Songkran, Heading Home & Trip Expenses

 We arrived back in Bangkok April 10/25 after a VIP bus trip followed by 2 BTS train trips & a short taxi ride and we were at our last SE Asian accommodation. Another Airbnb apartment, $338 for 7 nights, close to the Sathorn boat pier & BTS station - all the necessary amenities including a kitchen out on the balcony (strange setup but doable). Our first night we were treated to a spectacular fireworks display over the river that we watched from the 17 th floor of the apartment building (rushed out without a camera or phone though).

Handy folding “wall” to separate the bedroom

Kitchen out on the balcony

View from the balcony

Our first full day we headed out after a run & breakfast to start our “shopping for souvenirs “ adventure. We had held off doing much shopping as we had no room in our bags but now was the time to purchase a small suitcase to fill with souvenirs for our family. First stop after the river taxi was a favourite Vietnamese soup place then off to Khao San Road. Luckily we found several things to buy & we had a couple beer & did some people watching. 

Pretty flowers above a small long (canal)

Wat Yannawa

Wat Sutthi Wararam, built before 1700

The cat lady on my morning run

Common sight - collecting recycling 

Beautiful Hindu temple

River taxis cost of $0.87

Vietnamese noodle soup

Google map route to Khao San Road

Continuing 

Last section to walk thru

We made it - now to shop!

Our apartment building had a pool on the 5th floor which we spent an afternoon hanging out in. 

We spent one evening wandering around Asiatique - a riverfront destination with dining & shopping options, as well as entertainment. We did a little shopping, enjoyed burgers on a patio overlooking the Chao Phraya River, took in a gorgeous sunset & watched some water games.

Water fights games with a couple of famous Thai singers

Saturday we were off to Chatuchak Weekend Market, over 15,000 shops over 35 acres with 26 sections, which include everything from food to fashion to antiques to pets, plants, silk, souvenirs & more! We purchased a carry on size suitcase & proceeded to fill it with an assortment of things to take home for our family & for us. Walking around in 30+C heat was tiring, requiring beer stops along the way! 

Overlooking Chatuchak Market

Water guns for sale everywhere!

Songkran officially started the next day, but we saw folks getting a head start on the fun.

Buses were not exempt 

Spraying passing scooters

 Songkran, celebrated every year from April 13-15 is a nationwide celebration of Thai New Year with grand processions, cultural performances & epic water fights. In 2023 UNESCO added Songkran to its Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list - “pouring water is a significant act during Songkran symbolizing cleansing, reverence & good fortune” reads the UNESCO inscription. Other activities include bathing Buddha images, splashing water on family & friends, folk plays, games, music & feasting. The massive water fights on closed streets & throughout cities & towns has turned Songkran into a global sensation.

We chose the dates for our trip to coincide with Songkran, not sure what to expect but hoping for a great experience. It did not disappoint! What a blast!! We headed towards Silom Road as we knew it to be a “good” location to take part in the fun. We saw people dressed in “Songkran shirts” - colorful & loud, groups gathered in front of shops, music blaring, equipped with barrels of water & some mighty big water guns throwing water & spraying everyone who came near, including throwing buckets of ice cold water on passing scooters, cars & buses (with open windows)! Initially we thought we might be spared as we are “old” & the “rules” say to avoid monks, babies, pregnant women & old people - but we were not! We had people running after us with bowls & buckets of water happily dousing us from behind, all ages aiming water guns at us (& these are powerful pump style guns with plenty of pressure) & people in the back of pickup trucks spraying everything as they drove by. And all this was before we reached the blocked off streets on Silom Road. There you had to walk through metal detectors & were monitored by uniformed police watching the crowds. I took great pleasure in spraying the police! The crowds of people walked along happily shooting ice cold water (huge blocks of ice in the barrels of water) & some nice warm water, 35C at fellow walkers. Music everywhere, parade floats, all ages out & having fun! Entrepreneurs sold water to refill the guns at 40-80 cents a fill, Robin had great fun walking up to them, asking if their water was cold & then proceeding to use their bucket or pitcher to throw water at them! All in good fun - everyone loving it! Also used on Songkran is a white paste that people “paint” on your face - used as a symbolic act of protection & purification. And very messy. 

Huge ice blocks for the water barrels

Entering Silom Road

Parade float

Finally armed 

Entrance to Silom Road

Screenshot of the crowds

Of course we had to buy water guns - we saw some for up to $40! - we chose smaller, less expensive ones but if you were going to get wet you might as well fight back! We were wet to the skin (I actually took off my clothes in a bathroom & wrung them out), but as it was very hot it was not so bad! 

We had so much fun the first day that we went back for more the last day - to Khao San Road, again very wet, more of the white paste & a 21,000 step day!

Bags of white paste

We rounded out our time in Bangkok with a klong (canal) boat tour, lasting 2.5 hrs, motoring by homes, markets & a stop at the Big Buddha. We took our water guns as it was the last day of Songkran & had great fun spraying passing long tail boats.

Big Buddha, still being refurbished 

We left Bangkok April 17/25 to begin our 26 hour journey home - Bolt taxi to the airport, pad Thai & mango with sticky rice in the airport food court, checked in our new suitcase (first time checking a bag - hopefully it makes it home) & waited for the first of 3 flights. China Airlines Bangkok to Taipei, Taiwan, then to Vancouver, BC Canada, then Air Canada to Edmonton. Our first flight left at 5:30 pm so given supper, with wine. Second flight left at 11:30 pm, given another full meal with wine plus breakfast near the end of the flight! The Air Canada flight offers cookies or pretzels & a drink - Robin jokingly asked for wine - & we got it, no charge! A quick sleep near the airport at 1:00 am then off to our son Shane’s for a couple nights to visit with them & with Scott. April 20 we returned to our motorhome to set it up for the season, refill the fridge & cupboards & settle back into our “normal” routine. 

Bangkok airport 

First meal

Taiwan airport

Vancouver airport 

Free wine on Air Canada, 1.5 hr flight!

Hanging with family

Easter dinner

Home sweet home

My flowers

This was a Trip of a Lifetime & we are so happy to have experienced what we did & we will cherish our countless memories! We are definitely Living the Dream!

We used an app called Travel Spend to keep track of every cent that we spent, separated into many categories. Here is a quick breakdown & all amounts are for both of us.

Flights to & from Bangkok   $3974.12

Travel Medical Insurance      $5468.78

Vaccinations                           $2352.43 ( as recommended by a travel specialist -

                                                                      some routine catch up)

The above amounts were not used in our daily averages.   

Accommodations daily average   $34.75/night    Total cost $6255.72

All food, drink & groceries.         $26.67/day       Total cost $4981.41

Sightseeing & activities.               $16.18/day       Total cost $2912.68

Transportation, including internal flights. $14.60/day.   Total cost $2628.59

DAILY TOTAL COST FOR 2 of us.    $92.20, so $46.10 each

Extras not accounted for in the daily totals include massages, haircuts, pedicures, SIM cards, sunscreen, OTC meds, souvenirs & laundry.