I’ve already written about how we met, but I rarely ever write about our more recent dates together unless we were traveling. So let me tell you about our first ‘date’. At the time, it wasn’t even considered a romantic date. We made a couple of bets against each other which resulted in me getting a free movie out of him the next time we ‘hang out’. He would never admit it out loud, but I can make another bet right now that that was the outcome he was hoping for. *wink*
It was a Saturday. We agreed to meet up at McDonalds Vito Cruz since I had morning classes that term. We hanged out at mostly the same places, but with different people, and it was the first time we made plans to actually go out together. He wore a white statement shirt, and he had an empty pack of fries and chicken nuggets on his tray when I arrived. Our first cab ride alone was filled with awkward silence and stilted conversations. It did get better once we picked out a movie (Madagascar 2, if you’re interested). We had more than an hour to burn while waiting for the movie to start so I asked if he wanted to have lunch since I haven’t eaten yet, and dragged him to Bacolod Chicken Inasal where I proceeded to demolish a quarter of chicken and extra rice. I haven’t eaten anything that day yet (and it wasn’t a date). You can probably imagine hearts coming out of his eyes because his moniker is not ‘Chicken Boy’ for nothing. He already secured a couple more dates, again in the guise of a ‘hang out’, halfway through the first one, before we even got dessert and watched the fireworks. He denies this and would insist that he wasn’t smitten immediately with me, but my version of this story is the truth. Haha!
Late last year, a friend and I were talking about traveling to Indochina when she mentioned that there was an ongoing seat sale on the Thai Airways website. Whenever we start planning trips, I get C to nail down the dates first on his calendar (he’s an entrepreneur) and I give him a list of interesting things to do in that area. Once we lock down the dates and I have a list of the things he wants to do, I dive right into planning and booking everything. I basically just send him options and which one I’m leaning towards before we make the decision together. While to some, this may seem like I’m taking the brunt of work, this is what the dynamic of our relationship is like. I enjoy doing the research and coordinating everything (which is eerily similar to my line of work but definitely not as enjoyable) and he likes to go along with whatever crazy idea I come up with next. But I digress. Since I already had the dates of when C could take a leave from work, I went to the website, found the prices reasonable, and booked it. I wish I can plan trips to go on every day. Scratch that. I already do and I already have rough drafts for the places I intend to visit in the future. (I just need the money to make it happen)
Our flight was a little past noon which was unfortunate because Manila traffic is horrible. We had to leave home before 8 in the morning for the three-hour drive to the airport. I rarely experience turbulence in flights (I often opt for red eye flights and could that be the reason why?), and we both got a teeny tiny amount of anxiety with the number of times the seatbelt sign was turned on because of it. Meal service had to be delayed a couple of times too since the flight staff needed to strap themselves in for safety. I am still not the biggest fan of airplane food – but I’ve only flown economy. Business and first class food may be amazing but I don’t think I’ll find out very soon. The meal I had had a touch of chili which should have prepared me for the rest of our meals in Thailand. I even learned how to use the Thai phrase ‘mai phet‘ to not have my tongue burn all the time!
Our flight landed late that afternoon and we breezed through immigration and luggage claim. We got some currency changed at the airport before boarding a taxi to the hotel. The rates were the worst I’ve seen in Bangkok. If you did not arrange any airport pick up, just exchange enough money to get to your hotel or wherever you needed to go. We’ve noticed that there are a lot of money changers and you just have to choose among your options. What we did was walk around and check the money changers within the vicinity of our hotel and picked the one that looked the least sketchy with the best rates (buying rate for PHP at the airport was .47 and money changer near our hotel was .68). Bangkok traffic during rush hour was slightly better than Manila’s wherein it was moving and you can’t hear drivers unnecessarily honking their horns. C & I were initially contemplating on renting a car so we could drive around but we luckily did not push through with it. Driving in Bangkok needs getting used to, not only because they drive on the left side of the road, but because in some streets, they drive on both sides of a two-way street. Like I said, confusing as fuck.
We got to our hotel at dusk and had to freshen up before we went out to find dinner. It was sweltering in Bangkok, and the weather was mostly the same as Manila. The only difference was that walking outside, it didn’t feel as though dust was being attached to you while you’re sticky with sweat. It must have something to do with all the plants they’ve installed everywhere. C even described the city as ‘a greener version of Manila’. Before we left the hotel, we had mango smoothies and a snack by the pool bar.
Similar to Manila, taxi drivers will try to give you an inflated fixed rate especially because you’re a foreigner. Ask for the trip to be metered and that you will pay the toll for the highway (when you’re from or heading to the airport). In our case, whenever we were going to take a taxi from the hotel, we ask the concierge if they could call us a metered taxi. This was what we did when we headed to Khao San Road where we were charged 100 baht by the meter versus the 200 baht ‘fixed’ rate we got from the taxi we hailed to go back later that night.
C is a picky eater so it would probably surprise anyone who has known him way before I did that our first order of business was to find Pad Thai. Chicken Boy never ate anything off the Thai cuisine until we had brunch at Dusit Thani Manila. He had his first Pad Thai there and was finally convinced to give Thai food a chance. He now has favorites! There was a variation of Pad Thai stalls along Khao San Road (most were 35 baht), and we picked one that had seats (slightly more expensive at 45-55 baht). You can actually watch them make your plate of Pad Thai. We’ve been enveloped in the aroma for so long that when the paper plate hit our table, we forgot to take photos and simply started eating. It would be safe to assume for anyone reading this that Chicken Boy ate Pad Thai once a day for the rest of this trip. He has gone a looong way from the guy who wanted to date me because I brought him to a chicken place on our first date. 🙂
And that’s it for our first day in Bangkok! This is exactly the reason why I prefer red-eye flights, or any flight that gets you to your destination late at night or crazy early in the morning. I feel like a lot of your daylight gets wasted by traveling. 😦
Have you been to Bangkok? And have you tried driving there? Let me know in the comments below! 🙂
teesh.blog 
Knowing to get a metered taxi is good advice! My friend and her bf are going to Bangkok near the end of this year so I will definitely tell them this haha
Also I was wondering, generally, how safe was it? I’ve heard a lot of things about Bangkok, how it’s one of the biggest sex trafficking hubs etc. Are there any tips you have on staying safe?
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Hi Liane! Hmm, I’m not quite sure about the safety issue because annoying taxi scams/money changer rates aside, I didn’t get any feeling that I was being taken advantage of. Regarding the sex trafficking, did you mean it ala Taken (the movie), or that sex workers can be found everywhere? If the first one, I’ve always tried to err on the side of caution when I’m traveling alone and exercise the same precaution I do everywhere (I never tell strangers where I’m staying, I research destinations ahead of time to check if it’s safe to go to, if my gut tells me something’s shady, I listen to it, etc). If it’s with regard to the sex workers, we didn’t really get propositioned but it’s also because we didn’t go to the red light district.
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A Thai here. My guess is that you are American (from you blog whcih you said you live in midwest) May be Filipino American or American.
My advice: If that’s the case, so don’t come. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not angry or sacarsm. Really mean it. Why go to a places that you have to worry and anxiety all the time? What the point doing that? Any fun/hapiness? No not at all. So why waste your time? By doing that its good for you (not to worry about anything) and the locals (don’t have to take care of you or worry of you if you face upon anything). Each lives on his/her own.
Not just you-I would tell anybody the same answer. Sorry if it’s sound offend to you but I really mean it.
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Hi! I know I’m not the one you’re replying to and that you meant well with your comment/advice. I’m from the Philippines so I get asked A LOT if it’s safe to go here, too!
But I believe her question is a general question everyone asks about places they’ve never been to since it’s about safety. Maybe she wants to visit Bangkok but a little hesitant because someone else had a bad experience, and just wanted tips to avoid that. She did say her friends will be visiting later this year.. 🙂
Anyway, thanks for dropping by! 🙂
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I love Bangkok! Sobrang sarap talaga nung street food nila. I spent most of my nights eating on the streets (I stayed for 3 days). Since I was alone and my hostel was far from Khao San, I would usually grab something on places nearby.
Sobrang favorite ko yung Hainanese chicken nila and those cheap milk teas / milo goodies! Roti was also a must try. HUHU kagutom!
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I wanted to eat MORE in Bangkok but I got sick halfway through the trip and didn’t have the appetite to eat which really sucked! But I agree about the milk tea – I bought a cup every single time we passed by a stall. Haha!
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I’m sorry to hear about the traffic on the way to the airport. At least you made it at the end and got to go on your trip without any delays. I’m never a fan of airline food. I try to sneak food on if I can!
I’m definitely taking your advice about the money exchange rate. It looks like the more convenient it is, the lower the rate you’ll get. Your hotel looks fancy! I love how there’s a night market full of people.
I haven’t been to Bangkok before but it sounds fun!
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The drive to the airport gave us a lot of anxiety because even though we already checked in online, there’s always a queue for the travel tax counter (you can pay this online but the site kept crashing lol) and immigration. We were very fortunate that we still got to the airport with enough time for everything. I also buy food for flights but we were in such a rush I forgot to do so and was just relieved that we made it to the boarding gate with a little time to spare. Haha!
Bangkok is cheap! I have a currency app on my phone so I can check if the rates are good. So I knew the rates at the airport was quite low!
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I’m excited to read more about your trip. I’m not interested in going to any other SE Asian countries soon but your post might change my mind! 😀
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Haha it probably wouldn’t cos I got sick halfway through the trip hahahahahahahahaha /sigh
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I traveled to Bangkok many years ago on a whim, after a long overdue breakup. I traveled solo from San Francisco and stayed in Bangkok and Pattaya for 5 days. It was crazy scary from getting lost to tuk-tuk rides but it was filled with great memories. I saw elephants twice in the streets of Bangkok, shopped at the night market, my eyes popped while walking at the red light district, had a massage at a temple at twilight…..And yes, the food was delicious! I had Pad Thai as well, and hot pot. Great memories! Then I surprised my parents by flying to Manila from Bangkok before returning to SF. Looking forward to read more about your trip!
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You did so much more than we did hahaha! We just went there to stuff our faces silly with Thai food and relax. 😛
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What a cute first date story! Glad you made it to Bangkok, even with that traffic in Manila. I love love love Pad Thai, I’m sure the first thing I would have done myself after arrival and checking in would be to head straight to Khao San Road and enjoy some Pad Thai as well 🙂
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Pad Thai is mostly great everywhere (in market stalls, hole in the walls, restaurants), except the ones you can order in food chains/food centers in the malls. Those were just bland and a waste of money, in my opinion.
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I love your version of your first date! He was definitely smitten with you right away, I know it! Hehe. I have never been to Bangkok but it sounds like an amazing place!
Kim
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It is a great place to travel to because I do think that it can cater to all kinds of tourists and travelers! And yes, I do believe that he was smitten with me hahaha!
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I can’t wait to sit and read your Bangkok Series. I love the photos and everything about your trip just seems exciting. I love Bangkok for short stays or transit before heading to my final destination. otherwise it starts getting overwhelming especially when you have kids and you have to take them everywhere with you. Taxis in Bangkok are my biggest problem. I always get ripped off especially during peak hours. I love your version of your first date. You describe it so well. If it makes you feel any better, 10years down the line, hubby and I tell different versions of how we met and who made which move. It is always hilarious when we tell our story. I hate flying. Turbulence, air holes, all that shit freaks me out so much but hey, we can’t avoid flying, what will I write about ? 🙂 We should all hook up for some yummy pad Thai and hear C’s version of the story 🙂
xx
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Our Bangkok trip didn’t really get very exciting because we just wanted to relax. I agree with getting ripped off by the taxis in Bangkok. It was surprisingly as common as the taxi scams here in Manila. 😛
Hahaha his version varies every time. The only constant is how I’m the one who made the first move lol
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