B is for Bangkok, Bestfriend and Boyfriend
With my black suitcase and trusty old red backpack ready, I’m set to take on a new adventure to my first ever trip to an Asian country – Thailand! To add more excitement to that, I would be travelling with my best friend of more than a decade, Kat, to support and witness her first ever participation to an international conference. But that’s not all! I was also set to meet B after four long months!
I can’t recall how many times I wished for time to go by faster to this day. I had nothing planned except for our Philippine Airline flights to and from Bangkok (15,000 Php) and our hotel for four days. I researched on which places to go a few days before the flight and asked a friend who was a frequent traveler to Bangkok (hi Dee!) for tips on transport and communication. Other than that, I was ready to take on everything that Bangkok had in store for us.
We arrived on a Sunday, a day before B flew in to Bangkok from Paris. I had the half day to spend with friends before they take on a week’s worth of activities for the conference. First order of business: change our peso to baht and grab a sim card.
Down to the lowest floor of the Suvarnabhumi airport, we had our money changed at SuperRich which apparently offers the best, most sulit* rates.
Back up to the arrival area (L2) are booths of three network companies offering the same rates for the same services but Kat and I chose to purchase a prepaid sim from AIS for about 200 Baht, 8 days of unlimited internet surfing. Internet signal in Bangkok was so fast and reliable that I was able to make a WhatsApp call to B while in a subway!
Day 1
We took an Uber from the arrival gates to our hotel, the Park Residences (booked via Booking.com : 6,400 Baht for four days, for two), outside of the city center. The closest metro station in the hotel was MRT’s Huai Kwang station. A single journey (magnetic) ticket costs 25 Baht that will get you to anywhere in the city served by the MRT line.
After checking in, we rode the train to the weekend market in Chatuchak. Souvenirs are usually bought at the end of every trip but I rushed to buy mine on day one because, hello, weekend market, “weekend” being the operative word. I got comfy cotton shirts with Thai designs and Thai spices for friends and family.
We had dinner in the nearby mall, Esplanade, a station away from our hotel (Thailand Cultural Center). And with that, we headed back to our rooms as I wait impatiently and monitored closely the arrival of B!
Day 2
At 4am, I was already preparing to leave and head back to the airport via Uber. I waited for over an hour at the waiting area and around 6am emerged B from the arrival gates!
We spent the entire morning catching up on sleep. I took him to Chatuchak park later that afternoon, hoping to get a glimpse of what was left of the weekend market. That evening, I “introduced” him to Thai cuisine back at Esplanade. No street food just yet. I couldn’t wait for my turn on tasting the street foods Bangkok has to offer. I thought, that would have to wait. I couldn’t risk having B’s stomach getting “shocked” from the different cuisine.
Day 3
The following day, day 3 (B’s day 2), we took the tourist boat (30 Baht) at Sathorn Pier to Wat Pho. Paying 100 Baht for the entrance to the temple(s), we got a glimpse of the world famous giant reclining Buddha. That afternoon, we had the honor and privilege in being audiences to Kat’s presentation. I couldn’t be any prouder!
We still had time to spare so we headed to Lumpini Park for a night stroll. For dinner, we took our chances at Café Bangrak and it didn’t fail us. Suffice it to say, I didn’t have my chance with thai street food – the very reason I wanted to go to Thailand – considering that B’s still quite sensitive about trying the local cuisine. That would have to wait for another time/visit.
Day 4
Day 4 (B’s day 3), we took the regular boat (15 Baht) back at Sathorn Pier to the Grand Palace. It was noon and we were roasting under the scorching sun! On the way to the Grand Palace, a local took notice of the way we dressed. He warned us that we were not properly dressed to go in. I listened intently but confident that I did “sufficient” research the night before, I decided to pursue the visit. Approaching the entrance, we saw thousands of people – groups, couples, individuals – going in. Dozens of those people stopping by the shops in front of the entrance to grab some pants or malongs to cover them up. That was when it occurred to me that the man who talked to us was sincerely trying to give us legitimate advice. B and I had trouble deciding to pursue the visit or not. In the end, knowing that the entrance costs 500 Baht, feeling the excruciating heat, and seeing the number of people going in… we decided to skip the visit and proceed to another destination.
We took a boat that crosses Chao Praya river for 6 Baht to Wat Arun, where we spent the entire afternoon before getting a regular boat back to Sathorn Pier and a train to Siam where we would stop to get some ice cream, my sister’s popcorn (request) and a traditional Thai Massage. I was awaiting B’s reaction to the Thai massage and he did give me the reaction I was expecting: shock and disbelief!
That night, our last night, we met Kat’s friends for dinner at the mall called “The Street”.
The following day, before noon, we checked out from the hotel and got an Uber to the airport. I couldn’t wait to ride my first ever flight with B, and in a Philippine carrier, no less! We were heading for Manila! And with that, the first leg of our first Asian tour was over!
There were stories in between, of course, but I don’t want to surpass 1,000 words per entry (as I know myself, I wouldn’t want to look back at this entry and read a long write up). I’ll leave those details in another separate post.
Stay tuned for leg two of our first Asian trip: Clark, Philippines! You may also get a glimpse of our Bangkok trip in the short video clip I made.[embed]https://vimeo.com/247582970[/embed]