So my masters ended, just in time for me to catch Week 3 of the Women's Volleyball Nations League held in Bangkok from 27 June to 3 July! I'm a big fan of the Brazil Women's National Team, or selecao de feminina volei in Portuguese, and they were scheduled for 4 matches in Bangkok. And so in May, I bought tickets to 3 of the 4 matches during the pre-sale. For the Thai vs Brazil match, I didn't manage to get tickets (yes, it's as competitive as concerts) so I bought it off a reseller via a personal shopper. I paid almost triple the price. The original price of each ticket in the lower bowl was about 900baht which was very affordable in my opinion, so I was still willing to fork out that amount.
Day 1
Things started out badly because our afternoon Scoot flight to Bangkok was delayed due to congestion, which was horrible news because my schedule was super tight in order to catch the 8.30pm match. It landed 20min late, and we actually managed to get out of the airport in less than an hour, but our Grab car got stuck in a terrible jam on the way to our hotel and the journey took more than an hour. The initial eta was 6.35pm and we ended up arriving at around 7.15pm. Quickly checked in to our hotel, Four Points at Sheraton, which we also stayed at the last trip, mainly because it's the only hotel with two queen sized beds in a room. Service is also superb, highly recommended!
We booked a car to the Hua Mak stadium for the Brazil vs Italy match which was at 8.30pm. We hopped on around 7.40pm so technically there was still 50min but the whole Sukhumvit area was still super jammed and we only arrived at the stadium at around 835pm. And VNL matches seem to start on the dot so by then, the first set was well underway.
Anyway, Brazil was leading 20-12, then suddenly Italy caught up
and it became 20-20. My favourite player on the Brazilian team is the
reserve setter Roberta (#9) who usually only gets subbed in when Brazil
is in a bad position. And so she got subbed in to replace Macris, the
usual starting setter. In the end, Brazil lost the first set 26-28, but
Roberta started the second set and they won! They lost set 3, and by now
I was very antsy because a volleyball match is won by winning at least 3
out of 5 sets. Set 4 is a must win for Brazil and thankfully they
pulled through. Which means the match was going to tie break - set 5,
and the winner is the first to 15 points . Brazil was barely leading and Italy kept catching up, but at the tail end, Brazil pulled ahead with
Rosamaria on serve. At 13-10, Roberta did a solo block to bring up match
point! And Brazil won it and I just felt so relieved. I think overall
Brazil didn't play that well in this match but luckily they still
managed to eke out a win.
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| Roberta serving |
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| Waiting for challenge results |
It was a helluva first volleyball match to watch - exciting 5-set tie breaker, and I watched Roberta play for 4 full sets? Since she's the reserve setter, usually she's lucky to be even subbed in for like 2 points per set. Also, all my pictures are of them preparing to receive the opposing team's serve, or celebrating a point, or waiting around for results, because the actual playing is so fast that everything is just a blurry mess.
At the end of match, the popular players i.e Gabi and Carol stayed around to take pics with the fans, though I was on the opposite side of the stadium :(
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| Rosamaria being interviewed |
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| Miss-popular Gabi waving to her fans |
Since our last meal was lunch, we headed for some food at the 24h TomnToms just 2 minutes from our hotel. The food was pretty decent!
Day 2
We started the day with brunch at ROAST at The Commons. Apparently it's quite popular with Singaporeans, and indeed, I heard the unmistakable accent there haha. We had a babka french toast, blueberry cheese pancakes and their full breakfast and it was all soo delicious, esp the babka french toast omg. They provided free bread too! We also had a mocha and flat white and they were superb too. All that for only about 50 bucks.
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Got to the stadium early so managed to take some pics!
This was the day of two matches - Netherlands vs Croatia first, which was an easy 3-0 win for the dutch. Celeste Plak was a beast and so so nice, she stayed behind to take pics with every single person who asked. I regret not asking for one now haha.
The second match at 5pm was Brazil vs Canada. I thought this would be an easy 3-0 win for Brazil but no. Brazil lost 2-3, narrowly losing in the last set 14-16. For me, the the worst part was that my favourite player, the setter Roberta was starting the match. But because they were losing, she was subbed off in the third set. This was also the match where I was seated in the section next to where the players enter and exit and where they usually interact with fans, so it was just really unfortunate that Brazil lost because the losing team usually goes back into the lockers rooms very quickly. The two setters from Brazil, Roberta and Macris, stayed on the court for a long time post-match discussing the game so I managed to capture some Rocris moments.
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| Captain Gabi leading the team out! |
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| Warm ups! |
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| The bench players being nervous |
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| Rocris! |
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| Still stopping to take pics even though they lost |
It seems like I have a tendency to watch historic matches (where the teams I root for lose lol). After the Canada vs Finland ice hockey match in Finland where Finland made it to the IIHR Women's Worlds Finals for the first time, this match is Canada's first win over Brazil this century.
Anyway, disappointment aside, I had reserved dinner at a popular establishment called The Local which is on the Michelin guide. The food is a little pricey though. We ordered the appetiser set, a stew with pork which was extremely spicy, vegetables, and deep fried seabass which was the standout. And mango sticky rice for dessert!
Day 3
Started off with breakfast at a cafe called Double U Coffee at Rangnam. The reviews were very good so I had high expectations but I thought only the coconut latte was good, while the food was mediocre.
But I wanted to come here partly also because it was walkable to the rest of the shopping areas. We headed over to Pratunam Market to start our shopping.
Then continued on to Big C Supermart to buy snacks and Thai milk tea.
And then finally, Platinum Mall. I bought an insane number of tops because they were all so cheap at like 8 bucks. We had lunch at the food court on the top floor too because I remember the pad thai there being top tier. Unfortunately the pad thai in Singapore just isn't of that same standard.
We went back to the hotel to drop off our shopping, then headed to Jodd Fairs Night Market to have dinner. Had some really good grilled seafood and meat and tried mango sticky rice as well.
Took a Bolt car to the stadium, and when we arrived around 7pm, the queue was already insane. Because the previous match just ended and they hadn't opened the doors yet. Luckily the queue moved quickly once the door opened, and I ran to get a good spot in my section, which was slightly left of center, right in front of where Team Brazil warms up so it was great.
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| Gabi's spike from a Roberta set during warm ups |
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| Roberta stuffing the ball under her jersey so that she has both hands to fix her hair lol |
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| Serve practice | |
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| Pre-game hugs |
This match was against Turkiye, and unfortunately, Brazil was underperforming again and they lost 0-3 which is just TRAGIC. The only good thing was that the atmosphere was banging. It felt like Brazil was playing at home because so many Thai fans were all decked out in Brazilian gear, carrying the Brazil flag, and the cheers whenever Brazil scored were deafening. But the Thai fans of course cheered for Turkiye as well, with Zehra Gunes and Hande Baladin being especially popular.
The usual setter Macris started, but they were losing the first set, so my fave Roberta got subbed in and they managed to chase up a bit but still lost the set. Unfortunately, Roberta started second set and it was a huge disaster, then Macris came in but things didn't improve. In the third set, Macris started, and Brazil was leading 22-19 and then promptly lost 6 points and Turkiye won the match easily. Turkish blockers were on point today and their hitters especially Karakurt was also being very effective. I also didn't expect the social media frenzy post-game! I really have to give it to the Brazilian team for being the most gracious and still waving to the fans and acknowledging them even after the terrible defeat.
And then I went to the bus area again and caught a glimpse some of the players!
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| Turkish captain Eda |
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| Byee Team Brazil |
Day 4
The one day I'm not watching any matches cos there were no matches with Brazil.
We started the day at Chatuchak Weekend Market and had breakfast at Kaarom Specialty Coffee. The coffee was good and pastries decent but I couldn't taste the vanilla in my vanilla latte so I highly suspect they forgot to add it because they gave me extra syrup which I could taste after adding. Oh wells, otherwise it was a really nice cafe.
We went shopping at the outdoor market and Mixt Plaza and bought a ton of stuff. Like shorts for 2SGD :O I also got a pair of adidas shoes for less than 45 bucks!
By this time it was around noon, so I decided to head straight to Wat Pho. I originally considered going to The Grand Palace but we didn't have that much time, and the entrance fee is 20 bucks per person which is quite pricey for Thai standards.
Took many pics with the giant lying Buddha and spent some time walking around the beautiful temple.
Then headed for lunch at Rongros, which is another restaurant on the Michelin guide which I had reserved. It serves traditional Thai fare at reasonable prices and the food was superb. And it sits on the river bank and has a lovely view of Wat Arun.
After lunch, we took a boat which costs 5 baht/pax to cross the Chao Phraya river over to Wat Arun which is super pretty. Definitely worth the visit.
The next stop was Iconsiam. To get there, it's a boat ride from Wat Arun down the river which costs 20 baht/person. It's a very modern boat that is like a bus.
Iconsiam is this mega mall with a gorgeous river park outside, and all the usual luxury and chain fashion stores. Since we were exhausted from visiting the temples under the hot sun, we stopped for dessert at Brix Dessert Bar. Ordered the banana butterscotch toast which was amazing. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The choco pb frappe was great too.
We window shopped at the mall, then tried to catch the display at the River Park at 6.30pm, though we were a little late because we got lost in the huge mall and only saw the last 2 minutes of the display.
Then headed for dinner at Sooksiam which is an indoor market in Iconsiam and the main reason I wanted to visit. It was suuuper crowded as it was a Saturday but we managed to get seats. Ordered some noodles, some meat, and I went for the one veg dish in the entire place which was a plate of long beans that was surprisingly good.
Day 5
Last full day! We started the day having breakfast at Holey Artisan Bakery, which is quite famous especially among expats. Ordered the salmon avocado toast as well as a few bakes. The hot chocolate was pretty disappointing though.
I had planned for a day trip to Ayutthaya this day so I arranged for our guide and driver to pick us up from the bakery instead of our hotel. The ride to Ayutthaya was slightly more than an hour, which I greatly appreciated to catch up on sleep haha. We first headed to Wat Yai Chai Mongkol which is very pretty.
The second temple we visited is Wat Phra Mahathat, which is built in a Cambodian/Khmer style, and is famous for having the Buddha head embedded in the tree. And because Buddha's head must always be above ours, everyone had to sit down to take photos with this.
Next stop was an hour boat tour along the river around Ayutthaya, which was super relaxing. We saw a couple of temples from the river, and fed the fish some bread too!
We then went for lunch at an atas-ish restaurant. Amazing view and great food. Managed to try the grilled river prawn which Ayutthaya is famous for!
After lunch, the guide and driver picked us up again where we headed to Wat Mongkolbophit and Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, the ancient palace and royal chapel of Ayutthaya Kings.
We ended the day at the Mongkolbophit Market where the guide treated us to roti saimai and I love it omg. It's a thin crepe that wraps around cotton candy and it's just amazing when piping hot.
The tour ended before 3pm, and we had a long ride back to Bangkok and were dropped off at Siam Paragon as per my request. I booked this day trip with Quality Thai Guide because the reviews were great. It's a little pricey (close to SGD $400 for 3 people after 10% early bird discount, inclusive of transfer from Bangkok, the boat tour and entrance fees to the temples), but it was a private tour, the guide had excellent english, and we were very well taken care of with bottles of water and cold towels after our visits to the temples under the hot sun.
Walked around the mall for awhile and saw this Disney lego event they were having with the Disney princesses.
We had an early dinner at Another Hound Cafe, since we tried the famous Greyhound cafe on our first trip to Bangkok. Ordered a salad with smoked duck, pork with sticky fried rice, pad thai and tiramisu affogato. All super good!
We left Siam Paragon around 6pm but got stuck in yet another jam on our way to the stadium, plus it was raining and there was a queue to enter. So I unfortunately missed the entrance of the Brazilian team, though I caught most of the warm ups. It was a straightforward 3-0 against Thailand, but the atmosphere was really good since it was a home game. But since it was a usual game for Brazil NT, Roberta was on the bench for most of it and only came on for set point of the first set. Oh well, I think I'm already incredibly lucky to have seen her played THAT much in the past week so I'll take what I can get!
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| Roberta setting during warm ups |
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| The lovely Thai team |
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| Roberta-Gabi hug! |
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| Rosaberta hug! |
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| Thai team going around to meet their fans. |
Post-game, she and a couple of other players (commonly known as Diretoria) stayed on court discussing something and then they went to say Hi to some Brazilian fans at the stands. So sad that the two times I was near the exit walkway, they lost :(
Headed to the area where the buses are parked, but it was SO packed and I chose the wrong place to stand haha so could hardly see anything. I did see Macris who was signing stuff for the longest time, and Diana who was taking pics right in front of us, and Julia B who was signing stuff on the other side. And I could hear people screaming for Thaisa, Rosamaria and Gabi haha. And my dad who is a lot taller and standing on the other side took a video showing Roberta signing stuff!
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| Roberta on the left, Diana in the middle and Lorena on the right. And I was stuck somewhere in that crowd haha. |
Day 6
Woke up super early to have the hotel buffet breakfast. The spread was pretty good and I was very satisfied!
And then we quickly checked out and took a Bolt to the airport, did more shopping at the airport before boarding our 1045am Scoot flight back to Singapore.
And that's the end of my fun yet very stressful expedition to Bangkok to watch VNL! If you've never watched a sports event before, I highly encourage it, especially for places where the sport is popular, because the atmosphere is truly something else, and the excitement is palpitations-inducing. Very different from a concert experience.