We arrived in Bangkok after a 17-hour flight to Singapore, a four-hour layover, and a 2.5-hour flight from Singapore to Bangkok.
Lucas and Henry looked forward to the long flight. They loved it. Michael told them to stay up for the first half of the flight, which took off at 11:40 p.m. All of the legs went smoothly. It was a long day.
We made it to our Airbnb around 3 p.m. Bangkok time. We planned to take a short nap and go out for dinner, but we all fell asleep and didn’t wake up until the middle of the night.
On our first full day in Bangkok, we left around 8 a.m. to explore and did not get home until 9:30 p.m.
First, we ate chocolate croissants and drank smoothies at a fancy hotel near our Airbnb.
We planned to walk to the Grand Palace, but it was hot. After walking for about 40 minutes along a river, we gave up and took a Grab (a car service like Uber).
The Grand Palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam and Thailand since 1782 and is the official ceremonial residence of the King of Thailand today. We did not read the rules before we went. No shorts allowed. The boys picked up their first souvenirs just outside the palace- pants for $3 a piece.
The palace complex is beautiful. It takes a few hours to see the whole complex. There is a museum and several buildings to see. We watched people restoring the murals and mosaics. The ticket line moved fast, but it was crowded that day.
We went to Century Mall after touring the palace to eat lunch. There are so many food options in Bangkok. The mall had so many restaurants that it was hard to decide. We ended up eating noodles and gyoza at a fast food restaurant.
Lucas and Henry had an orthodontist appointment in the afternoon. We walked 30 minutes down to Siam Center for the appointment. Lucas needs braces, so figuring that out is important. Ice cream was in order after the appointment. There is no shortage of shops selling sweet treats in Bangkok.
MBK Center, a giant mall complex is next door to the orthodontist, so we spent several hours wandering around there. There is an entire floor of retail stalls selling counterfeit brand-name goods for cheap. Henry bought Mario Brother pajamas for $5. There are also regular mall stores, arcades, escape rooms, and tons of food options.
We stayed out as long as possible to normalize our sleep patterns. We went to the movies to help us stay awake. We saw a Blue Beetle. It was a bargain at $5 per ticket. After the movie, we wandered around more of the mall. For dinner, Michael ate Taco Bell, I had Indian food, Lucas ate Shawarma, and Henry had his Big Mac.
We were going to get a Grab home because it was raining, but there was so much traffic that we decided to walk home. We dragged ourselves home around 9:30 p.m., wet and tired.
We opted for a slow morning on day 2. The kids did some math and reading. I worked on Vietnam visas, and Michael worked on his videos. Lucas found a delicious Burmese restaurant. We took recommendations from the waiter.
After lunch, Michael got an hour-long foot massage. Lucas, Henry, and I went back to our Airbnb. After a long nap, we explored the Pratunam night market. It is tough to navigate with cars and mopeds driving through the market. We had three halal wraps, four pieces of fried chicken, and a smoothie for under $6. The heat and humidity are draining. We all showered when we flew home and went to bed.
On Saturday, we hung out at our Airbnb until the evening when we ventured out to play pickleball and check out another night market, Jodd Fairs.
We only have carry-on luggage and backpacks, but we travel with two pickleball paddles and some balls. We found pickleball courts twenty minutes from our Airbnb. We played with three other people for two and a half hours.
After pickleball, we took our weary selves to the Jodd night market. We saw people eating bugs and live fish. We have not worked up the courage yet to try those things. Henry and Michael had ribs and mashed potatoes. Lucas and I found a food stall serving salmon pad thai and a vegan salad (chickpeas, lettuce, cucumber, and tomatoes). Finding restaurants serving salads and vegetables like broccoli, spinach, and peppers is not easy. Thai people love meat.
We played tourists again on Sunday with a visit to What Pho. Wat Pho is one of Bangkok’s oldest temples. It existed before Bangkok was established as the capital by King Rama I.
The complex is beautiful. It was not crowded on Sunday morning. The website said no shorts. Most of our clothes were in the laundry, so Lucas and Henry borrowed my pants. It turns out the temple is not as strict as the grand palace on dress code.
After visiting the temple, we went to Chinatown. On the way there, we stopped at a food court in a fabric mall for air conditioning, ice cream, and iced coffee. The heat and humidity is no joke.
Chinatown is bustling with food and goods vendors. Henry bought a 1,000-piece Marvel Lego set at a toy vendor. We will see how that fits in our luggage. Lucas picked out a restaurant for lunch. The street food looked good, but we all needed to cool off from the heat inside. The restaurant is small, and the food is prepared out front. We had a great meal for about $10.
Once we were back at our Airbnb we thought we were in for the day, but then we found out we could get a consultation for Lucas for Invisalign, so we headed back out for that. There is an Invisalign store at a mall where different orthodontists come for consultations. We decided that Invisalign was the right choice for Lucas, so we signed up!
Lucas, Michael, and I ate incredible sushi that night after the appointment. It was in a mall (there are so many malls in Bangkok). Lucas loves sushi and this was several steps up from grocery store sushi. He tried unagi for the first time and liked it!
The traffic in Bangkok is horrendous. It is a city of 10 million people. We tried to take trains whenever possible, but that was not always possible. It took Grab 30 minutes to pick us up sometimes.
Monday was a day of medical tourism. Michael and I got full body checkups at Bangkok Hospital. We had a full panel of bloodwork done, a chest X-ray, an abdomen ultrasound, an ankle-brachial index to check for peripheral artery disease, an eye exam, an EKG, and I had a Pap smear and mammogram, and a breast ultrasound. We also both met with a physician to go over the results. The whole process began as soon as we arrived and took 3 hours. It was an efficient process. Michaels’s tests cost $350 and mine cost $500 without insurance.
Lucas and Henry stayed home while Michael and I were at the hospital. They went out to KFC for lunch and played Minecraft and Roblox.
After our morning checkup, I took Lucas to get his teeth pulled and scans for his Invisalign. That appointment also went well. Lucas had three teeth pulled. I also got fitted for a new retainer. We were able to navigate the train and subway to that appointment. I let Lucas figure out how to buy the tokens and choose the platform.
Tuesday was a day of more medical tourism. We all went back to Bangkok Hospital for vaccines. Michael, Henry, and I were overdue for Tdap. We all for a flu shot and the Japanese encephalitis vaccine. We received records of our visit and the kids even got a doctor’s note that said they would be unable to perform their normal duties that day. No one likes shots, but we all got through it okay.
That night for dinner, Lucas and Henry ordered pizza. Michael ate Wagyu beef at a restaurant called Red Panda. I had to do some hunting to find a good vegetarian option. I ended up in one of the many food courts and I ate noodles and zucchini tempura. The diet in Bangkok is meat-heavy. Vegetable dishes usually consist of peppers, onions, and sometimes carrots. It has been a bit underwhelming for me. We have found delicious Indian and Burmese vegetarian options.
We packed up our bags on Wednesday to head to Hua Hin for a few days. It is a beach town we are looking to spend a month in later this year, so we decided to check it out first.
