Sawaadee-kha Bangkok, Day 2 - Exploring Floating Market

Itinerary of second day: Floating Market situated in Damnoen Saduak, in central Thailand in the province Ratchaburi.

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, situated 110 kms west of Bangkok, is a very attractive place for tourists to see the old style and traditional way of selling and buying fruits, vegetables, etc., from small boats. You will also see traditional Thai houses, the way they live and travel by boats.

(info extracted from HERE)

A hearty breakfast to start our day:

I love the breakfast provided by the hotel- everything is so yummy!!! Pasta, congee, fried rice, fried mee, coco puff cereals, fresh milk, ham, deep-fried chinese sausage (Yay, chinese sausage in Thailand are so delicious, we bought 1 kg to bring back home!!!), coffee, tea, juices arghhhh I love their breakfast! :D

We hired a cab for 6 hours to bring us to Floating Market (1.5 hours from Bangkok), Temple of Reclining Buddha and Temple of Dawn, for 1,000 baht. Hiring a cab is cheap in Bangkok, considering that it will cost about 900 baht per person for a trip from Bangkok to Floating Market. Two person = 1,800 baht. Hah! You have not include the trips to Thai's famous Temples! Well, if you are traveling in small group, consider hiring a cab. It's much worth it than joining tours. ;)

Spotted a cool pink Bettle!

After a FREAKING 1 and half hours of cab ride from Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak, we've finally reached the Floating Market. Why do I mean by "freaking" ride? Haha... :) As you have clearly know, there are heaps of temples in Bangkok. As we hired a "super kuat agama" cab driver, when there's a temple in front of us, he will honk, removes his hands from steering wheel, clasped it together, pray for few seconds, rubbed both of his hand to his head and continue driving. :o (!!!) SHOCKED or not???b :0

When we reached Floating Market, they provided FREE fresh coconuts for us. Good service right? Hmmph, your ass lah! :D What they actually want from us is ENTRANCE FEES! It caused us whooping 1,200 baht for 2 person! What first came out from their mouth is actually 2,000 baht!!! Crazy or not? 2,000 baht leh!!! What we did was bargained (like crazy) and we got 1,200 baht. REMEMBER TO BARGAIN IN BANGKOK!!!

"Free" coconut drinks wtf. :x


Uncle cooking noodle on his canal.

Other ah-mohs were charges 2,000 baht (!!!), so if you want to visit the Floating Market, remember to bargain. Sigh, every tourist attraction in Bangkok need entrance fees. Yes, even the temples. :(

Off off we go!!!


We spotted a uncle bathing in the river...

... and an aunty washing clothes, on the very same river. Yes, bathing, washing (and cooking) using the same water!

Houses by the river.


(=_____=) looking Uncle who drove our canal.

After 20 minutes ride from first station, we reached the souvenir stall by the river:

Pick whichever your heart desires!


But remember to BARGAIN! Lol~

First stop of the day: Coconut Sugar Farm. This is where they extracted sugar from coconuts. Nothing interesting to be shared from here though. :( Bland.

We act touristy cos we are one.


Souvenir stall across the Coconut Sugar Farm.


Saawaadii-kha... Wooden hand carved dolls welcome you.


Ain't this adorable? :)


Coconut shell lamp. I felt geli whenever I sees small small holes. Eww...


Memorable pictures to beautify your home.

Beware, pictures below are not for 18 years old below. Yes, 18-SX!!!

Yes, this is SOUVENIR, okay? Anyone want one?


*Gasp* This is for you to do whatever you want with it. OMG.



This is not for faint hearted.





Oh. My. God.

The more you fantasise at this 18-SX ashtray, the "higher" you get and ended up smoking MORE. Great. Die faster. :o

Okay okay, there's all for today folks. Now move on your minds to decent stuffs, such as this: Coconut sugar.

Which looks like caramel to me.


Doesn't look appetizing. :(


And look at the mass of coconut shells!!!

We continue with our journey along the river...

It's time for FOOD!


Pick your choice, stop, order, pay and eat. :)


Stalls ahead!


Heaps of souvenirs for your loved ones back home.


Bananas anyone?

After much browsing, we eyed on our first food of the day...

Mango sticky rice, 50 baht.


Next we ordered Pad Thai (Fried Thai Rice Noodle), 50 Baht.


Wow, look at the mountain of mangoes!!!


Guess how may mangoes she peeled for us? TWO! Yeah, two mangoes!!!

Taadaa~ Mango Sticky Rice! Ingredient: ripe mangoes, sticky rice and coconut milk.
Verdict: DELICIOUS!!! :)

The Mango-Sticky-Rice aunty. Smile to the camera! ;)


Our "Pad Thai" is ready! Hey... the "pad" is not that PAD that you are thinking okay?!?!


Fried Thai Rice Noodle.
Mouth-watering, appetizing and oh-so-delicious! :D


He is happy.
I am happy.


WE ARE HAPPY.
Apparently, the uncle isn't.

The Queen Strikes Again!

(updates below...)

Ooo yeah~ The shopping queen slave strikes again, and this time her target will be:

ZARA
Massimo Dutti
Pull & Bear

warehouse clearance!!! :) :) :) :) :) OMG, I am thrilled when I know this a moment ago!

click to enlarge

... and this!!! Being a book lover, this is definitely a bliss to me.





Now, which one to go first? :p


UPDATES!!!

One fine Sunday morning - I went to both of the warehouse sales, Zara, Massimo Dutti and Pull & Bear warehouse sales being the first, followed by MPH. :) I am happy to the max!

I bought an item from Zara and lotsa books from MPH. Getting books are surprisingly easier than buying clothes for me. Most items in Zara were "disfigured" (from the pulling and snatching), some torn, some buttons fell off, etc.

My happy :) buys:

Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus RM39
(bundled with Why Mars and Venus Collide),
P.S. I Love You RM20,
Chasing Harry Winston RM20,
Thanks For The Memories RM20,
The Undomestic Goddess RM20,
The Devil Wears Prade & Everyone Worth Knowing RM29.

Home Made Dishes (English - Malay version) by Patsie Cheong, RM19. (ehem, Wei-Hwa's the one who bought this book, not me ;)) Hahaha, when I browse through the recipes, I can't help but laughing out loud by just looking at their translations:

Anak Makcik Berkahwin (!!!)
"Yee ma kah lui"


Daging Goreng HEBAT (!!!)
Doesn't it sound like Doreamon introducing his new latest "hebat" gadget???


Master Chef's Secret Techniques of Cooking (woooo!!! :o), RM13 each.
(Another book that he bought. He insist of getting local published cooking books as the ingredients are easier to get, unlike the one that I bought below:)


Comfort Food, RM18.
(I insist of getting this one, as the pictures are oh-so-yummy and the cover are oh-so-classy, although some of the ingredients are not available in Malaysia.)


Tarot Card Set, RM17.
(I wanna predict my future wtf)

MY HAPPIEST BUY OF THE DAY!!!:

Wool Jacket from Zara.
I love the big collar, and the oh-so-stylish slanting big buttons :)

Guess the price...
Original price: RM579.
1st reduction: RM399.
2nd reduction: RM249.
3rd reduction: RM199.90.
4th reduction: RM129.90.
5th reduction: RM99.90

So, how much is price for the 6th reduction??? :D
.
.
.
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.
.
.
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.
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It goes down to freakingly-low-price of RM59.90!!! (I knew all the prices cause I peeled off the price tags, one by one... ;))


That's how I knew the prices! ;)

Yeah, I got this winter jacket for only RM59.90!!! Yay, I love to repeat myself, bold it, and enlarge the font - YES, ONLY RM59.90!!!

I don't need a jackets of few hundred ringgit as Malaysia is a all-summer weather country, and I just need one jacket (to keep me warm and stylish at the same time) for my trip to Hong Kong this November!!! Yeahhhh, Hong Kong here I come~ :)

Nah, I will wear this once, and it'll be kept away in the corner of my wardrobe later. Hahaha! :p