Bangkok: Day 1

The Bed Bangkok Hotel is conveniently located within a 5-minute walk to the Phloen Chit Train Station and across from the Bumrungrad International Hospital, the largest private hospital in Southeast Asia.  It was easy to find as soon as I confirmed it with a few locals on a street labeled, Soi 1.  It was 1:22 PM when we arrived.  I knew check-in wasn't until 2 PM, but I figured I'd check in anyway, so I made my way over to the front desk as my family settled onto the couch in the small lobby.  The young woman behind the desk found my reservation and affirmed that we couldn't check in until 2 PM, which was no problem to us.  Yes, we were tired and sweaty, and thirsty, but another 38 minutes was no big deal as we were thankful we had made it safely to our destination.

At 2 PM, I asked if we could check into our room now, and the young lady, whose name was May, said that it wasn't ready.  By this point, we were pretty exhausted and tired of waiting, so we asked her what the deal was.  She said that the occupants still have their stuff in it and that they haven't returned from sight-seeing.  I asked if she had a way to reach them, or if there were any other rooms similar to the one we booked, which was a Group of 4 Type.  She said no and no, and that we had to wait for the occupants to get back.  We were all thinking, how long is this going to take?  Where did these people go, did they not know that check-out was at noon?  We just wanted to get in, put our stuff away, and take a shower.  After more than 27 hours of travel to get here, I think one can understand we just wanted a room already.

Finally by 2:25 PM, two men walked in with grocery bags.  May looked at me and said, "They're here; they just have to get their stuff and your room will be ready shortly."  The men, who looked like a father and son pair, just looked at us as if they were annoyed.  The room was then cleaned, and by 3 PM we finally settled into our cozy 4-bunk bed room.  Ahh, such is hostel life.  For 1,200 Baht, or $40 USD a night, I really shouldn't complain. 

Bed Bangkok Lobby

Around 4 PM, we hopped on the BTS for a late afternoon stroll at Chatuchak Market, a weekend market where Thais sell everything under the sun.  I mainly wanted to go to get a feel for what a Thai market is like, get lost in a maze, and watch Thai iced tea be pulled from one cup to another high above our heads.  I also wanted to dine on street food.

By the time we got to Mo Chit Station, it started to rain, and I mean RAIN.  And of course, no one wanted to go walking around aimlessly looking at odd trinkets and grilled who-knows-what in the pouring rain (except me).

Chatuchak Weekend Market from Mo Chit Station

So, we ended up returning to the station huddling underneath its roof like everyone else when we saw ... BOBA!!  Nothing makes up for a spoiled day like boba!  We just had to have it, so we ended up getting 3 milk teas and 1 passion fruit green tea for less than 40 Baht, or $2 USD per person! And they were so much bigger than the ones we'd get at home!  Yum.  Whoever thought of installing a boba cart at the train station is brilliant. 

Yay for boba!

Mom's never ready for photos.

With boba in hand, we were all pretty happy, but we needed to figure out dinner for the night.  I read about a cute Thai restaurant whose known for its boat noodles in my copy of Lonely Planet Thailand that we all agreed to check out.  By the time we got off at BTS Asok, however, mom had to go pee so we stopped at the nearest shopping center conveniently located right there at the station, which also happened to be the largest and quirkiest mall we've ever been to, Terminal 21.  We were amazed.  It was settled: dinner was to be had right here.

Terminal 21 - a 9-story mall

Each floor is themed according to world cities.

We spent the rest of the night exploring the mega mall, whose floors are dedicated to world famous cities like Paris on the main floor, Tokyo on the first, and San Francisco near the top.  Even the public restrooms on each floor are designed with the theme in mind.  Very modern and surprisingly clean.  The best part, however, is the variety of food here.  There are so many restaurants and cuisines we wandered from one place to the next.  We even saw Coco Ichibanya!  But no, we did not eat there.  When in Thailand, why not have Thai food!

We settled in at a cute eatery called The Terrace, and dined on traditional Thai favorites like Pad Thai and Tom Yum soup, which were absolutely delicious and cheap!

Tom Yum Soup with Shrimp

Pad Thai Noodles

The Terrace Restaurant

Kolak

Then rounded off dinner with mom's favorite dessert, kolak, an Indonesian dish made with palm sugar and coconut milk with pandan leaf. This one came with cassava, bananas, and taro balls.  Everyone was stuffed and happy.  Not bad for a first day in Thailand.