You know, I've been thinking for a while how I ought to write this.
Should I, for instance, go day by day like I'm writing a travel itinerary, or a travel blog, or should I do a place by place review like I've seen some of my friends do?
A part of me thinks it a good idea to do it day by day but that, whilst helpful for research and referencing and whatnot (especially in the future), doesn't have the same feels that this blog currently is, or strives to be.
So I've decided that balance is best, and to do that I'll be writing about this trip in two ways.
There'll be, of course, a part about what I did and where I went, but there'll also be a part- like this one here- that throws an overview of what I did, and where I went- just so that I can remember, and reference (in future) what it was I did and where it was I went, on this particular day of this particular year.
I'd like to say that there were plenty of exciting things I did the first day I got to Bangkok, but really, if not for the fact that I hadn't been beyond the shores and more for the longest time, it would have been an ordinary trip, an ordinary departure, an ordinary arrival.
Still no travel begins without a transportation hub, and today mine was at Changi's Terminal 3 this one.
Call me suaku, but I had no idea that there were gates in this terminal far enough from the passport points that one had to board a Skytrain to get there.
Or that boarding gates could change in the span of 20 minutes from the time I checked in at the counter to the time I got to the gate.
But here I was, and I got a window seat.
I got to Don Mueang early afternoon, and thank God, it was a smooth process through the long hallway, through immigration- they use four fingers biometric these days- and through baggage collection.
There wasn't much that I wanted to think about after my arrival- it felt surreal, honestly- but being hungry I munched on a pineapple tart I'd brought and guzzled down my friend's cup of hot matcha latte.
Citadines Soi 8 Sukhumvit was my hotel- let's just say that the journey there brought me some interesting sights- and almost right away after checking in, decided to head down the road to Bhawa Spa On The Eight.
But there was no immediate slot, however, so, after booking in a time, we headed back out onto Soi 8, and across the road via the Nara BTS Station to the small shopping mall opposite.
Coming back this side of the road, we dropped by the 7-11, bought whatever we needed, and then back it was to Bhawa Spa where for the next 100 mins I fell asleep under the treatment of the Bhawa Stress & Anxiety Relief Massage & Therapy.
When it finished, back it was to the hotel for an hour-long errand, then off to a (very) late dinner it was.
Here's the thing.
I can't be sure what the name of this place was, but I remember crossing the road, I remember passing by an Ambassador Hotel Bangkok, a Burger King, a Wine Connection, and a Starbucks, and so, very likely it would have been the Moom Muum Park on Soi Sukhumvit 11.
An open air place with live music of guitar and sax, the food, meant really to be just bar grub, was surprisingly good.
So the food might not feel the same as some of the other (more renowned) places, but the fried kuay teow beef was well fried with the flat noodles clumped together the way I liked them and the beef slices tender, the tom kha coconut soup opened up my very hungry palate, whetting my appetite, the steak and fries were clean-tasting (despite the variating standards of rare and medium rare), and although the oyster omelet had way more starch than we were used to, there were plenty enough oysters and we had a great time hunting about (in the synthwave lights) for the egg.