Bangkok

Sunrise from the Prince Palace Hotel in Bangkok. During our first breakfast, the view of sunrise from the restaurant was magnificent, a big round pink looming all over the city. I did not have a camera or phone with me at that moment. On our last breakfast, I prepared early since we'll be hosting that day's activity and brought all my stuff with me when I went to have breakfast. I mentioned this to colleagues I was having breakfast with, how the view of the sun was magnificent. My colleague went on to explain that it was because the city is heavily polluted.

"Hinihintay ko yung sunrise, kasi the other day, dun kami nakaupo, ang ganda ng sun, ang laki, kulay pink."
"Wala yata ngayon, natatakpan ng dust particles. Gandang-ganda ka 'no pero sa totoo lang sobrang polluted kasi dito kaya nadi-difuse ng dust yung rays. Last month nga naka-mask yung mga tao." 😅 

But still, I went on to take a few snaps once the sun came out, although not as beautiful as the one I saw earlier.

This is my third time in Bangkok, yet I have never really explored the city. In 2016, after our trip to Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya, my friends and I slept over at a Dona's neighbor's relative who is based in Bangkok for many years now. He works as a teacher in Bangkok. He let us to his apartment where he and his nephews are staying and treated us to a dinner of local food in a nearby street eatery. During that time, Thailand was in mourning for the death of King Bhumibol, so a lot of shops were closed. Unfortunately, I lost all my photos of Ayutthaya as well as this night.

My second time in Bangkok was last year, also for work. Our hotel then was practically in a central business district. I extended my stay for several days, but still, exploring Bangkok was not in the itinerary. This is probably because I have this impression that there is nothing new to see or exciting things to do in the big city.

This time, we stayed in a different part of Bangkok. And one of the things in the area that captured me was the canal near the hotel. During my past trips to Bangkok, I can't remember having been near the river so this is really new to me. In this canal, small passenger boats ply like speedboats, creating small waves whenever they pass by. I wanted to try it, but none of my colleagues is up for my type of adventure.

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A post shared by Iyyi (@iyyrish) on Mar 4, 2019 at 2:00am PST

This video was taken while we're on a cab crossing a bridge over Chao Praya river. It frustrates me that we just can't do the same for Pasig river.

On our last night in Bangkok, my colleague met up with her niece who is in Bangkok for studies. Seeing that this is the only time I get to actually go out not for work, I tagged along. We went to ICONSIAM, a popular and recently built mega mall in the city, because nothings says exploring like going to the mall. 😂 I don't even enjoy going to the malls in the Philippines, but ICONSIAM is indeed something. Bongga talaga, mamsh!

The gigantic mall houses many luxury brands, kaya wala akong nabili. 😂 We actually just went there to have dinner.

"Masarap? Hindi mo gusto 'no? Nami-miss mo nang kumain ng tilapia 'no?" My colleague's niece's friend teases her mother. Funny, I thought, because I had been thinking of having tilapia na may sabaw as soon as I get home. I love Thai food. I'd move to Thailand just simply for its food. I can eat pad thai every meal of the day. But my Pinoy (and unsophisticated tongue) will really start yearning for familiar tastes even after just having a few foreign meals.

This is Thipsamai's version of pad thai. It was my first time to see pad thai in this presentation. The noodles are wrapped in a thin layer of scrambled egg, topped with (favorit saya 😅) cilantro and strips of bell pepper plus a couple of medium size shrimps. You can just eat it a sit it or add condiments. I added peanuts like how it should be and also a bit of chilli pepper because somehow I found something lacking in the taste. The noodles they used are also thin, and orange colored.

That time my colleague's niece was also meeting up with her friends from the Philippines who also happen to be in the Bangkok. While we're waiting for our food, one of them thought I was Saudi Arabian or something middle eastern. She was surprised when I spoke in Tagalog. 😂 So you imagine the scene, 7 all female Pinoys in one table, siyempre kami pinakamaingay dun.

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A post shared by Iyyi (@iyyrish) on Mar 7, 2019 at 6:49am PST

Night sightseeing from ICONSIAM. In some cruise ships, people are partying. According to my colleague's niece, these cruises are quite expensive, but another time, when I have enough money, I'd also like to try it.

And I did experience crossing the Chao Praya river from the ICONSIAM port to BTS port. The water was very calm it was almost boring. My colleague said at least I experienced riding a boat like I wanted to, and the calm water was a plus. But after experiencing the wild, wild waters of Batanes, who still wants a calm boat ride?! 😂