T5 Suites - Pattaya - Thailand

I got free upgrade...and I stayed alone

Hello December… one of my fav month in a year…coz it always has the festive atmosphere. With Christmas and New Year are approaching in just few weeks (stores have been dressing up and Christmas carols can be heard anywhere), December marks our holiday too…yay another month of school holiday  \(>.<)/  This time, we only spend the holiday around the outskirt of the city, few days here and there. But before we are talking bout the long holiday, I would like to tell you bout a hotel that I stayed over the last weekend in Pattaya

Guess...how much did I pay for a night? Less than US$30...awesome rite ^^

I went solo to Pattaya for 4 days, to attend an event with more than 6k of like-minded people around the world who loves to travel…sounds awesome isn’t it? Well, I am not going to retell bout the event (maybe sometime in the future) but I fell in love with the small budget hotel that I had chosen. T5 Suites is a new and small 3-star hotel, a 5-storey building with minimalist and simple design. It’s located about 3mins of walking distance to the main road of Pattaya and the nearby convenient store (and about 5mins of driving to PEACH – where the event was held). The surrounding was peaceful and quiet, a guarantee of good sleep without being bothered by a drunk people (which was quite normal on the other part of Pattaya)

Basic toiletries but spotless

When I arrived after being lost (the driver didn't know the streets in Pattaya and only understood Thai language - well he drove me from Bangkok), feeling tired and sleepy (it was long hour from Jakarta to Bangkok then continued to Pattaya), it felt wonderful when the hotel staff served a cold orange juice to welcome me in their small lobby. Lovely and prompt service. Though the receptionist had a barely passable English, however I really appreciated how they did their best to cater my need. They even upgraded my room ... when i was sleeping alone ^^ Scared me for the first night (never slept alone) but since the bed was good and I was tired, I slept like a log on the next night ha ha ha

The electrical outlet was brand new and i had to tear off the wrapping plastic to use it wkwkwk

My room was awesome, too bad it was across the lift and I could hear the ping sound every time somebody called for it. But it didn't bother me much since I got a big - spacious room with a king bed and a single bed (enough for 3 - 4persons). The room was clean and spotless, the bed was neatly done, everything was in mint condition...totally perfect. They provided basic toiletries and clean towels, hair drier, SDB and fridge, big screen LCD with almost hundred of channels to choose. The only drawback was they didn't provide coffee/tea maker in the room, but considering how attentive the staff was, I was pretty sure they would had provided it if I had asked for it.

My American breakfast (i especially requested no toast to go with this)

They had small dining room at the back of the lobby. Breakfast was good and cheap (my room didn't include breakfast), even the mineral waters were cheap too compared to the ones that we bought at the convenient store. They provided free fast wifi around the hotel that helped me a lot to connect and kept my communication with my family at home. Another thing that I like was the shuttle Baht-bus (compared to the normal van/car/mini bus), this song-taew was unique and the experience to be driven using this was awesome. Though the shuttle service only available until 10pm, however the manager went beyond my expectation, showed up and picked me up when I made a request at 11.30pm by himself. Totally top-notch customer service!

the small dining room (on the left) and the small lobby (on the right)

The hotel shuttle uses songtaew (Baht-bus)...another experience that I liked   ^^

Vie Hotel - Bangkok

The hotel facade from BTS station bridge

Rooftop pool on annex building

The slump but safe neighbourhood

Another Accor-M Gallery hotel that we tried is Vie Hotel, a new minimalist one. Right in front of the Rachathewie BTS station. Apparently, since it was still new, most of taxi drivers didn't know it. In this case, just tell them about Asia Hotel (old grande hotel) which is located across Vie. Vie itself is only 2stops from Muse (Chit Lom station) but we went there using taxi (B60). Vie blends its simplicity into the shabby neighbourhood, making it stand out more. There was an abandoned space with rubble on its far left which attracted local and tourists with its unusual grafitty. Funky bars and Thai seafood restaurants can be found on the right side. While 7eleven is located across the street. Despite the surrounding, Vie was very strategic for shoppers, only 1 stop to Siam (where you can buy the branded items) and Pratunam area (heaven for fashionista which will not make you dig deeper into your pockets). If you prefer to walk, Siam and pratunam can be reached from Vie in less than 15mins (B40 using tuktuk instead of B15 per pax using BTS)

I loved how they put simple beauty thing

The cozy lounge

Durex? *speachless*

Thru its simple and minimalist concept, Vie still gave off the hip and chic ambiance. Cozy plush sofas in various colours were very inviting for us to have our welcome beverages in the lounge. Pretty chandeliers sparkled brightly above the low coffee table and numbers of small pillow. So comfy...especially with free unpassworded wifi available (I could post pic immediately уααу!└(^o^)┘ \^o^/ └(^o^)┘уααу! ). We got another 14th floor room, and again, the first thing that was checked by my girls was the bathroom. My girls were excited seeing the big square tub inside it (I couldn't resist myself for soaking directly ‎​Ħǎː̗(^▽^)ː̖Ħǎː̗(^▽^)ː̖Ħǎ). The room was quite big (though a bit smaller than Muse) but it felt spacious. Perhaps it was due to their minimalist interior design, with the basic furniture only (I was glad...no fragile items inside the room that I need to remove уααу!└(^o^)┘ \^o^/ └(^o^)┘уααу! ). 2beds were in the middle with a side long couch next to the window. My hubby directly claimed that couch for his sleeping quarter (despite the beds were enough for 4 of us). Small flat screen tv was available, together with the mini bar (with durex being provided LOL), iron and its table, hair drier, coffe/tea maker and sdb. The bathroom was big, bigger than Muse, with glass door separating the toilet and shower. Aigner toiletries and Vie's amenities were laid out beside the wash basin. Beside the normal room slippers, they also provide rattan-made-slippers for your use (which can be purchased if you would like to bring it home as a souvenir).

Big double beds

The simple yet spacious bathroom

The toiletries

Bigger gym with extended set of fitness machines was available, next to the wellness spa. The spa offers various kind of massage, but the speciality was the deep sleep spa. While the swimming pool is located rooftop on the smaller building adjoining the main building. A modern wooden bridge was connecting these buildings. The pool was bigger than Muse with a small area for kids. So again, my girls could have their fun swimming while I was waiting under the shaded sundeck. Here at Vie, there are xxx resto and bar.

Comfy beds and pillows...bigger bathtub...we totally in one voice, we liked this one better :-)

Bridge to the annex building

Lazying on the sundeck

The gym corner

Novotel Vintage - Phuket

Giant sculpture on the lobby wall

The Budha's head

Pool in nite view

Different city means another chance for us to try another Accor hotel. In Phuket, we decided to stay at the newest establishment of Novotel Vintage. Instead of hotel, Novotel adopted the resort type which was much suitable with the holiday atmosphere of Phuket. Located around 10mins of leisure walk to Patong beach (one of the famous beach in Phuket), Novotel was quite eye-catching especially at night. Huge building stretching widely right on T-intersection street bustling with bars, seafood restaurants, hawkers, minimarts, as well as tattoo shops (man - I was trying to restrain myself for not stepping in...but it didn't keep me from peeping LOL).

The big comfy bed

Quarterly shape bathtub

Wall painting in the room...very unique

Giant art work displaying the ancient story (something related to fairy) of Thai welcomed us at the lobby. It was midnight (we used the last flight from Bkk-Phuket) but the lobby was still crowded with guests sitting and chatting around in their short, tanktop, and slippers...not a common view at our previous hotels. While my husband was checking in, I looked around the lobby. A human-size Budha's head stone statue was erected on side, with rows of Thai's statues as separation between the lobby and the sitting lounge. Huge golden chandelier was hang high, glittering on the ceiling. The whole building was shaped in square with big empty space in the middle for the pool. For first-timer, it was kinda confusing to find your way, but you would get used to it after lost your way several times *winking

View from our room

The resort style pool

The whole complex from across the street

With unusual way of room numbering, we were shown to our room. The room was big, with bathroom right in front side, the bedroom and small terrace outside overlooking the pool. Awesome! They even provided a chair and a bar to hang your wet clothes on the balcony. While I was admiring the nite view of the pool, I noticed the rooms on the ground floor were equipped with jacuzzi right in their door step...woah...I was green-eyed. Back to the room, I checked the hard king size bed. They gave 2kinds of pillow, the countour one but felt so hard on my neck and the micro fibre one which was too high as well. Finally I settled myself by pilling up the plush bath towels for my pillow *grinning. As usual, my hubby claimed the big long couch on the side but at night, he sneaked onto the bed due to the cold. Medium sized flat screen tv provided large numbers of channel to choose for your in-room entertainment. Equipped with coffee/tea maker, empty mini bar, sdb, iron and its table, it ensured your stay here was as comfy as home. Especially the quarter-circle-shape tub in the bathroom with strong rain shower. Really perfect... for my girls *grinning

The golden shimmering atmosphere

Did you see the small square pool on the left...yeah those are private ones

The most outstanding facility of Novotel Vintage was the resort-style pool. It was huge, with rain-drop partition, strong fountain-pour to massage your shoulder, whirpool, kids pool, as well as spraying toddler pool. Occupying one of the pool's corner, the coconut's leaves roof wet-pool-bar served various beverages from carbonated drinks to beer, from fresh juices to the house-recommended-coctail. Large number of sundeck were splaying around the pool, for you to put your stuff while taking a dip or simply sun-bathing. Across the pool, there was The Square restaurant for your fill of delicious meals. Several souvenir shops were inside the lobby, enabling you to buy goodies without leaving the hotel. Anyway, who would want to venture outside the hotel when everything that you need was available within your room-door-step? 

Siam Paragon, Siam Ocean World, Kidzania - Bangkok

In front of the Canal...inside Siam Paragon

Wifi corner with mobile charger provided...fancy spot

The Madame Tussauds

Siam Paragon was the only mall that we visited often during our stay in Bangkok, beside the 5mins walk Central mall. It was close, 1 BTS station only (B60 for 4 of us but only costed us B40 using tuktuk). It was one of the must-visit-place in Bangkok for shopaholic since the area had lots of big malls standing next to another, like Siam Discovery, Central World, and Siam Square. So if you are using BTS, please prepare yourself for the rush of people in and out the station. It was super duper crowded station!

The bustling foodcourt

Oh...what a lovely dishes   :-)

...mouth watering...

 Anyway, though we were surrounded by malls, we went there not for shopping spree (┐('⌣'┐)...уєαн... (┌'⌣')┌, it hosted numerous branded shops that could make you go thin on the wallet and reaching the upper limit of your credit card...but we just loved the food court. It offered various options for appetizer, main dishes, dessert and snack. You could choose from Thai's food, Asian fast food, Japanese ramen and sushi, Indian curry, and many more. If you fancy some high-end eatery and delicacies, Siam Paragon also had it all. But we just liked the food court since we could try many different kind of dishes affordably. And watching the bustling food court was so much fun than sitting on a quiet corner of a fancy cafe/resto.

My all-time fav for dessert

Bookstore @Siam...a heaven on earth for me

 Another reason why we could spend days here because it has Siam Ocean World (www.siamoceanworld.com) on its basement. Claimed to be the biggest aquarium in South East Asia, it had 5D show, ocean walker, glass bottom boat, fish spa for feet, numerous feeding and live interaction within the aquarium. it had 7 zones of wonder where we could explore the rich and diverse oceanic life. The 5D show of 20k leagues under the sea had too many obvious and predictable scenes. We liked the one at Bandung Transtudio better.

One of the feeding show

Ready to feed some fish on glass bottom boat

Complimentary fish spa

Then it also had Maddame Tussauds' wax museum but we didn't visit it this time. We thought the wax museum was pretty much the same with other cities. But I would like to recommend you to the Kidzania on the 5th floor. It was more pricey compared to Kidzania Jakarta, the ticket for toddler is B300, B650 for kids between 4 to 14 years old, B400 for adult and B350 for senior citizen. Newly opened for 2months, Kidzania Bangkok (www.kidzania.co.th) offered something that we didn't have it here, like sushi making, interior design, vet role playing and many more. Though the staff had language barrier, they welcomed my girls warmly and paid them more attention compared to toward the Thais and my girls enjoy their day there.

Sushi making

Banking with CIMB Siam

Do I need to say for this one too   :-)

 So regardless what your preference, Siam Paragon is one stop entertainment place for the whole family :-) 

Wat Pho - Bangkok

Reaching for heaven

The vast complex

 

 
Grand Palace and Wat Pho were the only historical places that I put into our itenary. Considering the values hold by Thais on both those places, I managed to make my girls agree to visit these places. However, when the day came, the sun decided to give its best, shining brightly until it hurted our eyes and burned our skin. It was 37degrees when it was only 10am in the morning...geez. I wondered how hot it would be when midday. Finally, considering the unfriendly wheather, we decided to visit the famous Pratunam area during the midday and left for the palace in the afternoon.

The humble pier

The crowd of Chao Phraya express boat

The small alley

However, until we left Pratunam using taxi to Saphan Taksin statan station around 2pm, the sun was still blazing unforgivingly. We reached the pier after 45mins drive (though it wasn't much traffic at that time). It felt short since the taxi driver was very friendly, with his limited English, he engaged us in a funny conversation. The taxi only costed us B100 and after 5mins of walk, we arrived at pier. We purchased the boat fare which costed us B40 (they counted 4 of us as 2.5 of the normal fare). Few mins of waiting, then we all were boarded into half-full boat which sped along the Chao Phraya river. It stopped several times at certain pier until it reached pier #9 which was our destination. We were alighted on a very humble pier, small wooden dark alley connecting the pier to the main street. Souvenir and hawker stalls filled up the sides of the road, ignoring the fishy dried fish smell that attacked our nose without mercy.

The sleeping Budha

 

Back to the blazing sun, we noticed it was 3.30pm. Too late for visiting Grand Palace since it was officially closed at 3pm. We diverted our way to the right (Grand Palace was on our left), following the throng of people going to Wat Pho. One thing to remember, you should dress properly for Wat Pho, including № sleevesless top, mini pants and too-revealing dress. They do provide cover cloth (like beach cloth - with a little price) outside Wat Pho for those who don't dress up to their standard. As foreigner, we had to buy our tickets B100/person (free for Thais). The place had a solemn atmosphere, while we walk through the corridor with beautifully craved doors and windows. Stone warrior statues were standing cautiously, as if guarding each door agaisnt the current human malice. From close distance, I noticed several similar attributes of the statues to the Chinese's famous warrior figures. However it was the buildings...the roof style...the temples...the stupas that fascinated us. It was magnificently beautiful, with colourful tiny tiles forms various shapes. I tried to imagine they build this one by one, by manual labor. It was definitely a place worth your time

Row of donation pots

The unique roof decoration

After indulging ourselves on the surrounding, we moved to the place where they put the famous reclining Budha (sleeping Budha). We had to take off our shoes (but they provided a shoe bag to keep ours. Mindful of the sacred ambiance inside, we nudged our way and stole a brief chance to take our pic with the Budha. It was huge in gold, with playful gold and red kind of shades around the building depicting some sort of the stories...probably (we didn't hire the guide though they were available). Circling the Budha, we saw neat row of donation pots on one side of the wall. Thais and several people put a coin into each one of those pots...with clanging sound, they murmured a silent prayer.

  

Tired after walking a whole day, we decided to try the (to-be-said) authentic Thai massage at the back garden of the complex. Several people were waiting for their turns already. We chose the 30mins treatment for B260 (B420 for an hour treatment). After 30mins, we were called and led to our place. Since I was wearing a dress, the masseuse gave me a knee-length pants to use and asked me to store my stuff at the small compartment above the bed. She started the massage by rubbing and kneading hardly into the knotted muscle of mine. With low voice, she asked trivial things with her limited English, probably trying to put me relax. It felt good at first until she hit the most sore spots on my shoulder...my oh my...I wanted to scream at her...asking her to stop torturing me. But I managed to keep quiet (geez...even I didn't hear a squeak from my girls) and tried my best to relax my strained body. I endured the 30mins of torture with terrifying bone-cracking sounds at the end of the session (ehm...am I a maso?). But afterward, a cold relieve spread onto my body and I felt lighter...perhaps I could go for another session *grinning* Even my girls Ŀ♡√Ɛ it...they kept saying that it wasn't hurt and all.

The queue for massage

With lighter body, we continue our walk by exploring the outer gate of the Grand Palace. Seeing some hawker sellers were tidying up their stalls while another were just preparing theirs. Enjoying our leisure walk in fading sunlight, we hailed a taxi for a ride home. Reflecting sunset on the golden rooftop of the Grand Palace was the last view I caught before the taxi brought us back to the hotel.