The Thais That Bind

Bangkok! 

After a work trip to Japan got postponed, I decided to take a last minute “Spring Break” trip to Thailand! I had a week off of classes between the Winter and Spring quarters, and hoped that if I added on an extra week of vacation and skipped the first week of classes that nobody would miss me :P 

I booked the ticket with less than a week’s notice, so I didn’t really do any planning at all for my 14 days, but I got so many encouraging recommendations from my world-traveling friends that I was pretty sure it would be a great trip no matter what! The week leading up to the trip was a little bit of a whirlwind: just after I booked my ticket I found out I made it to the interview round for a fellowship at the White House I had applied for, and I spent A LOT of time trying to rush to finish all the requirements for attaining Top Secret security clearance before I left the country. But I got almost everything done, packed a small backpack (I’m pretty proud – my checked bag was only 15 pounds!), and hopped on a LONG flight through Beijing and to Bangkok. 

The Grand Palace

I got in at 1am and crashed pretty hard, but overall getting there was pretty easy. I woke up pretty early (thanks, jetlag!) and spent the whole day wandering around Bangkok. I had pad thai and a fresh coconut for breakfast and then headed to check out a gigantic golden Buddha. Basically, from the moment you land you realize Buddha is a REALLY big deal here. His images, statues and shrines are everywhere you look, and in the touristy places there are even some fun informative posters informing you that Buddha images are NOT appropriate for tattoos and decorations, but are to be revered for worship only. 

After the golden Buddha, I headed to check out the Grand Palace. It was pretty amazing! The colors, murals, golden towers and ornate carved architecture was so mesmerizing. I wandered in circles around the grounds for a long time taking photos and playing with my new camera….I indulged in a new point-and-shoot or the trip that boasted being weather sealed, waterproof, drop proof, and freeze proof (three out of four of which were definitely put to the test on the trip!). 

When I finally finished my sightseeing, I was pretty darn warm – the forecast had warned me that the temperature in Bangkok would be approaching 100 degrees, so I opted to find some A/C and escape the sun! I grabbed a tuk tuk (I had missed them!) to a mall and went shopping for a Thai sim card for my phone. It was the most ridiculously large mall I have ever been to (outside of Dubai, which was just insane). I quickly found a sim card and also grabbed a battery charger -- for some reason the Chinese government confiscated and disposed of mine during my extremely short layover in Beijing. I strolled through the mall for a while marveling at the mega-throngs of shoppers and the abundance of crap, but eventually decided to grab a pair of heels and head to a fancy rooftop bar I had read about. The guidebook warned that there was a dress code, so I figured ditching my sandals was necessary. 

That's a big reclining Buddha

I grabbed another tuk tuk and showed the driver on a map and my iPhone were the place was….and after asking another driver, he seemed to know where I was going. We started off heading the right way according to Google maps, so I put away my phone and was enjoying the sights and sounds of bustling Bangkok, but after about 15 minutes I checked again – of course we were WAY off and were headed the opposite direction. I tried to convince the driver, but he kept pointing to a tall building and emphatically arguing in Thai that we were headed to the right place. 

Heels, ugh

Upon arrival, it was clearly NOT the place. And it took me some serious pantomiming to convince him to turn around and take me to the actual bar I was looking for. For the rest of the drive he was not pleased and kept turning around to glare at me and demand more money. I happily agreed, but the glares continued… 

This is what a $23 drink looks like...

I did eventually arrive to the Sky Bar, swapped my flip flops out for the heels, and rode the elevator up to the 64th floor. I had read claims that it was the highest open-air bar, and the views of hazy Bangkok were pretty cool! It was still really warm out, there was a swift breeze up that high, and arrived just before the crowds. You definitely paid for the privilege of the view, and I forked over about $23 for a drink. The drink was yummy and had ice cubes of frozen fruit and dehydrated passion fruit on the rim….but still, $23?! 

After one, I called it quits and headed home. I booked a plane ticket for the next morning to go to Chiang Mai (in northern Thailand) based on a LOT of recommendations from friends, and crashed! Overall, it wasn’t a bad first day!