SEA 2023 (1/17) – Kicking Off 15 Intensely Fun Days in Thailand and Singapore

Summer vacation of 2023 took place in Southeast Asia and it went well. In fact, if there was an objective way to compare vacations, this was possibly the best trip our family has ever taken.

Trip Overview

We flew into Bangkok and stayed there for four days.  Then we took an overnight train to Chiang Mai.  Three days later, we rode on a bus to Chiang Rai, where we stayed a couple nights.  Finally, we hung out in Singapore for three days before returning home.

My parents joined us for the middle part of the trip, flying into Chiang Mai and out of Chiang Rai.  None of us had ever been to northern Thailand so it was an adventure for all.  This was also the rustic part of the trip with more basic accommodation and less advanced infrastructure, in contrast with the rest of the trip.

Bangkok and Singapore were cities that Hong and I loved, craved to revisit, and yearned to share with our kids.  We were able to live it up in both places because of the availability of fancy hotels and our stash of points. In terms of managing expectations, it was hard to beat bookending adventure with luxury and comfort.

Pre-Departure Thoughts

This vacation was planned mostly as a retry of our 2020 spectacular trip that got cancelled forever.  Some details were different now, of course, like instead of going as a pair of lovebirds, we now had both children and parents with us.  Some of the most luxurious aspects of the original itinerary could no longer be replicated due to changes in airline and train services since.  However, I was just happy that most of what we yearned for survived the pandemic, and we finally got to experience them after 4 years of waiting.

Although the pandemic was officially over around the world, memories of it had left a deep scar.  In the hours leading up to departure, I had a few moments of panic fearing that I may have overlooked some major travel restrictions.  Did I read about Thailand’s visa requirements but neglected its COVID restrictions?  How about the other way around?  Singapore perhaps?  Did I need to be concerned about Taiwan’s policies even though we were just transiting through the airport?  Before even getting these questions answered, I started contemplating plan Bs if we were denied entry at an airport gate or immigration.  Even when the web browser provided reassurance, I gasped at just how recently some of the last COVID restrictions got lifted.  We were simultaneously returning to the freedom of travel afforded to American passport holders, and remembering just how fragile that freedom was.  Having my fingers crossed, I felt grateful.

Weather

Thailand and Singapore are never not hot. Nobody should travel there if they can’t tolerate being in a steam basket. What worried us more about going there in the summer was getting wet. July was the middle of the rainy season, with an average of 17 raining days in Bangkok. Those tropical storms were incompatible with sightseeing and night markets. For a family of Californians spoiled by the dry and cool climates, the heat and wetness would be torturous.

As it turned out, the weather gods were very kind to us. We got a few sprinkles of rain on days 2 and 7, and saw real rain only a few times while at the hotel or in a mall. We brought 4 ponchos (courtesy of Bah and Mah), 4 hats, and 3 umbrellas, and did not end up using any of them. That was such an incredible blessing.

Even the heat wasn’t as bad as we braced for. Most days averaged in the mid-80s. The humidity still made it uncomfortable, but it was objectively less hot than when we visited in the winter. What did we do to deserve such luck?

This trip also made us realize how much we relied on man-made environments to cope with weather. Although Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai of northern Thailand were generally cooler and therefore popular destinations for people to escape the summer heat, that was not our experience at all. Part of the reason was that being more modern cities, Bangkok and Singapore had lots of air-conditioned spaces readily available for us to duck into. On the other hand, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai were less developed so we felt hotter having to go longer stretches without electrical cooling. Even in some massage parlors, I noticed the workers would sit idle inside or in front of the sun-baked room, and only turn on the fans when the customers showed up. As I complained about getting a heat stroke in these places, I also realized something: not only was I able to live in a comfortable climate of my choice, I also had the means to use A/C and heating whenever I felt like it. I was doubly blessed, and not many people in the world could say the same.

Family

This trip felt especially precious with quality bonding moments between the family members. With the kids more mature and independent now than before, everyone from Ting (8) to Bah (71) was more relaxed and able to interact with each other meaningfully than before. As we appreciated the continued growth of our girls, there was also stark realization that my parents were notably older than when we last saw them. Being able to share the love of wanderlust with our loved ones was priceless.

Cargo

We could have traveled light with just carry-on suitcases like we did in Spain and French Polynesia. However, Hong had the foresight to bring back substantial amount of souvenir and snacks. Thus, for the first time in years, we pulled out the large red suitcase from the closet.

Throughout the trip, we played a game of Russian nesting dolls – starting out with a small suitcase nested inside the large one, then a backpack inside a suitcase, and eventually every piece of luggage on its own. This allowed us to gradually increase our total carrying capacity, bringing home an entire suitcase worth of stuff more than we brought onto the trip.

A Longer-Than-Usual Trip Report

Compared to what I wrote about some of the previous vacations, I’ve got quite a bit to say this time. The trip was so much fun in so many different ways, that I don’t think I’d do it justice to shorten the report.

1. Kicking Off 15 Intensely Fun Days in Thailand and Singapore
2. Attempting the Thai Language
3. Modes of Transportation
4. Bangkok: Grand Hyatt Erawan
5. Bangkok: Itinerary 1
6. Bangkok: Itinerary 2
7. Bangkok: Malls
8. Overnight Train to Chiang Mai
9. Chiang Mai: Itinerary
10. Chiang Mai: Elephants!!!
11. Chiang Rai: Itinerary
12. Wats in Thailand
13. Notable Eats in Thailand
14. Singapore: Itinerary
15. Singapore: Deja Vu
16. Singapore: Changi Airport & Flight Home
17. Notable Eats in Singapore