Spending a Birthday in Bangkok

I spent my 23rd birthday in Bangkok!

On Friday night, I hopped off the plane and went straight to CHOW Cafe & Bar. CHOW has good food, good drinks, and a hip hop DJ. Online, CHOW says it closes at 2:15 a.m., so I thought arriving at 11:30 would be perfect, but I was wrong. Turns out, CHOW is an after-hours spot, and it’s open until 5 a.m. My friends said the food was good, specifically the tacos, and so were the drinks, which started at 265 baht (USD 8). I, being the bougie birthday girl, opted to indulge in the prosecco bottle service at 1,500 baht ($45) a pop. After three of those I’m sure you can imagine how the night turned out…turnt up!

On Saturday, I woke up and had brunch at The Gardens of Dinsor Palace, a beautiful location built on the grounds of a former royal mansion. Sadly the food did not live up to the hype of the location. The soup of the day and the chamomile tea were good, but everything else was blah to me. After brunch, I had plans to hit the monthly Sofitel rooftop pool party, but the previous night got the best of me, so I opted for a two-hour aromatherapy massage at Healthland for 1,300 ($40).

On the evening of my birthday, I attended a 1000 baht (USD 30) dinner at The Continent Hotel’s rooftop restaurant Medinii. The price included one main course, one dessert and all you could eat pasta, pizza, and drinks. I ordered the gnocchi, which was delicious, and the views of the city were great. The hotel is right near a well-known mall, Terminal 21, but it is in the cut, so I ended up being nearly 40-minutes late to my reservation. Luckily for me, a friend had already arrived, so my reservation was safe. If you’re going by GPS, it’s challenging to find, but it’s directly across from the Exchange Tower and next to Blez Pharmacy. It’s totally hidden in plain sight, like if it was a snake, it would’ve bitten me, so be mindful. After dinner, I went to my favorite hip hop club, Dirty Bar, Demo. Farangs (the Thai word for foreigners) must pay 500 baht (USD 15) to get in, and that price comes with a drink. The club can get pretty packed, though, so I recommend going early if you don’t like crowds.

On Sunday, I went to my favorite shabu spot called OK Shabu. Shabu is a style of Japanese dining where you order meat, veggies, and noodles and cook them in a personal pot. Later I went to another one of my favorite spots, Siwilai City Club (SCC), a rooftop restaurant in the Central Embassy Mall. All of the food at SCC is delicious, the drinks are exquisite, and the view is poppin’! I ended my birthday at a local massage spot with a one-hour shoulder massage.

I stayed in the Thonglor area, which is dubbed as Bangkok’s hippest area, with great nightlife and food. I stayed at Oneday Hostel on Sukhumvit 26 in a private room with a double bed for 1,800 baht ($55) for the weekend. I also rented a car for the weekend for $1,900 ($57), which was great, but I would only recommend it for someone very confident and comfortable with driving in a country that has little regard for the laws. If you’re not going to rent a car, you’ll be totally fine using Grab, similar to Uber, and the BTS Skytrain.

I had the best introduction into my “Jordan year” and all for a reasonable price. In what city did you spend your favorite birthday? Do you like to stay local or do you like to travel for your birthday? I’d love to hear your answers in the comments!