When we started planning our trip to Southeast Asia we didn’t really have firm plans on what we wanted to see aside from a few things in Vietnam. We knew in May we would be meeting Mandy’s family for a planned family vacation and figured 3 months would be a good amount for Southeast Asia. Boy were we wrong! In retrospect we probably could have spent 9 months in Southeast Asia and still felt like there was more to see. The people, the culture, the nature, and the towns are all magical. The energy of the area is so very different from anything we had experienced before, and we know this won’t be our last time in the region. Our last couple of days and nights in Bangkok we enjoyed some city living, a Thai fair on the water complete with ferris wheel, and a pointless walk in sweltering heat.
Getting around in Bangkok was easy with either the Grab app for taxis or riding on their monorail and bus system which is pretty comprehensive. We recommend downloading the BTS Skytrain app and looking at local bus schedules which provided all the local transportation we needed. Walking through the city is also a great time! The architecture is unique and the skyscrapers seem to go on for days.
Bangkok offers the opportunity to enjoy some Western privileges we hadn’t experienced in a while. We spent one day being true Western tourists hanging out at the mall, eating at the food court, and then going to see the final Avengers movie in 4D.
This was our first time seeing a movie in another country, and first time seeing anything in 4D. When bullets whizz across the screen, shots of air shoot across your face. When the ships shoot into outer space, your chair moves around like a roller coaster. On top of that the movie is in 3D. It ended up being a whole lot of too much for us, but if you are interested in a wild crazy roller coaster ride go see Avengers Endgame in 4D, or really, just watch the John Wick 3 preview. As I looked over and Mandy’s hair was flying in every which direction, we couldn’t help but bust up in laughter.
As mentioned, Bangkok has an awesome ferry system called the Chao Phraya Express which we had the pleasure of riding up and down the Chao Phraya river. It was cheaper than a taxi and easy. You gotta love “when best laid plans go awry” moments. We have been eating almost exclusively vegan and have been using Happy Cow to find some locally recommended vegan restaurants. However, the geo location isn’t great so often we switch over to Google maps once we have zeroed in on a restaurant we like. Trusty Google, never wrong…except for that day. We walked 20 minutes in the 105-degree sun until we got to the location where the restaurant was supposed to be. It wasn’t. Literally melting, we holed up in the restaurant that was there and had some food and copious amounts of beer to wash away the day’s frustration.
After waiting out the heat of the day we walked back towards the ferry terminal and our southern trip at sunset. We snagged some amazing pictures of the city on our way. We cannot recommend the ferry ride enough!
Our ferry terminal was adjacent to a unique Thai fair. The area has a ferris wheel, neon lit train rides for little tikes, neon lit bumper cars, outdoor bars for adults, and a whole slough of shops. Pretty awesome. We elected to take the ferris wheel ride and we were not disappointed with the views of the city and our own cabin complete with A/C. After, we had a little night cap at the outdoor bars which were good fun; lively, and full of families and friends of all ages.
The next day as we left Bangkok and headed for the airport we reflected on our time in Southeast Asia and felt a pang of sadness. We loved it and would recommend a trip to any of the places we went in our first 3 months of travel. As we prepared for our 54-hour travel from Bangkok to Cabo San Lucas (2 big layovers in Hong Kong and LA but hey the flight was cheap!) we were excited to see family and break up the constant movement of our nomadic life. Yet the experiences we had will always stay with us; enriching our lives and keeping our minds open to all that this great big world has to offer.
Let Us Be Lost 