Soi Sukhumvit 38 and Platinum Fashion Mall, Bangkok

Day 3 (Sunday, 8 May 2016), Evening/ Night

It was close to 5:00 p.m. I had rested my tired legs after returning from Chinatown and was ready to go out again.
I would be going to Platinum Fashion Mall tonight. It is a popular destination among Singaporeans and was highly recommended. I would be going there to shop for some office clothes, pants and sneakers.

At the same time, I remembered the highly recommended street food at Soi Sukhumvit 38 by Mark Wiens, a popular Youtube food blogger. It was close to dinner time and I thought I would visit the soi and have my dinner there before going to Platinum.

As usual, I took the Skytrain from BTS National Stadium station on the Silom Line and changed Skytrain to the Sukhumvit Line at CEN Siam Interchange. From there, I took the Skytrain to BTS Thong Lo station. Soi Sukhumvit 38 was right at BTS Thong Lo station Exit 4 staircase.

I thought I was too early when I saw only a few stalls opened at the entrance to Soi Sukhumvit 38. It was only 5:00 p.m. after all, so I decided to walk around, ate a stick of ice-cream and came back in 20 minutes. No additional stalls had opened. I did not want to wait any longer and decided to have my dinner, thinking of returning again later in the night after shopping at Platinum.

After arriving at BTS Chit Lom station from BTS Thong Lo station, I decided to walk on the Skywalk to the intersection of Rama I Road/ Ratchadamri Road this time, instead of walking on the street. I exited beside CentralWorld at Rama I Road. CentralWorld was blocked off with portable fence and bags were checked before visitors could enter. I walked to Platinum Fashion Mall like I did this morning but now CentralWorld had come alive with activities and people. Thai-Japan Anime and Music Festival was being staged and young people dressed in Japanese Cosplay costumes were inter-mingling with photographers and visitors. A pavilion with food stalls were set up too.

At the intersection of Phetchaburi Road/ Ratchadamri Road to Platinum, many stalls had been set up. This morning, it was devoid of food stalls.

Level 4 at Platinum were partially dedicated to men's clothing. I thought there were many choices for men but it was extremely limited like everywhere else. I left after only about 45 minutes there. Platinum was a disappointment. 

After leaving Platinum, I went back to Soi Sukhumvit 38. When I reached BTS Thong Lo station, it was 8:20 p.m. Instead of finding a street full of food stalls and hungry people, I saw the same few stalls there. I was disappointed and took the next Skytrain back.

Bangkok Chinatown

Day 3 (Sunday, 8 May 2016), Afternoon

Yesterday, I checked into White Lodge hostel for a night only. The receptionist was a young and very friendly guy, and quite talkative. So was the one whom I assumed was his boss, unlike the unfriendly woman who was relieving the receptionist on the day I checked out this hostel. I had decided to extend my stay for another two days but I forgot to inform the receptionist about it this morning.

After exploring Pratunam Market early this morning, I was back at the hostel at about 10:00 a.m. I extended my stay, went back to my room and rested for a while before going to the BTS National Stadium station to take the Silom Line Skytrain to BTS Saphan Taksin. From there, I would catch an express boat to Rachawongse Pier, the gateway to Chinatown/ Yaowarat Road or more specifically, Soi Wanit 1. My original plan was to go to Khao San Road, and then to Chinatown but it was already 10:50 a.m. and I had run out of time to go to Khao San Road. It had to wait for another time in future.

From BTS Saphan Taksin station, I followed the crowd and the direction signs to Sathorn Pier which was just next to the BTS station.

When you are at Sathorn Pier, do not queue up at the ticket counter if you wish to save money. This counter sells tickets for the Chao Phraya Express tourist boats. The ticket price was THB40 whereas, in my case, the Orange Flag boat was THB14 only.

Rachawongse Pier leads straight to Rachawongse Road. As I walked along Rachawongse Road northwards to Yaowarat Street, I began to see more and more stalls and people on the street and in a narrow alley on my right, it was cramped with vendors and visitors. I walked into this alley and promptly got myself lost.

The stuff that looked like Lor Bak was not one actually

 

By about 1:30 p.m., I had enough of Chinatown. I was hopelessly lost. My gps with torn button covers was difficult to use. I could not zoom in and out to look at the direction to Rachawongse Pier. Switching it to off-road mode and to zoom out to look at the straight line to the pier without fully functional buttons was a hopeless effort. With the on-road mode on, I followed the direction on the screen but it kept switching back and forth to show new routes. This was the first time that my Garmin gps unit behaved like this. Normally, the screen would just show the route forward instead of switching to another route. It was so frustrating. In the end, I just followed whatever was on the screen and managed to find the pier, after a long loop from the intersection of Soi Wanit 1/ Khlong (canal) Rop Krung, through Yaowarat Road, Maha Chai Road, Charoen Krung Road, Sua Pa Road before entering Rachawongse Road to the pier.

Intersection of Soi Wanit 1 and Rop Krung Canal