Finally went to check out the hotel's rooftop infinity pool this morning, then headed off to Grey Ray for coffee. Grey Ray is actually an eco-friendly stationary brand. The cafe space was really pretty and they have a store cat that is soooo fluffy (but grumpy)!
GREY RAY CAFE & MORE
Address: 86/7 Ratchaprarop Rd, Thanon Phaya Thai, Phaya Thai, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Hours: 0800-1900hrs (Mon-Fri), 0830-1900hrs (Sat-Sun)
Transport: Phaya Thai BTS Station
Google Reviews: 4.3
Instagram: @greyraycafe @greyray
Next, I head to Dragon Town for some photos, a block of Chinese-style buildings. Then, to Son Brown Cafe which was nearby. The cafe is quite hidden from the outside, so you might just missed it if you ain't paying attention - look for the sign that leads to “House of Papa”. The cafe was established to support the hotel it is located in, House of Papa. The word "son" is a pun from the hotel's name "papa", and "brown" comes from "brownie", which is the cafe's signature dessert. Came here specially to try their signature Cocoa Brownie, which is an ice-blended chocolate drink topped with whipped cream and brownie cubes; but unfortunately, they didn’t have change for my 1000B note and they don’t accept card!
DRAGON TOWN
Address: 188 Soi Chula 5 Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Hours: 0900-2200hrs (daily)
Transport: National Stadium BTS Station
Google Reviews: 4.2
SON BROWN CAFE, HOUSE OF PAPA
Address: 188 44 Soi, Wang Mai, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Hours: 1000-1700hrs (Mon-Fri), 1000-1800hrs (Sat-Sun)
Transport: National Stadium BTS Station
Google Reviews: 4.1
Instagram: @sonbrowncafe @hotelpapabangkok
Chatuchak was the next location! But I wasn’t able to get any Grab driver for 20mins! So I decided to check out the 7-11 located at the next building, and boy, the store was HUGE! Their selection of ready-to-eat food was crazy! And they not only have microwave, they have toaster, oven and airfryer too!!! I got a ham and cheese croissant sandwich, as it was highly raved on tiktok. There is other flavours as well. Erm… It was okay… Just edible standard… I also got a peach yogurt drink - this was good!
Finally got a driver to Chatuchak after my snack is done! Marked as Thailand’s largest market with over 15,000 stalls, and is ONLY open on weekends. You will be able to find all sorts of items here, from ceramics to handicrafts, to clothing, antique, food and drinks, and so on. I realised there is two distinct styles at the market. On one side, you have all the modern-looking stalls, most of them air-conditioned, with a few coffee kiosks. It was a breeze to walk along this section. Popped by Omise Cafe for coffee! On the other side, you have the old and outdated stalls, mostly run by the elderly. More than half of the stalls at this section were closed.
CHATUCHAK
Address: Chatuchak Park Kamphaeng Phet 2 Rd, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Hours: 0500-1900hrs (Sat-Sun)
Google Reviews: 4.6
OMISE CAFE
Address: within Chatuchak Market
Hours: 1100-1900hrs (daily)
Google Reviews: 5
Instagram: @omise.cafe
Then, I went to ICONSIAM, one of the largest and best malls in Bangkok, located along the Chao Praya River. It is a quite a new mall, opened in November 2018, and consists of hotels and residence as well. The complex includes Thailand’s tallest building, 70-storey Magnolias Waterfront Residences; and Thailand’s 5th tallest building, 52-storey Mandarin Oriental Residences. The mall also consists of Thailand’s first Apple store and Takashimaya, and the Iconsiam Heritage Museum. The %Arabica store here is really pretty, featuring a reflective ceiling! Had a late lunch at Thongsiam Boat Noodles, by the beautiful water feature, looking like a mini garden!
ICONSIAM
Address: 299 Charoen Nakhon Rd, Khlong Ton Sai, Khlong San, Bangkok 10600, Thailand
Hours: 1000-2200hrs (daily)
Google Reviews: 4.6
Instagram: @iconsiam
Then, I proceeded to Wat Arun, a beautiful Buddhist temple found on the 10-baht coin. It is one of the most well-known landmarks of Thailand. The main feature of Wat Arun is its central tower, encrusted with beautiful porcelain. The corners are surrounded by four smaller towers. The bits and pieces of the porcelain were used previously as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China. The central tower is topped with a seven-pronged trident, referred to many as the "Trident of Shiva". Around the base of the tower are various figures of ancient Chinese soldiers and animals. Over the second terrace are four statues of the Hindu God, Indra, riding on Erawan.
WAT ARUN
Address: 158 Thanon Wang Doem, Wat Arun, Bangkok Yai, Bangkok 10600, Thailand
Hours: 0800-1800hrs (daily)
Admission: 100B
Google Reviews: 4.6
Lastly, I headed to Asiatique, a combination of a mall and a night bazaar. The open-air mall / bazaar consists of 1500 shops and 40 eateries. Sadly, 90% of the stores were closed. There wasn’t any entertainment shows too. Wanted to try Happy Fish for dinner, but the prices here are so crazy, the food are in 300-400B range! Honestly, I feel Asiatique is a tourist trap. Everything here screams expensive.
ASIATIQUE THE RIVERFRONT
Address: 2194 Charoen Krung Rd, Wat Phraya Krai, Bang Kho Laem, Bangkok 10120, Thailand
Hours: 1100-0000hrs (daily)
Happy Fish: 1600-0000hrs (daily)
Transport: Wat Rat Singkhon Pier
Google Reviews: 4.3
Instagram: @asiatique.thailand
It started to drizzle, so I decided to grab back to hotel and ordered grabfood for dinner. The delivery fee for grabfood here is soooo cheap!!! Like 10-20B!!! I ordered Chinese eventually, 3 items + delivery fee for only 249B!
---
Expenses for Day 4
Grab to Grey Ray: 123B
Grey Ray:
- Iced Latte: 60B
- Sticker: 165B
Grab to Dragon Town: 144B
7-Eleven:
- Croissant Sandwich, 29B
- Peach Yogurt Drink, 13B
- Lychee Jelly Drink, 10B
Grab to Chatuchak: 183B
Chatuchak:
- Omise Cafe, Iced Latte, 65B
- Wooden Magnet, 40B
Grab to IconSiam: 181B
IconSiam, Thongsiam Boat Noodles
- Boat Noodles, 165B
- Coke, 35B
Grab to Wat Arun: 104B
Wat Arun: 100B
Grab to Asiatique: 100B
Asiatique:
- ChaTraMue, Iced Thai Milk Tea, 40B
Grab to Hotel: 140B
Grabfood Delivery, Gokfayuen:
- Century Egg and Pork Porridge, 95B
- Wanton Soup (4pcs), 84B
- Curry Fishballs (7pcs), 48B
- Delivery fee, 22B
TOTAL: 1,946B = $77.84 Previous Expense: $1,076.37 Total as of Day 4: $1,154.21