After a lazy morning in Vientiane and a pretty standard travel day, I found myself back in Bangkok, the chaotic, frustrating, perplexing city that I have such a soft spot for. The last three days of my vacation fell on a weekend – New Year’s weekend at that – and I can’t think of a better place in the whole world to celebrate the end of an amazing trip and ring in the new year.
Once I was on the ground, I got a taxi to my Airbnb in Sukhumvit, dropped my things on the floor, and was immediately enchanted by the scene from the balcony: a fiery sunset barely peeking out from underneath the moody late-afternoon clouds, a horizon of skyscrapers and high-rises, the rooftops of neighborhood houses, barking dogs and squawking birds, and a bizarre, fortified white mansion surrounded by a small forest in the middle of a concrete jungle. I ended up being out and about most of the weekend, but when I found myself back in the apartment, I made sure to take photos to capture the view.
That evening, I met up with a friend for an excellent tapas dinner on Soi 11, chosen because the restaurant was a short walk from Havana Social, a place both of us had been interesting in visiting. The Cuba-inspired lounge is beautifully decorated and has a great selection of rum-based cocktails, but also has a funny trick up its sleeve. To get in, you must walk to an unremarkable small soi off of Soi 11, enter a retro telephone booth next to a large wall mural, pick up the handset, and enter the passcode you received by calling the bar earlier that day. Upon putting the handset back down, the wall behind you clicks and opens a tiny bit, and you realize the wall is the door to get in. It’s delightful.
After a drink, we hit the pavement again so I could get my rooftop bar fix, something I’m sorely deprived of by living in San Francisco. My friend suggested Nest, which was just down the street, and that’s where we spent the rest of the evening. It was perfect for lounging, chatting, enjoying the warm weather, and looking at the blinking lights of the skyline.
One funny moment of the evening – for me, at least – was browsing the drink menu at Nest, which included a section of bucket cocktails. Sure, bucket drinks are popular in Thailand, but usually at beach bars pumping EDM and patronized exclusively by gap-year backpackers in “Full Moon” tank tops. This was a swanky rooftop lounge! One drink in particular caused me to immediately take a photo and text some friends back home:
Good. Lord. Talk about front-loading your evening. Or destroying it. “I really want a Long Island, but I don’t think a glass of it will be enough…”, said no one ever. Now that I’m thinking about it in hindsight, such a ridiculous libation makes perfect sense for a city like Bangkok. Sometimes you’ll find holes in the the classy facade and see the simple, down-to-earth, and sometimes ugly truth behind it all. Simple, ugly truths like a bucket full of alcohol.
Friday was my shopping day, so I took BTS downtown and immersed myself in the labyrinth of upscale, interconnected malls that define the main shopping district of Bangkok. I’m always amazed at how posh some of these places are. They’re more yuppie and more expensive than malls in America!
The only real discovery and purchase of the day was from a new shop selling merchandise for “Bloody Bunny”, a series of characters created by a partnership of Thai and Japanese design studios. When she saw the photo, my mom described it as the antithesis to Hello Kitty, which I think is a pretty accurate description. Parents were forcing their half-terrified children to take photos with the maniacal-looking, possibly murderous mascot who was standing in front of the store. After laughing at their discomfort for a bit, I went inside and bought a few notebooks for friends back home.
I found Terminal 21, another multi-level mall, particularly interesting because each floor of the mall is themed after a different international city. Most are European, but much to my surprise, the top two floors are homages to San Francisco. There are faux Fisherman’s Wharf statues and even a miniature Golden Gate Bridge that spans the floor, complete with model cars and even an accurate configuration of lanes and (lack of) dividers.
In the maze of endless hallways and escalators and pedestrian bridges, I quite literally got lost and disoriented. While trying to find my way back to a BTS station, I accidentally stumbled upon a small gallery dedicated to the late and very beloved king, who had passed away about two months before. Next to the gallery, a pianist played soft, sentimental music for the shoppers who were admiring the various paintings and photographs. I quietly wandered the gallery alongside an elderly Thai grandmother in a wheelchair who was barely able to power herself, but was doing her best to see all the works on the walls. It was a surprising dose of sweetness amidst the unbridled capitalism and noisy crowds.
That evening I was on my own, so I went out to a couple places in the neighborhood that I had heard very good things about. The first spot was WTF, a gallery and cozy bar just off Sukhumvit Road, which was a perfect first stop for the evening. After a couple drinks and funny exchanges with the quasi-intoxicated staff, I walked down the street to my real destination for the evening, Sing Sing Theater. The venue is most easily labelled as a nightclub, but based on what I’ve read, it seems to have a legitimate mix of live performances and genres of music. The night I went didn’t have anything particularly special planned, so I was treated to many hours of very fun, danceable house music played by a few of the resident DJs.
Normally I wouldn’t bother going into this much detail about a night out, except Sing Sing deserves special mention because it is easily the most beautiful club I have ever been to. I’d describe the decor as an upscale, romanticized opium den that you’d see in a movie: Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, dark wood everywhere, lit candles on tables, and what parts of the club weren’t shrouded in dark mystery were bathed in beautiful red light. Every room and balcony felt small and intimate, giving the entire place a very cozy feel, which is rarely a word used to describe a nightclub. And to give the proceedings a little extra something, the club’s dancers wore gas masks along with their skimpy outfits.
The gorgeous crowd matched the gorgeous venue and there was a pleasant mix of people: small groups of girls, one large group of very single guys, couples, expats, Western and Chinese tourists, and some hi-so (“high society”) Thais. Speaking of which, as I was leaving around 2:30, I passed two very pretty Thai socialites who were just on their way in, looking way too fresh for that hour of the night, as if they had just finished getting ready. They could easily have been walking the red carpet at the Oscars with how fashionable and on-point they looked. One was pulling along the other by the hand, almost in a motherly manner. The girl in tow was clearly on something heavy because when I caught eyes with her, I saw a deer in the headlights looking back at me. Woof.
None of my photos or videos from that night do Sing Sing any justice, so the best imagery I can offer is the collage of Google Images search results.
The next day was New Year’s Eve. After a lazy day of sleeping in, wandering, eating, and a massage, I met up with my friend again for another fun night out. After a tasty dinner at a neighborhood restaurant, I took her to WTF since she had never been before. Once again, it was the perfect jumping off point for the rest of the night. After drinks and more funny stories from the same bartenders as the night before, we went out in search of a rooftop bar. Our first choice was absurdly expensive (6,000 baht per person! $170!), but my friend found another place (AmBar) that was much more reasonable (500 baht per person). The night was great fun with lots of dancing and even a live saxophone player to accompany the DJ. Months before I started planning this trip, I had decided that I wanted to spend NYE on a rooftop bar in Bangkok, and it was incredibly satisfying that the last night of my trip was my silly plan coming to fruition.
The next day was lazy and sad, if I’m to be honest with myself. My flight wasn’t until the evening, so I had plenty of time to go to a few of my new favorite local spots, get one last massage, and wander the neighborhood with my camera.
On this trip, I tried to be better about taking photos of what I ate, so here are a few photos of very, very delicious things I had in Bangkok. Nothing cost more than $4.
Since this will be my last post from this trip, I guess this is the part where I try to summarize everything.
For starters, value-per-dollar on this trip was exceptional. I rented out my apartment on Airbnb while I was gone and I cashed in a lot of rewards (Capital One and Agoda) that I had accrued from my previous international trips. Once those are taken into account, my out-of-pocket total for the entire trip was around $1,500, which is crazy for nearly four weeks of traveling, including an expensive flight across the Pacific.
Value-per-day was also phenomenal. I crammed a lot into a relatively short amount of time, especially compared to the speed of my travels in the past few years. Every place I went offered something wonderful and different. Pattaya and Bangkok, the bookends of the trip, were all about new friends and really fun nightlife; Chiang Mai was nostalgic, comforting, incredibly productive work-wise, and a chance to reconnect with old friends; Laos was a whole new country where I could really enjoy meditation, creativity, quiet reflection, and beautiful nature.
Viewed through the lens of these two metrics, this was the best trip I have ever taken. Everything – logistics, weather, activities, relationships, health, you name it – turned out exactly like I thought it would, or better. It was another life-affirming journey that left me feeling happy and motivated.
Goodbye to 2016 and hello to 35 indeed.
