Bougie in Bangkok

It pains me to write this post about Bangkok, given that my time spent there was during the warm summer months (read: Toronto just received its first snowfall earlier today and I hate everything). Nevertheless, I would be remiss if I didn’t blog about my week-long, summer vacation solo trip to Southeast Asia’s hub for the seedy and evidently, bougie – Bangkok.

1. Bodega Bangkok. Undoubtedly one of the best hostel experiences I’ve ever had, right up there with Isla Gecko in Boracay. I was having mild anxiety about my first solo travelling experience in four years, but Bodega made me feel welcome immediately. The sister hostel to the award-winning Bodega Phuket is located on Sukhumvit 23, close to a number of Bangkok’s top sights, sounds and smells. The facilities were super comfortable, the staff were inviting and helpful and the atmosphere was incredibly laid-back. I give all the recommendations for Bodega Bangkok!

2. Soi Cowboy. I spent my first night in Bangkok’s red light district known as Soi Cowboy. The entire strip is only about two city blocks, lined with neon lit go-go bars that serve alcohol (and probably more) until around 1:30AM. The street’s energy is pretty intense, bustling with smart-phone wielding tourists flashing photos of the famous Bangkok strip. This was certainly the Bangkok’s nightlife I had read about. A word of warning: Soi Cowboy is pretty depressing on its whole. The bars are mostly filled with seedy old men receiving lap dances from underaged girls while the streets are lined with these same despondent girls trying to encourage tourists to enter their respective establishments. My advice is to get in and get out.

3. Temple run. My first full day in Bangkok was spent touring around two of the cities major Buddhist temples, Wat Phra Kaew and Wat Pho. Wat Phra Kaew, (pictured above) known as the Temple of the Emerald Buddha was my favourite, with dozens of golden-spired buildings, mother-of-pearl doors and a number of elaborate tapestries. Wat Pho, on the other hand, is famous for its 46-metre long, golden statue of a reclining Buddha. The statue is intimidatingly large; I spent most of my time in the complex with my mouth agape. As is customary in all Buddhist temples, appropriate clothes were mandatory (no exposed shoulders or legs) and all footwear had to be removed before entering the shrines.

4. British at Bodega. I was lucky enough to spend my first few days in Bangkok with the lovely Bryony, Tom, Lucie and Tamsin. Touring from Britain, these four were my bunkmates at Bodega. Here’s a picture of Bryony, Tom and I on our tour at Wat Phra Kaew.

5. But first, let me take a selfie. These two temples were incredibly beautiful. I’m better for having seen them in all their immaculate glory, but eventually, I was only able to take in so much history. Bryony, Tom and I spent a fair amount of time derping around the Wat Pho temple complex, taking photos of stray cats and attempting to decipher the hidden stories unfolding on each of the tapestries. Real quality stuff, y’all.

6. The Chao Phraya. After departing Wat Pho and grabbing a bite to eat on the docks of the boat terminal, Bryony, Tom and I took a ride on the Chao Phraya River. The crowded boat felt extremely close to capsizing and you could feel every wave. We had a nice view of the stunning Wat Arun (pictured above). Regretfully, I didn’t have a chance to visit Wat Arun’s beautiful complex. This is probably the only thing I regret from my trip.

7. Lumphini Park. Our boat dropped us off near Bangkok’s lush Lumphini Park. The public park has an artificial lake filled with couples in paddle boats andis a popular spot for runners. Bryony, Tom and I managed to spot a giant lizard hiding out in one of the park’s giant trees, amidst a sea of Thai aerobic dancers. It was a delightfully random end to a day touring around Bangkok.

8. So. Much. Food. Chicken massaman curry, shrimp pad thai, khao tom, khao phat kai, mangoes from street vendors – ugh. It makes my mouth water to think of all of the wonderful dining I did in Thailand.

9. Life isn’t all rooftop Infinity pools in Thailand, but it should be. Perhaps the most bougie part of my vacation was spent atop the Radisson Blu Hotel’s rooftop. Truthfully, I had never swam in an Infinity pool, so a hot summer’s day in Bangkok seemed as good a time as any. There was definitely a moment while I was reading my book and sipping on a Coke atop the Radisson when I thought, “maybe I should just move to Thailand.” Truthfully, it would be a pretty charmed life.

10. The Jim Thompson House. The one solo sightseeing excursion I ventured on was a tour of American architect, Jim Thompson’s famous Thai-inspired home. The tour was certainly fascinating and the house itself was immaculate, however the 45 minute guided tour could have easily been condensed down to a 15 minute self-led tour around the complex. Alas, one must always read the fine print.

11. More British and Bodega pals. Besides a great atmosphere and quality service, Bodega also employs fantastic people and attracts amazing patrons. Pictured above are Dain, my guide to all things Bangkok, and Becks, my accomplice for all those recommended things. We had quite the time in Bangkok together, despite spending the majority of our time in the Bodega common room. Until next time in Seattle and the UK, loves!

12. More rooftop pools and a goodbye to Bangkok. My last day in Bangkok was spent relaxing on the rooftop of Galleria 10, a chic boutique hotel relatively close to Bodega. I went for a swim, enjoyed a drink and took in some rays before the clouds pushed the sun out of sight. Afterwards, I grabbed a bowl of massaman curry and received the most aggressive (and only) Swedish massage of my life. I headed back to Bodega at the end of an absolutely perfect day to pack up my bags and pay my tab before hailing a cab to the airport. I even did the whole stop-and-look-back-before-you-step-into-the-cab thing from the movies in order to be grossly sentimental.

13. Ban China Eastern Airlines. Unfortunately, the end of my summer vacation was spent delayed in Shanghai for 15 hours due to Typhoon Halong. China Eastern Airlines made sure that my time was spent being removed from the customs line to re-enter China, rushed around the airport to a new customs line, abandoned with no information before finally being placed in an airport hotel nearly three hours later. The next day, further delays served to only brighten my already chipper mood. Eventually, I was placed on a flight to Gimhae International Airport only to have said flight turn back around to Shanghai after the plane couldn’t land. I took matters into my own hands and secured a seat on a flight to Seoul, where I stayed overnight before taking the KTX train back to Busan in the wee morning hours. Oy.

Despite this maddening situation at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport, I had a fantastic summer vacation in Thailand. It was significantly different than my experience in Boracay over winter vacation (i.e. no travel buddies, more urban, lots of sightseeing) but equal parts fun, enriching and of course – bougie.

I’m hopeful that I will be back in Thailand in a few years and will be able to head out to the islands, as well as Phuket and Chiang Mai. Until then, I’ll see you, Southeast Asia – even if it’s just in my wildest dreams.

July Roundup

1. July was a work-intensive month. Between a full-time teaching schedule and preparing a comprehensive exit report for my replacement, I also had three kindergarten open classes. If you’re unfamiliar, an “open class” is when parents sit in on their children’s class and watch you teach. Given the high pressure put on students by their parents, I had to rehearse for open classes with my students for about a week and a half before to ensure they were comfortable with the material. I structured the lesson for my six year olds around “community places”, while the lesson for my seven year olds was based on concepts relating to “our Earth” (i.e. countries, continents, and oceans). Despite the stress I felt leading up to Open Class Week, I was totally and utterly vindicated when Happiness, Pride, and Smile Class totally killed it! My smile on that Friday afternoon was in recognition of their achievement, and also in recognition that I would never be subjected to another open class, ever. Huzzah!

2. Maybe I was listening to a lot of Calvin Harris, but I became painfully aware of summer’s fleeting nature in July. The realization that I would be returning to Canada in a matter of weeks and trading my flip-flops for winter-appropriate boots was not an easy one to accept. However, I pulled myself up by my flip-flops (NOT my boot straps) and made a simple, conscious effort to enjoy my remaining few weekends on Busan’s various beaches. I enjoyed mid-day tall boys of Cass. I fell a lot while trying to perfect my handstand. I laughed a lot and had great heart-to-hearts with friends. Ultimately, summer is always fleeting but those memories will endure long after it’s gone.

3. I took a trip to the beautiful Jeju Island with Steph and Mary at the beginning of the month. Despite the treacherous weather we endured for the majority of the weekend, it would be nearly impossible to have a bad time in Jeju. We sampled some of the local black pork stew, visited a majestic waterfall, hiked up a giant crater called “Sunrise Peak” during a typhoon, and enjoyed a period of brief blue skies on a black sand beach. I only wish I had more time to continue exploring the island!

4. My hagwon took our kindergarten students on a field trip to learn what to do and how to respond in times of crises. My students learned how to use a fire extinguisher, how to escape a burning house safely, and what to do in the case of an earthquake. These situations were often quite stressful and some of my students were rattled by the experience, but I do think they learned some valuable lessons from the field trip. Afterwards, we all enjoyed a sunlit picnic and naturally had an outdoor photo-shoot. Pictured above is me with Big Jaden, Yuli, and my absolute favourite student, Nina.

5. One of my favourite days at school, Cooking Day, returned in July! We taught our kindergarten students how to make my favourite Korean dessert, patbingsu. The recipe itself is pretty basic, requiring only shaved ice with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red bean paste. The kiddies loved assisting with the preparation, but not as much as they loved devouring their “cool” creations!

6. I hosted an event titled Goodbye to Your Bae to celebrate my last official weekend in Busan. We ate at Artista, our favourite Mexican spot in Jung-dong, headed to the Kyungsung University area and watched the sun rise on Gwangalli Beach. It was the perfect setting to reminisce on memories from the past year and to salute the future.

7. As always, my school hosted a July birthday party. Given that this was my last birthday party at Brown & LCI, I ended up hosting. I created a PowerPoint quiz titled “Who Is That Teacher?”, where my students were shown a baby picture and had to guess which staff member it was. The best parts were when a picture of a clearly Caucasian baby were shown and the students guessed a Korean teacher, or vice versa. God bless the derpy little angels, amirite?

8. The neighbourhood of Hwamyeong became like a second home to me, after spending nearly every weekend there with Jess, Maddie, and Mary during the winter months. So, prior to leaving for summer vacation, I spent my last day in Hwamyeong with my friends Mary and Nina. Mary cooked a delicious breakfast for us, and the three of us took a walk through the local ecological park. Shortly afterwards, I had to leave to catch my flight to Shanghai. This was an incredibly bittersweet moment, as I had to bid farewell to Nina (I will be seeing Mary again in Toronto this fall). This was my first serious goodbye and I was incredibly touched by Nina’s emotion as I pulled away in the cab. I’m confident this is only “see you later” for Nina and I, and am looking forward to crossing paths again soon!

9. I spent 15 glorious/somewhat stressful hours in Shanghai en route to my final destination, Bangkok, during my summer vacation. While I didn’t get the opportunity to fully explore the city, I did manage to wake up early enough to see The Bund from its observation deck. Despite the fog, the iconic waterfront area was breathtaking, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to have seen it.

10. My love for Southeast Asia could never be quenched, but my summer vacation in Bangkok was like a refreshing 255mL water bottle after a long run. My week in Bangkok was filled with exploring, noshing, making new friends, and relaxing. While I wish I could have toured around all of Thailand, I have confidence that I will be back, someday soon.