JCP Feature: Achievement

It's almost the year-end, which means the awarding night marathon is arriving soon. Ever since I was into Korean content, I always watched the year-end awards of the 3 main broadcasting stations, which are KBS, MBC, and SBS. As I keep watching all of the awards shows, I get to see the progress of how the Korean entertainment industry grew. Also, it was fascinating to see the stars to be gathered in one place and how their work is assessed. It’s also a place to celebrate their hard work with fellow teammates. I just love it. With my 8 years of experience, I got to kinda guess the winners and it was a fun thing to do during the year end.

Let’s review the most memorable acceptance speech in 2022.

Lee Joon (KBS Drama Awards 2022)

Source: KBS Drama via Soompi

“I remember that I used to walk a long distance because I had no money with Jung Yonghwa when I was young. I am satisfied and happy that today, Jung Yonghwa could become the host and I got this big award as well. I used to be an idol singer, participated in variety shows and nowadays I got to shoot some dramas and movies. But actually, I am very scared. Actually, I declined ‘Bloody Heart’’s proposal three times before because I was not confident (to do well). That time, Kang Hana (his co-star) said that she would join if I joined, giving that kind of nuance. I feel I became a great actor and it gave me a lot of confidence to do well during the shooting. On the set, Kang Hana treated me like her child, she took care of me and kept assuring me that it would be okay. And I think I could finished the shooting thanks to her. Yoon Sungeun PD also took care of me. I also learned a lot from my co-stars, Actor Heo Sungtae and Actress Park Jihyun. In the past, when I was an idol singer and took part in variety shows, people surround me said, “How come someone like you do acting”. That time I thought, “Oh, I shouldn’t do that”. But in the end, I ignored them. I wanted to say, “You have done well” while ignoring that kind of saying. As I shoot some dramas, I think a lot about the production staff more than the actors. For the actors, we were separated into a few scenes, while the staff had to be there from the first scene to the last scene. Because of that, I feel sorry for them. This award should’ve been given to them. I am not sure if I should receive this. I just want to say thank you and I respect all of you. Thank you to my fans. Thanks to you I could become a better person. Happy New Year, everyone.”

I’ve been supporting Lee Joon since he starred in ‘Bloody Heart’ this year. I am sure that he will get an award this year. Not only because the drama was outstanding among the other historical dramas, but I can see how much Lee Joon’s acting improved. A little TMI, my bias in MBLAQ was Lee Joon. And that’s why I am really happy for him because he really worked hard for this role. I know it wasn’t easy to act as a king.

Kang Haneul (KBS Drama Awards 2022)

From the “Top Excellence Award” speech

Source: KBS Official Twitter

“Hello, I’m a Junior (actor) Kang Haneul. I (came up) with Do Kyungsoo again. (Laugh) I’m sorry. I was given this undeserved award. Thank you so much for the award. I’m so thankful, but I think I’m not even better than the other nominees. I’ll receive this award for Yoo Jaeheon (his character name in the drama ‘Curtain Call’). (He mentioned the drama staff and his team.) Becoming an actor might look like it’s nothing, but I think that there is one thing, when acting as a character, I could act more like the character other than myself. I’ll take this award as a reminder to be like that. I’ll give this award to Yoo Jaeheon and before becoming a good actor, I’ll become a good person first. Thank you.”

Kang Haneul won 2 awards from the 2022 KBS Drama Awards. He won the Popularity Award and Top Excellence Award, both with Do Kyungsoo. It was like a deja-vu hahaha. Kang Haneul felt like he was not as popular as Do Kyungsoo, so he was surprised that he won the ‘Popularity Award’. The drama ‘Curtain Call’ itself is not as good as expected, even though it was a star-studded drama. With those cast, the drama could do better, in my personal opinion. Well, what I’m impressed with is the fact that Kang Haneul is very humble. Technically he is a senior to Do Kyungsoo as an actor. However, he felt that he shouldn’t receive the same awards as Do Kyungsoo. Not only one, but two! The character Hwang Yongsik in ‘When the Camellia Blooms’ left a great and strong impression, which made Yoo Jaeheon's character became less impactful than the previous one. It was too bad, but still, Kang Haneul is qualified to receive both awards.

Lee Seunggi (KBS Drama Awards 2022)

Source: KBS Official Twitter

“Thank you. First of all, I’m very nervous. I think this year is the most difficult year in my entire life. I feel grateful and sorry as well for receiving this award. I thought that the ‘Law Cafe’ team would go back empty-handed, but maybe this award includes their hard work as well. In the past, I thought that the Grand Prize was something that was far away and I’ve never dreamt of having it. Also, I believe that the grand prize has several meanings. This year, the Grand Prize given is not for the personal achievement of one actor, but it is for all the hard work of ‘Law Cafe’ staff and actors. The director once said that the drama generated the most from KBS, so he told me to have confidence. I think this award was given to me as a representative. Actually, I’ve been thinking for hundred times whether I should come to this event or should I just ask for the understanding to be absent. As you might know, I have some personal issues, so I didn’t feel good coming to this party and laughing. But, I also couldn’t come here expressionless as it is not proper as well. I’ve been changing my mind several times. The only reason why I choose to come here is that I believe that a drama is made of a team’s hard work and my personal problem shouldn’t let the staff and other actors’ hard work go in vain and unappreciated. In addition to that, thank you for giving me this big award and I feel sorry that I have to receive it. Ö (He thanked the director, writer, staff, and other actors) I told myself, that if I received an award, I should say my acceptance speech short. But sitting down and seeing my fellow, senior and junior actors, it made me feel touched. Currently, I think that our country’s (media) content, movies, music, and entertainment, has reached out to the world out there. And I know that it happened because of the hard work of my fellow, senior, and junior actors right here. That’s why, I affirmed that, for my juniors who will sit here next year, the other next year, 10 years later, 20 years later, I should not pass the act of fighting and letting go of many things to claim my rights, something like this (issue). I received energy thanks to all of your support. I’ll be working hard as an actor in the future and thank you for supporting our drama. Since this prize is given to me as a representative of ‘Law Cafe’, I will treat you all tonight without any limit. Thank you.”

In my personal opinion, his latest KBS2 drama, ‘Law Cafe’ wasn’t as good as his previous projects. The drama doesn’t have high ratings, so I didn’t expect that Lee Seunggi would get the Grand Prize. 2022 was a hard year for Lee Seunggi because of the disputes with his previous management company. His hard work for the past decade went in vain (even though the company paid him some sum of money, but it was not the exact number, so Lee Seunggi donated that “unlucky” money instead).

In his acceptance speech, he was really emotional and it made me feel sorry for what happened to him. It must be very tough for him. I am not a big fan of Lee Seunggi, but I’ve seen him ever since he was in Two Days and One Night, so he was like a boy-next-door actor to me. May you have a great day ahead. This too shall pass! Fighting!

P.S: I wonder what they ate for the after-party dinner (?) lol.

Heo Junho (SBS Drama Awards 2022)

Source: SBS Now Twitter

“Hello, I’m Heo Junho. Nice to meet you. First of all, thank you to Father in Heaven for this Glory is Yours. Tonight, He blessed me with this miracle. Thank you to my wife who always prays for me every day and my family. My J Story family, thank you, I will greet you later on. My ‘Why Her’ family, I will treat you guys. While working for ‘Why Her’, from the character Choi Taewook, I learned about favoritism and shattered life. I realize that I am also a helpless human being, so I could not be separated from favoritism. But, I should not let the favoritism lead to a shattered life. So, I will be a lovely person to all of you, to viewers, to the staff, to my family. I will not disappoint actor for you. Thank you so much for giving me this award. Thank you.”

Heo Junho is a senior actor and he might not be as well known as any other senior actor, but his presence in every drama he starred in is firm. He received the ‘Top Excellence Award for Actor in Miniseries Genre/Fantasy Drama’ through the drama, ‘Why Her’. He was the villain in the drama, but his acting was so real, so I think that’s the reason why he received it. Unlike his character, he was a devoted Christian and very gentle in real life. Look at how he treated his teammates!

Lee Jongsuk (MBC Drama Awards 2022)

Source: Hiziumstudio Twitter

“I was almost died (because too nervous) until the result announced. First of all, thank you very much. 6 years ago, when I was in my 20s, I first saw the (trophy) awards. In my 20s, I didn’t understand the meaning of these awards. After I reached my 30s, through my comeback project, I got to greet you after a long time and received lots of love and I was given this big prize, I felt a big responsibility and more careful, which is very different from when I was in my 20s. Also, I have many people that I am grateful for. First of all, it’s been a long time since I acted (he just came back from the army) and this is my first time acting in a (specific) genre drama, I fear a lot. I wanted to thank the director ‘Oh Chunghwan’, whom I got lots of help and could rely on, from the moment I chose this project until I finished filming the drama. And I think I received lots of help from the staff more than any time before. Thank you to the director and staff. Also, for 8 months we really worked hard to live like a prisoner in the prison, so to my fellow prisoner actors and the ones who worked hard outside the prison, Yoona, Gyeongwon, and other actors as well, thank you so much. ... (He thanked his managers and management team) Also, thank you to my family and I’m sorry that I always became the first priority. Ever since last night, my mother told me to practice the acceptance speech since I’m bad at it. But, Mom, I think I’m fine, so you can be relaxed for now. Also, after I finished my military duty, I had lots of concern, fear, and trouble, but I have someone who helped me to become a better person and to have a more positive mind. At this time, I wanted to say something to that person. Thank you for always being a great person and I wanted to say that for a long time, I liked and respected you. Whenever I saw that friend, it made me think that I should’ve worked harder and become a good person. It would be nice if I treated you better, if I am a good person and I think I reflected a lot. I will try harder to become a better person and this big award that was given to me will become my source of strength to live my life. I will work harder as a good actor in the future. Happy New Year to the viewers and thank you.”

Big applause for the drama ‘Big Mouth’, it was the most highlighted drama from MBC in 2022. I really love this drama especially the cast because personally, I am a big fan of Yoona and Lee Jongsuk. When the news about them will have a project together, I have a big anticipation. It’s because Lee Jongsuk used to be Yoona’s fanboy and they will act as a married couple. I’m so thrilled! I guessed that Lee Jongsuk would get one of the big prizes, but I was quite surprised that he was the one who got the Grand Prize. I was thinking that Kim Heesun from the drama ‘Tomorrow’ would get the prize because she is a veteran in the industry and her acting was very good (though I dislike that pink hair, even though it still looks good on her). The most memorable part of Lee Jongsuk’s acceptance speech was the part where he confessed that he was in a relationship with IU (indirectly). I am really supporting the couple! May you guys have a beautiful relationship! Lee Jongsuk is really cool!

Choi Sooyoung (MBC Drama Awards 2022)

Source: Twitter

“To be honest, I knew that I was the nominee when I had my rehearsal earlier. So, my acceptance speech might be not so short. Anyway, thank you for giving me this award and letting me have an important role tonight. Yoona, it’s time for you to cry now. (Yoona acting as if she is crying). The drama ‘Fan Letter Please’ has growth, cure, healing, and many more good messages inside. Unfortunately, the airing schedule overlapped with ‘Reborn Rich’, which many people might not watched, but today I could share the good news with the people who made this drama together which I think is a great event. To director Jung Sanghoe, who worked hard to make this good drama regardless of the length of the episode, and writer Park Taeyang, it was an honor to be part of this project and also, to be just there and matched well with the story, actor Yoon Park, thank you. As this year marks my 15th debut anniversary, I worked as a Girls Generation (member) and filmed ‘Fan Letter Please’, spending the hottest summer ever. Suddenly, the very hot summer passed, and it became cold. I think there were some painful and sad things that happened. To people who felt this winter incredibly freezing and painful, I wanted to send a fan letter to say you’ve done well this year and you’ve worked hard and it will be okay. You’ve worked hard and happy new year. Thank you.”

Besides Yoona, the other member of the Girls Generation who is good at acting is probably Sooyoung. She is stacking up her cinematography slowly and steadily. She used to be acting as a supporting character, but recently she nailed it to become a lead character. I haven’t finished watching the ‘Fan Letter Please’, but in some of the episodes that I’ve watched, I liked the drama. It was a short drama with only 4 episodes, but like she said, the drama was packed with great messages. Her acting is getting firmer than before. And I believe the turning point of her acting career would be ‘Run On’. After that drama, she kept on working on various dramas and worked together with top-notch actors. She really deserved this award. I am impressed with her speech which has both wit and seriousness. 15 years of experience in this industry was truly not easy. You’ve done really well, Sooyoung. I’m a proud SONE. Congrats!

This year, there were lots of good K-dramas. Even though the OTT platform’s drama has gained more attention than the main 3 broadcasting stations, I still find joy in watching those dramas. I am so excited to see who will get nominated for this year-end drama award. I might focus on MBC and SBS this year. 

So, who is your favorite drama this year? Also, share your prediction of who will get the grand prize this year!

See you soon on my next post!

EMPTIES: Top 5 Empty Products of 2023 Part 1

Hi everyone!

It’s me back again with my empties product for the first half of 2023 that I should’ve posted since 3 months ago. Due to a busy schedule and lack of motivation to start, I got to post this list in October. Watch the full empties products on my YouTube, here and read my top 5 favorite products from the empties down below.

Lagom Cell Up Gel to Water Cleanser

This is the most innovative cleanser that I’ve ever bought back in 2019. But, I guess I didn’t do proper research about how to use this product exactly, and also, I didn’t buy the evening cleanser, so I didn’t get the maximum benefits of this product. But, after all, I love this morning cleanser. It is scentless, but still has a good smell from the oils inside, like, lavender oil, bergamot oil, sandalwood oil, and rose oil as well. The cleanser is mild and it gives a refreshing feeling after washing. This cleanser has no harsh chemical ingredients and is obviously dermatologist-tested.

I really recommend this product!

Pixy Eye & Lip Makeup Remover

This makeup remover is from an Indonesian brand. It might have a similar name to the US brand, Pixi, but it’s not. I came to across this eye & lip remover solely because the product was on sale. Turns out the product was really effective in removing all the waterproof products in single use. It doesn’t sting as well. The product is also very affordable; it was cheaper than Maybelline one. I bought the small size to try out the product first, but I loved the product, so I’ll buy the full-size one later on.

Will repurchase it for sure!

Klairs Midnight Blue Calming Cream

I bought this cream together with the Lagom cleanser back in 2019 while I was in Korea. This is probably one of the best products that I have come across from social media. I really loved this cream. It was creamy yet lightweight. After application, my skin looks fabulous, glowing, and moist. The packaging is simple yet sophisticated. It was a glass jar and came with a spoon to scoop the product. I liked this product so much.

I’m going to stock this product in my drawer.

Huxley Secret of Sahara Sun Cream SPF 50+ PA++++

I also bought this product when I was living in Korea. I regretted that I didn’t try this product during the summer in Korea, this product was so good and very suitable for humid Korea. The product is lightweight and almost no white cast because the sun cream is not a totally white color. The product is also suitable for sensitive skin because this product is hypo-allergic and I didn’t experience any itchiness while using the product.

Definitely will repurchase! 

(I’ve put this sunscreen on my Olive Young basket, but I didn’t make the repurchase because I have some sunscreen in stock yet)

Bobbi Brown XO Bobbi Long Wear Eyeliner Set

The only high-end brand product on this list. My mom bought it for me back when I was 16. It was the time when I started to attend lots of sweet 17 birthday parties. This product was a hero product back in the day. It’s my holy grail product. Even though I didn’t and couldn’t do the trendy eye makeup using the product, this eyeliner was the best eyeliner I’ve ever had on my vanity. The eyeliner is living up to its’ name. It was long-lasting. Too bad, I couldn’t use up all the product even after some years. But, I really liked the product and will always love it. 

Though, I am not sure if I could repurchase the product again because it was pretty high. I might look for the dupe first.

Well, that’s all the top five products of my empties of 2023 part one. Thank you for reading and if you have any recommendations of the product that I might like, leave them in the comment section down below or on my YouTube channel. There are more products that I have to throw away by the end of this year. 

So, see you soon on the second part.

Travel Diary: Bangkok 2019

Sawasdeekha~

I didn’t realize that I’d been inactive here for five months. I’ve uploaded a new (well, it’s been 2 months already) travel diary video on YouTube. It was taken on my first trip to Bangkok with my two friends from the student executive board back in university. Our small group name is the “late-post squad”. It’s just simply that all of us often post something on social media quite late. Guess, the saying “same feather flocks together” is true after all.

My friends and I finally made it out of the group chat! We’ve been saving up some money every month for traveling and we finally made it to realization. It’s not just a plan anymore. We decided to go to Bangkok because first we, girls, love shopping and that city is surely a paradise. Second, two out of three girls had never been to Bangkok before. We searched for cheap flights and we got a pretty good deal from Malaysia Airlines. Even though we had to transit, it was still a comfortable flight (oh, except for the red-eye flight on the flight back to Jakarta).

Eleasha and I departed from Jakarta, while my other friend, Meidy, departed from Bali. We met up in Kuala Lumpur for our stopover. We took a really early flight and as soon as we arrived in KL, we went to a lounge and have a quick shower. We used the Sama Sama Lounge’s shower room. Very affordable and it’s clean. Then, I asked my friends to have a Boost Juice with me. At that time, Boost Juice hasn’t opened any stores in Indonesia. The closest store from Jakarta is Singapore and that’s why I always get my Boost juice in Changi Airport every time I had a transit in Singapore. After a few hours of looking around the KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport), we finally on board the flight to Bangkok.

Kuala Lumpur Sunrise

Surely a mood BOOSTer

As soon as we touched down at Suvarnabhumi Airport, we were escorted by someone from Meidy’s partner agent in Bangkok. Our baggage came out pretty fast and we took the train to the city center. That day turns out to be Thailand’s Constitution Day, which is a public holiday and every public transportation is free of charge. Surprisingly, the weather was good in Bangkok. It was quite breezy and not humid. Yay! From the airport, we went directly to the hotel. Our first hotel is located behind the Bobae Pier. We stayed at Prince Palace Hotel for 3 nights and will move to another hotel for 1 night.

Playing Tourist in Bangkok!

12.12

After checking in, we went to Siam Paragon with a water taxi. We really make use the free of charge public transport today. It was a thrilling experience and I think it’s cool to have a boat for transporting.

So Southeast Asian-style river

 We get off at Pratunam Pier then we went to Siam Paragon Mall to have our late lunch. To reach the mall, we walked across the connecting bridge. We entered the Siam Discovery, passing by some cute installations and a Christmas tree. We took turns taking pictures in front of the Christmas tree made out wind wheels.

First Views of Bangkok's Shopping Mall

Our first culinary stop is Sansab. This restaurant's signature menu is the Tom Yum UFO. You can see it as Bangkok's version of Budaejjigae or Korean Army Stew. It was a really great tom yum soup with a twist of modern toppings. It came with sweet corn, fried eggs, and cheese on the side of the soup. This food is really worth the hype. It was really nice! Our first lunch was superb.

Super Nice Ice Tea

Thailand version of Budaejjigae (?)

Since we arrived at the shopping mall paradise we started our window shopping and mall hopping. We went from Siam Paragon to CentralWorld Mall on foot. They are kinda close, but not really close. But, they are connected by a bridge, so it doesn’t feel far. 

We tried the Fire Tiger before heading outside. Fire Tiger is a hyped boba milk tea shop in Thailand. I am not sure whether it’s from Bangkok or Seoul, but it has a Korean touch. They really put lots of effort to decorate the shop, unlike the Taiwanese brands. Again, we tried it because it hasn't opened a shop in Indonesia. But, Fire Tiger is currently opening a few shops in Jakarta (not sure if it’s selling well after the pandemic).

As soon we went out of the shopping mall, it was night already. We went out to take out few photos with the giant Christmas tree outside the CentralWorld. Bangkok surely put lots of effort into Christmas decoration, despite they didn’t celebrate Christmas.

We made a quick stop at BigC Supermarket and scanned the snacks we’d been waiting to try. This supermarket is one of the biggest supermarket chains in Bangkok and it opens till midnight. Oh, I fall in love with this city already.

Is there anyone watched ‘King The Land’ on Netflix? If yes, have you watched episodes 9 and 10? Well, our day two was pretty much alike. We went out early in the morning, have our breakfast, and then visited a few temples in Bangkok and ended the day at ICONSiam. I was really surprised while watching the show since the itinerary was pretty much the same. Lol.

We started off the day with breakfast at an old-school coffee shop. They sell some toasts, All Day Breakfast (eggs and sausages), tea and coffee. This kind of place is widely found across Southeast Asian countries, called “kopitiam”. On Lok Yun is really a humble kopitiam nearby the Grand Palace. It is located in the “old town” of Bangkok. I really liked the neighborhood. We took some photos since there weren’t many people yet, so no photo-bombers. Well, we were not really a photogenic type of girl, but we surely wanted to have good photos while traveling.

Instagram angle shot

After finished our eggs & sausages with butter toast and hot tea, we walked to the Grand Palace. It is around 1,5 km from On Lok Yun, but we still managed to walk there on foot. LOL. Here are some photograph that I took while we walk to the Grand Palace.

Attempting to have Insta-worthy photo

After arriving at the Grand Palace, we directly buy the entrance ticket and walk around the palace. The weather was quite sunny that day and we walked like almost 10.000 steps inside the palace. The Grand Palace was beautiful and huge. Since we went there in 2019, there were lots of people visiting this palace. We hardly see each of the rooms inside, but it was a great place to visit if you are first to Bangkok. We had an instagramable photos thanks to a stranger that took a photo of us. Khobkhunkha~

The Grand Palace from Outside

The Best Shot of Us

We hardly felt our feet, so we took the Tuk Tuk to Wat Pho. Before heading there, we had our lunch at a nearby stall. We ate an oyster omelet with rice, some satays, and mango. We ordered fresh coconut as well to rehydrate our body.

After lunch and a short break, we went to Wat Pho, a temple that has one of the biggest Buddha statues in Bangkok, which is the famous Reclining Buddha. The statue is 15 meters tall and 46 meters wide. Even though I am not a Buddhist and neither my friends are, we were in awe to see that huge Buddha statue. It is a sacred place for Buddhists, but even for a non-Buddhist, this place is magical and worth visiting.

My personal favorite shot

We took a boat and cruised across the Chao Praya River to reach Wat Arun. We went to another temple. Well, Bangkok is a quite free city, but on the other hand, it has lots of temples. The white temple complex was huge and it has lots of stairs. But it was the most beautiful temple I’ve visited in Bangkok. We saw this temple on Pinterest and the photos taken at this temple were beautiful. We arrived at the temple in the middle of the day, so it was so bright and hot. We were there for 30 minutes and we took the cab to ICONSIAM. We really need an air conditioner before getting a heatstroke.

Wat Arun from Chao Praya Cruise

This is where the resemblance with ‘King The Land’ takes place. They went to Wat Arun and ICONSIAM by boat, while we took the boat from Wat Pho to Wat Arun. We did some window shopping and of course, we hunt for some delicacies. We had our first Pad Thai at Thipsamai, one of the most popular Pad Thai restaurant chains in Thailand. The prawn was big, the spices were just right, and the portion is just enough. And of course, we cannot miss out on dessert. 

 We had the famous dessert shop, After You. We had honey toast with ice cream, mango sticky rice kakigori (shaved ice), and also a milk tea. We surely need some sugar intake after grilling in the sun for more than 4 hours and walking for almost 20,000 steps.

Since it is still quite early to go back, we went to Asiatique. It has a beautiful night view. I kinda liked the vibes, but I was too tired to walk around the area. We just scan through the shops there and pass by the merry-go-round and Ferris wheel. We had a quick snack at the bazaar there. We ordered some squid skewers and crispy pork. After finished snacking, we had another boat ride to the other side of the river.

Another Nichkhun in Bangkok

Bangkok Nightscape

Asiatique from the Ferry

As soon as we get off the boat, we book a ride to Chinatown. We wanted to try out the Michelin star fried dough with Pandan custard sauce. Finally, I got to try the original one. I mentioned this food on my previous Australia trip. It was when the first time I tried this food. As expected, the line was quite long, but we got our bag of fried dough not long after. The market was crowded with people, motorbikes, and cars. So, be careful if you are going to wait for Pa Tong Go Savoey. Their stall is located nearby 7Eleven. We also bought a portion of gyoza at the stall nearby while waiting for the fried dough.

Looking back, we really ate lots of food on this day. We took a cab and went back to the hotel. We were really tired.

We didn’t do much sightseeing on our third day. We had a full day of shopping and eating on this day. Our first stop was the Pratunam Market. We bought some beauty products and sandals. Then we ate Tom Yum Noodle at Pe Aor. They had the most humongous tom yum noodles that I’ve ever seen. We ordered one for three and we still couldn’t finish the soup. The Tom Yum Noodle comes with huge prawn and lots of other seafood. The soup was so good. This place is suitable for people who came in groups because they have a huge portion.

After a huge brunch, we walked to the Platinum Mall. We spent inside for a half day, I think. We walked all the seven floors and do some shopping. We bought a group T-shirt as well. It was a really fun day. We had some refreshment drinks at Cha Mu True, one of the best Thai Tea shops in Thailand. I’m not a Thai Tea fan, but they had one of the best ones. Even though, this time I didn’t order the Thai Tea, but their Rose Tea. It was so refreshing and I can do another round of window shopping in the mall. Bangkok is really heaven for shopping.

Before we went back to the hotel to place our shopping, we went to Burger King and tried out the new menu in Thailand. I couldn’t really remember what it tasted like, but French fries are always right. After we put our shopping, we took a rest for a while, and then we headed outside for dinner. We went to Central World (again) and had our dinner at the bazaar in front of the mall. We had the Pork Belly with Chinese Broccoli a.k.a Pad Kana Moo Krab.

After finished eating our quick and simple dinner, we went to BigC Supermarket (again!) and had our snack shopping till drop. It was so convenient that this big supermarket was open until late at night. There were still lots of people shopping there even when it was late. Fyi, you can claim a tax-free if you got to shop for 2,000 THB.

Our Hotel at Night

We had to check out from the Prince Palace Hotel on this day. After check-out, we went outside for our personal schedule in the Siam area. I went to meet my ex-lecturer who work and stayed in Bangkok. Meidy went to a meeting with her company’s agent in Bangkok and Eleasha explore the shopping mall by herself.

View from our room

Christmas Decoration at the Hotel Lobby

Cool shop that I came across while on my way to Siam One Square

I went to meet my ex-lecturer at Siam One Square, which is located opposite Siam Paragon connected by a bridge and BTS Siam (an MRT station). As far as I remember, we ate at a Japanese fusion restaurant, that I couldn’t remember the name of. We ate Tom Yum soup with a Japanese noodle. The only thing that I remember is the Charcoal Lemon Tea. It was tasty and refreshing! 

After lunch, I went to explore the mall and came across ‘The Spring Home’ shop. It is a Korean sleepwear brand that Ong Seongwu, at that time, was the brand ambassador. After some calculations, it was cheaper to buy in THB instead of KRW. So, I purchased it! The shirt was so soft and I really liked the product!

I bought the t-shirt on the back

The sea lion reminds me of Ongie

After finished with our own schedules, we meet up at the front of Central World and went back to the hotel to take our bags and move to the new hotel in the Chatuchak area. We stayed at Boutique Poo-Yai Lee for one night. The room is smaller than the previous hotel (well, of course, they have a different star), but it is more modern and cozy. Too bad, we only stayed there only for one night.

We only put down our things in our room, then we headed out instantly to the Chatuchak Weekend Market because Google says that the market closed at 8PM and by the time we went outside the hotel, it was 7PM already. We explored the market as fast as we can while enjoying the street foods as we go. We ate, pork skewers (that produce lots of plastic trash), mango sticky rice, some old-school popsicles, and prata bread. Check out all of the foods we ate on my video, here. I also brought a few cheap phone casings there.

Meidy got a call from our other friends that happened to be in Bangkok too. We went to the Ratchada Market to catch up with them. The market was more crowded than Chatuchak Market. Inside the market, Meidy & Eleasha tried the fried insects and pupa. They said it was pretty good and edible. They even wanted to eat it with rice. Gosh, I couldn’t stand to try it at all.

Cute Single Trip Coin

We spent like 30 minutes there and make a quick stop by a supermarket nearby and bought some additional snacks and stuff to eat for our breakfast. Then we went back to the hotel and started to pack at midnight.

We had our red-eye flight to go back home. I think we only slept for 3 hours after packing and reviewing our shopping. We took a taxi to Suvarnabhumi Airport. Since it was quite early in the morning, there were only a few shops that are open. So we went straight to the boarding gate. Oh, we were all wearing matching T-shirts that we bought at the Platinum Mall. LOL.

All went smoothly until we separated ways. Meidy missed her flight to Bali and also she lost her phone. It was an unlucky day for her. We didn’t know what was happening until her sister contacted us.

Well, it was not a good ending, but our first trip was magnificent! We couldn’t wait to have another trip again soon!

I will edit and upload our Singapore trip for Eleasha’s Bachelorette trip soon! 

Please keep looking forward to it! 

Khobkhunkhab for reading this post! 

See you soon!