Budget: $60 Spent: $109
We woke up in Hanoi at 5am to take a taxi to airport at 6am. We packed our bags, had a quick breakfast, and then left. Our first taxi had a flat tire, so we waited for a second. We didn't have any other problems on our way to airport and actually got to airport more than 2 hours before flight!
We had no problems boarding the plane. The flight was uneventful. We weren’t fed anything, but it was a quick two-hour flight. We arrived in Bangkok, already with a plan in mind for getting to our hostel. After grabbing our bags it took asking some questions and wandering around a bit to figure out where to pick up a bus. At long, long last, it was hot and humid! Yay! As we walked down the stairs the piece of paper with directions to our hotel got swept away over the railing, but a nice local noticed and went out his way looking for it and a couple minutes later approached us with the paper in his hand.
When we found the bus stop and got onto a bus, it was going in the wrong direction; we walked back to other side to catch the right bus. The bus took us to the metro stop we wanted. Getting on the skytrain was pretty straightforward and the view along the way was spectacular.
We changed trains once and then arrived at our stop. It was the hottest weather we've seen since starting our trip and we were hungry so we stopped at a food stand selling bubble teas and enjoyed a delicious lichi flavoured drink. It was awesome. Our hostel was only a couple minutes’ walk away from the stop. Our hostel was pretty nice, but our room was filled with a bunch of dirty, sweaty men. Patty was bothered by smell more than I was.
After settling in, staff at the hostel directed us to the nearest good restaurant. After a five minute walk we were there. It was kind of like street food – cooking out front – but more clean inside. We ordered the Pad Thai. It was amazing. We also ordered some spring rolls that were yummy too. Everything, including a coke, cost $5.
After eating, we wandered around looking for a grocery store. We thought it was in a particular direction, but after walking for about 10 minutes, we turned around and headed back. We stopped at a 7-11 to pick up some water and went back to our hostel to figure out what to do next.
It was scorching hot, and we needed to rest and drink. We planned the rest of our day on the patio of our hostel. We decided to go to a mall we could get to by skytrain. We were hoping to buy a gift for Mintoo's parents and a card for his aunt and uncle with whom we'd be staying with.
Getting there was very easy, but it turned out the mall was closed for some reason; we went to its more expensive brother that was pretty much next door. It was a really nice mall, but extremely confusing. It is built like a casino: there are no obvious exits and no signs
We picked up a card for Mintoo’s relatives, as well as a gift for Mintoo’s parents. We bought them a nice set of chopsticks that came with a napkin and placemat, as well as a glass holder for the chopsticks.
I’m pretty sure Patty’s going to want to do a lot of shopping in Bangkok when we go back there; some of the prices were amazing, especially at the shops along the road. There were very cool t-shirts and tanks for around $3!
We ate dinner in the food court of a nearby shopping centre; we both had pad thai again and I think it was even better than at lunch. It actually tasted different from lunch, too. A friend of ours had told us before going on this trip that you could probably have a different tasting Pad Thai everyday in Thailand. After our one day in Bangkok we can confidently say we're looking forward to trying them all.
We headed back to the hostel around 8pm and decided to watch a movie Patty’s parents had recommended: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. We had a lot of fun watching the movie, which is about India, and we are hoping it prepares us for what’s to come!
India tomorrow!
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