Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
We're in Bangkok! Yes, that's right, we've made it all the way to Thailand's capital. Home to 14 million people, this bustling multicultural metropolis is known for shopping, culture, nightlife, markets, hot weather, rooftops, tourists behaving badly, and, of course, food. Oh, the food. So much delicious food.
Bangkok is our first stop and home base from which we will be discovering Southeast Asia over the next four weeks. It's also officially Ryan's first time setting foot in the Asian continent. We're 12 hours ahead and nearly halfway around the planet from Montreal. And while it couldn't possibly feel more different from home, I'm already quite liking it here.
A very long journey
We arrived around 6:30am after what honestly has to have been one of the most brutal flights of my life. A schedule change with Air France meant that this second leg of our trip was on Thai Airways, an airline I'd never flown before, but had generally heard positive things about. Well, not so much in this case.
Our flight, while only slightly delayed, had just about everything else go wrong with it.
It began with the world's most chaotic boarding process in Paris. Then we sat at the gate for more than an hour with zero air and the sun beating in from the windows. The plane was an older Boeing 777 with limited air circulation. That, combined with bad turbulence for most of the flight, led to me feeling quite ill. And, of course, a toddler sitting right behind us who spent the entire flight screaming, squealing, kicking the seat, and standing up to lean over and cough right on us. For eleven and a half hours.
I was not amused. All I wanted to do was sleep on that plane, and that was a complete fail. By the time we landed in Bangkok, I'd been awake for 36 hours straight and was feeling rather worse for wear. Plus, with all the people coughing constantly, hardly anyone but us wearing masks, and terrible air circulation, if we managed to avoid catching COVID on that horrible flight, it will be a miracle.
No rest for the weary
But there we were in Bangkok and the day was just beginning. We cleared immigration, took care of necessities like getting cash from an ATM and buying some SIM cards, and found the super convenient Airlink train that whisked us into the city in a half hour flat.
At Phayathai, we transferred to the BTS Skytrain, Bangkok's main city transit system (there's also a metro and a riverboat ferry system; more on those later).
I must say, I'm enjoying the fact that everyone here in Thailand still seems to be wearing masks, most of them N95s, in public transit and all crowded spaces. It's so civilized and practical, plus it makes us feel so much safer being here than at home. (If it weren't for the fact that the flights over here were probably the most dangerous risk we've taken since early 2020, I'd say everyone should come here.)
A transfer and a few stops later, we made it to our hotel, conveniently located near Saphan Taksin station and Sathorn ferry pier, with a great view of the Chao Phraya river. It was still early in the morning and our room wouldn't be ready for a few hours yet, but the front desk was happy to store our bags. We did the best we could to shift items around, clean up a bit, and get ready for a day of sightseeing. Sleep would have to wait.
A palace fit for royals
After a short wander around our hotel's neighbourhood and a stop for a coffee, Ryan and I were ready to head out.
We walked down to the ferry pier and bought tickets for the "orange flag" boat to take us up to the area near the Grand Palace, successfully avoiding touts and at least one attempt at the "Palace is closed today" scam. Yeah, I may be exhausted, but I'm not tired enough to fall for that one, sorry dude.
The river ferry system is actually the oldest part of Bangkok's public transit system, and it's a great way to get around. Open-air ferryboats regularly run scheduled stops up and down the river, tickets are cheap, the views are great, and it beats being crowded into a train or a subway any day. I could get used to this.
We disembarked and followed the crowd of people to the entrance to our first stop, the Grand Palace of Bangkok. Okay, so maybe it's a bit of a cliche; just about every tourist in Thailand goes there. But for good reason. Sorry, Royals of Europe: Nobody does opulence quite like Thailand.
The Palace complex dates back to the 1780s, built by King Rama I. The complex was expanded throughout the years, and extensive restorations in the past few decades have restored it to much of its glory.
Picture building after building of gold leaf, glass, stones, sparkling elaborate everything. The Temple of the Emerald Buddha also forms a part of the Palace grounds and is stunning in itself.
We wandered around the Grand Palace for just under two hours. Every time we'd turn a corner, there was something else amazing to see, and it felt like we kept discovering new sections.
Reclining Buddha and Temple of the Dawn
After the Grand Palace, we walked a short distance to Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. This temple is well known for its main feature: Yep, you guessed it: A really, really, really big reclining Buddha. One of the biggest statues of Buddha in the world, in fact. This impressive golden Buddha is so big, in fact, that it's almost impossible to get the whole thing in a photograph.
We then decided a lunch break was in order, and we found a small restaurant near the river across from Wat Arun. There, Ryan had his first Pad Thai of the trip, I ordered some rice and pineapple chicken, and we both felt much better. I also bought myself a pair of cheap elephant pants from a nearby street stand, because it seemed like the thing to do as a tourist in Thailand, plus they'll be cool and comfy in this heat.
Next stop? Temple of the Dawn. Wat Arun is probably the most famous and most-photographed landmark of Bangkok. Despite its name, it's apparently best seen at sunset, not at sunrise. Well, we were there in mid-afternoon, with the hot sun beating down. But oh well, once we're in the neighbourhood, we might as well stop by.
We had to take another riverboat ferry to cross the river to get to Wat Arun. It cost all of 5 baht, which I understand is an increase from the previous 3. Inflation, amirite? It's everywhere. But considering that 5 baht is worth about 20 cents, I wasn't complaining.
Wat Arun is famous for its beautifully intricate spires that tower over the river. You can actually climb up to the lower platform of those spires, which lots of people seem to do in order to take Instagrammable photos to share to their social media accounts. In fact, tourist shops near the site were renting elaborate period costumes, enabling tourists to live their dreams of being photographed in cheesy costumes at the site. Despite this, it's a beautiful temple complex and definitely worth visiting.
The much-needed siesta
Wat Arun was interesting, but the heat and lack of sleep was getting to both of us by then, so Ryan and I paid it a short visit and decided to head back to the hotel. We caught the Orange Flag boat back to Sathorn Pier, which took a little longer since we had to wait for the boat, but was still pretty quick. I did mention I'm loving this riverboat system, right?
We made a brief detour to the supermarket next to the hotel for some snacks and water. It's actually the lower level of a fancy department store, and you know me and supermarkets in foreign countries, I love checking them out and this one was no exception. Anyway, we got what we needed, headed next door to get our room key, and we were finally checked in.
Ahhhhh.
This hotel is pretty great, by the way. Thailand is still relatively affordable, by Canadian standards, so we were able to book a few nicer places along the way and this is one of them. It has a great view of the Chao Phraya river from the hotel window, and a city view from our private balcony.
Other room amenities include a full kitchenette, what might be the world's best shower, a saltwater pool, and even a washer/dryer. In the room. Yes, really. I could get used to this.
As tempting as it was to just flop down on the bed and take a nap, it wouldn't help our jet lag to go to sleep at 3pm. So we forced ourselves to stay awake, but indulged with a much-needed shower and some rest.
Did someone say street food?
By dinnertime, neither of us were feeling particularly ambitious about going back out, but we still needed to eat. Luckily, we're in Bangkok, which is perhaps the street food capital of the world. And one of the most fun street food markets in Bangkok happens to be right around the corner from our hotel.
All along Charoen Krung street, vendors had set up their stalls, selling delicacies ranging from fried noodles to fish wrapped in banana leaf to every possible imaginable item on a stick. It's a very local market and nearly all in Thai, so it was hard to know what everything was, but the system is very point-and-try-it.
The market stalls lead into Bangkrak Market, which is a sort of quasi-indoor area with dozens of semi-permanent street food restaurants and a food court atmosphere.
The restaurants seem to sell everything, and we saw quite a few app delivery drivers picking up orders too (hey, did you know you can order in street food here? Awesome!) Ryan and I had a bit of an attack of decision paralysis, and finally ended up getting a couple of dessert-like crepe rotis and some takeout steamed dumplings.
First night in Thailand
And now I've been up for, let's see, about 50 hours, if my math is correct. And yes, you should be impressed I can still add, subtract, and do time zone conversions after this much time awake. But yes, it's definitely time to hit the hay.
First impressions of Bangkok? Well, it's hot. Very hot. Today was 35
with the humidex, and the hot sun beating down is going to take some
getting used to after leaving Montreal's biting cold. It's hazy, especially in the mornings, likely due to smog. It's sprawling and expansive and much of it is new and filled with glitz and luxury. A lot of it is old and filled with tradition. And the street food so far is divine.
This city is huge and there's no way we'll be able to do anything but scratch its surface over the next few days. There are people who live here for months or years and still don't truly uncover all that Bangkok has to offer. But here's hoping a much-needed good night's sleep will help give us the energy to see more of Bangkok's charms tomorrow.
MOM
2022-12-16
WOWWW What an amazing first 50 + hours of your adventure. You always pack in a full start and then some. Snowing here….but who cares…. LOVE YOU both.
Joanne
2022-12-16
So we’ll written on no sleep! You are in Buddha heaven, Ryan is in food heaven, love the blow by blow, keep on trucking…..
Rick
2022-12-18
Well, you guys are HAPPY! I'm so so impressed with all; the river boat running around, architecture, food markets .I guess when I get 6-49 win I have to go there
Johnny
2022-12-19
WOW,love the pics. Looks amazing!