Family adventures in Bangkok

As the end of March rolled around I officially finished my term at school and began the process of moving out of Pattaya and packing my life into a 46 liter backpack. I plan on spending the next six weeks traveling throughout Asia and I got to start this adventure with a visit from some of my family members from Ohio! Last week was Spring Break for most public schools, so my dad, step-mom, Julie, and step-brother, Drew, hopped over to Thailand to spend their week of vacation learning the crazy ways of the Thais!
As most travelers will find, Bangkok is an easy hub for travel in Asia, as it's one of the larger cities and also has many budget flights coming and going each day. We used Bangkok as our homebase during their week long Thailand adventure and it's where we started and ended their vacation. Many flights coming and going from Asia land late into the evening and depart early in the morning. Theirs was no expection; they landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport around 11pm and departed a week later at 6am. I was able to take the BTS (Thai metro system) paired with the Airport Link to pick them up, costing me about 90 baht one way (just over $2). After traveling for over 24 hours I figured I'd give them the easy way into the city, so we all climbed into a taxi and took the hour long journey into the city for about $14.
We stayed at Anantara Hotel in an awesome family suite, which was complete with our own balcony overlooking the Bangkok skyline. The hotel also had a rooftop bar and restaurant which gave a 360 view of the city. It was definitely one of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in, and definitely the largest room I've ever had, yet it only cost about $140 a night! Expensive for Thailand, but a splurge by American standards.

View from our hotel balcony 

Their first full day in Bangkok was a Sunday, which meant we had to head to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Although some portions of this market are open during the weekdays, the weekend is the preferable time to go, offering some great selections of Thai souvenirs. The market is home to over 8,000 stalls and each time I visit I find another corner and section I've never seen before. I usually ending up buying more food than souvenirs, but it's a great place to buy bags, leather goods, clothing, art and jewelry. Wandering the market gave everyone a good opportunity to buy some souvenirs and get a basic understanding of the value of the Thai baht. We also used our time at the market to explore some traditional Thai dishes such as pad thai, papaya salad, tom yum soup, fresh fruit smoothies and a dessert of mango sticky rice. 
I wanted to give them some time to acclimate to Thai time, so we didn't have much planned for the first full day in Bangkok. The city heat can be a lot to take in at first, and it's easy to wear yourself out by spending too much time outside. After a few hours wandering the market we headed back to our hotel to take advantage of comfy couches, air conditioning and showers. Eventually we dragged ourselves out into the heat once again for dinner reservations along the Chao Phraya River which runs through the city of Bangkok. We ate at Sala Rim Naam which is a restaurant paired up with Mandarin Oriental Hotel. It was a fancier and more Western alternative to Thai street food, but still provided traditional Thai meals and drinks, all with a great view of the river!

Day two in Bangkok we set off to see the traditional sites of the capital city. After an awesome and huge breakfast at our hotel we grabbed a taxi to The Grand Palace. The Grand Palace is basically a   walled in city block that houses many influential buildings of Thailand. It is the previous home of the royal families of Thailand and is also where most governmental business takes place. The Grand Palace comes up as a must-see in Bangkok, but I personally wasn't too blown away by it. Although there are some stunning works of architecture within these walls, it's nothing too different from what's visible on the streets. On top of that it's way too hot with very little shade, and they allow an absurd amount of people inside at the same time. Although the streets can get a little hectic out in Bangkok this was definitely more than I bargained for and I spent more time trying to avoid bumping into others instead of enjoying the sites around me. Many visitors think The Grand Palace is an important stop in their Bangkok tour, but it's something I will happily skip in the future.

Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho

Next we walked next door to the much calmer Wat Pho which is home to the world's longest reclining Buddha. This is still a popular site in Bangkok and definitely worth seeing, and it's also a lot less crowded than the Grand Palace, making it easier to handle.
After exploring this area for a bit we hopped into a quick tuk tuk ride over to Khao San Road for some lunch. Khao San Road is most known by the backpacker crowd, especially those looking for a night out in Bangkok. It's filled with bars, restaurants and loud music and is a great place to hangout both day and night.

That evening we took a one hour flight to Chiang Mai to play with elephants! More info on that trip can be found here. 

To end the family vacation in Thailand we flew back down to Bangkok for one last evening in the city. We had originally planned to start the evening with drinks at SkyBar, but some open-sided Teva sandals didn't make the cut for dress code. We were allowed out onto the terrace for a few quick pictures and then we headed to a different location.

SkyBar view! 

Drew had it high on his list to ride a motorbike taxi, so we decided the six mile journey to our next location was the perfect time! I quickly flagged down a few motorbikes and we each piled on for the crazy ride through Bangkok.

Three people on a motorbike is the norm in Bangkok 

We ended our ride at Above Eleven which is a rooftop bar and restauarant in the center of Bangkok. We had delicious drinks and overpaid for fried rice, but got a great view while doing it, so all was well in the end. The next morning Julie and Drew had a 6am flight back to the states, and my dad, Emiliya and I hopped on a 6:45 flight to Hanoi, Vietnam! (That post will be coming soon) 

Having my family in Thailand for a week was so much fun, and it helped me realize everything I've learned throughout these last six months while living in Thailand. It was fun having them try all of the Thai dishes and seeing their content after a $6 massage.  I loved showing off this country to them and it made me even more excited for the arrival of my sister this weekend! 

_______________________________________________________________

Logistical Info

- The BTS is easy and cheap transportation during the day, but it stops running by midnight each evening
- Although Bangkok requires taxi drivers to use the meter to determine the price, they're hard to find at either of the airports within Bangkok. Instead they often just give you a set price for driving into the city, usually starting somewhere between 400-500 baht ($12-15)
- Accomodating four people within one hotel room is hard to do in Thailand. At Anantara Hotel I was able to book a family suite which slept four, for about $140/night
- Chatuchak Weekend Market is open on weekends from 6am-6pm. It is located near Mo Chit, the most northern stop on the BTS.

- The Grand Palace is usually open from 9-3:30 and costs $14 to enter 

- Wat Pho is usually open until about 6:30pm and costs $3 to enter 

- dress code for SkyBar: women have to wear a skirt or dress without flip flops. Men must have their knees and shoulders covered and have closed shoes (tennis shoes appear okay)

30 hours in Bangkok

In order to deal with some confusing and annoying visa stuff for Thailand, Emiliya and I had to take a quick trip over the border to Thailand's neighbor Laos. We went with a tour company that does weekly visa runs and handles all of the confusing aspects for you, so we just had to show up in Bangkok and they handle the rest. 

We left Thailand on Sunday evening so we decided to come into Bangkok on Saturday to do a little exploring beforehand. 

Day One

We headed to our local bus station and took one of the countless daily buses from Pattaya to Bangkok for 115฿ ($3). We arrived in just under two hours and headed to Bewel Hostel where we had reservations. We picked this hostel because it boasted about it's walking distance to The Grand Palace and Wat Pho (home of the reclining Buddha). We headed out in that direction, stopping off at the beloved party street of Khao San Road (5-10 minutes from our hostel) for some much needed Mexican food to start our journey. After filling ourselves with some long-awaited tacos and margaritas we strolled another 20 minutes to The Grand Palace and arrived just in time for closing time, womp womp. Who would've thought that place closed at 3:30?! Rookie mistake. So we marveled at the huge white walls surrounding the palace and vowed to return some other day.

The Grand Palace is one of Thailand's most visited temples and up until 1925 it was the home to the royal family. It is now used for both public and private events and this walled area is home to 35 buildings/zones. 

The Chao Phraya River and Wat Arun

Fortunately there are other sites to see within walking distance of The Grand Palace, so our day wasn't wasted! We headed the next block over and finally got our first view of the Chao Phraya River, which winds throughout the country and flows into the Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok is known for being built around this river, but because Bangkok is such a huge area it took us three visits to actually see the river!
On the other side of the river is Wat Arun (formally titled Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan) which is named after the Hindu God of Aruna who is personified in the flow of the rising sun. Wat Arun is known for radiating the first light of the sun each morning. 

Wat Pho

After relaxing and watching the various boats race up and down the river we headed to our next destination of Wat Pho which is home to the world's largest reclining Buddha, and also holds the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand. Wat Pho is considered to be the birthplace of Thai massage and to this day is still known for it's education, especially for Thai medicine. Wat Pho was built with the intention of being a place for education and as a result it is one of the largest and oldest temples in Bangkok.

The longest reclining Buddha, measuring
in at 46 meters (150 feet)

It was a nice afternoon and we had every intention of walking the 1.5 miles back to our hostel but there was a persistent tuk tuk driver who wouldn't take no for an answer, so without even trying we got ourselves a 100฿ ride (just under $3) back to our hostel! I've read many blogs stating that tuk tuk rides are unsafe, a tourist trap and a waste of money and many writers urge foreigners not to partake in this stereotypical Thai transportation. I, however, love tuk tuks and find that they're an enjoyable and quirky way of buzzing through the streets, and they're much safer than a motorbike taxi.

Enjoying our tuk tuk ride through the streets of Bangkok

Next up on our list was a traditional Thai massage. I can't even defend how I've gone 2.5 months living in Thailand without getting a massage, and it was definitely time to change that. I've heard rumors that Bangkok is the best place for cheap massages, and supposedly you can find an hour massage for 100฿ ($3). However near our hostel we had to settle for 250฿ ($7) for an hour. 

I'd been told that a Thai massage isn't an hour of relaxation and I was forewarned that I would most likely be walked on and stretched in painful ways. That proceeded to be true, but I will definitely do it again. It was an hour of massage mixed with yoga and a visit to the chiropractor. As warned, I was walked on and folded into tiny pretzel shapes, but after that hour I was much more relaxed and felt like I just finished an hour of stretching class.  

We found ourselves a cheap Thai meal for dinner and then retreated to our hostel for the evening where we chatted with the ever-fascinating collection of backpackers that are present at each hostel.

Day Two

Day two had high standards that quickly dissipated as the day went on. We originally planned on waking up at a decent hour to head to the Grand Palace, but that plan was ruined when we woke up with no running water in our hostel. Because we would be spending the evening sleeping in a van bound for Laos, we desperately wanted a nice shower to start the day, so we lingered at the hostel much longer than originally planned in order to take advantage of a real bathroom. Fortunately for us Bewel Hostel provided a free breakfast and had endless supplies of coffee and tea, so we still enjoyed our time lounging around. By the time we were up and moving we decided to nix the Grand Palace and save it for our next trip to Bangkok. Instead we took the BTS (Bangkok metro) to the end of the line and went straight to Chatuchak Weekend Market (nicknamed JJ Market) which is any shopper's dream come true. With over 8,000 vendors present at the market you are guaranteed to find at least one thing on your wish list. JJ Market sells practically everything including snacks, thai meals, leather goods, antiques, clothing, art, jewelry and any other souvenir you could think of. We had originally intended to spend a good chunk of our day there, but temperatures quickly soared into the mid 90s and we were seeking air conditioning much sooner than planned. Instead we took the BTS to Siam, which is one of the biggest stops in Bangkok and spent the rest of our day inside the mall of Siam Paragon where we enjoyed the cool temperatures and western food. 

Day two was somewhat of a bust, but because we're only living two hours away from Bangkok we weren't too considered with wasting a day. Although the temperatures in Thailand are getting much easier to handle, a full day out in the sun definitely takes it's toll and it's important to plan a day that involves both indoor and outdoor activities so you don't end up exhausted or sick. 

Our short trip to Bangkok allowed us to check off a few items from our Bangkok bucket list, but this city is huge and there's still so much to explore on our next trip! 

_________________________________________________________________________________

Logistical Info 

- There are endless bus stations throughout Bangkok, but the two most popular appear to be Eastern station and Victoria Monument. Eastern station is located at the Ekkamai BTS stop so it's easy to hop off the bus and quickly transfer to a van or jump onto the BTS and transfer to a new location around the city. Victoria Monument offers the same convenience as it's located at the BTS stop of Victoria Monument and is more centrally located in the city 

- The BTS is similar to any other metro system around the world, however it's less widespread as other metros. It's essentially a straight line that runs north to south and hits the center locations, but doesn't offer much availability to areas east and west of the center. For our most recent trip to Bangkok we rode the BTS as far as possible and then switched to a taxi to take us the rest of the way.

- Taxis in Bangkok follow the same convenience as the rest of Thailand: they're cheap! A 20-30 minute metered ride will only end up costing about 80฿ (under $3).

- We stayed at Bewel Hostel in a mixed dorm room for 300฿/night. They had the comfiest hostel bed I've ever experienced, free tea and coffee out all day and offered free breakfast each morning.

- Normal hours of The Grand Palace are 9-3:30 with an entrance fee of 500฿

- Wat Pho is usually open until 6:30pm and has an entrance fee of 100฿

- All temples in Thailand have a dress code that require shoulders and knees to be covered, but most popular temples (those with an entrance fee) will provide sarongs or robes to those who aren't dressed properly. Personally, this is a much better alternative than carrying around a sweater or wearing pants all day while touring the city.