It came as a surprise to me how funny (and seemingly meaningless) coincidences could be. I visited Thailand last year from September 14th to 17th. It was a quick trip with my colleagues before quitting my job. Fast-forward exactly one year later, and I found myself back in Thailand under very different circumstances. From September 14th to 17th this year, I revisited the country with a new career and a friend from my former job.
Well, the matching dates were purely coincidental. I realized it only a day before my trip. Despite the uncanny timing, the two trips turned out to be quite different in many ways. If I had to sum this trip up in a few words, I would say that it was slow but sure, fun, and juvenile in the best way.
***
It was September 14th, 2024. I started this trip later than usual, unlike most of my previous trips. My plan to wake up at 6 a.m. was adjusted by half an hour due to the sudden aching in my stomach. Seeing no point in trying to sleep again, I decided to get ready. At around 8, I went to the station to catch the train that would take me to the airport. It was a pleasant time alone with my thoughts. What a lovely morning.
Once I arrived at the airport, I made a beeline for a nearby minimart to buy a random pack of chicken siomay. Unfortunately, it wasn't very good—it tasted mostly like flour. Thankfully, my friend arrived shortly after that, rescuing me from my first unsuccessful foodie endeavor on this trip. We then went to drop off our luggage before having something more substantial for lunch: a Subway sandwich.
Lunch was great since there were no high expectations. I used to think I didn’t like Subway much, but I actually enjoyed this tuna mayo sandwich with a touch of honey mustard sauce. My friend and I then spent some more hours in the airport, talking and catching up since it had been quite a while since we last met. Our plane took off about half an hour past two. We were almost seated next to each other, except for the small aisle between us. While chatting was not an option, I had many other alternatives to pass the time. Over the course of three and a half hours, I slept briefly, read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, and binge-watched two of my favorite YouTubers: Sydney Serena and Julia Huynh.
We landed at around 6 p.m. at Don Muang Airport, and, friends, this was when the trip got more… interesting. After following through the immigration process and taking our luggage from the conveyor belt, we went on a search for the train station. It was quite difficult for newbies like us, but we eventually figured it out after asking a lot of people. What turned out to be even harder was finding the next station since we had to transit twice to go to the hotel. We didn’t realize that we had to move from one station building to another for the transfer.
Little did we know that the green MRT line, which was supposed to take us to the hotel, would be incredibly challenging. It was at a separate station, and we didn’t realize that there was a lift. We took the stairs with our large luggage while it rained the entire time!
Alas, the trouble didn't stop there. At the final station, more challenges awaited. Imagine us, two shorties, walking to our hotel with our large luggage, getting lost after taking some wrong turns because my map mischievously led us astray. What a silly little thing.
After reading all that, you wouldn’t be surprised to know that it took us almost two hours to reach the hotel, right? I sighed with relief when I set my big bags aside and sat comfortably after the long journey to our hotel room. My friend and I alternately took a shower, and we then went to Seven-Eleven to buy something for dinner since our online food orders were both rejected. Thankfully, our hotel was across from the minimart.
Well, this prepackaged black squid noodles and boiled egg were lifesavers that night:
My night then passed in a blur of motion. I remember getting ready for bed and… bed. It had been an exhausting day for the both of us after all.
***
I had been sick those past few days, which had resulted in me waking up a few times at night no thanks to the runny nose. My first night in Bangkok, however, became my first night sleeping very soundly in a week. I wasn't sure if I had gotten better or I was just too tired to wake up and wipe my nose. I slept dreamlessly, peaceful as a baby, though my plan to wake up at 06.30 on the second day was again shifted forward by half an hour. I didn’t complain. It felt nice being an early bird.
I started my day with a random plain yogurt, quietly eating it with the drape half open so I didn’t disturb my still-sleeping friend. Although the yogurt was too plain for my liking, it was the perfect light breakfast I needed.
By nearly 9 o’clock, my friend and I were ready to face Bangkok’s heat. We took the metro and stopped at a brunch place called La Brioche inside Novotel Bangkok.
We decided to share a light breakfast, including a plate of Brekkie (toast, scrambled egg, pork sausage, bacon, mushroom, and vegetables) and Pandan Croissant (with bits of coconut and coconut ice cream), and it was, without a doubt, the best brunch I had had in a while! From the pork sausage to the pandan sauce… everything tasted amazing. Our appetite was thoroughly satisfied. We were fuller than we expected, but there were no regrets.
After finishing breakfast, we then went to Icon Siam by a small boat. It was a random decision due to us turning into some directionally challenged tourists (in other words, we took the wrong turn—again). But the boat tickets cost only 8 Baht each, so it was still a win-win experience for sure.
Once we arrived at Icon Siam, my friend decided to do her nails in a random nail salon located on the fifth floor. While waiting for her, I wandered around the food court, relishing the mouthwatering invitation from all the stalls around me. When she was done with her new nails—cat eyes style (I know, I know, I just learned about that too)—I decided to buy these very fresh salmon cuts. So yum! It was a little sour and spicy, but so yum regardless!
After spending quite a while in the mall, my friend and I decided it was time to stop our aimless wandering. We decided to go back to Pratunam by the same transportation mode before continuing our commute by the metro. With a more dedicated notion to find something cute, our evening was spent wandering around Tofu Skincare shop, December’s, and Platinum Mall, which included a little unfortunate dinner story:
I ordered a dish at Platinum, thinking I should try something authentic. I forgot the name, but it smelled like bamboo shoots (please correct me if I'm wrong), and I couldn’t be anywhere near them. Shoot!
Fortunately, I had this for dessert.
However, dessert was not enough to satisfy me. In the end, I went for something safer: a plate of pork noodles. It might not have been the best, but at least it was edible for me.
Before going back to the hotel, we decided to give Big C a visit. Since we were too tired already, we stopped a tuk-tuk and with it went there as fast as a lightning bolt. Well, who would have thought? It turned out to be my biggest shopping spree of the trip. I spent almost 2,000 Baht because I had so many souvenirs to buy for people.
My friend spent almost as much as I did. After circling the aisles, the shopping left us both tired and starving. We figured that none of us had any energy left to go somewhere further to eat, so we went to a fast food restaurant nearby and had dinner there.
Too full and tired to walk any further, we chose what we knew would be kind to our sore feet: a tuk-tuk. As expected, the ride became a quick journey back to our temporary residence. The drivers maneuvered their tuk-tuk skillfully that at one point I told my friend that it felt like Tokyo Drift in real life.
Our night was basically over after that. After going to the same old, same old Seven-Eleven to buy something for breakfast the next day, we became Aurora the Sleeping Beauty, too exhausted to care about anything else but our sleep.
***
No matter how abrupt my trip to Thailand this time of the year might seem, it was actually not random. My decision to visit this beautiful country was prompted by the fact that it had something I wanted so badly: the first stop of the GUTS World Tour in Asia. Since Olivia Rodrigo’s music had been a staple presence in my life since 2021, I wanted to see her perform one of my favorite albums in real life. It was GUTS day, baby!!!
With that said, my friend and I decided that we shouldn’t tire ourselves too much in the morning of D-day. I woke up at around 6 a.m. that morning—right on schedule—and had a bottle of Meiji coconut milk for breakfast (I prefer the banana one more, but okay).
After we were done with our makeup and hair, my friend and I went out to have a more proper breakfast at a place we found online called Pasta Ama. Well, here we went again with another ‘lost and found’ moment. We were ‘lost’ because we had picked the wrong branch on Google Maps that hadn’t opened yet, but we then ‘found’ ourselves enjoying our one-kilometer morning walk to the right branch, which was surprisingly not far from our hotel. What a plot twist.
Again, our breakfast was marvelous. We shared a plate of spaghetti spicy carbonara with scallops and shrimp eggs, a plate of carrot cake for dessert, and a glass of strawberry yogurt smoothie. Initially, the pasta tasted okay, but there was something about the spicy carbonara that made it taste somehow better and better with each bite. What's more, I didn’t realize shrimp eggs were like smaller tobiko.
After breakfast, I accompanied my friend on a shopping trip. She bought a pair of shoes and a cute bag in CentrawOrld. I, of course, became a good cheerleader since I loved seeing people shopping. After the serotonin boost, we went home by tuk-tuk to get ready for the event of the day.
In our hotel room, I changed into this black blouse and a purple (Olivia’s signature color) skirt. I decided to wear a pair of white shoes this time, having learned a very important lesson from my previous experience: always prioritize comfort over aesthetic value during a concert. If you don't know what I’m referring to, let me sum it up: I wore a pair of cream boots to the Eras Tour last March. They were killing me.
We decided to go to the venue as early as possible since we hadn’t exchanged our tickets yet. Off we went to the metro station. We then boarded the train at around 1 p.m. (if I have learned something new about this trip, it's that the metro system in Thailand is top-notch. Not only is it comfortable to commute on, but the duration between trains is also very quick. Bravo!).
Proving my point, we arrived at our destination station at almost 2 p.m., which was much quicker than anticipated. To pass the time and fill our stomachs, my friend and I decided to look for a nearby restaurant to try. We chose a cute place called Larb Lauren. We ordered a plate of sour sausage bacon rolls, a bowl of shrimp tom yum with shrimp paste, a plate of salmon plara spicy salad, and a glass of longan juice. Overall, the dishes were satisfactory.
At around 4 p.m., we stopped a taxi outside the restaurant and went to Impact Arena, the venue of the concert. After exchanging our tickets, we lined up to take photos in the GUTS World Tour photo booth. It took us almost an hour and a half to reach the front queue, but the pictures in the frame turned out super cute! They were definitely worth the long wait.
So, the rest of our evening was spent wandering aimlessly inside while taking cute pictures to celebrate our love for GUTS. Before entering the stadium, we decided to buy a doughnut and siomay. Then we waited…
Then a candle timer appeared…
And it kept showing the same thing even though it was already 8 p.m…
My view from zone M, seat number 12
And people kept screaming every time there was a sudden movement on stage. It was a bluff…
And exactly at 08.10 p.m., the big screen in front of us showed the opening scene of the GUTS World Tour. It was super cool and iconic; I shivered the entire minute. Not long after that, Olivia Rodrigo kicked off the stage with the performance of ‘bad idea, right?’, my favorite second single.
Along with all the people in the stadium, we were singing, screaming, and screeching for almost two hours straight. The show was curated perfectly. I couldn’t even pick a favorite performance because they were all creative and oh-so-amazing.
So, the night didn’t feel real at all. I still couldn’t accept the fact that the concert finally had to end. Even after we went out of the stadium, my mind kept replaying Olivia’s songs over and over, especially the one called ‘teenage dream’ because the bridge broke me.
Olivia's stage presence was everything! I still can’t believe that she’s only 21 and already very talented like that.
Meanwhile, my friend and I were quite surprised by how great and easy our experience was while attending a concert at Impact Arena. Aside from the cold temperature in the indoor stadium, the process of leaving the venue went very smoothly as well. We didn’t have to jostle with the other concert-goers since the place was not too crowded. However, because our cellular connections were poor due to the large number of people there, we couldn’t figure out how to get to the nearby metro station. And taxis were too expensive! Imagine how relieved we were upon finding out that there was a line of vans parked outside offering rides to the Siam metro station for only 100 Baht per person.
Well, another night savior for sure, thank God. My friend and I quickly signed up for the golden opportunity. Since the van in front of us needed two more passengers in the front, we hopped in and traveled to Siam with many others in the back seat.
I slept the entire ride in the van. It was a much-needed power nap as we needed all the energy to decide what to eat before bed since both of us were starving and it was almost 11.30 p.m.
We originally wanted to try the Korean tent restaurant near our hotel, but the waitress said that they couldn’t accept any new customers. We were left disappointed, but since we still needed to eat, we walked along the deserted night street hoping to find a still-open eatery. We did find one named Yuki. Its aburi salmon sushi and yakitori were really great.
After our stomach was full, we went back to the hotel to get ready for bed. This time, our routine was slightly modified to accommodate some hours of replaying the concert’s footage videos and editing them. It was hard to be apart from those memories, even if only for a few hours of sleep.
***
After the concert euphoria of the night before, you could tell that our trip had reached its ultimate wrap-up. I woke up the next morning at 8. It was a slow morning spent reminiscing the relish that hadn’t vanished yet and also packing. We decided to have breakfast at a nearby restaurant called Kin.d. Our orders included a plate of stir-fried Thai basil and crispy pork with rice and a fried egg, and a bowl of egg noodles with wontons and roasted red pork. Everything tasted good.
Since it was our fourth day in Thailand and we hadn’t yet eaten mango sticky rice, we had it delivered to our hotel lobby to enjoy at the airport. Off we went to the aforementioned place, retracing the path we had taken a few days earlier, only this time it was from the opposite direction. I was amazed at how quickly the time flew over those four days. One moment my friend and I were figuring out Thailand’s metro system; the next thing I knew, we were using it comfortably on our way back to the airport where we had dinner and a good dessert. Our plane took off at around 07.15 p.m., welcoming us back to Jakarta's familiar night air.
The most expensive cup noodles (almost IDR 44,000 because I paid in Baht) I have ever had in my entire life...
If there is one introspective finding from this trip, it’s not the reminder of a similar journey from last year. Instead, I’m reminded once again of the blessing that God has provided me with. Not only was I able to go on another trip to Thailand this year, but I also realized that coincidences can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. For instance, I ‘coincidentally’ got the aisle seat on the round trip because I wasn’t feeling well and needed frequent trips to the toilet, or like how my friend and I ‘coincidentally’ ended up in a hotel right across from a Seven-Eleven. I am grateful for God’s endless providence, including all the trivial things that might seem of little to no consequence at first.
I reflected on this a lot during the trip.
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