We settled on City Lodge Soi 19 following an exhaustive and frustrating search for a place to stay in Bangkok. In our initial Let’s Go PowerPoint presentation, we showed the Holiday Inn Bangkok as our hotel of choice. During planning, the Holiday Inn’s rates proved expensive so we had to broaden our search for a hotel that was conveniently located near the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS/Skytrain), Bangkok Mass Rapid Transit (MRT/Subway) or both to make for easier commuting. Asia Hotel, connected to BTS Rajchathewi Station, seemed the best choice but I saw some online reviews saying that petty theft by staff was common. Although there were plenty of budget options, we narrowed our search to the following factors: proximity to trains, affordability and condition of accommodations. We wanted to be very near our main mode of transport and for our rooms not to be dingy as after all, this was the last leg; we wanted to ensure that we were comfortable. After much deliberation and a comparison chart prepared by Nikki, we ended up with City Lodge Soi 19. The hostel is 2-3 minutes away from the Asok BTS Station and 3-4 minutes away from the Sukhumvit MRT Station. It’s right next to the Westin Grande Sukhumvit and Robinsons Shopping Mall where a department store, supermarket, money exchange counter and McDonalds are. Since malls normally close by 10PM, it wasn’t a consideration for us to stay in the thick of the mall areas unlike if we were in Hong Kong.

We got to exchange money at the Siam Commercial Bank money exchange in Robinsons. Ernest, Nikki and Melissa all had baht with them so we were able to pay for the cab fares. I learned that smaller bills have a more unfavorable exchange rate compared to the one stated on the board. I took a longer time here since I initially wanted to exchange my smaller US bills (for Cambodia leg), but when I realized my mistake, I switched my money to $100 denominations which caused the teller to do everything all over again. After the snafu, we headed to Robinsons Supermarket to buy water and snacks. Nikki bought BBQ-flavored Koh Kae, a peanut snack that is a softer version of Nagaraya. It was addictive. No wonder Nikki’s mom wanted her to buy at least eight cans.

We hopped on the BTS a half-hour later to have lunch and to get our first taste of shopping. God knows I missed it. We got off Chidlom Station to go to Central World, Bangkok’s biggest mall and entered via Zen, one of two department stores anchoring the mall’s opposite ends. We headed to the upper level to dine at Food Loft, a cafeteria-style restaurant similar to ThreeSixty in Hong Kong. We were provided cards which were used to electronically keep track of our purchases. We surrendered the cards to pay and to leave Food Loft. I ordered the hottest curry available, the simply-named green curry with rice. I also ordered a dessert of taro (one of my favorites) balls in coconut milk (another one of my favorites). It was a satisfactory first meal in Bangkok.

After meeting up with the others and with time to spare before dinner, we walked over to Siam Paragon, another gigantic posh mall with an underwater ocean park (Siam Ocean World) and luxury car showrooms. Think Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Hummer, among others. One the best things about the BTS aside from a stretch of stations connecting to the all the big malls is the elevated covered walkway directly underneath the station which connects Central World and Gaysorn in Chidlom Station all the way to MBK in National Stadium Station. It allowed us to walk instead of take the BTS to Siam Station where Siam Paragon, Siam Discovery Center and Siam Square are. It suddenly rained and we got a bit wet from crossing the mezzanine from the station to Siam Paragon. We also caught a view from above of the nighttime rush hour gridlock in Rama Road, a major Bangkok artery. The congested road with the cars and their brightly-lit headlights and taillights against the dark sky punctuated the bustling, crowded metropolis that is Bangkok.

We headed towards the Customer Service desk to claim tourist discount cards. Even without the card, foreigners automatically get 5% off purchases in malls and can also claim 7% VAT refund at the airport for a minimum 5000 baht accumulated purchase under a single name. Forms need to be filled out after every minimum accumulated 2000 baht purchase. We went separate ways and I dragged Gene and Nikki to the Jo Malone counter inside Siam Paragon Department Store, the first in Asia. I smelled all the scents because I wanted to buy something to take home. Their bestselling Rose scent is heady and made me dizzy. I also headed to the Balenciaga shop hoping that the City Motorcycle would be cheaper than in Manila. Unfortunately even with the tourist discount and VAT Refund, the bag still ended up more expensive than here. It looks like my big buy will have to be a Jo Malone perfume. While wandering aimlessly since all the local and designer brands are expensive, we chanced upon a sale outlet in the middle of the mall selling Esprit, Bossini and Charles & Keith. I got a little excited and chose four pairs but ended up buying just one. I would be severely disappointed in myself if I went home with Charles & Keith loot from Bangkok. We all regrouped in the lobby by 7:00PM. Melissa was able to buy elusive Kurt Cobain Converse Chuck Taylors while Ernest bought something. Ernest always was able to buy something wherever we went. I think he enjoyed Bangkok shopping.

My Chucks!

After having a very late lunch at Food Loft, it was time to fully explore Central World and Siam Paragon. Group shopping is never a good idea; so it was decided that we go our separate ways and just meet after a few hours. K, Ernest, and I, not having specific stores in mind to hit, chose to stay together. We spent most of our time in the department store of Siam Paragon and this is where I finally got my hands on a pair of Kurt Cobain Chucks I’ve been lusting for forever. Ernest also spent a good 15 minutes trying several pairs of Asics sneakers so it came as a surprise for K and I when he wasn’t able to buy anything. K decided to shop on her own after the shoe expedition.

Siam Paragon boasts of several luxury car showrooms and this is where Ernest and I headed after shoe shopping. We saw flashy cars from Porsche, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Spyker. Ernest was not able to resist and just had to have his picture taken with everything that was on display. We lost track of time appreciating the vehicles so we had to rush to meet up with the rest of the group at the agreed time. Good thing we managed to show up just a tad bit late.

Somboon Seafood was our chosen dinner destination and luckily, there was a branch near our evening destination. We took the BTS to Sala Daeng Station and asked for directions from a juice stall vendor. Good thing Somboon Seafood justified the very long walk we took to get there. Somboon Seafood is a big, three-storey restaurant with a look and atmosphere similar to big Chinese restaurants. We ordered plenty of dishes, the most remarkable of which was the Fried Curry Crab. Just like in Vietnam, the wet napkins were not free so we sent them back.

After another delicious meal which was getting to be Bangkok habit, we headed to popular Patpong to experience the touristy and gimmicky red light district. Patpong is a tourist trap with a night market and a row of establishments with names like Queen’s Castle, Super Pussy and the like. It’s overrun with tourists and touts. We skipped browsing the overpriced tiangges overflowing with souvenirs, imitation accessories and other odds and ends. Despite the connotation, I wouldn’t call the place seedy. On the contrary, it’s like a brightly-lit marketplace. I hear there’s another red light district in Bangkok near our hostel called Soi Cowboy which is much less developed. Perhaps there the atmosphere would be more sordid.

We were approached by an aggressive, short, fat and loud female tout whom we couldn’t shake off no matter how hard we tried to divert and ignore her. She even made snide comments in Thai which made the other shopkeepers look at us. I don’t understand why she decided to stick to us. Maybe because there were six of us so she decided to earn her commission via us. Her incessant shouting of “Friends! Friends!” was grating to the nerves. She proved formidable and we finally decided to give her our business. We wanted to go to watch a ping-pong show; we just didn’t want her to profit from it, but six tired tourists were no match for a hardened tout. She brought us to a girly bar where skimpily-attired women wearing white boots swayed to the music on an elevated platform. Patrons were males looking for some good times. With money and intent, there was no doubt that they would get lucky that night. We quickly exited seeing that the interesting body functions we came to see were not in sight. The girls in that girly bar would end up having prettier girls than Queen’s Castle II where we eventually ended up in perhaps because girly bars where men went for female companionship had to have prettier girls than those just performing shows.

Queen’s Castle II lacked in female pulchritude to say the least. Instead of hot young Thai chicks, it was more aging prostitutes who have had their heyday mixed with some young ones who won’t stop traffic. The ping-pong show was what we came for though and as soon as we came in, ping-pong balls started flying in our direction, almost hitting us. Note that the ping-pong balls had come out from the women’s vaginas. It’s important to negotiate the cover charge before going in to avoid overcharging and miscommunication. We negotiated the cover charge to 100 baht with a choice of one drink which in our case was Singha Beer or Coke. We then settled to watch performances of girls standing around a boxing ring in various stages of nudity doing unusual things with their vaginas: (a) Screw open bottle of Coke and transfer contents to a cup (b) Throw darts at balloons and shove the darts up the vagina when they miss (c) Puff cigarettes (d) Produce a string of sharp-edged blades which would be pretty painful unless the blades were just plastic (e) Shoot ping-pong balls to the viewers. There was also a robotic girl-on-girl sadomasochism bit. The only consolation was that one of the girls was toned. The entire proceedings were so impersonal, passionless and alienating. I suppose it’s hard to produce the passion to do something one does every night to catcalls, hoots and leers, even if the act is supposedly about sex. The evening took an interesting turn when a dirty old man sat next to us and proceeded to fondle the three women surrounding him. He jiggled the boobs of the one seated in front of him, looked up the skirt of the one on his right, and enjoyed the caresses of the one on his left. I tried not to look too much, but it was hard not to. I hoped they would put some spice into the evening by doing the nasty, but they controlled themselves.