R&R – BKK(3)(b) – eating at the House of Gold

I’ve written about the shopping experience at Suan Lum already so it’s no point going through it again despite the fact that we went there after dinner on Day 3 to complete our shopping. I’ll only mention the pocket damage which was:-

1 shirt for Dad, 2 necklaces for the girls, and a mini-T for the other girl, belt for myself.

Of more interest would be what we had for dinner that night.

As it was our last night in the City of Angels, we thought we’d treat ourselves to a fine Thai meal at Ruen Urai.

This restaurant is set in a beautifully-restored building adjacent to our hotel, which was once home to one of King Rama V’s private herbal medicine doctors.

The surrounds were lushly landscaped:-

which we had no problems enjoying from our table by the pool:-

As for the food. Appetizers were complimentary cashew nuts fried with dried chillies, ikan bilis and basil leaves:-

and Pohr Pia Ghoong Tod (150 baht) aka fresh spring rolls with prawns:-

Mains were Ghaeng Khaew Whaan Ruen Urai (180 baht) aka red curry of barbequed duck with cherry tomatoes (because what’s a Thai meal without a curry, right? ):-

Btw, the red curry totally knocks the socks off the one served at The Car Wash back home. And costs a whole lot less too.

As for vege we had Pad Yod Maprow Ghub Hoy Shell (200 baht) or sautéed young coconut shoots with scallops in oyster sauce:-

For dessert we wanted mango with sticky rice but another table beat us to the last of it. So we settled for Saku Cantaloupe Nai Loog Maprow (130 baht) aka sago pearls and cantaloupe in coconut milk served in young coconut:-

Mmm…Ruey’s sweet tooth much satisfied:-

Wash all that down with some lemongrass and you’ve got yourself a near-perfect meal:-

Photographers make lousy models:-

Portions were just nice for 2 pax and the bill (after discount) came up to about 900 baht / RM 90-ish.

Ruen Urai is on Thailand Tatler’s list of 150 Best Restaurants in Bangkok 2008, has been reviewd by Bangkok’s BK Magazine, as well as our own Star newspaper, and even has a mention in Nancy Chandler’s. And, if you’re a guest of Rose Hotel next door, you get 20% off your dining bill (drinks excluded). So if you’re ever in this part of the world, it comes highly recommended.

Rest of photos from Day 3 di sini:-

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Last note: apologies for the camera shake in the dinner pics, no tripod.

R&R – BKK(3)(a) – Shop til you drop (or til your $$ runs out)

On day 3, the sun finally decides to grace us with his presence:-

Hooray! Nothing like a bright and beautiful morning to motivate you to make the most out of the day. Especially since Day 3 only had 1 objective and 1 objective only – SHOPPING!

Start time: 10.30 am

Allow me to give you a run-down of the malls we visited in Siam Square that day, starting with Central Department Store at Chidlom:-

Pocket damage: 2 work tops and 1 dress.

We also stopped for lunch in Central Food Hall, touted as the best food store in Asia (and deservedly so in my opinion):-

and mango with sticky rice(!!) at the Food Loft:-

You know what made mall-hopping so easy for us that day? The fact that ALL the malls were connected by a sky walkway!

Now why can’t KL malls think of something like that? Just imagine how convenient it would make your shopping life if you had a walkway above the jammed streets below, sheltered from the sun and the rain, removing the need to cross the roads and avoid the manic motorists. Bangkok again, shows us why it’s light years ahead of KL in attracting the consumer dollars.

Anyways, the next 2 malls were Gaysorn:-

and Erawan across the road:-

Too luxury for us so it was an in-and-out visit. Much to the relief of our pockets. However, it was time for some serious shopping action at our next stop, Central World:-

Pocket damage: 1 work top and 1 work skirt.

No contest, ZEN was our favourite department store of the whole shopping expedition.

It was not all money, money, money that day though. We (or at least me) were excited to discover that the Annual Bangkok Art & Photography Event 2008 by ZEN was on during our visit, and that it was featuring “Earth From Above” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.

I first saw “Earth From Above” at London’s Natural History Museum but for Lis, this was her 1st visit:-

She liked it very much I think.

By the time we’d finished looking at the exhibition, it was close to 6 and the sun was starting to set. But, we were not done yet. Last stop – Siam Centre and Siam Discovery Centre.

Pocket damage: 1 top for mum.

Sorry lah, no pictures of those 2 malls. I was already starting to feel quite fatiqued liaw from having to mall-hop since 10.30 am. -_-” Thankfully, Ellis said we could go home and rest before hitting Suan Lum later that night. Yeah, you heard right…the mall-hopping may be over but shopping itself was definitely not a done deal yet…

End time: 7 pm

R&R – BKK(2)(b) – Grand Palace

After a meandering drive through the back roads where we got to see scenes of Thai villages, padi fields, dragon fruit and grape orchards, we found ourselves back on the highway to Bangkok. The only other thing to note from the drive back was that 20 minutes from our destination found us caught in a traffic jam. And…I… desperately…needed…to pee…at that point. Cartoon said that if we couldn’t find a petrol station to stop at, I could always ease myself in one of the landscape bushes along the highway road divider. I honestly think she meant it as joke, so she was quite taken aback when she heard me say that I didn’t mind that one bit. Thankfully, we soon passed the source of the jam, a stalled lorry -_-”, and the highway cleared right after that. To my GREAT relief. Cartoon laughed and said I was extremely lucky. Hehe.

We disembarked at the Royal Luang Sanam field opposite the Grand Palace complex. Note, you will be accosted by various touts almost immediately. Do NOT, under any circumstances, accept anything waved at or offered to you. These buggers are extremely aggresive and will even go to the extent of pushing their wares into your hands. If so, give them back immediately or face having to pay for it because they’ll give you this line – oh, you took it already so you have to pay for it. I got bird feed pushed into my hands by an old lady. Thankfully, only 20 baht damage. >_<

The annoyances caused by the touts though will disappear instantaenously when you lay your eyes on the buildings in the Grand Palace complex. Entry is now 300 baht, which includes entrance to Dusit Park (i.e. Vimanmek Teak Mansion & Dusit Throne Hall).

The first thing that greets you once you pass the ticket gates is a black stone statue of the Hermit, who is considered by the Thais as the patron of medicine.

Many made offerings of joss sticks, flowers, water, tobacco and betel nuts to it.

The 94.5 hectare Grand Palace complex consists of many many MANY buildings. OVer 100 to be exact! The first was constructed in 1782 and buildings were added over a subsequent period of 200 years. Not all of the buildings are open to the public as some are still in use by the Thai Royal Family today. Even those which are open, are closed occasionally for special ceremonies.

After the Hermit statue, the next thing which your guide will probably point out to you is the Golden Chedi:-

A Buddha relic is buried in its foundation. And yes, it is made out of a gazillion pieces of solid gold tiles. That’s why it is closed down once in 50 years for cleaning and maintenance. I think Cartoon said that they use some special laser to clean it.

Other buildings on the Upper Terrace include a to-scale model of Angkor Wat:-

The Library aka Phra Mondop, the Repository of the Canon of Buddhism which houses sacred scriptures, and the Royal Pantheon which contains statues of past Thai monarchs:-

These buildings are only opened to the public at certain times of the year. For all their intricacies however, it is without a doubt that they are subsidiary buildings to Wat Phra Khaew aka Temple of the Emerald Buddha:-

The temple was closed to public on the day we visited as a ceremony for the Thai aristocracy due to Buddha’s birthday was being conducted. That was no barrier to the crowds of devotees from presenting their offerings outside the temple building though:-

The temple is guarded by both giant mythical statues:-

as well as normal-sized ones:-

And, lining its compound walls (9km long!) are murals of the epic, Ramayana:-

Moving on, we then come to Phra Maha Montien:-

This is where the coronation ceremony of the Thai monarch takes place. The seat of the throne is under a 9-tier canopy of white cloth. Behind the throne is a boat-shaped altar. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed inside it due to its sacredness so I can only show you pictures of its entrance:-

At this juncture, you’re probably starting to feel sensory overload from all that you’ve seen thus far:-

And who can blame you when the facade of each of these buildings are made from either intricate porcelain pieces:-

or mosaic of glass and precious stones:

The mind is just boggled by the amount of labour and the extent of craftsmanship involved.

By the time you reach the Chakri Maha Prasat Hall though, your journey through the Grand Palace complex is nearing its end.

It’s a strange building architecturally, with an European body and a Thai head (roof). Presently it is used to receive credentials from foreign ambassadors.

Best not to mess around with its guards too, the bayonets look sharp enough to cause some serious harm.

Exit via Phimanchaisri Gate and take one last photo of the complex across the green:-

Return to hotel and pass out :-

So that’s it for our sole day of sightseeing. Remaining photos of Grand Palace complex are here:

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Further reading material may also be found from the Palace’s official website here. I also must apologise that the pictures aren’t all that GREAT. It rained throughout the day so that explains the rubbish grey background. And you may also be wondering why my pictures are all of the roofs. Well, that’s because the grounds were super crowded with tourists (like us ) and there would always be someone in the way if I shot directly in front of me. So, I found my solution was to look towards the heavens.

R&R – BKK (2)(a) – Damnoen Saduak and surrounds

Day 2 dawned on a grey and rainy note:-

Oh dears, looks like it won’t be ideal conditions as far as shooting pictures are concerned. Dang, guess I should scrap that off my list of things to accomplish on this trip. *sighs*

We were met at our hotel lobby at 7 am sharp by our guide, Cartoon (no, that’s not her real Thai name) and our driver, Manat. I should’ve taken a picture of Manat’s car, which was an old E class Merc. Not the kind of car I was expecting, i.e. I thought we were getting some bum sedan or something or other.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is situated in Ratchaburi province, approximately 1 1/2 hours drive from Bangkok City (depending on traffic conditions). Our first stop was at a local Coconut Sugar farm/factory:-

Ok, call me ignorant but I seriously didn’t know that besides sugar cane sugar and palm sugar, there’s also coconut sugar.

Thus proving that we learn something new all the time.

The farm/factory also sells handicraft made from coconut:-

And various coconut-based snacks:-

After that, it was time for the floating market!

Lotsa tourists….:S

It costs 400 baht (RM 40) to hire a boat to take you around the canal:-

Think a boat can fit around 6-8 people (depending on body size, of course). If I remember correctly, the entire boat ride took about 30 – 45 minutes? Ellis, you’ll have to help me out on this one because I totally didn’t keep track of time then.

The boat will deposit you at this proper handicraft centre where you’ll be enticed to buy all sorts of things. For some reason, neither of us were in the mood for buying stuff the whole time though. I think the rain put us off. Yeah, it was raining while we were boating around the canal….

See the umbrellas up?

If you look hard enough, you can even see the rain drops in this picture.

Apparently, these canals are man-made and completed in 1868, by order of King Mongkut. I won’t lie to you though. Yes, the pictures of Damnoen Saduak are the quintessential and iconic images of Bangkok and Thailand in general. But, it is very VERY touristy. My recommendation is that you go, take your pictures, maybe stop for a bowl of noodles, and that’s about it. Shopping-wise, in my view, need not be done here as the goods are similar to the markets in Bangkok city.

After we finished our boat ride, Cartoon brought us on a short walkabout at a stretch of the market away from the main block. I was feeling a lil peckish by now (breakfast at 6.30 am seemed a distant memory lah) so stopped to have a bowl of noodles from this friendly aunty, which cost us 30 baht if I recall correctly.

Not one to be selfish, I shared half of it with Ellis. I should add that the soup was clear when I was eating it but by the time it reached her hands, it had turned quite red from the addition of loadsa chilli flakes. Steel tongue in action yet again.

That meal must’ve lifted our spirits somewhat because Ellis then proceeded to buy 2 mini-Ts.

After that, it was time to head back to Bangkok city for the 2nd half of our tour, but not before a quick stop at the Royal Thai Handicraft Centre to observe woodwork artisans:-

Big pieces take about 2 years to make, just imagine!

If it were me, I’d think I’d have stabbed myself with one of these waaaaaaaay before the 2 years were up:-

So that’s it for part 1 of our sightseeing day. Remaining pictures are here:-

Jul.08.BKK.Day2

Grand Palace up next in part 2.