Sunday, June 30, 2013

Staycation @ Changi Village Hotel



I just came back from my staycation at Changi Village Hotel, today. It was a last minute plan that my mum and my cousin made. On Friday night, after i came back from going out with my friends, mum told me to pack my bags because we're going for a staycation at Changi Village Hotel! 

We booked the Deluxe Suite and its my first time staying at a suite! The room was so spacious (though the view wasn't that amazing, i still love it!) Our room is located at the six floor, the highest floor for the guestroom. While waiting for my cousin to arrive, i managed to get some photos of the room taken but...i'm too lazy to upload it to my laptop so all image is courtesy of Changi Village Hotel or Google. When i have the time to upload, i will share it with all of you!

Took a dip in the pool in the evening before going out for dinner. Thank god my cousin brought his waterproof phone casing and that's when i took hell lot of pictures underwater using his phone. (Will upload it soon, cause i look terrible under water without any make up on!) Had our dinner at a Indian food restaurant and i had my favorite dish of all time, Tom Yum Noodles at Dil'B! 


We got some snacks to be brought back to the hotel room so that we got some food to munch on whenever we feel hungry cause i know i won't be sleeping early whenever i'm with my cousins! My cousins, Fahmy, Faidhi and myself went down to get more snacks cause we're gonna chill at the rooftop pool so we head down to 7 eleven to get some drinks that'll make us "high" haha, please, i don't drink at all! We bought a big cup of 'Coke' and a can of 'Monster' drink to accompany us while we chill! See how convenient it is to stay at Changi Village Hotel? The food heaven is just a few minutes walk! A 7 minutes walk will bring you to the famous Nasi Lemak which is located at the Hawker Center. Not only that, you can get more food if you want too! Chicken Rice, Noodles, Western food and lots more! Hmmm, my stomach's grumbling right now cause i'm hungry but it's ok! 

The minute we entered the room, the whole family was already asleep so i'm left with my cousins to talk with! We head up to the rooftop pool, played games and listen to songs to catch up with each other. We even had a "FUN RUN CHALLENGE" haha. We went back to our room at 2am and continued laughing while watching some videos! (This is why i love hanging out with my cousins, who doesn't right?) 

Day 2
I had breakfast at the hotel's restaurant and went for a swimming session again, for the last time before going home. Checked out at 2pm, had our lunch at Changi Village and here i am...back to reality, HOME. One week left till school starts! I wish holidays were forever! 

Till next time
xoxo, Athirah (: 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Bangkok, June 2013 (Bangkok Review)

Planning to go for a holiday? 

Today i'm going to share and do some review on my trip to Bangkok! It was a last minute holiday trip planned by my mum and yours truly. We booked our flight tickets and hotel 2 weeks before the holidays. 

We took Thai Airways to Bangkok and it was a morning flight at 0740 hours so i had to wake up very very early to catch my flight! We reached Bangkok around 1000 hours (Singapore's Timing) Bangkok's timezone is GMT +7, so the time is slower by and hour. 

(I did a Vlog during my trip to Bangkok so i'll continue typing and leave the link to my video below so all of you can give it a view on Youtube.)


Our hotel is called Ten Inn Stars and it is located at the town area of Bangkok. It is so near to all shopping places like Pratunam Market and Platinum Fashion Mall. Our tour agent told us that the distance from our hotel to the shopping places will take us around 10 to 15 minutes walk. But, i am one lazy girl to walk. After checking in, we rested for an hour and went out to visit the Chakchukchak market which is located at the other end of Bangkok city so we took the "Tuk-tuk." Wondering what a "tuk-tuk" is? Tuk-tuk is a cheaper version of Taxi and Buses. It's open air and somehow looks like a motorcycle with four seats at the back! 

We shopped and had lunch at Chakchukchak market. There wasn't much halal food around but i had Chicken Kebab for lunch and i started to shop like a mad girl! 



These are the stuff that i bough from ChakChukChak market. Please take a look at how i spend my money on clothes! Some of them are for my friends but the rest is all mine! We had dinner at a halal seafood restaurant and when you go to Bangkok, you must, i repeat, you must try and eat the Thai Tom Yum! Tom Yum's origin is from Thailand so when you visit Thailand, you must try the Tom Yum Kung! The dinner was so good that i had the best tom yum in my life!

Day 2
It was a early day for us, we had to wake up at 5 in the morning for a half day city tour that was already in our package. We visited the famous and royal temples in Bangkok and we visited the Gem Factory. I had to ask the tour guide where was the Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum located because i really wanna go and see my Justin Bieber's wax figure so badly and i did! Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum is located at Siam Discovery. The original price for each tickets is sold at 1,000BAHT but because we booked with the tour guide's company, we got it at 700BAHT only. 700BAHT to see my Justin Bieber? Amazing and worth it! 



You cannot imagine how crazy i went when i see the Bieber's wax! It is so true that i kissed Justin's wax! Haha, crazy right? I know. After visiting the wax museum, we head down to Siam Paragon to have our late lunch and we had Indian Food. Thank god there is a halal food around because out of the three shopping mall, Siam Center, Siam Discovery, Siam Paragon is the only place that serves halal food at the food court! 

Next, we went to Platinum Fashion Mall. The moment i stepped into the shopping mall, it was like walking into a shopping heaven! The first and second level is specially for clothes, third and fourth level, bags and the fifth level is specially meant for shoes! It's like walking into a heaven of so many things that every girl wants! Wow, its much more amazing than Forever 21 and Zara! Yes, you may have guessed it already, i shopped for more things at Platinum Fashion Mall. I mean, come on, you don't usually come to Bangkok right? So why keep the money in the pocket? Go spend it out! (that was what my heart's been telling me while i was at Platinum Fashion Mall)



I was a happiest girl on earth during the shopping period at Platinum Fashion Mall! I got what i wanted! After shopping, we went back to the hotel to rest for the day! 

Day 3
Another early day for us! We paid extra money to the tour agent so that they'll bring us to the famous Floating Market. The Floating Market is located out of town so we had to take a 1 and a half hour van ride to one of the villages in Bangkok called Damoen Sanduak. I slept throughout the journey because i was so exhausted...from shopping :P The moment we arrive at the town area of Damoen Sanduak, we were brought to the Coconut and Orchid Garden. Nothing interesting there for me. Unless you're a coconut and orchid lover, you might like where we went to! 

We drove for another 5 minutes to have our Elephant Ride! Yes, it's my first time on the elephant! The elephant brought us around the village and it's really an eye-opener for myself to see the living condition around the villages. Aftet the elephant ride, we had to travel for another 10 minutes to the floating market and finally, we arrive at the floating market! It's a must for you to visit the floating market when you're visiting Bangkok! 

(I don't have any pictures of the floating market but please watch the video)

We went back to the city of Bangkok and we shopped at Mabungkrong. I didn't took any pictures of what i bought because i was too tired and we reached the hotel around 8 so i was too exhausted for the day! 

Day 4
Last day in Bangkok :'( i miss Singapore but at the same time, i don't want to go home because of the cheap stuff that is available in Bangkok! But what can i do? Flight tickets has been booked and life has to go on! We did a last minute shopping at Indra Square and went back to the hotel to check out and leave Bangkok city around 1! Our flight is at 4pm but we have to be at the airport early and also we want to avoid the jam so we had to leave at 1! 

The security check at Suvarnabhumi airport is somehow quite funny for in my opinion. Why? We had to take our our shoe to put it into the security scanner to see if there's any forbidden items that is in our shoes...Funny right??? But oh well, the sad feeling is still in my heart. I did my last minute shopping at the duty free shop and that's it! My Bangkok trip is over...

We arrived in Singapore at 0740pm and to my surprise...my friends and my cousins were already waiting for us at the arrival hall! It was a heartwarming welcome from all of them and they somehow enlightened myself from the sadness i have inside my heart, haha. I had dinner with my friends while my mum and my sister went back home first and my friends sent me home and i couldn't thank them more for planning all this! 

Now, time for the review for the hotel and the places that i went to! 

Hotel: It is a good hotel for backpackers. It is a 3 star hotel. I was satisfied but i wish it has more complimentary things for the customers.

Pratunam Market: Amazing place to shop for cheap goods! To shop for clothes and pants, please wake up at 5am and start shopping at 6am-9am! The shop changes from morning to afternoon so don't miss a chance! 

ChakchukChak: Worth place to shop and eat!!!! 

The rest of the shopping places: Amazing, fabulous and any other word that i can find to describe these places amazing! 

I hope my blog post about my Bangkok trip and the reviews i made help some of you out for your holiday at Bangkok! Here's the video as promised! 

                                                    Bangkok, 2013
Till we meet again, Bangkok! 
Xoxo!