A Quest Replacing My Glasses - Shop like local and Influencer in Union Mall Lat Phrao
Just in time for #Market Friday initiative!
This morning I found out that my glasses were beyond repair. Trying to keep it together and hoping that the super glue would fix it, I went ahead and fixed my glassed. But alas, 4 months on the road, my glasses gave up. It was not easy to find a good replacement. To be fair, my requirements were very low which is as long as it fits my tiny budget for them, I would not replace it. The other week, I have asked my friend and she spent 1700 baht for glasses and I was shocked. That money was quite too much especially for a pair of temporary glasses. So, I ended up just super gluing my glasses until today, when I found out about a place called “ Union Mall”.
I initially did not go there for glasses. I made an appointment with my friend to find Indomie, a rare commodity in Thailand. So, when I heard there’s a place called Good Noodle which sells imported noodles not only from Korea and Japan, I went there hoping I could find indomie. This place is such a bizarre spot. You can buy the noodles, cook it there and pay a lot of money to just experience a high-tech cooking noodle. But it’s a good spot for hunting imported noodle from other countries. From what I know, Thailand doesn’t seem like they’re big on instant noodles unlike Indonesia.
Good Noodles
Good Noodles is located on the basement of Union Mall. It's very easy to find as there are quite a few signs pointing to the place.Inside the shop, you can find some cute spots to take picture as well. But of course, this isn't like a regular noodle, they are priced quite steep and I definitely won't go back haha. After all, the noodles are often something I have tried.
When we were inside the good noodles, I tried so hard finding indomie but the only thing I found was this dried noodle snacks from Indonesia that was extremely overpriced.
Seeing 1 pack for 15 bath, my inner Indonesian was dying. Back home these snacks would cost 3 Baht but here, it was 15 Baht. Anyway, I was just so happy to have found these. I ended up buying some and gave some to my Thai friends to try. I am definitely biased but Indonesian noodle is the second superior after egg noodle from any Chinese noodle shop.
Since I can’t find any indomie to cook, I went with Korean noodle. So in this place, the first step is that you have to pick the noodle and the toppings,
Then you have to pay and next, go to these machine below and enjoy the noodle!
After the lunch, we explored more places inside Union Mall. There were many shops that are mostly visited by local youngsters and the prices were so reasonable. They are unlike malls I have been to and in this shopping malls, majority of the visitors are young folks and instafluencer.
There are about eight floor building and we explored 3 of them. On around 3rd floor, I saw a packed pop-up store selling accessories. I was so intrigued and found out that you can buy imitation accessories and jewelery 5 for 100 Baht. It was such a good deal because if you buy only a pair it can cost from 29 Baht to 35. Next to it, I saw a glasses and something written in Thai and a word with like 300 baht. I asked my friend and she told me that the starting price for the glasses was 300 Baht. I thought it was a good deal and I could finally find replacement.
BUT......................
300 Baht was only for the frame and the whole thing would ended up costing 580 Baht. So, I walked away and didn’t get any glasses from that store. Then, some hope came again when I saw a stand with glasses on the shelves. I checked that there are a few pre-made glasses.
I picked the ones that fit my prescription and just tried some that were close to it. I was shocked to notice that they were priced around 150 Baht which to be fair, I was okay paying 300 Baht. In the end, I picked one temporary glasses and now I no longer have to be miserable especially when I have to figure out places, street and where to go.
This Union Mall is also reachable by MRT and definitely a great place to shop for cheaper fashion. You can shop as low as 100 Baht in this place and it’s also not super touristy. Almost everything is also university student budget friendly and a lot of accessories were also sold in fair prices. The glasses were not so expensive as well as in a good shop, you can get by with 580 but since my budget for it was just 300 Baht, I was thrilled to find something for 150 Baht and no more miserable :D. Also this is perhaps just my observation, now I understand why Thai people are so fashionable. It’s because good fashion is very easy to find here and cheap. There are different sizes as well which back home would cost 5x more for a bigger size. Here, everything is starting from 100 Baht and not some ugly-looking shirt. It’s pretty decent and fashionable too. So considering everything, I'd say it was a good experience and next time if you visit Thailand, this place is a must-see too!
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 | 𝘔𝘢𝘤 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘫𝘢 & 𝘤𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘳 . 𝘈 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘰𝘱𝘩𝘺. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨, 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴, 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘱𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘣𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺. 𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯! 𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘱𝘷𝘰𝘵𝘦, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬. 𝘈 𝘳𝘦-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘰. |
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It looks like you got a good deal on the glasses. I actually scrolled down passed the noodles because I was curious which frame you chose.
Yes :D it was a good deal. The selections were mostly round and I was only choosing the ones that matches my prescription.
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Finally you getting to the right area of the city lol...union mall is great and not far is Major and Central PhahonnYothin where there is a great Beer garden :-) PS bts North of mor chit is free!
Hope you got home safe :-)
PS cheap glasses...19Baht at Mr DIY ;-)
I saw many spots around the area and I am definitely going back there. Also, is 19 Baht for prescription lens or just is it regular glasses? as I have -1.50 something. But yeah, I think next time I'd just go with MRT, the junction is such a confusing place and relying on google map just made us circled the place twice LOL. We ended up asking motorbike taxi guys and they told us the way to leave that hell-ish junction xD
TBH, we almost had an accident but because my friend's motorbike was short, we didn't ended up falling :') and I consider that as going back home safely :D
Lol...you're a star! The glasses are for short starting at +100 or long sighted +1.0 to +3.0 I use the reading glasses and they're OK for the money...find a Mr DIY and try what suits you! Most of the markets will have little opticians who can test your eyes and make up proper prescription lenses quite cheaply. Stay away from Top Chareon, they just try and sell crazy expensive frames!
Goodnight, I just arrived back in BKK, I'm about 6km North of Lat Phrao in Saphan Mai which is at the opposite side of DMK airport. Also a great area for just hanging out and eating drinking, especially if you have a bike to explore :-)
Motoecycle taxi drivers are brilliant for helping with so many things. They know everything!
Good to know! I found them online, that Top Chareon but something tells me, they're gonna be expensive -.-
Sounds like more area to explore but not too far. I have to say I like this areas more and there are just so many things to see even around Sutthisan. Lat Phrao market is also really big oh and the new Jodd Fairs! they're a must see too :D
Have a great weekend Nathen!
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Hiya, @LivingUKTaiwan here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Daily Travel Digest #1884.
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Thank you Pauline for the honorable mention and the feature :D That good noodle is a must try but maybe just once, way too overpriced haha
Ahhh also I have always noticed that Thai people are always very fashionable Mac, as much as Koreans, but I know that Koreans have a more expensive lifestyle, now that you say this in your post I understand many things, maybe many wear imitations of luxury brands right? And I see that the quality of the imitations is good.
Regarding the lenses, at least you got out of trouble, I was going to tell you when I saw the image that you should have them made with blue light protection lenses, because I saw that the color was yellow, but now I see that you bought them in a store and looked for a similar formula, the blue light protection is important for you Mac because you work a lot of time in front of the PC, please make sure that you have the right formula so that the visual problem does not advance 🙏🏼.
I tell you that here a pair of glasses with your custom formula for near and far vision cost around $150 or so! 🥹 and the cheapest noodles I've seen cost 1.5$ 🥲.
Whenever I read that you talk about prices I find it interesting to make the change and I convert it on google to see the cost differences, here in Venezuela food of all kinds is very expensive, although I also know that Thai food is very cheap.
By the way I love noodles! After sushi it is my favorite food in the world, I could eat noodles every day of my life 💖.
Cheers @macchiata 🤗, buy yourself some nice clothes and show us next time, I missed a few days for work, for some reason I thought you were already back home. 🤔
Yeah, there area many imitation luxury brands that are really good. It's just now makes sense why they have such a good fashion sense especially the youngsters.
The truth is, before going to thailand and around I broke my glasses with the blue light filter and sun protection. So, I was like, let's get a reasonable replacement. Then I got one because I couldn't bother waiting for 2 days for the glasses. Then, I think that glasses gave up haha but yeah, having this new one saved me :')
I think compared to Venezuela, Thailand seems like cheaper but I don't know :D having been to Laos, money works a little funny and sometimes it can feel like it's expensive but maybe it's not. And nope, I don't really wanna go back home :D I wanna go somewhere again xD but I'll go back home soon to recharge and fix things at home hehe
Wowww, Indonesian food is thereeee, as an Indonesian I'm so proud ~~~~ XD
Do you like indomie? The product has new taste or variant after several months. You have to try it all if you like it :)
Great post, thanks for sharing
haha yeah, I like them.
Anyway, I saw on your travel list, you have visited 143 places in Indonesia, That's wonderful :)
Wow! Can you pick up my glasses there? I would love to get two of them for that price! :) It sounds like a good deal to me, although I budget myself accordingly when visiting somewhere that has lower prices than home. You have been traveling for some time! I would love to have a round-up of the entire trip and how your pocketbook fared. That would be interesting. You have done pretty well, I think!
As for the glasses, you really hit upon a winner and now I see below in the comments that you could have possibly done better, or gotten a cheaper price. No way! But, truth, because that is what they are saying. Bangkok is such a haven for the best deals, still. I like the round glasses. I think they look quite trendy. Are you happy with them? Well, I would have to guess that even if they are not perfect, seeing is going to win. :)
The inner Indonesian comment made me laugh. LOL Even I can get Indomie noodles here in the US. However, in April 2023:
Of course, places banned them and so they might be harder to find, although places like Nigeria are die-hard fans of the noodles! Indonesia is a given... Noodles & Company here is popular. I do like the place, Good Noodles, and how it is set up over there. How did it taste? :)
It looks like you are having such a great time! What has been your favorite place so far, in Thailand? How about your whole trip?
Thank you for taking us with you! It has been so much fun!
#MarketFriday began as a way to reach out across the globe and learn about different cultures through their markets, especially local markets and farmers' markets, and eventually branched out and evolved over time from straight shopping to a cultural affair as it highlights how we differ and then again, how much we are alike. We have become a melting pot of culture, but it is still the Rituals, Festivals, food, architecture, and even your language/languages that separate us... Along with the fact that these things are normal for us. There are unwritten rules that rule our social behaviors. I see this as allowing for increased tolerance between cultures and nations, and opportunities to come together on an even playing ground. A strong culture can be beneficial to a country as it promotes unity, especially during a crisis, peaceful debate, and open dialogue. I have learned so much about all of you and it has been an amazing experience. I can only hope that learning about each other can help us work together for a peaceful world.
Thank you for being a part of #MarketFriday