Facility

It's located at 5th and 6th floor in a building within city center, so there is no facility like gym room, breakfast or spa. Breakfast is available at €7 at nearby cafe.



Reception is located at 6th floor and open from 8am to midnight from Monday to Saturday and 10am to 9pm on Sunday. If you can only check in after reception opening hours, Hotel Finn will provide you door code to enter. Tea and coffee machine is available at 6th floor. You can also buy bottle water or drinks from vending machine beside reception.

Lift is very small, probably can only fit up to 4 pax without luggage. 2 of us with 2 big luggage couldn't move at all in the lift.

Room

Room size is not very big, but bigger than typical small hotel room in Japan. It's a bit worn but overall is comfortable. No safe, no mini bar, no fridge. No wardrobe but there is a place to hang your jacket, and a few hangers are provided. There is one table and chair in the room. LCD TV is mounted on the wall.



The shower facility is very old and worn out. Towel and bed liners are provided.


No aircond in this hotel, which is fine for us during chilly winter time. This could be a problem if you visit Helsinki during summer time.

The mattress is too thin until I could feel the spring.

Overall

The location is unbeatable and of course the price is pretty affordable too. But the bathroom facility and the mattress quality need to be improved. Highly recommended for those who are looking for budget hotel in Helsinki city center.



Interested to visit Finland? Click here to read day 1, day 2, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7 and day 8 report

It opens every day from 9am to 3pm. We were there at about 2:30pm and we didn't need to wait for table. Wanton noodle still available but braised pork trotter already sold out at noon time. 

We skipped hotel breakfast and came here again the 3rd morning. It was a Sunday morning and very long queue when we were there. We waited about 15 mins for table (shared with others). 

One of the Thai female staff there can speak very good mandarin. Try to decide what you want when you in queue so you can place your order with her as soon as you sit down, she's very busy and you need to keep waving her come to you. 

We ordered 1 bowl of dry wanton noodle, 1 bowl of wanton noodle soup, 1 set of braised pork trotter and 1 white rice. Sound too much for you? No no, the noodle portion is actually very small, you can finish it in few bites. 

They claimed they are the number one wanton noodle in the world, 天下第一云吞面店. Well, I think you can find the same standard or even much better wanton in Malaysia or Singapore. It doesn't taste awful, it's quite good but it doesn't worth to spend time queuing.

This meal cost us less than 200 baht. 

2. Honggi BBQ 洪记烧烤



This BBQ restaurant is located at ground floor of Shibuya 19, beside MacDonald.



We wanted to eat seafood but didn't feel like to travel too far so we visited this place instead, opposite Grand Diamond plaza.


Oyster omelette


Seafood pad thai. This one is yummy!


Basil chicken


BBQ giant head prawn


Overall the food here is pretty nice but a bit more expensive compare to other street seafood stall.. This meal cost us about 1000 baht.


3. Som Tam Nua ส้มตำนัว สยามสแควร์




Som tam nua means green papaya salad in Thai. Som Tam Nua is one of the famous restaurants in Bangkok. There is always long queue outside waiting for table. To avoid this, we went there at 5pm and luckily there was no queue at all.


Pictures marked with stars are their signature dish. We ordered most of them! The table of 4 sitting next to us kept looking at our table, 4 of them ordered the same dishes as we ordered.


Somtam with peanut and dry shrimp, 75 baht. This taste so-so to me, but still worth trying.


Pork shoulder BBQ, 115 baht. The meat is tender and tasty. I love it!


Northeast style spicy soup with pork bone, 120 baht. Spicy looks too clear for you? Don't be deceived by its look, this soup is very hot.


Stir fried Thai rice flour noodle, 110 baht. Noodle texture is too soggy, I don't like.


Fried chicken, 150 baht. It's topped with fried garlic, very nice!


Address: 392/14 Siam Square Soi 5 392/14 ซอยสยามสแควร์ 5 ถนนพระราม 1 แขวงปทุมวัน เขตปทุมวัน กรุงเทพฯ
Opening hours: 10:45am - 9:30pm


Thailand street food is one of my favorite. If you walk from Platinum mall to Central World, you will definitely pass by these food stalls just outside Central World.

This area is a shopping street during day time where it will be packed with clothes vendors. Street food vendors take over the place after 5pm. They close on Monday.


There are a few seafood stalls and they all sell the same thing. It seems like the one closest to Central World is the most famous, I always see people queuing for seats.

I didn't eat here but I ate the mango glutinous rice almost every night when I was in Bangkok.

It's only 100 baht and I was given 1 whole mango.

Other than mango glutinous rice, I have been searching for coconut ice cream. I know there's one in Pratunam area but I have no idea where it is. However, I was lucky enough to find it in the Central World inter food 2015.

I had it continuous 2 days. This dessert is best for hot weather in Bangkok!

  

Platinum fashion mall is the largest wholesale mall in Thailand. It attracts not just tourists but also locals especially young teenagers.


How to go Platinum mall?

Platinum fashion mall is located in the middle of Pratunam. The nearest BTS is probably Chidlom, 1 km distance, took me about 20 mins.

If you are looking for one stop shopping for cheap clothes, Platinum mall is the place you should visit. It is filled with many small shops selling mostly women clothing and accessories. Guys clothing only available at zone 1 & zone 2 4th floor.


How to shop in Platinum mall? 

Most of the time, shop owner will tell you 2 different price, 1 piece xxx Baht and wholesale xxx Baht. Wholesale price is the price when you buy 2 or more pieces from the same shop and that will save you about 20% lower per piece (in general). Most of the time mix and match different design is allowed in the same shop.

Trying is almost not possible in most shops, not even after you have made your payment. If the size doesn't fit you, you can always go back and exchange but no refund. There is fitting room in zone 1 & zone 2 ladies toilet.


Every shop sell different thing, they are all unique each shop. If you see something nice, don't hesitate and think that you can find it somewhere or you may not find it again.

Some shops accept credit card but 3% admin charge applies. It's best to pay by cash. If you don't feel like carrying too much Thai Baht, you can always exchange your home country currency at money changer outside of Platinum mall. There are at least 3 money changers (open on Sunday too) outside this mall.


What did I buy from Platinum mall?


Both shorts = 390 baht / both heels = 700 - 900 baht (I can't remember)


White top = 500 baht (from Siam Square) / both skirt = 300 baht / green top = 300 baht


Both tops = 190 baht


Denim dress = about 2000 baht (I got it from Lee @ Siam Square) / white top = 190 baht


Denim shorts = 390 or 490 baht (I can't remember) / pink shorts = about 300 baht / black top = 200 baht / yellow top = 200 baht


Black shorts = 100 baht / sandals (outside Platinum mall) = 100 baht / white shorts (outside Platinum mall) = 100 baht / white tee = 290 baht

There are 2 shops in Platinum I would definitely visit them if I come to Bangkok again.

Shop name: Delizia
Location: Zone 2, 2nd floor, Oxford 5, unit 429A
Tel no. 084-000-8144
What's great: their Korean style shorts quality is very good and of course it's cheap!



You can also view this floor plan here.


Shop name: Falathi-O
Location: Zone 3, 5th floor, Orchard D, unit 222 / 1395 / 5-79
What's great: high heels quality is good at affordable price




You can also view this floor plan here.


How much time did I spend in this mall?

I spent 1 and half day in this mall and yet I did not really visit every single shop. I will come back again. Haha.

There is a food court, Thai restaurant Yum Saap and souvenir shop at zone 1 & 2 6th floor.


Fried tofu


Pig skin salad


Tom yum soup
 
Platinum mall opens every day from 9am to 8pm, however most shops open after 10am or 11am and most of them close at 6:30pm. Wear comfortable and try to get there early to avoid afternoon crowd. This mall will packed with students in the afternoon.

The walkway outside of Platinum transform into a shopping street after 7pm. It worth a visit. I bought 3 bottles of aroma oil and a pair of sandal from there.




My loot for the entire trip


Naturelle contact lens was pretty good buy in Bangkok. I got it at $45 per box ($60 in Singapore).


Where can you stay if you want to visit Platinum mall?