Malaysia - Malacca

Short 2D1N weekend getaway with Kaixin to Malacca. This is actually my second time to Malacca but the first was when I was in primary school so I have forgotten everything about that trip. We signed up a tour with Hatten Group, a property development company, which will bring us to Malacca landmarks, at the same time visiting their projects there.

Assembled at Suntec City at 9:30am and a van took us to Malacca. The other two person going on this trip are serious investors instead of going there for leisure. We reached Malacca at around 1.30pm and had buffet lunch at Hatten Hotel before checking in. The hotel room is really big as compared to hotels in Singapore.

At around 4pm, a tour guide joined to bring us around popular landmarks around Malacca. We visited the project site, several temples, and walked around Malacca old town.

 

In the evening, we took a boat ride along the famous river and visited the Christ Church.

 

Of course, no trip to Malacca is complete without good food. The van took us to some famous seafood restaurant near the coast for fantastic seafood dinner. After dinner, we briefed shopped at the shopping malls before heading back to our hotel.

Day 2: Woke up at 9:30am for hotel breakfast. We then went for some pretty solid Thai massage before proceeding to check out of hotel. A short getaway indeed but nevertheless we got pretty much out of our limited weekend.

 

Thailand - Bangkok

Fortunate to be able to go Bangkok for the first phase of my job training (9th July - 7th Aug). It's pretty surprising to most people that this is my first trip to Bangkok despite spending most of my life in South East Asia.

Arrived at Bangkok Don Muang Airport at around 4pm and took taxi to Salil Hotel. Salil Hotel is located near Thong Lor BTS which is a really convenient place to go around. Arrived at Salil Hotel at 5+ and realized I was the first CAPAP to check-in. My room was a double room on the 2nd floor, nice and spacious.

View from my balcony

I chilled in my room until the sky was dark before heading out for dinner. The hotel provided free Tuktuk service bringing you to BTS, although the BTS is actually less than 5 minute walk away. Right across Thong Lor BTS is a famous street food place called Soi 38, where I had my first dinner in Bangkok. This place eventually became our common dinner place during our stay.

Bangkok's city center is at Siam. Siam BTS is 6 stops away from Thong Lor which takes you only 15 minutes. Headed to Siam on our first Sunday in Bangkok, after returning from the team-building camp  (12th July). Siam area has many shopping places for shoppers: Siam Paragon, Siam One, Platinum Mall, Central Mall, and so on. We visited the famous 4 face Buddha upon alighting the BTS.

The city center is a very happening place with some serious traffic. For some reason, in Bangkok, taxi cost significantly less than BTS if travel in a group while BTS is a lot faster than taxi due to the insane traffic jams in the city. Spent the night strolling along the city which was filled with street food, tourists, and cars.

Joined some of the CAPAPs for a short trip to Lumpini Park after our lesson (14th July). The park was packed with joggers in the evening. I wondered how they can even run in such hot and humid weather.

Nana is where most of the tailor shops are located at and it happens to be the red light district as well. Walking along the streets of Nana is rather creepy as you can't really tell if the ladies by the street are genuine ladies or ladyboys.

The most eventful day in Bangkok has to be the trip to Grand Palace (25th July). Grand Palace is no question a must-go for anyone in Bangkok. Spend the afternoon touring around Grand Palace, Wat Pho, and had dinner at Asiatique Riverfront.

For the first time this trip, all 14 of us CAPAPs gathered at the lobby to hangout together at the skybar (29th July). Our night was unfortunately ruined by a heavy shower. I was one of the first to reach the skybar and managed to snap a picture before it started pouring.

1 month in Bangkok passed quickly by, perhaps because I had too much fun. I am really glad that I made a lot of friends which made this experience even more memorable. Bangkok is a great place to for budget chill out but I would suggest going in December to escape the heat.