While Thailand was the first country on the trip both of us had previously visited, we were excited to return. For one, Katie’s sister Alyson and her husband Billy joined us for part of it and two, our good friends Jeff and Ply live in Bangkok so we get to see them as well. Combine that with the amazing beaches, cool cities, and our vote for top overall street food in the world, and you make for a heck of a good time.
We spent almost three weeks in Thailand and started it by spending Christmas in Bangkok with Jeff and Ply. Our time there was perfect as they live in a very urban part of the city next to great food, shopping malls, and things to do. You can literally walk out their door and there are a dozen things to eat within a minute or two. We also used time there to our advantage by getting laundry done, buying a few things we needed and getting our Vietnam visas at the local embassy.
Being the great hosts they are, we hadn’t been at their place for more than five minutes before they whisked us away for a foot massage at the spa next door. It was such a treat after a day of travel. We ended up getting 3-4 massages while in Bangkok as they are just too good and cheap to pass up on.
While in Bangkok Jeff and Ply also planned Katie’s perfect Christmas outing as they set up time for her and Ply to go rollerblading in the park while Jeff and I ran, then finished off by going to a night Christmas market. Basically the next best thing to being at home for regular holiday traditions. In addition to roller blading, they also took us to the most baller movie theater we’ve ever seen. For $15 a person we got a movie ticket, free apps, drinks and snacks the hour before the show. The ticket itself was to an actual bed in the theatre where you can fully lay out. Even has a personal mini fridge with sodas and beers and a call button to have a waiter signaled to come bring you popcorn and other foods. It was insane and has ruined us for all other theatres now.
We also enjoyed brunch with Katie’s old boss from Microsoft who was in town, it was great to catch up. Most meals we had though were at markets or food stalls because we couldn’t get enough. Like I keep saying, the street food is unreal in Thailand. Most countries specialize in a handful of street foods, but Thailand has to have at least one hundred various things you can order from the thousands of vendors. Each item is usually packed with flavor and under a dollar, so sky is the limit on how much you can consume.
