Day 1 and 2: Today’s the day. I’ve packed my backpack and I’m heading for an extended vacay in Thailand. I have plans to see a lot of historic sites, trek through remote villages, and lounge at a beach, so I figured the best plan was to cram all that into a single backpack. (Note, I’ve never backpacked in my life, so why not start at 40?!)
I’ve employed a lot of the same packing strategies I use on many of my trips. I’ve used packing cubes and compression bags to the extent possible. I’ll write a whole packing methodology post at some point, I’m sure you can’t wait! I’ve taken multiuse items and I’ve packed a small, empty duffel in case I buy things or need to offload stuff and leave it to be picked up later. I have about 27 lbs on my back, not bad!
So, how does one decide to go to Thailand, roam around by herself, trek through a jungle where a boys soccer team was just lost, and try to do most of it on a backpackers budget? Well, IDK, YOLO? I wanted a place where I could completely immerse myself in a different culture, where the local population was friendly to foreigners, where it was safe for a single female, and where I would still have enough money left over to plan another trip soon. Enter Thailand, the Land of Smiles! (Full disclosure, I’d been to Thailand several years prior on my honeymoon, but several moves, career changes and a divorce later, and I was ready for a completely different kind of trip.)
Alright, off to the airport! The trip from my door to the hotel in Bangkok should be about 28 hours:
- 1 hour in an Uber to the airport
- 2 hours to sit around listlessly at the airport
- 14 hours from Washington Dulles to Tokyo Narita
- 2 hour layover in Tokyo
- 7 hour flight from Tokyo Narita to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International
- 1 hour to deplane and clear immigration and customs
- 1 hour to get taxi, travel to hotel and check-in
I travel a LOT for work, so I used frequent flyer miles for my ticket. Luckily, I got an entire row in economy plus all to myself on the long haul flight to Tokyo, so I get to sleep for a good part of the flight.
Fast forward to Tokyo…zoom…I love this airport! The shops are nicer than a lot of malls and there are a ton of restaurants. I have some Yen with me from many previous Japan trips, so I get a comfort food dinner of Japanese curry (very different from Indian or Thai curry), rice, and green tea. And of course, no Japanese experience is complete without a crazy flavored Kit Kat…like banana! Like most airports, everything here is expensive, but I’m not tempted to buy anything else because BACKPACKING.
Time for the second flight, which is still longer than a coast to coast US flight. I’ve switched to Thai Airways, and am flying on an Airbus A380 for the first time. The flight crew is numerous, immaculately attired, beautiful, and friendly beyond reproach. The plane is brightly upholstered in hot pink and purple, which is cool, but I can’t imagine a single airline in the U.S. choosing something so fun. I wish I could have taken a peek upstairs, but alas my seat is only next the the staircase. We’re served a “snack” that seems to have endless little dishes, heavy on the carbs, cold soba, salad, a roll, rice and curry, dessert, all washed down with wine. Then it’s time for another nap, as I’ve been up for well over 24 hours at this point.
Finally, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International! I’m greeted by some advertising from a product I’ll just never understand, Snail White. The small print says that it’s a facial cream made from snail excretion filtrate. I think I’ll stick to my ruddy, not so pale complexion. Definitely adding it to the Thailand, Nope! list.
So I clear immigration and customs easily, there are plenty of signs in English. No pics, because they aren’t allowed in the secure areas. When you enter the area to claim your bags, there are numerous ATMs to get Thai Baht. (I’m going to use about 30THB/1 USD when I quote prices, it will fluctuate some). There are also booths that exchange money. In this case, the rate the money changers paid was better than the ATMs, so I went that way. Get enough cash for a couple days at a time, as there are pretty hefty $5-6 ATM fees on all the machines in the country. If you’re staying in larger towns, it may be worth it to use money changers in train stations or near tourist areas depending how much you plan to take out.
I then head outside to the taxi queue, which was only a couple people deep at 10 pm. I’m staying at a small hostel right by the main train station in Bangkok, named Hua Lamphong. There’s seemingly no rhyme or reason to the street naming system in Thailand and even the taxi drivers need a little help. This is where one of my favorite travel booking apps for Asia comes in…Agoda. It’s now owned by Hotels.com, but it’s great for finding budget accommodations in Asian countries. It also has a taxi driver function that allows you to show a screen with the address and phone number to someone in the local language.
I check into the 2W Bed and Breakfast, and the night clerk was waiting for me, as I wrote ahead to let them know I’d be there late. This is actually a hostel, but I booked a private room and bath. This was one of my most expensive hotels of the trip at a little over $40 for the night. Make sure you check out every angle of the crazy, steep stairway/ladder up to my room (which was after I climbed three other flights of wonky stairs). It’s clean, the water is hot and has great pressure and there’s A/C. I will literally be here 8 hours, good enough!
I’m delirious, but that’s not going to stop my from heading out to the night market at almost midnight. This is the Yaowarat Night market which runs down the main street in the China Town area of Bangkok. I’m only about two blocks away and you can smell Five Spice powder from my hotel, so I follow my nose for food! Its crowded, it’s a little bit dirty, there are lights and sounds I’m not used to, this is GREAT. But seriously, fair warning, if you’re a germaphobe, be aware that the sanitation standards here for cooking and cleaning are very different. Food is literally cooked in what was the street only hours before, dishes are washed in buckets of water, there’s no running water to wash hands or 3 compartment sinks. That said, I’ve spent almost 6 weeks of my life in Thailand at this point and never gotten sick.
I stop by a convenience store for a couple bottles of water, then head to pick out some food. I’d read enough reviews of the market to know I wanted pork noodles. For about $1.60, I got a reasonable portion of noodles and roasted pork, then paid a tourist price of $3 for mango with sticky rice (SO worth it!). You can see in the pics below that the food booths are literally set up in the street. Many of these vendors serve until 2 am or later, so in case you need a noodle fix, you know where to go.
Well, after filling my stomach, drinking in the sites and smells, I take a hot shower, review the itinerary for the next day and absolutely crash. Sweet dreams!
