Shoping in Bangkok: Where there is crowd, there is "Talat" & Giveaway

Hi gorgeous ladies!! How is everyone? I hope all is well and having a nice weekend :)
My internet has been horrible (nothing new hey) so apologize if I haven't been commenting around as much T.T

Today I'm going to blog about another kind of "market" in Bangkok. One of the things that I love about Bangkok is its markets (called "Talat" in thai language) that you can find day and night. Seriously Thailand has tons of them, I see it everywhere (esp in Bangkok).

This post is about the day-time market. There is one right outside my building ^^" yes, the market doesn't have to have an appointed place, you can find it on the street side or any other unthinkable location :D hahaha...

This is the side of my building, the "Talat" stretch along the corridor, as far as the length of the building. As you can see, it's jam packed, always like this esp during lunch hour.

The sellers/vendors change everyday so you get to see different things everyday XD To me it adds to the fun :p

What do these "Talat" usually sell?? MANY MANY things!! :

Foods & Snacks (of course, thai people love to eat big time)

The parfume seller next to the snacks seller lolz

Cosmetics (Japanese & Korea cosmetics are hotcakes here, also some European brand such as Lancome, Guerlain). International brands are generally overpriced in Thailand. These sellers in "Talat" usually hand carry the stuff themselves from Japan/Korea or get someone to send the cosmetics over to them. Although they are generally still more expensive, it's possible to find a good bargain. The other day I picked up Shiseido "Perfect Whip" foam cleanser for only 250bath (less than 9AUD), in Adambeauty, it's sold for 11USD.

accessories and what not

Nail Polishes...I think they are local and some chinese brands

Clothes & shoes. Although not everything is of nice quality, some shops do sell nice clothes. I bought a really cute jumpsuit and a pretty top for 550bath (less than AUD20). Looking at the making and the fabrics, I'm very happy because I dont think I can get them both at that price even if I shop in Indonesia. Shoes generally starts from 200bath a pair, and have I ever mentioned that Thailand made shoes are of excellent quality and wear??

Last time, my friend showed me an original Kipling shoulder bag that she bought at "Talat" near her office for only 1000bath (less than 35AUD). It's original, we checked everything already, still has the tag and all. what a good buy!!

Some TIPS for "Talat":
1. Look for any office buildings or streets near offices area. Not every building or offices area will have "Talat" but it's a good place to start your hunt.
2. Start early, because the "Talat" mainly serve the office workers, they start at 8am-9am and finish early (2-3pm, after lunch).
3. The seller changes everyday, so if you see something that you like, better get them :D
4. You can bargain abit, ask nicely and smile :D
5. Not everything sold is of good quality, so you need to sort around. But nice items are definitely around and abound!
6. Foods are generally safe to eat as it's pretty clean. Avoid ice cubes if you are afraid.

So....anyone interested to go "Talat" Shopping with me? ^^v

xoxo

ps. Dear Sush is having a giveaway!! check her blog out! :)
and notesfromthetoothfairy (dont you just love her blog name, I giggle all the time at it) is also holding her giveaway. Go and join!!

pps. To dearest Iris & Sarah who have been so kind to give me awards, I'm so very sorry I haven't displayed the awards on my blog or do whatever I'm supposed to do. I will do it once I'm back in Australia and have a better connection. Thanks so very much girls!!

HCMC express :) & Giveaway!!

I went to Ho Chi Minh City -Vietnam for 3Days2nights last time. I arrived on friday night and left on Sunday morning, so practically I only have one full Saturday in HCMC. Here's a summary of what I do and I think you should do if you happen to be there only for one day.

1. Woke up early and headed out for some local pho (it's no vietnam without a pho, me say ;D). This one I had is called "pho le" and was so good! Foods are super cheap in vietnam, even cheaper than Thailand :D



2. Went to ChoLun (the chinatown) which looked like typical chinatown all around the world :p we didnt really walk around, just passed it by in the taxi.
3. Headed out to District 1 (where all the main sightseeing can be found), and hit the Notre Dame church
4. Just opposite the church, was the General Post Office, which I like very much, the building was very pretty (French architecture). Send some postcards back home if you like :) I did!


5. Walked around the surrounding malls. They were generally not very big. And not many variety (yet) on cosmetics departments but I found CLIO (Korean) brand in a mall called "diamond" and snatched some pretty lipsticks :D

6. Next, to the famous theater (but it's not open for public, so just took some pics lolz).
The nice French old style building hotel just across the theater, the building is more than 100 years but still look nice.


7. Walked, a bit, we arrived at the city council buidling. I like this building because it has a nice garden at the front of it.


6. Lunch time. Here's a must visit resto called Quan An Ngon. This resto got featured on Lonely Planet. And although not all resto featured on lonely planet lives up to its description there, this one sure does!! This resto serves bunch of different foods from all over vietnam!! You can watch them live cooking too. Tasted yummy, fab atmosphere, and the price made you smile after the good meals










7. Another walk to one of the surrounding malls. Got myself the famous HIGHLAND coffee (Vietnam is famous for its coffee too). Highland is like the starbuck in Vietnam. Look how clever they made the take away bag lolz...loving the idea so much...


8. Saigon Square is where to buy clothes, bags, and such. The place isn't big and the variety is pretty limited. I found some Foverver21 dresses though ;D



9. Cho Bin Tanh Market is the popular tourist destination. But I didn't go in because I was told the stuff sold there would be similar to what I saw in Saigon Square, with more expensive price tags and heat :p

10. This is the palace, where we spent quite some time to walk around and see many interesting objects.

I missed out the War Museum but was tired already lolz... those places above are all in District 1 and within walking distance (except ChoLun), so it's possible to see them all in one day!

Aside from that I noticed many interesting things in Vietnam:
* Motorcycles are abound here...similar to Jakarta XD
*Many street sellers selling vegetables and foods. This view below is quite common in some areas
*People here are still wearing the straw hats :D I love seeing them walking around with the hats! for some reason XD

*This is the highway. Motorcycles are allowed on highway @.@" I was quite surprised...

*But nothing surprised me more than seeing this cool bicycle on the highway HAHAHAHA..


That's the brief summary of my visit to HCMC. It was a short but pleasant visit. And I found myself liking Vietnam. I would love to go back there again in the future!

Hope you all have a good start of the week
xoxo

ps. Giveaway from my lovely Julie!! Check her fab blog out if you haven't!!

The big C we all hate

It starts with C and ends with N, namely the hideous, hateful, mood-dragging Constipation... (note: there's nothing graphics involved, but if you are sensitive about this issue, you are welcome to skip this post^^)

I had that problem before....
BUT
A while ago I found the cure...yes, T.H.E C.U.R.E .... and no I'm not talking about taking medication XD of course that is one of the solutions but it's painful... I'm talking about the more natural way... and I'd like to share it...just in case it's helpful...

Here's my hero!
Taadaaa.... the most effective C-cure...aka Prune Juice :D hubby introduced this to me and I loooovvve it. During the annoying time of C-attack, I take a glassfull (or two) and then sit meekly like nothing happen. The next two hours will see me running to the toilet to get the business done for once and all (well not always once....sometimes more ^^")

I'm curious...what is your cure for the big C??DO share if you have one :)

Now I drink prune juice almost everyday, and in addition I consume 2-3 serves of fruits everyday. So far this has worked very well, and I notice improvement on my skin (esp during my period, when my skin usually give me attitude).

Why does it important to do your toilet 'business' everyday??

1. When you neglect it for one day, you actually have started building up toxin in your body because the waste of the digestion that are supposedly be dumped out are forced to be absorbed back to your body (this is the easy wordings). This will cause many reactions to the body of course, but let's take the obvious one, the adverse reaction to our precious skin ^^
   
2. Many of my mum's clients (mum is beautician) facial problems can be related back to the irregular habit of going for the dump (one of the causes)
   
3. Possibility of spreading the toxin to your surrounding by the so called fart-accident HAHAHA :p

As often as we choose to avoid this subject, my husband told me that constipation is one of the most common problems experienced by both male and female, regardless of age...yes you can be young and pretty (or handsome) with this annoying problem, or old and frail with the same rant...HA...interesting!! We really should elaborate more about this topic XD

Oh yeah... I passed my exams!! WOHOO... I haven't gotten the results yet but it's positive that I safely passed, thanks God...this subject was really hard it got me worried abit :p

So...I'm leaving for Vietnam tomorrow (Ho Chin Minh City) v^______^v because I need to clear my visa (after 90 days in thailand, wow....time sure flies). Will only be there for 2 nights since my new class will be starting on Monday. I will be back with loads of pics!! :)

I'm all packed and ready to go!!

I wish you all an early good weekend!!

xoxo

Shoping in Bangkok: Accessories Land at SumPeng market

Thank you ladies for the good wishes in regards to my exams. Now I'm waiting for the results so keep praying for me ;)

A while ago, Blair suggested me to post about shopping places in Bangkok and I thought "why not". Except that instead of doing the major shopping malls I opt to do quirky spots, getting down and dirty to find interesting places (literally because it's raining season here, not to mention the humidity which means constant sweating) XD

There are several of such place in Bangkok! And this time I went to SumPeng wholesale accessories market at Chinatown area.



This place is probably one of the main places to shop for those accessories' sellers that I saw around Bangkok. Sum Peng consists of two loooonggg alleys that are separated by the main road. Pls enjoy the pics :)

Before the start of the long walk we powered up with this bowl of fish balls noodle soups. This kind of soup can be found in every nook and corner of Bangkok :) I had fishballs in tomyum soup since I always go for spicy foods!

Now, on to the main business (ie. shopping lolz). This is the street that separated the two Sum Peng alleys. As you can see, there is no rule in crossing the road, you just have to watch for yourself XD

The start of the alleys, very crowded with regular bumpings to other people expected.
Deeper into the alley the situation was not improving, but I did not mind because my eyes were amazed by the 'views'. My eyes feasted on the endless stores and sellers! The prices are unbelievably cheap too. Like you can get alot of stuff for AUD0.20-1.00 each @.@" It sends message loud and clear "Helloooow wallet, please open up and pour out your content!!!"
Of course we can not buy just one, there is a minimum (different for each store) quantity to get the wholesale price... but I didn't mind the least, please force me to buy more!! ^^"

Rows of earrings, necklaces, bangles, and whatnots. Most of the times they just spread it over a table @.@

No no, these are not gold XD otherwise I would have run with some of those (with the seller in hot pursuit) LOLz

One of stores selling plushies and other kiddy toys


I thought this was drinks stall, turned out this vendor sells ornamental jelly (look at the mini cups below)...I dont think this is a good idea for home with kids around XD but these things are very interesting (and somehow made me thirsty)...



Many stuff are also handmade :) you just have to watch when you choose because sometimes the quality might not be consistent. They got many bows and cute hairclips

Did I hear someone screams "Hellohhkiteeehh!!" 0.O"" lolz

How I love these sights *major drooling*

Halfway through the alley we found this gift shop called Happy Gift, and we were really happy inside :D so many cuteness arranged in neatness is the deadly recipe for shopping madness ^^"

Ying (my lovely Thai friend and my super guide) translated these cute pillows writings to me. Basically it's a like prescription from pharmacy, only this one is for love sickness, how cute ^^

One of the highlight finding of the day :D can you guess what are these stuff? Chocolate paper clips!! How very so cool!! XD I love chocolates!! and to have a constant sight of them while working is a plus! I snatched some of course :)

I haven't taken pics of stuff that I bought lolz....but that is for another post perhaps... the next post would be about another market, my fave market ^^"

I hope you enjoy the post! Stay cute, happy and safe!!
Have a blessed day!
x0x0