Weekend Guide to Bangkok, Thailand

It feels like ages since my trip but technically it's only been a month. What I would give for another vacation right now!

As my trip was a short weekend one, I wouldn't be able to give information on many locations so this guide shall be more like a review of what I experienced, and perhaps some recommendations on alternatives if I can think of any.

Airfare/Airlines
Departing Singapore: Tigerair approx. S$115 per pax
Departing Bangkok: FlyScoot approx. S$108 per pax

Review: We had a very pleasant journey on Tigerair. I know they recently revamped their brand and I'm loving it. There's a noticeable difference in service attitude and a level of professionalism this time round. Definitely would fly Tigerair again.

FlyScoot wasn't that great for me as the crew seemed to be in a hurry most of the time and were frowning at passengers while giving instructions?! #whythelongface It was also a very noisy journey as there was a group of tourists across the aisle who talked non-stop throughout the flight, and they were really loud. Needless to say, that pissed me off big time.

Accomodation
Citin Pratunam: S$122 for 2 nights

Review: Never stay here, or at Ten Stars Inn which I stayed at previously. When it comes to hotels, cleanliness and maintenance of room amenities are important to me. If the hotel can't even fulfill these most basic requirements, they shouldn't be called hotels. Every morning, I woke up to the sound of construction/banging woks/Singaporeans talking really loudly in the hallway (ha-ha). The shower area was pretty gross too.

If you're on a budget, you can check out LemonTea which we saw while exploring the area. It looked like heaven compared to Citin Pratunam and I was this close to moving over. If you can afford to spend a little more, check out Baiyoke Sky or Glow as I believe these are the higher-rated places to stay.

Platinum Mall/ Main Shopping Area

This lady sells the best coconut ice cream omg

Review: I remember the food court at Platinum Mall had good food so I was disappointed at the drop in standard. The beef noodles used to be really savory but now, it tastes like salt soup with black sauce.

We asked the hotel for restaurant recommendations and after much confusion in terms of the language barrier, we were directed to Once Upon A Time. It took us a good hour to finally locate where the place was and it was literally a hole in the wall restaurant. I was overwhelmed by the decor but everything was so interesting to look at. Please use Google Maps if you want to find this place, unless you've time to waste.

Review: The food tasted alright. I've a feeling this restaurant is more catered to expats/tourists as the prices are comparable to tze char places in Singapore, except a smaller portion. The highlight of the night was when I found a huge housefly in my soup. The line from a joke, "Waiter, I found a fly in my soup" was finally put to good use. Most of the customers were drinking bottled alcohol instead of eating so that's a safer way to enjoy the ambience of the place if you'd like to go.

Review: I was expecting this to be as good as the beef noodles I had at a roadside stall in Phuket, but one should never have any expectations while traveling so you wouldn't be too disappointed.

Thong Lo BTS Station

Made a trip to Thong Lo because Darren recommended this Thai restaurant to us called "999" if I'm not wrong. Please ask the station service staff for directions because I did not find out the exact address of this place. It's located just underneath the stairs right beside the control station. Save the photo below to show the station staff if you're interested in going!

We found out it is only opened at night so we settled for this phad thai place in an alleyway. I'm not sure what's the exact address but there's a signboard saying it's the 5th World's Best Phad Thai ranked by CNN. Give it a try if you find it!

As the 999 restaurant wouldn't be opened till night, we decided to head to Siam Center first, followed by Terminal 21.

Review: Let me first proclaim my love for these two malls. No doubt prices are similar to when shopping in Singapore but quality there is so much better (referring to their local brands). We spent a lot of time in Forever 21 at Siam Center. I appreciate how everything was so neat as compared to the F21 stores in Singapore. Siam Center has more of their local brands and how I wish I brought more money to spend there. There were so many unique and well-made pieces of clothing ranging from dresses to pants.

Terminal 21 was where I did more shopping at. The top level has little stores that offer a huge variety of apparels for ladies. I would very much prefer to shop at these two places compared to Platinum Mall. More on Platinum Mall below.

A ukelele festival swarming with Jason Mraz(s)

We decided to give Mr. Jones Orphanage a try since it's highly recommended by locals and tourists. I stumbled upon the cafe, joined the longgg queue, but was immediately given a seat because there were only two of us. Benefit of traveling in twos!

Review: Am I the only person who thinks this is a morbid name for a cute cafe? I get very creeped out in places like that. We had the chocolate banana cake which was good. My mocha drink could've been better. I think prices were equivalent to Starbucks in Singapore.

It was back to Thong Lo for dinner after shopping at Terminal 21. I am so thankful that Darren recommended this to us as it was probably the saving grace of our meals in Bangkok so far. No overcharging, no noisy diners, and most importantly, no dead floating houseflies. When we took a taxi back to Pratunam, we saw many other restaurants/bars along the way. I'd definitely go back to this area for more food.

Coconut Curry Chicken, Kang Kong, Tom Yum, Steamed Fish in Lemongrass (amazing)

After that satisfying meal, we headed back to the Pratunam area for massages. The signature Thai massage is still the best. Two hours of massage for around S$20 only! There's this stretch of massage places along the main street leading into the smaller streets of Pratunam. I remember the name of one of them which is "Number One" which we went, as well as the one next to it. I prefer the one next to it.

Review: On the last day, I decided to shop at Platinum Mall and spend whatever money I had left. It was so tiring because of the couple of unpleasant experiences I had while shopping. The store owners were quite rude and hostile towards me for no apparent reason. For example, if I'm asking the price of something, they would quote a price with a scowl. I must state that I am very polite when shopping because I know how it feels to be on the other side of the counter serving rude customers. Their hostility baffled me... Until I bumped in other Singaporeans.

Those Singaporeans are the epitome of ugly travelers. They were raising their voices at the retail assistants demanding a cheaper price, and threatening to leave if the prices weren't lowered, I kid you not. I'm sorry but whoever said you could behave like a b*tch just because you're a tourist?! They seemed to have this idea that as long as you stay fierce and stand your ground towards the locals there, you'd get your way. How obnoxious is that?!

I was so appalled at the disgusting behavior of those Singaporeans, whom I hope are the minority. Respect is a two-way street. When you're on a foreign land, it goes without saying that you respect the way of life there including the locals. This is a major pet peeve of mine because this is a phenomenon happening in Singapore as well.

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

On a happier note, do watch my latest videos where I show you my buys from Bangkok. Hopefully it'll give you an idea of what you can expect when shopping at the malls mentioned above.

Hope I haven't left anything out because my brain is pretty much dead from the day spent in school, and my eyes are threatening to close anytime soon.

Do email me/comment below if you'd like to know anything else in more detail. Thank you so much for reading this essay and have a lovely weekend ahead woohoo!

Coming Up: Guide to Bangkok

SAWADEEKA!

I'm back from a weekend trip to Bangkok and the experience was definitely unlike the previous. Will be writing a mini guide to (shopping in) Bangkok based on this short trip, and hopefully also generate a haul video of some sort to go together.

Semester has started and it's only a matter of time before I lose my sanity again so here's a big sane hola to everyone who has been reading this space and checking my YouTube channel out. Thank you sooo much!

Also, do watch my latest video featuring beauty products which I feel were a complete waste of money. It includes items from: Benefit Cosmetics, Maybelline, NYX, The Face Shop.

You have a better day tomorrow!

How to shop Taobao?

Does the idea of getting quality tops at $5 and bags at $10 entice you? Check out my video below so you can judge for yourself the quality of products I recently purchased from Taobao. (This sounds like those cheesy TV ads selling magical kitchen equipments lol)

A little background for people who aren't familiar with Taobao. It is basically a massive online shopping website based in China. There're many shops selling clothes, shoes, and even household items like sheets or curtains. The prices are really competitive which's why I'm so attracted to the site such that I shop there more than necessary. Even developed a tendency to stop myself from shopping locally because I know I can definitely find something similar on Taobao for a quarter of the price. A challenge most people face is the language barrier. The entire site is in Chinese which means people who don't know the language are pretty much excluded from this awesomeness, and there's only so much Google Translate can do.

I was approached by a Taobao agent, Yoybuy.com, to get to know more about their established website. Please note that I was not paid to write this nor did I benefit in any way by talking about Yoybuy here. All opinions are my own excluding the background information of the site which's provided by them.

The only reason why I'm sharing it is because I'm hoping this would be of help to those who don't understand Chinese and are looking for a reliable agent which they can trust to help them with shopping on Taobao. Good things should be shared! I did talk a little about Yoybuy in my video so I'm just going to add on some other information I feel is important.

Yoybuy.com makes the Taobao shopping experience extremely easy and fuss-free. A few examples:

• Service fee is fixed at 10% of item price + China domestic shipping
• Attention: Certain sites may state that they charge lesser for service fee but because they calculate it based on the product's entire price including international shipping, it is actually more expensive!
• Products on Taobao are already on-site, and sorted by categories in English
• Besides searching for items on Yoybuy itself, you can also paste a Taobao product URL to the search form to access and purchase it
• Yoybuy provides reliable shipping methods e.g. DHL, EMS, Aramex

Another thing I am going to emphasize on is the level of customer service. If you've been reading this space long enough, you'll already know horrid CS is a major pet peeve of mine. As I've worked in retail for quite a bit and did really well at it, I expect the same of staff in CS out there. It's called customer service for a reason right?! So anyway, I am so glad that Yoybuy promises efficient CS.

• Emails to their customer service department (service@yoybuy.com) usually get answered the same day within 24hrs
• Live chat during Beijing business hours from 0930-2000 for urgent enquiries
• Yoybuy's Facebook pages (in English, Spanish, and French of course) as well as their VK.com page (Russian) introduce new Taobao products and updates on information about Yoybuy

Based on all the information provided, I would give Yoybuy.com a try should I want a speedy Taobao experience without having to slowly read descriptions in Chinese. Should you require any form of assistance, I'm sure the ever-ready team at Yoybuy would be glad to help you too.

A huge thank you to everyone who has dropped me an email asking how to shop at Taobao (you inspired this blog post!) and I hope I have provided enough information for y'all here.

Happy Hari Raya Haji to my Muslim friends and have a lovely day everyone!

Room Envy: Pretty Little Liars (Part II)

Hanna Marin is a diva and she isn't afraid to let people know it. Despite how dark the show is becoming, her comebacks never fail to make me snort. Wish I had the guts to say half the things she says to people.

Her room reflects her tres chic wardrobe. She never fails to inject just the right amount of glitz and glamor to her outfits, for e.g. a plaid shirt with a chunky bedazzled necklace paired with skinnies and sky-high booties. Unfortunately, the photos captured below don't show any of that so maybe her room will do the talking.

The main color scheme of her room seems to lean towards the lighter side of the purple color spectrum, namely lilac. The pop of color seen throughout is yellow, which I wasn't sure about but it sure works for her room.

In the couple photos above, you can see pillow mountains both on her daybed and her bed. This is something which I'm gradually learning about. Pillows don't have to be the same shape, color, and design in order for it to work in a pillow mountain. The key is to identify the main theme of the room, and use pillows as accents. For e.g. Hanna's pillows are mostly silky-looking, which adds that glamorous touch, and they stick to the purple color theme except in different shades which keeps it interesting.

Her dressing table looks like an organized mess. It works because the main pieces of decor like the tall jewelry holder, tiny jars, and table lamp are all white or glass which always makes decor look so effortless. What I love is the filigree mirror, in lilac of course, and the vase with purple, white, and yellow flowers. I'm a sucker for things that match okay.

By the way, there's so much purple going on in the photo below lol.

The next couple of photos show Allison's room but I'm not going to analyze it. Just wanted to say that I OWNED THAT TABLE LAMP WHICH WE BOUGHT IN AMERICA (Target I believe) BUT MY MOM HAS BEEN CLEANING OUT THE HOUSE AND SHE THREW IT OUT BECAUSE IT WAS DUSTY! The fangirl in me wants to scream I HAVE THAT TOO but alas that's not going to happen.

Goodbye pretty lamp. It was glamorous while it lasted.

Room Envy: Pretty Little Liars

Does anyone here watch Pretty Little Liars and suffer from room envy? I'm not even going to talk about the styling because I'd kill for Spencer and Hanna's wardrobe and so would millions of girls out there. In terms of room decor, I think I'm more of a Spencer + Aria. Every time I see their rooms, I get some form of inspiration of how to tweak mine to have the same effect be it adding or subtracting stuff. If only Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters were easily available in Singapore. It also helps that my parents are crazy about decor so they'd just buy me stuff omg where art thou Anthropologie and UO?!

Aria's room is so cozy and bohemian chic. Her room reminds me of mine because of the amount of woodwork in it. Besides my bed with a mixture of steel and wooden frames, everything else is pure wood. The color scheme of her room seems to be mostly warm colors like different shades of purple, brown, cream, etc. The different shades of warm colors used contributes to the perception of depth of her room so it's not too monotonous and dark. The only thing I dislike about her room is probably the small closet. Realistically, I don't think the amount of clothes Aria has can fit in there but we all know this is just a show.

Spencer sometimes reminds me of myself. The OCD, the bossiness, the perfectionist, and of course her style. Her room has more of a preppy glamorous theme with the four-post bed, mirrored furniture, closet with french doors, and the numerous floral prints everywhere from the walls to the sheets. I'd love to have these elements in my room but sadly, my room isn't big enough and my parents are more into wooden furniture. If my house had a termite infestation, the entire thing would be gone. That's how much wood there is.

The color scheme of her room is very light and incorporates colors like shades of pink, white, and the occasional injection of red and black to tie everything together. There's a mish mash of prints in her room but somehow everything seems to go together because they either match in terms of prints or color, for e.g. her bed.

The color and decor elements of Spencer's room is something I'm trying to achieve. It's possible to add elegance and glamor to a room just by maybe adding some photographs with black or white frames to the wall, stacking coffee table books on the bookshelf as decor, and adding a lot of white to the room in general. I have done that by using only acrylic Muji drawers on my dresser to store makeup, standardizing my storage system by mostly using Muji's linen boxes which are cream colored, and storage boxes from Ikea in pink or red. I feel that standardization is key to achieving a Spencer-esque room. It's more visually-appealing too.

Love her outfit so so much!

As I go through the series, I hope I'll be able to capture more screen shots of their rooms. The last photo is so lame because it's so dark but it's a study desk so I thought I'll get away with not mentioning that since not everyone has a study desk i.e. me!

Hopefully this post has been of some help because I had fun breaking it down for you. Have a lovely day!

Style: Elementary, my dear Watson

I've been catching up on some new crime series, one of them being Elementary starring Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. Can never forget her level of hotness in Charlie's Angels, especially the scene when they zoomed in on her posterior in a leather skirt that squeaked as she strutted! Anyway, Elementary is set in NYC so I feel that the same kind of city chic style her character has can be applied in Singapore. It isn't as avant-garde as Gossip Girl (a good thing for us commoners) which means that the outfits are actually functional. Read: attainable.

They're centered around basics like tank tops or tee shirts in solid colors or subtle prints, but made chic and different with the art of layering. I've managed to screenshot some images from the show because I realized there're a few outerwear staples she has worth mentioning. Versatility is key for a poor student who doesn't have enough closet space.

1. Cardigans in neutral hues

The addition of a simple gray slouchy cardigan to the two different outfits above make such a difference. Coincidentally enough, I realized the two outfits are so contrasting: light and dark. If I were feeling happy and carefree, I'd choose the first outfit but if I wanted a little grunge and darkness to my look on a bad day (lol), I'd wear the second outfit.

Wearing just a tee or tank top can look pretty boring so adding either a neutral/bright colored cardigan will help pull the look together. I have three stacks of cardigans in my own wardrobe so that says a lot about my love for the item.

2.  A white shirt

The piece she's wearing is not exactly a shirt but more so an outerwear. We can always use a soft white cotton/linen shirt as a substitute since it'll look pretty much the same. It makes the outfit look so clean and crisp, as well as add the right touch of effortless to the entire look. The best part is that it'll also work for warmer weather because it's lightweight so no excuses for not putting in any effort to dress up on a hot, hot day!

Lazy outfit = tank + denim shorts + white shirt + sandals + piled on jewelry + shades

3. Military green parka

If you know me well enough, you'll know that I love the second outfit to bits. Every single aspect of it from the shades to the silky cream dress and the simple accessories. The parka has been around forever, i.e. those on zookeepers, but it has recently become such a huge hit amongst youngsters in Singapore probably because of KPop influence? Do not quote me on that. Anyway, the standard uniform outfit would be throwing a parka over a tank top and high-waisted denim shorts completed with slippers and calling it a day. Never have I seen anyone wear a parka anyway else. I will now set that right so join my army. Oh so punny!

4. Dark colored jackets

If I lived somewhere with a cooler climate, I'd be using that as an excuse to hoard tons of jackets. Not that I'm not already doing that but you get what I mean. Jackets have the same effect as cardigans, just that jackets add more structure and that extra oomph if you want to look more presentable for an occasion. For example, if you're wearing a maxi dress at a beach but want to head someplace nice like a restaurant for brunch, throw on a denim/leather jacket and you're good to go!

5. Oxford blazers

I went through a tough period in my life when I could not stop buying blazers. It was an obsession. Can't put my finger on it but there's something about a blazer that puts order and intelligence into an outfit and if there's one thing I love, it's order. If you noticed, the tops she's wearing under the blazers are simple tees in stripes, solids, and subtle patterns respectively. The Oxford blazer is such a smart complement (so punny again) to an otherwise plain outfit. Definitely a must-have for the prepster in me.

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There're so many other elements to Joan Watson's style that add dimension to her looks. For example, her knack of pairing the right amount, size, and style of accessories. Her face or outfit is never overpowered by accessories even though they are usually layered, mixed metals and all.

Another thing I noticed is the kind of colors she wears. I'm not sure if I have mentioned here but I believe in a skill called color analysis whereby you identify what family of colors would look best with your skin tone/hair color and brighten up your overall look. I have seen which category Lucy Liu falls under so the kind of colors she wears, like jewel tones, is what is recommended for her skin tone.

As much as I love certain outfits, I will always be aware of what my body type can/cannot carry off. I can never stress enough how important it is to alter style inspiration according to your personality and body type. Something that looks good on someone else might not look the same on you. It is possible to look for alternatives that will give you the same kind of look that works for your body type.

Style should be individually tailored for everyone to always look their best, and not just another failed copycat.