Ever since my sister came back for her summer break, my dad’s been itching to go for a family trip. So we decided to go to Bangkok because it has always been our go-to short holiday destination since it isn’t far away and this time my dad had a mission to accomplish – He was going to surprise an old University friend who is a lecturer in one of the Universities in Bangkok. They lost touch since graduation and have not spoken to each  other in almost 30 years. 30 YEARS!

We left the house at 5 am, had our breakfast at the airport and still managed to miss our 8.20 am flight. My dad looked so upset so we didn’t think twice to purchase new tickets and extended our stay. We took the next available flight and made our way to the Land of Smiles.

Getting around Bangkok has gotten so convenient over the years. The public transportation is excellent since the BTS Skytrain and MRT takes you to most places. Getting around by taxi and tuk-tuk isn’t expensive either but don’t expect local price because they rarely use the meter and because most  drivers know that you’re not ‘local’.

One of things I look forward for the most when it comes to Thailand is the FOOD. Sure, Thai food can be found almost everywhere but you can’t beat the local authenticity and freshness that it’s native country has to offer! Tom Yam, Som Tam, Mango Sticky Rice, the original Coconut Ice Cream. Sorry man, I ain’t dieting when in Bangkok!

We pretty much shopped and pampered ourselves with massages throughout the trip, but my favourite part of the holiday was seeing Joe bond with my family. He gets along so well with my parents and I can tell that my dad is thrilled to have another dude in the family (he’s been surrounded by girls his entire life). They talk about football most of the time.

But the most obvious bondage formed since I got married was between Joe and my sister. They both have so much in common, the way they think is pretty much the same, so I can’t win when we argue. It’s so clear that he has a soft spot for Kat and even though I pretend to be annoyed at times, I secretly love it. Kat never had an older brother to look up to while growing up, so having Joe around makes our lives more colourful.

Kat is going through a weird music phase and this one in particular started in Bangkok. Basically, for some weird random reason, she had the song ‘Jai Ho’ stuck in her head and she couldn’t stop singing it during the trip. Yes, you read that correctly, I am referring to the song that was the soundtrack for the Indian movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ – in Bangkok. Don’t worry,  I don’t get it either. Never will.

She’d pop up her head out of nowhere like one of those Jack in the box toy thing, especially when I’m shopping and will start whispering the lyrics in my face, she’d sing the back up vocals as well and ‘tries’ to imitate the choreography (very unsuccessfully) – Ugliest thing I’ve seen but it was hilarious. She still has that song in her head and I hope it follows her when she goes back to London.

One of the best things about Bangkok is the variety of markets it has to offer. Weekday market, weekend market, floating market, the ‘naughty’ market, you name it and they have it lah. We went to Asiatique (a relatively new weekday night market), Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Chatuchak Weekend Market. And everywhere we go, most of the people that we speak to in Thailand, are always smiling!

The floating market is at least 2 hours drive from Bangkok City but if it’s your first time, it’s so worth it!

Chatuchak is my all time favourite market because every time I go there I wish I’m a billionaire so I could buy and ship everything back home. Plus, there’s over 8000 stalls, you can basically spend an entire day in there!

Remember I mentioned earlier about my dad’s mission in surprising his long lost Thai friend? Well…………………….

Mission accomplished! 🙂 My dad smiled for days and it was the most wonderful and happiest thing I have ever seen in my life. Way to go, daddy.