Bangkok, Thailand

(Update: it took me two nights to get through Stranger Things and a week to get through this post. Guess which one kept my focus a little more than the other ?. I’ve also managed to watch the entire 1st season of Mindhunter. I apologize in advance if it feels like this post is all over the place! #nofocus)

Just like everyone this weekend, I am binging on Stranger Things as I write this post about the Bangkok part of my Thailand trip. I am bound to be distracted from time to time, because who doesn’t love Stranger Things!

I have to start off by saying that I have never sat, slept or ate as many carbs as I did in this 12-day travel period. Amidst long bus rides, longer flights and lots and lots of rice, my butt hurt for days and my muffin top suffered severely. Needless to say, Thailand was a great experience, between our time in both Bangkok and Surin.

Our time in Bangkok wasn’t too long, but enough to get a fair amount of exposure. To remind you, we spent time in Bangkok on the front end of our trip, as well as the back end. It was 2.5 days in the beginning, after 24-hours of travel, and only 0.5 days before 24-hours of travel back to the states. Definitely an experience all the way around.

Side note: Because we had so much time flying, I watched so many flippin’ movies. I am not sure if I can remember all of them, but I was able to watch King Arthur ❤️, Eat Pray Love, My Cousin Rachel, Rough Night, and Guardians of the Galaxy 1 AND 2. I lost track after a while 🙂

We flew into the bigger Bangkok airport, BKK, shortly after 12am (Thai time), got through customs (which was a joke) and made our way to our hotel. It was raining and very dark out that night, so we couldn’t really tell what the city looked like at night. (We were able to tell/see on other nights, though.) Once we arrived at the hotel, we got settled and attempted to get some sleep. I mean, we had been traveling for so long and jumped forward in time about 12-hours, we needed to recoop a little.

After some sleep, JM and I made our way to the free breakfast on the “executive suite” level or whatever it was called. I have to say, JM did a great job picking the hotel and super glad he was a gold member…or was it platinum? Whichever it was, we got some pretty sweet upgrades! (Thank you, JM.) At breakfast, there was a variety of both American and Thai things – pancakes, eggs, fresh squeezed juices, Thai dumplings and noodles…and those jelly doughnuts! They weren’t just any ordinary Dunkin Donut or Krispy Kreme jelly filled doughnuts. They were something special and I was absolutely addicted. I know JM judged me for the amount of times I went back for seconds…thirds…shit, maybe it was even fourths and fifths. But from the 27th floor, looking out at the dirty Chao Phraya River and eating those doughnuts made me feel like a champion those two mornings.

A game plan to explore Bangkok was a necessity. The city spans a large area of space with even more condensed into that area. That was one of my favorite things about the city, though; there was so much to do and see. Temples. Water markets. Street food. And you can’t really get around walking. We had to take boats, ferries, the subway system, taxis, and my all-time favorite, TUK TUKS! I asked JM if we could take tuk tuks everywhere, and while we couldn’t every time we went somewhere, we tried to take them as often as possible. Simply exhilarating!

For those who aren’t familiar with tuk tuks, they are basically larger scooters, driven by a driver, with a roofed cart in the back to carry passengers. And boy were they fun! We could weave in and out of traffic, and that came in handy since Bangkok is notorious for their traffic. One time we caught a tuk tuk right in the nick of time, right before it started pouring. (Did I mention it was “rainy season” for Thailand?) If I were to pick my favorite thing about Bangkok, I would definitely have to say riding in tuk tuks takes the lead.

I tried to insert a video of us riding on a tuk tuk, but it only shows up as this number (552). If you are interested, click the link and it will download the video. 

As far as things to do in Bangkok, there was no shortage. The first place we ventured to was the Golden Buddha. So, we hopped in a taxi and made our way to the temple. The temple alone was a sight to see – golden steeples, golden door frames, golden trim. The stairways were set up like a real life castle. To reach the entrance of the statue, we had to walk up two or three stairways, passed an enormous picture of the late King and some sculptures on the wall like framed pictures. Once we reached the “third level”, we took off our shoes, like all the others temples and houses we entered in Thailand.

Inside was this massive golden statue of Buddha – duh, Golden Buddha, right? If you look up this golden statue, you find out it weighs 5.5 TONS! In person, it looked just that big. While it almost looked fake because of how big it is and how gold it is, it was an amazing statue. JM and I walked around the temple, taking in the “glory”.

Next, we were off to the Reclining Buddha! But first, we took the long way around. After negotiating the price, we snagged a slow water taxi. (There was a faster water taxi that splashed the dirty water everywhere and you got to your destination much faster, but we wanted to see the city without it flashing by.) The water taxi took us down the “coastline”, to a small water market, a small food market at a dock, and eventually back up to the river to the Grand Palace stop.

When we landed at the Grand Palace stop, we found out the palace was closed due to the cremation of the late King later in the month. I should probably add that there were marigolds everywhere and most everyone worn black. The King had actually passed in 2016, but Thai culture observe a year of mourning. It was unfortunate that the Palace was closed, but something to check out when I go back.

From the street-side of the Grand Palace, we did a little bit of walking to the Reclining Buddha. This was probably the only walking we did in Thailand, until we got to Surin. The walk reminded me how hot Thailand was supposed to be during October. People had their umbrellas to cover them from the blaring sun, and then it clicked. JM’s friend told us to bring an umbrella with us. At first I thought she meant for the rain, but it could have easily been used for dual purpose! 🙂

Once we made it to the temple, we walked around the outside to view all the statues and artistry on the outside of the building, on the gates and walls. The Reclining Buddha was also amazing, like the Golden Buddha, but in such a different way. This Buddha stretched the entire temple – laying down on its side, with one hand on the side of its head. You couldn’t even get the whole thing in one picture. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures from inside this temple or from the rest of the boat trip. We ended up taking pictures with JM’s work phone that reset after recharging. We lost the Reclining Buddha pictures, and he lost his Europe pictures from last year. Sad! I did manage to take some pictures of the statues outside the temple before my phone died for the day.

Remember when I said JM and I caught a tuk-tuk right before it rained? It was shortly after we walked out of the Reclining Buddha Temple. Thank goodness and what perfect timing! So, we headed back to our hotel to plan the rest of the evening, but that was a wrap! When JM jumped into the shower, I settled into the chair by the window and passed out. Until 4am the next morning!!! Sure, I woke up to shower and then basically every hour on the hour starting at 2am, but I struggled to get up and stay up. Jet lag is some serious business!

Since neither of us could go back to sleep around 5am, we got up – I hit the gym and JM walked around the hotel. After a mini workout, we wandered the streets of Bangkok to kill time before breakfast was available. Nom nom nom, those jelly doughnuts!

On our second full day, we made plans to visit the Weekend Market (Chatuchak Market) and meet up with JM’s college friend, who lives in Thailand. This day was full of shopping – from one market to another. With my new friend (and our tour guide), we ate street food, hustled the hustlers for lower prices, and made our way around the city like a well- oiled machine.

The Chatuchak Weekend Market was unlike anything I have ever seen. The closest market I can compare it to was one I visited in New York City…but times it by a million! Not only did this market have outer layers that spanned forever, but there were rows and rows inside. We easily got lost in the maze that was this Saturday and Sunday market. We managed to get most of souvenirs here. There was food and drinks, but for the most part, it was a major tourist attraction that had a lot of manufactured “junk”.

If you are interested in seeing a view of the market, click 508 and it will download the video. 

We could have spent hours at this weekend market, but after a while, all the products started to look alike. So, recommended by our “tour-guide” friend, we made it over to another shopping area called Asiatique Riverfront. This was a huge waterfront mall with a very big Ferris wheel. We made our way to their subway system, which included train cars AND boats! We made sure to use all forms of transportation, and eventually made it to the waterfront mall.

Once we made it to land, the mall was simply that. It was like my area’s National Harbor! But in Bangkok, they have  mechanical robots to ride around on. It was like you were controlling your own Power Ranger! There was definitely a different attraction of things to do in Bangkok and riding big machines was one of them. It was almost like it was a MUST! What kid or adult doesn’t want to ride around in a big robot!

If you are interested, click 536 and it will download the video. 

After our robot rides, we walked around the mall, shared some sweet dessert and took a ride on the Ferris wheel. Getting to see the city from the top of the Ferris wheel gave us a grand viewpoint of how big and active the city still was, even after the sun went down.

It was finally time for us to part ways with our partner in crime for the day. She had to get home, while JM and I made our way to the Sky Bar. Literally a bar in the sky! It was this beautiful hotel, with a restaurant on like the 26th floor or something ridiculous. Suspended over 800 feet in the air, over Bangkok, JM and I enjoyed a nice dinner, as we watched the storm come rolling into town. The sight was absolutely breathtaking. Again, another great perspective of the livelihood of Bangkok.

After finishing a delicious dinner, we decided it was best to head back to the hotel to rest up for our travels the next day. We were planning to get up early to make sure we weren’t late to the bus station, and with notorious Bangkok traffic, we didn’t want to take any chance. So…we caught some z’s and…

…off to Surin we went! (link pending)

After spending a week in Surin, helping elephants, learning about the Thai culture and making new friends, we were back to Bangkok. For literally one night. More like 8 hours! Again, JM booked another really good hotel –  a spa and golf resort. It was basically a gated community off the busy streets of Bangkok. Again, I can’t thank JM for doing such an amazing job with hotel selection. Amen!

Once we checked in, we were shown to the room and by golly was it magnificent. Probably one of the best hotel rooms I have had the pleasure of staying in. (I suck it up at hostels most of my trips, so this was beyond a treat for me!) We had a huge circular bathtub, a waterfall shower, a luxurious living room, and great view of the golf course.

First thing on my agenda, once we got into our room, was SHOWER! I had been missing strong water pressure. I had been missing warm water. Into the shower I went! O-M-G, lovely feeling of the hot warm rolling off my back, cleaning the dirt from my toes. Glorious!

Before we even left for our trip, JM and I talked about getting massages once we got to the spa resort. It was going to be our reward and treat before traveling home. When we were in Bangkok on the front end of our trip, I booked our massages for Sunday afternoon – Thai massages because why not? When in Thailand, book Thai massages.

We walked around the hotel to find the infinity pool on the way to the spa. Whoa! Beautiful and I felt at peace. Sure, hanging out with elephants was peaceful, but seeing that pool was like I was at home. But we didn’t have time (then) to hang by the pool – we had Thai massages to have! The spa was beautiful and the staff was super nice. They brought us this blue tea, which surprising enough we made in Surin by the help out of vet friend. When you added the lemon juice, the blue turned purple, and it tasted delicious. More please!

If you are interested, click 1319 and it will download the video. 

Full disclosure, JM and I did do a double massage, but we were both clothed the entire time. I only had little prior knowledge of Thai massages. I knew it was more pressure with some extra stretching in the mix, but I was in for a major surprise. That shit HURT! They fooled me into believing it was going to be nice and soothing with the nice foot bath they gave us. Then the pain began when we laid down on the beds. Those Thai massage ladies were relentless! Maybe in the United States the massage therapists are taught to let up when you feel muscles twitch or the client tense up. Nope, not in Thailand. For me, the massage therapist’s hands felt like baby hands with super human strength on what felt like my massive calves. She kept digging and digging, and ladies and gents, IT HURT! I essentially paid for pain. Yes, pain! Isn’t that a little S&M? Oh well 🙂

After the massage, they tried to “apologize” with some delicious tea and some mango and ginger gummies. It was probably typical to receive tea at a place like this after a service, so I am joking about them apologizing. Both JM and I admitted that 1) we thought the ladies would let up eventually, 2) didn’t speak up because of 1 and 3) we are both oil and lighter massage type people. But hey, when in Thailand…

We finished our last night in Bangkok with our volunteer friend (the vet), who just so happened to have booked the same hotel as us. We enjoyed dinner together one last time and said our goodbyes. After dinner, JM decided to take a nice hot bath and I made my way to the infinity pool. I watched a thunderstorm roll in over the city from the ledge of the pool. I didn’t want to regret not getting into that amazing looking pool, so I finished my trip up relaxing in my bikini from the pool. Comfort like no other!

After the wind started to pick up, I made my way back to our room to hang out with JM, do one last pack, and try to get some sleep before we had to be up at 3am. Before you know it, we were back on a plane, starting another 24-hour travel day back to the United States.

I have to say that traveling to Thailand gave me appreciation for what I have in the United States. Sidewalks. Hot warm. Drinking water whenever I want. “Luxurious” beds. Electric toothbrush. There is a lot I manage to take advantage of or not even think about, until you don’t have it anymore…even if it was for just a short period of time. I managed to learn a lot about the Thai culture, a few things about me and walk away the fact…that I would easily go back to Thailand. I look forward to the day that I get to go back and explore what else this grand country has to offer.

Until next time…