“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Never was I eager to leave a holiday and Thailand was no exception. The last 2 days were exemplary. The deep love I felt for travelling was never more keenly felt towards the end of this trip, especially so on the second last day. So what did I actually do on those days?

One thing was for sure.

I travelled alone and I was adamant ever since that a blog has to be started.

Victory Monument:

As quoted from my friend,' We are here in Thailand to EAT, SHOP and HAVE FUN."

Ok.... so that was how the trip was supposed to pan out. Instead, the trip thus far was....... 50% shop, 49% fun and 1% eat. I wanted to eat the local food so much as we have been deprived of doing that so far! That's how my suggestion to explore Victory Monument came about. The landmark there is surrounded and lined with tons of street stalls and hawkers. Amongst them, was a reputable fresh shrimp stall and most importantly, the glass noodle shop by the bay. Psyched was a true understatement. I wanted to try out those food stalls especially the glass noodle shop there. Instead, we were stuck with shitty alternatives.

 

These food weren't that bad.. but it could certainly have been better if we tried the glass noodle shop..... And it certainly didn't help that the weather was horribly humid and hot.

Thankfully, we chanced upon a Duty Free Shop that sold outstanding food and items to be brought back home for the fam and friends. That place is none other than the sponsor of Leicester Football Club: King Power Station.
 

Stepping into this place felt really good and it wasn't only because of the aircondition that we so needed due to the weather. This place looked fantastic and was a pleasant little surprise. It sold the typical local exotic snacks like dried guava and mango sweets as well as exorbitant brands like Swarovski. Most of the patrons at this duty free paradise are all involved in guided tours which was hugely evident by the number of buses outside the place. Not being a part of any of them was a huge blessing and even then, we were still able to get registered at the concierge to get 150 baht vouchers.

This surprise however, was nothing as compared to what was going to happen next in this trip.

 

Since my friend wanted to shop so much, I suggested going to Asiatique at night. His response was so ridiculous I could barely fathom why he said whatever he said. 

 

This was what he said," Tomorrow....is our last day right. We are going to Chatuchak in the morning.... right. Since we are going very early in the morning, I think I stay in the hotel because I want to sleep early. I want to rest for tomorrow I scared I cannot wake up early."

 

Like seriously.??!? You're on a holiday just explore more and spend your time in a fruitful manner overseas. It baffles me even more since it also happened to be his 21st birthday as well.

 

Soooo... this is how I ended up travelling alone for the rest of the day. And my oh my was it spectacular.

 

Chao Phraya Ferry Adventures:

At times in life, certain interests and thoughts are sparked by the most unexpected of occurrences. This has got to be one of them. So as my friend travelled back to the hotel, I embarked on a solo escapade at the Chao Phraya River. I took the BTS to Saphan Taksin station and wondered what I could actually do since it is only 2pm, which is actually extremely early as Asiatique only opens around 5pm. Looking around the area, I realised that getting a ticket for a one way ferry ride along the river was an affordable 40 baht. There were about 9 stops and there was a choice available as to where you would like to alight.
 

 

Initially I only wanted to stop at the 3rd stop. The relaxation and freedom I felt while sitting at the front of the ferry made me miss the stop and I panicked for a moment as I thought my ticket was only to the 3rd stop. My concerns were really redundant because that was obviously not the case. Eventually, I alighted at the 4th stop and it was the stop which was walking distance to the King's palace.









 

 

I walked through the street stalls, tried the famous coconut ice cream(it was fantastic!) and wanted to explore the palace. A pity the entrance was 500 baht otherwise I would definitely have toured the palace!









 

Asiatique:

Time passes real fast when you're having fun. Soon it was time for Asiatique. Most of the stalls were still not open as it was still early. Even then, the remaining stalls offered up real surprises and really cheap apparels and products that I could bring back home. The best thing that happened there was the discovery of a local shop that sold surprisingly good quality ukuleles that were affordable. There were a good variety of locally made, Hawaiian made and UK made ukuleles that had me bubbling with excitement. I was lucky that they had a 50% discount for the local made ones and it only costed me 1000 baht, which amounted to less than SGD$40. A real steal by any standards. There was also a place that sold a huge tin of crackers, priced at 3 tins for 100 baht.

 

The area also had a Ferris wheel, Ladyboy cabarets and Muay Thai shows. I hardly had any cash by then so I only spent on the Ferris wheel. 250 baht for 6 rounds. The Cabaret and Muay Thai show was about 1200 baht and it was really too bad that I didn't have enough cash.