With COVID-19 still stubbornly omnipresent, life is not going back to normal anytime soon, not without a vaccine. Of course that includes international travel and many reports are saying that it will not return to its former glory till at least 2023.
I'm not an avid traveller nor have I lots of exotic places in my (very short) bucket list (it does include cruising though, which is such an odd thing to like in this new coronavirus landscape). But once in a while I do like to tour familiar cities that I have fond memories of from my previous visits.
One of these cities is Bangkok and at the start of this year I was there for 5 days when it was still not a pandemic. I was with a not-so-familiar friend which was a big risk as you never know how it'd turn out. My time with him wasn't good at all, in fact it was disastrous and we ended up spending all of our time separately (but still had to share the same hotel room—awkward!). Suffice to say this was a big lesson learnt and from now I'll only be with people I know I'll enjoy travelling with.
This post is not to whinge about how this person ruined my trip but about how much comfort it brought. Bangkok is like a old pal who never really changes and every time I visit, I do the same things and go to the same few spots. My last visit was in November 2014 and I've documented that trip here (parts 1 2 3). Comparing those posts and this new two-part series, how much a creature of habit I am becomes really apparent.
Here's the first half of this Bangkok trip's itinerary (the second half is covered in my next post here):
Day 1
- Lunch at Siam Paragon
- Shopping at Siam Centre, Siam Discovery, MBK, Siam Square One, Centrepoint and Terminal 21
- Dinner and shopping at Talad Neon Night Market- Shopping at Silom Road Night Market
Day 2
- Lunch and shopping at Platinum Mall- Shopping at Big-C Supacentre
- Dinner and shopping at Ratchadan Rot Fai Night Market
- Foot massage at Sukhumvit
Day 3 (Part 1)
- Lunch and shopping at Chatuchak Weekend MarketThey say pictures paint a lot of words so here goes.
And off I go to Bangkok! Spicy food, spicy weather and spicy men, here I come!
Arrived! It's not as hot as I thought but maybe it's still early. Yes yes yes, I'm wearing that thin revealing singlet again.
Checked in! It's quite a nice hotel I must say. 5-star no less. And the view is awesome!
First meal in Bangkok and it has to be quintessentially Thai! Green curry, papaya salad and sticky rice. Can't get any more Thai than this!
It has finally happened - a crossover between PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) and fashion. #Why #Ugly
Anyone seen free bakery cake tasting samples displayed for all like that before? #NoIDontWant
All this food shared between 2 people at SGD24 each. Good value or not?
PS: The name of the massage parlour is "Rapee Massage"
Better than any Pepper Lunch you can find and at a fraction of the cost with quality seafood. Where else but Bangkok? Now on to more shopping at the wholesale mall. #SeafoodPancake
Notwithstanding the weather (and traffic if you're on the roads), Bangkok is a really nice place. Rivers with traditional boats meandering through busy city thoroughfares. The old and new in perfect harmony.
Only in gay party fashion is where you'll find the price of clothes being inversely proportional to the amount of fabric. #TooExpensiveToBuy
Fancy whole BBQ croc, raw salmon displayed in tropical heat, grilled durian or eating a seafood smorgasbord right off the table? Come to Bangkok then!
The scary scene of hoards of tourists from China in tour groups descending on the night market en masse. All local vendors basically learn Mandarin for them yet they are as demanding (bordering on rude) as ever.
Last agenda item of the day. Can you believe this is the first time I'm having a foot massage?
Complimentary snack from the hotel. How sweet. #Macaron #ChocolateSoil
In Thai colours, Chatuchak Market is crazy as always but this time more expensive compared to my last visit. I got what I wanted so it's all good.
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