So This is Bangkok

There's always a first time for everything. 

Last week, I took a 3-day trip to Bangkok that was a trip of many firsts - my first time in Bangkok, my first time to travel abroad completely alone, and my first time to be staying in a hostel by myself.

I didn't think too much about why I booked this trip. I just knew I had to take a break for a while. Clear my head, breathe some new air, and just see more of the world. And although I had never done this before, I had a feeling that it would be a lot of fun.

The whole trip started out just like every first-time solo traveler's trip: sheer panic. Booked for a flight at 21:35, I spent most of the day buying stuff I needed. I got home around 5 PM and thought I still had a lot of time left to have an early dinner and pack my bag. For some reason, which up to now I still don't know why, I understood 21:35 as 11:35 PM. And not just on that day, but the whole month! It wasn't until around 6 PM after checking my ticket one last time that I realized my flight was at 9:35 PM. Needless to say, I was scrambling like hell afterwards to get ready for the trip. I took a quick shower and packed all my stuff in my backpack as fast as I could. Thankfully, my dad offered to bring me to the airport, which saved a lot time. I got to the airport around 7:30 so it was all good. I checked in my bag, ate another dinner, and proceeded to the departure area.

It was a smooth flight to Bangkok and we arrived there by midnight. As the plane was descending, I remember saying to myself, "Okay, I'm here. What do I wanna do?" Funny, I still ask myself that same question every day.

And Here We Go

I took a cab to the hostel I was staying in and arrived there around 1:30 AM. Although I informed the hostel that I would check in early in the morning, the front door was lockedand had no way of getting inside. Luckily, there was a French guy outside using his cellphone. He let me in and told me to just wake up the receptionist in the office. I knocked on the office glass window for a good 5 minutes, but I just couldn't wake him. Seeing the lounge beside it, I decided to just spend the night there since it looked cozy enough anyway.  Just as I was heading to the lounge, the receptionist came out and welcomed me. As he was handing me my keys and access card, he asked with a smile, "Why didn't you ring the doorbell?"

Day 1 - It Doesn't Hurt to Ask

I woke up around 10 AM the next day and was excited to just explore the city. Being in Bangkok for only 3 days, I knew I wouldn't be able to see all the major attractions. But I decided long before I got to Bangkok that I'd just see as many places as I could without worrying about missing this or that.

Just woke up.

I left the hostel before noon and started the day by going to the Grand Palace. Following my rough research the day before, I was able to find my way to it through a ferry ride and a lot of aimless walking around. Ten minutes into exploring the Grand Palace, my digicam died because I forgot to charge the batteries. Oh well. Good thing I brought along a disposable camera that I got as a kris kringle gift last Christmas.

The last picture from my digicam before the battery died.

I kept thinking it was actually a good thing that I wasn't able to use the digicam that day. With the limited number of shots in the disposable camera, I would be forced to make every shot count. I would go beyond superficialities to really capture the heart of the moment. I told myself that I would be able to say more with one beautiful, well-composed shot than a hundred lifeless photos. Or maybe I was just making myself feel better for not charging the batteries.

After exploring the Grand Palace, I decided to visit Wat Pho next. As what was becoming a normal thing for me in this trip, I got lost first before finding it. After some asking around and plenty of second guessing, I found the temple that had the famous reclining Buddha. I then took a break at a park with a great view of Wat Arun from across the river.

Seeing as I still had some time left before the last ferry trip back to the central pier, I made my way to Khao San road, a famous street that's famous for its hostels, shops of all kinds, and great street food. Simply put, it's backpacker heaven. After exploring the street and trying out the Pad Thai (really delicious!), I went back to the main city and had dinner in one of the big malls, where I ended up buying two books I've been looking for a while. I then went back to the hostel and called it a night.

Day 2 - So That's What Sunblock is For

Waking up earlier around 9 AM this time, I decided to spend most of this day in Muang Boran or Ancient City. It's a huge complex with various historical and cultural replicas, artifacts, temple structures, etc. I was determined to follow the instructions the receptionist gave on how to get there. It involved taking a city bus to the last station and then riding a mini-bus that passed by the complex.

I waited patiently in the bus stop and saw the right bus coming from afar. But since I was busy taking a picture of myself appreciating the city, I wasn't able to get on the bus in time. So I said, "Oh well, I'll just catch the next one. It can't be that long from now, right?"

Turns out it was that long. I waited for another half hour at the bus stop but the it still didn't pass by. So I decided to take a cab to the station where I could just take the mini-bus to the complex. When I found a cab, I showed him the instructions the receptionist wrote down. Between my animated actions and his broken English, we couldn't understand each other. But thankfully, he understood the part about me going to the Ancient City so I just rode the cab all the way there instead.

The Ancient City was a cool place. Being a nature lover, I thoroughly enjoyed this place which had so many trees, ponds, and places you could just relax and unwind. They provide a bicycle for free so you could explore the whole complex, which was larger than I imagined. You could also rent a golf cart on an hourly basis. But since I was on a budget and felt that biking was way more fun (which it was), I chose the bike.

It was hot as hell though. Not just regular hot, but sunburn hot. I got there around noon and the sun was just melting me. Good thing I brought my sarong, which I used to cover my face and head while I biked around. Did I look like a weirdo biking with boardshorts, a shirt, a backpack, and sarong wrapped around my head? You betcha! But it was fun, sunburn and all.

My trusty bike that day.

I took a breather here.

It was pretty hot.

Map of the complex

Sunny afternoon

I took a nap here. When I woke up, a gardener was staring at me.

Things I brought.

Fun biking around.

The Black Rock

Zen garden

I left the complex just before closing time at 5 PM. I was determined to commute my way back to the hostel. If all else failed, I could take a cab anyway so that gave me extra confidence to try my hand at commuting. I asked the park personnel and they gave me the same instructions the hostel receptionist gave but backwards. Game!

So I waited for mini-bus 36 outside the complex. I was expecting a mini-bus to be a smaller version of a city bus. It turns out it's sort of a big pick-up truck with a roof in the back. Cool, just like a jeepney I thought. So I rode mini-bus 36 all the way to the last stop (a market) where everybody went down.

From there, I'd just have to take the same city bus I originally had to take from the hostel. Easy enough I said to myself. I walked around a bit to find where the buses were passing through. After fifteen minutes or so, I saw the my bus. It was on the other side of the street though and I couldn't get to it in time yet again. So I had to wait for the next one. It wouldn't take as long as earlier in the morning I thought.

But it did. About half an hour later, I saw the next one pass by and jumped on it as soon as I could. Not knowing how long the ride back would take, I decided to get down on the first train station I saw. I took the train going back to the hostel, had dinner in the street food area outside the hostel, and slept soundly with sunburn on my face and arms and a full tummy.

Crispy Noodles with Pork Strips

Spicy Salad with Pork Strips

Day 3 - Go With the Flow

Since my flight back home was still at midnight, I had the whole day to explore parts other parts of the city. I wanted this day to be just about walking and exploring the city. In my mind, if you want to really know a city, then just wander its streets.

I went to a couple of malls (Terminal 21, Siam Paragon, MBK) to just see the stores and to eat breakfast and lunch. I planned on going back to Khao San road later in the afternoon to buy pasalubong for my family. But it suddenly rained after I had lunch, so I had coffee and read a book first in Siam Paragon until the rain stopped.

Later, I took the ferry to Khao San road and bought a bunch of stuff. I also ate Pad Thai again from the same vendor and enjoyed it just like the first day. This street is definitely something and every tourist should drop by here at least once.

"This Pad Thai is bitchin'!" - literally the first words that popped in my mind after tasting it

My favorite go-to snack in Khao San Road.

I made my way back to the hostel afterwards and had dinner at the famous streetfood area just outside the hostel. There were so many choices for streetfood in this area and I wish I could've tried them all. But you can only try so much in three days. I'll definitely come back here in my next trip to Bangkok.

Khao San Road

Super police

Waiting for the boat ride back to central pier.

Beautiful Sky

Favorite street food place

Popular street just outside the hostel with delicious street food.

After dinner, I picked up my bag from the hostel and rode the railway link to the airport. I checked in my bag and immediately went to the immigration departure area instead of eating first (I got hungry again). It was a good call because the line in the immigration took about 45 mins. When I got to the pre-departure area, I had just enough time to buy a meal before boarding time. Despite the fact that all airport food is naturally overpriced, I bought a sub from Subway anyway. This was by far the most expensive 6-inch sub I've ever bought from Subway. But hey, you gotta eat when you gotta eat.

We boarded the plane past midnight. I couldn't sleep very well in the plane goingback home even if it was early in the morning. But it was a great trip all throughout so no complaints from me whatsoever. See you next time, Bangkok!