Our flight from Tokyo landed about 10:45pm Saturday night, so right at 24 hours since we’d boarded the plane in Houston! What a day!
Kamy and Caden both perked up after deplaning, so we stopped at the little food court outside customs for our first Thai food in Thailand! I am sure it was not the highest quality food we’ll encounter on this trip, but the kids were hungry, it was hot, and it was available. 😉
We took a taxi from the airport to our AirBNB. It started out a bit rough because he first wanted to charge us a flat 500 baht cost to take us to our accommodations, but we insisted on the meter. We almost walked away before he changed his mind. Then he proceeded to pull down his fly and pee on the concrete. Oh boy! Welcome to Thailand! Keller and the driver got a bit crosswise at one point since our driver kept taking toll roads and appeared to be taking the “scenic route” to our apartment. We eventually made it after threatening to get out twice (and a meter charge of 250 baht + 50 baht for the airport pickup fee + 70 baht in tolls).
Rong met us at the apartment to show us around. There’s a bit of a language barrier, but we managed to work it out. Unfortunately he had to come back out and unlock the linens so we could set up the floor mattress, but by 3am we were all settled and in bed. Goodnight!
Sunday
I had no idea what time we’d be getting up in the morning — the 12 hour time difference is a doozie and there was plenty of jet lag to go around. We managed to make it to day light before getting up. Keller and the kids played some games on the Switch and we snacked on the food we’d managed to acquire before bedtime.
For lunch we took the shuttle bus to the local Tesco Lotus store. It’s essentially a Walmart in a mall with other supporting small stores and a large food court. Plenty of Thai food to choose from!
Kamy picked out a green curry, Caden chose a fried noodle dish, and we added fried rice to the mix as well. It was all quite good! We finished off with mango and sticky rice for dessert.
After lunch we did some grocery and basic shopping at the Tesco to stock the apartment and fridge. There’s more western branded items than I was expecting, but there’s plenty of Thai food that I have no idea what it is too! 😉 It is a huge store though, so there are plenty of options to cook with.
Back at the apartment, I took the kids down to the pool for some swimming time. The entire pool is fairly shallow and both kids can stand even in the deepest part of the pool. We pulled out the snorkels and masks too so the kids can get used to them before we’re snorkeling in the ocean in a few weeks!
The kids had a simple dinner and we all called it a night. Kamy’s been a bit more of a night owl than Caden, but we’ll see how that all shakes out once we get adjusted to the time zones.
Monday
Today we got a bit more adventurous and headed into the old part of Bangkok! We all woke up mid-morning, so after breakfast we walked to the BTS SkyTrain. We’d planned on purchasing “rabbit” contact-less cards for the system, but apparently we needed a passport to issue the tickets. So I took the shuttle back to the apartment, grabbed the passports, and walked back to the SkyTrain. Once the passports were in hand we were able to buy the Rabbit cards.
We took the SkyTrain several stops and then transferred to the Metro — which has its own contact-less card or token system. I don’t think we’ll be using the metro as often, so we just opted for tokens instead. Today is mostly about figuring out the lay of the land and how to get around this massive city! Bangkok has 8 million people, so it’s a sprawling, crowded city and takes a bit of practice to navigate. We’re figuring it out though!
Our first intended destination today was Wat Pho. It is most famous for the “reclining Buddha” statue. And when I say statue, I really mean ENORMOUS SCULPTURE. At 46 meters long, it is 151 FEET from head to feet. An entire building was built to surround the Buddha statue. The reclining Buddha is unique in that it shows the position of Buddha as he was entering Nirvana, hence the unusual position.
The rest of the complex was quite impressive too. Wat Pho has more than 1000 Buddha images and is officially one of the royal temples. In fact, the central building has a throne for the Thai King when he visits!
There are also four enormous “stupas” — towers built by prior kings that essentially honor themselves. The stupas are 42 meters tall and covered with colorful ceramic tiles.
When we were visiting one of the smaller viharns, another visitor explained how the candle and incense offering was to be done. For 20 baht, you get a bundle that included a yellow candle, three incense sticks, and three small pieces of gold leaf. You start outside by lighting the candle in the lantern and place it in the candle holders. Next you light all three incense sticks at once and place them in the bowl in front of the candles. You can make a prayer or wish when you do. Once inside, you add the gold leaf to one of the Buddha figures, touch your palm to your forehead and then run your hand over your head. You then make another wish.
I do not have much knowledge about Buddhism, so I really appreciated him taking the time to explain how to honor the rituals. I don’t think Caden liked it as much as lighting candles in Catholic churches, but he was certainly open to learning the process.
Surprisingly, there were numerous stone statues throughout Wat Pho that were distinctly Chinese in inspiration. We learned that these statues were imported as ballast in trading ships when Thailand sent goods to China.
I loved the fantastical architecture, especially the whimsical decorations along the roof lines. The mosaic tiles really glitter in the sunlight and the colors pop against the white walls and buildings.
After exploring Wat Pho, we walked to the Pak Khlong Flower Market. We wandered through the covered area, pausing by various stalls to look at the beautiful floral offerings that were being created and sold. Flowers and floral wreaths are common offerings at Buddhist shrines, so they are abundant and affordable. Many were less than $1! If they weren’t so temporary, they would make a great souvenir. The colors are so vibrant — orange and purple in particular!
Next we wandered down to “ChinaTown” along Yaowarat Road. We dove into the little twisty alleys and wandered past all kinds of stores — more flowers, dried goods, fruit and vegetables, raw meat. You name it, we probably passed it!
We were all feeling hungry, but we haven’t quite worked up to purchasing food from a street cart yet. We did find a soup restaurant / hole-in-the-wall place. We shared a bowl of Thai soup. It was quite tasty and very spicy! I think all our eyes were watering a bit by the time we were done.
Just as we were finishing our soup, the sky opened and the rain came down! Not just a little light rain either — pouring buckets. The situation was exacerbated by the sheets of rain coming down the awnings between the buildings. We trudged down the alleys on the hunt for more things to eat and ended up soaking wet. We’ve noticed that most locals wear open toed shoes that dry quickly, which was seeming very prudent to us at the time! Our tennis shoes were all squishy by the time we were done exploring Chinatown.
Keller picked up some steamed buns as another snack — two with barbeque pork and two with cream. Keller liked them the better than the rest of us. Caden picked out some watermelon too, which the kids shared.
Back to the Metro, then the BTS, and then to our Tesco Lotus. Since we hadn’t really had a full meal, we stopped at the food court and ordered a few dishes to share. We visited with Alex, a recent expat from Canada who had moved to Bangkok to teach English. After our meal, we went to the Tesco for some groceries and headed back to the apartment.
We ended up spending longer out and about than we had anticipated, so we wrapped up the day at the apartment with some downtime and dinner. Keller is all set up and ready for work — hopefully the time zone difference won’t be too much of a challenge since he’s used to staying awake most of the night at home anyway. We’re all dragging a bit by about 5pm since we aren’t quite over jet lag yet. We’re doing our best though!
Tuesday
After Monday, we opted to take Tuesday slower. Keller said work went fine Monday night, which was definitely a relief. The kids and I were up super early, about 5am, which gave us plenty of time at the apartment to have breakfast, do schoolwork, and play on the screens a bit before Keller got up about noon.
We also went to the pool! Caden and Kamy always love being in the water, so they were excited that our complex has access to a nice pool. The kids spent two hours in the water, mostly diving for loose tiles at the bottom of the pool. By the time they were done they probably collected close to 100 tiles! It certainly kept them busy. We had the pool to ourselves too, which meant they weren’t bothering anyone. It was a good start to the day!
For lunch, we all walked to the Tesco (we’d just missed the shuttle bus) and then crossed the road to the mall on the other side of the BTS station. It’s a pretty standard mall per Western expectations, with multiple US brands too. I can’t say I was expecting to see a Dairy Queen of all things in Bangkok! 😉 Subway, KFC, Dunkin Donuts, and the ubiquitous Starbucks have a presence here.
We opted to eat at a nicer restaurant in the mall called Food Universe. It has some 1100 reviews on Google with 4.9 stars. Keller said it’s pretty much the highest rating he’s ever seen on Google Maps.
We ordered Thai food for lunch, despite the menu offering several Western style dishes too. The food was all pretty good, but we found the portions were smaller and the price:value didn’t scale when compared to the food court. The kids did enjoy their fancy drinks though! I think we’ll stick to food courts and hole in the wall restaurants for the time being and help our food dollars stretch further.
Back at the apartment, we did a little downtime and then the kids went outside to play. There are a lot of expats and locals in the complex with a ton of kids. Several kids speak good English too, so they made fast friends. A couple of hours running around outside, plus two hours of swimming in the morning, plus an early start meant both kids were asleep before 8pm! I think we wore them out.
Wednesday
I scheduled a Thai cooking class for this morning! Since we all love Thai food, I was really hoping to pick up some techniques to replicate Thai food at home. We started with a market tour where our guide showed us what to look for in ingredients, what some of them were (many of which were new to me), and what to do with all the live fish, frogs, eels, and turtles for sale. 😉
The class was a lot of fun! At registration, we got to choose one dish per category to cook. Everyone could choose their own dishes, so there was a lot of variety across the five participants. The ingredients were all set out for us and our teacher walked us through each step of the process.
I chose green curry, pad thai, thom kha gai, and cashew chicken. Plus we all learned how to make mango with sticky rice.
The finished dishes were all DELICIOUS! I was absolutely stuffed by the end and I brought home some leftovers for the kids and Keller to try. There were rave reviews all around, so I am definitely looking forward to recreating the dishes at home.
Meanwhile the kids hung out at the apartment with Keller — finished school, did some screen time, and generally amused themselves quietly until I was done.
I brought the leftovers back to the apartment for a snack and then we all headed to the BTS to check out Terminal 21. It is a fancy mall with a well known food court. We didn’t eat at the food court, but I have a feeling we will be back again soon!
We happened to visit during Foodie Fest! On the bottom floor of the mall there were a ton of different vendors set up with food to try. We picked out several things — roasted chicken on a stick, pork and shrimp dumplings, and roasted chicken. For dessert the kids picked out very colorful gelatins and Keller had a meringue-type pastry filled with cream.
After checking out each and every level of the mall, we returned to the Tesco for groceries and then went back to the apartment. The kids swam in the pool for about an hour and then decided they’d rather play with their new friends in the nearby park. Kamy and Caden are really enjoying the ability to go out and play!
Thursday
With nice weather in the forecast today (only a 20% chance of rain), we decided to visit Ancient City, Muang Boran. Ancient City is a private open air museum with original, copied, and new buildings designed to show visitors some of the historical sites throughout Thailand.
Opened in 1960s, there are more than 110 different buildings scattered throughout the park. Since that’s way too many to see on foot, your admission ticket includes a bicycle to get around. For an additional cost, you can rent an electric golf cart — definitely the way to do it!
We spent about three hours driving around Muang Boran. The weather was definitely hot and sticky, but the golf cart certainly helped and the kids loved zipping around.
Several buildings from the Ayutthaya ransacked capital had been recreated and were quite stunning! I even found a beautiful ceiling to photograph. 😉 This palace was probably my favorite building in the entire park. Sanphet Prasat Throne Hall was really elaborate too, though photos were not allowed inside.
Right next to Ancient City an enormous golden Wat that only recently opened. The building looks bigger than the inner space actually is, but it was beautiful nonetheless. There are 28 identical golden Buddha statues all in a line.
When we were done at Ancient City, we caught a taxi back to the BTS station and then rode the BTS back to On Nut. For dinner we decided to check out the open air food court across the street from the Tesco. It’s only open in the evening from 5pm on, so the timing hadn’t worked out for us to visit it yet. There are a TON of food stalls set up, with plenty of choices and good seating. We tried a bit of this and a bit of that, but the favorite was grilled chicken on a stick.
It was well past dark by the time we got back to the apartment, so we showered and the kids headed to bed shortly afterward. The heat, humidity, and air quality were all catching up with us by the end of the day too, so Friday is going to be a down day. We did really enjoy Ancient City though and highly recommend it to anyone visiting Bangkok who is interested in Thai architecture. It’s a great way to get a glimpse of important places throughout the country.
Friday
Since yesterday was a full day, we opted to take it easy today. After breakfast and school, I took the kids down to the pool again. Kamy and Caden have really enjoyed having the pool right there! I can tell just over the last week how much more confident they are with the water and their masks and snorkels. Kamy’s working on floating and both kids love diving down to the bottom to collect loose tiles.
We ate leftovers and fresh chicken for lunch and the kids spent the afternoon playing with other kids in the complex. This is a very safe area with many English speaking kids, so they’ve made fast friends with KumKum, YaYa, and Laura.
For dinner we took the shuttle over to the TESCO and returned to the open air food court across Sukhumvit. We ordered a few favorites and a few new things too. We really like the food court format — it allows us to try new things and all share to find our favorites. While each dish isn’t too expensive, it can add up if you order a bunch of different things! We’re still trying to figure out our budget approach for Thailand. We know what works for Europe, but eating out every meal is proving to need a different approach. Travel doesn’t always come easy!
Back to the complex and the kids played outside with friends until dark. Showers, books, and bedtime rounded out the day.
Saturday
Today I wanted to check out the Chatuchak Market. It is one of the largest markets in the world, with anywhere from 8,000 – 15,000 stalls depending on which source you’re reading.
We took the SkyTrain all the way to the other side of Bangkok and got off at the Mo Chit station. Chatuchak Market is right at the base of the station, so we soon found ourselves wandering the market aisles.
Most of the market is covered and actually organized into sections and rows. If you knew where you wanted to go, you could figure out how to get there. We didn’t have an agenda though, so we just picked a row and started walking!
Kamy wanted to find some rings to add to her collection and we stumbled upon a little shop with a great deal on “silver” rings. Not real silver, but cute nonetheless. She chose a small linked chain and one with little leaves and sparkles. They look great on her and are just the right size! Caden also picked out a few rings that may end up as gifts, so I won’t mention any more. 😉
We stopped for some food at a little food stall for mochi ice cream — small ice cream ball wrapped in a frozen, kind of chewy layer. It was quite interesting! We also had some toasted garlic and butter bread on a stick. Next we stopped at a larger stall with tables and a menu. We ordered pad thai and breaded fried chicken, which was a surprise hit! We ended up getting a second fried chicken piece since the first was so tasty.
Fortunately, even though most of the stalls are not air conditioned, the shade, fans, and breeze worked together to make it fairly pleasant in the aisles. It could have been like a sauna!
The only other souvenir purchases the kids made were two little glass animals. Kamy chose a pink elephant and Caden picked out a tarantula.
A smoothie from a fruit stand cooled us off a bit and allowed us to take a seated break. We were hoping to find some records for Keller to peruse but didn’t find anything worthwhile.
We found a second restaurant for our main meal and ordered pad thai, green curry, and fried chicken. Are you seeing a pattern yet? 😉 We also ordered a ramen pasta dish called “fried mama,” but we didn’t like it as much as the rest of the meal.
For dessert we had coconut ice cream! It is served in a little half coconut shell and has some coconut flesh too. The first order was pretty good and we liked the sticky rice they added. We decided to get a second order, this time with sticky rice and mango. It was even better than the first! Keller may or may not have gotten another just for himself. It was that good! I can definitely do that again. This ended up being our favorite version of coconut ice cream across our entire trip!
Back on the BTS, quick stop at the Tesco for groceries, and then back to the apartment. It was almost dark by the time we returned, so the kids stayed in and we called it a night. We’ve mostly adjusted to the time zone now, with the kids and myself going to bed about 10pm and getting up around 7:30 or 8. Keller has to push through until about midnight and then he’s awake again for work.
Wow!