After a fabulous New Year’s Eve, we awoke a few hours later to grab a ferry to the mainland and start our day-long van ride back to Bangkok. Luckily, a teacher from Korea had a connection for us, so we had a private van just for the 10 of us. The drive was long, but comfortable and again, a great way to take in the surroundings.
Back in Bangkok, we joined the Taylors and stayed at our first hostel – The Saphae – Pae. This was the way to go! We got a private room with 6 beds right down from the bathrooms. There was a great lounge area downstairs with games, a cafe and a pool table. It felt like we were in a dorm in downtown SF. All kinds of young travelers around, speaking English and sharing stories. Very cool.
From there we moved on to the Shangri-La Hotel where Don was
going to stay on for his first recruitment fair. As fun as the hostel was, you can’t beat
livin’ the life of luxury for a few days as well!
We also had a chance to meet up with my
step-niece, Malia, who moved to Thailand a few years ago and recently got
married. Her husband is a musician and
is slowly gaining recognition in the local Thai music scene. Got to hang out one night in a funky
neighborhood local musician spot. Great
vibe.
It’s amazing what a difference the impression of a city can
make depending on where you stay and what you do. Our first 2 days in Bangkok, when we stayed
in a grittier part of town and didn’t know the lay of the land, were less than
desirable. We were glad to move on. The second time around though - staying in
the hostel and a 5 star hotel, visiting with Malia and having a better sense of
where to go – left us wanting for more.
We enjoyed Bangkok and hope to return to see more of the sights and
explore it further!
