Bangkok Trip with CG

Who have not been to BKK before?
Out of my sincere surprise, 3-4 people in my cell group raised their hands. After another round of talk, we realized that a few others’ last trip to Bangkok was almost 20 years ago.

Therefore, an initial plan to celebrate Kless’ birthday in BKK has now changed to a maiden CG overseas trip to BKK. A group of 11 adults + 1 child, booking our air tickets separately, sourcing for affordable hotel for 12. The planning already promised much fun!

Sitting there at the airport, it dawned upon us that the last trip we had with Serene (our friend for more than 20 years) was also to Bangkok and that was when Joey was only 2 years old (10 year back)! Wow! We have come a long way! Now she is already married and no longer travel as a single!

Taking the early flight means one thing. We are in time to have the most awesome breakfast in BKK!

Sabx2 Wanton Mee the “Soi 19” Bangkok Pratunum Wanton Noodles.

This place is perpetually crowded for the awesome wanton mee and pig trotter’s rice!

Photo as proof!

No joke, I ate both the wanton mee and rice for my day 1 breakfast.

We visited the usual places like the Platinum Mall, Pratunum Market, Chatuchak Market, Central World, Big C, etc.
The things are still the same, but with a bigger group and different people this time round, the feeling was very different. For some reasons, we were really comfortable with one another, some choose to shop, some choose to eat, some choose to just sit down and rest. We were in-sync for the entire trip.

One night market we have not visited in the previous trips was Rod Fai Night Market (Srinakarin Train Market). And it was here, we finally tried the famous “salt grilled fish” seen almost in all night markets or street vendors (in the past).

The Man Of The House (MOTHs) enjoying our time off from wives and children!

Rod Fai is indeed the BEST night market in BKK! If you have not visited this place before, you have to. And be sure to give enough time (in my opinion, at least 4-5 hours) for food, shopping, and most importantly, to chill for the night!

The difference between husbands and wives.

And the 6 of us totally took over the quiet streets in Rod Fai and painted it with our Singaporean “embarrassing” poses and loud laughers!

We are young!

And the wives are pretty!

The night is young and there is still time for drip coffee at 11pm =)

All thanks to the ladies who did their homework well, we visited this awesome Karmakamet Diner restaurant. Although the food was awesome, the most instagrammable item was this Rainbow Cotton Candy dessert.

But the highlight in this place turned out to be nothing related to the food.

Presenting to you, the Cheok-Kuan Summit!
Kim Cheok vs Trump Kuan

 

We met in Bangkok to sign the Woodlands Peace Treaty.

“The Cheoks & the Kuans hereby promise to uphold peace in Woodlands and eat prata and drink Teh Tarik for the next 40 years.”

 

And it was a wrap, thanks to Bangkok for hosting us. The cost was less than 200 Baht.

It was a great trip! We had so much fun!

Eating and shopping non-stop!

Nightly massages for everyone, even my wife who hates massages joined in and did her nightly 1 hour foot massages. Breakthrough!

Squeezing in Tuk Tuk rides!

Good times are always short, but I’m sure it won’t be the last trip for us!

PS. look out for my posts on Khao Yai, a town 2.5 hours away from the bustling BKK.

Bangkok - Hua Hin

It is becoming more popular for visitors to Bangkok to visit Hua Hin. This is not a new shopping mall or night market, but one of the eight districts of Prachuap Khiri Khan Province. By road, it is 199km south-south-west of Bangkok.

There are a few ways to get from Bangkok to Hua Hin, all depending on your level of comfort and budget.

Minibus or Minivan to Hua Hin
Cheapest way is to take the public minibuses. These minibuses or minivans can be found at Victory Monument, leaving approximately every half hour from 4am to 6pm. In practice, the minibus or minivan will depart once it is full. Price is expected to be around 180Baht (S$7), time travel is 2.5-3 hours. One thing to note, if you are carrying bulky luggage, then the driver may ask you to buy an extra seat for it. Each minivan usually accommodates up to 10 pax per trip.

Train to Hua Hin
Most trains leave Bangkok to Hua Hin from Hua Lamphong and Bang Sue Railway Stations, between 8am to 10pm daily. However, the traveling time is around 4 hours, price at 100Baht (S$4). Read on many travel sites, traveling by train to Hua Hin is really not the best option, with longer traveling time and not so comfortable seats, this option is not the best.

Taxi (private cars) to Hua Hin
Private taxis are easily assessable in Bangkok. This is also my personal recommendation for traveling to Hua Hin. Prices ranging from 1,800Baht (S$70) to 3,000Baht (S$116), traveling time is about 2.5 hours. Do your own research, but we hired Mr Toom who is quite well known for his good services, reasonable charges and very reliable.
Mr Toom 081-482-7148 toom@39msn.com.

Chartered plane to Hua Hin
The only way I heard of if you want to fly in from Bangkok to Hua Hin, is to book with InterContinental Hua Hin Resort. The hotel provides a chartered place service for 50,000Baht (S$1941) one-way, which is only a 35mins journey. The plane sits 6 guests, so if you are traveling with friends, that is approximately 8,400Baht (S$326) per pax.

 

So we were staying in InterCon Hua Hin, but we definitely did not chartered the private plane.

A spacious connecting room for our family of four. The girls had their own beds and open concept bathroom.

 

The pool view we have from the rooms.

Kless and my room has a slightly different layout, with a separate living space from the bedroom, this becomes our common space for meals or TV time.

Too bad the bed was queen size but the pillow selections was a pamper.

The bathroom was also an open concept for us, personally I still prefer to have some privacy when I’m taking my bath.

We were housed at the new wing – BluPort Wing. So to get to the main building, we need to cross over via the connecting overhead bridge, which makes the stay a bit more exclusive.

Taking a stroll from our rooms to the beach after a nice meal.

 

The girls prefer the cooler water at the pool, which is also safer cos the waves along the beach was pretty rough.

Thankfully both Kless and I are not the adventurous type, we are happy to just take photos of the people trying out the Para-sailing acts. For the adventure-seeking peeps, this is sure a hit.

We are cool with just a selfie.

A good night’s rest and breakfast beckons.

There are a few note-worthy places to visit in Hua Hin.

Santorini Park Cha-Am
Classic whitewashed buildings with colorful painted windows. (photos from the web)

 

Cicada Market
Art, handmade crafts, all in an open air market. The market is only opened on Friday-Sunday. (photos from the web)

 

Plearn Wan Shopping Village
Plearn Wan is a themed shopping complex located not far from Klai Kang Won Palace. The unique brown wooden building features cafes, shops and some guestrooms decorated in the 1960s Thai style. (photos from the web)

Kless and I visited the Hua Hin Railway Station while the girls spent their afternoon at the hotel’s Kids Club.

Check out the old railway train counter. Seriously, I didn’t think I would see this again ever since the Tanjong Pagar Station was closed in Singapore.

We arrived just in time to see a train pulling in. Surprisingly, there were a lot of people who alighted.

There were a few shutter bugs like us too.

And since you are there, if you are looking for some souvenirs or maybe just a cup of coffee , try out the Hua Hin Coffee Station. Don’t expect gourmet coffee but good enough to quench the thirst or addiction.

 

Traveling back home or to some other places.

Last but not least, is the Hua Hin Night Market. Situated in the centre of town between Petchkasem Road and the railway line, the market encompasses one street and comes to life after 6.30pm.

The fish spa here is only 100Baht for 15mins. It was so good, the girls tried it for 2 nights in a row.

Like mentioned, the night market is not as big as those in Bangkok, but little as it may seems, the products are actually much more unique and we spent more here than the markets in Bangkok.

Just right up the market street, we found a tucked away little room that sells drinks. Fruit juices and various types of cocktails. A prefect place to rest the tired legs and enjoy some quiet time.

In fact, the girls spent their resting time talking about their school lives like a couple of adults.

It was a great trip again to Bangkok and Hua Hin. Any trip with the family is always a blessing.