Prologue to Bangkok Trip

I’ve wanted to visit Bangkok since forever but never seemed to get the right momentum – either I haven't got the ‘right’ price or the ‘right’ company. So, when one of my best friends, A, told me she’s going to extend her stay in Bangkok after a week-long job training and asked if I’d like to join her, I said ‘yes’ – to honor the principle of YOLO (You Only Live Once). Thanks to my freelance job and my present single status, I was able to arrange my trip at ease without the hassle of asking for an on-leave permission months earlier.   

I booked online for the ticket on September 13 (the same date I congratulated A for her birthday). The ticket I purchased wasn’t a promo one, but I figured, hey...opportunity doesn't knock twice. Work hard, play harder :D 

I’ve never gone abroad by myself. My recent solo-flight was to Yogyakarta a couple of months ago...but that’s local, and everyone could speak Bahasa Indonesia – while Thailand is not exactly an English-speaking country. According to my itinerary, I’d have to spend 3/4 of my Friday on my own since A would still have her training on that day. Rather than waiting for her to finish-up 'til 3-ish in the hotel room, I decided to visit the major temples in Bangkok on Friday morning, then to Jim Thompson house (fyi, Jim Thompson was the man who revived Thai silk ‘til it becomes internationally renowned. He's announced an MIA person after a trip he took in Africa. More here), then to Bangkok Art & Cultural Center (BACC - here), and finally meet up with A at MBK Center (the iconic mall of Bangkok) around 3 pm.

God, did I prepare for that single day of solo-trip :)) I tried to get as much information as I could on the transportations, food, places to visit and shop from other people’s blogs and youtube videos. These links are gems: go here or here to learn how to use the BTS. This also comes in handy if you want to match your interest to places in Bangkok. 

A told me to take a taxi from the airport to her hotel in Sukhumvit (Sheraton Grande) which connects to Asok BTS (Bangkok Sky Train) Station, but my sister said that I could save quite a lot of cash by using the Airport Rail Link (ARL) and take the BTS. I copy pasted each information and printed them. Turned out that reality was simpler than the manual guidelines, really J Maybe that’s why Bangkok is noted as the world’s simplest-mass transportation line-to get around.  

Even when standing up, the zero-traffic works everything out

Near the door - don't forget to let others step out first before you step in

20 years of friendship

Morning, BTS Station!

So clean, so organized...

Okay, a bit of #ThursdayThrowback. My flight was scheduled on Thursday (10 October) at 3.40 pm. After I checked-in at Tiger Airways counter at Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta Airport, I went to second floor, had my immigration check, and waited on the Z-4 boarding gate – was a bit puzzled at first, because I thought Z was the name of the gate :p thank God for the lovely toilet-lady who told me that Z, in fact stands for ‘Zone’; that explains the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4. Hahahaa.. 

Anyways, the flight was delayed 40 minutes due to the ‘airplane traffic’ on the landing ground. I decided to work on my daily reports while waiting. Out of the blue, a woman about my age sat down and said, “Mmm, now all we gotta do is wait to be called...right?” The moment she finished her sentence, I knew that she was as clueless as I was. Hahaaa... We talked for some time and exchanged numbers before it was time to get on board. She lives in Bandung, and went to Jakarta by travel-bus. She has a friend that lives in Bangkok, and that she’s just met ‘him’ online all these times, she wasn’t sure he’d come and get her at the airport.

Long story short, we hopped on the plane. After 3.5 hours of flight, we arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at approximately 7.45 pm. The signs were easy to understand, and she did get picked up by her friend – who kindly paid for my ARL ticket to Phaya Thai (the BTS station that links from ARL to all other BTS stations). 

Bhutan Guy, Bandung Girl and Brave Girl :p

Nothing is coincidence...ask, and you shall receive (in my case, I've received the gift of good company)

What a blessing at the beginning of the journey. BTS to me was love at first sight. Ranging 15 to 45 baht, it’s so conveniently air conditioned and clean. I had a feeling that this trip is gonna be a blast! I made it to Asok station and crashed at A’s room. My previous ambition was to head for Khaosan Road (a backpacker street where we can eat extreme culinary such as grasshopper, scorpion and such) at night, but A was beat...and I was a bit drowsy. So, I guess, more adventure the day after (was a bit too excited to explore Bangkok that I only slept for 4 hours!). 

Finally arrived at the hotel

Our room - 1214