29 hours later: Touchdown in Bangkok!

A frantic final 24 hours in Brooklyn it was...

Packing up the last of our belongings, last minute Craigslist sales of any oversized furniture that wouldn’t fit in the trusty Honda Fit’s final journey to Massachusetts, getting lost in Greenwood Cemetery one last time...needless to say, we were tired. But pulling an all nighter before our 16hr40min flight to Taipei and 4hr flight to Bangkok ended up being fortuitous. We arrived at the airport the night of January 30th, exhausted. Once boarding began on our China Airlines flight, we donned our face masks in wake of the coronavirus outbreak and finally caught some much needed zzz’s.

We both slept like hibernating bears, awaking only once for meal service (which was DELICIOUS!). I (Deana) ordered the vegetarian meal in advance, and was greeted with a multi-color tray of brussel sprouts, squash, cauliflower, and quinoa. This may have been the most nutritious economy meal I ever had! Both of us enjoyed our flight and felt very well rested upon landing in Taipei for our 5 hour layover.

Finally, nearly 30 hours after leaving our apartment in Brooklyn, we touched down in Bangkok. We opted for public transport, taking Bangkok’s BTS Skytrain to the Yard Hostel, where we would spend our first two nights in Thailand. We exited the metro at the ‘Ari’ station to walk the final few hundred meters to our hostel. This put a big smile on my face - a sign that my little bro was with me in the smallest way.

The Yard Hostel, built from upcycled shipping containers, oozes cool. There’s a beautiful courtyard with sprawling plants, comfortable seating, and a tiki bar with friendly bartenders. We made it to our loft room, unloaded our bags from our sweat-laden shoulders, and took a much needed rest.

Later that night, freshly showered and doused in bug spray (just me, really) we set out on foot to explore the laid back, up and coming Ari neighborhood in the Phaya Tai district. We absorbed the frenetic energy of the outdoor food stalls and the sweet tropical air.

We dined at Ongtong Khaosoi, enjoying a heaping plate of noodles. Khao Soi, served widely in Myanmar and Northern Thailand, is a soup-like dish made with egg noodles in a curry-like sauce. Packed with lots of flavor and costing just a couple bucks. We followed this meal up with a couple cold local beers, then made our way back home. Our trip had officially begun!