Unexpected Discoveries in Bangkok

When we planned our trip to Bangkok, the focus was on our medical check up, so we really didn’t have any other plans in place. We figured we’d hit up a few night markets, eat some mango sticky rice, and explore a bit in a tuk tuk. The only thing Bridgette wanted to make sure we hit up was the Unicorn Cafe there.

Because of our lack of agenda, we ended up discovering some pretty cool places that we loved.

ICONSIAM-– one of the benefits of posting often on social media is that others will know where you are and then send you their favorite recommendations for that destination. When our good friend Amanda saw our IG stories that we were in Bangkok, she suggested that we hit up Iconsiam, this modern, massive shopping center situated on the banks of the Chao Phraya River. We weren’t interested in the shopping, but rather, the indoor floating market was a part of this development. We took a short complimentary boat ride there, which gave us a fantastic view of the beautiful building from afar.

We entered through the area with all of their restaurants and each one looked soooo good! Even though there were a lot that we wanted to try, we decided to save our appetite for the indoor floating market. Good thing we did because we ate so much delicious food there, for probably a fraction of the price of the restaurants! 🙂

The indoor floating market had a lot of casual street food that Thailand was known for, and a lot of mango sticky rice in many different colors. Everything we picked were delicious and the best part was, we were in an air conditioned space the whole time, haha!

YUNOMORI ONSEN & SPA— I’m not a massage gal, but Bridgette is, so when we arrived to Bangkok at 5am and couldn’t check into our hotel yet, we decided to find a nice spa to get ourselves loosened up after the red eye flight. Funny enough, even though we had just left Japan, we ended up picking a Japanese onsen and spa that we stumbled across. We arrived right when they opened, so the place was quiet and impeccable. We were given kimonos to wear, and for a moment, we almost thought we were still in Japan. 🙂

We chose the package that included usage of their Japanese onsen, followed by a 1 hour foot massage, and then a 1 hour Thai massage. The onsen felt authentically Japanese, but neither Bridgette or I can withstand the heat of the water for long, so we didn’t last too long there. But wow, the massages that followed were INCREDIBLE, and this is from someone who normally do not like massages! We were in a large room, where private sections were separately by a floor to ceiling drapery. There were no windows, so the room was very dark, with dim ambient lighting here and there. We sat in these large, plushy reclining chairs for the foot massage, and then moved into a separate section with thin mattresses on the floor for the Thai massage. I just remember finishing up feeling so content with how relaxed my body felt, and not wanting to leave.

After 3 incredibly soothing hours at the spa, we were famished. Fortunately, there was a Japanese restaurant as a part of the spa, so we decided to eat there. The food was a delicious mix of cuisines– Japanese, American, and Thai. That meant we were able to have our favorite Japanese dishes with our favorite Thai coconut juice and Thai ice tea! 🙂

It is worth nothing that we went back to this spa a second time before we left Bangkok, but because it was in the late afternoon, the place felt much more crowded and the masseuse that I got was not that great. So, it may be a hit or miss kind of place, but if we do go back to Bangkok I’d definitely still try it out again.

UNICORN CAFE— who knew there’d be such a thing in Bangkok? Well, if you browse through Instagram long enough, you’ll discover all kinds of cool places around the world. This unicorn cafe was a bit of a challenge to find, but Bridgette was determine to hunt it down, so that’s what we spent one afternoon doing. We arrived on a very quiet weekday afternoon there, and the only other patrons were 2 girls posing and photographing nonstop for probably their Instagram feed. We picked a corner table with a lot of unicorn plushies and indulged in pastel color cake and pasta. 😂

The cafe was undoubtedly a heavenly spot for Instagram lovers, with an explosion of pastel colors and unicorn EVERYTHING. But the food was subpar and the place felt a little dirty to me. We probably won’t be back, but at least Bridgette can check this off her unicorn bucket list!

NIGHT MARKETS— The million dollar question to ask, when visiting Bangkok, is which night market to visit. I think there are a dozen or so, and if you have more time, maybe it’s worth it to check them all out. For us though, we had to narrow down to just a few, so we chose Artbox, Talad Neon, ASIATIQUE, and Ratchada Train Night Market. We liked Artbox the most because even though it was small, it featured more local artists and their unique, modern designs. All the other night markets seemed like an endless array of elephant pants, candles, street food.