Story is very filling. Love everything.
Breakfast Story
593/27 Sukhumvit Road, 2nd Floor, Khlong Tan Nuea, Watthana, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
+66 2 258 1461 | https://www.breakfaststorybkk.com/
Operating hours: 7am to 11pm daily
