The Batchelorette

My first encounter with Coronavirus was back in January. I was mindlessly browsing Twitter when I saw an image of men in PPEs who, as it appeared to be, were fumigating a plane somewhere in China. Probably like most of us was, it was appalling but didn’t call for an immediate panic. Who would’ve thought that in just barely two months, it will blow into a pandemic?

My high school friends and I planned a Bangkok trip in March during my one-month vacation in the Philippines. Since things quickly took a turn when the first news of the virus surfaced, flights were canceled back-to-back. Our Bangkok flight, however, was spared although we were already thinking of backing out. My friends, who booked their tickets months in advance, didn’t even care for a refund anymore.

Personally, with little information yet about the virus, I was still a little skeptic of how widespread it already was. This was, of course, back when the Philippines still had a very low tally- practically nonexistent, which was too good to be true in hindsight. We didn’t know much about the situation in Thailand then either. As we inched closer towards the trip, we just decided to continue on with it anyway, not knowing it’ll be our last one until the foreseeable future.

It’ll be my second time in Bangkok after visiting with my cousin six years earlier. I have grown very fond of Thai cuisine within those years and much more adept with their pop culture after briefly obsessing with local movies after my first trip. I also love how the Thais are able to preserve their culture yet the city is already a bustling metropolis that I must say, is far more progressive than Manila. Even the traffic is not as bad as I remember. I mostly let my friends plan our itinerary this time since I wanted to see the city with fresh eyes.

1. Thai tea, mango sticky rice, and everything nice

There are a lot of good Thai restaurants in the US, which probably offer westernised versions of the authentic cuisine, but they became instrumental to my liking for Thai food. Thai tea, for one, is my ultimate favorite kind of milk tea. Upon seeing a ChaTraMue location at the airport, I didn’t waste any chance (this was consequently followed by at least seven more purchases throughout the entire trip.) ChaTraMue is one of the oldest Thai tea brands in the country and honestly, the best one we’ve ever tried. I even hoarded their instant mix and the tea bags to bring back home because I was so obsessed with it. I first tried Thai tea from a street vendor during my prior visit and thought it has to be the pinnacle of it but ChaTraMue easily tops any there is. They have other interesting flavors as well like the Rose Milk Tea and Thai Coffee which hopefully, I can try next time.

It’s not a Southeast Asian trip if we didn’t try their street food. Chancing upon a vendor near our hotel, I introduced banana roti to my friends which is a snack similar to a crepe. It is doused with condensed milk and some versions even have chocolate syrup as well but I like mine plain and simple. Later that night, we visited Asiatique– an outdoor mall facing the Chao Phraya River, where we had our first (of many) mango sticky rice, a dessert I particularly love. We got to try more items a couple of nights after in Chak Tu Chak Weekend Market such as beef skewers, pandan kanom khrok (Thai coconut pancakes,) and beef noodle soup.

Perhaps, the best street foods we were able to try were during our Ayutthaya day tour, some two hours away from Bangkok. Their floating market is abound of options that we didn’t have enough time to explore the whole stretch of it. The highlight for me was their fresh coconut ice cream which is a surprising delight even for those who are not fond of coconuts.

2. Trying the famous Thipsamai and Michelin-star rated Jay Fai

My friends have thoroughly researched on our trip that it was a no-brainer for us to include Thipsamai on our itinerary. Claiming to be “the best padthai in Thailand,” it was originally a modest hole-in-the-wall that has already expanded into more sophisticated locations such as the one we went to inside Iconsiam. We made a mistake, however, of ordering a different version instead of the basic padthai. Padthai Song-Kreung is garnished a little more complex with squid, crabmeat, and sliced raw mango, served with prawns on the side. It was amazing, nonetheless, and said to be one of their most renowned dishes. It’s a little on the pricier side but we don’t recommend splitting it among three people. It was that good and I wish we ordered another serving. Hopefully, next time, I can try the basic one although this dish was not a bad alternative either.

Meanwhile, having seen Netflix’s Street Food: Asia episode on Jay Fai, I wanted to try lining up for the famous Michelin-star street-side restaurant despite hearing how ridiculous it can get. My friend learned from a vlog that we have to get listed as soon as they open at 10 am. A man came out with an old-school clipboard and along with other early birds, we were able to jot our names for a spot. This is a very critical factor to secure seats, otherwise, people wait for hours outside the heat with no assurance that they can be accommodated. Jay Fai personally does all the cooking and only serves limited dishes a day.

The restaurant formally opens at 1 pm and we have to be back before they call our names. At that point, more people were already in queue and I remember there was even a lady who said her flight is at 3 pm but still decided to try her luck if she could get in. Jay Fai herself has also started working on her wok, donning her famous goggles. People have pulled out their phones to capture the iconic image and I wasn’t one to miss the chance. Two of her most famous dishes are the crab omelet and drunken noodles. It is a Michelin-star restaurant for a reason and the price range is a bit steep-around 1000 baht (30 USD) apiece, but the freshness of the ingredients and the rich flavors attribute a lot to why it is sought-after. I’m not a huge seafood fan, if we’re being completely honest, but I do get random bouts of craving for seafood. But I think for everyone across the board, Jay Fai’s cooking can easily win a heart. The drunken noodles has fresh prawns and vegetables and the crab omelet didn’t scrimp on the meat. It is best paired with their hot sauce and definitely worthy of all praise. Overall, I would say it is an absolutely worth-it experience and the price point is not that bad considering the restaurant’s accolades.

3. Cafe hopping on this side of the world

On this trip, we stayed in Silom and there is a cute, little coffee shop across from our hotel. It’s probably not the best area to stay at but Kudos Coffee was definitely a redeeming factor for us. Primarily a takeout nook, the cafe is charming with its minimalist, white and wooden facade. I was so thrilled to find out they have almond milk on the menu which is another plus point. We loved the place so much that we went there at least thrice.

For a proper breakfast, some few minutes of walk away, we found (Not Just) Another Cup. They serve both continental and Asian breakfast fare in a cozy, well-lit ambience. Even the patio dining was a tempting option but the heat that day was unrelenting so we opted to dine indoors instead. I went for their signature eggs Benedict with back bacon while my friends ordered the mushrooms fettuccine cream sauce pasta with truffle and the kai-krata, which is a traditional Thai breakfast consisting of sunny side up egg, Chinese pork sausage, and toast.

On another day, we also paid a visit to The Commons in Thonglor which is perhaps one of my most favorite spots in Bangkok. It’s a living proof of how modish and thriving the lifestyle scene in Thailand is. It is an open-air mall that purveys underground brands and a handful of concept restaurants. On the top floor was Roots where I had one of the best cold brew coffees I’ve ever tried.

4. Touring Ayutthaya Kingdom

Our last full day was dedicated to a tour of Ayutthaya’s major tourist spots. It was once the capital of Thailand and now a historical seat of temples and old ruins. We left Bangkok at 8 am and it took us around two hours to get to the first stop, Bang Pa In Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The heat this day was even more intense than our previous days, leaving us exhausted early. Visiting the floating market for lunch was a good recess and probably the highlight of the day. It’s supposed to be a smaller replica of Damnoen Saduak floating market, the most well-known of its kind in Thailand.

We spent the latter half of the day touring other sites such as the Wat Phra Si Sanphet, one of the most important temples in Old Ayutthaya where the ruins were awe-striking up close. And of course, it isn’t a Thailand trip without paying homage to Buddha, hence our following stops to Wat Lokkayasutharam (the reclining Buddha,) and Wat Mahathat, a relic of Buddha’s head peeking out from the base of a tree. We then concluded the tour with a cruise through the Chao Phraya river.

It is amazing how almost everything we did on this trip was a first time for me and I think, even after two visits, I still haven’t fully exhausted Bangkok and Thailand in general enough. I still plan on going back since I’m such a city crawler but I also do want to visit the islands of Phuket and Phi Phi. It was a short yet memorable trip and I’m glad we were unscathed through it.

Leaving this short video from the trip my friend Yeye edited for us:

It has been around four months since life as we know it now came to be.

Now it all feels like a distant memory—an unimaginable one, but that initial shock shoot my anxiety through the roof. I was in Manila the week quarantine was abruptly enforced, just a few days away from when flights will be suspended. I remember panicking and thinking I wouldn’t be able to go back to the US.

Arriving in Miami where my boyfriend lives, we still experienced a weekend of relative normalcy where most establishments were still open and wearing a mask was just suggestive. We were under the impression that the virus still hadn’t reach this side of the word although people were already hoarding at the groceries—a sight straight out of the apocalypse.

I still tried to go to work until the end of April, although our own operations drastically changed in just a few weeks. It became tremendously difficult to drag myself to work. Seeing deserted airports and empty flights was depressing on top of the scare that I might catch the virus for all I know.

I took our three-month company-offered leave come May to save the remaining of my sanity and also, for my own safety. I have mostly stayed at home apart from running errands once in a while. I think the worst of my anxiety was in March to early May until I have already reached that point of saturation for any Covid-19 related news. I still try to keep myself updated (the journalist in me just needs to consume news on a regular,) but whenever things would get too overwhelming, I would stay off the grid for a few days.

It wasn’t easy deviating from current happenings, especially since I feel like whatever bad news I miss will still find a way to sneak up on me. But during these very confusing times, I realized developing a routine helped me to cope up with all the mayhem. I also went back to long-forgotten hobbies like reading and blogging (hence, this blog,) and kept myself active at least a few times a week. There are some days, of course, where my energy would just extremely drop and I would go back to worrying about my work and life in general.

Another thing I realized is that people have their own ways of coping and what works for one, doesn’t necessarily means it will work for another. But on this blog, I want to share some of the things that helped me push forward and hopefully, will spark some sense of inspiration for some:

1. Dalgona coffee

I admit, I was one of the many who joined the bandwagon when this Korean coffee became popular a few months back. My boyfriend was nice enough to make the whipped coffee for me at least twice until I realized how much work (and cleaning of our hand-mixer after,) it requires.

I’ve learned of a dupe, however, where we still follow the same recipe, except just mix the ingredients altogether. It still comes as tasty as the original version! I best suggest using vanilla almond or oat milk and sweetener for this (I don’t use sugar for my coffee so this is just a personal preference.)

I think my coffee dependency heightened during this pandemic, which is ironic since I’m just at home anyways, but knowing I’d get a good cup of joe as I wake up is something I still look forward to up to this day.

2. Reading for leisure and the magic of Goodreads

I’ve been a voracious reader since I was a kid but haven’t been much now as an adult. Last year, I tried setting a reading goal of (just) six books, which I usually finish on my jumpseat during long flights. I think I fell short from that goal.

Since I have too much free time on my hands now, I first tried reading all those I bought from last year and then later on, bought a few more. At some point, I contemplated getting a Kindle but I know in my heart, the joy of flipping through new pages and seeing my collection grow is still unparalleled.

I have also signed up for Goodreads to keep track of my progress and review books right away, since I think it’s also an effective tool to hone my writing. I can’t believe I slept on Goodreads all these years when it is tailored-fit to a reader like me. I only have a few active friends who update their profiles regularly but even that small community is already an inspiration enough for me to read more. I also love the exchange of thoughts among the readers where I always learn a thing or two.

So far, my favorite quarantine reads are Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King.

3. Blogging again after many years

I’ve had multiple blogs in the past only to end up letting them go after a hiatus. I think there is at least one that is still up on the Internet, mostly documenting my early 20s drama and life uncertainties. They’re often cringe-y but always a good reminder that I tried to write even through the dullest periods of my life.

My boyfriend surprised me with this blog domain, pre-Covid era—about a year in advance actually. He has been very supportive of my writing and consistent as my avid reader. I mean, getting me a domain as a gift just speaks so much of his love language, and for which, I am truly grateful.

I have put it off long enough until finally in May, I commissioned an art director to design my blog layout. I told her I have an HTML ability of a 13-year old and needed some help. This is partly true considering I knew how to tweak my old Blogspot better back in 2007 than I can now.

It has been two months since my initial post and I couldn’t be any happier. To have an online repository of my thoughts had always been therapeutic for me. I spend days typing away for hours where I truly get lost in time. I am still in love with the whole process of writing even after all these years.

4. The deep (not dark) YouTube

I didn’t always have the attention span for watching videos online but one travel vlog (and algorithm) led a thing to another. I only resort to YouTube before when researching for itineraries and have since then became fond of certain personalities like Paolo fromTOKYO, Mark Wiens, and even the now discontinued ones from Erwan Heussaff.

It wasn’t until some time last month when I first stumbled upon BuzzFeed’s Worth It and couldn’t believe how much I’ve been missing. These two hosts, Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, travel across America and even Asia to try certain foods in three different price points and see which one is the most worth it. The videos aren’t lengthy which makes all six seasons easy to binge.

Since then, I have also discovered other BuzzFeed content creators like Inga Lam and Rie McClenny who run their own segments and even personal channels. These vlogs already have a cult following and true enough, I’ve also successfully converted Choco into watching that it now became an essential part of our evenings at home.

5. Cooking and other kitchen mishaps

A couple of years ago, I couldn’t cook to save my life. I’ve been independently living for about four years now but have always managed to get by (healthy-ish) prepared meals from Trader Joe’s or anything I can easily whip off in the kitchen.

I’ve always been interested to cook though and sometime last year, finally got the chance to take it a little more seriously. My boyfriend is still the better cook between the two of us but, now, he can leave me in the kitchen without any help and trust me with most Filipino dishes like sinigang and adobo. Through the quarantine, we have experimented with a lot of recipes—from recreating Ate Rica’s bacsilog, lemon ricotta pancakes (I have the weirdest cravings,) Korean fried chicken, and desserts like tiramisu and banana pudding, we have tried it all. It’s been a therapeutic bond for the both of us although he deserves most of the credit.

Now that we recently just got an oven, I am excited to try my hands at baking. I know there is precision involved in the art of it and that’s still something up in the air for me to try out.

6. Working out and eating mindfully

There are days when I would feel a surge in lethargy, making me unproductive and overall just bereft of life. I guess mentally draining myself from worrying affects the physical aspect, too. I had to curb it through home exercises, even if it’s just 20 to 30 minutes a day. It’s difficult to begin a workout routine more so, for me who is just lightly active. But eventually, I felt how good my body is turning out to be—how light and seemingly energetic I had been that it just became easier to follow through. There are weeks where I also practice intermittent fasting and strict calorie counting which I admit, I really like the result of.

Most days, I would say I’m doing okay. It’s hard to look forward to a future knowing the present is as bleak as what we have, but I’m always hopeful that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Having all this free time for now, I know I will be cultivating more hobbies and interests along the way. On top of my head? Trying my hands at interior design, adopting plants, and exploring more of nature through hiking once it is safer to go outside.