Sidestory: The Thailand Temple Trip ~ Arrival in Bangkok

8-Oct-2026 

So, here I am at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, or ท่าอากาศยานสุวรรณภูมิ as the locals call it. And the first thing I need to do is to fill out the Thailand Digital Arrival Card on my phone for bureaucratic reasons. People who don't have a smartphone are screwed at this point.

After that, I manage to get through immigration and customs without issues, and arrive in the airport's public area just at sunrise. This area has diagonal travellators that look cool for a moment, until you realize that they artificially inflate the amount of time it takes you to move between floors.

They also have automatic cleaning robots here that are like roomba's bike brothers. Some of them look decidedly more friendly than others.

There's also a whole selection of restaurants here as well as... DRAGON DAMN IT! I'VE TRAVELLED FOR 8800KM, AND I STILL GET HIT BY OKTOBERFEST?!?!? Well, enjoy your typical Bavarian Hamburg Steak with masked potatoes...

Here's a view of an outside area that is probably just for looks, because I haven't found a way to access it, and there doesn't seem to be any people except gardeners there.

Since the check in for my Airbnb is only at 15:00 (and it's only about 8:00 right now), I have quite some time to explore the airport. So next, I explore the underground, where I find really, really many money exchange places. They seem to be doing well, although I don't know how, because I always get my local money from ATMs during my trip. As a rough reference for prices from here on out, 30฿ (Bath) equal about 1€.

There's also several places selling rest and quiet time, which I sadly only find a little bit too late, because I could have really used some sleep after that sleepless flight. Don't know how expensive the capsules are though, but the chairs seemed pretty expensive since 100฿ only buy you about 15 minutes.

  

Next, I climb up high to the indoor observation deck, where it's a bit quieter, and I manage to get some napping done. Oh, and there's also some sparrow-like birds flitting around the airport.

 

Come noon, I head to the Charm Noodles restaurant, where I order a Singaporean Style rice & chicken platter. I have no idea what the brown slabs are. They are of jelly-like consistency, and don't have much taste of their own. Ideal to use as dampeners after trying out some of the more spicy sauces. The Chrysanthemum ice tea that goes along with it is amazing too!

After a bit more waiting, I take the train to the city. A ticket is crazy cheap, costing only 30฿. But sadly I don't get a sitting place. The train is made by Siemens, by the way.

Along the way, I get my first impressions of the country that I'll be staying in these next two weeks. Looks pretty wet. Also, there's some garbage dumps, several neighbourhoods of copy-paste houses, oh, and look! There's a temple!

My original plan was to take the train to the Khlong Tan station, and then walk the 15mins from there. Turns out my original plan sucks, since the train from the airport runs on elevated tracks that don't serve that station, and I have no idea how the ground-level railway works. There aren't any ticket gates, departure boards, or any other information. And people walk across and even along the tracks like it's nothing. My best guess is that it just doesn't.

So, I end up walking for about 45 minutes instead, quite confused at first because the road running next to the station is super busy and doesn't have and sidewalks, so I need to find a more walkable road first. Also, it's super hot (~35°C) and humid, and I am still carrying my full travel gear, so factor that in.

The traffic lights here take forever to switch to green. So long that in fact I can observe several locals just ignoring them and just making their way through the live traffic. But at least there are traffic lights here, not like in the Philippines.

Then again, the state of the sidewalks makes me think "Yup, it's gonna be the Philippines aaaaal over again..."

But hey, at least there are also some little shrines along the way. Yay! Culture!

Also, what seems to be a trilingual preschool of sorts.

Eventually, the sidewalk quality improves. However, there's still the issue of low-hanging cables. In fact, they are hanging so low that sometimes I have to go out of my way to avoid bumping into them. At least they all seem to be isolated.

After some more time, I reach the more quiet backstreets. Once again, there are no sidewalks, but there's so little traffic that you can safely walk here.

And then, I finally reach my Airbnb, which is one of many apartments in the LLoyd Soonvijai-Thonglor (ลอยด์ ศูนย์วิจัย-ทองหล่อ). At least this place looks kinda modern.

Check in is reasonably uncomplicated. Just need to fill in my name, sign a paper, and have my passport copied, and then I get to head to my little apartment cell, where the first orders of business are to turn on the AC and take of my thoroughly sweaty shirt.

 

I'll give you a more thorough tour of the place tomorrow. For today, my only remaining priorities are getting essential shopping done, eating dinner, and then crashing into that really inviting looking bed. So out I go one more time, passing another little shrine along the way.

My host recommended me some shopping malls which are, like, 45 minutes away at least. Thankfully, there's also one option that I found myself which is only 5 minutes away: The Bangkok Plaza, which is directly integrated with the Bangkok Hospital via walkways.

Turns out that place only has a very, very crowded 7-Eleven for the kind of shopping I need, but it features many interesting dining options, so there's a good chance that I'll return here more often in the days to come. Tonight, I choose the Bonchon, which is a Korean chicken restaurant. There, I have some spicy chicken & cheese Ramyun soup, which also includes those typical Korean Tteokbokki, which are something between a short, very thick noodle, and a rice cake. And to go along wit it, I have some Lychee Ice Tea, which is also super tasty.

By the time I get back, it's already dark outside.

Also, although I brought my own bags, the people at the 7-eleven packed my shopping into plastic bags. Oh well.

Finally, here's a nighttime view from my window.

And that's it for today. Tomorrow, I will do some exploring around the neighbourhood. But today, I'm gonna take a shower, crash and sleep for at least 13 hours. Until then, stay tuned, and be of great cheer! =^,^=

Sidestory: The Thailand Temple Trip ~ Flight to Bangkok

7-Oct-2026

Today, I embark on my trip to Thailand. As usual, in full travel gear.

Since I'm taking the plane there, I first need to get to the airport by S-Bahn.

I promised myself I wouldn't do such long distance flight again until I had someone to snuggle up to on the trip, but here we are. Munich Airport, all alone, among thousands of strangers.

Check in is the usual package of stress and anxiety, with me needing to defend my name, although it is clearly printed in my passport by now (By now, I got a new passport where my name is actually printed instead of handwritten).

You'd think that aviation companies would be legally obliged to accept that. But it's still a stressful hassle. But in the end, I do manage to get my boarding pass.

After that, and after getting through security and passport control, I treat myself to the last Bavarian lunch I'll have in two weeks: Käsespätzle.

After that, I'm at the gate, waiting to board the plane...

And then I'm on board, past the final gate, and officially on my way.

Now, I've already made plenty of takeoff vids from Munich Airport, but this time, I got a special treat: Thai Airways is sharing the feed from the tail camera to the monitors, so I get a dorsal view of the takeoff.

And then we're up in the air, flying in the sky, cruising past the alps.

As we fly across Hungary, we get into some horrible, horrible turbulences, which make me go over all the things I've left undone. A Chinese girl sitting to my left holds my hand, which makes it a little bit better. But this, this is why I don't like to fly alone. That and the airport anxiety.

Anyway, the danger passes, I calm down, and dinner is served. Some sort of spicy chicken hash with something like a quiche and rice. Very tasty!

Oh, and here's our complete route for today:

After dinner, I try to get some sleep. With emphasis on try. 6 hours of shuteye with some occasional zoning out is a better description.

And then, it's time for breakfast again, right as we skim over the northernmost part of the sea of storms. How daring. Breakfast is not as spectacular, but still tasty: An omelette with a sausage and a croquette.

Thankfully, there's no more serious turbulence. And before long, we're on our landing approach to Bangkok, just before first light.

The first glimmer of dawn illuminates the eastern horizon as we land.

And then I'm here, safely on the ground in Bangkok. 

There's still trials ahead of me as I make my way to the Airbnb, but I'll write about those once I'm safely there. As I'm writing this, I'm sitting on a chair between a Bento Sushi & Ramen and an S&P Thai Restaurant & Coffee, with my trusty laptop Liete on the top of my lap, which is not super comfortable to work with (who named these things?). Anyway, stay tuned, and be of great cheer! =^,^=