THAILAND
April - May 2024
In late April, I travelled to Thailand for the first time, together with my girlfriend and my roommate. It was my first time ever in Asia, and it couldn’t have been a better experience. The total trip length was 12 days and we started in Bangkok.
BANGKOK
After a layover in Delhi, we arrived in Bangkok in the afternoon, just as the sun was setting. Since this was the only night where it would be only my girlfriend and I, we splurged on a Japanese Shabu-Shabu restaurant and had some pretty okay-ish wagyu (we thought it would be life-changing). We stayed in the Thong Lor neighborhood, which apparently was a prominent Japanese expat area. It explains the Japanese hotel and the Japanese restaurant. Then we just got a couple of random drinks from 7-Eleven and sat by the road watching people and cars go by. It was a nice way to start the trip.
The next day we hopped on the BTS and went for breakfast in a cafe we had saved a while back - Piccolo Vicolo, in a hidden alley. After that, we just kind of cruised around the city and didn’t take too many pictures. I remember we couldn’t cope very well with the heat, so we were just hopping from shade to shade or through a mall for that AC goodness.
That night my roommate, Louis, arrived. We went to Train Night Market Srinagarindra for dinner. After walking around this huge market filled with vintage clothes and street food, we came across this big stall with a lot of locals. We thought this would be the best place. We got a large order of Pad Kra Pao (didn’t even know what that was at the time), it was huge and delicious.
We started the next day in The Grand Palace, a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok and the official residence of the Kingdom. It was kind of hard to capture these huge temples, not only due to their size but also the crowds. I thought the crowds were also quite interesting, a mix of people taking selfies next to the temples, street sellers, monks, and tourists wearing the classic elephant pants. Writing this, I realize that I like to include people in my photographs, even if they are not the focus.
After this complex, we went to the Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan, which houses the giant reclining Buddha.
After taking in huge amounts of culture, we had to hop (on a boat) to a trendy coffee spot, as one does. It was really funny getting on to this boat, we seemed to be the only tourists and almost hopped on the boat going the opposite way we wanted. A Japanese man living in Bangkok helped us get to the correct place. Thanks!
That was our last day in Bangkok. We got back to our hotel and got a car to Ayutthaya.
AYUTTHAYA
Ayutthaya, around 90 km north of Bangkok, is a town and former capital of the Siam empire. It is the site of immense temples and other structures that are important both historically and architecturally. It is usually done as part of an organized day trip, but we wanted to spend a night there, which proved to be one of the highlights of the trip. When we arrived, we realized our cozy bungalows were right next to one of the historical temples, which conveniently had a night market right next to it. It was incredibly to us to be eating street food and hearing a high-school band play next to these ancient temples. We also asked the guards if it was alright to enter the temple sites, and they just waves us right through. A picture could never do justice, but here’s my best shot.
The next day we started again in a trendy cafe a short walk from our bungalow; it was a serene and peaceful location, really nice way to start the day. The temperatures that day were pretty brutal (around 42°C).
After a filling breakfast we walked again to the historical park, to visit the temples we previously saw only during the night. Before getting into the temples we stopped to take a breather and I got a call from one of my good friends saying they were engaged! That made my day, was super happy and I took a picture where we were to remember this moment, happened to be next to some red roses. Shoutout to Julia and Paweł!
After this long visit, we took a car down to Bangkok again, this time to the airport, since we were flying down south to Krabi.
KRABI
We arrived in the Krabi International Airport during the night. We couldn’t really understand what was surrounding us, until we woke up the next morning and could see giant limestone cliffs right next to our bungalows, it was truly amazing. We got some scooters and drove around 40 minutes from Ao Nang town, where we were staying, to Kuan Nom Saow Viewpoint, a popular restaurant/cafe with a ridiculous view. The delicious food matched the view.
After we soaked in this beautiful view, we went to a nearby spot for Kayaking in a Mangrove forest. Unfortunately, I didn’t take my camera with me, but it was quite a fun experience. We made the mistake of not checking the tides, however, and had to turn back since the tide was getting too low for the forest. When we arrived back at the starting point, the sun was already setting. We then headed back to our bungalows.
The next day, we went to Monkey Beach. We had the brilliant idea of getting some fruits for when we were relaxing at the beach. As the name implies, obviously, the trail to this beach is filled with monkeys trying to steal your food. Our lovely fruits were immediately snatched by a horde of monkeys, much to their delight. Although we lost our fruits, we made it to the beach, and it was amazing! We also had a great sunset there.
