Back once again in Bangkok.

Waking up in Chachoengsao I packed up the few things I had taken out of my bag and Liam, via 5 minutes of driving down the wrong side of the road got us to the station.

The ticket cost about 10 Baht to take us on the hour long journey to central Bangkok. I got some tasty coconut batter snacks for the train and we began our short journey. It was so pretty as we passed rice fields filled with storks and the scenery starting to become less country and more City.

Liam had recommended a hotel near Asok train station so we alighted there and ten minutes later we were checking in. It was a really nice hotel and I had splurged for the executive lounge so we could get breakfast, afternoon snacks, and free drinks in the evening.

After a chillout by the pool with a Pina colada we got some free lunch at the lounge and headed towards Siam Square for the magical rainbow cheese toastie. Bangkok is pretty easy to navigate with its metro and SkyTrain and along with 7/11s they make a nice reprieve from the heat.

We arrived at Siam Square and found the Hokkaido Cheese Toastie shop on the ground floor of the mall. We ordered some drinks while we waited for the rainbow toastie and then realised they were cheesy drinks! Actually they were delicious, Liam had strawberry and I went for matcha and they had a cheesecakey float on the top.

Then the rainbow toastie arrived and it was everything we were hoping for and more. So pretty but also super weird as the different colours are different fruity flavours. But cheese.

We wandered around the mall for a bit checking out the randomness of it all, then found the Hello Kitty cafe. I was super excited but it was actually a bit disappointing inside, and the menu was overpriced so we didn’t stay. Instead we walked along the skywalk, checking out Erawan shrine from above and finally jumping the SkyTrain back to Nana for a beer and to people watch.

We sat here for a while watching ominously as dark grey clouds closed in on us before the heavens opened up. It was past 6 at this point and we wanted to enjoy the free drinks and food at the hotel, and after a soggy 40 minutes of being packed into the SkyTrain and metro like sardines we made it.

The food was great and they had plenty of vegetarian options, Liam was super happy he could drink white wine too as it’s something of a luxury for him. Feeling a bit tipsy we got changed before heading to Tuba antique restaurant and bar. A cool little place off the beaten track that Liam had suggested.

We arrived via taxi and it was pretty cool, lots of random objects dotted about the place and tasty cocktails which were huge! We sat at the bar and chatted through the night till I was too tired to talk. So we walked slowly back to the hotel and I passed out almost immediately.

I woke early in the morning, and went for a refreshing swim before trying literally everything vegetarian on the breakfast buffet. I waited for Liam to wake up and we got ready to head out. We wanted to head to Chang Chui market with its cool abandoned planes but realised it’s closed on a Wednesday.

Instead we headed to Jim Thompson’s house as a last minute decision, and it turned out to be pretty cool. It wasn’t super expensive about 200 Baht, this includes a tour of the house in your language. It was cool seeing this snapshot of post WW2 life for an expat and the gardens and decor were stunning. It’s also easy to get to, just take the SkyTrain to National Stadium and it’s a 5 minute walk from there. We also checked out the canal just past the house.

e took the BTS down towards Lumphini park, this place is famous for its water monitor lizards though unfortunately Bangkok council had the majority of the big ones removed as they were becoming a nuisance in the City, including one casually walking into a Tesco.

The park itself is a nice break from the city and you can rent bikes or pedalos. We visited in 2015 and it seems like it’s in a constant state of fluctuation. We enjoyed the lizard hunt and were rewarded for our endeavours by spotting a big one eating an even bigger fish.

From here our plan was to take the BTS around to Sala Daeng and hit the unicorn cafe, but Liam dropped his phone somewhere in the park. Luckily a local found it and we managed to get it back but by this point it made more sense to walk down to the cafe.

It was about a 25 minute walk from Lumphini to Silom district where the cafe is and it was totally worth it. Bright and garish it was like a crazy acid trip, with unicorns hanging from the ceiling and the most colourful desserts menu I have ever seen.

We ordered some iced drinks and one of the rainbow waffles, the drinks were so sugary and sweet we had to wait for the ice to dilute them a little but the waffles were incredible.

Buzzing from the sugar rush we wandered up towards the main street in Silom near the BTS and grabbed a couple of beers. We were going to head to some of the gay bars but they didn’t open till 6pm and like needed to get back to Chachoengsao.

It turned out we probably could’ve gone there as the BTS was full of commuters so we decided to risk the Bangkok traffic and take a taxi for 100 Baht. Google maps said it would take 45 minutes but almost 2 hours of bumper to bumper cars we finally arrived at the Avani.

Liam quickly sorted out a taxi back home and I prepared for my morning departure to Myanmar, the first official leg of my tour.

Returning to South East Asia.

After 6 months of travelling to a new European destination every month I decided I needed to do something bigger, for longer, and so after checking flights via Skyscanner app I was booked on a flight heading to Bangkok and returning 2 months later.

I was super excited and immediately started planning my trip, adding Myanmar, Hong Kong and the Philippines to the top of the list of must see countries.

Another 8 months flew by and before I knew it I was on the plane from Manchester to Bangkok via Dubai. The highlight of my flight was watching the sunrise over Iraq, it was absolutely beautiful.

My plan was to meet up with my friend from Wales, Liam who had been living in Chachoengsao town for the past few years. Located just 45 minutes from Bangkok airport, I landed and once through immigration was soon on my way via taxi. This cost around £20 and took approx 50 minutes.

I arrived at Chachoengsao train station and 30 seconds later Liam turned up On his moped and I got my first glimpse of the town. It wasn’t much different to places like Nong Khai and Kanchanaburi that I had visited previously.

Stopping off at a 7/11 I grabbed some fun sounding snacks and a cheese toastie, the ultimate Thai snack for foreigners. We made it back to Liam’s cute Thai house and after a quick tour we sat on his little patio drinking Leo beer and catching up.

I was pretty tired after only managing a couple of hours sleep on both planes and after a few hours I needed my bed. I was up late in the morning the next day and Liam had a plan for the day. So off we went on his moped, I didn’t like driving one when I was last in Thailand but I quite enjoyed being chauffered around on the back of his.

Liam took me around the town and showed me some of his fave spots, by early afternoon it was getting super hot so we went to one of his favourite bars, an amazing little place on the river with views of a gorgeous temple called Wat Sathon.

We sat here watching the boats go past drinking some beers with ice to keep them cool. After a couple of hours we decided to leave, though our way back was blocked a bit by a market that had somehow popped up while we were drinking.

As Liam navigated his bike back up through the crowds I walked up, marveling at all the goods on show. Once we were free I got a couple of nice pictures of the temple and we headed back to his place to cool down and get ready for dinner.

Unfortunately about 30 minutes after getting back to Liam’s the sky opened up and rain started pouring down. I knew this would happen as I’m visiting at the back end of rainy season. What we weren’t banking on was the power to go out!

Sat in darkness with just the occasional lightning flashes and car headlights giving us a glimpse of the outside world we patiently waited for it to calm down before we could set off to the restaurant. As I sat there something landed on my leg, and being the epitome of calm I jumped up shouting before realising it was just a frog. (Liam had told me he’d found a snake in his living room not long ago so that was definitely in my mind)

The rain eased off a little and we were too hungry to not risk going out, praying the power would be on in the town centre. Luckily for us it was and we were soon sat on the river once again in an amazing wooden Thai house.

This was the first test of my vegetarianism, and it wasn’t great. The only dishes on the menu I could eat were fries, an egg salad and some vegetable side dishes and rice.

Luckily for me the egg salad and fried morning glory were super tasty and the rice helped me fill up, my whole meal cost about £7 including 2 beers, I knew that Thailand would be one of the more expensive countries I would be visiting too.

Heading back we were hopeful of the power being back on but as we turned down the road the street lamps were off and the 7/11 closed. Getting back to Liam’s we know we were up early the next day to catch a train to Bangkok so abandoned the evening and went to bed.