We’re in Bangkok, Baby! (and the Chatuchak Weekend Market)

No surprises from that title, I guess.

We’re here! We packed up and left Patong, Phuket by taxi to the Suratthani train station on Tuesday, November 23. A surprise: we have way, way too much stuff, people! We had too much when we left home, and we’ve bought more since we arrived. Even though we did leave a few things behind for Pang, owner of the Delicious Hotel where we were last staying, apparently we still need to wean down a lot.

Table of Contents

• Train from Suratthani to Bangkok, Thailand
• Condo in Bang Sue, Bangkok
• Visa Extension
• Vegetarian Community
• Chatuchak Weekend Market
• Conclusion

Train from Suratthani to Bangkok, Thailand

We arrived at the train station in the afternoon and had a 4-hour wait before our train to Bangkok arrived. It’s our first time travelling by train, and we didn’t want to miss it! And from what we saw during our wait, some trains only stopped for literally 3 minutes. Passengers off, on and train leaving in 3 minutes. Wow.

No worries for us…our train was late. And we were a bit hungry because we didn’t bring many snacks (no room!) and there were no restaurants around. But we survived!

I also had my first encounter with a squat toilet…it was interesting. I’m glad I only needed to pee. Something else to get used to!

We had booked bunks on an overnight train because we figured we might as well sleep. Wayne got the top bunk, I got the bottom one with the window (yay!) and we both slept well.

There was only one noisy passenger, and it would have bothered me except his voice really, really reminded me of the muppets when he talked; it was sort of funny. His wife had a very quiet voice: she probably didn’t have a choice!

Around 6 in the morning I woke Wayne (he had in earplugs and was wearing his sleep mask, my pretty boy) and we had our last granola bars as we travelled the last few hours. We both looked pretty tired!

We passed such varied terrain…mostly flat, with the odd mountain in the background…fields, lakes, palm trees, lots of birds, some really well-to-do villages and lots of ramshackle homes.

There is so much construction! Concrete overpasses that just seem to start and end in the middle of nowhere, no road connecting them, along the train track.

In the morning, people started getting on the train at stations selling food, walking through the cars calling out their wares; sometimes they got off (quickly! We saw one man jump off after the train was moving) and sometimes they travelled to the next station before getting off. Guess they waited for the next train back to try to sell the rest of their food.

After we arrived at the Bang Sue station in Bangkok (and what a Concrete Jungle it is around there!) we got off and looked desperately for a bathroom. I refused to use a squat toilet on a moving train (doubting my skill) and the western toilet…well, let’s say that there was too much “sprinkle” for me to even go in. Tell me, why do men refuse to sit on a toilet, even in a moving vehicle?!

Condo in Bang Sue, Bangkok

Anyway. We had rented a studio apartment in a condo building, but we weren’t supposed to check in till later. So we sat around for a while trying to contact the owner to see if we could check in early, and debating the best method to get there. Luckily, she did respond quickly and we just took a Grab to the condo.

It was nice! More compartmentalized than we’re used to because it had a separate kitchen, but clean and bright with an amazing view over the city because it’s on the 19th floor. Unfortunately, the balcony was too tiny to sit on because it had a washing machine on it, but having a washing machine was a plus, so it balanced out. 🙂

The view over Bangkok is amazing, especially at night. You can notice the smog, though; the sky isn’t generally as clear as Phuket, here.

We went out for a quick walk that afternoon to get our bearings, and discovered a local market that was jam-packed with people and food. Unfortunately, we didn’t find a veg vendor, but on the upside, we did find a smoothie vendor! Love me a smoothie.

A neat thing we noticed is that the pavement is actually marked off at stoplights in front, to allow motorbikes to collect there and go ahead of the cars as soon as the lights turn green. Motorbikes here don’t follow “lanes”, they pass on either side or in between vehicles, just weaving through them to get ahead. There’s no road rage, it’s just the way traffic works in Bangkok.

It’s actually really amazing how the flow of traffic is so smooth here; it reminds us of a school of fish, there’s just this smooth movement of so many individuals flowing in the same direction with no conflict whatsoever.

This photo shows the motorbikes ahead of the traffic at a red light. While the cars are stopped, the bikes weave through to get to the front.

Visa Extension

The next day we went to the Chang Wattana Immigration Office in Bangkok to apply for our 30-day visa extension. It’s a large government building with a clothes and food market inside, at least 4 stories high. We wandered a bit trying to find the immigration office; after finding it and being handed papers, we went to an area just outside that office and filled out our forms on one of the many desks (easy to find because of the multitude of people already there, filling out their forms.)

And we only had to ask one person for help! Sort of proud of that.

After the forms were filled, we went downstairs and wandered until we found the shop where you can get your photo taken for your passport and get a photocopy of your passport, and got those done. They use a filter on their camera! I’m actually quite happy with my picture, my eyes are poppin’ blue in it.

Hint #1: Bring passport photos and a copy of your passport with you when you go for an extension.

Back upstairs to Immigration, where we got a number and took a seat. We stayed there until someone came out to tell every woman wearing shorts (including me) that we had to go buy appropriate clothing before we could be seen. Sigh.

Hint #2: Dress as if you were visiting a temple when you go for an extension, or visit any government building.

Appropriate clothing: Ladies, cover your knees and shoulders, nothing skintight. Men, apparently presentable is enough, no tank tops. I think you’re supposed to have closed shoes as well, but most people were wearing sandals or flip-flops, and it didn’t seem to be a problem.

Explains the clothing market, at least.

So, we went back out to the market and bought me the cheapest pair of pants we could (which I definitely won’t be keeping), found the bathroom to do the switch, and back to Immigration.

Luckily, they hadn’t passed our number, so we didn’t lose our place!

The rest of the procedure went incredibly smoothly: we were called in, had to show our visas, handed over our passports and payment, and went back out to wait.

The surprise came when, shortly after, she called us back to pick up our passports which were stamped with our approved extension! We’d understood in Phuket that we’d get a temporary approval, but have to return in a week for the “actual” approval. So, Win! Yay!

We’re now approved to stay in Thailand until January 6, 2022.

Luckily, the Thai government has renewed the covid extension process, so we’ll be able to apply for a 60-day extension before January 6th and, fingers crossed, get approved for that.

Vegetarian Community

Visas approved, off to the Vegetarian Community for lunch, and home.

And what’s the Vegetarian Community, you ask? Exactly what it sounds like! A market of vendors catering to vegetarians (lots of monks) with vegetarian food (pretty sure it’s all vegan, actually) priced incredibly affordably and soooo good! It’s really hard to find (thank God for google maps, because our taxi driver couldn’t find it). You have to sort of wander behind a store, through a gate and a construction area. We’ve returned there a few times since.

Chatuchak Weekend Market

We also went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market that weekend and it was just, Wow.

The Chatchak Weekend Market is the world’s largest weekend market, spread over 35 acres with over 15,000 stalls!

While, of course, there weren’t as many vendors there as would be in non-covid years, there were still too many for us to get through, and we were there for hours and hours. And hours.

There’s a map (sort of) that they give you but honestly, it’s only good for finding the general area of something, like household vs clothing. You really just have to wander. And if you see something you like, then *buy it then* because we can pretty much GUARANTEE that you won’t find your way back to it later!

It is glorious. We don’t think we’d personally enjoy the experience nearly as much when tourism gets back to normal because it’d just be too busy and claustrophobic, but right now it’s amazing! So happy we went.

And we bought some clothes! And earrings and bangles, too.

As we were leaving the market, I bought Wayne a Leo (domestic brand) beer from a vendor just outside the gate (alcohol is everywhere here). Look at the size of this bottle! Wayne says it tasted quite a bit like Heineken. I tasted it, and it’s not nearly as bitter as I find most beer to be. So, I guess that’s a plug for Leo beer from non-drinkers!

Conclusion

That’s pretty much it for our first week in Bangkok. I’m running behind on my actual writing, we’ve got a couple of day trips to upload with some absolutely stunning buildings! You wouldn’t believe the opulence.

Also, we haven’t even seen a sunset since we’ve arrived in Bangkok! A sad realization.

Why don’t you drop a photo of a sunset in the comments, so we can live vicariously through yours?!