30 days solo in Bangkok – I passed the CELTA!
2026 archival note: This article was originally published on 24 May 2015 and is reproduced here substantially as written. Prices, businesses, links, technology and travel information reflect the original 2015 experience and may no longer be current.
Why I chose to do the CELTA
Several years ago, a Swiss/Canadian friend who has a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and a CELTA equivalent told me about the CELTA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CELTA). While the CELTA certificate isn’t exactly recognised in Singapore since English is the official language here, I’d always wanted to take it anyway. Being the grammar nerd that I am and the fact that the CELTA is offered by the University of Cambridge (like most Singaporeans, I took the Cambridge GCE ‘O’ and ‘A’ levels examinations), I told myself I would do the CELTA when the opportunity presented itself.
I had always hesitated to do it in Singapore, mainly because of the high cost (read more here: ttp://blog.moneysmart.sg/career/find-work-overseas-easily-with-these-3-qualifications/); basically, the CELTA costs SGD5900 (~USD4415) in Singapore and USD1600 in Bangkok – this amount excludes daily expenses, CELTA course books and so on. In late March 2015, when a good friend suggested that I pursue the CELTA in my “second home” and showed me the aforementioned moneysmart article, I immediately starting doing some research on the course (IH Bangkok versus ECC Bangkok), accommodation (an inexpensive hotel versus AirBnB), flight tickets (which were slightly expensive because they were booked just four weeks prior), and overall expenditure for 30 days. I’ve been travelling to Bangkok and other parts of Thailand every year for a vacation since 2009, so I am generally familiar with Bangkok/Thailand; I went to Bangkok twice and Phuket once in 2014.
As usual, I read many blogs written by people who have done the CELTA, in particular Singaporeans who have taken the CELTA in Bangkok and read many positive reviews; in fact, every single review – written by a Singaporean or otherwise – strongly recommended the CELTA, that it was a very useful teaching course, which I found to be absolutely true, not just in terms of grades, but as an enriching experience as a whole. I met so many lovely people from all walks of life: my fellow CELTA course mates and some of the DELTA school mates (we had a common break room and so most of us would just chat easily); my AirBnB host; the everyday people I met while eating, commuting and shopping at everyday places.
The CELTA admission process
What I noticed was that the main adjective used to describe the CELTA was “intense”. Having graduated six years ago as a humble English linguistics minor (my honours degree is in social, counselling and biological psychology), I really didn’t know what to expect since I don’t have the proper English linguistics training per se. I have always enjoyed the syntax and grammar, critical discourse analysis (CDA), and film studies modules, but I wouldn’t consider them “intense” modules, in comparison to the psychology honours modules. I once wrote a 5000-word term paper for CDA (the text that I had analysed was the Black Eyed Peas’ song lyrics “Where is the love?”) so that I could avoid taking a final written exam, but that was it.
To apply for the CELTA, there is a pre-interview task that is to be emailed to the school; within an hour, I received an email asking me to schedule a Skype audio interview. Apparently, I had failed an entire grammar section and so I was ‘drilled’ on it during the Skype interview – six tough grammar questions were asked in quick succession. At that point, I thought I didn’t pass the interview, when the British voice on the other end suddenly said, “Congratulations, you are accepted”. With that, I immediately booked the Bangkok flight tickets and AirBnB room. There was a pre-course assignment and two course books to read; I completed half of the pre-course assignment and didn’t read the two course books.
What the CELTA was like
CELTA classmates
On the first day of the CELTA, we had to mark our attendance and I noticed that I was in the only Singaporean in my group of 17, but there was another Singaporean lady in the other group of 12. I later found out who she was, because the guys in the other CELTA group told me, “Hey, there’s also a Singaporean lady in our group! Have you met her yet? There she is!” It was great having someone to speak Singlish (colloquial Singapore English) to; she told me that she even used Singlish in one of her lessons, which I thought was cool. Both CELTA groups were very friendly and we all got along very well, which is something I had hoped for and read about in some of the CELTA blog posts, but didn’t expect, so it was a very pleasant surprise. Everyone shared
their invaluable life experiences, knowledge and notes, which convinced me even more that I had made the right decision to fly in to Bangkok to do the CELTA at IH Bangkok.
I looked forward to going to class every day to interact with my classmates and learn new teaching techniques. When I describe my CELTA experiences to my Singapore friends, they commented that it seemed like the CELTA was a reality TV programme, with a group of people spending long hours together for a short period of time, except that we didn’t stay in the same house.
CELTA students
I have to say: I had a tough time adjusting to the CELTA method at first. According to my CELTA classmates, the other Singaporean lady and I speak really quickly; it took me four teaching practice sessions to reduce my talking speed and reduce my teacher talk time (TTT). I had to think back about the elementary Thai and Korean classes that I had taken and remember how
difficult it was for me to learn the simplest vocabulary.
We had to teach two levels of students (elementary and intermediate) and a range of English systems and skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking, etc). The students that we had came from Syria, Somalia, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Iraq, Jordan, and Thailand; they were kind and patient with us, since they knew that we were trainee teachers. While we were not allowed to speak in our mother tongues with the students, I would speak in Mandarin with the China students after class to find out more about them. I hope all of them learnt something from my lessons.
CELTA schedule
The official CELTA timetable was Monday to Friday 9am to 5.30pm, but I would arrive at 8am on most weekdays to prepare and print my lesson plans and written assignments. My daily weekday schedule was this: 8am-6pm CELTA; 6-9pm dinner and wash-up; 9pm-1am sleep; 1-5am work; 5-7am sleep; 7am get ready and go to school. On the weekends (Saturday or Sunday), I would wake up at 12 noon, go to school to do lesson plans from 3pm to 6pm, after which I would have dinner and do some shopping.
There was a total of eight teaching practice sessions and four written assignments in a short span of 20 days, which meant that if I wasn’t working on my teaching practice lesson plans, I was doing a written assignment or thinking about new activities – I have a comment in my CELTA report that reads “she regularly tries to incorporate new techniques into her teaching”. I think this probably stems from the regular flexibility training and martial arts training that I do, and the fact that I’m quite a huge risk-taker – I’m always trying to find a better and different way to do things. (“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson)
And yes, I would say that the CELTA is “intense”. Good time management and working well with CELTA classmates are vital.
Accommodation
I soon found out that the Silom/Sathorn area has very expensive accommodation since it’s the central business district, so that was a main concern. I was looking at the inexpensive hotels
within walking distance, since I’m the sort who would pay a little more for a good location to avoid the well-known traffic jams in Bangkok, but the pictures of the rooms didn’t appeal to me at all – some of them looked really small and dimly-lit with no windows. I decided to try AirBnB for the first time, but I still couldn’t find a reasonably-priced room for a stretch of 30 days.
After six days of searching for a room, I decided to go with the AirBnB search term “CELTA” and found an inexpensive room; apparently, this AirBnB guy regularly hosts CELTA people since his houses are quite near IH Bangkok; a married couple from the other CELTA group rented from him too. However, the room didn’t have an air-conditioner, and I know how hot and humid Bangkok can be in April and May, so I dropped the owner a message. The next morning, I received a link from him for another room and it looked fine – it was a long rooftop room on the 6th floor, with a balcony and more importantly an air-conditioner. It was dangerous to go out after 11pm, so I tried to be in my room by 11pm on most nights, except when I went out pubbing or clubbing.
Transport
Motorcycle taxi
As a tourist in Bangkok, I would usually take the BTS and metered/non-metered taxis, and avoid the tuk-tuks since I’ve had bad experiences with them (in particular, temple and jewellery factory scams). For this trip, my AirBnB host told me that I could take the motorcycle taxi to school; my initial thought was “I’ve seen the motorcycle taxis before and they look so dangerous!” Well, yes, I still consider them a dangerous mode of transport, even after taking them for 19 rides on most weekday mornings; the only time I didn’t take time was when it was rained one weekday morning.
You’re probably wondering: if you think it’s dangerous, why do you still take the motorcycle taxi? First of all, the weekday morning traffic jam was always bad, so I would take a motorcycle taxi which could weave through traffic. When it was off-peak on the weekends, I would take a metered taxi, which costs 10 baht more. Secondly, it was a 10-minute walk to Lumphini MRT and
the weather was too hot to walk in, so it was convenient to hop on a motorcycle taxi. Thirdly, it was a five-minute motorcycle taxi ride from the AirBnB house to school, instead of a 10-minute walk to the MRT station, one MRT stop and a five-minute walk to school for a grand total of 20 minutes. 5 minutes versus 20 minutes – I could use the extra 15 minutes of sleep.
Since I usually wore an office dress to school, I would sit sideways with my shoulder bag (and laptop bag on some days) and put one hand on the rider’s shoulder, with the rider going at speeds of 60-70km/h – without a helmet. Quite an adrenaline rush, I must say. I’m not a thrill-seeker, but I have snowboarded on Grouse Mountain in Canada, deep-dived 31 metres below sea level in Bali, and zip-lined at 30 metres above ground level with both arms dangling – the guide had asked me to not hold the support harness – in a tropical forest in Cambodia, so yeah, I would count taking a motorcycle taxi while seated sideways as one of the riskier activities I’ve done.
I suppose coming to Bangkok alone to do the CELTA was a huge risk in itself too? Anyway, there was one time when the rider turned left and the bottom of my ballet pumps scraped the tarmac; after that, I always tensed my legs while seated sideways to ensure that my long legs didn’t hit the road barrier or the ground.
MRT/BTS
Since my AirBnB room was a 10-minute walk from Lumphini MRT, I took the MRT more often than the BTS. Before this trip, I had only taken it once from the Chatuchak weekend market, but this time, I took it a lot more. It’s actually a very convenient mode of transport and definitely a lot safer than the aforementioned motorcycle taxi. IH Bangkok is right beside a BTS station,
so of course I took the BTS too. Also, there is an Ochaya bubble tea stall at the BTS, which sold passion fruit green tea with very chewy black pearls – all that goodness for just 35 baht.
Taxis
I stayed in a small soi (a small lane), so I would use a third-party taxi app (UberX or GrabTaxi) if I went home late, as I could key in the room address. There was once when I had tried to flag a taxi from the road – not only did the driver try to steal my mobile phone twice, he also quoted me a ridiculous amount; I took the BTS/MRT back in the end.
Private car
I was very fortunate to have a friend fetch me from Suvarnabhumi airport when I had arrived and send me to the airport when I went back to Singapore. My first meal in Bangkok was with them – I had salmon gravadlax at IKEA and then went to Big C to get my household items. My last meal in Bangkok was also with them at the airport – I had tom yum goong and Thai iced milk tea, of course. I had a huge 25kg hardcase and a 10kg carry-on, so I really appreciate the help.
Food
The cost of my meals ranged from 25 baht (SGD1) to 250 baht (SGD10). I had one simple rule: don’t eat the same dish twice, unless I need to or I really like the food. I ate from a variety of places as well: “12” coffee shop; chicken rice coffee shop; street side food along Lumphini road (25 baht chicken drumstick and egg rice!) and Lat Phrao; small coffee shops at Lumphini; Noom restaurant (90-220 baht meals); Dolores hummus; Siam Paragon food stalls; Siam Paragon supermarket; Platinum Mall food court; karaoke pub pineapple rice; SIlom Sunday market (which I
discovered when I went to school on Sundays); street hawker fruits (I got charged the tourist price of 20 baht, instead of 10 baht); Ochaya passion fruit bubble tea (35 baht); Starbucks tiramisu; Tops supermarket salmon sashimi; etc.
I eat every two hours when I’m awake, so I was always looking for something to eat. I used to think that I have a sensitive stomach but it seems like the converse is true, so I didn’t get food poisoning at all, although I had brought Po Chai Yin pills (traditional Chinese medicine for an upset stomach) and bought travel insurance, just in case. I brought along six packets of traditional Chinese medicine for sore throats, but gave them away in the end; I probably drank enough fresh young Thai coconut water to feed a small village to stay hydrated.
Laundry
I did my own laundry once or twice a week, since most of my office dresses need to be hand-washed. I would soak the clothes in a pail for 30 minutes, wring the clothes, and rinse off the laundry detergent. I bought a clothes rack, clothes hangers, detergent powder, and pail at Big C and Tops supermarket, and gave them away at the end of my stay.
Shopping/Recreation
As a tourist, I would usually go to Siam Paragon, Platinum Mall, Chatuchak weekend market, and some martial arts gear shop if I was looking for gear. However, since I had a month in Bangkok this time, I explored a little: I went to Silom Complex (opposite IH Bangkok), Siam Square, Terminal 21 (by chance), and Union Mall which is a stone’s throw away from Chatuchak. I did foot and Thai massages at Malaysia Hotel, which was near my AirBnB room and recommended by my host. Because I was so busy with the CELTA, I only managed to do massages from the third week of the CELTA. On my second last day (a Saturday), I was going to try the Thai massage at Heath Land Asoke, but the weekend queue was too long, so I decided not to.
I almost brought my judo gi, but figured I might not have the time to train, so I didn’t. I had already contacted a Bangkok judo friend and he was going to take me to train at Chulalongkorn University judo club, and a friend wanted to take me to daido juku, but I just didn’t have the time. It would have been so fun to do full-contact MMA with the daido juku gear! Also, my AirBnB host told me that there was a free yoga class every morning at the nearby Lumphini Park, but I just didn’t have time on weekday mornings. On the weekends, I would sleep in and wake up at 12 noon. In short, the only exercise I did was walking and climbing many flights of stairs in my ballet pumps or flip-flops. I didn’t bring my Asics running shoes, so I didn’t go to the gym to lift weights.
Nightlife
The first weekend, I went to check out Soi Cowboy which was a bit of an eye-opener for me, had English breakfast tea at the Robin Hood pub (I was really sleepy), and then went to the 48th floor of the Bangkok Marriott Hotel for the view, lounge music and drinks, although I was quite reluctant to go to the Marriott since it was 1am and I had been awake since 6am.
There is a Flann O’Brien’s pub just two minutes from school, so some of us would go there to relax on Friday evenings. On the last night of the CELTA, we also went to a karaoke pub at a Patpong soi; it wasn’t my first time in Patpong (I had been there in 2010/2011), but it was certainly my first time in a karaoke pub there.
I also went to a nightclub at Thonglor/Ekkamai with a few classmates and that was the first time I witnessed a street brawl that involved someone I know; I’ve been clubbing regularly since I was 18 and even went clubbing solo last year, but this was definitely my first time being somewhat involved in a street brawl – it was a good experience.
I’m just glad that I was unharmed despite standing in front of him after he got the first punch (I honestly don’t know why I did that – guess I saw a lot of blood and my instincts just kicked in; it was impossible to hit back since there were five men and just two of us), and that he only had a light hook punch while being restrained – he sustained some burst blood vessels in his eye and a small eyebrow scrape which bled profusely (I had to apply pressure on it for 20 minutes to stop the bleeding), but his eye socket bone didn’t break and his vision wasn’t affected (I did a quick vision test with him after the bleeding had stopped).
Thank you, Bangkok
On hindsight, I am extremely glad that I did the CELTA in Bangkok, and that I didn’t fall sick at all – I really don’t know how I would have coped if anything had happened. I have always loved Bangkok as a “second home”, but this time, I left my heart in Bangkok.
If I could find a job that matches my Singapore salary, I would definitely work in Bangkok.
In any case, I’ll probably pop by for a weekend getaway between now and November – it’s just a two-hour flight away!
See you again soon,
Bangkok! <3
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Studying overseas, working overseas, or travelling solo?
I wrote this article after spending a month in Bangkok completing the Cambridge CELTA in 2015. More than a decade later, many of the lessons I took away from living and studying overseas on my own - awareness, composure, confidence, independence, and adapting to unfamiliar situations - are also reflected in the work I now do through Iron Flora.
If you are preparing to study or work overseas, travelling alone for a professional programme, or simply want to feel more confident navigating unfamiliar environments on your own, you are welcome to learn with us.
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