I am now inclined to believe that I do not really mind walking kilometers upon kilometers of pavement as long as it's exploring places and getting to know cultures.

The first time I spent hours walking at night --- until 1 am! --- and away from home was during my work trip to Bogor, Indonesia. Along with a couple other Filipino delegates, we explored places and food corners even at ungodly hours. It never really struck me as scary: even when I knew these brand spanking new friends just a couple hours old, they had been seriously fun and amazing companies.

And now I want to say that I wouldn't really mind walking torturous lengths of pavements... as long as I'm with awesome company.

So that's how it went in my most recent work trip to Thailand.

Back to Thailand!

This was my second trip to Thailand in under a year. The first time in November last year, I didn't really have the time to tour. I was so busy that whole week that I could only explore Cosmo Bazaar, a mall in 📍 Nonthaburi, Thailand, just a stone's throw away from IMPACT Arena. IMPACT's where I spent hours talking to people for work. The only rest came in the form of meals... and shopping in outlet stores. 😆

This year, I returned to attend a training... close to IMPACT, yet again! I wasn't exactly anxious as I normally would when travelling internationally --- this time, I knew the place, and there was the trusty Skytrain that goes around the city.

The Skytrain

Last year, my boss kept saying he loved Thailand's Skytrain. I think he got to try the Pink Line, which goes through IMPACT Arena as well. The Skytrain is one of the most convenient ways for locals and tourists to get around Bangkok and Nonthaburi.

I finally got to try it this time, and boy was it so convenient. There was a lot of space in the pink line's carriages and the ventilation was cool. It seriously reminded me of Dubai's metro. The pink line was also notably driverless.

📍 Central Chaeng Wattana

Our training host treated us to some seafood in a restaurant located inside Central Chaeng Wattana. It's a huge mall --- I just didn't get the chance to check just how many levels there were exactly.

I wish I could have taken more pictures from our dinner. The food was amazing!

We got to try this gigantic deep-fried seabass, bones and all, but we could definitely eat the bones --- they were crunchy. Surprisingly, the meat was tender. The hot and sour seafood soup reminded me so much of Filipino sinigang, only extremely spicy. 🌶 I personally enjoyed the seafood omelette, which came with crab meat and shrimp.

It was a pleasant experience dining at Laem Charoen Seafood. I'm not sure about the price --- I'd been scared to even bother checking. 😅

After the dinner, we passed by the street food stalls lined up just outside the mall. There was a large selection of street food, with some... very interesting ones.

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📍 Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok

During my recent five-day stay in Thailand, I only ever got to escape work after, well, work.

From Nonthaburi, getting to central Bangkok --- particularly in Phra Nakhon --- would take more than 1 hour. Especially during rush hours in the evening, if you would take buses or Grab.

So my friend and I took the MRT and made it in time to 📍 Wat Pho Temple just as the sun is setting.

It was ✨ beautiful ✨

Just a couple meters away from the station, we were greeted by this glowing tower peaking from a few buildings away. We were worried we wouldn't be able to get into the temple. Boy were we relieved to realize that last entrance would be at 19:30.

In the following photos, I shall bombard you with the beauty that was the Wat Pho temple. Luckily, we were able to witness the Reclining Buddha --- it was a different kind of experience.

We were initially sad that we couldn't visit the temple during the day. But you know what? Exploring this part of the city at night was low-key... prettier.

Bangkok at night was colorful and had a lot of personality! I'm not sure how it looked like during the day, but it was so charming in the evening.

See that glowing tower? That's Wat Arun temple. We hoped to visit it as well, but it closed early. In this point of view, there was a huge river in between me and the temple. I think that gives a lot of perspective into how huge it was!

📍 IMPACT, Muang Thong Thani

To be back in IMPACT felt surreal --- I felt like a local guiding my colleagues through the area. I'd told them what IMPACT Arena was for and showed them around the buildings (we actually went inside).

The target, really, were the outlet stores. The promos are crazy: buy 1 for 30% off, or 2 and more for 40% off. Sometimes higher. And that's just Nike alone!

Unfortunately, Cosmo Bazaar and the surrounding outlet stores close a lot earlier than malls did in the Philippines. By 21:30, we were on our ways back to our accommodations. ☹

Back to the Philippines

And just like that, I was suddenly en route back to Manila. It's crazy how fast time flies when you're traveling. It definitely felt like I just stayed 2 days this time (when in fact, I did 5 days!).

See that river there? I wanted to experience ferry rides across that river next time! When time and resources permit, I would hope to get back to Thailand again, but on personal reasons next time around. ♥