I haven’t heard anyone say that arriving in Bangkok is refreshing, but leaving the airport terminal, boarding the Skytrain, and then exiting the platform only a few blocks from our “home” for the week really brought us back. It brought us back to seven amazing years of living in New York City. You’re probably rolling your eyes seeing someone compare Bangkok to New York City as they are so different, but we felt right at home immediately. It was so so busy with people everywhere. There were shops, restaurants, street food carts, and tuk-tuk drivers calling our attention at any given moment. Then, combined with having spent the last 6 weeks touring Kathmandu and Tibet as well as hiking the Annapurna Circuit, it was truly refreshing for us to land in a place that felt somewhat familiar to our old lives. Well, maybe it was the soft bed in the luxurious Dream Hotel that was refreshing…either way, it was time for a new experience in Bangkok.
We were set to visit Bangkok twice: the first was to relax after our trek in Nepal before circling through Northern Thailand and then around to Laos and Cambodia. Later, we would meet up with my sister Lilli to see more of the tourist attractions in the city before heading into southern Thailand for her holiday break from college. Deprived of the “westerner life” we were used to, we ended up spending nearly a week eating, drinking, and shopping on our first visit alone.
First, all I knew about Bangkok was that it was known for street food, often called the “street food capital of the world.” Now, after having done my own research, I can confidently say that this is correct. I can’t lie and tell you I didn’t order a Domino’s Pizza on my first night (It was what I needed that first night), but I still made sure to eat my way through the rest of the city.
As I mentioned, we were staying at the luxurious Dream Hotel for the first few days (it probably cost 1/5 the price of the Dream Hotel in New York…just sayin). Each morning began with an enormous buffet breakfast spread. Everything from our welcomed western breakfast to the traditional Thai noodle soups were open for the taking. It sure was nice that the hotels across Asia all seemed to include breakfast. We had slept in a bit after our first night then loaded up at the breakfast buffet. After having more than enough we headed up to the roof top pool for a little R&R.
Our eyes opened wide at the $30 bill for our hotel lunch at poolside and we instantly knew we needed to find new options or we would be blowing our backpacker budget. Seeing as it was Sunday our best move would be to check out Chatuchak Weekend Market. Confused by the metro lines, we bought a 24hour pass only for the MRT line. It turns out there are 2 different companies that have the metro lines in Bangkok, one above ground known as the BTS and one below ground as the MRT. Don’t bother with the MRT, instead use the above ground BTS as it is more convenient to most places.
Anyway, we boarded the train and headed to the market. The Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the biggest in the world and sells just about anything you are looking for. It would take months to actually visit all the shops in this place. Even so, we did our best as we wandered through many of the stalls. Early on, we even stopped for our first foot massage in Thailand. Whitney had a rough massage from a lady who upon hearing I am a doctor tried to sell me her book on alternative/eastern medicine…that she hasn’t yet written. She even offered us her “business card,” a small scrap of paper with her name email and address. Strange.
Later that evening, we still had a couple more rides to make on the subway to make the 24hour MRT pass worth it, so we decided to check out MBK Mall for dinner. This mall is sort of like a clean organized indoor market with a few chain type stores on the bottom floors and then filled to capacity with more market like stalls on the upper floors. As soon as we passed through the doors, the air conditioning had us hooked. Bangkok is hot and humid and a fresh dose of cool air was well appreciated and sparked our interest in seeing some of the other malls in this city. At this time of day though, our favorite part was the food market on the sidewalk outside. As usual I found everything I had hoped for.
Now armed with the knowledge that the malls have the best AC in town, we had a new plan for the next couple days. After sleeping in again, yet making it to breakfast just in time, we eventually made it out of our Dream Hotel early in the afternoon. The heat of the sun was on full blast, but we knew what to do and carried ourselves over to Terminal 21. This is one of the newest malls in Bangkok, located in the Sukhumvit neighborhood. The design/décor is that of a massive airport with each floor resembling different cities in the world. It is a very unique concept and very cool to see. We didn’t really shop, but headed only to the food court. You’re probably asking why in the world we are on the other side of the world eating in a mall food court, but really let me explain. These food courts are filled with local Thai people gathering their favorite bites from the variety of stalls. We could opt for the simple and tasty pad Thai at one station or a savory noodle soup at another followed by a tourist staple the mango sticky rice. All while soaking up as much AC as possible and the prices are only a tad more than what you would pay for similar type food on the street.
Besides our trips out for food, we still continued to hibernate otherwise. Except, we finally mustered the energy to venture out to Chinatown for dinner on our third night. Chinatown isn’t the easiest place to get to without taking a cab or a tuk-tuk, but we were still determined to pinch our pennies and opted to walk most of the way. As we entered onto the main street it was obvious that we had arrived. The bright signs with their Chinese writing shined overhead and the rare delicacies advertised in each restaurant…i.e. shark fin soup and Birds nest soup, both of which should be avoided for eco-friendly reasons.
For our fourth day we had it all figured out and continued with more of the same, breakfast at the hotel, rest, lunch at Terminal 21, rest, and then dinner back at MBK mall outdoor street market, all the while squeezing in as many street food snacks as we possibly could in between meals. One of our favorites was a miniature coconut pancake concoction (sorry I don’t remember the correct name of this dish, but below is a picture). We were on pace to regain all the weight we had lost on our 3 week trek in Nepal. It sure felt worth it…at the time anyway.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t squeeze the Dream Hotel into our backpacker budget for long, so we moved over to the New Road Guesthouse near Silom Road (going rate for a private room for 2 people was about $20/night). This area is convenient and recommended with easy access to the tourist spots via a ferry as well as the rest of Bangkok via the BTS. Once checked into our hostel and filled with another amazing dish from an alley way street food cart, it was time to do some laundry. While in search for a laundromat, we came across a coin operated washing machine on the sidewalk for only 20 baht ($0.60 US) a load and put in our clothes. I guess that’s how the locals do it. Then, we wasted an hour while it washed before stringing up our own clothesline in our hostel room to finish the job.
While still finalizing some plans for when my sister would be visiting, we wanted to continue our personal food tour to seek out the best options for street food. On a tip, we decided on Sukhumvit Soi 33 as the final destination of the night where we found the usual line of food carts waiting for us. I can’t remember which dish I had, but I can assure you it was good. Also, along the way in both directions I made sure to have my 10 baht coin ready for the delicious meat on a stick. (I always have a 10 baht coin ready, so the Misses can’t stop me as I make my purchase almost mid stride).
For our final full day in Bangkok on round one, we wanted to see the hyped Khao San Road. We walked from our hostel to the ferry dock, got ushered into a tourist boat paying 100 baht each and sped off in the scary and uncomfortable long tail boat. As soon as we left the dock I knew we were on the wrong boat and had paid the wrong amount, noting we were surrounded only by fellow tourists instead of locals. Heres a tip: there is a Chao Phraya River ferry that travels up and down the river making stops along the way with prices relative to distance with a maximum of about 40 baht for the stops that most people make. I would not recommend the long tail boat for anyone. It looks fun from a distance, but when the dirty water of the river is splashing on you as the hard plank seat vibrates under your bum with the backbreaking jar felt for each wave along the way, I can assure you it’s not as fun as it looks.
Anyway, we got off at the designated stop for the long tail boat and made a bit of a walk up to Khao San Road. It was mid-morning at the time so the backpacker party scene was completely absent. We sat down momentarily to get a drink and a little internet, but didn’t see what all the hype was about. (Be sure to read “Bangkok: Round 2” to hear what it looks like at night, it was everything you might expect if you’ve seen The Hangover 2). Seeing as the people-watching was not yet in full force, we decided to head to another of the magnificent malls in Bangkok.
A tuk-tuk dropped us off in front of Siam Discovery Center. This is one of the newest and most impressive malls and sits right next to the even more impressive Siam Paragon. All the high-end brands are here and the atmosphere makes you feel like you actually have the money to buy it. Luckily, I steered Whitney through safely with my wallet kept nicely in my pocket until we found the incredible food court and fueled up.
Nearing the end of our first round in Bangkok, we decided it was time to slip into a couple seats at the fancy Siam Paragon Theater for a movie. Forgoing the VIP ticket where staff essentially serve a meal to you during the movie, we settled for a partially reclining and super comfortable regular seat to watch Inferno (played in English of course).
After the matinee, what better than a stop at our first full body one hour Thai massage at Lek Spa across the street from Siam Paragon for only 300 baht ($9 USD). We were truly in heaven as we left and vowed to return the next chance we got. (BTW, this turned out to be only 2 days later when we were enjoying a sort of layover between Kanchanaburi and Chiang Mai…and then two more times during our second round in Bangkok.)
While eating, shopping and enjoying a movie and a massage, we officially made Bangkok our home for the week. I can’t really narrow down the particular highlights in this personal food/shopping crusade, but will say eat the street food wherever you go (or a food court as it’s pretty much the same thing). And follow along as my sister Lilli joins us for Bangkok Round 2, when we explore a few more of the sights we had saved on our first round.
-Jeremy
