We recently went to Bangkok for the POCO Partners Southeast Asia (SEA) Forum 2023, and POCO lent us the F5 Pro to take it around Bangkok during our free time. To recall, the F5 Pro is a significant model from POCO, as it packed a lot of features at around the Php 30k price point. These include 30w wireless charging, a WQHD+ AMOLED display, up to 512GB storage, and a 64-megapixel main camera with OIS.

When we reviewed the F5 Pro back in May, we lauded how POCO is back at its game by packing it with a lot of features while keeping it within the Php 30k price point. This is why it’s nice to revisit the F5 Pro after 3 months during our short trip to Bangkok–to see if POCO’s software updates made further improvements to its cameras.

 

Leaving for Bangkok.

Right before we left for our morning flight to Bangkok, the POCO team gave us phones to use during the overnight trip. We were handed over the F5 Pro, which we looked forward to revisiting its camera performance.

The flight to Bangkok was smooth, and I enjoyed the in-flight meal that was served to us, while I got myself busy binging on the Netflix KDrama show Celebrity.

 

Arriving in Bangkok.

After a 3-hour flight, we arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is Thailand’s main gateway. I’ve been to this airport several times, and it never fails to amaze me at how huge this airport is.

Late Lunch at The House on Sathorn.

After a 45-minute bus ride from the airport, we arrived at W Bangkok, which is the hotel where we will stay for the night–and where the POCO Partners Southeast Asia (SEA) Forum 2023 will be held. Right outside the hotel is The House on Sathorn, which has a very picturesque facade and a very rich history behind it.

My hotel room has a nice view of Bangkok and its many buildings–one of them being King Power Mahanakhon, which is the tallest building in the city with 78 floors of a unique all-glass design.

After checking in, we grabbed a late lunch at The House on Sathorn, where we got ourselves full with all the delicious Thai food that was served to us.

 

Exploring King Power Mahanakhon.

With King Power Mahanakhon being around 500 meters away from W Bangkok, I decided to spend my free time visiting Bangkok’s tallest building. While I wasn’t able to visit the 78th floor–where the Skywalk is–due to bad weather, the view on the 74th floor is not bad at all.

Aside from exploring Bangkok from one of its highest points, I was also trying out the Xiaomi Mix Fold 3, which is an incredible foldable that I hope they decide to make it available outside of China (check out our hands-on with it here).

 

Dinner and a late-night massage at Health Land.

I was lucky that the rains that night were not as strong (and that King Power Mahanakhon was near W Bangkok), so I was able to head back to W Bangkok with an umbrella. We had s sumptuous dinner that consisted of a big slab of baby back ribs that I decided to share with a fellow media colleague. To wrap up the night, we had a massage at Health Land, which was also within walking distance from the hotel.

Since we finished our massage at around 10:30 PM, I thought that it was a great opportunity to test out the POCO F5 Pro’s camera for some low-light snaps. While it’s not using an ISOCELL or IMX sensor–the F5 Pro uses an OV64B sensor instead–it appears that POCO did make improvements to the cameras. I noticed that the details are much sharper, and color accuracy is slightly better compared to when we first used the F5 Pro back in May.

After that relaxing massage, we head back to the hotel. Wrote a few stories, and played Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail on the POCO F5 Pro, where it performed flawlessly even when I maxed out all the graphics settings. After around an hour of playing, it was time for me to cap off the night and get some sleep.

Early Breakfast and stroll around N Sathon Road.

I had a really nice sleep thanks to that massage, so I managed to have my breakfast at 7 AM. After a sumptuous breakfast, and a fellow media friend of mine went out to find coffee at 8 AM. It was rush hour at that time, so there was traffic at N Sathon Road.

Going up the stairs leading to BTS’ Saint Louis Station, I found this interesting view of the road, which was a great opportunity for me to test out the POCO F5 Pro’s main and ultra-wide cameras. While it’s pretty much a given that the F5 Pro’s main camera is great, the ultra-wide camera is decent despite having fewer megapixels.

The weather was fortunately sunny, so I did not worry about any downpours while walking.

 

Coffee break at Ground Coffee.

Our search for coffee has led us to this place called Ground, which is located along Sathorn 11. Making this coffee shop interesting is the vintage appeal of the building, along with those large window panes in front that lets you view everything that’s happening within the street while drinking a cup of coffee inside.

The vintage vibe of the coffee shop also continues on the inside, where you get a man-made pond and an area that feels like you’re on a tropical island. Not to mention, the coffee here is good (I ordered their Dirty Coffee), so I recommend visiting this coffee shop when you are in Thailand.

Concluding the trip.

To wrap up the trip, I headed back to W Bangkok, freshened up, and checked out of my room in time for the POCO Partners Southeast Asia (SEA) Forum 2023, where we learned a lot about the mid-range phone market in Southeast Asia and how Gen Zers play a big role in that market. After the 2-hour-long forum (plus a 30-minute exclusive interview with POCO Global Product Marketing Manager Angus Ng), we had a lunch buffet hotel before heading back to the airport and concluding my 24-hour stay in Bangkok.

Despite the short time (and the erratic weather), I managed to make the most out of it–and further appreciate why the POCO F5 Pro is one of the best phones you can get in the under Php 30k segment–more so with its discounted price at POCO Carnival 2023.