A Traditional Thai Glamour Photo Shoot
By Lauren Gerzina & Justin Hayes
Traditional Costumes, Pad Thai, and Cocktails
We woke up early so that we could leave the hotel out at 7am. The city is so large, and the traffic is so bad, that we knew we would need a full hour to make it for our 8am appointment for costumes and photographs! And of course, we scarfed down a quick breakfast in the lounge beforehand.
Once we arrived at Thai Glam Studio a few minutes after 8am, two women started showing Lauren different color and pattern options for her outfit. After picking out some fabrics, they led her upstairs to change while Justin stood alone downstairs. When Lauren changed, they brought her back down, sat her in front of a full-length mirror and asked how she wanted her hair styled. They suggested a bun, so she said that it sounded great (she had no idea what would look best). Once the bun was in place, she was given tons of options of clips and ornaments for her hair. She picked out a silver hair piece that had leaves that would move around and shimmer as she moved AND a blue flower dangling piece.
After they finished Lauren’s hair and started makeup, they finally turned to Justin and asked him what colors/fabrics he was interested in wearing. Justin chose purples to Lauren’s teals (both shocking). Justin was dressed within 10 min from head to toe and Lauren was STILL getting makeup done.
It took a full hour and a half to get ready. Our personal photographer, Prince, arrived while we were still getting ready so as soon as we were done, we headed out to the nearby temple. It was about a five-minute walk to Wat Arun (the sunrise temple we visited a few days earlier). Prince knew many different locations to take great photos based on the lighting and décor (and crowd level).
He took hundreds of pictures of us – including many fun ones where Justin had to grab the long fabric over Lauren’s shoulder to lift it up and make it seem like it was flapping in the wind. Lauren LOVED this experience, and Justin was very happy to get such great pictures in the end. When the hour was up, we head back to the costume shop, changed into our normal clothes and inquired about where Lauren could buy some cute hair pieces like the ones she wore during the photoshoot.
Prince knew where to find some of the headpieces, so we jumped in a Grab and headed to the location he indicated. We walked along the street for about an hour popping in and out of costume shops and looking at street vendor’s pieces. She finally found some she liked just as we were getting hungry.
Justin found a famous Pad Thai restaurant called Thipsami that was nearby (for Bangkok standards, but still not a walkable), so we took another Grab over. Pro tip – even if the walk to a destination is only a mile or so, it was never worth the energy lost from the heat of the sun. So we found taxis/Grabs to be a lifesaver. The Pad Thai was delicious and slightly different from what we had before – this restaurant used a special/secret shrimp oil sauce that made the Pad Thai very sweet and savory. Lauren ordered a special version that was wrapped in egg and Justin got the traditional one. One we finished with lunch, we took a grab back to the hotel to rest during the blazing hot afternoon.
At 5pm, we went to the executive lounge for dinner, but this time they had very little food options Justin could eat. Lauren had what the hotel called Northern Thai Curry Noodle with Chicken, but we quickly realized was a very common dish found in our upcoming destination Chiang Mai called Khao Soi. Justin had a small salad since it was all he could eat, so he was still pretty hungry.
Justin found a cocktail bar he wanted to try and noticed that there was a Mexican place along the way. This was definitely not the best Mexican food we’ve had in Southeast Asia, but it was easy to order some Carnitas tacos to satisfy Justin’s hunger sans allergens.
The cocktail bar was called Propaganda, and Justin really appreciated the décor of propaganda posters from Obama to Hitler as well as all of the political references of each of the drinks on the menu. Lauren got a pomegranate and gin cocktail called The 1984. Justin didn’t get one of the specialty cocktails but instead opted for a classic Boulevardier, one of his favorite drinks that he hasn’t seen on the menu in Southeast Asia until this bar. They also had Woodford Reserve bourbon as well!
After drinks, it was time to head back to the hotel to pack as we prepared to fly to Chiang Mai the next day. We were both very excited about our trip to the north!
