[Travel] A hidden shopping gem in Bangkok- Union Mall

Dear Readers,

I'm back with more travel reviews. This time introducing to you a hidden shopping gem in Bangkok which few people know of. At the same time, I must express my dismay at the cancellation of my June 2015 Bangkok Trip because of the unavailability of the hotels I am interested in AND the non-promotional air tickets ):

My initial plan was to book the air tickets on Tuesday morning (for the Scoot Promotional Fares), and then book the hotels for the nights in Bangkok. However, Scoot has no good promotional price the past 2-3 weeks and Metro Resort Pratunam has apparently raised their prices from 1000THB to 1400THB. The other lower-priced range hotels have really bad feedbacks (eg. Have to enter the hotel by cutting through some restaurants, Hotel lobby in a really secluded area, and Dirty sheets and linen) So no thanks, I might just head to JB during the long leave.

Ok, so back to topic. The shopping paradise which isn't that well known as Platinum yet: Union Mall. I was contemplating whether to share this or not. Because being a typical Singaporean, I'm super kiasu and worry that once there is an influx of foreign travellers, the prices of goods there might increase. But I decided to help those who are looking for quality and cheap clothings, and those who are really exhausted after a hot and sunny morning/afternoon at Chaktuchak.

Coconut Ice cream dessert: A must eat in Bangkok

I usually will head to Chaktuchak in the morning and shopped till about 2pm, then head down to Union Mall via train.

The really cute dog I saw at Chaktuchak.

Head to the Chaktuchak train station and take one/ two stop down to Phrahon Yothin (I might have spelt the name wrongly) 

Take towards the Hua Lanphrong direction

The train had good air conditioning and it was quite comfy after a really hot and sunny morning at Chaktuchak.

You can purchase your token (for a one time trip) via these ticket vending machine located in the station or from the passenger service counter.

At the entrance of the train station of Union Mall.

Look out for the Sign that says Union Mall upon arrival at the train station. You should exit from Exit No. 5. Upon exit, you will be facing the "Union Mall" sign as seen in the picture below.

Hungry? Thirsty? Grab some waffles and fries and drinks at A&W!

Looks good right? It was super appetizing and shiok! (Since Singapore doesn't have A&W stalls anymore)
This was reasonably priced at about 5-6SGD for the entire set. It fed both my mother and I (as tea time snack) 

There were many things to shop (A pity I didnt take any pictures of the stalls with the really good promotion and sales ongoing) But you can refer to my picture below for my loots I was carrying back then.

Tired of shopping? Head to the Kbox! You have your own private room (although the walls and doors are made of glass which means no privacy) I think it was cheap, but being the shopaholic I am, I wanted to make full use of my time shopping at Union mall (before I headed to Chinatown later that evening)

The prices at Union Mall were comparable to the ones at Platinum. In fact, I think the clothes sold at Union Mall were made of higher quality. I got a really nice netted skater skirt for only SGD10, and back in SG, I actually found a similar piece retailing on a blogshop as a Latest Series for SGD29.90.

Thank god I bought the skirt. Usually they forbid you to try on their items on sale, but if you kindly request, I believe they wouldn't refuse (since these shops are normal sales motivated)

The clothes there ranged from about SGD5-40. There were definitely some high-end shops, which were definitely overpriced. But most of the shops there sold dresses at about SGD5-15.

If you are looking for shoes, there's this shop on the 3rd/ 4th level which had a sale when I was there. All shoes were going for 150THB! That is super cheap and worth it.

Till date, I'm still wearing the shoes I bought there. There were shoes of various designs (wedges, high heels, sandals) and they weren't those old-fashioned design ones, they were fashionable and stylenanda-inspired or some inspired branded sandals.

I manage to get a Hermes-inspired studded sandals in a really unique pale pink colour and my mother managed to get 2 wedges (one Hermes inspired and the other a black strappy wedge heel)

The material is really good and it is quite comfy. Definitely worth the price and also the luggage space and weight (HAHA)

After shopping at Union Mall, we explored the area outside the mall (there was a link bridge to the opposite side of the road which held a large mall selling some electronics and also some fashion boutiques- although not as fashionable as Union mall)

This was taken on the link bridge! (Look at the massive traffic jam!!) 

Those other malls I mentioned above were not worth the time and effort to walk around. All in all, Union mall is a great place to head to when you're tired of all the walking around Chaktuchak, or if you're in need of an air-conditioned place to shop in. You'll need about 4 hours to shop here (based on an estimation as I shopped for about 3hours but skipped certain sections). They do have male clothings but very few stalls (same scenario as in Platinum Fashion Mall). This was all about Union Mall, any other significant stalls or experiences at Union mall I did not mention? Feel free to comment!(:

Cheers,

Rachel

[Travel] Where to stay for a budget trip to Bangkok: Metro Resort Pratunam

Dear Readers,

I am back with travel reviews!

This time recommending hotels to stay in Bangkok for a budget trip!

Whenever I head to Bangkok, the only place I'll stay at is Metro Resort Pratunam.

It is conveniently located one road down Platinum Fashion Mall (about 10-15 minutes walk), and big malls nearby (including Shibuya 19 which sells wholesale fashion clothings and some electronics mall across the road)

I touched down at Survanabhumi Airport only at 7-ish to 8pm, and by the time I reached the hotel (by taxi), it was 9plus almost 10pm (local BKK time). Remember, whenever you take taxi, always ask for metered fare! (including to and fro the airport; some taxi drivers try to cheat your money by telling you there is massive jam at this time of the day, but don't fall for their trick!!) Unless you're in really popular areas at about 12am, like Ma Boon Kong, then most taxi drivers will only ferry those who agree to pay his requested fare (but always try to bargain (at least 50-100baht lower!))

This is how the exterior of the hotel look like (pardon my flabby arms HAHA)

The photo above was taken from the outside of the hotel the next morning after I touched down since it was really dark when I reached the hotel the night before.

Here's the lobby!

Very cosy lightings with 2 desktops near the check-in concierge for guests' usage. Though I recommend not to stay in the lobby for too long as there were many mosquitoes.

The very large corridors along the 3rd floor

You see really huge corridors, especially on the 3rd level. Where the middle area (on the right of the picture (with brown walls), are the exterior of one of their conference rooms.

The layout seems awkward for a hotel as this building was converted from a shopping mall in 2010/2011. Therefore, there were escalators too (which were not operating) which is supposed is meant to save electricity (since they have a lift anyway)

Interior of the room (twin bedroom)

All the rooms come with an attached bathroom, Do note that there is no carpeting in the room. Neither is there bedroom slipper provided. Please bring your own pair. In the room there is a cupboard, which had enough hangers for 2 days worth of clothes for 2 person, no luggage stand (place it on the floor), a glass table and 2 chairs, a wall-mounted TV with about 5-8 local channels, a dressing table (with a waste paper basket in the corner near the bathroom), a side table between both beds that had a table lamp, writing paper and a telephone for services.

Air-conditioning worked fine. If you're worried the room gets stuffy, just turn on the aircon in your room when you leave the hotel (the cleaners will not turn it off just to save electricity). This means you can enjoy a cool environment after a long day of shopping.

Outside the room I stayed in June 2014

Yes, to gain access to the room, you need a key and it isnt the high tech sort of tap card/ insert card into slot type of hotel. It is a physical key (the kind of key you use to lock your main door). Rest assured, if you're worried that you might lose your key, the concierge will keep your keys on your behalf. And the best part is, when you get back to the hotel (if the same concierge staff is on duty), she can remember your room number and pass you back your key. That is a really nice gesture as it shows how much they respect the guests.

I took really little pictures of the room, so here's one with me in it.

They change the towels everyday, and cleared the bins too. Toiletries were replenished daily and the sheets were changed and bed for you (ONLY IF you placed the "Please make up room" sign outside your door!)

Oh, and yes, they had a mini fridge in the room too. The bottled water (first 2) is complimentary, there were also packet coffee, tea, creamer and sugar. They are complimentary too!

Water flask is provided for you to boil your own water too.

During my period of stay, there were many Indian guests, and they tend to sleep rather late. The walls are definitely not 100% soundproof, probably about 80%, so I could hear their conversation (but not like I understood anything they were saying) Other than that, the air conditioning was so shiok that I slept and snored like a pig.

Although no daily breakfast is provided for my option, the hotel area has many good road side stalls, which mostly closes at 11pm.

Yes, this was just a 2minute walk down the hotel towards Platinum direction.

This was taken on the 1st night when we first arrived (at about 10.30pm)

Nice personalised pouches which are great as gifts (~8SGD)

3SGD roadside wanton mee stall that was cooked on the spot

The famous Kuang Heng Chicken Rice stall (~3SGD including the bottle of coke)

The 7-eleven sold Slurpee for only SGD0,70 for the giant size

The fruits in the above picture are a must eat! Fresh fruits for sale on push carts. This was from a vendor selling right outside 7-eleven, and I bought from him every single night I was there. The guava was the only fruit he cut on the spot, but all his fruits tasted good. There were pineapples, papaya, pear, guava, jambu. Jambus are must eat here. They're so sweet, crunchy and juicy! Ah, missing the jambus now!

Yes, so now you know how convenient this hotel is, with the roadside stalls opened till almost midnight! The staff are really kind too, and tries to give you as clear instructions they can with their minimal English. 

Oh yes, Thai massage is a must when in Thailand right? No worries, there is a whole street of Thai massage parlours just 5minutes walk down the street towards Platinum direction! There are 4-5 stalls for you to choose from, and I went in to try 3 of the stalls (during the 4 nights I was there in June 2014)

After telling you so much about the hotel, I haven't mentioned the price I paid. For this 3 star hotel, I paid only 4000THB for my 4night stay. That means each night only costed about ~35SGD per night!

Where else to get such deals? Although the nearby GLOW Pratunam and Amari Watergate are much better choices in terms of the quality of service and ambience, the price is about twice to thrice the price. Being the cheapo me, I think Metro Resort is comfy enough for me. I just need a proper place to sleep and rest in preparation for the next day. So what if there are gym facilities or swimming pools in other hotels? The price you pay includes the use of facilities, but truth is, you'll hardly have time to use it, as most of the time you'll be out of your hotel. Even when in the hotel, you're probably dead beat and just wanna sloth around in bed.

I am not sponsored to do this review, but since I couldn't find any reviews on the hotel, and I find that the reviews on Tripadvisor is not an accurate representation of the hotel. I decided to post on my staycation in June 2014. 

Comment if you have any queries!

If I realise I have left out any key info, I'll amend at my leisure time.

*Updated on 2nd June: The prices of all rooms at Metro have been raised. Currently, the promotional price is 1400THB per night, not the 1000THB I paid last June. Please take note!

Cheers,

Rachel 

[Travel] Bangkok Scoot Flight 2014 Review and Tips

Hey readers!!

Decided to do some travel reviews. Will start with the most recent one, and if there are actually significant viewers and readers, I'll continue posting!(:

For this blog post, it will be purely for FLIGHT reviews and tips. Follow up on more blog posts regarding itineraries during my 5-day Bangkok Trip June 2014!

Headed to Bangkok (my favourite travel location ... for shopping) on the 14th June 2014. (SIN --> BKK)

It was a very last minute decision to fly as I was viewing through online that Scoot was having a promo fare to Bangkok. 

I paid $370-ish for the tickets for both my mother and I. That was the best flight deal I've ever gotten! The best part was that I booked the tickets about 3-4 days before I actually flew. (I loved that feeling. It was like a pack-and-go, YOLO decision- Makes me feel more enthusiastic about life. HAHA)

Forgot to mention earlier, the flight deal was the FlyBag option, which means checked-in luggage was included. This was so much cheaper than AirAsia which fares doesnt include checked baggage, Also, I was worried that my mother and I would not be able to get adjacent seats (plus I love window seats), so I opted to pay extra to choose my own seat. Can't really remember how much I paid for the seat selection. I think it was SGD8 per pax? (Yup, so actually my tickets were much much cheaper if I hadn't opted for such options). HOWEVER, do note that Scoot doesnt serve in-flight meals, nor do they have entertainment onboard. 

In-flight meals were available at additional costs while on the flight, and you can actually choose your preferred meal while purchasing your tickets. I felt it wasn't worth it to pay around SGD10 for an inflight meal, and especially since it was just a 2.5 hour flight. 

Although I was slightly worried when I read online reviews that the Scoot staff were very unfriendly and that the seats were not of acceptable comfort, I felt that it was totally worth it for the price I paid for it!

Look at the seats! They look great right? The plane looked quite new (although Scoot planes are supposedly refurbished SIA planes). The seats comfort level were the usual Economy class seats. 

As the saying goes "You get what you pay for", so definitely I wasn't expecting a soft cushiony type of seat nor a first class service from cabin crews,

The flight went rather smoothly with occasional turbulences which can't be avoided as it depends on weather conditions(: 

The picture below shows my in-flight meal. (Yes, I smuggled Burger King 6pcs nuggets- although it was against their rules but I didnt get caught)

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I took the 5.35pm flight, so I reached there only at about 8pm (Singapore Time). 

Look at the pretty clouds in the sky which I managed to capture while the plane was during a right turn!

This was taken about 5 minutes before we landed in Bangkok.

 Yay! A safe landing in Bangkok! The flight left Singapore slightly late as they made the announcement that there was a long queue for the runway, however, we still arrived earlier than the expected arrival timing (applause for the pilot for choosing a shortcut route- Maybe?). After clearing customs, we went to collect our baggage which took forever to come.

I think it was because we landed earlier, therefore when we arrived at our baggage claim conveyor, it still had remains of some luggages from another flight. Everyone waited for about 10 minutes before the luggages appeared on the conveyor.

I'm too lazy to type for the return flight, but it was about the same experience and not that I noticed too much about the plane as I was dead tired after the 5 days worth of shopping. (aka I slept through the flight back to Singapore)

Rating for Flight Experience:

Cabin Crew: 8/10
Remarks: They were slightly late in response when I needed assistance to purchase their souvenirs from their on-air shopping catalogue. Other than that, I couldn't comment on as I didn't order in-flight meals or called them for any other purposes. Oh, I have to mention that they were not too polite when asking me to adjust my seat back to it's upright position.

Ambience on flight: 9/10
Remarks: The 1 point deducted was not because the flight wasn't very enjoyable, but rather due to occasional children screaming and shouting (which can't be prevented either way). They dimmed the light to allow some short power nap

Seat Comfort level: 9/10
Remarks: As mentioned above, but the seat recliners were not functioning at its best. Some seats were loose (and caused occasional squeaks as the passengers shuffled in their seats)


Tips for Scoot Flights:
- Always bring an empty water bottle as there are water coolers at the back of the plane for you to quench your thirst during the flight (and if you're as cheapo as me who doesn't want to pay for food or drinks). Not too sure if they provide plastic cups (as no one around me did so)

- Do not expect too much for Scoot flights as it is meant to be a budget carrier.

-If you and your travel partners are sharing one luggage (eg. 2 person 1 luggage), get the FlyBag option for 1 pax, and the Fly option for the other pax), it should be sufficient, unless you're worried your baggage weight might exceed (which shouldnt be the case as my average-sized luggage weighed only 18.3kg when I came back.

- Try to sneak small snacks on board especially if you have a long flight (and don't get caught, obviously)

- Bring your own source of entertainment (no inflight entertainment, games, movies, shows, music etc.) They do have a personal TV, but ... it doesnt work (duh, it's a budget carrier)

- Bring  a portable charger, especially if you plan to read ebooks or play games on your electronic devices.

OH AND YES,

I forgot to mention that Scoot no longer fly to the Survanabhumi Airport. They now fly to Don Mueang only. Don Mueang is quite close to Chaktuchak so if you intend to stay near Chaktuchak Weekend Market, it will be great!

I might try flying with NokScoot if I am flying to BKK this June.
Will post a review then!

Cheers,
Rachel