12 more hours to departure.
Anyway, for people who are interested in joining SKKU ISS (2014 perhaps), just to let you know, the emails are sent by skku office interns. In addition, they sent us the SKKU guidebook and dorm routes just a week before checking into their dorms.
And so, my friend and I got into Maple and Birch House. Tried vvvv hard to google for it i.e. directions cos we are not traveling from ICN to the dorm itself, and the facilities. Nope. No blogs talk about it. So i guess i would probably talk more about it? haha
-room details
-toilet
-directions from hyehwa
-laundry
Read somewhere that says the room is pretty big. And... its for 2people :)
Will video or snap pics along the way too! :)
We will be staying in a guesthouse just few mins away from DongDaeMun. And i have no idea how to navigate my way there though I found the directions stated online... baaaaaaaa~ Ill ask people along the way then!
Cancelled our Jeju Trip yesterday night... and Im feeling a little upset right now already...
1. Possibility of Typhoon
2. THE AIR TICKET IS A #$^&^@$&%
Shall go over another time in Autumn perhaps, with family :)
Applied for Evergreen SIM Card. Read somewhere (too!) that it is pretty cheap and farely good... Lets hope it works for our phones. Will blogged about it too!
Its just a month. Past few days Ive been crying together with my mum... Cant bear la... As im typing, i feel like crying alreadyyyyyyyyyy :'( we are crybabies haha
updating in... a few days time? At least let me settle down in my Guesthouse or dorm la :P
Sunday 23 June 2013
Tuesday 11 June 2013
Bangkok
Bangkok trip with relatives and family is truly worth it and good experience! At least my virgin flight is with my parents. Learnt about the stages before checking in, after checking in, check passport etc will be going overseas with another friend like in 14 days. So yup, BKK trip was a good heads up.
Day 1
Arranged to meet the rest at T1, Gate 2 at around 10am.
On Cab :)
Note for first timer:
Step 1: wait near the counter- for my case; Thai Airways. Better be there early. There will be benches/chairs around. Toilets are near as well (for all airports) The counter will close 10mins before departure i.e. flight takes off time.
Step 2: Register/check in. You need your passport. And you will be depositing your check-in luggage here. The weight will be calculated. Just place the bag at the belt. And meter is on the counter's table.
Step 3: The personnel will hand you your ticket and passport.
Step 4: Proceed to the Boarding gate eg Changi Airport; C01,C02... C22 etc before reaching the boarding gate, you have to pass through another counter (officers wearing police uniform will be checking here). Queues in BKK airport (Suvar something...) are usually long. Changi Airport- you could use thrumbprint machine. Thats faster.
Step 5: You are now inside the airport. lol there are stores (duty free ie no tax) in it and floor is carpeted. Walk over to the gate. ITS FAR.
Step 6: Upon reaching the boarding gate. Before you enter the plane, you will to scan and check your carry on. Make sure all items (even handphone, belt-for Thailand, necklace etc) are placed in the carry on. You can wear it back later after you pass the check. Shoes with metal pieces have to be removed and be scanned. No toilets after passing through this security.
Step 7: wait for the boarding time.
Step 8: ENTER THE PLANE! Say hello to the steward and stewardess greeting you at the entrance! lol DONT ENTER THE WRONG ENTRANCE. There are 2; First class and Economy.
Step 9: Find your seats. e.g. 51A, 51b,51c,51d,51f are on the same row. 52A is behind 51A. Alphabet A and the last letter (depending on the plane itself) sometimes K, or I are WINDOW SEATS. hahah first timer interested in this right!
Toilets in the plane are DAMN SMALL lol it fits yourself. you. one and only.
And so...
Plane food is not that bad la. But i prefer the above food (departing sg to thai) to the one we had when we depart from thai back to SG...
My mum's
Watching the movie, Enchanted! haha
Reached!
Mum and me at the airport!
dad pushing the luggage cart
walking towards the exit. This is after checking in Thailand ie. pass the immigration checkpoint already :)
Looks familiar to RM fans? yup! Thats where the running man team was at when they filmed for the Overseas episode - in thailand
At the same level, you have all your data/prepaid card stores. Dtac, truemove etc
Our hotel! Very pretty! Very clean! Very near Pratunam Morning Market. Considerably accessible to the famous Platinum Fashion Mall. You have to walk over to MBK, train to Chatuchak and Union Mall.
A&W lover can find the restaurant in Union Mall, IT Plaza/city i forgot which but its just beside Platinum Mall.
A map given by our first day tour guide.
our luggages :)
We reached Thailand like around 1pm... Reached the hotel around 2 to 3pm. Checked in, settle down etc around 4pm-5pm... And we left home at 10am. LOL at that gap in between... So our 1st day was spent walking over to Central World Plaza (we passed by Platinum Fashion Mall. It was about night time, so the street stores outside the mall were set up already and we just see-see, look-look) Had dinner and lunch at restaurant everyday whaaaa and its really cheap. Had dinner at Laem seafood restaurant at CWP (not sg causeway point) it costs like more than 200SGD for 11 people. Cheap? The food is really good!
Walked pass the Platinum mall, near the water drain. Traffic is not that bad in this pic till you see the photo of the exact location later on.
Not the famous 4faced buddha. This is outside the CWP. The famous location is somewhere near CWP though. You have to walk for about 15mins? There are food, clothes, accessories, umbrella, drinks, stationeries along the way outside CWP tho
This performance is held just a few metres away from the famous 4 face buddha. Didnt take a photo of the budhha because its famous and very religious (as told by the elders)
PFM from our room! We stayed at the 19th floor. Glow Pratunam is located above Shibuya 19 (1-6th floor shopping. quite small tho) from 7th to 20th floor
Triple. my dad, mum and me. HOHOHO sorry for the mess, didnt take any photo before we moved in and after the room service :/ If you need a clearer picture, you could google for GLOW PRATUNAM BLOG. Im sure there are other bloggers providing you with a brighter picture. The below shows you the lights-off picture, and triple room since not many blogs posted about triple beds... Mostly is just double, twin or add on.
Small fridge below the water bottles. Beside is just the closet. and its linked with the toilet. AND NO LOCKS FOR THE CLOSET. and for my room, the door of the closet inside the toilet DOES'NT CLOSE PROPERLY AND NICELY. sometimes it does slide down... so whenever I use the toilet, my mum has to keep a watch out lol
The main entrance. You see the light beaming? Thats the toilet.
Didnt take picture of the restaurant.
Our breakfast table at the 7th floor counter/concierge
my breakfast. Its buffet like. So you can choose to eat whichever you want. There are rice, noodles, egg, sausages(pork/chicken), omelette, beans, bacon (salty), fries, meat, vegie, yoghurt, fruits, cereals, bread, half-boiled egg etc
Got the vitagen bottle and a few bottles of milk/oranges and chocolates on Day 1 after dinner at the 7 Eleven near our hotel. 7-11 everywhere.
Shopping streets. Was actually intending to buy and already bought a bag from the stall behind this photo hahah
Pretty taxis! Ive heard from friends that the Yellow and Green cabs are more dangerous. So perhaps, could take the pink ones? Even though most of them do like to go by non-meter.
Note:
-go by meter. CHECK AT THE HOTEL COUNTER ON THE METER PRICE FROM HOTEL TO YOUR DESTINATION.
-have your place in mind/hotel printed in Thai. DONT TRY TO SPEAK THAI IF YOU CANT OR IF YOU HAVE LEARNT EVEN ABIT OR WORSE, IF AFTER YOU'VE TRIED USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE. they dont understand you. you can ask the counter to help you write down. I had mine written down by the way.
-night time or rainy days, the cabbies are patient. You are impatient. get what i mean? no? During times like that, the cabbies have the bargaining power to not go by meter even if you want to (try to ask anyway), or have the power to not fetch you over depending on their mood. So note that.
-If the cab stops meter halfway through, ask the cabby to stop. alight. and hail the next one.
-if the cab stops meter halfway through, ask the cabby to stop. IF HE REFUSES TO STOP THE CAB AND KEEPS ON DRIVING, call the tourist police. 1155 (if im not wrong) or call cabby complain centre.
-TAKE DOWN HIS CAR PLATE AND LICENSE if can. Give excuse if he asks why you are doing so. (Might be a little exaggerated, but I did take down the car plate using video LOL cos its night time and car plate inside the car is pretty dark...)
-lastly, if the cabby does go by meter, and is nice. And the price is affordable. You can just give them tips or by saying, "keep the change" ahha
Virgin experience on Thai pink cab:
We sat in the cab, asked for meter. As I read online, so I kept asking for meter till the driver acknowledges it but the driver did not. Its ok. Cos its night time, we need his service anyway. Told him the place. He has no idea where. Cos Glow Pratunam is pretty new. its less than 2 years i think. So we told him Platinum Fashion Mall, Shibuya 19, Pratunam area. He still said dont know. We thought he probably acted as if he didnt know so he doesnt have to fetch us. Why? Cos the journey from Union Mall (yes, we hailed the cab outside Union Mall after dinner) to our hotel costs us only less than 100baht. Thats around 4+SGD! for 4people! Pointless for him right? But luckily, we were already seated in his cab, he couldnt get rid of us. lol so all he had to do is to drive, and my dad instructs. (my dad didnt say much too, the cabby does know the place) my other 7 relatives wanted to take cab too, and we left the place first. They couldnt hail the cabs. No one wants to fetch them over. So they had to take train and transit and walk long distance over. So just sit in the cab, be insistent will do.
We have to buy the card to order food at the foodcourt at the 6th level of PFM. After that, we can have our leftover money refund :) Dont need deposit money.
Wanton mee
Sharkfin
Subway/Railway/ BTS card. works like the mrt card SG used to use
Transiting at Chatuchak park station. Going over to Union Mall. Got this token. This works like ezlink card.
Train stn
UNION MALL
(Cabbing experience abve-mentioned happened here)
Clothes from PFM and UM.
Blazer from UM costs 690, i pushed it down to 600baht.
When buying, ALWAYS BARGAIN. They charge you at tourist price eg 200baht. After bargaining(slight bargaining), they will drop by 10baht. Sometimes, we need intense bargaining to save up to 500baht (at CTC).
Dont know how to bargain? You will learn how to after you shop around in BKK :) During the first day, Im like stumped lol after that Im like master of bargaining. LOL chut a lot of bargaining patterns.
Standard shot. McDonalds and Starbucks below our hotel!
Exact location of the similar photo above. BUT THIS IS WITH HEAVIER TRAFFIC
Saw the handicapped? A lot of these in bkk... could be beggar syndicate as mentioned by my friend on my facebook. But then again, they are really very poor thing... They sat under the hot sun for long hours! And not just the handicap, little kids with even younger kids sitting along the streets begging for money too... they dont grab you and beg. They just sit there in praying posture... Many times we need courage to donate even... Talking about this. On the Day2 night time, we had our dinner near union mall, many kids and a musician came over to beg. the musician wont leave till you've donated, so the person will keep strumming his guitar. the kids... ah really young really pathetic. seriously why would the leader get kids to beg?!!
On our way to SIAM Station to transit to Chatuchak :)
Chatuchak! damn fricking huge
super hot!
Had dinner at MBK's Japan Fuji Restaurant! yummeh
Walked over to our hotel and it rained. YAY! hahhahaha not many get to experience rain in Thailand and we did! lol it was small at first then it stopped as we were reaching Central World Plaza (near PFM, near our hotel) since rain stopped, we went into CWP to buy Naraya products. No idea whats with the craze over this shop in thailand... Souvenirs, I can understand. But for personal use... hmm... maybe not. But since I went ahead to see see, look look. And dad bought 2 cushion elephants hahah cute
And then it rained again. MUCH MUCH HEAVIER THIS TIME ROUND. Not enough umbrellas to over around. So mom bought one new umbrella. (we have already bought 3 umbrellas on Day 1 lol) good quality for 210baht.We left for PFM to have our dinner at the food court.
Back to hotel to put our shopping loots and then off to the massage place near our hotel at soi 15 (street 15 is an alley)
DAEBAK massage skills. shioks! 200baht for body/foot massage. I opted for foot :)and they did shoulder, head and arms massage for that too.
Canvas and sport shoes from CTC.
packing. squeezing
3 luggages for 30.1kg very light :)
Surprise surprise, for myself, I bought 9 piece of apparels only. and 4 bags. and 1 pair of shoes. 1 phone cover. 1 watch. Cheap. But not very cheap. Clothes have a lot of designs but a lot are just similar to Bugis. Bugis no longer entices me. Its just... common.
Went to morning market at around 6am... quite late already. Bought 3 pieces of clothes, 1 bag from shibuya 19
Plane back home aint as good as the one we sat on when we depart sg on day1 :(
AND... SG!
Back to Changi Airport in 13 days. This time round, Korea!
Day 1
Arranged to meet the rest at T1, Gate 2 at around 10am.
On Cab :)
Note for first timer:
Step 1: wait near the counter- for my case; Thai Airways. Better be there early. There will be benches/chairs around. Toilets are near as well (for all airports) The counter will close 10mins before departure i.e. flight takes off time.
Step 2: Register/check in. You need your passport. And you will be depositing your check-in luggage here. The weight will be calculated. Just place the bag at the belt. And meter is on the counter's table.
Step 3: The personnel will hand you your ticket and passport.
Step 4: Proceed to the Boarding gate eg Changi Airport; C01,C02... C22 etc before reaching the boarding gate, you have to pass through another counter (officers wearing police uniform will be checking here). Queues in BKK airport (Suvar something...) are usually long. Changi Airport- you could use thrumbprint machine. Thats faster.
Step 5: You are now inside the airport. lol there are stores (duty free ie no tax) in it and floor is carpeted. Walk over to the gate. ITS FAR.
Step 6: Upon reaching the boarding gate. Before you enter the plane, you will to scan and check your carry on. Make sure all items (even handphone, belt-for Thailand, necklace etc) are placed in the carry on. You can wear it back later after you pass the check. Shoes with metal pieces have to be removed and be scanned. No toilets after passing through this security.
Step 7: wait for the boarding time.
Step 8: ENTER THE PLANE! Say hello to the steward and stewardess greeting you at the entrance! lol DONT ENTER THE WRONG ENTRANCE. There are 2; First class and Economy.
Step 9: Find your seats. e.g. 51A, 51b,51c,51d,51f are on the same row. 52A is behind 51A. Alphabet A and the last letter (depending on the plane itself) sometimes K, or I are WINDOW SEATS. hahah first timer interested in this right!
Toilets in the plane are DAMN SMALL lol it fits yourself. you. one and only.
And so...
DAY 1
My mum's
Watching the movie, Enchanted! haha
Reached!
Mum and me at the airport!
dad pushing the luggage cart
walking towards the exit. This is after checking in Thailand ie. pass the immigration checkpoint already :)
Looks familiar to RM fans? yup! Thats where the running man team was at when they filmed for the Overseas episode - in thailand
At the same level, you have all your data/prepaid card stores. Dtac, truemove etc
Our hotel! Very pretty! Very clean! Very near Pratunam Morning Market. Considerably accessible to the famous Platinum Fashion Mall. You have to walk over to MBK, train to Chatuchak and Union Mall.
A&W lover can find the restaurant in Union Mall, IT Plaza/city i forgot which but its just beside Platinum Mall.
A map given by our first day tour guide.
our luggages :)
We reached Thailand like around 1pm... Reached the hotel around 2 to 3pm. Checked in, settle down etc around 4pm-5pm... And we left home at 10am. LOL at that gap in between... So our 1st day was spent walking over to Central World Plaza (we passed by Platinum Fashion Mall. It was about night time, so the street stores outside the mall were set up already and we just see-see, look-look) Had dinner and lunch at restaurant everyday whaaaa and its really cheap. Had dinner at Laem seafood restaurant at CWP (not sg causeway point) it costs like more than 200SGD for 11 people. Cheap? The food is really good!
Walked pass the Platinum mall, near the water drain. Traffic is not that bad in this pic till you see the photo of the exact location later on.
Not the famous 4faced buddha. This is outside the CWP. The famous location is somewhere near CWP though. You have to walk for about 15mins? There are food, clothes, accessories, umbrella, drinks, stationeries along the way outside CWP tho
This performance is held just a few metres away from the famous 4 face buddha. Didnt take a photo of the budhha because its famous and very religious (as told by the elders)
PFM from our room! We stayed at the 19th floor. Glow Pratunam is located above Shibuya 19 (1-6th floor shopping. quite small tho) from 7th to 20th floor
Triple. my dad, mum and me. HOHOHO sorry for the mess, didnt take any photo before we moved in and after the room service :/ If you need a clearer picture, you could google for GLOW PRATUNAM BLOG. Im sure there are other bloggers providing you with a brighter picture. The below shows you the lights-off picture, and triple room since not many blogs posted about triple beds... Mostly is just double, twin or add on.
Small fridge below the water bottles. Beside is just the closet. and its linked with the toilet. AND NO LOCKS FOR THE CLOSET. and for my room, the door of the closet inside the toilet DOES'NT CLOSE PROPERLY AND NICELY. sometimes it does slide down... so whenever I use the toilet, my mum has to keep a watch out lol
The main entrance. You see the light beaming? Thats the toilet.
Didnt take picture of the restaurant.
Day 2
Our breakfast table at the 7th floor counter/concierge
my breakfast. Its buffet like. So you can choose to eat whichever you want. There are rice, noodles, egg, sausages(pork/chicken), omelette, beans, bacon (salty), fries, meat, vegie, yoghurt, fruits, cereals, bread, half-boiled egg etc
Got the vitagen bottle and a few bottles of milk/oranges and chocolates on Day 1 after dinner at the 7 Eleven near our hotel. 7-11 everywhere.
Shopping streets. Was actually intending to buy and already bought a bag from the stall behind this photo hahah
Pretty taxis! Ive heard from friends that the Yellow and Green cabs are more dangerous. So perhaps, could take the pink ones? Even though most of them do like to go by non-meter.
Note:
-go by meter. CHECK AT THE HOTEL COUNTER ON THE METER PRICE FROM HOTEL TO YOUR DESTINATION.
-have your place in mind/hotel printed in Thai. DONT TRY TO SPEAK THAI IF YOU CANT OR IF YOU HAVE LEARNT EVEN ABIT OR WORSE, IF AFTER YOU'VE TRIED USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE. they dont understand you. you can ask the counter to help you write down. I had mine written down by the way.
-night time or rainy days, the cabbies are patient. You are impatient. get what i mean? no? During times like that, the cabbies have the bargaining power to not go by meter even if you want to (try to ask anyway), or have the power to not fetch you over depending on their mood. So note that.
-If the cab stops meter halfway through, ask the cabby to stop. alight. and hail the next one.
-if the cab stops meter halfway through, ask the cabby to stop. IF HE REFUSES TO STOP THE CAB AND KEEPS ON DRIVING, call the tourist police. 1155 (if im not wrong) or call cabby complain centre.
-TAKE DOWN HIS CAR PLATE AND LICENSE if can. Give excuse if he asks why you are doing so. (Might be a little exaggerated, but I did take down the car plate using video LOL cos its night time and car plate inside the car is pretty dark...)
-lastly, if the cabby does go by meter, and is nice. And the price is affordable. You can just give them tips or by saying, "keep the change" ahha
Virgin experience on Thai pink cab:
We sat in the cab, asked for meter. As I read online, so I kept asking for meter till the driver acknowledges it but the driver did not. Its ok. Cos its night time, we need his service anyway. Told him the place. He has no idea where. Cos Glow Pratunam is pretty new. its less than 2 years i think. So we told him Platinum Fashion Mall, Shibuya 19, Pratunam area. He still said dont know. We thought he probably acted as if he didnt know so he doesnt have to fetch us. Why? Cos the journey from Union Mall (yes, we hailed the cab outside Union Mall after dinner) to our hotel costs us only less than 100baht. Thats around 4+SGD! for 4people! Pointless for him right? But luckily, we were already seated in his cab, he couldnt get rid of us. lol so all he had to do is to drive, and my dad instructs. (my dad didnt say much too, the cabby does know the place) my other 7 relatives wanted to take cab too, and we left the place first. They couldnt hail the cabs. No one wants to fetch them over. So they had to take train and transit and walk long distance over. So just sit in the cab, be insistent will do.
We have to buy the card to order food at the foodcourt at the 6th level of PFM. After that, we can have our leftover money refund :) Dont need deposit money.
Wanton mee
Sharkfin
Subway/Railway/ BTS card. works like the mrt card SG used to use
Transiting at Chatuchak park station. Going over to Union Mall. Got this token. This works like ezlink card.
Train stn
UNION MALL
(Cabbing experience abve-mentioned happened here)
Clothes from PFM and UM.
Blazer from UM costs 690, i pushed it down to 600baht.
When buying, ALWAYS BARGAIN. They charge you at tourist price eg 200baht. After bargaining(slight bargaining), they will drop by 10baht. Sometimes, we need intense bargaining to save up to 500baht (at CTC).
Dont know how to bargain? You will learn how to after you shop around in BKK :) During the first day, Im like stumped lol after that Im like master of bargaining. LOL chut a lot of bargaining patterns.
DAY 3
Standard shot. McDonalds and Starbucks below our hotel!
Exact location of the similar photo above. BUT THIS IS WITH HEAVIER TRAFFIC
Saw the handicapped? A lot of these in bkk... could be beggar syndicate as mentioned by my friend on my facebook. But then again, they are really very poor thing... They sat under the hot sun for long hours! And not just the handicap, little kids with even younger kids sitting along the streets begging for money too... they dont grab you and beg. They just sit there in praying posture... Many times we need courage to donate even... Talking about this. On the Day2 night time, we had our dinner near union mall, many kids and a musician came over to beg. the musician wont leave till you've donated, so the person will keep strumming his guitar. the kids... ah really young really pathetic. seriously why would the leader get kids to beg?!!
On our way to SIAM Station to transit to Chatuchak :)
Chatuchak! damn fricking huge
super hot!
Had dinner at MBK's Japan Fuji Restaurant! yummeh
Walked over to our hotel and it rained. YAY! hahhahaha not many get to experience rain in Thailand and we did! lol it was small at first then it stopped as we were reaching Central World Plaza (near PFM, near our hotel) since rain stopped, we went into CWP to buy Naraya products. No idea whats with the craze over this shop in thailand... Souvenirs, I can understand. But for personal use... hmm... maybe not. But since I went ahead to see see, look look. And dad bought 2 cushion elephants hahah cute
And then it rained again. MUCH MUCH HEAVIER THIS TIME ROUND. Not enough umbrellas to over around. So mom bought one new umbrella. (we have already bought 3 umbrellas on Day 1 lol) good quality for 210baht.We left for PFM to have our dinner at the food court.
Back to hotel to put our shopping loots and then off to the massage place near our hotel at soi 15 (street 15 is an alley)
DAEBAK massage skills. shioks! 200baht for body/foot massage. I opted for foot :)and they did shoulder, head and arms massage for that too.
Canvas and sport shoes from CTC.
DAY 4- LAST DAY
3 luggages for 30.1kg very light :)
Surprise surprise, for myself, I bought 9 piece of apparels only. and 4 bags. and 1 pair of shoes. 1 phone cover. 1 watch. Cheap. But not very cheap. Clothes have a lot of designs but a lot are just similar to Bugis. Bugis no longer entices me. Its just... common.
Went to morning market at around 6am... quite late already. Bought 3 pieces of clothes, 1 bag from shibuya 19
Plane back home aint as good as the one we sat on when we depart sg on day1 :(
AND... SG!
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