Bangkok 2023 Part 1

Where I stayed, where I went, what I ate, and more.

By Denise J. Mallabo in travel on March 23, 2023

After four years of not leaving the country, I decided to go to Bangkok for a quick vacation and to see pop star and Grammy award winner Harry Styles perform live at the Rajamangala National Stadium. When my friend Denise (D2), her friend Rudy, and I decided to see Harry Styles in Bangkok, we booked our flights and accommodations in mid-December of last year. I purchased a roundtrip ticket from Cebu Pacific for nearly P16,000 and reserved a room at The House Pratunam through Agoda for four nights for P5,600. Later, I’ll tell you more about my flight and the hotel.

Leaving Manila

My flight to Bangkok was at 7:30 a.m. on March 8. I left the house at 4 a.m. and arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 in 30 minutes. To avoid waiting in line at the front desk, I checked in ahead of time on the Cebu Pacific website. After dropping off my luggage and filling out the immigration requirement, I had to wait in one of the most stressful lines I’ve probably ever experienced in my 40 years of life. There was a long wait in line to see the immigration officials. It was moving, but it was moving too slowly. I was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. For close to two hours, I waited in line. I ran to my gate, which was quite far away, after passing through the immigration booth and the security check. I’m glad I arrived at my gate just in time because it had just been announced that people could board the plane. The moral of this story is that no matter how early you arrive at NAIA Terminal 3, immigration will derail your excitement to leave the country for a while; however, it’s always a good idea to arrive extra, extra early.

Tell me you’re ARMY without telling me you’re ARMY part 1

The long line to the immigration booths at the NAIA Terminal 3. I was stuck here for almost two hours. This almost gave me an anxiety attack.

I made it!!! Just in time to board my flight

Later, Philippines! The obligatory window shot part 1

Tell me you’re ARMY without telling me you’re ARMY part 2

It’s expensive to be thirsty inside the plane

Arriving at Bangkok and where I stayed

I slept for the majority of the three-hour flight to Thailand. I had a few pesos converted to Thai Baht when I passed through immigration and picked up my luggage at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, just enough for a taxi to the hotel and a local sim card for data. Note: I don’t recommend that you have your money converted at the airport, the exchange rate is higher when done outside. But if you must do so, only have a few pesos exchanged, just enough to pay for the ride to get to your hotel or buy something from the airport. Getting a taxi at the Suvarnabhumi Airport was easy. You just have to go down to the basement and there’s a designated taxi stand there. Once a taxi gets assigned to you, off you go. Because of traffic, it took about an hour to get from the airport to The House Pratunam, where I stayed in Bangkok.

The House Pratunam is located at Soi Petchburi 17 in Rachatewee, Bangkok. It’s in a very busy area near the Pratunam market and other establishments. It’s the perfect hotel if you want to be near the known malls and shopping areas in Bangkok like the Siam Paragon, MBK center, Centralworld, The Platinum Fashion Mall, Siam Center, and more. My room was spacious, it has cable TV, and wifi, a fridge, and a mini balcony. The hotel staff were very courteous and helpful. Should I go back to Bangkok, I’d probably still chose to stay there.

The House Pratunam. My stay here for four nights was really good. My cozy room

I love how they have a tumbler available for guests to use to get cold or hot water from their water dispenser.

She’s a working girl. Even though I was on vacation, I intended to finish a few project deliverables. Open for more labada! Hehe.

Day 1: Donita Thaifood, Siam Paragon, Pratunam Nightmarket

I met D2 and Rudy at the hotel and we went to Donita Thaifood for lunch. I ordered pad thai, which was okay, and we also ordered pork bbq (which was delicious!), oyster omelette, papaya salad, and chicken curry. The food was delicious. Then we went back to our rooms for a few hours to nap. Rudy wanted to go to Siam Paragon to buy a steamer after a few hours, so I accompanied him. We rode a tuk tuk (Bangkok’s equivalent of a tricycle in the Philippines), and it was an interesting experience. It still amazes me how tuk tuks, buses, and cars coexist peacefully on Thailand’s busy streets. We decided to have dinner at Siam Paragon and choosing which stall to order food from the food court was a difficult task because everything looked so appetizing. Before we went to the hotel, Rudy and I decided to check out the Pratunam night market. As expected, it was very busy. There were a lot of stalls selling different things, from those comfortable Thai elephant pants to shirts, accessories, toys, foods, to name a few.