Part 3: Bangkok Trip

Happy New Year 2024! It has been such a rollercoaster ride in 2023, with many big decisions, big changes and challenges made in 2023. Phew, what a change. What's interesting is that the monks I went to in the past said there will be a major change each time our age has the digit 9 in the second digit. How interesting! Indeed, it has for me in 2023. The older you get, the less interested you are with celebration, which includes New Year. It's just another day, another night.

Often times, I heard about Sukhumvit and finally, I'm in the area. This is a really eccentric and trendy Japanese-inspired cafe. They have gone into merchandising with coffee accessories like coffee machines ranging of different prices, coffee products etc. A great place to hang out for sure!

Met a Bumble friend who happened to be in Bangkok the same time as me. Yay!

Of course, without a doubt, I met my uni friends, where the mixed Teochews gather. I don't have many friends with Teochew blood but I came all the way to Bangkok to meet them. haha. Jokes aside, we had a really good time, reminiscing our uni days! Those times were good. 

Then, they brought us to this dessert place. Dang! My favorite - mango!

A mandatory photo with these 2. Not sure when is the next time I'll be meeting them again. I should honestly do it more. The fact that I do once in 10 years is beyond sad.

The next day, spent some time in an Australian cafe instead - Toby. Ah that's my late dog's name too! I love scrambled with coffee. So here I am. 

I don't remember Chatuchak to be like this, I guess it has changed, or I have memory problem I am not sure. Haha. Dropped by for more coffee but of course, how can it be good, just for the sake of I guess. Got some good deals from there though, so no complaints. Department stores are not meant for me, I wouldn't spend so much on clothes.

Next up, I went to this dessert shop, the Thai version of ABC in Cheng Sim Ei, located within the Chulalongkorn University district. I guess similar to University District in Seattle, Ewha University of Hongdae.

Not long after he went back to Bangkok, he got to see me again. Haha. 

The local food is a must! Cheap and good. Hainanese noodle thailand in Bangkok.

Small-scale, a little run down and dodgy, is my kinda vibe for good food. This place checks all the boxes.

Second round? Sure. I can't remember the name of the restaurant and bar, but here for some French pastry with cocktail before we call it a night.

Of course

Since Bangkok is named the most visited city in 2023, I visited as a very supportive neighbor. It was a good trip catching up with really old friends and a new friend. Vibrant, lively city as what I have known Bangkok as and it never disappoints. Perhaps, next time I should consider going with someone who has the same mentality as I am then it's way easier. Everyone is different, but to make things easier, let's stick to the people I am familiar with or people that travels the same way as I do. That's the takeaway. 

Part 2: Bangkok Trip

 Since I am on school break right now, here comes Part 2 from last year's trip.

From Icon Siam, we caught this boat to Chinatown (Yaowarat Road). It's like a mini cruise in a boat, it's not bad at all.

Here comes Yaowarat. When you see chaos, it means you're at a right place. The more chaotic it looks, the better it is. 

We were there early, even then, we had to line up. Amazingly popular with decades of history. I'm not a fan of this, so I couldn't tell if it's THAT great or it's nothing special.

I guess if you're a normal chinese, you would like it. But, I don't take spare parts and I forgot to tell them. So, haha.

The night comes, so does the life.

As a tourist, I like doing this wherever I am, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Vietnam. I have done those. And I will continue to do this. 

BTS.. they have upgraded their infrastructure and it's so great! But, this is actually expensive. For the well-connected line and not having to go through the traffic, I guess it's okay? The best part is it's all shaded. Locals there actually even do their workout there. Saw people jogging stations after stations. Damn!

Part 1: Bangkok Trip

When Covid hit, I didn't think that it was going to be this long. And, certain things were permanent. My last leisure trip was back in 2019 to Seattle. My last trip overseas was to The Philippines in early 2020 for a business trip. I was lucky I got to go on that trip because all travels were halted when I was there. Any trips that have yet to happen were canceled with immediate effect. Imagine the emptiness my passport is right now. No stamps, nothing, and it has gone to waste to renew for 5 years.

There were people I met online in 2022 and decided, hey, let's go to Bangkok. I haven't been to Bangkok since 2014. Man, that's been 8 years. I am talking in the 2022 year. 

That's the sky. And how I miss this. I sit by the window all the time. So whoever you are, do not try to take that away from me, especially long haul.

This was where we got food the first night. Siam Paragon. It's just another foodcourt. I was told, hey it's a great place for food. I don't know about that man. It's a foodcourt, in a mall. haha. Obviously, I do not resonate with them but that's fine. To each their own and I respect that.

We came to this newly-built place, Icon Siam where I saw it made its round in Instagram during Covid. It's so vibrant and lively, they were selling all sorts of things, from food like pasta, fried chicken to fruits, drinks and seafood. I meant, fresh seafood. 

The lobster they were selling. Damn! 

After walking around, came to a place at the center court, all sorts of coffee were there.

Having coffee as part of my blood, I can't say no to coffee. Got myself one, of course. 

Icon Siam is like Pavilion in KL, nicely decorated and made it feel Premium. Upper class market and tourists as their target market. 

I wasn't the tourist that was going to buy anything. Well, I did, from Victoria Secret but that was all. Once you walk out from Icon Siam, you see this view. This feels like a KLCC kinda thing, water fountain outside the mall. 

Of course, me. Back then, I was still with mask. I didn't want to but. Bleh. lol.

Places visited:

Siam Paragon

Icon Siam

Day 1: Langkawi

2 weeks ago, I received a text from my mom asking if I wanted to go to Langkawi. Nobody would ever say no to a vacation. Times are not like before, I'll say yes to anywhere. It doesn't really matter where, I just needed this break very badly. The last time I had a so-called break was also to Langkawi but that felt a long time ago.

Took Air Asia there. RM 712 for 4 pax, it's not that bad of a deal. Gone are the days of a RM55/pax flight. Just because I had to do check in, I downloaded their app and Oh Lord, they have an Air Asia ride to the airport that's even cheaper than Grab that I took years ago. On top of that, they offered RM5 discount for the first ride. Holy! Too bad, they were too late. I would love to take that but I have already booked a car that's RM100. I haven't tried the AA ride, but, with that price, why not? 

Thank you Captain! That's a pretty smooth landing. I love window seat, short or long haul.

We rented a car RM325 for 5 days 4 nights, a Myvi. There were scratches, dents around the car with some squeaky sound when driving. But generally it was okay. The petrol was at 35 km left and blinking. haha. We managed to get to the nearest Petronas, located just a few minutes away from the airport.

Here's our room, we requested for connecting room. Ample of parking space in the hotel. There are people here and there, but I didn't see many. I guess they are all out going places, like us. The rooms need refurbishment. Apparently, the hotel was closed for 2 years, and they have just reopened. After experiencing the hotel in Tanjung Rhu, I don't expect much from a hotel I've not heard before. We asked them to clean the room once, but it wasn't even cleaning. A small piece of paper dropped on the bathroom floor and it was still untouched when I returned. We asked for a toilet paper from the housekeeping, and they wanted to charge us for that. It's ridiculous.

This is the spa, there's a small decor in front that looks like a place for dengue mosquitos to breed. The exterior looks rundown where I don't even feel like I wanna enter the spa. Nobody was there, it says, if we wanna book, I need to call a number they provided. 

There's a lot of work to be done, from the exterior right until the training of the employees. We did not dine in any of the restaurants there because, we can get pretty good food outside. We go to where they are good at, restaurants and warungs. The first day is a pretty chilled day. What's really good with this hotel is the location where it is minutes away from the beach - Pantai Cenang, yeah that busy beach. haha.

Since it's such an easy going day, we went over to Pantai Cenang to check out how busy it is. Surprisingly, it isn't THAT busy that I thought it would. I guess everyone has been to Langkawi at the time of this writing due to Langkawi bubble haha.

What a sunny evening. This should have been the weather everyday, not raining. If you have nothing to do at 9pm, there are some fire performance daily here in Pantai Cenang, except if it rains. 

Went over to Lubuk Buaya to have a nice dinner. Tomyam was great, the fish lacks flavor though it was okay. Vegetables and egg were good! RM79. It's not exactly cheap but it's acceptable.

Places visited: 

Langkawi International Airport

Pantai Cenang

Lubuk Buaya         

Part 4: Seattle, Washington

The long pause from Part 3. I have totally forgotten about it. I just had that sudden urge to blog out of the blue. Sometimes, you just wonder how all these things happen. You're just scrolling or browsing away, and suddenly, this blog pops up in your mind. I always think that there's a reason why it happened the way it did. Just like, how it leads me to something, and then to something more. Eventually, there's the answer. The truth is, I don't like solving all these things. Yet, I always wonder.

World famous museum. This is located right next to the Space Needle, the icon of Seattle. This is an exhibit showcasing the studio of Dale Chihuly. Galleries and sculptures are all made of glasses. This guy is amazing. I really enjoyed it

Sure, a picture that includes me. I wanna be part of it. hehe. The entrance is $29, but if it's combined with the Space Needle, it's $44. However, a better deal would be the Seattle city pass which comes up to $89 for 5 tourist attractions. It's worth it! This is definitely the highlight.

Rocky, the boy, not to be forgotten. He's just so cute!!

Us and the Asian food cannot be separated. I know! We had this in Tasty Thai located in Mercer Island. Being a Malaysian, I can't be THAT bad when it comes to spicy food. This, is just another level. There, we got to choose the level of spiciness. We thought, hey, this is not Thailand. They would cater to the local market, right? I'm not sure. But, the level 4 is just SO spicy. But, it's good, the food is so good.

We headed over to the east of Seattle, Snoqualmie Falls Park. It's a dog-friendly park. Cool! This is a preview. haha.

Day 3-5: Huahin & BKK, Thailand

We spent only a night in Huahin. Probably, if we were to be back, we should have stayed nearer to the beach, like way nearer. Apart from the beach, there's nothing.

Somehow, we were actually looking for lunch. As we walked blindly, we reached to this place, nearby the beach. Damn.

And, our lunch. Felt so good.

That was the view for lunch, and the sound of the waves.

It took us longer than expected to arrive back to Bangkok. As you know, Bangkok and its traffic condition comes hand in hand. It was 3 hour plus cramped in the minivan as it was full.

There, we went to Chatuchak the next day. The famous Chatuchak street. I honestly didn't really like it there, and I prefer the Platinum mall. Maybe, it's the heat that drove me crazy. Yes, the coconut jelly. That was refreshing. Favorite spot for tourists like us.

Since we were there, we called our friends out. Our used-to-be neighbor, Jojo and of course Am. It was 8 years ago since we all studied together. OMG. But, I have met Jojo once or twice before in between this in KL. Yeap, our Thai teacher. haha. It's sad that we couldn't meet the others. Maybe next time.

Then, this was our dinner on the last night. I guess? It was great! Street food haha. Had massage twice in these few days, then it's time to go home. There wasn't many pictures in BKK as it's all shopping. When it comes to shopping, the phone may take a rest.

That's in Don Muang airport in Bangkok. Not to forget, that was my airport fashion. hahaha.