In the morning, I woke up at about 8:30. It was pretty late since I had gone to bed very late the night before. I took a shower and packed everything into my backpack before checking out of the hostel.
After I left, I searched for a coffee shop where I could relax. I found a coffee shop called Paper Plane Project near Thong Lo Station. I think it was about 30 minutes away from the hostel by train and on foot. The coffee shop is located in a large office building on the 40th floor, if I remember correctly.
When I got there, the coffee shop was still closed, so I waited for about 10 minutes before going inside with another person who looked muscular and Thai. After I entered, I was surprised by the size of the place. It was huge and designed as a co-working space. I chose a seat and ordered a cold Americano. They had a lot of fancy-looking drinks, but for me, black coffee is the best in the morning.
Surprisingly, the price was not that high. I think coffee at Starbucks is more expensive. I started updating this blog entry, and over time, quite a lot of digital nomads and remote workers showed up. The main language spoken in the coffee shop was not Thai but English. I hope that one day I can do the same thing—work and travel at the same time.
There was another reason for going to the coffee shop. The first was to relax and update my blog. The second was that I was planning to meet up with a Japanese friend whom I had known before.
I met her at a share house in Japan. Before starting this trip, I lived in a shared apartment where renters had individual rooms but shared common amenities. She was one of the residents. Her name is Akane, and she is from Nagasaki. Although I lived there for only three months, we got along well. She is a cabin attendant in Japan and speaks English. She enjoys traveling and has visited many countries.
Before I left Japan, she told me that she was going to Sri Lanka for a week using paid leave, so we thought we might be able to meet somewhere during my trip. At the time, it seemed difficult because Sri Lanka was far from where I planned to travel.
However, when I was in Sa Pa, Vietnam, we talked on the phone and realized we might be able to meet in Thailand since I had found a reasonably priced direct flight from Vietnam. I was planning to visit Thailand at some point anyway, so I thought it would be fun to meet her again outside Japan. After the call, I booked a flight and told her I would come to Thailand on the 29th. She had arrived in Sri Lanka on the 25th, so she suggested that I come to Thailand after she had spent a few days there. That is how we made our plan.
Akane wanted to take a short nap at the airport because she had not slept well, so I waited at the coffee shop. After a couple of hours, she arrived, and we were finally able to meet again. It was funny that we could see each other again in Thailand.
We talked for a while about our respective trips and then headed to a hotel we had just booked. We took a bus, but we were not sure whether it was going in the right direction. We asked a bus conductor who did not speak English if it was the correct bus. She said yes, but we were still worried, so she kept checking the map to see where we were heading.
When the bus started going in a different direction, we began asking passengers how to get to the hotel. All of a sudden, many passengers tried to help us. I could not believe how kind people are in Thailand.
Among them was an elderly couple who helped us figure things out. They got off the bus with us and even asked a nearby taxi driver to take us to our hotel. Such a kind couple. We thanked them and said goodbye before getting into the taxi.
The taxi driver, who looked to be in her fifties and wore purple lipstick, started driving. She seemed uncomfortable behind the wheel. Although she appeared to struggle to find the hotel, we eventually made it. After we paid, she told us she did not have enough small bills to give us change. I was not sure if that was true, but I was tired by that point, so we simply left without it.
The hotel had twin beds. Akane had booked it, so I did not know what to expect, but it was more than comfortable enough for both of us. I joked a couple of times that we would have to sleep in the same bed. Since she had not been able to take a shower the night before, she quickly showered, and then we headed out for lunch.
Since we were staying near Khaosan Road, it was easy to find a restaurant. We entered a nice-looking restaurant that I probably would not have chosen by myself. We each ordered a different dish, and the food was excellent. While we were eating, four cats gathered around me for some reason, which distracted us quite a bit.
After lunch, we headed to Ko Kret, located in northern Bangkok. We took a taxi there, although the trip took longer than expected because of the traffic. We left at about 4:30 PM and arrived around 6:00 PM.
We were worried that the ferry from the mainland to Ko Kret might have stopped running, but fortunately, it operates until 9:30 PM. The ride between the mainland and the island takes only a few minutes.
After arriving on the island, we visited some temples and began walking around. There was not much to explore because most of the restaurants were closed. Only small local shops that looked like convenience stores were open, and they appeared only every kilometer or so.
We walked, walked, and walked. As it got darker and lightning began flashing in the distance, everything started to feel a little creepy, so we decided to return to the ferry port.
On the way back, however, we encountered four or five dogs barking at us. Since Akane does not like barking dogs, we could not continue along that route. Thankfully, there was another path we could take.
Unfortunately, another dog appeared and barked at us. We had no choice but to pass by it. I walked past first, and nothing happened. Then Akane, who was very nervous, walked by. As she passed, the dog began chasing her. Fortunately, after about 30 meters, it stopped, and we were able to reach a small port that was different from the one we had arrived at.
There was a gathering of local people at the port, so we asked if there was any way to get back to the mainland. We struggled to explain our situation, but one man said he could take us across for 40 THB (about $1.20). I thought it was expensive compared to the regular 5 THB ferry fare we had paid earlier, but we agreed because we wanted to get back, and it felt like another small adventure.
After we boarded, he started the engine of a much smaller boat. During the short ride, I could see a large illuminated Buddha statue on the mainland behind Akane. It looked beautiful.
Within a minute, we arrived safely on the other side.
Afterward, we had dinner at a local restaurant near the port and then headed back to the hotel by taxi. The first taxi driver we stopped told us he could not take us because it was too late for him. However, after a few minutes of conversation through a translation app, he agreed.
On the way, he revealed that he had originally refused because he did not know where the hotel was located. Either way, we eventually made it back.
As we passed through Khaosan Road, the atmosphere was completely different from lunchtime. Around 10 PM, the street was packed with people and filled with loud music. It had a much livelier vibe.
We were tired by then, so I bought an ice cream from a street vendor, and we returned to the hotel. I was exhausted after exploring Ko Kret and went straight to bed. I think Akane fell asleep soon afterward as well.
