Photo from our trip to Phuket last weekend. It’s pretty much the only photo I have!
So sleepy now almost falling over the keyboard over here. Yesterday was filled with fun stuff and finishing off the Christmas shopping in Sampeng followed by an all you can eat buffet and massage. It was our rest day from the gym so it was well deserved chill day! It felt great to come back today for leg day I felt so much stronger. Tomorrow… or more today more like it (It’s 3 AM now!). We’re off to Cambodia and Sieam Reap. So excited, I’ve never been to Angkor Wat before. The train leaves Bangkok at 6.20 AM so I might aswell just stay awake for the rest of the time. I’ve had some busy days working and it’s hard to fit it into a holiday schedule when you’re having people over. Don’t get me wrong, I love having people over! I’ve sent my last e-mails and delivered my projects so now I should be good to go once the files are uploaded. Good night guys! <3
I had the pleasure of staying at the So Sofitel Bangkok. It was an amazing experience from beginning to to end. I can’t emphasize enough how much I love the way Sofitel makes every visit an experience, better yet an adventure. It always starts off walking into a lobby with a concept you’ve never seen before, with a signature welcome drink- most of the time it’s something you’ve never tasted before or just a whole new way of drinking something you already know.
Love how they have played with the shadows here. They spend time of every little detail.
Check out this amazing view! Who knew Bangkok could look so green?
We stayed at the wood element room on 17th floor overlooking Lumpini park, which is one of the most popular elements in the hotel next to metal. The high-rise property blends a mosaic of materials that give a contemporary high-tech look while at the same time appearing accessible and inviting. It’s architecture was designed by Smith Obayawat a leading figure in the association of Siamese Architects. As creative as the architecture is the interior design, SO Sofitel Bangkok offeres themed accommodation created around the five elements inspired by Lumpini Park. Water, Earth, Wood, Metal and Fire. Every element has a unique style and layout, and are all designed by five different Thai designers- making every stay at the SO Sofitel a new experience.
Wood Element- SO Cosy.
Soft beds that makes you want to stay in bed all day!
Earth element, I like how every room is different.
Art exhibition showcasing the five elements- fire, water, earth, metal and wood.
The winner of the art contest. How can a student make something like this? amazing.
Walking around the hotel you will see art everywhere- every corner, roof and floors are covered with something to fit the current theme of the hotel. There is also annually art exhibitions, this year they held a competition and let students from Bangkok compete for the top three to have their art shown at the hotel.
Every type of yoghurt you can dream of!
The world kitchen and the big Red Oven- hence the name of the restaurant.
Living in Bangkok and being a breakfast person, I have tried many breakfast buffets around the city, but had to try the breakfast at the Red Oven. If you have ever stayed at a SO Sofitel or even Sofitel hotel you know you are in for a nice breakfast. However, there is something extra with the Red Oven. The beautiful fire element and red interior plays a big part in making it a nice experience, but the selection of food is just amazing. I understand why it’s also called the world kitchen. You have all the usual stuff, but better quality. Then you have ice creams, all sorts of energizing drinks and snacks, not only seasonal fruits from Thailand but from all over the world, yummy pastries (I never eat pastries/desserts from breakfast buffets). Moreover, the cheese selection? On point! It’s one of those buffets you never want to leave, so make sure you wake up early.
I loved my staycation at the SO Sofitel, even if I was in my own hometown I really felt like I was far away on a holiday. They have everything you need at the hotel. A chocolate bar in the lobby with an all you can eat chocolate buffet after lunch time, there’s different restaurants and bars to choose from, an amazing infinity pool overlooking the city, the best SPA in Bangkok, a roof top bar with a killer skyline view… Just walking around the hotel and exploring is an adventure on its own.
I’ll be here every Monday for some Mojito madness.
This is where the pool party is held, overlooking Bangkok city.
Talking about the crazy pool venue and sun deck SO Sofitel Bangkok hosts a pool party at the end of every month. I’ve been there a couple of times and it’s so much fun! Another new thing that I’ve learned is that every Monday there is a Mojito madness going on at MIXO bar. There’s an all you can drink Mojitos from 7-9pm. They are super delicious… I tried them all…
View from Park Society at night. Perfect for some romantic late night drinks.
We’re half way through the fifth season of The Amazing Race Asia. Going to Ho Chi Minh City put us all on the same level as no one had a language advantage here. That being said, this was the first leg that even the most skilful person would have trouble with. Language barrier or not. I think that’s the thing with the Amazing race though, it really is a race for anyone, and everyone should stand an equal chance. The fifth leg was based on a lot of luck… first challenge was to fish 4 prawns from a pond which had everyone scratch their heads in agony.
Slow and steady, but totes stressing out.
The worst luck based challenge was the fast forward. We had decided beforehand that there was no way we were going for a fast forward, it was just too risky. But, when we got there, we somehow decided to go for it anyway as no other team was going for it. The clue said that you needed to eat yourself through bowls of rice to find a lucky coin hidden in one of the bowls. Little did we know that there was 200 of them. We went there determined to finish the task, but after 4 bowls of rice and Alex and Will from team Malaysia arriving we decided we didn’t trust in our luck and went fishing instead.
You had to crush these clay pots and eat the rice one by one- and you had to eat them in turn.
Tom caught the first two prawns in the speed of lightning and it didn’t take long until we had caught up with the 3 teams that were still at the challenge. The third prawn didn’t come long after. Teams were leaving and there were only us and JK and Mike left towards the end. It felt like all the prawns were gone, and soon it felt like hope was fading away. We were both catching and loosing prawns one by one. Of course JK and Mike manages to get their fourth prawn and are on their way. It takes around 15 minutes before I catch the next prawn and we are on to our next clue. I think at this point that we are HOURS behind the first teams.
People are pointing out that I was carrying the flowers in the market… first of all it wasn’t that heavy and second of all I’d run around the market carrying this for at least 10 times instead of eating the exotic foods.
We were starting to feel like we were out, and that Will and Alex must have found that coin as they never showed up at the prawn pond. (We were there for hours). Traffic in HCM was terrible and it took ages for us to get to the next clue. We finally got to Mr. Loc and decided to go for the flower power detour. Luckily we spot JK and Mike still strolling around trying to collect the flowers. Luckily they weren’t able to spot the marked vendors as fast as us, and we also had our physical advantage meaning we sprinted past them. Finally we could stand a chance to no get eliminated. We finished the task with at least a 10-15 minute lead. The next clue was to head to Quan Bui. It was a roadblock! It was initially my turn to take the roadblock but we both knew we would not be able to maintain the lead if I was going for an exotic snack.
It was going well in the beginning until we found out that the whole animal needed to be eaten. We’re talking chewing them down, bones included. There were five courses, rat, bats, centipedes, scorpions and a gigantic lizard. It was sick as you had to see the whole animal, skin and all in a natural position. Luckily you were allowed to twist of the head and tale and leave it on the plate.
JK and mike arrives while Tom is on dish number two… he did not seem to have any troubles eating the stuff he was getting served, and managed to beat us to it. Of any challenge we had to go head to head with JK, it was typical that it was an eating one!
This guys is my hero!
We were out of luck and saw them run right before us to get a taxi, the pit stop wasn’t far away, and when we came to the roundabout we saw JK and Mike run up. It was a horrible feeling, thinking that you’re last and the only team you’re competing with beats you by seconds.
Love you bae, wherever this race takes us it will still be another tick on the list of doing the unimaginable together!
We were so happy when Allan said we were the 6th team to arrive on the mat, but also sad as it meant Will and Alex didn’t complete the fast forward and ended up being eliminated.
How will it go in the next episode? Tune in on AXN 8pm Bangkok time!
I’m pretty obsessed with trekking during summer times. There’s always something new to discover either about yourself, your partner, or even some new creatures, plants or places. I’ve done a couple of treks over longer durations of times (our trek to Poonhill is one of them) but there has never been a trek quite like this one. We started off walking towards the famous Storsylen, but did a different and more advanced route then the usual. We walked via Syltraversen and had to conquer the Devils Ridge!
At least we were smiling at the beginning of the trek!
Can you belive this picture was talking Mid-Summer in Norway? We’re talking July!
<3
We spent 12 hours trekking in mostly rough terrain. There was some challenging climbs along the way but descending was probably the worst. It went on for hours and it never felt like we were moving downwards. Once we reached the bottom, it was insane to look up on the path we had taken. It was sky-high and steep! The way up on the other hand, was exhilarating. You had to lean into the narrow ridges and also had to free climb to reach the summit. All guaranteed to top your heart rate. This was all without safety, which actually surprised me since Norway is such an overly safe country. People can easily die falling down… but it doesn’t seem to have ever happened. It was at this point I found out that Tom was scared of hights, like properly. We had already applied to The Amazing Race Asia and afterwards we agreed if there would ever be a height challenge I would take it- little did we know that the roadblock in Malaysia was rapelling down the Menara Great Eastern building. I actually thought he had fainted at one point when he was adjusting his belt. I guess it was super uncofortable, but at that point I was struggling to keep my calm- I was actually scared for him. But he did great!
One of the challenges on the detour was to make 3 people be in a photo with you looking up on a mouse. You also had to make someone take the photo for you.
We finally got out of Indonesia and headed to Malaysia. There was a roadblock rappelling down the Great Eastern building in Kuala Lumpur followed by travelling by train to Penang. We went for the Art detour and had to bike around to collect murals around the city. The detour itself was easy and the people around the city was so helpful in directing us and helping us take photos and even pose in the photos with us. We got to the detour first and things were looking really good for us until our Becca bike broke down. Luckily we found a copy shop that had a screwdriver on hand and we managed to put the bike chain back on. We thought we were safe after that but somehow the break got stuck after that and we had to rip the break open, leaving us with no way to stop the bike.
It was pretty bad seeing there was also a bit of car traffic around the town. So sorry to all the people walking around in peace having us yelling for people to move. We were in such a rush and after all the trouble we were scared we were last. All in all a fun race day, this super leg was the longest leg in the race so far but definitely the one with the easiest challenges. Looking forward to see what the next episode brings.
Having a staycation at one of my favourite hotels in Bangkok- The SO Sofitel. This is a little teaser from our luxurious wood element room- SO Comfy, just wait ’til you see the view! More photos to come. <3
