One way to escape the floods? IKEA!

As the floods began to enter Thailand's capital city, the country's very first IKEA also opened it's doors in a dry suburb of Bangkok. The large 2-story do-it-yourself furniture shop is located around Bang Na outside of the main city. If you're looking for a way to get your mind off the country's worst floods in nearly 50 years, maybe a trip to IKEA is just what you need.

IKEA shuttle bus stop at Exit 5 on Udom Suk's BTS.

It's cheap and easy to get to IKEA, if you don't mind waiting. I recommend taking the BTS' extended line past On Nut to Udom Suk and then taking exit 5. An IKEA shuttle bus runs free of charge to this stop every 30 minutes and will take  you right to IKEA. Just keep your eyes open for a big, yellow bus (pictured on the left).

I was surprised with how nice the bus was but I can't say the same for our bus driver. We took shuttle bus 2 and let me warm you --- TAKE NUMBER 1! Our bus driver was half asleep driving practically 20 km/hr. It took nearly an hour to get there (on the way back we took a taxi even further and it took 20 minutes!). Although it took forever and I risked my life for the sleeping driver, it was a nice, cool way to escape the humidity!

When the bus drops you off, you'll more than likely enter through the wrong door, like we did. I can only assume this is the wrong door because you enter through the do-it-yourself furniture section which looks like a warehouse, and smells like one too. Trying to figure out exactly which way to go can sure work up an appetite! Luckily, they sell hot dogs for 15 Thai Baht (that's .50 cents in USD!!)! How can you pass that up??

Although it may not look like it from the outside or by the mass amounts of people in this store, IKEA has also been affected by the flood...

After eating our bun-less hot dogs, we walked past the children's playland (I wanted to play it looked like so much fun) and another food stand to the escalator that would finally lead us to the "Showroom Entrance". 

One excited patron heading to the Showroom!

Finally, when we arrived at the main level of the Showroom, we took about 30 minutes to walk through, gazing at the beautiful, bright colors and then we were once again in a food court. This one was much bigger than the others, filled with cozy chairs to lounge while eating your overly priced meal. After having one more small snack, we thought to ourselves "Really? This is it." Of course not...we had one more level to go! This one was the important stuff: bath decor, kitchen supplies, and odds and ends you never thought you needed until now.

Then we were once again in that smelly, warehouse area that finally led us to the checkout. Another piece of advice, if you do choose to get your mind off the flood for a day by visiting IKEA - bring a book! The lines to check out are absurdly long and you may very well get bored.

Long lines at the check-out despite the floods!

See you again next time for more up-to-date information on the flooding in Bangkok! If my internet cooperates, there will be the newest video blog I promised!

-Blonde in Bangkok