A weekend trip just a hop away
Once in a while, Bas and I are hopping on a plane for an hour or so to go to Bangkok. If we don’t do that regularly, we often miss it. We always discuss what we would do the next time we are there because there’s always a next time and there’s always a reason to go back.
This time we went there for a weekend to do what we usually do in Bangkok but also because dear friends of ours and simultaneously one of my favourite bands at the moment were having a concert that weekend.
Why Bangkok is always fun for a getaway
Our typical Bangkok weekends consists of shopping, eating, a concert here and there, and making proper use of the public transport options while walking through town as if we were on a mission.
The mission: indulging in our inner geeks!
If we want to do everything on our itinerary, we typically need two full days at least, and even then, it’s going to be packed full days, so keep that in mind when reading this.
Dinner on our arrival day was a date night evening. We do have weekly date nights where we either go out to a restaurant or a movie or both. In Bangkok, we went to a Belgian restaurant that had the best beer you can imagine and the best Belgian fries outside of Belgium.
A busy Saturday in a bustling metropolis
We got up early on the Saturday morning and after a coffee checked out the Lego Stores. There’s two in Bangkok very close to each other. One is at the Siam Mall and one at Centralworld Mall.
The one at Siam typically has a slightly better selection, but both of them are nice.
I’m not the biggest fan of malls, but if I have a plan and a purpose, it works out quite well for me.
Navigating them can still be challenging. So, make sure to research in advance what shops you’re looking for and which floors they are on.
After we had found what we came for, Bas insisted on us checking out the bookstore in Centralworld Mall.
This shop has an amazing selection of Studio Ghibli and manga / anime figurines and fan memorabilia while also having a really neat book selection.
Because of this and because we lacked time, we decided to skip the Megaplaza Mall this time. Megaplaza is where we typically go to for these items. They have everything from Studio Ghibli and Pokemon to Harry Potter, the fake Lego bricks and gaming stuff.
I love it there because I’m a geek at heart, and while it is overwhelming, it also has one of the coolest selections of things my inner geek appreciates massively.
An afternoon well spent
Done with the first shopping, we brought our haul back to our hotel. We usually stay close to the skytrain – nearby Asok or Phrom Phong because we enjoy being so easily connected to a lot of places in the city.
We had brunch at a vegan restaurant near the hotel we haven’t been to before, but we will likely come back to it. Next time! This is the place we chose: Veganerie Concept
After a delicious and filling vegan feast, our next destination we reached by Grab: Battlefield Bangkok!
If you love RPGs and Boardgames as much as I do, this place is for you. While we checked out the amazing selection of boardgames and RPG books, they had an event where some people were playing boardgames but also an auction where the owner auctioned off several boardgames and gaming items. We vibed with the atmosphere and found two boardgames that we liked and added to our ever expanding selection.
If I were living in Bangkok, I would probably frequent this place regularly and just play a few games there over the weekends.
What we didn’t find this time was new dice for our DnD campaign. we started with some friends back home in Phnom Penh. We decided that before we started the evening programme, we would visit one more mall to see if we could find them somewhere else – MBK Center.
On its top floor, this slightly chaotic shopping centre has a board game cafe we have been to several times by now but also an artist that sells amazing metal work products with Alien vs. Predator as its main theme. We found the dice we were looking for at the board game cafe and also bought this alien figurine that looks very cool and intricate.
It had begun raining in between, but Bangkok is quite easy to navigate, and you can stay out of the rain fairly well. If all else fails, there’s raincoats!
Some things are for the body and some for the soul
After finishing our shopping spree, we headed over to the Georgian restaurant we have been visiting pretty much every time we’re in Bangkok. It serves not only Georgian food but also a mix of Georgian and Greek fare. We love going there, because Georgia has been home to me for three years. I wrote a blog post about my love for this beautiful place here: Why Georgia stole my heart – a traveler’s tale
Also, they have proper Georgian amber wine and Borjomi, the best mineral water in the world.
After finishing dinner, we used the Skytrain to reach the concert we had planned to visit. We met our friends again after some time they had spent in Japan and Nepal. The show was amazing. I absolutely love dancing. It’s a little bit like a stim to me, and it often feels like a high when I spend an evening on a concert and dance to the music I love.
Sundays are for relaxation
As our flight was already scheduled for 3pm on Sunday afternoon, we didn’t want to rush ourselves and opted to just enjoy our breakfast at Sarnies (a must visit every time we’re in Bangkok) and not to spend more time running around.
I admit Bangkok often speaks to my consumerism tendencies, but I haven’t been leaning into the geeky side of me for the longest time because I felt I had to hide myself. I used to be so embarrassed by being me that now, running around in Bangkok and enjoying collectables and visiting board game cafes feels new and refreshing and more true to myself than I ever felt before.
In all honesty, this time visiting Bangkok felt more rushed than the previous times, and if you don’t want to spend all your time running around, it would make sense to schedule more time for recovery.
We usually also visit the Loft for a nice relaxing Thai massage but we unfortunately booked it too late and they didn’t have any capacities anymore. Next time we’re probably taking the Monday morning flight back out to give ourselves more time to also relax a little.
There’s more things to do, but this is our routine, and we love how effortless it is to navigate the locations we enjoy.
For me, Bangkok is still exciting, and we find new things every time we go, but the beauty lies in how we also find comfort in the routine of just being back at places we have enjoyed before. The familiarity is exactly what brings us back every time.
A weekend trip summary
The places we visited that will make your geek heart jump with glee:
Megaplaza: The best selection on 7 floors of geeky pleasure, be it gaming stuff, model trains, fake lego, Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, Harry Potter or a combination thereof. You can geek away on 7 floors and have a drink in between. It’s hectic but worth it!
Battlefield Bangkok: The place for Boardgames, RPGs and Tabletops. Also, they’re super nice and if you preorder online,you can just pick it up the next time you’re there. They also host events regularly! It’s really cool.
Siam Mall & Centralworld for the Lego Stores, the Kinokuniya book store, and the Nintendo Store: one is enough, both is slight overkill!
MBK Center for the Boardgame Cafe that also sells a selection of dice and the utter delight that is the Metalcraft shop. It also features an Escape Room.
For the music lovers among us – Jam Cafe is a must visit! It’s more on the punky, underground side of things (which I enjoy), but because of the amazing live music acts, I will probably hang out there more often.
For the foodies:
Brunch at Sarnies – their fare is Japanese inspired and super yummy!
Dinner at Avra – an amazing Georgian-Greek restaurant nearby Phrom Phong station. They have Borjomi and Amber wine, and obviously, proper Georgian dishes that will make every foodie happier than a cat in a box.
If you want a massage that feels good and involves proper pretzeling: The Loft! They have won awards and stuff! They’re literally the best in town. But prebook early if you want a specific time.
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