Thailand // Day 1 - Getting there

Chiang Rai's Clock Tower

Today was pretty much travelling and I barely took any photos because there were too many important things in hand HAHA

We arrived in Bangkok at around 1:30PM and went for lunch while waiting for our subsequent flight to Chiang Rai! The food at the airport was basically exactly like what you’d expect – more costly, not as authentic as you’d like it to be and of an insane variety. There was Bon Chon Chicken, Auntie Annie’s, Dairy Queen, etc. We had Thai food, of course, that costs around 140baht each. In comparison to SG’s airport, this is relatively cheap but we’re in Thailand c’mon L ohwells.

We headed to check in for our flight to Chiang Rai after lunch and thank God we went early! The queue was loooooooong but honestly faster than expected. After checking in we tried to look for a smoking corner only to realise that there wasn’t any inside! Bummer for them (I don’t smoke) so we had to stone for an hour or so.

Upon arriving at Chiang Rai, we were welcome by….. The Haze. :’( we grabbed a taxi and headed to our AirBNB apartment called Hohm Hostel. A common advice when travelling to Thailand is to always use the meter but our taxi driver claimed that it was a standard 200B for every trip leaving the airport so we just let it slide.

Our AirBNB apartment is nestled on the second floor of a café and looks splendid! I was a little skeptical about the shared bathroom but now that I’m here, I’m as happy as can be. We were welcomed by a homely, comfortable, clean place and most importantly, an extremely nice host. Upon finding out that it's our first time here, he sat down with us for 30 minutes to explain to us what’s good in the vicinity and what's there to do in Chiang Rai.

It was already 9PM when we left the hostel for dinner and most places were already closed by then. Thankfully, there were still street vendors around. We found this nice looking street stall by the side of the road along the Clock Tower. The seats were arranged such that customers can enjoy the Clock Tower show during dinner! 

We all had phad thai and, although a tad bit too sweet, it was so much better than what you’d get in Singapore. I'm reaaaally excited about all the upcoming Thai food I'll be devouring!

After dinner, we took a walk around the vicinity and found a night market along with some restaurants and a Chomp Chomp-style food village with a live band playing. I was actually quite surprised at the night life here in Chiang Rai because I expected almost everything to be closed by now.

On our way back to the hostel we realised how much better the massage parlours here are as compared to Bangkok’s. They are nowhere near as aggressive and that made the walk back feel so great. The roads were quiet, most stalls were closed by then (it was 10PM) and the weather was nice and chilly.

I’m already lovin Chiang Rai very much and we’ll be exploring the area around our hostel tomorrow. Wish us luck on a fun and fulfilling day! Xx.