Bangkok Beat #2

Day 2

Continuing from previous post on Bangkok trip, we booked a half day tour of Floating Market & Dangerous Market with the Kasem's friend, Apichart (Mr Tee as he want to be called) as he had prior booked job assignment. According to Kasem, there is this unofficial consortium of Toyota Innova & Fortuner drivers whereby the drivers share each other contacts & job assignments. In this competitive tourism industry, this is definitely a win-win situation for all drivers. Our tour is booked at the rate of 2000 baht (approx. MYR 202.00) nett. The journey by taxi from hotel to Damnoen Saduak district where the markets are located, takes 1.5 hours.

Arrived at the town of Maeklong. This has to be the most underrated tourist attraction in Thailand. Never I've heard or seen before a market was held on a railway track. Really, no joke !!! A wet market where villagers sell their vegetable produces  & seafood catches on the track itself. This place is called Maeklong Railway Market (the local guides called it Dangerous Market). Truly, this has to be the most interesting & dangerous market in the world. When the train runs though the market, pretty amazing sight to see the synchronized moves of the sellers  lower their awnings, take away their stuffs from the tracks while the train slowly moves. Once the train passes & stopped at nearby Maeklong train station (the last stop), the sellers will position back their stuffs & business continues as usual. This go on for 3 times a day I heard. Definitely a must-visit place if you're in Bangkok.



Fresh market along the track

Awning lowered as the train slowly passed

Next we took a long boat ride thru the river (unnamed) to the world famous Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. The ride costs 2500 baht (approx. MYR 225), where we started from a narrow man-made straight slowly to the river bank. Along the way, there's ubiquitous stores selling handicrafts & souvenirs. It's only towards the banks where there's busier activities going on & more varieties of foods sold. The whole ride took us 2 hours. Good for a first-time experiences as there's not many river markets that u heard of these days.

Our sampan (wooden boat) for the floating market tour

Fresh mangoes on sale

One of many floating stalls, selling various types of food

Bangkok famous traffic jam even extends to the water !!!

The main activity area in the market

By the time we finished our half day tour & back to hotel, it's just passed 2pm. We got the driver stopped us a MBK shopping complex, the first stop of our mall hopping activity. Had lunch at its reputable premium food court at 6th floor, good place for those seeking a one stop centre serving tasty local & international food. Highly recommended.



MBK shopping complex

From MBK, took the local MRT ride to Terminal 21 shopping mall, Siam Paragon & finally got onto a local tut-tut to Platinum Mall for another round of shopping.

Mall hopping with help of MRT



With tut-tut, all transportation modes are used in our Bangkok trip

Fried pork - You will never go wrong, ordering this anywhere in Bangkok

 

Crazy price on offer at Pratunam night market

Day 3

Woke up at 6am to follow Mum to the morning Pratunam wholesale market. The price of a shirt here is incredibly cheap at 100 baht each & if you buy more, it can go lower. Apparently this place is where lots of retailers/ Malaysian pasar malam sellers come to get their stocks. You see, in Pratunam there's a 3 sessions of markets here & an unwritten agreement between all sellers to follow them. The morning market sellers will open till 12.00pm & then another separate group of sellers will then come for the afternoon session. At night, another different sets of people take over. So, in actual in 12 hours, you can see different sets of sellers along a same street, enable you to shop all day long. Had our lunch before taking the taxi to Don Muang International Airport for the flight back home.

Pratunam morning wholesale market

On shopping part, comparing the premium brands, not much differences comparing to the ones in KL but for the lower ends market, the price simply hits the floor & it's almost impossible for the price to be believable. It's no wonder women go crazy here..:) Food wise, no way you will go wrong with tomyam soup here & the other famous Thai food like pad thai, fried chickens etc. Pick any of the stall/restaurant which has these dishes, you will get above average quality at least. Definitely worth second visit & more.

Bangkok Beat #1

Ask any Asian frequent traveler out there & most of them will tell you that they have been to Bangkok but I've never been there. Each time the plan is in store, timing is just not right with factors like unstable political situation, flood etc. Finally got the chance to visit there recently with my parents during my leaves before starting new job (I'll talk about that in later post). One day after I was told my resignation was accepted, Mum helped booked hotel & flight immediately.

Day 1

Departed on an Air Asia flight from the new KLIA2 international airport & arrived at Don Mueng International Airport at 11.30 am local time. By the way, Bangkok is 1 hour earlier than Malaysian time. Greeted by the taxi driver by the name of Kasem. True to what they said about Thai people, Kasem was warm & courteous, speaking in good commanding English. Thank you to TripAdvisor too for helping us to get his contacts. Like many of the South East Asian cities, you don't need a paid tour package to help you go around Bangkok really. Bangkok has many those Toyota Innova & Fortuner taxi drivers who can be booked with reasonable fee to bring you around to the places of attractions. For a full day tour covering Floating Market, Dangerous Market & Grand Palace, it costs only 3500 baht (approx. MYR 352.00 or USD 103) for a van which can comfortably seat 5 people. All drivers can cover till nearby Pattaya & Hua Hin. Some are willing to drive to Chiangmai & Haadyai, which are 10 hours drive away. The more resourceful ones can even help you to book hotel rooms or show tickets with just a telephone call.

Kasem with his Toyota Fortuner taxi

Checked into this Hotel 93, located at the vicinity of Pratunam district area. The famous Pratunam market is only stones throw away from the hotel & most major shopping complexes are about 10-20 minutes walk away. No time wasted the moment we left our luggages & walked straight to Platinum Mall, Thailand largest fashion mall about 10 minutes walks away. It has 7-storeys of shopping floors & countless numbers of stores. The stores operate on the principle that buying 1 piece is a retail sale, but buying 3 pieces & above will get you wholesale price. The pricing structure differs according to stores & the agreed price will depends on your bargaining skills & the seller's agreement. Some stores do not practice bargaining but still, the retail price is reasonable. A basic coloured male shirt fetches 200 baht (approx. MYR 21.00) & a piece of male cotton boxer short costs 100 baht (approx. MYR 11.00). Walking around the stores really make you thinking no wonder women got crazy when shopping here. One woman shirt with proper bargaining, can get as low as 150 baht (approx. MYR 16.00) each & a woman slipper costs 200 baht (approx. MYR 21.00). Besides, the workmanship of the apparels here are reasonably good considering the low price. The only setback is that no trying of the clothes is allowed. The policy here is either u take it or leave it.

Must try desert: The most delicious coconut ice cream ever, along Pratunam street

Multiple local foods sold in Platinum Mall food court

One of many many shopping lanes. Its like a maze out there !!

Took the taxi ride to Asiatique Riverfront in the evening for dinner & walk. This pier along the bank of Chao Phraya river, was formerly belongs to the East Asiatic Company back in the 1900s. Today, this same area was being developed into a riverfront project, combining shopping, dining, sightseeing, activities & events under one roof. The shopping retail price here naturally, higher than other places. We had typical Thai dishes dinner before making a trip back to hotel.

Evening scene at the Asiatique pier

Colourful lights at the riverfront

Prawn tom yam soup with chilli paste. Check out the size of the river prawns

One funny observation about taxi drivers here when u ask for a ride back to Pratunam district is, they will give you one long look as if you are asking them to send you to a haunted place. Pratunam has narrow roads & located at the other side of the city. Traffic jam towards & in the area is horrendous. Taxi drivers, naturally will give you a terrified look first before deciding to take you or not. We are made to stop at a main road & walk our way back to hotel instead. A rest is definitely needed for a long day ahead the next day.

Walking on the way back to hotel along Pratunam street

Must try street food: Crunchy, delicious fried chickens but super oily. Please consult your doctor before consumption

TO BE CONTINUED....

Kota Kinabalu Bah !!

Continuing from previous posts of the climb to Kinabalu summit, we spent 2 days in the state capital before flying back to KL. It's already past 12 midnight by the time we finished dinner and shower. Slept soundly till next morning where we completely skipped breakfast to rest the tired bodies on the bed. The side effects? Not as bad as what I thought actually, not as claimed by some people that they're unable to walk for days. Only able to walk slowly & experiencing pains when walking up & down the stairs.

Because of our legs condition, resorted to visit & eat in places around the hotel vicinity only. The good news is Promenade Hotel is located in probably the best location in the city whereby foods & tourist attractions are pretty accessible by foot nearby. Took a cab ride to Suria Sabah shopping complex located nearby for window shopping.

One way to experience the local culture of a place is to visit the local market, which we did at Filipino night market located along the KK Waterfront. In one glance, the scene in the market just amazed u. U see unbelievably fresh seafood sold at unbelievably cheap price. Fresh vegetables from Kundasang sold as if they're for free. Imagine this, 1 bag consists of 10 pieces cucumbers costs only MYR 4.00 per bag. Multi racial people speaking to each other in local Malay accent. And all these happenings with the background of spectacular sunset scene. Besides the night market are the local handicraft market & dried seafood market.



Sunset at KK Waterfront

Fish market, u can see fishes delivered directly from boats to the stalls here

Fresh vegetables on sale. Notice the packed bags which are to be sold in bulks

Pearls sold at handicraft market

One reason of increasing repeat visitors to Kota Kinabalu is its famous fresh & cheap seafood. And to have the best seafood dinner with a reasonable price not necessarily need to be in a seafood restaurant with big aquarium. Few minutes walk away, makeshift restaurant stalls with "u pick, we cook" style, sprouted over a parking space. We got into this Seri 3 Rasa Seafood, displaying the largest choices of seafood I've ever seen on a single table. Fishes like seabass, trouts, pomfrets, groupers, all of them surprisingly are priced at fixed MYR 3.00/100 gram while others are also cheaply priced. Lobsters, are priced at MYR 15.00/100 gram while the rare jumbo-sized tiger prawns are priced higher but still cheaper by 40% I think than in KL.

We chose a coral trout fish (locally known as kerapu merah), big-sized prawns, squid & sayur pakis, local greens available only in Sabah to satisfy our hunger. A famous chef once said, when u use freshest seafood available, 70% of the work is already done. When we get it cooked with the simplest way, the natural texture & taste of the seafood will be enhanced. In this case, the seafood done the all the talking & not the chef. Price? MYR 85.00 for the food. No specific name for this place but all these stalls are located besides the Kota Kinabalu wet market along Jalan Tun Fuad Stephens. A definitely must-try place for all budget-conscious seafood lovers out there !!!!

Arrays of fishes & lobsters on display

Crabs, squids, crayfishes, prawns, cockles, mussels etc. U name it, u got it
 



Crunchy Sayur Pakis cooked in Belacan style, I can have this all by myself !!! 



Coral trout steamed to perfection in Thai sauce. Fantastico !!!

The next day, walked to the Kota Kinabalu biggest wet market & bought local Tenom coffee powders for souvenirs back home. A stone throw away from the wet market is the fish market. Was told that this is the place where fish mongers take their daily stocks & distribute them to multiple places around the city. Sneaked into the place, hoping to catch a glimpse of the so-called auction. Didn't got my wish granted but still manage to buy frozen fishes to be brought back to KL.

Scene at the Kota Kinabalu wet market. Clean & well organized stalls

Local fishermen segregating the catches of the day

Tip to be shared for those wanna pack the seafood back home. All packed seafood for airfreight need to be of frozen types. Malaysia Airlines allowed frozen seafood to be checked in but Air Asia only allowed them to be hand carried at maximum weight of 7 kilogramme per person. We flew home to KL in the evening, bringing home the sweet memories & hope of returning again. As a seafood lover, it's a sin to the Food God (if there's any) if I don't come back !!! Not forgetting of course, the other attractions yet to be visited like the islands, highland resorts & others. KK, I will be back !!!

Ramadhan Bazaar

One thing about Ramadhan that im always looking forward is the buka puasa bazaar, opened all over the places. No chance of visiting the happening places like Kampung Baru, Shah Alam or Masjid India but the one in Subang seems good enough. Apparetly, more varieties available this year compared to the previous editions.

Crowds usually start swelling at 5pm onwards

Honey marinated Ayam golek (Charcoal Roasted Chicken)

Multiple flavoured apam balik (Pancakes)

Putu Bambu

One of many briyani rice stalls

Ahh..my all time fave Malay pastry, kuih kemboja