It's like the season of gift-giving is already here in Singapore when we visited Takasahimaya's Craziest Toy Sale event last night.  It is because of the toys. Toys make me feel I am always a kid.  I know the feeling what my son felt last night when he saw these bunch of toys on sale. He is really HAPPY!  By the way, thank you to my former colleague who just gave me the tip to visit the Toy Sale event.

These are the toys that we bought on the Toy Sale

Disney - Pixar Collection, Woody and Big Baby @ S$10 each

Toy Story 3 Buddy Pack - Buzz Lightyear and Ken @ S$10

It was on Saturday morning of August 11, 2012 when my husband told us (me and my son) that we will go to the 1st Year Anniversary Sale of the DC Shoes here in Singapore.  

For the benefit of the doubt, DC Shoes are well known for their skate shoes.  Aside from that, their shoes are comfortable and fits our style of clothing.

I have really no plans of buying.  But hubby wants to.  So we went to the "Warehouse Sale" - the Anniversary Sale of DC Shoes here in SG.  

While we were inside the warehouse, Johan saw and picked a pair of shoe.  He even asked me to fit the shoe for him.  He likes it and asked us to buy it for him.  The original price was SGD99 but we bought it for SGD55 only.  Below are some clips of his YOUTH REBOUND DC SHOE.

Johan now has his new pair of shoe.  Hubby asked me to pick one for me too.  So I roam around the store until I found this MEN'S BLOCK PURE (Ken Block inspired) SHOE. 

The best thing about this BLOCK PURE SHOE is that I love the design and the price!  The original price was SGD149 and got it for only SGD80.  More pictures below.

BANGKOK SHOPPING MALLS/MARKETS

Terminal 21 Mall

Bangkok is known as the "Shopping Haven" on earth and no wonder there are lots of malls and markets inside the   City.  Because of the time being, we just visited 1 market and 3 shopping malls and these are:

1.  Chatuchak Market

      Chatuchak Market is a weekend market only.  It only opens on Saturday and Sunday from 9:00am to 3:00pm.    You can find various stalls for clothes, souvenir items, bags, foods here.  The place is very big so I suggest if you like certain item, buy it right away.  Don't hesitate to ask for a discount. The sellers usually give you their best deal and even they ask you for your best price. Please visit Chatuchak Official Website for more information.

2.  MBK

     I found MBK better than Chatuchak. Beside the fact that it is a mall, you can find also items that you can see at the Chatuchak Market and items are cheaper.  You can find anything here.  Clothing, food, mobile phones, bags and souvenir items.  Foreign exchange rate is better also in this place. Plus, you can also ask for discounts too on the items you wanted to buy. If you want to know more of MBK, visit MBK Official Website.

3. Siam Paragon

     If you are into high end fashion, well this place is for you. Aside from fashion, I love their supermarket and their fast food center.  Krispy Kreme, my favorite doughnut store is found here.  Plus they have the Siam Oceanworld where kids and adults will truly enjoy.

4.  Terminal 21

     Terminal 21 is the latest shopping mall in Bangkok, opened October 2011.  The mall ambiance is just like from the name itself, in an airport terminal.  Each floor is named and themed after famous cities and countries all over the world.  For more information, visit Terminal 21 Official Website.

     

ARRIVAL - Suvarnabhumi International Airport

It was early evening when we arrived in Suvarnabhumi (pronounced Su-wan-na-poom) International Airport in Bangkok.  The airport is quite big. It took us about 10 to 15 minutes to reach the Immigration Area.  Upon reaching the Immigration, we saw the long queue of tourists and locals.  Good thing, we ( my husband, brother-in-law and myself) were with my 2 year old son - Johan.  The best thing of having a baby or a kid with you in the airport is that they have a special lane or the "express lane" in the Immigration area.  We were directed to transfer to the express lane.  

At the counter, I noticed that they are using a webcam.  After the passport stamping and all, you have to take a few steps backwards because the Officer will take a photo of you.  I guess it is  for security reasons and it is their rule so as a foreigner of their country, we'll just have to follow.


After that, we went to the conveyor area to take all of our baggage. We also tried to ask for a taxi/cab ride inside the airport and the lady at the cab counter gave us a price of THB2,500.  We found it a bit pricey so we didn't get it.  I also took time of getting a simcard inside the area.  There are three (3) mobile operators in Thailand as fas as I know:


1.  AIS  
2.  DTAC
3.  True Move


Since I am using a Blackberry mobile, my first choice was DTAC because I have found out that they have great Blackberry Services which are suitable to my needs.  Unfortunately, their Blackberry Service was not working that time so I jumped to AIS.


Outside the airport, we found a cheaper rate of taxi (Toyota Innova) and has a fixed rate of THB750.  Anyway our hotel was about 45minutes from the airport.


ROAMING AROUND THE CITY
Our very first day to Bangkok is shopping.  Chatuchak Market was the first place we visited on that day since it is only open until 3pm.  After that we transferred to MBK.  We spent almost of the day and night at MBK, our plans of going to Terminal 21 and Siam Paragon has been moved on the 2nd and 3rd day respectively.


The Temple Adventure goes on our 2nd day.  We went to The Grand Palace Temple and to Wat Pho or better known as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha.


The 3rd day is shopping day once again.  In partnership with shopping is eating.  Thai foods has a lot to offer.  They are one of the foods my taste buds will kept on missing.  Spicy, sweet, sour, they are all yummy and delicious! One of the best. This is also the day where I celebrated my 31st Birthday.


DEPARTING BANGKOK
Days and nights passed and now we are about to leave on our 4th day.  As I have said earlier, Bangkok Airport is quite bigger and therefore, a lot of people are coming in and out of the terminal everyday.  Be sure that you will arrive atleast 3 hours before your flight.  


TRAVEL TIPS
Majority of locals here can't speak and write English.  If you are a first timer, be sure you have a local map in Thai and English translation for you to be able to communicate to the cab drivers clearly.  On our part, we are very lucky to have a relative in Bangkok who can speak in both Thai and English.  


Another thing is, try to speak basic respectful Thai words like "Sawasdee" (Hello, Hi) and "Khap Khun" (Thank you, Goodbye).  If you are a female speaking, they usually put "Kha" at the end of the word.  And for males, "Krap".


Lastly, Bangkok transportation is almost the same as in the Philippines.  They have buses, MRT and the BTS, taxis. They don't have jeepneys but they have the famous "Tuk-tuk".  If you wish to ride taxis, please always check for metered fares.