Bangkok banks on it's tourism and since well, tourists are there for only a limited amount of time, they came up with using these river boats for the tourists so that they can minimize the amount of their travel time while also enjoying the sights that Bangkok has to offer at their port side.

 

I made that one up by the way but it makes so much sense because my trip from Wat Arun to Icon Siam was only less than 30 minutes including three stops but I have enjoyed every minute of it. It was sunny as I rode this big boat around 3PM and I am very much proud how I've followed my Day 01 itinerary down to the tee-but I've decided to choose the outdoor seats on the second floor of this boat

Prior to going to Bangkok, I've already planned on getting ahircut and the reason why I've held off for a couple of months is because I dressed up as the iconic Britney Spears for her video "Hit me Baby One More Time" during our Christmas Party-which is a day prior to my Bangkok Trip. I didn't know anyone from my network who has tried getting a haircut in Bangkok so I have decided to try it.

I googled "getting a haircut at BKK" and no clear/preferrable entries came up so I googled Salon at Bkk and "Chalacol" or "Hair Chalacol" appeared which is coincidentally at Icon Siam.

I also feel very proud that I found their salon without instructions (considering that Icon Siam is VERY massive) I ambled since I was also enjoying the coolness inside the mall. Upon entry, I checked their rates and the haircut (with blow dry and shampoo) is at 900 Baht. I refuse to compute that in pesos because if you know me in real life, I don't spend that much on hair cuts. 

Thank you HXP

But then again, Bangkok is known as a shopping district here in Southeast Asia but I honestly had no plans to shop and I went there to sight see, experience new things and eat good food. So I justified that exorbitant amount for a haircut by convincing myself that it's an experience and even if they do a botch-job I can always grow my hair back.

Thais in general are helpful by nature despite tha language barrier. I know I look like a local and ater briefly explaining that I'm not, I informed them that I would like to get a haircut. They showed me pictures and asked me samples of a hairstyle but I told them to surprise me.

Segue- For most of my life, I've had a long black hair. When I say most I meant maybe for the first 14 years of my life-then onwards to 16-30 years of age. The 2 year gap was when I was 14 my dad took me to a barber shop and asked the guy there to give ma a boy-cut which gave me a traumatic experience. I think I only had less than 10 pictures on that 2 year gap that I tried to grow my hair back.

Fast forward to 2019, I partnered with HXP hair studio and literally left my hair ont he hands of a very competent stylist. To date, my hairstyle has always been "surprise me" I've used to always held on to my long black hair because I've equated my beauty to it, that I might go back to my "ugly mushroom shaped face" if I experiment and you know what? I would like ot thank HxP Hair Studio for healing me with my trauma one hairstyle and color at a time. They initially approached me because-wait at this point,  I just realized that I didn't ask them this question)but as of today, I have yet to know the answer but I've been told that  around Chrsitmas Season 2 years ago-sales blew up because of my rainbow colored hair. They approached me for a hair collab-and their sales and exposure somehow grew but they didn't know that they also healed a part of me that used to believe that I only look beautiful when I have a long black hair. I was just talking to a friend this morning about how I look forward to going to HxP beacause the stylist and all the people there will not try to sell you anything and they will only offer ahir suggestions or products only when asked. You can relax knowing that you will know exactly how much you are paying for even before your actual appointment because their Facebook Page is highly responsive to client queries. If you want to get the accurate price of the hairstyle that you prfer, all you have to do is take a picture of your hair, inquire by sending them a message and they will reply swiftly.

This entry is supposedly about my haircut experience with Hair Chalacol but I got distracted. Haha

I guess Hair Chalacol people are not used to having customers giving them freehand as to what to do and it's understandable. After thoroughly shampooing my hair, the stylist cut-off around 3 inches of my hair ever so slowly, gave me a side fringe ever so conservatively, asked me if I was okay with it and I aggressively nodded my head wanting them to actually do more and surprise me but I guess they can't risk a Thailand-Philippines war because that's all they did, they blow dried and curled my hair and now it looks like this

 

 

Before I start with my Wat Arun entry, I think one of the things I regret is not drinking enough coffee there. I usually go through cycles of having 1-2 cups of coffee a day then having a bad migraine or a heartburn-promising myself not to drink coffee again, legit taking a break for 2 weeks and then going back to drinking coffee slowly again. During the time I was here, I was on a very slow transition of not drinking to only drinking one cup a day. Sayang, but it's all the more reason I should go back to Thailand.

Okay, this is the reel I made for Wat Arun

Since Wat Arun is just a river away from where I'm at, I asked the owners of the restaurant I ate as to how I can cross by this river to get there , turns out, it's only two blocks away from their place. I went out when everyone was having lunch and the weather is hot but bearable. Honestly, since it's Thailand, I was ready for the Phuket kind of heat-the kind that scalds your skin but it wasn't that bad, maybe it's also because I am from a tropical country too.

I saw a small ticket area exactly two blocks away from Jin Chieng and as I was walking towards it I asked a local if that was the ticket booth to Wat Arun, it's not. He made me walk these planks and on the way to their Khlong (cross-ferry) boats, they made you pay B4 (Around Php10), I fumbled for a little while here since I have to look for coins and since I was also with tourists, they were extra patient with me. 

 

It was a no-frills boat and I sat where I can have an uninterrupted view of Wat Arun, I want to roam around a lot but I have no sea legs at all, in fact this less than 5 minutes ride got me woozy

This Khlong boat only took less than 5 mins too to be full regardless of the heat

Wat Arun from the small boat

 

 

We arrived a few mins at the Wat Arun Port and you can't miss the entrance. I paid B100 (around Php150) and was given some brochures as guide and a bottle of water which I really appreciate. It is still my first day out and I already feel like everything here is truly a value for money.

As with all temples, Wat Arun Wat Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan follows a strict dress code even for tourists. It was a special holiday the day I was here so there were locals and tourists alike. I had no plans to enter the temple as to not intrude on the people who go there to worship and was only able to take pictures and videos from the outside.

 

 

I went around the whole area and I also went up the multiple floors. The stairs were steep and I got nervous as I descended because even though I am physically fit, my ankles are really weak because of a football injury a few years ago. 

From https://viajonarios.com/en/wat-arun/  :

Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan, better known as Wat Arun, is a Buddhist temple on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River, opposite the Grand Palace & the Temple of the Emerald Buddha it's the Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple's name is a tribute to the Hindu god Arun, personified as the radiations of the rising sun, is the Indian God of Dawn. Despite its name, the most spectacular view of the gleaming monument can be seen from the east side of the river at sunset, when the spiers of Wat Arun form an impressive silhouette on the horizon.

 

Here are some of the unedited videos I took of Wat Arun with all the people. What I mentioned on my previous entry, I am not going to crop people out because I know that like me, when people plan to go to a specific place, we tend to google it up and see beautiful (no question) photos but also, like me, a lot tend to get very disappointed when they see crowds