Last day in Thailand

Today is our last day in Thailand. The three of us will be leaving Thailand to different destinations in the evening. After checking out of our hotel, we first make our way to Siam Discovery since there is a baggage storage location there. From there we pop back over to Siam Paragon’s food court. Since there is a variety of food options, we pick up whatever jumps out at us. For me, I get a pork and vegetable noodle in “gravy” dish. It seemed interesting to me at the time. While its not bad, I do feel like its not anything to “write home about”.

Chao Phraya Tourist Boat

After lunch, we head to the water where we purchase tickets for the Chao Phraya Tourist Boat. The boat is a hop on / hop off vessel that stops along the Chao Phraya River. While it mentions that there is a guide onboard, I don’t actually recall anyone telling us about the sites? For us, riding along the river and seeing Bangkok from the water was the goal anyways. The other reason for taking this boat is it stops near Khao San Road which is where we want to explore today.  So on the way, catching the sites and seeing how people commute on the water is an added bonus!

Khao San Road

After a few stops, we eventually get to the one near Khao San Road. We disembark and take the short walk to get to Khao San Road proper. In many of my readings about Thailand, Khao San Road is a bit of a contentious point of attraction. Some people recommend against going as its highly commercialized and caters mostly to tourists. Others, suggest its a bustling place full of interesting eateries and bars. Personally, I probably lean towards the former. Upon arriving, I see are bars and patios but they look mainly to be for foreigners. I also see a myriad of clothes/tailor shops and multiple massage parlors.  Ultimately after a alittle time, I think I was “done” with Khao San and ready to move on. Everything felt a bit “tacky” and didn’t feel to “authentic” to me. Fortunately, Cactoose and Gimpy felt the same way. We walk around a little more to see if we can uncover any “hidden Gems” but eventually make our way back to the dock.

Icon Siam

Back on the boat, we start heading back in the direction we came. On “this” side of the water we spot more cool temples (though with no time to stop and explore).

Eventually,  we pull up on a very fancy looking mall called Icon Siam. It looks fairly prominent, so we stop to have a look around. Inside is full of very high end stores. You can tell that a lot of effort has been put into making this mall feel very luxurious!  There’s some beautiful outdoor plaza space and even an indoor circular waterfall! The three of us spend a good hour or so simply walking around and admiring all the nice touches! I think coming directly from something like Khao San to this is really a bit of a shock. And I think it makes for a very interesting comparison since its fresh in my mind.

Flying to Singapore

Unfortunately, time is starting to run out on us in Thailand as we have flights to catch. We leave Icon Siam, boat to our original start point, and catch a train back to Siam Discovery. We pick up our bags and get back onto the Airport rail link to the airport. I think throughout this process we get caught in rush hour because all our methods of transportation get incredibly busy! So we were in a bit of a rush to get to the airport.

We eventually get to the airport where the three of us go our separate ways. Both Cactoose and Gimpy are heading to a wedding in San Francisco, but are on different flights. So Cactoose is flying there from Thailand via Taiwan, while Gimpy is routing through Japan. I (as mentioned in my first Thailand post), will be heading to Singapore. I arrive at my gate just in time for boarding to begin and get on my flight without incident and settle in.

Because of the rush, I didn’t get a chance to pick up any food for dinner, but am thankful that even for a 2.5 hour flight, Singapore Airlines provides a full meal service. Thanks!

Singapore Changi Airport

With a little over 7 hours in Singapore, my intention is to stay in the airport. This is my first time at Changi Airport and I’m excited to explore. Its consistently voted one of (if not the) best airports in the world and I wanted to see for myself. However, with a full day in Bangkok and not having a moment to slow down until the flight. My first order of business is to find a shower and freshen up.  The SATS Premier Lounge accomplishes this and access is granted through my Priority Pass membership.

Butterfly Garden

Feeling human again, I set off from the lounge to see what this airport has to offer. I don’t go a few hundred feet and I already stumble upon one of this airport’s unique attractions: The Butterfly Garden. Normally airports will have some green space to add some atmosphere. At Changi, this is a fully enclosed garden and a “airlock like net” at its entrance to help keep the butterflies from flying away. (or around the jet engines!) There’s a ton of species (along with wide variety of plants) on display. Seeing it at night, offers a little more ambience as well and I can see it being a peacful respite from a busy airport terminal.

Movies at the Airport?

After spending some time exploring the Butterfly Garden, I find another great element of this airport: A Movie Theatre! That’s right, there are two proper movie theatres in Changi airport and they are completely free to sit in and watch. After finding a seat the movie playing is Spider Man: Far from Home. At the time,  its a pretty recent blockbuster movie, so I have to imagine they keep the shows pretty current.

I will say that if you find yourself at Changi on a long or overnight layover (like me). You could very likely settle in the theatre to pass a few hours. I think it’s entirely possible to nap too. The seats are comfortable and the room is dark. As long as you can drown out the audio of the movie its a solid “free” airport nap option.

Thankfully for me, I’m instead, able to visit the Ambassador Transit Lounge which is closer to my gate in Terminal 3. I pick up one or two late night snacks and find a very comfortable recliner in a quiet part of the lounge to nap for an hour or two before my flight boards at 5AM.

Onward to Kuala Lumpur

Soon enough it’s time to go to Malaysia and I leave the lounge and make the short walk to my gate where boarding is just beginning. The process is smooth and on time. Soon we are in the air and its a short 45 minute flight to Kuala Lumpur. I will end the blog here as the next one will detail my “day” in Kuala Lumpur before returning for another overnight in Singapore.