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From Bangkok we decided to take an overnight train the roughly 700 km to Chiang Mai.

We left Bangkok at 7:30, and although we had eaten, we purchased the set menu that our entertaining and enthusiastic steward was selling.  This was a mistake.  The food was pretty mediocore, but it came with a lot of orange juice that contained ‘plempy of vitamin C.” So atleast no scurvy.

Following dinner we attempted to play poker for a bit, but pretty soon after the cabin crew came by and our seats were efficiently turned into bunks. The bed was pretty comfortable and I managed to get a few hours of sleep before being woken up by an equally enthusiastic crew. Our beds were converted, we were served breakfast, with you guessed it more OJ. Hiding a shotglass-sized container of OJ in each others luggage would become a game for the next few days.

 

 

Train Life – complete with “plempy of vitamin C”

We were then treated to the best part of the train, the view of roaming green hills and rice fields as we slowly made our way into Chiang Mai.

We arrove in Chiang Mai a little after 9AM, excited to see the elephants, sticky water falls, night markets and all the other things that this magical place had in store for us!

I was meeting up with some friends a few days after I got to Bangkok. Afterwhich, we were going to head north to Chiang Mai. I spent those next few days exploring more of Bangkok, which meant a lot of randomly getting lost (Google Maps and I get along much better in Canada) and sweating perfusely (By the time I writing this I’m somewhat aclimitized to the heat and humidity).

I was really excited to vist some of the Wats I had read about in preparing for this trip. However, with final preparations for the King’s funeral underway, and many of the streets closed near some of these sites I decided to forgo visiting these places until I passed back thru Bangkok.

Instead, with some of the people I had met at the hostel I went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. According to its website its the world’s largest outdoor market, has 15 000 stalls, and over 200 000 visitors every weekend.

This place has it all, clothing, food, flowers and apparently even a pet section. We tried with no avail to find this pet section and ultimately a few people had to leave to catch their connections to their next destination, and the rest of us gave up in favor of lunch.

I’d definitely recommend this place to find souveniors,  or to ween yourself into the art of bartering and Thai street markets. The vendors are friendly and let you look at your own pace.

The Weekend Market at Chatuchak is a seemingly endless labyrinth of vendors and restaurants – definitely a must see!

Following this, and a side trip a seemingly tame Khao San Road, I said my goodbyes and got ready to meet my friends, who by this time had arrived, and were staying nearby.

After watching a few of a hotel lobby’s Thai Elvis greatest hits we decided that we would celebrate our arrival in Bangkok by hitting up one of its many skybars. There are so many that there are multiple top 10 lists available online.

We went with Above Eleven because it was a) close and b) some people at the hostel had gone the night before and they liked it.

The view of the Bangkok skyline is impressive, and seemingly never ending, but after admiring the view and drinking our Thai take on a Pisco Sour we retreated to street level and did what any celebratory tourist in Bangkok would do – eat Pad Thai.

For tonight it was Bangkok and tomorrow was well, the night train.

Watch out world – three unemployed PhDs on the loose in Bangkok

Notable New Experiences (NONEXs):

Skybar

Finding a Thai Elvis Impersonator

Pad Thai in Thailand > Pad Thai anywhere else

Links: 

Chatuchack Market:  http://www.chatuchakmarket.org/

Above Eleven: https://aboveeleven.com/

Near the MBK market in Bangkok – hello heat!

After a send off dinner, my mom dropped me off at the airport and I begin the long process of getting to Bangkok. Luckily the flights were uneventful and ~ 24 h later I touched down in Bangkok.

I cleared customs smoothly and really the only glitch I had was that the first ATM I tried didn’t work- luckily there is plenty of ATMs and the next one worked, I haven’t had any problems since. After getting a prepaid SIM card for my phone I was on my way into town.

Sidebar: I got a 30 day 4.5gb package for 500 baht. I’d hate to guess how much a comparable package in Canada costs, so this was already a win in the Thailand column.

The train from the airport took me pretty close to the hostel I had booked for my first couple of nights. Once I could check in I decided I was going have a small nap before heading out to explore the nearby town. That turned into a 13 h slumber fest, but when I woke up the next day I was energized and spend my first full day in Asia exploring. This also happened to be my birthday.

Those who know me know that I really don’t like my own birthday and so a day alone exploring a new city was kind of the perfect birthday.

Not quite prepared for the heat and humidity my first stop was one of the near-infinite 7-11 you find in Thailand. Stocked up on water I set out.

The first stop I went to was only a few min walk from the hostel and rated as one-off the top 10 things to see in Bangkok – Jim Thompson House.

Jim Thompson House in Bangkok

Jim Thompson was an American who settled in Thailand after World War II and was heavily involved in the Thai silk business. An architect by training he built his house on the banks of a canal and collected a number regional relics to furnish his house. He mysteriously disappeared a few year later and with no family his house eventually became a museum.

While probably not on my top 10 things to see in Bangkok the tour was nice and there were a lot of cool antiques to see. Furthermore, the grounds a nice cool break from the surrounding heat and hustle bustle.

From there I wandered into the nearby MBK market which is basically an outlet mall on steroids. it’s a multi floor maze of small shops selling anything from shoes to cameras and phones. It was a bit too much for me and I retreated to the near by Discover Square which a little more muted, even if it had things way outside of my price range – like a mazzarati dealer.

After a lite dinner and another trip to 7-11 I decided to call it a night- all-and-all not a bad start to 33 and SE Asia!