Last-Minute Getaway

 

On Thursday of last week, I was hoping to enjoy a quiet weekend in Hong Kong. With this weekend's Rugby Seven tournament, I thought a little rest would be in order, to adequately prepare for the madness. But by Friday, I had other plans... I was headed to Bangkok!

Amy was back in Asia, and had spent the past string of days in Singapore with Sonia and Motez, who's wedding will be taking place in Tunisia in August. As a sort of pre-wedding celebration, they had the idea that we would all get together in Bangkok, and even went so far as to treat me to my plane tickets!

As weekend trips go, this one started as a very pleasant surprise but quickly devolved into chaos. 

First, I arrived at the airport only to learn my flight time had been pushed back from 11:55pm to 12:30pm. It was well past then when the Hong Kong Airlines staff were finally ready to board the passengers, in a haphazard, disorganized fashion. I'd say it was nearer 2am by the time we were airborne at last.

Once through customs in Bangkok, I made a beeline for the taxi queue, which was quick and painless. However, a few moments after we began cruising down the highway towards my destination, it began to rain, lightly at first and then, eventually, in a torrential manner! 

The apartment where we were staying, called The Rise, was located off Sukhomvit Soi 39, but just where off Soi 39 remained a mystery to me and the taxi driver. He made a left off the main drag onto Soi 39, and we slowly made our way through the rising flood. I looked out the left-side window, reading the name of each and every building we went past, but I could not locate one called The Rise. On a second round, I sidled across to the right-hand side, but again had no luck.

But before we could attempt a third rotation, the driver pulled over back on Sukhomvit. "Water too high now. Taxi can't go. You must walk."

After arguing that that was a ridiculous suggestion, seeing as it was a monsoon outside and I had no idea where I was going, I eventually decided that I would have to attempt the journey on foot. I placed my phone, passport and wallet deep inside my suitcase, and zipped it tight. And then I just prepared to get drenched.

The water, and I'm not exaggerating, was up to my knees or higher, and my shoes were only going to make matters more difficult, so I had to proceed barefoot! And each time a car would pass, the river through which I was walking would rise with  a wave, sometimes taking the trash bags from one side of the "street" and moving them to the other—the rubbish often slamming into me.

The map I had printed up was useless, impossible to unfold because of how wet it had gotten in my pocket. And all the security guards dutifully seated outside their own condos seemed unfamiliar with The Rise. 

Anyway, I was as wet as humanly possible when I finally found the place, a right turn off the main soi and another right after that! It was at least an hour later by this point, so the rain was showing signs of cooling down and the sky already begin to lighten with Saturday morning's sun. A dripping reunion was in order with Sonia and Amy, but sadly I learned Motez—due to unforeseen visa complications—was unable to join at the last minute.

I hopped straight into the shower, first with all my clothes on, so that the flowing stream of water would cleanse them of any vestiges of the murky, trash-filled water I'd had to wade through to arrive. We hung them up on the balcony to dry afterwards.

After Sonia went to sleep, Amy and I stayed awake for a long while just catching up before getting a few hours' shut eye. 

There's a market in Bangkok, Chatuchak (or the Weekend Market) which is claimed to be among the largest in the world. Located a few steps away from the Mo Chi BTS station, the market is a sprawling complex of shops, stalls and restaurants. It's one of the city's premier attractions, for both tourists and locals alike, so I suppose it's a bit funny that I'd never been before. 

We had an absurdly filling lunch of all the Thai favorites before spending several hours doing our rounds of the stalls and shops. I bought a new pair of flip flops, as the strap of the right shoe I had been wearing had given way earlier in the day. And a little bit later, I also saw a t-shirt that stole my heart, and I had to buy it. The girls similarly loaded up on goodies.

I must admit, although not every market is for me, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon at this atmospheric place. But, boy, was I ready for a rooftop drink at Sky Train Jazz Bar when we had shopped to our hearts' content. 

You may remember Sky Train, as I had visited on my last trip to the city. Located near the Victory Monument BTS, the bar is housed on the rooftop of a five or six story walk-up with murals on the walls, potted plants all around and a great bevvy of tunes, as the sun set and the cold Singhas kept on flowing. 

And once the sun was set and the night sky had taken control of the city, we hopped in an Uber to Khaosan Road, the backpacker Mecca of Bangkok. Somehow, we were hungry again, and tasty Thai Street food always does the trick.

But as we were wandering along Khaosan after dinner looking for a spot for a drink, I suddenly heard load shrieks and screams to my left. Justin Bieber, I assumed, must have just arrived. It turns out that Katy and Lily, two colleagues from my Bangkok office, had spotted me out of the corner of their eyes!

And after introducing them to Sonia and Amy, we spent the rest of the night dancing, chatting, drinking and—eventually—eating again, at a twenty-four hour restaurant near the apartment. The girls came back to The Rise with us, and it was about 8am when they returned home!

Sunday, as you'd probably expect, got off to a very late start. There had been talk about visiting a floating market, or some other similarly touristy attraction, but by the time we'd finally gotten our acts together, there was little time to do much of that. Although Amy and I wouldn't be flying until the following morning, Sonia would have to head to the airport around 6pm. And it was already nearly 3pm!

So we headed over to Thong Lor, where we wandered a bit before settling on a sidewalk lunch venue. We then indulged in foot massages before one last communal sticky rice, from a place purported to be the best in Bangkok! 

After Sonia left, Amy and I popped over to the Robin Hood Pub for a drink before venturing back to Thong Lor for dinner at Soul Food, a restaurant that I had just loved on my last visit to the city. A branch has since opened on Elgin Street in Hong Kong, and I've gone several times. It never disappoints. And over some creative mixed drinks, we indulged in sensational Thai dishes, all prepared and served with flair and elan. (Including an ant egg curry!)

We capped off the evening with a series of cocktails at the Iron Fairies, again a Bangkok establishment I had visited on my last trip, and which has also recently seen a copy open in the city I call home. It was great to just continue catching up with Amy over some killer drinks, as there was so much to talk about that had happened in both our lives over the past two years. When the lights came on and we realized we would have to go home, we barely had an hour's sleep before it was time to head to the airport.

The Iron Fairies in Thong Lor

In a geeky way, I was actually a little excited, because on all my previous trips in and out of Bangkok, I'd always flown to and from Suvarnabhumi (BKK). However, this leg would be departing from the city's other international airport, Don Meuang (DMK). Although I can't say there was much going on between 4:30am and 6:30am while I waited to board the flight, I did my best to wander around and get a feel for the place. 

My eyes were shut immediately after we became airborne, and I slept the whole way back to Hong Kong. It may have been a short one—and it may have gotten off on the wrong foot—but in the end, it was a fantastic unexpected holiday!