Great Reminders from the How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies and Before the Coffee Gets Cold

How to make millions before grandma dies (Pic source: Google.com)

"How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies premiered on April 1, 2024, and is now hitting cinemas worldwide. It is currently rated at 8.5/10 on IMDb, with 97% positive rating from Google users, and has made THB 320.7 million in Thailand alone, as of June 2, 2024." - Lifestyle Asia

I heard about this when I was staycation in Batam with my friend two weeks ago. She had been wanting to ask me to watch this together since it was cheaper to watch movie there. But since we both were busy, we could not watch. Until yesterday, finally I grabbed my hubby to watch it together with me.

He was wondering what kind of movie it was. I just told him it was a Thai movie and I bet, he believed my taste, so he just agreed and joined. He was struck in awe upon seeing a fully occupied theater on Thursday evening (not even weekend), and people was willing to sit at the most front rows because every where else was occupied. "It must be really good," he claimed inside his heart.

After finished watching, I understood how it had become really famous not only in Thailand, but worldwide, especially in Southeast Asia. The movie depicted Thai Chinese life and culture, which was also applicable to any other Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia countries like Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Filial piety, favoritism upon boys, and greed upon wealth/ inheritance came hand-in-hand and usually appeared when someone old and sick was going to die - realistically and sadly. The young "good for nothing" boy - who had initial intention to benefit something from the upcoming grandma's death, changed his heart through love and over time as he spent more time together and closely with his Amah (grandma). 

It was heart wrenching. I could hear sob sounds somewhere inside the theatre when the movie was almost ended. I did not cry though, in fact, I laughed more while watching it. Thanks to the boy's character that was lighthearted and always wanted to see his Amah smiled :) 

Before the Coffee Gets Cold Quotation - Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Our parents were getting old each and every day. One day, soon or later, one thing or another, we might have to face such thing in life. I hope my parents would be blessed with good health all the time and they could spend the rest of their days happily and full of love despite living away from their children. Hope they can gain happiness from travelling and seeing the world, spending time together with their children, grandchildren, friends, and families.

The above picture was taken from the "Before the Coffee Gets Cold" book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Three sequels were published with the almost same stories over and over again, on how customers had the opportunity to travel to a time of their choosing, as long as they followed a long list of rules.

"There is only one seat in the café that allows time travel; the seat is only available when the ghost that usually occupies it goes for a toilet break; once back in time, customers can't leave the seat; the only people in the past who can be met are people who have visited the café; whatever happens in the past, the present won't change; and, most importantly, the customer has to return to the present before their cup of coffee goes cold (around 1 hour)." - Source: Wikipedia.org

In real life, whatever had passed, would never return. Just like a broken vase that could not return to its initial form. As Amah said, "What has been done, cannot be undone." 

Hope the movie and the book would be a great reminder to all of us to always treasure the people surrounding us, to feel grateful of their existence, and in any way possible, to spend more quality time with them - be it near or far, and to love with all of our hearts, not because we expect something in return.

Traveling alone?

Yourself can be a great accompany too!!! (IG: Rimareyka.writes)

People always asked me how could I manage to travel alone? Alone here, did not always mean alone physically, but it was more in a sense of traveling alone without spouse, parents, friend, and so on. 

Looking back, I had done so many times in my life. Sometimes, I could not even believe myself, how did I do it, traveling alone, as far as to US, Europe, Japan, and so on. 

It was a bless that my spouse gave me the trust and permission for all my traveling trips. Not many spouse would understand that dream of yours to visit the world, to experience life outside your comfort zone, to realise your dreams, and to enjoy your own time. I was indeed blessed in that matter and I always felt grateful for him. 

Many of us, especially women, would love to travel and see the world. But due to circumstances (could not take time off together with your loved ones, did not have enough budget for two or more, partner might not be interested in traveling or the destination, just could not find anyone to travel with, and so on), we ended going alone, that too, if you had courage to do so. 

Yes, many of us had been travelling. They could sign travel package from travel agent as it was the easiest thing to go with no worry and you would find many others who were at the same boat traveling with you that way. They had their spouse, family, and friends to travel with them. 

But what if you were really alone and just wanted to be alone? I just realised, traveling alone was not just for everyone.

When my hubby had to travel alone to meet me in Penang few months ago, he was filled with anxiety. It had been long time (due to Covid-19) since the last time he went abroad. That too, mostly with my accompany.  He was worried so much about the trip, especially the procedures that he had to go through during the check-in. He could not sleep the night before, and kept messaging me how to do it. And he told me too, when he was successing with the check-in procedures and everything, when he reached Penang airport feeling proud of himself, and when he came out to the arrival area, he then realised that he forgot to collect his luggage at the conveyer belt. Lol..... :P He had to ask the security officer's permission to enter the collection luggage area to take his luggage. Hahahaha..... this might give him a good lesson for his next travelling trip and memories to laugh with in the future time. 

Anyway, I just thought about it and come out with few things to suggest when you felt like traveling and happened you gotta be alone. 

One life with many choices ahead (IG: Rimareyka.writes)

First, ask yourself, what you want to reach from this trip. The goal, the dream, the purpose. Let me get example from one of my trips - 10-day silent meditation trip in Thailand. You could read the post here. 

"Been wanting to experience living in Ashram or undergo the silence meditation retreat, being away from outer world (no phone, email, Facebook, selfie, etc.) over certain period of time, at least once in my lifetime." - that was my goal and purpose. 

Second, find someone who were interested to join you for the trip. 

In my case, not everyone wanted to go through the 10-day silent meditation trip, as I mentioned in that post, and I ended up having to go through the meditation trip alone, by myself, to somewhere I had never been to. 

However, my ex-classmate was interested with meeting me in Bangkok and later on Chiang Mai. With that, I aligned with her intention and set how many days should I arrange the whole trip. 

Third, find any friends who happened staying at the city or country. If you read the post, I arranged meeting up with my Bhutanese friend who was studying there. And he brought 2 of his friends together, which I ended up knowing more friends from this trip. I was really nervous since it had been 10 years since the last time I visited Bangkok and since I was on budget, it was my first time travelling using Bangkok's train from the airport, and to Chaiya (southern of Thailand - the nearest train station from the meditation's place). 

When meeting him, I felt it boosted my confident to be in the area, felt safer (because they too lived there comfortably - I no more had to scared of getting kidnapped and got my organ stolen - effect of watching movie the day before lol!), and adjusted with the place much faster. So, it was kind of getting moral support, even the meeting was only a brief. 

Fourth, when feeling unsure about anything, or feeling lost, do not hesitate to ask anyone surrounding you. 

In this post, you could read about my day 2 trip. I had no idea how to get to the meditation place and ended up asking a Thai woman who knew only limited English. I did not know any Thai language as well so I tried using simple English mentioning the place I wanted to reach, plus body language. I ended up getting free ride to the destination and until now, it was still feeling like a dream. I still felt that Buddha was blessing me all the way, sending me all those kind people I met all along my way to help and guide me.

Fifth, make friends along the way. Well, since it was 10-day silent meditation trip, we had to be silent, meaning no talk was allowed during the 10 day we were there. But we (girls) stayed at the same compound, we met every time especially those who slept at the room near your room. So eye contact was there and after the meditation over, we made friends to each other. Some of them were still in my Instagram or Facebook contacts. I even met one of them once when I travelled to her hometown in Russia!

Sixth, when travel alone, find a safe location to stay. If you are on budget, stay at homestay would be good as you have a chance to meet many other travellers like you, and can travel and do many things together, but most importantly, paying less on accommodation. Keep your belonging safe is a must do by putting it at safe place (safe deposit box if available, if not, inside belt or pouch and put them beneath your clothes), plus, try to be sober as much as you can (you will never know what others do when you are in drunk mode and having blackout).

When I had more budget, I would usually look for a place not far from train station. I felt that the place was generally crowded (especially at night time). It would safer when more people were still walking around than the quiet place. 

I would read the review before deciding where to stay too, because I believe good or bad experience was the best teacher in life.

Seventh, find activity even when you are alone. In Chiang Mai, when my friend had to attend her massage class, I had to roam the city alone. 

I could find so many activities available from the hotel, website, and so on. I attended cooking class (made friends there as well), signed up daily tour to nearby place, tried many different massages available - from aroma therapy oil body massage, traditional Thai massage with lots of stretching, foot reflexology to Tok Sen hammering massage, browsed the old and new city, tried many different local Thai dishes, and so on. 

When doing all that, you would forget about your loneliness, and focused more on each moments. In other words, find activities that keeps you busy. 

Eight, always inform your whereabout to your loved one. Internet is available at many places, so make good use of it. I had to inform my spouse when I had the 10- day silent meditation trip and gave the staff my emergency contact in case something happened to me during the ten days because I had to keep my mobile phone with the staff (we were not allowed to use it). Not wanted to make others worry, was my priority. So as and when, I would update my whereabout to message them feeling safe as well. 

Traits for solo traveller (IG: Rimareyka.writes)

So, who said you would be lonely when travelling alone??? As long you had good intentions, the path would be there and shown to you. And always believed, that everything happened only for good reasons. 

After reading this, hope you would kill your doubt of traveling alone, and you would benefit even more as you would find out more about yourself (in various situations), like how you would handle problems and uncertainty, and many many more!!! It would shape yourself to be even more brave and more courage to travel many new places in the world.  Hope this post will motivate you and give you strength too to follow your dreams, hopes and destiny in life!!! :)

Bangkok D4 - Chatuchak Weekend Market, Asiatique Ferris Wheel, and delicious local food to try!!!

Chatuchak Weekend Market in Bangkok, Thailand - Must visit place!!!

Bangkok is well known as a shopping heaven especially for Singaporean. When they go to Bangkok, they will arrange to be there during weekend so that they can visit the famous Chatuchak weekend market and shop until they drop!!! Despite hot and humid weather, they will prepare themselves by wearing short-sleeves shirt, short pants, slipper, carrying big backpack on front part of their body, holding the battery operated portable fan at one hand and bottled of mineral water at another hand,  and sometimes wearing glasses and hat too. For me, umbrella is a must!!! :P

Chatuchak map (Pic source: Bangkok.com)

Chatuchak is such a big place (grouped into 27 sections) and has over 8,000 stores. When you reach there, you are advised to download the Apps into your phone so that you won't get lost or if you do not have the internet connection, free map is also available. It is reachable by both BTS (Mo Chit Stn) and MRT (Chatuchak Park Stn). You can find more information here.

Thai snacks and beverages - shopping break at Chatuchak weekend market

If you are hungry and thirsty, worry not!!! There are plenty of food and beverage stalls available down there. They sell many fancy and traditional food and keep your stomach filled and happy :)

Rung Rueng Pork Noodle near Phrom Phong BTS Station - Bangkok, Thailand (Pic source: Google map)

Before going there, my local Thai friend brought us somewhere to have breakfast. That's why I only had snacks and beverages in Chatuchak market while they also have many stalls to eat proper meals. He introduced us a local Thai Chinese shops selling typical Chinese breakfast dishes - noodles!!! My favorite!!! We went down to the shop together by BTS and stopped at Phrom Phong Stn. Check the map above to find the shop's location.

Rung Rueng Pork Noodles - Bangkok, Thailand - For Chinese noodle lovers :)

I am glad that I could find the location through the Google map based on my memory while walking down through small alleys to reach the place as the shop's signage was in Thai language and I did not even know what the shop name was. I included this shop here so that you can try it too next time (especially for Chinese pork noodle lovers :D). My friend said this shop was very crowded, so it's better to come early and avoid lunch time. We even had to wait for more than half an hour before our food arrived.

Try their crispy fish skin too!!! Rung Rueng Pork Noodle - Bangkok, Thailand

He ordered and ate three bowls for himself as he just attended triathlon days before and he needed to regain some good nutrients back for his body, and also because the noodle was very delicious!!! At first two of us ordered three bowls of noodles and crispy fish skin. But after finishing one bowl of noodle, I just felt it was so delicious and one bowl was definitely not enough, therefore I decided to order another one. Hahahahahaha.... So I finished two bowls of noodles (one soup and one dried) on my own :P I had no idea how much it cost as my friend treated us, but from the Google review, many said that it was inexpensive, so if you pork noodle lover, seriously, you have to try it for yourself!!! :)

Khao Tom Pla Kimpo - Rice Soup with fresh fish and seafood in Bangkok, Thailand (Pic source: Google map)

After having enough shopping, I was sweaty and tired. The weather was so hot and humid. I decided to go back to hotel to drop the shopping bags, take a little rest, and take a bath before going out again for dinner. My local Thai friend wanted to introduce us to another restaurant. We met up at BTS Saphan Taksin. From there we took a short bus journey. If walked, it might take us 20-25 mins to reach.

Khao Tom Pla Kimpo menu :)

This time the shop was selling rice soup with fish and/or seafood of your choice. It wasn't ordinary fish though, but including a choice of huge size fresh fish that they hung daily in front of their shop. The variety of fish they offered were butter fish, red grouper, grouper, and sea bass, while the seafood were squid, prawn and oyster.

Khao Tom Pla Kimpo - Rice soup fish and seafood in Bangkok, Thailand (Pic source: Google map)

Apart from the rice soup, there was also stall selling crisp fried mussel pancakes. You could choose mussels, oyster, fish, prawn, and cuttlefish or mixture of your choices. It tasted delicious too!!!

Crisp fried seafood pancake at Khao Tom Pla Kimpo in Bangkok, Thailand

The seafood that they put into the rice soup was amazingly fresh and great!!! Seafood lover, you should come to this place and try it for yourself. The cuttlefish and prawns were equally big and fresh!!! Omg!!! It was really high quality of seafood that they served, that was why it was a bit pricey, but I guess, it was all worth it!!! Mostly local went to eat here and usually from the older generation.

Asiatique Ferris Wheel - Bangkok, Thailand (Pic source: Google map)

Oh my... the meal was satisfying. I ate so much in a day!!! It was time to walk. My friend suggested us to walk all the way to the Asiatique Ferris Wheel. It was about the same distance that we took earlier. Good to digest the food that we just had, at the same time, had a romantic walk under the starry night sky.

Asiatique Ferris Wheel in Bangkok, Thailand

Other than riding the Ferris wheel, you could shop, dine, chill, relax, watch the Calypso ladyboy cabaret, Muay Thai Live, and classic Thai puppet performance. I had good time shopping there. There were few shops selling clothes for ladies at one price. There was local accessories shop and many other stuffs as well. Rows of restaurant and bars along the riverfront would be the perfect place to dine and chit chat, but we were too full to eat anything else.

A long and happy day in Bangkok, Thailand :)

At night, the free boat back to BTS Saphan Taksin was available until 11 pm so you did not have to worry on how to go back to where you stay. That was how you could spend another day in Bangkok. Well, Bangkok is such a big city with many places for you to choose to go. There are still many other places you can go if you have enough time to spare. Let's see if I can manage to come up with more post and suggest you where to go and what to eat :) 'Til then....

Bangkok D3 - Take the boat to Chinatown, Wat Pho, and Kao Shan Rd

Breakfast for the day :)

Since I liked taking the breakfast away and having it in hotel, we had the above for the day :) This time we had ham omelette breakfast set, ham and cheese sandwich, mix of fried chicken and pork, plus guava and pineapple. Oh, not forgetting the fresh orange juice!!! You could get the fresh pressed orange juice in Bangkok easily!!! Sometimes it tasted so sweet until I doubted if they did not add any sugar in it :D

The map for the boat ride - from Sathorn Pier in Bangkok, Thailand

For today we are going to explore Bangkok city through the water, which means we are taking boat as our transport to various places. From Saphan Taksin BTS the Sathorn Pier (Central) is within five minutes walking distance. Once comes out, just follow the signage towards the pier. The "Hop On Hop Off Boat" map above is posted for your info only so that you know at which pier you should stop for the places that you intend to go. But I don't take that tourist boat and pay as mentioned there. Instead, I took the boat that local usually took in their everyday's life. Each ride cost your around THB 15-20 per pax depending on your destination.

Boat ride through Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand

Here let me bring you to Chinatown. It cost THB 20 per ride from Sathorn Pier and stop at Ratchawongse (no. 5). When purchasing your ticket, tell them you want to ride the local boat, not the one for tourist. The ticket should be sold just next to it by different seller.

Our first stop - Ratchawongse - No. 5

When you want to take the boat, just show your ticket to the staff and they will let you know if the upcoming boat is for you to take or not because there are few different boats available. And hold into your ticket (it is small so easy to fly away accidentally) until the staff who works on the boat checking for it.

Chinatown map - Bangkok, Thailand (Pic source: Google.com)

The hustle and bustle Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand

From the pier, just walk straight along Ratchawong Rd. towards the Chinatown area. You will see lots of wholesale shops there. Usually you have to buy at least 3 pcs to get the better price, and also you can find lots of stuffs sold in your country coming from this place :D Upon reaching towards Yaowarat Rd. you will find many gold shops and it is usually crowded with buyers. So if you want to buy some gold, you can find it here :)

Chinatown in Bangkok - Lots of food and snacks :)

There are many local snack and food seller there. Chinese almanac or calendar, Qi Bao (Chinese traditional dress) for both men and women can also be found there. As for Singaporean, many travel to this area to have Chinese delicacies like shark fin and fish maw soup, abalone soup, etc.

Tried Chinese food at Tang Jai Yoo - Chinatown in Bangkok, Thailand

Before going there, I read reviews from internet on which Chinese restaurant I should visit and try. And I decided to go to Tang Jai Yoo where they sell a nice oyster omelette, prawn roll (with big chunk of prawn in it), and prawn tang hoon (vermicelli). We did not order shark fin and all as we felt that this was good enough and we really found that the food was fresh and delicious, worth the money. We spent THB 920 for the dishes we ordered above. Not forgetting the delicious appetizer - sweet and sour veg pickles - given before our order came :)

The Grand Palace and Wat Pho map from Tha Chang Pier stop no 9 (Pic source: Google.com)

After lunch we continued our journey. We went back to the Ratchawongse pier and took the boat again, this time was to visit Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha).

Visited the Grand Palace 10 years ago :D

Ten years ago I visited the Grand Palace in Bangkok. So this time I did not visit the place anymore. The entry cost THB 500 per pax. If this is your first time to Bangkok, it is a must visit place for you!!! To reach there you can take the boat and stop at Tha Chang Pier (no. 9).

The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho - Bangkok, Thailand

To reach Wat Pho, you also drop at the same pier. But you need to walk to your right for about 1 km to reach the temple. The ticket cost THB 100 including free a bottle of water. Wat Pho is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Bangkok.

The majestic reclining Buddha statue - Wat Pho - Bangkok, Thailand

The reclining Buddha is 46 m length. Surrounding this, there are many chedis (stupas), including 4 great ones (see the photo below - right bottom).

Wat Pho (the Temple of the Reclining Buddha) - Bangkok, Thailand

"Inside the Ubosot is a gold and crystal three-tiered pedestal topped with a gilded Buddha made of a gold-copper alloy, and over the statue is a nine-tiered umbrella representing the authority of Thailand. The Buddha image, known as Phra Buddha Theva Patimakorn and thought to be from the Ayutthaya period, was moved here by Rama I from Wat Sala Si Na (now called Wat Khuhasawan) in Thonburi. Rama IV later placed some ashes of Rama I under the pedestal of the Buddha image so that the public may pay homage to both Rama I and the Buddha at the same time."  - Source: Wikipedia.org

Phra Ubosot is the main ordination hall used for performing Buddhist rituals and the most sacred building in the complex (the above photo on top left is the Buddha statue inside this hall). Overall, it was such a beautiful place to visit and I was glad that I made it. I wanted to visit this place too ten years ago, but we were cheated by the Tuk Tuk driver after coming out from the Grand Palace and we ended up not having chance to visit. Thank you SB for the good karma :) Thank you, thank you, and thank you!!! :)

Khao San Rd map (Pic source: Google map)

Next I take you to Khao San Rd. It is the center of backpacking in Bangkok, so you can find lots of budget hotel or hostel to stay, western food restaurant to cater the angmoh or farang, roadside sellers selling food, beverage or stuffs, massage place, and so on. To reach the place, take the boat and stop at Phra Arthit (no. 13). You have to walk towards the Rambuttri Alley to find the center area of Khao San Rd.

Khao San Rd - Bangkok, Thailand

I remembered visiting this place 10 years ago just to have a good and cheap Thai massage and facial there. Although the price was not that cheap anymore, they did have quality and experienced masseuse though. If you have enough time, after having such a long day, you can take another massage in this Shewa Spa (again, I read the review before going in and found the massage was good).

Varieties of food from Kao Shan Rd night market - Bangkok, Thailand

By the time massage has over, the sky would have turned dark and the roadside food sellers would have started operating. It's time to eat!!! :) Just the street outside Swensen's you can find lots of food stalls with table and chairs for you to sit. We had Pad Thai, papaya salad, spicy Mama, and tried the glutinous rice sausage. After that I bought my favorite Banana Roti as a dessert plus Thai milk tea to quench our thirst.

Ram Buttri alley at night - Bangkok, Thailand

After having your stomach full, walk along the Ram Buttri alley. There are many stalls selling things and restaurants on both sides of the road. You can have a good walk there before going back to hotel. Fyi, the Phra Arthit pier only opened until 7 pm. It is good to visit this area at night. So you can take taxi back to your hotel or get Grab or Uber instead.

Selfie with Tuk Tuk or three wheel taxi in Bangkok, Thailand :)

So, that will be the itinerary for day 3 of your visit. This way, you can taste another type of Bangkok main transport and visited few places in one day. In next post I will suggest you what other places you can visit during your stay there. Stay tune!!! :)

Bangkok D2 - Pratunam area and Talad Neon Night Market

Still in my sleeping clothes, buying the Thai Ice Tea for breakfast :D - Soi Silom 5, Bangkok

One thing why I love staying at the Heritage Hotel at Silom is because there are local market, food and beverage stalls, and 7-eleven convenient store at nearby area. Since it is located at CBD area, they sell lots of breakfast items in the morning.

The Heritage Bangkok Hotel location (Pic source: Google map)

It was just few minutes walk and you could reach a small alley where you could buy your variety of breakfast items.

Our breakfast for the day :)

Omelette with minced pork and rice was one of my favorites plus the mixture of fried chicken and pork cutlet / skin. They fried it freshly every morning. Cut fruits were cheap and they had lots of varieties. It was good vitamin booster for the day!!! They also had many shops selling hot and cold beverages. In any case, you were really pampered with so many choices and the best thing was the stalls were different every day. They seemed like moving from one place to another everyday (not all stalls though).

SuperRich (green color one) near Chit Lom BTS - Bangkok, Thailand

When you have filled your tummy with food, you are ready to leave the hotel and explore!!! If you don't bring enough Thai Baht with you, worry not!!! There is a place that I can recommend you to go to exchange your currency.

SuperRich (green building) Thailand best rate at Pratunam area - Bangkok, Thailand

Stop at Chit Lom BTS, walk through the connection bridge towards Big C Supercenter. You can go down the bridge after passing the green Big C building. As shown at the map above, follow the road and find the SuperRich money changer. There are two SuperRich though - the orange and green color one. I checked both places and found that the green one offered the best rate. You can also check the rate online here to decide if the rate is good enough or not. So far I found it better to change there than in Singapore or other money changer in Bangkok.

Go Ang Kaomunkai chicken rice (pink color) at Pratunam - Bangkok, Thailand

Once done, you can try famous Hainanese chicken rice from the nearby area. There are two well-known shops selling chicken rice - Go Ang Kaomunkai (pink color one) and Kuang Heng (green color one). If you read the review, the pink color one is more famous and have longer queue.

Kuang Heng chicken rice (green color) - Bangkok, Thailand

I tried both places. Both places sell the rice with steamed chicken. However, at Kuang Heng, they also sell the deep fried chicken cutlet and you can order both at one plate. The taste was similar with what we had in Singapore except that they came with additional sauce that made the overall taste different (if you added them in). Although many would prefer eat at Go Ang Kaomunkai, I personally preferred eating at Kuang Heng. It's subjective though. Can't make up your mind??? Try both places lah!!! :)

Chit Lom BTS surrounding area (Pic source: Google map)

So, change money done, lunch done. Next, time to exercise and shopping!!! :D If you see the map above, you can see many places to go around that area. If you like to shop clothing, you have to visit the Platinum Fashion Mall. It is within walking distance from where you have the chicken rice.

Platinum Fashion Mall - Bangkok, Thailand

Platinum Fashion Mall specializes in wholesale fashion clothing and accessories. It is a six-storey building with over thousand shops inside. When you buy more, you can ask for a much better price!!! (at least try to ask how much if you want to buy 2 or 3 pcs so that roughly you know how much it should cost). You can find lots of things there including goods imported from other countries like China, Korea, Japan, etc. Personally, I prefer to shop here compare with at MBK (Ma Boon Khrong) Center. You won't have any difficulty in communicating with Thai there when bargaining as most know basic English.

Yum Saap at Platinum Fashion Mall Level 6 :)

Btw, there are 3 different zones inside the mall and connected to each other. One with lower level (Zone 3), another one with higher level (Zone 1 and 2) where you can find the food court and my favorite Moshi Moshi shop. Don't just browse around 1 building whole day as you can find many more shops at the building next to it. You can find varieties of local and International food at the Platinum Food Center or food court style  (you need to use card when purchasing food/ beverage and get the refund for the unused amount of money), and if not satisfied, they also have few restaurants there. I tried Yum Saap - Thai restaurant - after tired shopping and walking around. We chose light food (som tum zua - papaya salad with crispy pork skin, Mama noodle spicy salad, and delicious crispy morning glory spicy salad). Hmmm... yummyyy!!!!

Big C Supercenter - Bangkok, Thailand

Well, some people can browse this mall for a whole day. But if you still have time and energy, you can continue shopping, but this time, shop for local snack (Pocky exotic flavor coated stick biscuit), Koala's March mango/ banana biscuits - exclusively sold in Thailand, various Tao Kae Noi flavor seaweed, Mama instant noodles, Koh Kae flavor nuts, Thai tea instant or canned, and so on) and you can get it all at the Big C Supercenter!!!

Colorful rows of tent at Talad Neon Night Market - Bangkok, Thailand

Or otherwise, you can continue your walk and experience Talad Neon night market!!! Please take note that it opens only from Thursday to Sunday from 5 pm to 12 am. I was lucky that it opened on the day I visited the place because I did not pay attention to the opening day's and time's information. This place is famous because of its colorful rows of tents (it is very beautiful if you see it from far above the area).

Container alfresco dining - not for rainy day :D Talad Neon - Bangkok, Thailand

You can browse the place row by row. There are many young hipster and entrepreneur selling their trendy design clothes, apparels, even food and beverage over here. Accompanied with music, you can chill yourself with few glasses of beer and some snack at one of the container alfresco dining style restaurant, feel the night breeze, smoke your cigarette, or even have Thai massage. You can even have a nice haircut over there (especially for men) at THB 250 per head.

Enjoyed the local Thai food at Talad Neon Night Market - Bangkok, Thailand

As for me, after such a long day, I just wanted to have a good local Thai food accompanied with Thai local beer. If you go to Thailand for the first time, you may want to try the charcoal grilled fish coated with salt, which is served with chili dip/ sauce. Two of us ordered that with a big pot of Tom Yum soup and medium size of Pad Thai (stir fried Thai rice noodle with vegetable and prawn/ chicken/ tofu) plus a big bottle of Singha beer and paid THB 700 (SGD $29). Oh man!!! We were simply full and satisfied!!! :)

The Erawan Shrine - four face of Brahma God with night parade - Bangkok, Thailand

Since my stomach was full, I decided to walk back all the way to Chit Lom BTS station. I had to take the Skytrain back to hotel anyway. On the way there, we passed by the Erawan Shrine - the four face of Brahma God. There was parade was going on that night, which I could enjoy from the connecting bridge nearby that area.

The crowd in Erawan Shrine during afternoon - Bangkok, Thailand

Actually in the morning, on your way to the SuperRich, you can also stop there to offer flowers, light the candles, and pray using the incensed sticks. Each face of the Brahma God represents different meaning. Front face - career; left face - romance; back face - money, and right face - health. Well, actually each face signifies different virtues, which are kindness, mercy, sympathy, and impartiality. Many believe that whatever wish that you pray to the shrine there will come true. Many Singaporean go there and pray so that they can win 4D or TOTO back home hahaha... :D

Drink more and eat more fruits :)

Well, that is what you can do on your day 2 visit in Bangkok. Since the weather is tropical (only hot and rain), make sure you drink enough water to avoid dehydration, plus buy and eat some fruits from the road side to make sure you have enough vitamin and do not fall sick. Most importantly, have enough rest or sleep at night. 'Til next post!!! :)