This past month I had two WHOLE days in Bangkok—-BY MYSELF! That’s right folks. I finally was able to do some solo traveling. It was a blast and I am gonna tell you all about it today. The good, the bad, and the snot rockets…
Friday
After a busy and normal Friday day, I drove myself to the Phuket International Airport to arrive 2 hours early for my 11pm flight. I got there way too early and then my flight was delayed…and my phone was dying quickly… and all the little domestic airport stores were closed… Poop.
Lucky for me there were free charging stations in the waiting area and one Coffee Club was open. I bought a hilariously overpriced and tiny cappuccino and huddled on the floor next to the charging station which was freely charging my phone so I could listen to my podcasts on the flight. Not being able to look at my phone gave me tons of time to watch people. It felt so odd, actually looking at people again. I couldn’t just detach and look at Facebook or Instagram. I had to stare, or at least that is what I told myself when I was caught in the act. Awkward.
3 hours after arrived at the, honestly kind of janky, Phuket International Airport Domestic terminal, I saw people start to rush the ticket counter that my flight was leaving from. I am a huge fan of waiting til the initial boarding crowd has pushed their way onto the plane and then boarding. Why should people push and pull if the seats are assigned anyways?! We will all get our seats, no reason that we should have the running of the bulls in every airport, amiright? But I digress.
After charging my phone for three hours, I never even listened to a podcast on my flight! I promptly sat in my middle (bummer) seat, buckled up and fell asleep. I am pretty sure that I drooled a little on the lovely Thai lady next to me the whole hour and a half flight. Sorry whoever you are! What can I say, I’m a mom, you take every chance you can to sleep.
Saturday
I arrived in BKK the next day, okay well it was about 1 am on Saturday morning when I finally got into a taxi and made my way to my boutique hotel. As my taxi driver drove up to THE HOUSE OF PHRAYA JASAEN I was excited to see what it was like. My friend that lives near the hotel recommended it to me and the website (and the price) drew me in. The rooms are themed, some more than others. My room turned out to be the prison room. I know, it sounds awful, but it was actually really comfortable and fun. It was a great way to make a pretty small single room full of character!
When I woke up at 6 am the next morning (Thanks Z for making me a morning person, poo!) I laid around for a bit before getting a coffee downstairs in the cute little cafe. Then my friend came and met me for coffee so I could get the plan for the evening from her. See, I was in BKK to attend her and her boyfriend, Alex’ fundraiser for their new business, Don Kuson Community Bike Shop. It was going to be at the Whiteline and they had scheduled bands, dj’s and had a food truck coming. So all in all, an awesome night was gonna happen!
I first went to the spa upstairs in my hotel to get a fantastic aromatherapy full body massage to prepare for the day ahead of me. I was going to be doing a lot of walking in the city and wanted to start off relaxed and refreshed.
Thne, I went shopping and searched for a place to find new jeans. Having a larger rear end with a smaller waist makes it incredibly hard to find proper fitting jeans in Phuket. Heck having a big butt makes it hard for me to find jeans anywhere in the world!
I went to MBK, Terminal 21, and finally to the Emporium where they had an American Eagle Jeans Store. I went in and asked if they had big sizes (here in Thailand I am a plus size size).
Score! I spent an hour and a half trying on every pair of jeans they had in my size. Seriously, trying on clothes is exhausting… and there is my #firstworldproblem of the post. I found a few pairs that I loved and ended up buying just one (if I need more, I have an excuse to go back to Bangkok now).
I happily carried my jeans bag to a taxi stand and went back to the House of Phraya Jaesan to freshen up and call Kemkem of Next Bite of Life for my interview for her travel/expat life podcast. I got back to my lovely prison-y room and decided that a facemask was in order. I brought one of those store-bought little facial packages with me for my trip. I laid back and read while the mask congealed to my face. It was heavenly. Just sitting by myself and renewing my skin and mind. I was nervous about my upcoming interview so it was the perfect thing to do in preparation.
After some difficulties with using different ways of chatting, Kemkem and I skyped for about an hour and it was like talking to an old friend. I have been reading and loving Kemkems blog for a long time. It was great fun and despite the slight delay on the line, I think the interview turned out absolutely awesome (all because Kemkem is a great interviewer!).
Riding on the high if chatting with a new/old friend, I got ready for the evening out.
Sporting my new jeans, I took a scooter taxi to the bar where the event was being held. The Whiteline Bar in the Silom district of Bangkok and is a strangely arranged bar and club. It is huge with what seems like endless rooms and floors. I didnt even explore it fully as I was already chatting with the incoming friends and supporters of my friends new venture.
I spent the night until the wee hours of the morning (safely) drinking whisky and soda’s and water in between each drink so as not to over do it. I ate some delicious slider hamburgers off a food truck called Lil Fatso’s. I talked to other likeminded people that love living in Thailand, love music, love art, love life. It was so fun. I get so stoked on meeting new people, it makes me so excited! New friends!!!!
Sunday
By the time 3 am rolled around, my lack of sleep the night before caught up with me, and I quickly caught a cab back to my room for some much needed sleep. And I slept like the dead until…
6 AM IN THE MORNING
Yep, that’s right, I woke up at 6 am AGAIN! Dammit! I am ruined for sleeping in for life I’m sure. Motherhood has it’s drawbacks that’s for sure…
I got up again and had another strong and awesome coffee at the little cafe downstairs in my hotel. Then I packed up my stuff to check out.
My friend Alex came and met me for coffee and wanted to see the prison room in person. He had seen it on my Instagram account and wanted to see it in real life. It was a quick look as the room is literally the size of a prison cell (but had much better bedding for sure!).
We had some more coffee and then I went and saw the building that he and Abigail are renovating into apartments and the new bike coop on the bottom floor.
I wanted to go do some souvenir shopping for Z so I said goodbye to Alex until later and went to Central World and had a Chai Tea Latte at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (my absolute favorite guilty pleasure!).
After I had gotten more than I needed to take back home to Chad and Z, I went and hung out with Alex and Abigail and walked around the neighborhood they live in. There is no better way to get to know an area than to walk around it. I love exploring on foot.
We had a snack at an awesome food stall market nearby and then took a free river ferry to Asiatique. I had never heard of Asiatique before and I found out that it was a very gentrified and fake, “night market” for tourists. It felt so fake I kept thinking of Universal Studios City Walk. It was not Thailand-ish at all, but it was fun to see and worth the free river ferry ride to it for sure.
The sun was going down and it was time for me to head to the airport. I said my goodbyes to my wonderful friends and hopped in a cab, went back to get my luggage and then took the short cab ride to the airport. I arrived pretty early again… and found out that my flight was delayed. Hooray!
I bought a book, found a sushi restaurant and found a table that was near a wall plug so I could charge my (again) dying phone. I read and ate amazingly fresh and tasty and cheap sushi while I read and waited for my flight.
I know you all are still wondering why I mentioned snot rockets in the beginning of my post… that term is something that unfortunately sticks in one’s brain, or is it just me?
If you are squeamish about people blowing mucus from their nose forcefully onto the ground, you may want to skip the next few paragraphs…
I went to sit and wait to board my flight at the appropriate gate and it was PACKED! Every seat was taken, people were being loud and obnoxious, I would assume much complaining was happening as our flight was again DELAYED for another 45 minutes. I sat and started reading my book again. I was engrossed, I rarely get to fully concentrate and read at home, so I was taking full advantage.
All of a sudden, a horrid and unforgettable sound of someone expelling their boogers onto the floor. There was no muffled sound of tissue being used or even a tiny bit of quiet discretion. It was loud and brash and immediately made me want to vomit.
I tried to ignore it, but it kept happening, and then it started to spread. Other people in the original rocketeers group started to join in.
I AM NOT KIDDING!
It took every bone in my body to ignore it. I couldn’t even look behind me, knowing that I would be traumatized for life seeing a whole group of people having a probable competition of biggest booger blown. Or something along those lines I am sure of it. I guess it is one way to pass the time.
After another 45 minutes of the mucosal cacophony that was my flight gate, the wonderful gatekeepers told us all to line up and get on the plane. I waited until the line had gotten smaller and finally boarded and got into my seat. Whew, I had made it without being snotted on or throwing up. I was quite relieved.
Okay, the gross part is over, you can read on now.
Despite the ending of the trip being strange and a bit nauseating, I had such a fun time in Bangkok. I wish I could make it a bi-monthly event. There is so much to see and do in the huge and fascinating city of Bangkok.
Now it’s your turn! What was one of the worst experiences you have ever had in an airport? And if you don’t want to talk about that, do you have an easy time finding jeans that fit properly? I feel like it must be an every person thing, not just a Jenny thing. 🙂 But I could be wrong, so leave a comment and let me know!
**Disclaimer-I was not asked to review any of the companies or products mentioned in this article. This is just one girls (yep, mine!) opinions and adventures while having a solo trip in Bangkok for a couple of days. If you would like to know more about all the legal aspects of my blog, check out my Disclosure page. Thanks!**
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