Getting our bearings again in Bangkok

Morning

And so, it begins… I’m wide awake at 2.40 am, and I can’t get back to sleep despite knowing that I NEED my sleep! I end up reading my book as I just cannot get back to sleep, and whilst R manages to get a longer sleep than I do, he is also wide awake by about 6.30 am, so we decide to just get up and start our first full day in Bangkok! We have a light breakfast, and then we decide to have a walk in the opposite direction to the Sukhumvit Road area. We leave a handwritten note for the girls telling them where we have gone – this we decide is the best way to communicate, as we don’t want to wake them by sending a WhatsApp message. The girls had already decided that they were going to be having a scoot around the EM Quartier and EM Sphere area today, so it wasn’t like we were totally abandoning them.

Off we set around 7.30 am, and it is a lovely, pleasant morning and cooler than we know it is going to be as the day starts to get going. We walk along various lovely streets and cannot help but marvel at the buildings (old and new), the morning street sellers catering for the morning commuters, the iconic spaghetti junction of street wires and cables overhead, the unmistakable smell of the nearby khlongs (canals), the noisy birds – yes, we have lots of Koels as well as other birds around us.

The roads are busy with morning traffic, but we soon find out that it is not just people going to their work, but the school drop-offs, as the school day starts early here and anytime from 7.00 to 8.30 am.

Before we know it, we come across the Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) campus, which we recognise as one of the universities that we saw last year, but on that occasion, we entered it via another route.

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU)

Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) is a public university in Bangkok, Thailand.  It was founded in 1949. It has two campuses: Prasarnmit Campus in Bangkok's Watthana district and the Ongkharak Campus in the Nakhon Nayok province.

The Prasanmitr campus remains the headquarters of the university, whilst the Pathumwan Campus now exists as its teaching school.

The university's motto, "Education is Growth", and the word Srinakharinwirot means 'the glory of the city'.

What we didn’t know was that there was a morning market in full swing here. We guessed that it actually made a lot of sense as there are lots of students, staff and locals in the area that they can cater to. We thoroughly enjoyed walking around the market, taking everything in and then selecting some savoury (Issan) sausages (bought from a sweet, old lady) and some moo ping (marinated pork on sticks that have been barbequed) and sticky rice from another vendor. I also had my first experience of Thai tea, which was served in a bag. All the items were delicious (total cost was around £2), and we really enjoyed sitting, eating our haul and watching the market activities.

The Srinakharinwirot University Market, also known as the “Srinakharinwirot Prasarnmit Market,” is located within Srinakharinwirot University (SWU) in the Asok neighbourhood of Sukhumvit, near Asoke Road. The market attracts Thais, Europeans, Indians, Koreans, and Japanese. Aside from office workers and students, housewives frequent this market and buy groceries.

We assumed (wrongly) that this market operated every day, and we were excited to tell the girls about it. It is only when we tried to return the following day (with the girls) that we discovered it wasn’t there. I have since discovered that it runs every Tuesday and Thursday from 06:30 AM to 02:00 PM

On Friday nights, the SWU Night Market runs from 04:00 PM to 09:00 PM. Food is offered in a large variety, exactly as it is in daylight markets. Food vendors sell savoury and sweet foods, such as hot fried chicken, pizzas, hamburgers, and spicy salads, as well as shops providing beverages and various snacks.

Ruam Sab Market

After our time at the SWU morning market, we decided to head towards the MRT station closest to the Asoke area. We just wanted to check where this was located and how to get to it if we were accessing it via the BTS from Phrom Phong (or if walking in the area). As we were walking, we came across the Ruam Sab Market and had a little look here. There were lots of food stalls and some little cafes, and plenty of seating. We weren’t hungry at this point, so we didn’t order anything, but we will probably visit it again as there was a lot of choice and the prices were good.

Ruam Sab Market is open Monday through Friday (7:00 AM to 3:00 PM), and closed on weekends.

MRT Location

We soon came across the Sukhumvit MRT station, which is BL22 in the image below. Although we didn’t go into it during our walk, it was useful to discover that it can be accessed via a couple of other routes that save you having to go out onto the heat and road, so that is good to know.

Makro

As we started to make our way homewards, we stopped off at the small Makro on Sukhumvit 22. This is a much smaller Makro than that of the one in the Sathorn area (where we visited several times last year), but as it was handy, we thought we would have a wee look. We bought a few items that would do us for breakfast and snacks, and then we meandered back to the apartment for a shower and a wee afternoon nap.

Sukhumvit MRT is an underground station, 23 meters wide and 199 meters long. The platform level is 17 meters below the ground level. It is a central platform (Station with Central Platform).

Entrance-Exit

• 1 Ashton Asoke, Siam Society, Asoke Montri Road

• 2 Interchange Building 21, Soi Cowboy, Soi Sukhumvit 23 (Prasanmit)

• 3 Asoke and Terminal 21 (connecting building with escalator), Asoke Market, Robinson Department Store Sukhumvit Branch

Terminal 21

As the heat was starting to build quite a bit by this point, we decided to pop into the Terminal 21 building for a bit of respite. We did our usual walking around, and when we needed a refreshment and rest, we headed to the level 5 Pier 21 food court.

EM Quartier

The girls came back when we were sleeping, and they seemed to have had a good day exploring. Later in the evening for dinner, we all decided to head over to the EM Quartier food courts.

Once in the building, we went our separate ways from the girls as we don’t want to cramp their style (or maybe it’s the other way around?). Off R and I went on our merry way. The building is lovely looking with all the Christmas decorations and displays, and we enjoyed walking around the area again, but we thought the prices were a little expensive for what you were getting here. With that, we decided to head over to Terminal 21.

The food court is always quite mental as it is usually busy with tourists. The prices are good, but the portions can be a bit on the smaller side compared to other places. We did read somewhere that the food vendors here (in the food court area) are required to keep their prices low, and I guess over the years, this has meant that portion sizes have been reduced to compensate for the increased costs incurred by the vendors. That aside, it is still a good place to go to experience a wide variety of food.

We both went for some Hainanese chicken rice, which is poached chicken slices with seasoned rice and comes with a light soup broth. Afterwards, for dessert, we shared a sticky mango rice. The total cost for lunch was about £4.50.

No trip to Terminal 21 is complete without a visit to the restrooms (they still have fabulous toilets).

Then it was back home for a shower and bed as we were both feeling exhausted (23,000 steps/9 miles covered).

Today’s route

Day 2, 25 Nov, 2025

Bangkok, Thailand