Our 3rd Week in Bangkok....

EARLY RETIREMENTSLOW TRAVELTRAVELMEMORIESRETIREMENTTHAILAND

Liz

10/8/20268 min read

Well, it's hard to believe, but that's 2 weeks of our holiday gone already! Though thankfully, as retirees, we are no longer restricted to a 2-week holiday once a year these days - woo-hoo!

Days 15 (4 Sept ) - Siam, Siamscape, MBK and a lovely (hidden) cafe near the canal

S suggested today's outing to the Siam area as there was a pop-up Thai designer clothes shop that she wanted to go to (I blame TikTok!), so off we trotted. I'm sure you can imagine both R and I sort of like fish out of water in this little 3-story shop, on a side street near Siam and both feeling like spare parts as her Highness lorded it around the shop. Being old and retired, we are not really interested in buying clothes these days (and let's be honest I have never really been very interested in shopping - despite my mall addiction!). Anyway, there were some seating areas which we took advantage of, so obviously the shop is used to others sitting whilst their partners/offspring view the merchandise (good marketing ploy in my opinion). Of course, S managed to pick several items here too.....

Then we went off to Siamscape for a little rest and drink. We had never tried Yogurito before, but their drinks were really, really good. I went for the less sweet version (as Thai drinks all seem to be too sweet for me - hard to believe, I know!) and R went for full sweetness - I know, I know, I'm forever telling him off, and S wasn't that far behind him either!

After a brief refreshment stop, we headed over to MBK via the connecting bridge. Now MBK is something else. More like an acquired taste - you will either love or hate it. S hates it as it's way too busy and chaotic for her. R is scared of their escalators as he can see all the way down and his legs go to jelly. I don't mind it too much, and I can tolerate a small dose of it from time to time. What R and I do like is their food court, and so this is where we were having lunch. S had not yet tried a massaman curry, and I suggested this place as I'd had a really good one from here previously. We all ended up getting the chicken massaman, and although it looks like something the dog has left you, it is a really tasty curry. Everyone agreed it was worth braving the MBK chaos to get it.

After this, we meandered over to the Thai Cultural Centre building (just across from MBK) and had a look in some of the shops there. Following this, we made our way to a little hidden cafe not that far from the Jim Thompson Museum called Baan Saen Saep. It was really lovely in here as it's like a old converted warehouse but with lots of plants, comfortable seating and a great vibe. There was even a guy playing piano. The matcha drinks here were very good too.

Then it was time to make our way back home, as it had been quite a long day of walking!

Day 16 (5 Sept) - Chatachuk Weekend Market

Well, it's Saturday and our second-to-last Saturday at that, so that could mean only one thing. We needed to pay a visit to Chatachuk Market (as it's only open on the weekends).

Why oh why, did we decide to go here? It was so hot and so busy that we were pretty much regretting it the minute we got there. Yes, much of the market is undercover, but when it's very busy, really hot, and you feel like you are in a maze with lots of other people going in all directions and you don't have the space you like to have, you can get a tad irritable. We hopped about the place a little, but it really is so huge that it can be very disorienting too. For example, there is a section of the market that R and I have seen lots of times in YouTube videos, which looks very picturesque, but we have yet to stumble across it. After enduring as much of the market as we could, we headed over to the mall food court for some lunch. I forget what we had, but I remember S was disappointed with her choice, so overall, today's outing was not the best idea for us.

Note: I can always tell when I am either tired, grumpy or coming down with something, as I don't take many photos, which act as my aid memoires, and this was a case in point!

Day 21 (10 Sept) - A visit to Chinatown, Talat Noi and Song Wat

Today's expedition is to head over to Chinatown and have a look around the area. We usually find Chinatown a little too busy for us, and although we keep threatening to visit it one evening, I think both R and I know we are not going to like the crowds. We do want to see how it looks when it is all lit up and is bustling, but we just keep putting it off. Anyway, we decided to get a Grab over to Chinatown from the apartment, rather than head for the BTS and then the MRT. Although the road traffic can often be very slow, depending on the heat, time of day, the number of people and where you are going, it often makes more sense to just get a taxi, which then allows you to arrive at your destination relaxed, cool and ready to rock (or waddle) the place.

So we started off at Yaowarat Road, which is the main artery of Chinatown, and after a little while decided it was time for a rest, so we made our way to the Song Wat area and had some drinks in The Old Breadshop cafe, which we found last year. The premises have since expanded, but it still retains the charm which we enjoyed the first time round. Once we had been refreshed, we then walked around the key areas of Song Wat, and one thing that we did like was that it was not as busy here with tourists (i.e. people like us!) as it is during the high season, when it can be really overwhelming. It is certainly a lovely area, with lots of little independent stores and shops, and not to mention how very photogenic it is with all the iconic artworks in the area.

We had a short stop off at the riverfront area before we then made our way to the Talat Noi area. Again, this is an area that we really like because it's so interesting and picturesque. We had another refreshment stop as it was pretty hot, this time at Mother Roaster, which is right beside the old rusty Fiat car. This is the place you sometimes see in videos where you go inside, upstairs past a load of old mechanical parts, and the cafe resembles an old warehouse. The coffee was ok, but I wouldn't go again as the staff were a little odd with the customers.

We walked around the area some more before we were all starving for food, and then we found a Chinese restaurant close to the MRT station, so we refuelled and had a rest there before making our way back home via the MRT and BTS.

Bangkok, Thailand

Day 17 (6 Sept) - Deja Vu (Clould 11) and True Digital Park

With her camera fully charged, it was time to hit Cloud 11 once again, so that S could get the photos she wanted but was unable to get the last time we were here (29th Aug). We had decided that, as we had covered most of Cloud 11 on our last visit, we didn't need to spend too much time here this time, and this meant we could stop off at the True Digital Park too.

Cloud 11 was fab once again, and the best bit for me was the -86oC dirty coffee that I got in the SoSo Coffee bar. OMG, it was absolutely out of this world and the best coffee I think I have ever had. It was served in a very cold glass (think -80 lab freezer style!), and it has either cold cream or milk at the bottom, and then you pour in a hot espresso - give it a stir (being careful not to get frostbite on your fingers!) and then savour it; it's pure deliciousness! If ever you find yourself in one of these cafes, you MUST to try it!

After Cloud 11, we made our way to True Digital Park to get some lunch. This time, S tried the chicken khoi soi curry dish and thought it was very good. After lunch, we had a wander around both parts of the complex before making our way home again.

Day 18 (7 Sept) -Happitat and Mega Bangna

Another new place that caught our attention recently (via YouTube of course) was an almost Disneyland-like place called Happitat. It's not the easiest place to get to by public transport, so we decided to take a Grab to it.

Well, well, well, what can I say? Happitat certainly does have a magical feel about it. It is like a resort complex with condos, a manmade forest park area, shops, exhibition areas and loads more. It hasn't been open long, and work is still underway, with condos being built (by other developers) and shops moving in and opening, but it was very, very impressive. So much so that S even suggested that we could perhaps book to stay here in the future for a few weeks, and she will accompany us again!

The complex is divided into 4 key areas: Forest, Festietown, Wonderwild and Bloominas. Again, as you can imagine, it is a massive complex, but we really liked it, and I look forward to visiting it again in the future when it has settled down more. We had lunch in the main food court and then decided to get a Grab taxi to the nearby Mega Bangna mall. In hindsight this was not the best idea as it was getting towards late afternoon but our logic was that it was not that far from and and would save us a separate visit on another occasion.

Mega Bangna is about 7 minutes away from Happitat by car, so off we went. Once again, we found that as it was getting towards later in the afternoon, the mall was getting quite busy, with shoppers, school kids and families. Mega Bangna is a massive mall with a supermarket, department store, over 400 other stores, an IKEA, lots of restaurants and eateries, as well as an ice rink, cinema, etc.

As you can probably imagine, it wasn't long before our weary little legs needed a break, so we took the opportunity to try out Swensens, which had the most amazing ice-cream sundaes! Let's just say - we didn't leave a scrap behind!!

Day 19 (8 Sept) - Another Visit to Ari

Okay, so today we have decided to go back to Ari as we want to visit the new Café Amazon flagship store. The Café Amazon Experience is a massive, six-story flagship store. Costing an estimated 300 million Baht to build, this stunning venue seamlessly blends speciality coffee bars, co-working areas, a rooftop bar, and lush nature right next to the BTS transit line. This store opened in May 2026, so of course we had to visit, right? The only downside is that if you don't like or drink coffee or tea (R), then you are pretty snookered. The place is quite huge, and we decided to get a seat on the upper floor to be able to take in the view of the space. However, we then needed to go all the way back downstairs to order our coffees, which seemed a bit odd. We discovered afterwards that there was a way to order online and get your items delivered to your table, but it seemed a bit cumbersome. Coffee orders were done on level 1 and tea orders on level 2. I ordered another dirty coffee, and it was ok but not as good as the SoSo dirty coffee. I can't remember what S ordered, but it had some fancy presentation done for it, where they lifted a glass lid and swirled some dry ice around it, but this was totally wasted for S as I was collecting the drinks and she was seated upstairs!

After coffee, we walked around Ari again, which is a lovely place and has loads of cute little cafes. Then it was time for something to eat, and S suggested Baytong Chicken as it gets very good reviews. The food did not disappoint, and once again, we managed to clear the plates before we waddled home.