Siam Paragon, Sea Life Aquarium & Kidzania

Day 4 was our last full day in Bangkok before continuing onward with our travel adventures.  Probably one of the least fun aspects of Bangkok is how dirty it is.  Add heat into the mix and it just feels gross outside.  So we chose to spend this day exploring inside.  After breakfast at the MoMo cafe (and yes if you haven’t guessed it the super amazing buffet was included in our stay so that’s why we ate there every morning), we headed over to Siam Paragon, one of their large shopping malls and home of both the Sea Life aquarium and Kidzania which we wanted to visit for Little K’s sake.

We started off by going to the aquarium which Little K loved as we figured she would, but J and I also enjoyed it.   We were able to see a variety of fish, turtles, seahorses and of course Little K got some fun photo opps that she actually enjoyed.

Little K learned about the plight of the polar bears and was pretty scared walking through the sea tunnel with the shark swimming above us.  Lis – that shark photo is for you!

Finally, toward the end of our aquarium adventure, we got to see the keepers feeding penguins.

After the aquarium we got lunch at one of the restaurants inside the mall and I was excited to eat my favorite dish again (Spicy Thai Basil Chicken):

After lunch we explored the mall a bit more and found our favorite macaron shop (Laduree).  Little K and I enjoyed a few macarons from the classic chocolate to their special orange blossom.  Delicious! We popped in and out of a few stores as well.  Side note: It was so interesting to see the stereotype of #crazyrichasians in true form.  There were people walking around the malls with four or five bags of designer goods… I imagine that it was probably more than what my car cost me to buy brand new hanging from many people’s arms.  Anyway,  my mini-me not only shares my love of macarons, but also my love of shoes.  However, she and I have slightly different tastes when it comes to shoes. 🙂

After exploring the mall, we headed over to Kidzania which in concept is REALLY cool.  Little K had an okay time there, but really she would have had more fun if she were a year or two older.  The concept of Kidzania is that kids get to role play various occupational roles and get some real life experience.  You go to the bank to cash a check when you first get there and then you can spend and earn money at different places (e.g. you can earn money for putting out a fire as a firefighter, you can spend money at a department store or a salon/barbershop).  There are also some free play places for toddlers which is where Little K got the most enjoyment from.  Since parents aren’t allowed into the the little shops (they can observe from outside), Little K wasn’t feeling brave enough to go into any.  If only her travel buddy Brandon had been with her!! 🙂

Here are a few pics of the free play areas:

And here are a few few photos of the rest of the “town” with all the little shops/buildings:

By the time we wrapped up at Kidzania and walked back to the hotel, we were all pretty tired.  Since J had gotten a massage earlier in the trip, it was my turn so I headed to get my massage while J and Little K headed to the pool for a bit.  Then later that evening we started packing things up and headed to bed early in preparation for our travel to Bali the next day.

Floating markets, a temple & relaxation

Day 3 in Bangkok and we decided to do a morning excursion to one of the floating markets.  After breakfast at the MoMo cafe and saying hello to Fon, a driver picked us up from the hotel and we took a car over to the river front.  Once at the river front we boarded one of these long canal boats (khlong boats) with our tour guide to begin our trip.  You can see here how excited Little K is.

On our scenic trip through the canals we were able to see how people live outside of the city of Bangkok. From the top left hand corner below, you can see 1) a waterway intersection in the canal system, 2) a spirit house, 3) more of the beautiful long boats, 4) a floating souvenir shop where Little K was able to purchase a Hello Kitty Fan for a dollar or two and 5) a floating “farmers market”.

After our ride through the canals, we arrived at the floating market.  We walked past this beautiful field of lotus flowers:

Then we crossed the bridge to head into the market.  Before that we wanted to document our moment with a family photo but Little K wasn’t having it.  She boycotted so J and I took a selfie instead:

It was pretty ridiculously hot so neither Little K nor I had much of an appetite, but the market was filled with all kinds of food.  Freshly cooked meals and tons on desserts and delicacies.  They also had a number of goods for purchase, but mainly we were there to check out the food.  As mentioned previously, we had already tried a number of unique fruits like the dragonfruit, rambutan and thai bananas; however, we had not yet had pomelo so we did try that.  I tasted chrysanthemum tea and liked it, and we tried a number of desserts like mango sticky rice, freshly made rice cakes, moon cakes, etc. Only J had enough of an appetite to get something larger to eat.

Making rice cakes

J and the giant tilapia he ate

After our time at the market, we hopped back aboard the canal boat to head back to the main part of the river. Little K took a bit of a nap on me as we rode back.  On the ride back, we were a little more observant and noticed that some things really are the same from country to country… the homeless living underneath the bridge for example.  I wish I could help them all.

From there we went to visit Wat Arun, one of the temples. Pretty much like all the other temples we’d seen so far except for the fact that this one was sort of a hybrid Buddhist and Hindu temple so you can see artwork, artifacts and architecture representing both religions/cultures.

By the time we finished at Wat Arun, we were farther past lunch time than we had anticipated so we grabbed a quick lunch and then spent the remainder of the day relaxing.  We went up to the pool for a bit until the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.

I enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool and Little K wanted a “fancy drink” too so we got her watermelon juice with a little fruit garnish.  Totally made her day.  Then, since it was raining, we headed back inside and made her day even more since she got to watch a little bit of shows on her ipad.  Only another day or so left in Bangkok!

Chatachak Market & Celebrity Sitings

Our second full day in Bangkok happened to be a weekend day so we were just in time to go explore the Chatachak market, one of the most popular weekend markets in Thailand. The popular weekend market covers over 25 acres and has something like 15,000 different booths selling food, souvenirs, home decor, clothing, accessories, trinkets and more.

We got there pretty early which was great because some shops were just opening and it wasn’t quite so crowded.  I was able to score two gorgeous necklaces with different crystals for quite a deal.  We were told that you can get great deals at the beginning if you are the first person to come to someone’s shop/stall.  It’s said to be good luck, if the first patron makes a purchase.  I like to think my purchase brought the gentleman good luck for the rest of the day.  After walking a bit, we were getting tired (especially after all the walking the day before) so we took a break to get a foot massage.  Yep, Little K got one too! 

The ladies LOVED Little K and thought she was the cutest.  So much so that they kept bringing friends by to show them their first customer was pint-size.  As their first customers of the day and making a purchase, we were also able to bring them all good luck.  (Or so we hope!) It started to get really crowded at the market and it was REALLY hot so we decided to head back toward downtown.

We got lunch at a restaurant inside the Central World mall which is conveniently a few blocks down from our hotel and we got their via the BTS Skywalk… basically a sidewalk to get through a large portion of the city on foot, but above all the traffic.  You can also of course hitch a ride on the train from certain stations along the skywalk if needed to.  In true Little K fashion, she made a friend at lunch. 

After lunch, we needed a break from the heat and the crowds so we walked around Central World to check it out a bit more.  Not only did they have a wide variety of stores and restaurants, but they also had a really cool kids play area that Little K fell in love with.

After letting her play for a bit, we walked around a bit more where J decided to join in on some art for fun.  Little K asked me why all the statues were running naked.  I didn’t have a good answer. 

Finally as we were heading out of the mall, we spotted a celebrity.  We have no idea who he was, but the crowd around him was quite insane.

By then we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel to relax in the room.  Little K wanted to watch a show on the ipad so she did that while I read and J went to get his first Thai massage.  By dinner time we were still over the heat and the crowds so we ordered room service in for dinner and I was able to enjoy again my new favorite dish (spicy Thai Basil Chicken).  Little K only wanted milk and fruit.  As you wish.   J actually headed out to meet up with one of his grad school buddies from his former program who happens to live in Bangkok to grab drinks and dinner… a fellow Boothie as they say.  What a day!

Are we in NYC? NO wait, it’s Bangkok.

So initial impressions of the city of Bangkok… it’s dirty, crowded and pretty unwelcoming.  I basically felt like we were in a parallel version of NYC.  One respite from the unwelcoming city though was our breakfast each morning at the hotel.  As platinum elite Marriott members, we get free breakfast in the executive lounge, but since we had our daughter with us, they asked us to take our free breakfast in the restaurant instead (totally fine with that… much better options on the buffet!)  Our server each morning was this lovely girl by the name of Fon who quickly connected with Little K and built great rapport with her.

After our breakfast the first morning, we headed to the Dusit Zoo.

After our visit to the Chiang Mai zoo and the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, (or maybe because she was tired) Little K was not impressed with the Dusit Zoo so we didn’t stay very long and headed back to our hotel for lunch and Little K’s nap.

After her nap, we headed to Lumphini park which in a way is like Central Park in NYC.  We were amazed at all the gym equipment at various stations throughout the park where it seemed as though half of the city was working out.  The park also had a pond where you could rent pedal boats (which we did!) and various playgrounds for kids. The pictures below show 1) the juxtaposition of the water and greenery with the skyscrapers right behind it and 2) the view from our pedal boat which Little K thought was pretty cool as she enjoyed the ride while J and I did all the work.  PSA: Think about what you’re going to wear if going on a pedal boat.  It’s much more difficult to pedal when you are focused on holding your sundress at the same time.

After our trip to Lumphini park, we headed to the Little Zoo Cafe.  This is a kitschy little place where you can play with all kinds of animals you wouldn’t expect to from an arctic fox to a meerkat, a racoon to parrot and many cats and dogs, among others.  For about $10 US, you can get admission to see the animals, a pair of socks to wear when you go upstairs to play with them, a waffle with ice cream and a drink.  Not bad!

After our stop at the cafe, we continued to explore the city via tuk-tuk and walking.  The pictures below are some of the interesting observations as we walked around the city: 1) it’s crowded, 2) there are motor bikes EVERYWHERE because it’s much faster to get around by bike, tuk-tuk or public transportation than car and 3) there is more art than we had expected.

Finally, aside from the zebras above and the animals at the Little Zoo cafe, J and I thought that Little K’s favorite spot was stopping in to check out the Hello Kitty Cafe/Store nearby.  She basically decided she wanted to buy everything in the store, but we were able to convince her she just needed a shirt.  #parentingwin

Wish we had a bit more time…

Day 4 in Chiang Mai… our last day.  When we first arrived, we knew we would want more time in the city. (You know that feeling when you just connect with a place?)  We had originally planned to leave Chiang Mai mid-day, but we changed our flight to an evening flight for a very nominal cost.  This allowed us the ability to enjoy our last wonderful breakfast at the hotel, swim in the pool a bit (which was probably Little K’s favorite part of the trip so far because she’s a water baby) and just relax without any pressure of doing anything before sitting on a plane again.

We very much enjoyed our stay at Tamarind Village and would recommend it to anyone traveling to Chiang Mai in the future.  The staff there were incredibly friendly and provided excellent service.  The hotel had cool activities each day, a spa if you wanted to take advantage of it, a pool, the staff delivered fresh fruit each day and it was a super convenient location.  If we go back to Chiang Mai again, we’d definitely return!

On the last day, we enjoyed lunch at the restaurant at the hotel before heading out.  J got a traditional Thai dish and I branched out from my usual and tried the chili-lime sea bass which was quite delicious.

After lunch, it was time to part ways with the city of Chiang Mai.  We bid it adieu via Air Asia to get from Chiang Mai to Bangkok; it was definitely nice to get to “skip” people in line due to Little K.  In Asia, they really do do a great job of prioritizing the elderly or those with young children which I think makes travel smoother and more pleasant for everyone around (not just those aforementioned).  Waiting for our luggage took quite a bit of time (although I suppose it’s relative though we are accustomed to the efficiency of some of the US airports).  We also flew into the Don Mueang airport which meant a lengthy drive to our downtown Bangkok hotel.  It was pouring rain and traffic was terrible so Little K feel asleep on the ride there.

Upon arrival, I promptly checked into our hotel while holding my sleeping baby.  She slept through check-in and then didn’t make a peep when I changed her into her pjs.  For convenience sake and for a little familiarity we chose to stay at the Courtyard Bangkok Downtown.  While the location was great, the hotel itself was not very family friendly and in retrospect, I may have chosen a different hotel.  We appreciated the convenience of the location in relation to the things we wanted to check out.  The most redeeming factor of the hotel was a subset of the staff who were phenomenal including a server at the hotel’s restaurant, the MoMo Cafe, who took care of us each morning at breakfast.  Her name was Fon and she was AMAZING.  She also became fast friends with Little K and gave her a little tiny doll with golden hair and big brown eyes on our last morning.

Anyways, more to come on our adventures in Bangkok.