bangkok day 1: the unexpected trip

I'm a stay-at-home mom this first week of the new year (yaya concerns, in a nutshell) and while it's been quite tiring with the never-ending chores, it's fun being with Sloan and attending to his needs myself. Right now, he's out playing with the neighborhood kids, so I have a bit of time to myself. I thought I'd use that to blog about the unexpected trip to Bangkok I went on last year.

My officemate Reyna and I were assigned to represent Sun Life at the Sports Industry Asia Awards, wherein our company was nominated in two different categories for Sunpiology and Sun vs. Stars:The Star Magic Games. Reyna and I wrote the entries for this award-giving body, respectively, and it was definitely a thrill when both were named finalists alongside the most prestigious sporting events in the region.

We stayed at the Centara Grand Hotel, which was pretty convenient as it was near two huge malls and was a short walk to the BTS Skytrain.





We were psyched about getting to attend the awards night, but of course, we were also looking forward to doing a bit of exploring during our free time. Reyna and I agreed that it was going to be a chill trip with no strict itinerary, save for checking out some food places which were highly recommended. 

During this trip, we learned one important lesson: many establishments in Bangkok are closed on Mondays! We learned this the hard way after going all the way to Thip Samai for what was apparently the best pad thai in Bangkok, only to find its doors closed. The only thing you could buy was their bestselling orange juice from a lone staff who was guarding a fridge.

Hungry and wet from the rain, we settled for the eatery next door which also sold phad thai. In fact, it's the only thing in their menu, and that led Reyna to conclude that it must be their specialty. I guess it was because it turned out to be quite good - thankfully! We also had some really yummy barbecue which Reyna got from a store a few meters away, and yes, that dang orange juice.

Food, finally!
The night was still young and we were in the mood to hang out a bit more, but the craft beer places Reyna wanted to check out were also closed on Mondays. And so I suggested that we just head off to Khao San Road, because if there's one place I was sure would be kicking no matter the day, it would be this tourist haven. I had some agenda to this suggestion though, because there was this secondhand book stall I fell in love with during my first Bangkok trip from years ago, and I wanted to see if it was still there.



Thankfully, the rains stopped as we walked to Khao San. When we finally got to the area, I could barely recognize it anymore. Sure it had all the bars and hostels, but there were a lot of taller buildings now. Also, it appears as though the surrounding streets have gotten in on the action and put up their own bars and hostels, that I could no longer tell which the actual Khao San Road was. This made it hard for me to track down the book stall I was looking for.  Reyna gamely walked with me as I searched, but sadly, I was unsuccessful.



We finally settled at some random bar where she had beers while I went for mojitos. I happily took in the surroundings and relished the thought that hey, I was in Bangkok! That it was an unexpected trip made it even more special, and I thanked the heavens for getting this assignment.

Of course, massage places were aplenty, and with the distance we walked, I came very close to plopping down on one of the chairs in the massage place right beside the bar we were at. But I was already quite chill where I was, so I decided I'd just sit back, enjoy my drink, and soak in the happy vibes.




 
It was a tiring first day in Bangkok with a sprinkling of misadventures, but it sure was as fun as I expected it would be. 


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