Bangkok trip Feb 2014 - Park Plaza Soi 18 Sukhumvit review

I went to Bangkok with 3 other girlfriends from 21st to 24th Feb 2014. Yes, we were there amidst the ongoing protests. Actually we felt rather safe there except on our second last day when a bombing occurred in Big C. Nonetheless, the presence of so many foreigners in Bangkok really helped to ease our fears and helped us enjoy the trip more.

There were A LOT of tourists. From Hong Kong, China, UK, America, Australia etc, you wouldn't think that there were protests going on or you would think it's really no big deal. We felt pretty safe on the first day as we didn't leave our hotel area much. Second day we went to Chatuchak Weekend Market, away from the protests and that area was pretty safe too. Third day we were at Platinum Mall the entire day and when the bombing occurred at 5pm at Big C, we were still shopping in Platinum Mall. Big C is actually 2 shopping malls away from Platinum. We knew nothing about it until we finished our dinner at Platinum and took a cab back to hotel at 8pm. It was only then that we learned from the cab driver that we were so near Big C. After that we just went back to our hotel and relaxed and played games. We came back on the last day.

I think many people are concerned about the safety of Bangkok right now. Personally I feel that it seems quite safe, they don't really attack tourists but hey bombs are blind so who am I to say tourists won't get hurt? I think as long as the tourists have the presence of mind to stay away from protest areas, be on alert, and always know where your country's embassy is located in Bangkok it should be quite ok. Just my 2 cents' worth!

Anyway we stayed at Park Plaza Soi 18 Bangkok located at Sukhumvit and we loved it! :)

We stayed in the Club Room as there was a promotion when we booked it. So each room costs about $390 for 3 nights = $130 for 1 night = $65 per person per night, including breakfast. We thought it was a steal!

The other room which was slightly bigger

The good thing about staying in Club Room is that it came with free canapes and drinks/beer (free flow) every day from 5.30pm - 7.30pm. Whether you are back from a shopping or about to move off, it's a good place to just stop by and chill for a short while!

The hotel's swimming pool, which we unfortunately did not get to utilise, but we did have a barbecue dinner at the poolside on our first night. We weren't quite sure where to go for dinner and the barbecue buffet seemed decent (it was not though). 

The hotel's breakfast which included egg station, bread counter, hot foods, juices, pancake machine etc

Breakfast was really good and we enjoyed it for all 3 days.

Our loot from Chatuchak and Naraya on Day 2

The hotel has it's own tuk-tuk, and the Concierge guy drove us to the Seafood Market nearby for dinner. Please don't go there it's freaking expensive.

I read on Tripadvisor that the hotel is near the BTS station Asok and I have to say that's true. The alley leading to the hotel is relatively quiet but seemed safe. One thing that really impressed us was the good service rendered by the Concierge services. If you stay there, look for a guy named Coco, he speaks the best English amongst the staff and is always ready to lend a helping hand, give you advice on where to go etc.

Lastly, I leave you with photos of what the protest sites and the closed roads look like.

Having never seen this before, even I was amazed by the scale of tents pitched. Looked like a massive campsite.

The other closed roads become shopping streets, full of hawkers selling all sorts of items. There are lots of locals and foreigners amongst the shoppers! We didn't really dare to shop inside, which I personally thought was quite a waste :(

Edited 28/2/2014: 

Just some tips on travelling to Bangkok now. 

1. Buy travel insurance - in case of flight delays/cancellations etc. Note that travel insurance usually does not cover any incidents due to riots. Go read the fine print.

2. E-register at Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the Singapore Embassy will send you sms if there are any updates. I was updated about the Big C bombing very soon after it happened there.

3. Write down (or take a snapshot) of the address of Singapore's embassy in Bangkok, in case of any emergencies.

4. Avoid protest areas, especially areas with high tension.

5. Use the skytrain (more worth it and actually safer than being on the roads).

These might not be the best tips or anything but based on my experience there just a few days ago I would feel these are the basic preparation to do.

Worst case scenario: just stay in the hotel and swim! :)

Stay safe!

My Wedding Journey #9 - Actual day videographer

For my actual day videographer, I engaged the services of WMAProduction. You can view their website here.

It costs $720 for both childhood montage and actual day morning highlights. We did not engage a videographer for night time as we felt there was no need to see ourselves march in. Our videographer was a pleasant guy. He was punctual on our actual day and friendly.

The first draft of my video that was sent to me for vetting, I almost couldn't believe my eyes when one of the photos' orientation was wrong. The photo was a landscape photo but in the video it was in portrait orientation. Such an obvious mistake, and to me, it said a lot about the "efforts" put into the montage. 

The videos were done up pretty okay, but nothing fantastic. The montage was normal and the morning highlights were funny but I felt it was more due the sabotaging games in the morning and not really the effect of the video. Anyway, the videos were quite decent lah.

My only gripe about WMA is that the video took REALLY long to be ready. We got married on 15 December, by today (the day I am writing this post) 19 February, we've yet to receive our video. We've only seen it once during the wedding itself. I messaged the videographer to ask shortly after our wedding and he replied that it would be ready within 3 - 8 weeks. I asked why there is such a big difference in timeframe and he replied that this is the norm, plus December is a month full of weddings. 

I offered to self-collect the CD from him and asked him to let me know when it's ready. Until I couldn't take it anymore due to lack of response, I smsed him yesterday and asked whether the CD was ready and whether I could collect. He replied yes and said they would mail it to our house. His ready response made me feel that the CD was ready quite some time back and he just couldn't be bothered to contact us to inform us it is ready. 

In other words, I have to say, WMA's customer service sucks. Granted, they are quite affordable but honestly I would rather pay more and go for better service than to suffer this kind of vomit-blood service. 

Taipei Day 3 - Sky Lantern and fireworks in Shifen

Day 3 was a particularly exciting day. I've been to Taipei 5 times and never have I had the chance to release a sky lantern! Early in the morning the hubs and I went to Taipei Station to take a train to Ruifang.

Ta-dah! Here we are, with 10 minutes to spare, we hurriedly bought the tickets. 

Err...you are supposed to drop the ticket down the gantry at one end and retrieve it at the other. As there was about 2-3 minutes before the train left when we were at the gantry, we did not have time to understand how it worked. In the end there was quite a confusion when we reached Ruifang and the conductor asked for our ticket stubs. >_<

From Ruifang to Shifen (need to change train)

Honestly if you are in a big group (group of 4 for example), I would recommend you guys book a taxi for the entire day instead of taking public transport. You save a lot of time and can probably visit more places, including Ye Liu, Yin Yang Sea etc

After a long and boring train ride (thank God for Running Man!), we've finally reached!

Upon reaching Shifen, you can immediately see the sky lantern shops along the railway track. The railway track is actually still functioning, so when the train is approaching everyone needs to get off the track. When the train has passed, everyone goes back onto the track to release the sky lanterns. 

The hubs and I decided to head to the Shifen waterfall first as the sky lantern area was crowded with people. The Shifen waterfall also closes at 6pm whereas the sky lantern shops close at 10pm.

wheee we are here! Need to pay to go in, about 100 or 200 NT, can't remember.

It is really quite a beautiful waterfall! The hubs and I were glad we came!

On our way back to the train station area

This is our sky lantern!

We chose the one that has 8 different colours. Each colour is supposed to symbolise a different thing e.g. health, love, wealth, happiness etc so the person would hang your sky lantern on a clothes rack and you just use a calligraphy pen to write your wishes on the sky lantern! You can write in whatever language you want anyway it's not like it's really meant for any particular person to see!

I went to the shop where the staff were all wearing purple shirts! They are very friendly and very professional. When you are done, they will light the sky lantern for you and take photos for you before asking you to release it. The whole process was very fun and enjoyable. 

As the sky grew darker, the sky lanterns glowed like little stars.

We also bought fireworks there and released it into the sky. The hubs went a little crazy and bought 5 boxes for NT$3000, about SGD$130. The staff then brought us to this dark place behind the shops and let us play with the fireworks there. We took videos but didn't take photos. Anyway a word of advice: the bigger boxes are prettier and don't buy the jellyfish ones (nothing special), no matter what they say. :P

Taipei Day 2 - 金仙鲁肉饭 (Jin Xian Lu Rou Fan/ Jin Xian Braised Pork Rice)

On our second day we went to 无分埔 coz we wanted to shop. Ended up we told another taxi driver about our plight and the braised pork rice the day before, and he recommended us another one. The hubs and I exchanged a look and decided that what the hell since we are already here and the one yesterday was so completely unsatisfying.

The inside of the restaurant looks a like little teahouse. So we ordered a few dishes and they were served shortly after.

Besides braised pork rice, the shop was famous for its prawn rolls. The prawn rolls are actually more famous than the braised pork rice and frankly speaking, this was the best prawn rolls I've ever eaten in my life. Thick, filled with prawns and juicy and fragrant, I will never forget my first bite. The hubs and I ordered seconds. If I could I would have bought 100 back to Singapore.

The hub's braised pork rice with fried chicken drumstick. 

The second main lead of the day, braised pork rice. This was in my humble opinion, much better than the one yesterday and lots better than any braised pork rice I've ever had in Taipei.

Steamed veggies to balance out the meal.

So the shop name is actually Jin Xian Prawn Roll Shop, 金仙虾卷店. My braised pork rice cost NT$30, hub's chicken drumstick rice cost NT$105, prawn rolls was NT$40 for 2 pcs and steamed veggies were NT$45. Love taiwanese food coz it's so supremely delicious yet cheap!

For the rest of our second day we walked around wufenpu (bought nothing coz it was winter!), then went to some night markets at night and called it a day. :)

Coming up: Shifen, sky Lanterns and fireworks!

Taipei Day 1 - Simple + Hotel, 金峰鲁肉饭 (Jin Feng Lu Rou Fan/Braised Pork rice)

We arrived in Taipei after a 2 hrs flight. Took a bus from the airport but alighted a distance from our hotel. This is my 5th time in Taipei and the previous 4 times, I always stayed in Ximending area but this time round the hubs wanted us to try something "new" so I chose a hotel that had ok reviews on Tripadvisor. Simple + Hotel was difficult to find! Because it is located in an alley. We spent about half an hour looking for the hotel and the hubs had to carry the heavy luggage around, poor thing.

Finally found it! 

It's actually relatively near 小巨蛋. Though locating it was quite a feat, but the hubs actually felt that it is quite centrally located. Me, I'm just happy there's a 7-Eleven nearby. :D 

The lobby area which was homely and rustic, not for fussy travellers who love grandeur though. :)

Our room this time round was so much more spacious, which was a relief. We got the room on level 1 though, not sure if the rooms above are of similar size. They do have balconies but we don't though, so I am guessing their rooms may be slightly smaller?

The tv and the study table

Love the bathroom! Neat, clean and the toilet bowl comes with heater hehehe no need to be afraid of cold toilet seats in the winter anymore!

The hotel's gym located on the top floor

Laundry room for travellers who want to wash their clothes

The roof garden which was quite a nice place to rest and relax with a cuppa in your hands

and with Taipei 101 in the distance :)

We decided to head out for dinner as we were both really hungry and looking forward to some really fantastic snacks/food in Taipei! During our skiing trip in Seoul, the Taiwanese we met introduced us this 金峰鲁肉饭 which they claimed that is very famous and that throngs of people flock there for the braised pork rice. Upon hearing this, the hubs and I decided we shall flock there too.

Found it!

We ordered tofu, braised egg, radish soup for him and bittergourd soup for me.

Of course, the main lead of the day!

Unfortunately, the hubs and I felt a little cheated after eating this as we felt that it was only average. I think the Taiwanese we met raised our expectations so much that we were expecting a gastronomical explosion in our mouths on our first spoonful. Unfortunately that was not the case. 

Considering we walked 20 minutes (brisk walk some more!) for this, it was just very....ordinary I guess.

P/S: This post is my personal opinion and not representative of anything or anyone else. Jin Feng is a little on the sweet side, rather than being salty. Also, the pork, as you can see in the photo, are chopped so finely that there is nothing to bite. I would have preferred a little more bite perhaps?

 On the other hand, I must say that the hubs and I had to queue up for this as well. They are a small establishment and the seats were all full. The queue was quite non-stop so that is a testament to how popular they are amongst the locals. 

After that we walked around a while at Shi Da Night Market 师大夜市 and Shi Lin Night Market 士林夜市 before heading back to our hotel to rest for the night. After a while we got hungry so we strolled to the nearby 7-Eleven for supper!

Ta-dah!!! Got to love Taipei food coz everything's so affordable yet uber delicious! The mee sua (top) is mine while the beef don and chicken cutlet with curry is the hubs'! Plus two giant bottles of Yakult, some liang teh and a cup of Jagabee! 

I hate to say this but Taipei is better than home at times! *grin*