The last of my series on how to spend a week in Bangkok. In this post I talk about how to claim VAT refund in Bangkok.
We thought Day 7 would be super chilled out but for some reason it ended up being the most fomo day of the trip. There was so much I wanted to eat (all over again), but there was only so much room.
For starters, we went to Or Tor Kor Market, which you need to read all about here. Then we went to Chatuchak Market, just because it was right across the road and because it was one of the places we most enjoyed in Bangkok and were starting to feel the end-of-vacation blues already.
We then headed to Siam again, for one last meal at Laem Cha Roen, followed by one last round of Thai Milk Tea from the Food Republic in Siam Center– these guys seriously make the best Thai Milk Tea you’ll find in Bangkok!
We then headed to Em Quartier, for a leisurely stroll, an early dinner and an accidental witnessing of some small, local concert. The weather was lovely, my spirits were high, M was bored- it was perfect. We ended up heading back to the hotel after the mall closed, but because it was our last night in Bangkok, I really wasn’t in the mood to call it a night just as yet- and we really hadn’t seen any crazy Bangkok action yet! I just wanted to see ONE ladyboy! After nagging M for for an hour or so, he agreed. We were already showered and were in bed but he agreed, so I jumped out, put on my sandals and was out the door.
Our hotel, Movenpick Sukhumvit, was just two soi (streets) away from Nana street (which is the dodgy area where tourists can get cheap thrills of questionable nature). We hopped onto the tuk tuk provided by our hotel, which dropped us off at the main road (it was hardly a one minute drive), and even though we were still two soi away from Nana street, the road was lined with ladies. I kid you not, I walked only a couple of steps, clutching onto M’s sleeve, and felt quite terrified. I know this might be a horrible thing to say, but the ladyboys and ladies alike scared me. They reminded me of clowns, and I am terrified of clowns. I changed my mind about wanting to go to Nana, and we just called the hotel tuktuk to come back and pick us up. When we called the hotel, they said it wasn’t even back yet- that’s how quick it took me to change my mind, haha!
Day 8 wasn’t really an entire day, as it was the day we left, but I’ll still count it as one becuse we got a lot done even in our last few hours.
For starters, we woke up obscenely early. I wanted to rush to Gourmet Food Market and do my standard overseas grocery haul, but even after a leisurely breakfast at the hotel (a huge plateful of papaya), I dragged M to EmQuartier. As is customary, I miscalculated (my life), and the mall was CLOSED. They wouldn’t even let us in to window shop. The only place open was Jones The Grocer, so we lounged on a couple of couches there, took out our respective paperbacks to read and ordered a coffee just so they would let us stay. I loved it. There is just something about the air in the Far East and the greenery being greener there that makes me feel so at peace. M, on the other hand was swatting away mosquitos and complaining. Typical.
At 10 a.m., Gourmet Market opened, we put everything in the cart, paid and ran off to have one last meal at the Food Hall. Our table was the objectification of greed and FOMO, but we did not care and had no shame. With heavy hearts, we went back to the hotel, packed up, and checked out.
At the airport, I was first stopped at customs for some suspicious “liquid” in my carry-on. I kept swearing there’s no liquid in my bag, but it turned out that said “liquid” was actually a jar of coconut caramel. Face palm moment. The second Heshma (which is my baby cousin’s word for Murphey’s Law), happened after standing in line for the VAT refund for 45 minutes, only to learn that our claim is void without a certain stamp we had to get at customs.
So here’s what you need to know on how to get VAT refund in Bangkok:
- Make sure the store you make your purchases from gives you a VAT claim form, and they stamp it
- Make sure the customs officer stamps that form
- Then you get in line at the VAT claim counter.
What was really cool was the number of high-end designer outlets at the airport, and if only we had the time to look, I’m sure we might have found some tempting deals. Another thing that super fascinated me was that you could buy orchids at the airport which you’re allowed to take on-board, and they were packed safely enough to protect them from damage.
Will I be going back to Bangkok? I don’t think anytime soon. I definitely want to visit PhiPhi, Krabi and Koh Samui though, and my love affair with Thai food isn’t showing signs of ending- ever.
To read about the rest of my Bangkok trip, please find the links below:
