Have a joy-filled jaunt with loved ones this 2023
Last weekend, from Dec. 22 to 25, I went on a quick, four-day getaway to Bangkok with my kids Gabbie and Paolo, their dad Mike Planas, and my two stepsons Migui and Miko Planas. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable Christmas jaunt devoid of any of the airport horror stories I had been hearing about.
Days before we left, there were reports that the airports were packed because of the heavy volume of passengers traveling for the holiday break. To be good passengers, we arrived at NAIA 2 three hours before departure as advised. At the entrance, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the baggage x-ray machine which used to cause a long queue outside had been removed. Now, the only x-ray machine you will encounter is the one you’ll pass through after you’ve cleared immigration and are headed for the boarding gates.
Lo and behold, another surprise greeted us as we entered the airport: it was not jampacked at all! I would even describe it as “nearly empty.” I was later told that this was because our 3 p.m. flight, like other early afternoon flights, is considered “dead” time. Normally, the airport gets jampacked early morning or late in the afternoon until early evening. We finished checking in after 15 minutes and breezed through immigration in 10 minutes.
Since we had lots of time to spare, I wanted to eat lunch since I had not had breakfast. Right after my live show ended at 10 a.m., I rushed home to fetch my kids and headed straight to the airport, expecting horrible traffic. What surprised me at the airport was that there were no longer dining tables where you could sit and enjoy a meal. Now, you have to buy your food and consume it while standing or take a seat along the boarding gates. Our airport can still improve in lots of areas, but I didn’t want to ruin my vacation by dwelling on it.
Our flight was slightly delayed by around 30 minutes, and we arrived in Thailand three hours after departure. The Bangkok airport was very busy yet orderly. Though there was a long line at immigration, it only took us about 20 minutes to clear. By the time we were done, our baggage was already in the carousel. Migui booked us a van and we waited only 10 minutes before it arrived. The trip from the airport to our hotel, however, wasn’t as breezy. It should only have been a 35-minute ride, but because of heavy traffic, it took us close to an hour. (Bangkok traffic is quite similar to Metro Manila’s.)
It was 7:30 p.m. by the time we got to our hotel, and we were all famished. We decided to go straight to a mall for a nice Thai dinner. Because our hotel was along Sukhumvit road, which is walking distance from Central World Mall, choosing a restaurant was not difficult. Miko recommended we have dinner at Kub Kao Kub Pla, and we ordered everything that was recommended — sour soup with sea bass, crab balloon omelet, green chicken curry, sun-dried wagyu with sticky rice, and deep-fried turmeric pork. The kids ordered Thai milk tea to go with their meal. By the time we were done, we had about 30 minutes to spare before the mall closed so we walked around and window-shopped a bit before heading back to the hotel.
As we were walking, the kids were already talking about freshening up because they wanted to explore Bangkok’s night life. I, on the other hand, looked forward to a nice shower and going to bed.
The next day, after the hotel’s filling buffet breakfast, we took a cab and headed to EmQuartier mall because Gabbie said this was where the biggest store of Sephora, her happy place, was located. There, she tried on lipsticks, blushes, creams, etc., and bought all the make-up she wanted.
After Sephora, we walked to Terminal 21 mall and lunched at Have a Zeed restaurant, which we first tried years ago. This time, we had fried river prawns with chili garlic, stir-fried softshell crab with yellow curry and egg, deep-fried whole snapper with Thai herb and special sauce, pork satay, stir fried morning glory, and our favorite Pad Thai (again).
We made sure we left room for dessert because there was also an After You Dessert Café, and their Thai milk tea bingsu and strawberry bingsu are musts. After You is always packed so we were ready to wait at least 20 minutes before we got a table.
After dessert, the plan was to head for Platinum Mall to shop for clothes. We decided to take a cab because it was quite a way to walk. What should have been a 10 minute ride took us 30 minutes which was just as well since we were able to take a nap in the cab and recharge for our retail therapy.
Platinum is one of my favorite malls. This is where many Filipino viajeras go to shop for goods to resell in Manila. For 1000 baht (approx. P1600), you can walk away with six to eight good quality tops. Haggling and canvassing, of course, are key. Gabbie was the happiest because she walked out with four full shopping bags! The boys were disappointed with the selection for men, so they just patiently waited for us at Starbucks. We finished just in time before the mall closed at 7 p.m. We then walked back to the hotel, which was made even more convenient by a skywalk that connected to our hotel. For dinner, we split up since we couldn’t agree on one restaurant. Mike and I opted for roast duck in Kam’s Roast while the kids went somewhere for Japanese food.
Because the following day was our last full day, everyone had their own agenda. We all agreed, though, that we were going to have dinner together since it was Christmas Eve. Luckily, Migui was able to get a reservation for 8:30 p.m. at El Gaucho, an Argentinian restaurant known for its steaks. While feasting on lambchops and wagyu steaks, we enjoyed the restaurant’s New York loft vibe, with its soft lights, brick walls and exposed pipes. After we asked for the bill, a waitress came to our table and offered us each a shot of chilled vodka (salted caramel flavor) for our after-dinner drinks…on the house. When she realized that we were Filipinos like her, she gave us the rest of the bottle, and the kids were only too happy to finish it down to the last drop. What a sweet Christmas Eve surprise treat!
So went my first wonderful Christmas revenge travel trip in years. May we all experience at least one such joy-filled jaunt with our loved ones in 2023, a trip (or trips) that will create memories that will stay for a lifetime. Happy New Year, dear readers!
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