Hey everyone!
I just came back from Thailand recently and it was such an amazing trip. I went to Thailand on 16th Dec 2024 to 20th Dec 2024 and stayed in Bangkok the entire time. I wanted to fly over to Phuket for a dive trip but it was not possible as they do not have any available slot unfortunately. Nonetheless, it's my second solo trip for this year (visited Korea for 2 weeks in April).
I've always wanted to visit Thailand after scrolling through all the Instagram stories with their haul. It seemed like there are a lot of clothes that I can bring home. Long story short, I bought 2 tops, 2 skirts, 1 shorts and 2 sets of pyjamas from Slip to Sleep. Being a solo traveller, I was definitely nervous about a country that I have never been to. However, it was really safe and everyone seems pretty nice. The toilets are clean too and that's totally a bonus.
Day 1
On the first day, I arrived in Bangkok at about 6pm. The airport was really big and it felt like I was walking endlessly. The immigration was well organised and they do have e-gate available for use if you've visited Thailand before. That being said, you can skip the queue. The queue was about 15 minutes and I personally felt that it was a decent waiting time with so many travellers.
The first thing that I had to get was Thai Milk Tea. Even though I bought it from Cha Tra Mue, it tasted different from Singapore's and it's less sweet. It was ฿50 (S$1.95).
I took a Grab to my hotel (ibis) and it was ฿320 (S$12.50) for a 40 minutes ride. Do note that there's a toll of ฿25 if you'd like to use the express way (avoid traffic jam).
The design of the hotel room was pretty much the same as Indonesia, Manado. The layout was the same and I felt so comfortable with the sense of familiarity. There's also hairdryer in the toilet. Wished that they had provided toothbrush and toothpaste but it can be purchased easily since the 7-Eleven was conveniently located beside the reception counter. It's situated just beside MBK Center, BTS National Stadium.
I ordered Thong Smith's boat noodles for dinner and it was really delicious. The soup and fried garlic came in a separate packet so everything was nice and crispy. It was ฿255 (S$10.20) and it's definitely on the pricier side, which was unexpected.
Day 2
I took a 20 minutes walk to visit SEA Life Bangkok Ocean World at Siam Paragon. The ticket costed S$42 from Klook. It comes with a complimentary photo. I probably wouldn't visit again as I think it's too expensive. But for a first-timer, I had such a great experience.
I had Hitori Shabu for lunch and it was amazing! Reminded me of Shaburo21 in Seoul. It's a solo Japanese hotpot where you can cook the ingredients by yourself. Everyone gets a hotpot by themselves and I really love this concept and wished that they had similar one for barbeque. The meal was S$24, which comes with dessert as well.
Back to the ocean world, the marine creatures were well taken care of and they've beautiful corals too. I saw puffer fish, lobster, seahorses, clown fish, mandarin fish, jellyfishes, sand tiger sharks, blacktip reef sharks, leopard sharks, round ribbontail rays and eagle rays. I went at 1pm (GMT +7) as sharks feeding/talk was at 1.30pm. I believe that the sharks feeders paid ฿6,900 (S$270) for the experience. I went to After You for their kakigori (bingsu) and ordered the strawberry cheesecake.
I visited Siam Square and it's similar to Seoul's Myeongdong. There were bigger brands like Gentlewomen. But, I did not managed to get anything there. After that, I walked over to centralwOrld to get my pyjamas. It was such a terrible experience trying to find the store. There's no unit number at all and I was just walking back and fro down the lanes of different wings until I decided to seek help.
Slip to Sleep's sizes were limited and most of the cute designs did not have my size (M size). It's about S$30 to S$50 per set, depending on design. I think it's a little overhyped with the whole braless thing as there're pockets in front of your boobs. But considering that I can wear it for years, I think it's pretty okay (girls' math).
I had Ginger Farm Kitchen for dinner and here's what I've ordered;
I did not know that it was duck egg and I'm actually very shocked right now. It tasted like any other chicken eggs just that it has a larger amount of egg yolk. The drink was pretty good too and tasted fine for someone who likes vegetables.
I wanted to take a Grabcar back to my hotel but the waiting time was 20 minutes. I took the courage to get a Grabbike instead and it's only S$0.40 as they had some promotion. The bike came in 4 minutes and I went through the jam swiftly. It was a little scary with how the rider manoeuvre but it's definitely something that I would do again.
Day 3
I was really anxious about getting a smart casual outfit as I planned to visit Le Petit Chef on Thursday. At 9.30am, I took a bike to Platinum Mall. It's similar to Bugis Street but they've way more levels. When I left, I was carrying 2 big bags of clothes which includes socks, souvenirs, accessories and snacks. I would totally recommend this place for anyone who wants to get clothes as compared to many other malls. I had tonkotsu ramen for lunch and it's S$6. The taste was pretty meh sadly.
I headed back to my hotel to rest and had McDonald's for dinner. The fries were really salty and I couldn't even finish half a packet of it. I tried their Pork Samurai burger but I still prefer the Beef Samurai.
Day 4
I booked a spa session at Divana Massage & Spa at Chid Lom. It is S$112.69 and the experience was over the roof. It's at a secluded place but I saw Tiktok videos about it hence, decided to give it a try.
When I visited the spa, they served me tea and I got to select the choice of massage oil and specific areas that I would like the masseur to focus on. They brought me into the treatment room and I changed into a bathrobe. They soaked my feet and used a scrub to remove the dead skin cells. The massage was amazing! I had a 20 minutes milk bath and my skin was super smooth and soft. I probably would have regretted if I chose to not visit but I am so glad that I did! After the spa ended, they served me tea again but this time with pineapple and banana.
I was famished and decided to head to Emsphere just for Butterbear.
I wanted to eat Hitori Shabu again but it wasn't a great idea since it was nearing dinner time. I walked around Emsphere and Emquartier before heading to Terminal 21. There are different themes for each level and I really liked the Rome-themed toilet.
The clothes are pretty cute too but it's S$40 for a piece like this;
It was a five minutes walk to Le Petit Chef. As a hospitality student, I wanted to find out what's the hype behind this dining experience and decided to give it a try. I paid S$136 for a 5-course meal (including aqua panna which was S$10). It was really interesting to see how the chefs "prepares" each dish through projection and music. It distracts the diners from the duration needed for the actual chef to prepare the dishes. I liked the storyline and the dining experience. The food was delicious too!
After the meal, I was being brought to the lobby to enjoy the liveband. At about 9pm, I decided to visit Jodd Fairs. It's a clean night market and it was well organised with various sections. It does get a little crowded. I managed to get two tops there. It costed S$4 each and it was such a steal.
Day 5
I woke up at 7am to have breakfast at Beans & Brews BKK and realised that my flight got delayed.
My flight was supposed to take off at 11.20am (GMT +7) and arrive in Singapore at 3.05pm (GMT +8). But there was a delay and it only took off at 2.45pm (GMT +7). I was rather frustrated as I've a dinner celebration at night but I would only arrive in Singapore at 6.30pm. Waited for the luggage for a good 30 minutes and only arrived at my friend's house at 8pm.
Summary
Overall, this was an impromptu trip that I've planned as I really wanted to visit Thailand for the longest time. I am so glad that I did and I'll definitely return to visit the floating market, temples and probably take a tuktuk!