Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Lil Bro's NS journey: Passing Out Parade

 
After sending lil bro to BMTC on his enlistment day, 2 months seemed to zoom pass (at least for me!) I'll try to make sure that I head home during weekends to have dinner with him - catching up on his army life & listening to the stories that all recruits have to tell. Soon, it was time for his passing out parade (POP). The parade was held at The Float @ Marina Bay at 8am, way earlier than my normal working day! 
We walked across the bridge & I could see that the best sections on the platforms were gradually filled up. Had to half-run and half-drag Leecher's big body to reach the destination.
 
Oh man, you could smell the recruits from afar! Haha, all of them were drenched in sweat from their late night road march. 
 
Families and friends making their way up the platform. 
Waiting for the ceremony to begin. The sun was shining upon us, thankfully, we had our shades on :) Leecher with his ridiculous shades over specs look. 

The parade started with the march in of the recruits. This was a combined POP of several coys, so there were plenty of families + friends on the floating platform.
 
Felt as if I'm watching the National Day Parade, just that the contingents were all in green instead of a myriad of colours.
 
After the recruits toss their jockey caps into the air, it marked the end of the parade. Honestly, even though my lil bro told me exactly where he was standing, I couldn't distinguish him from all the rest from afar. The boys all looked the same in their uniform and tanned skin!
  
Headed down to 7th Coy to look for him, or rather, he was on the lookout for me.
 
With the BMTC flag, lol!   
 
Presented with a surprise! So proud of the lil bro :)  
 
This cheeky fellow with his achievement, lol! 
 
His friends came along as well.  
 
Melvin graduated on the same day as well, so 小舅's family came along too.    
 
A couple of lil bro's dragonboat friends were in the area, so they witnessed the ceremony on water. Cool huh?   
 
lil bro can't wait to head for breakfast as he was starving. We headed to Burger King @ Marina Sq for breakfast, which he devoured a set within minutes.
 
Once again, he had to take pics with the medal - which he claimed that it will lose its air-time after today, lol!    
 
1st part of NS journey completed! Till the next post, tata!

Monday, June 3, 2013

BKK Jan 2013: Roast Cafe

The first visit was awesome and unforgettable, so I just had to make a trip back to this enchanting cafe. This time round, I brought Fling along as companion. Fling was surprised that I was able to find this little gem in BKK, haha! This area was entirely different from the BKK that she imagined. A different vibe, she said. The journey to the cafe seemed shorter, perhaps I was familiar with the roads and knew where to turn into the cafe.
 
Check out the crowd on the 1st floor! I was hoping that we'll be able to get seats given the popularity of the cafe. 
 
They have changed their table display from my last visit. I was really tempted to bring some of these goodies home, but managed to stop myself, lol! 
 
Hello Ted! What are you doing here? Whenever I see Ted, this image will flash to my mind
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 HAHA, which reminded me ~ I have yet to watch this movie! Shall watch it with Leecher during our next movie night @ home :)
 
Couch seats this time round & we had a nice little corner to ourselves with ample space for food + belongings. 

A rare moment of Fling enjoying her bread. Friends of her will know that she hates bread to the core and will "死掉" (in her own words) if she were to eat bread.
Drinks that accompanied our dinner.
 
We didn't get to try any of their signature items previously. This time, I ordered 2 of their recommended items - The original Maryland crab cakes (THB350) for appetizer. Boy boy, once again, Roast did not disappoint! Fling began to understand why I insisted on coming back. 
 
Their signature duck confit, served with baked potatoes, poached egg and salad by the side. Duck confit was well-seasoned, though a tad salty for my liking. So I paired it with the raspberry sauce for a different taste :) 
 
With sister Fling, a converted fan by now :) Looking forward to my next visit!
Roast Coffee & Eatery
2/F Seenspace, Thong Lor Soi 13
Tel: 02 185 2866
Alight at Thong Lor BTS and head towards exit 3 (map & directions here)

Saturday, June 1, 2013

BKK Jan 2013: Arrival in BKK

Hello! A brand new month, gasp, is it June already? I was off sick a couple of days late May and haven been feeling 100% of my usual self. Trying to tidy up my work before I leave for another trip in 2 weeks time. Been travelling to BKK a lot and I think this marked my 10th trip to BKK within 2 years! Wow, all the money that I've spent there .... *can't imagine* I really wish to explore other parts of BKK, but somehow, I'm always at the usual spot trip after trip. Just needed to break free from the cycle, maybe on the next trip.

Headed to BKK with the girls in Jan, a trip to relax & recharge. Though I'm used to taking the morning flights out, it was still a painful decision to leave the cozy bed in the wee hours of the morning for preparation.
 
The empty airport at 5am. Wasn't used to not seeing the morning crowd, lol! #workwoes
 
My heart was thumping for Fling to arrive (traffic problems) and it was a mad rush to check our bags in. On the bright side, we were given front row seats, lol! A blessing in disguise :) 
Yeah, front row seats without having to top up! Love the extra leg space #cheapthrill #soauntie.
 
Caught the gorgeous sunrise from 3000+ feet above. Then, it was back to lala-land for the rest of the journey.
Arrived in the land of smiles 2.5 hours later. We had arranged with Jun (who departed a day before us with her family) @ Tango! Yes, this is becoming our 2nd home in BKK. Took our luggage & traveled on the ever-convenient Airport Rail to reach our destination, all within 2 hours!
 
Always a must whenever I'm in BKK! The food court above Platinum Mall provides quite a wide variety of food, but I'll always head to this stall and order my spicy mama mee noodles with chicken & pork (no vegetables) & they auto give me more noodles, me likey :) 
 
Fling & Jun orders, influenced by me :) The only complaint that I have is the serving is tooooo small, not enough for me to enjoy!
 
Tom Yum soup - after taking a few sips, we discovered something "unusual" inside. Thankfully, we didn't suffer from food poisoning.
The Platinum Fashion Mall
Food Court, Level 6
 
There are a lot of resting places within Platinum Mall to rest your tired legs. After hours of shopping, we needed a drink & headed to Let's Sip Coffee to recharge. They provide free WIFI too! I love places with free wifi #cheapo #auntie

Fling with her hot chocolate.
 
Jun & her latte (I think). This cafe provide light snacks like sandwiches, pizzas and cakes. Not a huge collection, but should curb the hunger pangs.  
 
Deliberately putting their heads further back so my face looked bigger! Wa, next time I should use this as well (^^)
 
A nice place to chill out, slightly away from the crowd :) Have to head off to bed now, but will be back with more updates on the trip - where Fling & me checked out more cafes in Bangkok, stay tuned! 
Let's Sip Coffee
Platinum Building, 1st Floor
Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400
Tel: +66 2160 7277
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