Sawadee-ka Day 2

Day two!

The lobby was so pretty we just had to take photos 

Favorite photo of the husband and I

At the entrance of our hotel

Heading out

Started the day with a slow breakfast at Dean and Deluca just down the road from our hotel. (Yes, yes another imported brand but hey, the Singapore outlet was always full!). We made ourselves comfortable in a window seat facing the main road to people watch although there was nothing to watch except for pink taxis passing by. Their fascination with pink!

Dean and Deluca, Bangkok 

Pretty chocolate lollipops 

Buying our breakfast

Croissant, sandwich and wraps to share

Window seats without a view

We next reached Platinum Mall at close to noon and shopped for two and a half hours, which is really short as some of my friends told me they were able to spend the entire day here. I was all ready to lug a big bag home but unfortunately had to settle for a much smaller shopping bag. I started panicking after walking half the first floor and not seeing anything to buy! But as we walked on, I managed to find some good buys. The higher up the shopping mall, the better the quality of clothes got. Tried a bit of bargaining - from 730 to 700 baht for our passport holders but after all the effort we realised that was only $1.20 in Singapore dollars! Haha oops... so not worth the effort.

Platinum mall

Shopping heaven for both the locals and tourists

Pretty bags

Cute passport holders for me and the kids

At the taxi stand, my bag of loot was the smallest. Gold standard were those carrying 'china bags'. Impressed. Still, mine contained 3 belts, 4 bags, 3 t-shirts, 4 passport holders and a handphone pouch. All for about 3,000 baht, which translates to about S$120 - good deal?

Such a small bag.. the husband 'posing' again

This is how your shopping bag should look like

Ronald saying Sawadee-ka too

Street food everywhere. Didn't dare try any of them, afraid our spoilt and sheltered Singapore tummies wouldn't be able to take it.

All over the city - Street food

While waiting for a taxi, we were somewhat amazed by the different transportation available - BTS, taxis, tuk-tuks and even motorcycles (wow!). The motorcycles offering transport services are identified by the vests donned by the rider (in pink!) and basically just brings you anywhere for an agreed charge just like the tuk-tuks. Not something we have in Singapore.

Tuk tuks - remember to agree a price before hopping on!

The Thai's just love pink!

Had to rush back to the hotel for a pumping break. We ordered room service and tried their Phad Thai and chicken wrapped in pandan leaves which was decent but no where near fantastic. Wasn't expecting too much from hotel food.

Phad Thai

Next stop was to Plan Toys for the kids. Just had to get something for them. We went to the headquarters only to find it closed. We promptly headed to Central World, another shopping centre, and were delighted that there was a sale with some toys up to 50% off. The husband and I got so excited. Decided that there would be too many things to buy (good deal!!) and because we didn't have enough time today (we had to squeeze in a pump break, go for dinner and had a massage appointment at 8pm), we decided to drop by tomorrow instead so that we could take our time to slowly choose which toys to buy for Wayne and Amanda. Missing my two little ones very much.

We then had dinner at Home Kitchen, a local Thai-Chinese restaurant recommended by our hotel's concierge. It was supposedly a place frequented by locals. The food was mediocre. Disappointed.

Our massage after that made up for the average dinner. Divana is a local Thai spa and it was beautiful. Much pricier than Healthland but it felt more like a spa rather than just a massage outlet. At Healthland, although the massage was divine, the environment was more basic. Divana gave you a spa feel with the beautiful garden greeting you as you step in. It also had a whole range of spa products which made you feel pampered just by looking at them and trying them out. Although the massage here was also considered very good , I preferred the massage at Healthland just that little bit more. Huakai on the other hand preferred the one here, I guess it is all dependent on individual therapists. But no doubt, the massage skills in Singapore pales in comparison to both massages we had here.

Local spa chain - Divana

Beautiful garden entrance

Divana's own range of spa products

Choosing our spa treatment

We opted for Aromatherapy again! 

In the couple suite

Dessert and tea after the massage

Ended the night missing the kids a lot. My mind was constantly on the kids, wondering what they were doing this Saturday. Another two days before I see them! Meanwhile, more shopping, good food and one more massage tomorrow night before we head home!