Iāll admit when I got to Thailand it took some getting used to because I was alone. My last two trips were with counterparts so this is my first fully solo trip since Bali. Thankfully itās kind of like riding a bike after so long. At first you are a bit wobbly but then itās a smooth ride. Iām currently seated on the floor at Suvarnabhumi, in Bangkok, awaiting my flight to Chiang Mai. Before mentioning how excited I am to get to Chiang Mai let me back track and tell you about my time in Bangkok.
So for starters the hotel I booked was underwhelming. It was called Khaosan Art Hotel and Iād say the best thing about it was itās location and the friendly staff. Other than that the facilities were basic. The room I was first assigned to devastated me when i walked into it. It was the smallest hotel room iād ever been in. Also, the bathroom was subpar and there were two little stains on the bedding. After contemplating for a good while on my options a that point I decided to go down and just flat out tell them that i wasnāt happy with this room based on the reasons i stated and that iād like a better room. Mind you, i was prepared to pay the difference for a better room if they werenāt willing to upgrade me for free. Thankfully the man who checked me in was kind and upgraded me to a better room free of charge. I was so grateful and relieved. The second room was a slight improvement from the first one. It was much cleaner, a little larger, and there was somewhere for me to put my bag versus in the first room where i had to keep my bag on the floor. So that was one of the major things that put me off about the first room. Now I know this is totally a first world problem and I fully recognized that as i was sitting in my first room feeling so disturbed. Finally when i got settled into my second room I had to stop and have a moment of gratitude to even be on a trip let alone able to afford accommodations.
So my first full day in Bangkok i spent doing a little site seeing. I saw two temples, the Wat Pho (reclining buddha) and the Wat Benchamabophit. They were both gorgeous in their own right. I am aware that many temples in South East Asia look pretty similar so I didnāt go too crazy with the temples. I chose each of these because they had something unique about them. The Wat Pho has the huge and stunning reclining buddha statue. It was breathtaking and amazing. Then the Wat Benchamabophit is made entirely out of white marble. It was gorgeous.
Another highlight from my day was my hour and a half massage I received at a place called Spaya from a masseuse named Wine. This womanās hands had healing powers. Her touch put me in such a deep sleep I woke up feeling so rejuvenated. Highly recommend this massage shop. It only cost me about 14 Korean won. Also they are very clean and they have the two option rooms where you can be laying on the floor on a padded mat or the regular massage tables with a hole for you to put your face in. I prefer the tables with the hole because the other ones make my neck hurt after a while of being turned to one side. Oh and heavens how could i forget to mention the food?! So on this day i chose amongst the plethora of veg restaurants. I went to one called May Kaydee. I ordered like 3 different things to get an idea of how good their cuisine was and my favorite dish was a fried rice dish. What i like about this restaurant is that they donāt use MSG and they use local and organically grown ingredients.
The following day was art day. I visited a contemporary art museum and got to check out some local talent as well as an exhibit by local Thai youth and the Asean exhibit. I enjoyed the entire experience. My meals on this day were at a restaurant around the corner from my hotel called Peeps Thai Eatery. I went there twice in one day. Thatās how good their food was. I got a dish called 6 oāclock fried rice. So yummy and I loved that they had the option to sub brown rice instead of white rice. Honestly, I think Asia should always have the brown rice option since it consumes so much rice and white rice is literally whatās left of the grain once the nutritious parts of it have been stripped off.
I ended off my day with another hour and a half massage, this time at a spot near my hotel. My lady wasnāt as great as Wine but I was still able to do some meditating during my session which was nice because i still left feeling very good.
Fast forward to now, awaiting to board my flight to Chiang Mai. Iām so excited for the hotel I booked. I def splurged and got one that has an outdoor pool and a nice fitness center. Iāve heard such good things about Chiang Mai for vegans, yoga, meditation, and spirituality. My intentions are to do a lot of introspection and yoga and enjoy nutritious food. Iāll be there for 10 days so it feels nice to settle down somewhere for a bit.
Keep scrolling for pics from my 2 days in Bangkok.
Two Days inĀ Bangkok I'll admit when I got to Thailand it took some getting used to because I was alone.
