I woke up and immediately checked my Vietnam visa status which was still pending. Thankfully AirAsia, the airline with whom I booked my flight to Hanoi, told me that I can change my flight to a different flight as long as it’s within 7 days. My days being numbered with many countries left on my list to see, I devised a contingency plan to take the last AirAsia evening flight to Hanoi if my visa were approved in time for me to make the flight. If not, I would book a flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia for tomorrow morning. I originally planned to do Vietnam then Cambodia, but didn’t want to let time spent waiting on a visa consume more of my precious and limited time traveling.
My friend Namwann and I got lunch at her favorite local spot in Bangkok, a Thai restaurant with no name. “A local restaurant with no name, sounds promising,” I thought. I let her take the wheel and she ordered us about 10 items off the menu that we shared Thai family style including chicken, pork, soup, bean sprouts, and sticky rice. Afterwards, we satisfied our sweet tooth (sweet teeth?) with After You, a local Thai dessert cafe with some delicious sweet treats. I ordered strawberry ice cream crumble, and I can’t remember the name of the dessert Namwann ordered but it was phenomenal. My visa had not yet been approved, so I pulled the trigger on a morning flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Later, we visited the Emquartier mall to get a snack before taking a trip across the street to Emporium mall. I had visited Emporium mall during my last stay in Bangkok for a haircut and to purchase sandals, and was not expecting to return so soon. Here, we went to the top floor and saw the new Antman: Quantumania movie. I thought cinemas in San Diego, California were fancy, but this place takes the cake. The tickets were a bit pricy around 1200 Baht (~$36USD) each, but our premium tickets came with blankets, pillows, larger reclining chairs, popcorn, beverages, and best of all, access to the pre-movie lounge that had free snacks and beverages for people to enjoy and hangout in before showtime. This movie theater lounge was quite fancy too. The movie itself was pretty entertaining, but the visuals were incredibly unique and vivid.
After the movie, we visited Cielo, a rooftop bar with expansive views of the Bangkok skyline, delectable cocktails, and a plexiglass see through bridge down 57 floors to the lobby. I’ve never had an immense fear of heights, but still got the unnerving feeling in my stomach of primal instincts alerting my mind, “danger danger danger!” That feeling visits me whenever I look over the side of a cliff hiking or over the railing of a highly elevated balcony. Maybe it’s not the heights I’m afraid of, just falling from a high place? Maybe it’s one in the same.
As the night winded down, my visa for Vietnam was approved. I was relieved to know I could finally enter Vietnam following my time in Cambodia. An early morning of heading to the airport was in store, and so I packed my bags before answering bed’s call.
It was a really enjoyable and unexpected bonus day in Bangkok thanks to my friend Namwann showing me the good local spots in town. I’m very grateful for her, and all of the kind people I’ve met during my travels.