Christmas 2018 was a very low key affair, but undoubtedly better than it could have been. I spent the Holidays in Bangkok with Chloe, and we traveled all across the city in search of some Christmas cheer. On Christmas Eve, we took a taxi to Siam Paragon, a large shopping complex in the heart of the city. The first floor is packed with restaurants and “international cuisine”, ranging from McDonalds to Mexican. We assessed our options for awhile, eventually deciding on a small cafe claiming to serve the “No. 1 Fluffy Pancake!”. Chloe ordered the pancakes, although I was content to just steal a bite of hers and order an apple crisp for myself. I figured if there was any justification for eating dessert for breakfast, it was Christmas Eve.
After our meal, we walked around the mall for awhile, and ended up at a bookstore on the top floor. We spent about an hour in the English travel guide section, attempting to act casual as we searched for books that weren’t sealed in plastic. We probably could have spent the entire day in the bookstore, but we continued on, and decided to leave the mall. Siam Paragon is located within walking distance of many of Bangkok’s other malls, so we walked through Siam Discovery, a slightly less upscale version of Paragon (and therefore more affordable), with some popular Western brands. We ended up at MBK Mall, which is essentially like walking through a giant Thai market, except indoors. The walkways kept condensing until we had to walk single-file, the shops were full of your typical tourist wares, and we were among many elephant pant-sporting, backpack-schlepping farangs. We quickly realized that we didn't want to stick around, but the aisles were a maze, and it took forever to make our way out. By the time we did, we were in desperate need of a break, and set out in search of a Starbucks, which we had come to recognize as every exhausted Westerner’s saving grace. We splurged on seasonal drinks and pastries, and switched seats about 4 times before finally snagging a table in a quiet section with a view.
When we were finished, we made our way to the BTS Station, which would take us from MBK to Terminal 21(another mall) via Skytrain. We had plans to meet some other exchange students from the Bangkok area, including our fellow American, Luke, for a Mexican Christmas Eve dinner. This was my first time meeting many of the other students, as the group at our arrival orientation was too large to get to know everybody, and we didn't have the same regional orientation. The food was better than you might expect from a Mexican place in the middle of a mall in Bangkok, and it was great to hang out with everybody. We were all a little anxious to leave once the bill arrived, considering our early curfews and the unpredictability of Bangkok traffic, so we paid quickly and parted ways.
Chloe and I needed to catch a bus that would take us to her school, so we followed Google Maps in our search for a bus stop. Within the first 5 minutes of leaving the mall we had taken a turn into a slightly sketchy parking garage alleyway, and promptly turned around. 20 minutes and several wrong turns later, we came right back around to the front of the mall. Questioning the reliability of Google Maps, we attempted to follow street signs. We ended up across the street from the BTS station, no bus stop in sight. To make matters worse, Chloe’s phone was almost dead, and mine doesn’t have data, so we were close to losing our only map. We trudged on, trying to locate the elusive bus stops that were supposedly nearby. It was pure luck when we saw a bus with our number parked down the street, so we sprinted to the doors and hopped on. In broken Thai, we asked some other passengers if the bus would take us to our final destination, and our spirits were crushed when they talked with one another and concluded that it would not. We hopped off the bus at the next opportunity, and turned right back around to the main street. In a panic, Chloe flagged a tuk-tuk down, and, using her phone, showed the driver where we wanted to end up. After a short ride, the driver deposited us at Siam Paragon, the very mall that we had come from hours earlier. He demanded 200 baht for the drive, and bartering on our end went nowhere. We begrudgingly forked over our baht, and cursed ourselves for ending up no closer to a bus stop. We passed the BTS Station, feeling regretful as we realized we could’ve taken the Skytrain from Terminal 21 to Paragon for a mere 30 baht. It was at this point, when we had been ripped off, were way past curfew, and still completely lost, that Chloe’s phone, our only source of direction, died. We continued down the road, knowing a 7/11 would be nearby. We finally found one, and Chloe was able to purchase charger for her phone. We walked into the Cafe Amazon next door, purchased some overpriced tiny cups of coffee, and sat so we could take advantage of the outlets and free WiFi.
Once we were somewhat removed from the crowds, I tried calling a Grab. Grabs in Thailand are the same as normal taxis, and it’s impossible to distinguish which is which, so an attempt any earlier would have resulted in us searching in a crowd of dozens of taxis for our car. After I few minutes, we were matched with a driver, and we had an estimated 10 minute wait. Cool. We hung out, Chloe’s phone still charging, and I kept an eye on my phone for notifications. Looking at my map, I could see that the driver was driving in the wrong direction, and our wait time kept increasing. Turns out, he was still driving another client, and 10 minutes after matching with him he was still an estimated 20 minutes away. Not willing to risk losing our ride, we decided to wait. About 15 minutes later, when the driver was supposedly on his way to pick us up, my phone buzzed with a notification: CANCELLED. By this point we were fuming, without a ride home, and on the receiving end of some aggressive “WHERE ARE YOU????” texts from Chloe’s 13 year old host sister. I tried Grab again, Chloe tried to find a bus, and we decided to go with whatever came faster. I suppose God must have been feeling a little bad for us at this point, because by some stroke of luck, we realized that there was a bus stop right outside of the cafe. We parked ourselves on the curb, and within 5 minutes, our bus number showed up. We giddily hopped on, managed to find 2 seats, and told the bus attendant where we wanted to go. When she murmured her assent, we collapsed with relief, and settled in for the 45 minute ride home.
We hopped off at the Islamic College of Thailand, found a motorcycle taxi, and directed the driver on the route home. When we finally arrived, we each handed over the typical fare, only to be met with a grunt of dissatisfaction by the driver. He demanded more, almost double what it should have been, and we reluctantly forked over our precious baht. Finally home, we made our way upstairs, where we promptly dropped onto the bed, utterly exhausted. Definitely a Christmas Eve to remember.
Christmas Morning, I rolled out of bed early so that I could video chat with family as they celebrated Christmas Eve. Seeing everybody together made me miss home, and got me even more excited to be with family for Christmas next year. After saying our goodbyes, Chloe and I got ready, walked outside, and hailed a taxi to take us to the market. From the market, we took a songthaew to a coffee shop, which had quickly become one of our favorite places to hang out. We sipped lattes as we worked on our computers, enjoying the Christmas music that was playing through the speakers. We laughed when we received our “blueberry pancakes”, a bear-shaped waffle with a glob of jam piled on top, only somewhat surprised by the Thai interpretation of this classic American meal.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the coffee shop, just relaxing and enjoying each other’s company. That evening I Skyped my family as they opened presents on Christmas morning, and it was a perfect way to end the day. Christmas 2018 was a relatively uneventful day, but I’m glad that I had the opportunity to experience my favorite holiday in a fantastic country, with a great friend by my side.