 |
| Glow Hotel in Pratunum |
Well, the wife and daughter had out voted me on this issue. So site seeing detours were not in the
itinerary for the 4D3N stay in Bangkok. My initial plan, to take a 2 hour slow
train ride to see the ruins of the old capital city of Ayutthaya some 70 km
outside of Bangkok never sees the light of day.
 |
| Platinum Mall just across the Glow Hotel |
not be wasted. Hmmm…
out voted and out maneuvered…
it would be foolhardy if I did not
go with the flow.
Hence, it was strictly a 4D3N shopping trip.
The hotel too was chosen after much deliberation, for its strategic location right in the centre of the shopping district. The idea was to shop, dump the load in the hotel room and then continue shopping till you drop.
The hotel too was chosen after much deliberation, for its strategic location right in the centre of the shopping district. The idea was to shop, dump the load in the hotel room and then continue shopping till you drop.
 |
| Wide selection of hand bags |
women
clothing, bags, shoes, accessories and other cheap stuff. The daughter had been
eagerly looking forward to the trip. She had a checklist of birthday presents
for 15 of her friends.
 |
| Malaysian Rocky = Thailand Pocky : same-same |
boutique owners in Malaysia
making
trips to Bangkok and
Hong Kong to make bulk purchases.
If their business can
survive on
such a modus operandi I suppose
it does make economic sense.
 |
| Christmas decoration in daylight |
However,
if you are not in this
line but fly there solely for
shopping per se, then the
math
simply does not add up.
A 4D3N trip for 3 people even
with cheap air
tickets plus hotel
will easily set you back RM3,000.
The savings from the purchases
despite the great bargains was
nowhere near that figure.
 |
| Thai obsession with elephants |
Hence,to
attest that this was
just one big shopping trip
would only serve to reflect
how
unsound the financial
proposition was.
The rationale then was
to see
it in a bigger picture and called
it a “shopping holiday” which
has
totally different connotations.
 |
| Punky Wantan Mee chef in action |
not the raison
d’être for the trip.
Shopping becomes an activity
that is both engaging and
therapeutic
at the same time.
The emphasis here is, not to
shop like a zombie but to so at
a leisure pace in order to harness
the full de-stressing benefit
brought about
by the activity.
 |
| Stewed Pork trotter |
However, this art of Zen-like
therapeutic shopping is not
something that could be mastered
over night.
The continuous long hours of
walking, standing and
shopping was extremely
demanding physically. My feet
were sore, my legs were stiff
and cramping and my back was
killing me. I swear it was way
much tougher than playing a
round of golf under the hot sun.
from dawn to dusk. Thankfully,
most of the shopping
complexes and stalls in Bangkok
were closed by 8.00PM.
That’s when we got some respite
and enjoyed a session or two
of blissful Thai reflexology
and massage.
4D3N was barely adequate to
really relax and chill out in Bangkok.
 |
| Live band performing under the Big Wheel |
Nevertheless, we managed to
seek out and try Bangkok’s best
(as claimed by Malaysian Bloggers)
stewed pork trotters and
Wantan mee.
Then there was the
compulsory bowl of beef noodle
soup (no trip to Thailand is
complete without it).
We also managed to go, via
BTS and ferry, to Bangkok’s
latest attraction “Asiatique the
Riverfront Mall” for dinner.
I was not exactly expecting a
relaxing family holiday but it turned
out a bit more hectic than planned.
Bangkok will be anytime soon.
But you never know. I suspect
the city remains one the
favorite holiday destinations
for the wife and daughter.
simon
4 January 2013
(This is an attempt at satire and humor. The writer acknowledges that his personal views might be somewhat subjective and stand
corrected. Differing views are most welcomed.)
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