Nico and I woke up in our hotel in Lombok at 4am. We went downstairs and waited for our taxi to take us to the airport. When we got there, we felt a little bit rushed because there was a pretty long line at the check-in counter, but we eventually got on the plane without a problem and were on our way to Jakarta.
The flight landed in Jakarta at 6:55 am and we had to wait until 4:55 pm for our next flight to Bangkok. During this time, Nico and I stopped at A&W to get root beer floats and then took the shuttle to terminal 2.
At the second terminal, Nico and I lounged around and eventually got lunch at yet another A&W. Then, we walked around the airport for a bit. We found out that our flight was going to be delayed until 5:35 (annoying). Eventually, we were able to check-in to out flight.
On the plane, Nico and I ordered food (which was a rare case of hunger because we usually don't bother spending extra money on airplane food).
When we finally landed in Bangkok, we took an Uber to our hotel, Rambuttri Village Inn & Plaza. We had street pad thai and sautee before going to bed.
Day One
We slept in in the morning before heading downstairs to have the breakfast buffet that was available at our hotel.
After eating, we went for a walk down Khaosan Road. I got a tasty coconut ice cream served in a coconut shell. Then we looked for a place for me to get my nails done and decided to go to a salon located one street over. I got a manicure & pedicure and Nico got a massage.
After that, we went to a restaurant called Peep's for lunch. Nico had golden tamarind chicken, which was super tasty and crispy. I had tom kha with chicken. I was feeling a little bit sick so I couldn't taste the flavors as much as I would have liked to.
Then, we went to go hang out at the hotel for a little bit before returning to Khaosan Road to look for gifts to bring home.
For dinner that night, we went to a restaurant called Cozy House. I had massaman curry and Nico had red curry. The restaurant also had a nice selection of IPAs and imported beers, a rare find in Southeast Asia. Since I wasn't feeling well though, so I just had a ginger ale.
Day Two
I slept in until 11 and by that time it was too late for our hotel's breakfast buffet. So, we went to a place called Snooze Cafe for breakfast. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, made from an English muffin, ham, eggs, and cheese. It also had mixed greens on it, which I found to be a bit odd on a breakfast sandwich. Nico and I both ordered a caramel float, thinking it was coffee because of its placement on the menu (in the coffee section), but it was just a sweet ice cream drink. We both enjoyed it but agreed it would have tasted better with coffee.
After, since Nico didn't get anything to eat at the cafe, we stopped to get some takeaway BBQ pork buns. Then we relaxed at the hotel a little before heading out again to get massages.
We went to the same salon as the previous day, Shewa Spa. We paid for our massages and then waited in the waiting room for a few minutes when a Thai women came in, handed us back our money, and politely told us to come back later because they were doing training right now.
Not really having a plan for the rest of the day, Nico and I killed time by walking around. When three o'clock rolled around, we headed out again for the spa. This time, there was no wait and we went right up to the massage rooms. Nico got a back, neck, and shoulder massage again and I got a deep tissue. My massage was different from a traditional Thai massage because it was performed on an actual massage table with oil, rather than a lot of pressure point work over clothed skin. It was still a very firm massage and certainly had the Thai influence, so I winced through a couple parts.
When we finished, the plan was to go to Wat Arun and the surrounding markets, but it started to rain heavily. We waited it out for a bit but it continued to come down. Eventually, it let up just enough for us to escape from the hotel and go to a restaurant close by for dinner. The restaurant was called Madame Musur. It had a nice ambiance with open seating and pretty lanterns. We ordered a dish called Ta Bong, which was described to us as "Thai fries." It was actually delicious pieces of pumpkin, deep fried with an amazing honey-chili (I think) dipping sauce. We also shared pad thai (a little fishy) and panang curry.
After dinner, the rain had stopped and we thought we'd try our chances walking to Wat Arun. The walk took a bit longer than expected. We had to keep going through security points around the Grand Palace. Eventually, we came to a point where we'd need to take a ferry across the river to see the temple. I looked across the water and the temple, being under renovation, wasn't even lit up like I had seen in photos. We also weren't sure if the ferry was still running so we just headed back to the hotel.
Day Three
Our alarms went off at 8 am and Nico and I got up, went downstairs to check out, and stored our bags.
Rambuttri Village Inn & Plaza
Decent wifi
Beds too firm
Good location
Pool
Have to pay for breakfast
Have to pay for luggage storage
After checking out, we headed off to our cooking class that we'd booked, Sompong Thai Cooking School. We tried to take the bus at first, but couldn't figure out where it would pick us up so we took a tuk-tuk and then a train to get there.
The first part of the cooking class was a walk through the local market. We learned how coconut cream is made and about the different Thai vegetables commonly used in cooking.
After the market, we went back to the classroom. We cooled off with a moist towel and some Thai iced tea. Then, we learned how to make red curry paste (plus peanuts to make it panang curry paste). It required us to mash a lot of dry ingredients together. We also learned how to make bananas in sugar.
Next, we actually made the curry. We heated the curry paste in a wok with some oil. Then we added chicken, coconut cream, coconut milk, chilis, and kaffir lime leaves. We then took a break to eat our curries. It was super delicious!
After the curry, we learned how to make green papaya salad. With it, we made a tomato rose (I really struggled with this). When it was finished, we set it aside to eat with our pad thai.
Making the pad thai was probably the most complicated but it actually turned out to be easier than I expected. We stir-fried shrimp and tofu in oil then cracked an egg. We pushed all of that to the side and added rice noodles and water. Lastly, we stirred in our pad thai sauce (that we made earlier) and veggies. It turned out great!
We finished the class by feasting on the papaya salad, pad thai, and bananas. We left the class with a cookbook of Thai recipes and a bag of leftovers.
Instead of taking a tuk-tuk from the train back, Nico and I decided to walk. I'm not really sure why though because it was so hot and we came back drenched in sweat.
We cooled off by sitting in the lobby for a bit before heading over to the Shewa spa to get massages. This time, Nico and I both got Swedish massages because we were still sore from the previous days.
After our massages, we went to go look for ice cream but it started to rain again. We took cover in the hotel lobby until it was clear enough to go out to dinner. We started walking to a seafood restaurant located close to Cozy House. Nico almost got ran over by a tuk-tuk on the way. When we got to the restaurant, we noticed that all of the tables were located outdoors and I was worried about getting rained on, so we walked to a different restaurant called The Green House. It was pretty good. I had yellow curry and Nico had cashew chicken.
After dinner, we walked down Khaosan Road one more time and I got a Nutella rotee. Then we headed back to the hotel and took an Uber to the airport.
The Journey Home
At the airport, we still had a bit of time to kill before we could even check-in to our flight. Eventually, we were able to check-in and get in line for security. There were a ton of Chinese people in line also who didn't mind squeezing past us or pressing up against my backpack when they couldn't get around. Nico and I got pretty annoyed by this and decided to stand side by side to prevent anyone from passing. They still pressed up against our backs though even if nobody was crowding behind them.
Then, we got in line for Thai passport control. There were multiple lines each in front of a different officer's desk and Nico and I chose one randomly. Then, a new passport desk opened up and immediately, the Chinese travelers ran to it. Nico and I just stayed in place, stunned by the chaos happening around us. Moments after, a Thai immigration officer came through the lines and selected Nico, me, and three other non-Chinese travelers to come with him to get our passports stamped more quickly.
While I would never personally show favoritism to someone because of their race, I still found this officer's actions humorous because it was right in line with the frustrations that other Thai people had expressed to us about Chinese tourists. Different cultures are bound to clash sometimes and the way Chinese people handle lines is something I don't see myself ever getting used to.
After all of that, we were finally onboard the plane and on our way to Wuhan. I slept for most of the flight.
When we got to Wuhan, we had to go through passport control and collect our bags. Unfortunately, we had to wait in the same tiny, lifeless room we stopped in on the way to Asia. At first, there were no seats so we sat on the ground. Mosquitos hovered in the air and of course, the only wifi available required a code to be sent by text, which I couldn't receive (also why would I need wifi if my phone could get service?). There was only one small store to buy any food. It mostly had boxes of Chinese sweets and ramen noodles.
After a five hour wait in the most boring airport in the world, it was finally time to check-in. we dropped off our bags and were heading to passport control when the counter lady ran after us, making us come back. Nico had to open his bag for security, where they examined his shaving cream and confiscated a lighter (a bit cautious we thought for checked luggage).
We returned to passport control, got our stamps, and moved on to security. I made it through security just fine but Nico was stopped again. Apparently, he couldn't carry-on his bottle of Thai whiskey, even though he had purchased it at the Bangkok airport, it was sealed in a security bag with the receipt, and he had it in his carry-on for the previous flight without any problems. The security officer sent Nico back to the check-in counter while I waited.
It took Nico a bit longer than I expected to return. When he finally did, he told me that the check-in counter wouldn't retrieve his bag at first. They told him to have the bottle wrapped and pointed him to a packaging station. Nico explained that he didn't have any Chinese money to pay for anything to be packaged. Eventually, after much convincing, the check-in ladies retrieved his bag. Nico backed the bottle away and then headed back to passport control.
At the passport desk, Nico was approached, yet again, by the same check-in woman who had stopped him earlier. She again needed him to come back to the counter to open his bag. So, Nico went to the check-in counter for the fourth time. He could tell they wanted to know about his shaving cream again so he just told them what it was without opening the bag. Upon hearing this, the check-in agents dissolved their worries and let Nico return to passport control.
After all of that, Nico finally joined me on the other side of security and we were able to board our plane and be on our way back to California. It was a bittersweet feeling to be heading home after two months of adventures and good memories in Southeast Asia.
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