Alvinology goes to Bangkok – Day 3 of 4

On the third day, Rachel’s friend, Neeni, came to pick up us with her boyfriend, Ben, to show us around for the day. Neeni is a journalist, specialising in the lifestyle beat for a Madame Figaro, a magazine in Thailand. She also writes novels on the side and has published seven novels before. Her boyfriend, Ben is an engineer.

The two of them were wonderful hosts, attentive to all our needs. We were a bit paisay that they kept insisting on paying for all our meals and expenses. Hopefully, the two of them will visit Singapore soon too and we can have the honour of hosting them in return.

We visited the Chatuchak weekend market (จตุจักร) in the morning and had a heavy breakfast there. Neeni and Ben took effort to request for less chili in our orders, bearing in mind that Rachel cannot take spicy food.

Then came the shopping after our meal. During my previous visits to Bangkok, I can spend an entire day shopping at Chatuchak and still not get tired. This time round however, we quickly went through the pets section, a few clothing shops and we were off. Maybe it’s the weather… or age is catching up with me.

After roughing it out shopping at an outdoor market, Neeni and Ben brought us shopping in air-con paradise at Central Plaza till around 3pm.

At Central Plaza, we checked out an interesting Thai designer brand, FLY NOW and then had lunch at a restaurant in the basement level. We also bought a fair bit of health and beauty products at BOOTS, one of Rachel’s favourite store sin Bangkok. BOOTS is unavailable in Singapore.

After a light lunch, we proceeded to visit some Wats (temples) and the Museum of Siam Discovery

We were unable to enter most of the Wats as we were not properly attired (long sleeves and covered-toes shoes are a must). Nonetheless, there was a Wat housing a giant sleeping Buddha (Wat Pho) that did not enforce a strict dress code and we went in to take a look.

The museum was a great experience for Rachel and I. The exhibits are a bit like those at the Living Gallery in the National Museum of Singapore and we wondered if the same vendor designed both of them.

Anyway, the Museum of Siam Discovery is a museum that seeks to answer the question “What is Thai?” It goes about doing so with tech gadgets and interactive video installations.

We learn quite a bit about Thailand’s anthropology, history, culture and traditions through the tour. We took a lot of fun photos too.

At night, we shopped at posh Siam Paragon for a while and had our dinner at a restaurant in Siam Square that serves traditional Thai dishes. By coincidence, we spotted Singaporean actress, Ruien (瑞恩), dining at a table behind us in the same restaurant. Not wanting to appear like stupid TV junkies, we left her and her companion alone and did not try to gawk at her or take her photo.

We then had desert at Cream & Fudge before we bid farewell to our lovely hosts, Neeni and Ben. It was raining when we got off Ben’s car to walk to MBK, and they actually gave us their umbrella -that’s how sweet the two of them are.

Thanks to their umbrella, we managed to stay dry for the rest of the night. Rachel and I caught the Pixar animation, UP!, in 3D at MBK. It was SUPERB!

We went in tired and expected little much besides a few laughs. How wrong were we. The movie has an endearing storyline about an old man who set off to fulfill the childhood wish of his late wife and in the process, discover life and adventure.

It’s so wonderful that Rachel and I vowed to catch it again in Singapore’s cinema when it arrives. Seriously, do not miss this movie! It’s the best animation we have seen since Finding Nemo!

After the movie, we walked back to our hotel, sharing an umbrella in the light drizzle. That ended our third day in Bangkok. 🙂

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