Sawadeeeeee! #NicGoesToThailand
For work. I went to Thailand for work 💁
Technically, this is old news as of writing since I had that trip in March and currently it's October 2025. So, yeah, I was fortunate to be sent to Bangkok to attend to a work summit from my previous employer (yes, previous because I am working in a different company now), FineToday Philippines.
To be honest, 85% of the trip is purely work because I wasn't even able to go out and shop nor explore fun attractions because THAT Bangkok earthquake happened during my only free day 😕 Given this, let me just pull out some of the photos I took during this trip and probably share some more thoughts at the latter part of this blog post.
DAY 1:
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| The queue for the immigration was hellish, and this was taken at 5:00 in the morning 😪 |
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| When a responsibility has some perks, like extra leg room 👏 |
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| with my boss and our asst. brand manager 😀 |
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| Work Work Work |
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| At this point, all I really want is sleep. |
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| But buying Legos at 40% off gave the same joy as 8 hours of sleep. |
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| The "mild" curry that rivals the spice level of intensely spicy curry back home. |
For Day 1, our day was quite hectic: landed in Suvarnabhumi airport, dropped our luggage in Avani hotel, eat room service lunch (we only have less than an hour, hence we have no time to explore food options around the area), then hopped on the van to go check different displays of Tsubaki and Senka in different store formats in Bangkok. In the last mall we went to, were given 2 hours to explore and shop, lo and behold instead of getting something from Thailand like a Gentle Woman tote I ended up buying an Animal Crossing Lego set 😅 In my defense it was 40% off which is RARE!
Once the 2 hours was up, we were treated to yummy Thai dinner. I remember being seated next to one of the sales team members, and that guy kept on pouring beer on my cup - which ended up with me looking like a lobster because of my intense Asian flush, oh and a nasty flare up because beer + fatigue = sickness for this budding 30+ year old auntie.
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| My IG story that night lol. |
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| FOAAAMYYYYY ⛅ |
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| The coffee was STRONG! |
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| Another curry that wrecked my taste buds. |
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| Thanks for the dinner, boss 👌 |
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| Off to wander |
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| To the grocery next door lol! |
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| 🤤🤤🤤🤤 |
Real work and discussions happened on day 2, where we spent the whole day indoors learning more about the directions for the year. I think the day ended by around 6:00 p.m., and by then I was so drained already to even explore outside. Luckily, our boss treated us to a delicious dinner outside the FineToday Thailand's office before we head back to our hotel. The closest thing to an exploration I did was to check the nearest Lotus Supermarket and see what food items I'll be buying as pasalubong.
Finally, I was also able to have my first sticky rice with mango of that trip! I remember paying only 75 baht for it, and the servings was a lot more than the ones I pay for Php 200 here in Manila.
DAY 3:
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| It was a good call that the clothes I brought were made of cotton linen, because the Thai weather was 😓😅😰 |
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| I knew I couldn't trust Thai curry anymore. |
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| With the other brand managers from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore! |
I couldn't recall much what happened during work, but I sure did drink a couple of beers and soju during the "fellowship" afterwards. I got to bond with other brand managers from different regions, shared some best practices, and also thrown in some harmless gossip in between bottles. Also, the Instax Fujifilm sure is a relationship-building machine hahaha! Their "Don't just take, give" is a clever brand line that truly resonates to how the Instax Camera should be utilized- IF ONLY the films aren't expensive and aren't always out-of-stock 👀
I took A LOT of photos, and also gave it to people as a keepsake 💖
Day 4
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| On my way to the breakfast buffet lol! |
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| Unli driiiinks! Thank you FT Thai! |
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| POV: As a tech support for your boss |
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| Thai curry is the Romeo to my Juliet |
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| Multi-tasking: listening while visualizing the floor plan for our upcoming event. |
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| Thai milkteaaaaa! |
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| HAHAHHAHA! |
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| SM Megamall, isdatchu? |
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| On the way to dinnerrr! |
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| But stopped over at Platinum Mall for a quick shopping - I didn't buy anything hahaha! |
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| With mommy Riccol 💕 |
The last legit working day! Unlike the past 2 days, this one was more of a conclusion of all the discussions, so people were more relaxed. Also, a lot of those from our regional office from Singapore flew out that night, so they weren't able to join us for dinner.
I was very lucky because I hardly spent a dime, since all meals were provided by the company, and as treats from the general managers 👌 I got to save money to spend for shopping the next day.
DAY 5
... or so I thought.
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| Avani Sukhumvit's breakfast buffet was 💪 |
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| In a meeting while I fix my hair. |
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| Cotton linen dresses saved me from the sweltering heat! |
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| I initially thought this was Danny DeVito lol! |
As much as I would love to leave the hotel earlier, I wasn't able to because I had a meeting for our grand event (the one that happened last May.) I left and went to explore by around 12 noon already 😓
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| Imagine this was at around 2 in the afternoon, and the temperature was around 32 degrees celsius! |
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| Mindlessly walking outside Central Mall |
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| Dinner + quick battery re-charging session at this artsy restaurant on my way back to the hotel. |
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| Walkathon |
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| 23k steps! HAHAHA! WILD! |
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| Ended up going down again to buy stuff at the Lotus next door. |
Yep, I was in Bangkok during the 6.5 magnitude earthquake and it was crazy! For someone who experience earthquakes at least once in a year PHILIPPINES REPRESENT!, I am equipped with some knowledge on how to conduct myself during and after an earthquake-however it was a different story for the Thai people. Given the fact that Thailand is not within the Pacific Ring of Fire and hardly affected by any seismic activity, they don't really have drills or public service announcements on what to do during earthquakes, so when the earthquake happened A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE CONFUSED!
During the earthquake, I was happily buying inhalers and pasalubongs in Platinum Mall when I start to feel dizzy. Initially, I assumed I'm probably just hungry since I haven't had lunch yet, or I must be dehydrated because that was such a hot day, however when the seller started mumbling, "I'm dizzy" that's when it clicked that we were experiencing an earthquake. Eventually I noticed that the ground and all the things around me are moving, instead of following the throng of people running towards the exit (luckily I was in the 1st floor near the entrance) I decided to go against that urge to run and instead stay clear of possible debris that may fall, crouch down, and cover my head. I also reassured the seller that she's fine and should not panic run among the crowds, since there's a big chance that someone might trip and cause a stampede. After 2 minutes, the ground stopped shaking and I proceeded to paying for all the stuff I bought... lol 💁
But the story didn't end there, after leaving Platinum and walking towards a park near Central mall, I knew I had to buy water and strategize how am I going to get back to my hotel. Good thing there was a food festival outside Central mall, so I was able to buy myself 2 overpriced bottles of water, but because of stressing that there is no nearest toilet I had forgone any idea of eating a late lunch. While sitting at a nearby bench along with countless stranded strangers, I profusely tried all possible TNVS (Transport Network Vehicle Services - like Uber, Grab, etc.) known to mankind, I gave up after almost an hour of wishing someone would accept my booking. I understand why it's impossible to book a ride, the traffic WAS HORRIBLE that I bet a lot of roads were closed. This left me with no choice but to walk... 9km to the hotel.
You know what, let me just link here a TikTok video I did during that interesting walk hahaha : VIDEO HERE
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| Breezy airport outfit |
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| I miss the Truffle Burger from McDonald's 😢 |
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| Hang in there, Foamy! |
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| Best Buy! |
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| This palette was originally priced at around Php 6,000 and was sold for Php 2,000! I didn't buy because I am a responsible adult ... 😢 |
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| Good bye, Bangkok! Hope to see you again, but not for work anymore hehe! |
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| I don't know why my boss chose a low fat meal for me huhuhu! I ended up soooo hungry that when Ken fetched me I urged him that we drive thru Jollibee before heading home! |
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| Will be back in the same airport after 6 hours. |
The last & departure day was chill, I didn't venture anymore more than the nearby Lotus for last minute shopping ,and I also managed to fit in a manicure. By this time, the only thing I wanted was to go ride that airplane by 7pm, arrive in Manila by 12 am and go home...
... to prepare for my next flight the next day at 7 am bound for Shanghai 💀
Love Always,
Nicole
P.S.
Sharing here the flowers Ken gave me when he fetched me from the airport, and claiming that it was the best 6 hours of his life hahaha!
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