My Bangkok Trip ~ Day 3

Finally! Am now back to posting the final part of my Bangkok adventures. Was on a roll with that library story and other stuff, you see

Anyway, on my final day at Bangkok, MF manages to convince me to give shopping another go.

"Not all shopping centers at Bangkok are like Chatuchak. Really wan. It is a sin to come all the way here and NOT shop."

Ok, I can shop but that place has got to meet the following criteria:

1. Not hot


2. Not stuffy


3. Must sell classy stuff


4. ... at a cheap price


5. And have clothes MY size

I thought that was a pretty tall order myself. But MF said that she knew just the place - MBK. It met ALL of the above criteria.

It was air-conditioned and there were heaps and heaps of shops to browse through. I couldn't believe the amazing amount of variety of classy stuff that the stores sell there. And the price was really to die for. A very nice work jacket with great cutting (no lining) costs about RM20 there. I bought quite a lot of work clothes, jeans and bags there. I even managed to get a stunning evening dress for Grace's wedding this year. The price is no more than RM130 - it's a steal.

She sms-ed me towards the afternoon while MF and I were still busy shopping at MBK. To our delight, she was there lunching with her gang! We met up at this Japanese restaurant. Apparently, Japanese food in Bangkok is really authentic - more than it is in Malaysia - because they have real Japanese cooks there. MF and I were stuffed by all that Swensen's ice-cream we inhaled so we gave Jap food a miss. But still, there's always next time. Heh.

Grace said she found the perfect wedding gown at MBK and asked if we'd like to see her don it for the first time after fittings. Would we??! What a privilege and honor to be able to see Gracie in her gown before everyone else back home... hee! It was strange. There we were - the bride and her guest - in Bangkok, showing off our gowns that we plan to wear at her wedding. Amazing stuff, eh?

And there was a Thai food fair going on at MBK as well. You can see the quail's eggs, colorful candy and of course, pork stuff at the collage below:

After MBK, MF's friend (a Malaysian expatriate who's working in Bangkok and speaks fluent intermediate Thai) brought us to this excellent restaurant (the name's in Thai, so I can't for the life of me recall what it's called!) along the Chao Phraya river. We had a spicy soup that's not Tom Yam (can't recall what it's called anymore), white curry chicken (curry in pure santan soup) and spicy tempura-fried vegetables. It was simply heavenly.

As we ate, we kept seeing all these beautiful boats, barges and ships cruising by the long, long river with nice lights, music and people enjoying their dinner on deck. It all looked so romantic. One day, I think I'd like to have a honeymoon here in Bangkok. One day.

After dinner, we went to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar. It reminded me a little of Chatuchak - many, many little stalls located in one big place - but it was cooler there because they only open at nightfall. And whaddaya know, we bumped into Grace and her gang there again! Talk about having travel karma.

And at the urging of my friends, I finally got my first pencil portrait taken ala Rose in Titanic. Correction - I wasn't posing in the nude like Rose, but I did remain as motionless as I possibly could for about 25 loooong minutes. It started out as a fun thing but after 3 minutes, my smile felt like it was cracking. After 10 minutes, my whole facial muscles were numb. I didn't know that posing stock still for 25 minutes was such a difficult job! Next time, I'll just bring my best photo along and request the artist to draw that while I go shopping.

I wasn't too happy with the results. If I had more time to spare and could pose longer, the guy would probably have done a better job.

Anyway, you be the judge. Does it look anything like me?

Posing... Do not be deceived by that smile. I was in agony!

The final results... OK ah? Worth the RM25 or not?

And here ends my travelogue of my very fruitful Bangkok trip. It's not my first visit there and God willing, it shall not be the last. Sawatdee...