Back from celebrating my birthday in Bangkok!
And not just any birthday, mind you, it was my 30TH BIRTHDAY OK!!!!! It feels damn surreal knowing I'm now a 30 year old woman and can no longer say I'm in my 20s but you know what??? I'm perfectly ok with that 😊
I'll share my thoughts on turning thirty in another blog entry but for now let me blog about our trip to Bangkok last month - actually the main reason why we went to Bangkok was for Saliheen to get his work shirts tailored la. Kebetulan my birthday was coming up so we thought ok la why not we go in May #afterthought #kesian #dahtuaginiah 😅
Chocolate mousse birthday cake from Amari Watergate Hotel, where we stayed in Bangkok!
(I didn't tell the hotel it was my birthday but I guess hotels have a system in place to know which guests are celebrating their birthdays. St Regis Moscow did the same thing for my birthday last year, although I'll forever remember that they addressed me as Mrs Binte Abdul hahaha asal boleh tembak je #dorangdahbiasatembaksembarang #eh???)
Saliheen and I agreed that this trip was going to be relaxing - which means no sightseeing, just makan makan and jalan jalan around our hotel area in Pratunam. The only 2 locations which were further away were Chatchutak Market and the New Roi Fad Ratchada night market, both of which I wanted to check out. We also agreed not to record footage for a travel video since it's just a short lepak holiday in Bangkok, although I did document our days there on my IG stories.
Thai Airways Flight
Considered Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways for our flight but the latter had better timings + cheaper fare so it was an easy decision. Flight was uneventful but the aircraft we got from Singapore to Bangkok wasn't very shiok - it was an old aircraft (Boeing 747-400) so it was hot and stuffy and had an old entertainment system with grainy monitor quality. Our flight back to Singapore was better! It was a newer, more comfortable aircraft (Boeing 777-200/300) with better air-conditioning and an upgraded entertainment system (touch screen, clear monitor quality).
Executive King Room @ Amari Watergate Hotel Bangkok
Far cry from the small dingy hotel we stayed at back in 2009, which was First House Hotel! Their rooms look nicely refurbished now la but back then our room looked like something out of a Thai horror story set hahaha) We were a young couple with limited budget (he was a 25-year-old university student, I was a 22-year-old fresh poly graduate only a few months into my first job) and a S$40-per-night hotel was all that we could afford hehe. It was a running theme for Saliheen and I in Bangkok as we kept comparing our first trip vs this trip - we reminisced about how young and broke we used to be, how we had to "rough" it out with what little dollars and cents we had... makes us appreciate the little perks we can afford to enjoy now and realize how far we've come in life as a couple! Such great memories, you guys 😍
Service: Stellar service from their always smiling and obliging staff! Since we booked an executive room, we didn't have to wait at the main lobby for our check-in and we were quickly ushered to the executive floor reception upon our arrival. We were served with welcome drinks and hot towels and we got to hang out at the executive lounge (with a lovely city view from the 33rd floor) while waiting for the staff to process our check-in.
Service: Stellar service from their always smiling and obliging staff! Since we booked an executive room, we didn't have to wait at the main lobby for our check-in and we were quickly ushered to the executive floor reception upon our arrival. We were served with welcome drinks and hot towels and we got to hang out at the executive lounge (with a lovely city view from the 33rd floor) while waiting for the staff to process our check-in.
Breakfast: Another perk of booking an executive room was having the choice to either go to the main promenade (where all guests can go, regardless of room type) or the executive lounge for breakfast. We tried out the main promenade on one of the days (they serve halal meats yo) but we got irritated by people rushing and shoving to get their food (10 years never eat is it?????) and got so turned off by a silly argument that broke out between an Indian family and a Filipino family over seats next to our table that we decided to stick to breakfast at the executive lounge for the rest of the days. Smaller selection but at least it's quieter, intimate and it's always nice to have a meal with a beautiful city view.
Executive Lounge: I loved the executive lounge to death!!!!! Besides being able to have breakfast in peace, we helped ourselves to the free flow drinks and snacks in the lounge during happy hour (5.00pm to 7.00pm). It especially helped when we were feeling peckish but it was not yet time to leave the hotel to go hunt for dinner.
Accessibility: Amari Watergate Hotel is very close to all of the places we wanted to go; Pratunam Market, Platinum Mall, Central World, Palladium Mall, Talad Neon night market, massage parlour alleys, etc, so we found it suuuuuper accessible! The only downside is that because it is located right smack in Pratunam, the traffic leading towards the hotel was quite bad. But still not as bad as Jakarta's la so we didn't mind it much.
Newman Exclusive
Another reason why we chose to stay in Amari Watergate - it is where Saliheen's usual tailor is located! They're called Newman Exclusive and their shop is on the 2nd floor of the hotel. There are a few tailor shops on the 2nd floor of the hotel la actually but Saliheen has been tailoring his work shirts with Newman Exclusive for a couple of years and really likes their service and workmanship so this was a no brainer. Makes everything very ringkas too! Just need to turun naik lift whenever he had to go to the shop for fitting and collection.
Usually their owner Sam will email his regular customers on when he will be coming to Singapore, bring along some fabric samples, book a hotel room during the visit period, take measurements and orders from customers then he will ship the finished orders from Bangkok to Singapore a few weeks later. That's how Saliheen would usually get his shirts done with Newman Exclusive but he's been wanting to turun kedai to look, see and feel the whole range of fabrics available in-store + he can get his orders within the weekend, which explains this trip to Bangkok. Heh.
Great experience as always, we didn't get to see Sam unfotunately but was served by his staff who was just as hospitable and called Saliheen "the easiest customer ever" HAHAHAHA apa ke tidak, dude only tailors plain white, navy and black shirts and in the same design! Plain buttons, no collar or cuff patterns and one breast pocket. Satu kali borong 20 pieces (mix of shirts and pants). Oh, they're pretty affordable too! Total cost averaged out to about S$45 per piece.
But enough about Saliheen and his boring tailored shirts and pants, kita kat Bangkok ni and it should be about yummy Thai food! And massages! And night markets! And shopping! Unfortunately I've rambled on for far too long for this blog entry (as always) and I need to take a break. Sit tight you guys, I promise I'll be baht.
Executive Lounge: I loved the executive lounge to death!!!!! Besides being able to have breakfast in peace, we helped ourselves to the free flow drinks and snacks in the lounge during happy hour (5.00pm to 7.00pm). It especially helped when we were feeling peckish but it was not yet time to leave the hotel to go hunt for dinner.
Accessibility: Amari Watergate Hotel is very close to all of the places we wanted to go; Pratunam Market, Platinum Mall, Central World, Palladium Mall, Talad Neon night market, massage parlour alleys, etc, so we found it suuuuuper accessible! The only downside is that because it is located right smack in Pratunam, the traffic leading towards the hotel was quite bad. But still not as bad as Jakarta's la so we didn't mind it much.
Newman Exclusive
Another reason why we chose to stay in Amari Watergate - it is where Saliheen's usual tailor is located! They're called Newman Exclusive and their shop is on the 2nd floor of the hotel. There are a few tailor shops on the 2nd floor of the hotel la actually but Saliheen has been tailoring his work shirts with Newman Exclusive for a couple of years and really likes their service and workmanship so this was a no brainer. Makes everything very ringkas too! Just need to turun naik lift whenever he had to go to the shop for fitting and collection.
Usually their owner Sam will email his regular customers on when he will be coming to Singapore, bring along some fabric samples, book a hotel room during the visit period, take measurements and orders from customers then he will ship the finished orders from Bangkok to Singapore a few weeks later. That's how Saliheen would usually get his shirts done with Newman Exclusive but he's been wanting to turun kedai to look, see and feel the whole range of fabrics available in-store + he can get his orders within the weekend, which explains this trip to Bangkok. Heh.
Great experience as always, we didn't get to see Sam unfotunately but was served by his staff who was just as hospitable and called Saliheen "the easiest customer ever" HAHAHAHA apa ke tidak, dude only tailors plain white, navy and black shirts and in the same design! Plain buttons, no collar or cuff patterns and one breast pocket. Satu kali borong 20 pieces (mix of shirts and pants). Oh, they're pretty affordable too! Total cost averaged out to about S$45 per piece.
But enough about Saliheen and his boring tailored shirts and pants, kita kat Bangkok ni and it should be about yummy Thai food! And massages! And night markets! And shopping! Unfortunately I've rambled on for far too long for this blog entry (as always) and I need to take a break. Sit tight you guys, I promise I'll be baht.
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