Briathrail // Albert 2MNG

My back, arms and legs are all aching, but my heart feels happy. I got to cross something off my travel bucket list.

Earlier this January, I was in bed ruminating about where else should I travel this year. I have pegged a two week vacation to Hawaii to see my mother and sister, but the rest of the year seems ripe for other places to see. I had several on my initial list – Taiwan, Sydney, Hokkaido, to name a few – but I glanced to my set of keys on my bedside table and an option quickly came where I should go next:

Thailand.

See, I had that keychain souvenir for at least a decade. When I was working as a temp in corporate in 2008-2013, someone who just visited Thailand distributed these to us in the office as a souvenir. I thought, looked neat and golden. I’ll put it on my key set. Didn’t put much thought in it besides, hope I get to see that place someday. Years passed, jobs changed, keys and other keychains came and went in my key set, but that one somehow remained. The gold plating on the keychain already faded from years of jostling in my pockets. But at the same time, it came with a wish I stored for a decade.

Now’s the chance, I thought.

So I got up my ass and looked at the HR’s holiday calendar. The extended Chinese New Year holidays was too glaring for me not to notice. And my boss was kind enough to give us all an extra day off before CNY, making it 4 days – February 9 to 12. Good enough for me. So I went to the internets to check for flights. Sure enough, lots, but only one flight made sense for me.

I booked a February 8 flight that flew at 10pm Singapore time and lands 12am Bangkok time next day. The return flight on February 12 was 7am Bangkok time and lands 10am Singapore time. Inbound and outbound flight I booked for window seats, but outbound has extra check-in luggage option checked. This was from AirAsia, so I ended up going thru the original Thai airport, Don Mueang. I initially tried to look for flights that went instead thru Suvarnabhumi (the newer Thai airport), but 1) AirAsia only had the flight time that had the most convenience for me, and 2) I found a similar flight going thru Suvarnabhumi but the plain cost for that was nearly twice for the flight I made for myself with AirAsia, taxes and option fees included. So I booked the flights that day. I spent the next few days planning the trip.

Initially I planned to just do the same shit I did in South Korea and Japan – list the major tourist sights and attractions, plan out the day on paper, use public transport. Worked well for me as SK and JPN has some of the most well-planned public transport systems anywhere in Asia. Board train or bus, no problem, will get you anywhere, no need for taxi. I am proud that I never used taxis in those two places. Have plan, will travel.

Not going to be the case in Thailand. I mapped out the sights I want to see around Bangkok, and saw what my options were. And they were not that good compared to SK or JPN. I’ve revisited the travel blogs that served me very well (I bookmarked them too) for my earlier trips, and all warned me about various pitfalls I can encounter if I planned my trip itinerary by myself. Especially that Thailand’s transport system is similar to the Philippines in terms of options and use – but I’d be the first to admit Thailand has WAY better train facilities. I like it more than what I see back home. MRT, LRT and PNR can’t hold a candle next to Thailand’s train facilities.

So for the first time, I perused Klook and TripAdvisor for guided tours.

I immediately went hunt mode afterwards and looked for the options that made sense for my new plan – February 9 and 10 will be tours, February 11 will be a free day for shopping. I visited Klook and TripAdvisor for days, looking around for the tours that was well-reviewed and made the most sense for my budget – around 80 SGD each was the plan.

One advantage I immediately saw with a guided tour in Thailand is that I can book for places to see that are outside Bangkok, with the comfort of a tour guide who can speak English and Thai, and an airconditioned tour vehicle to chauffeur people around the sweltering Bangkok heat. So after looking around for options, I booked a Klook day trip with a historical route thru Ayutthaya for the full February 10 day.

From what I’ve read, Ayutthaya has a lot of attractions I could visit and see, mostly temple ruins but the first stop was the Bang Pa-In Sunmer Palace, which looked neat. And it’s in a province. If I did this on my own, it will be lunacy. So I got one day planned and marked, one more.

I was then looking for anything to do inside Bangkok. I didn’t want an exhaust-my-ass trailhopping tour on my own, so I prioritized the sights I wanted to see within considerable distance into a manageable list of 6, then looked for any guided tours that fit my criteria. Luckily, I found again another one: a Klook day trip that visited at least 3 of the 6, with 2 of them in the top 3 – Grand Palace, Wat Arun and Wat Pho – and booked it for the full February 9 day. And since the tour ends at 5pm that day, I planned an extra leg for myself thru Bangkok’s Chinatown – Yaowarat – by 7pm.

Then, I planned for my hotel. I had a set of criteria for what I picked for a hotel:

• Must be walking distance from a train station. Same rule I applied for SK, JPN and MY – all the hotels I picked there in the past are within walking distance from a train station. Reason is, while I can use taxis or booking apps, I want a fallback option in case I could not book shit.
• Must be a four-star hotel. I never booked myself a five-star hotel due to price, and I’d never book myself to a three-star hotel unless my money well is as dry as the desert. I once had two nights in a five-star hotel in Japan, ANA Crowne Plaza Kyoto, but my sister who worked in hospitality got me one of her work perks to book me a couple of nights at no cost to me.
• Room must be spacious enough and with a big bed. I tend to like big rooms. And a big bed to laze around.
• Must be within reach to the places I want to visit, and has a nearby convenience store. That meant triangulation in a map. So for Thailand, here are all the train lines, here are the sights, the tour meeting points in the morning, within close proximity to a 7-11 or Lawson’s. Circle the prospective areas. Hotel is nice but I don’t want to pay for overpriced drinks in the fridge.

There were 3 options, but I went for the cheapest one in Agoda – ParkRoyal Suites Bangkok near the BTS Nana station (and close to the blue underground line). It has a tuk tuk to ferry passengers to the train station, and has a decent-sized 7-11 a few blocks away. I booked their Premier Studio Suite, as it was good-sized and was cheap enough for my budget – not too high but not too low. And they allow early morning check-in. I booked it from February 8 to February 12 – 4 nights. Later I read that the room I booked came with its own laundry machine that can do wash and dry. Awesome.

And then I started thinking about it a bit more – for South Korea, I got on an airport bus that had a bus stop near my hotel. For Japan, I just used the trains to KIX. For Malaysia, I booked a vehicle off Grab to go to the airport. For Thailand… they do have Grab but I want to see my options. I then talked to a friend who went to Thailand multiple times, and he advised me to pre-book what he called a private “airport transfer” service online.

I called the hotel I booked to see what their prices for on-site booking of airport transportation as well. I asked my friend how was his experience with Thai taxis before, and he had some stories. Fortunately, Klook also had airport transfers I can book. So I booked two – one from airport and one going to airport. Each trip was just 28 SGD. Had I booked thru the hotel, they would have charged me around 55 SGD each trip. Had I booked thru Grab, the app would’ve billed me around 40-45 SGD. And Klook’s had inherent advantages as well – private vehicle, free waiting time (from airport was 2 hours, to airport was 30 minutes) as well as usage of toll expressway roads incorporated in the cost. So, I was happy I got that taken care of in an efficient and cheap way.

I did also try to look for food tours, but after much research I decided to not do so, feeling it might be an expense not worth the hassle. For one, street food in Bangkok wasn’t expensive from what I read. Like, a dish for one can start at 60 baht. Bigger portions can go for 80-90 baht. Fancy indoor restaurants can start at 100-110 baht. The food tours (even the ones with the guide in a walking tour) can start at 40 SGD – that’s 1000+ baht. I found some that were way cheaper but 1) the meals are paid by you, 2) didn’t align with my Feb 9 and 10 tour dropoff times, and 3) are strictly managed and predetermined stalls and restaurants only. I could have booked one at Feb 11, but I planned it to be strictly free for myself only, so I don’t want another day with a schedule.

Then I booked travel insurance. I went for an insurance company in Singapore that I’ve booked from many times since 2018 – FWD. I find it as the one with a decently-priced travel insurance package with agreeable parameters and claim amounts. No muss and no fuss ordering from them.

Then weeks passed from when I completed most of the bookings – I was done looking around by January 9 – and by February 7 I had to start planning for my luggage.

I reused my carry-on wheeled luggage I had since last year. I packed lightly as I earlier found out my hotel room has a laundry machine.

• One pair of Adidas training pants
• A pair of strap sandals
• Two sleeveless shirts (I never sleep topless)
• One casual blazer
• Three handkerchiefs
• One gym handtowel
• One pair of swimming trunks (hotel has semi-indoor swim pool and sauna)
• Three pairs of UA polyester-elastane boxers (dries very quick in hot climates)
• One sports shirt (lightweight and easily wicks sweat)
• One cotton shirt (just in case)
• One face mask (just in case)
• One cap (for the heat)
• Umbrella (the weather forecast for Bangkok said it might rain)
• Backup pair of eyeglasses
• One roll-on deodorant, toothbrush and toothpaste, dental floss, small perfume bottle, small container of hair wax, and Tiger Balm spray for muscle pain
• 10000mAh Anker power bank, USB-C to Lightning cable, and an Apple Watch charging cable

I wore a simple denim and a cute Splatoon t-shirt to the airport, wearing a new pair of slip-on Skechers Go-Walk, no socks. My footwear was like that because of my friend who went to Thailand that I sought advice from. He said some temples and places of worship mandates a no-shoe policy, so I have to remove shoes before entering said place. I budgeted SGD 100 for a new shoe. Must becompletely slip-on, size 11, and made for walking. Oh, and it must not look expensive – he told me that Nikes and Adidas shoes were to avoid as some people lose them at the designated shoe racks. So with those criteria – I bought Skechers. Went under SGD 100 for a good pair of shoes that fit every must I thought of (with discount). Lightweight, designed for walking a lot, can slip on and off easy without bending over, no laces, comfortable enough without socks, and looks plain as fuck. No big white checkmark, no three stripes. Perfect in every way and beyond, for the trip I have in mind.

To recap, my trip to Thailand has:

• AirAsia flight tickets going thru Don Mueang airport
• Private airport transfers back and forth my hotel and Don Mueang airport
• 1 day trip around Bangkok, February 9
• 1 day trip to Ayutthaya from Bangkok, February 10
• Travel insurance
• Oh, cash on hand too – I prepared my debit card for overseas use and exchanged some SGD for 15000 Thai baht as cash in my wallet.

I was then fully prepped and ready for Thailand.

Next part: My Feb 9 and 10 tour trips. That one will be some doozy to recollect. Lots of photos too.