Flying From Bangkok to Paris With Thai Airways

Our journey started with a midnight Thai Airways flight from Bangkok to Paris.

I usually enjoy overnight international flights because there is a different feeling when you board a plane at night knowing that, when you wake up, you will be in another part of the world.

After spending the night in the air, we arrived in Paris at around 7:30 AM local time on the morning of the 2nd.

And just like that, our France and Switzerland journey had officially started.

After getting off the flight, our first task was immigration.

We completed the immigration formalities, collected our luggage and finally walked out of the airport.

After a long overnight journey from Bangkok, we were tired, but the excitement of being in Paris for the first time was much stronger.

From Paris Airport to Asnières-sur-Seine

Instead of immediately trying to understand the Paris public transportation system with all our luggage, we decided to book a Grab ride to our Airbnb.

Our accommodation was in Asnières-sur-Seine, just outside central Paris.

Choosing this area turned out to be convenient for us because we were staying close to Asnières-sur-Seine train station, making it easy to travel toward central Paris during our stay.

The station has connections on the Transilien network toward Paris Saint-Lazare, which made it a practical base for exploring the city.

Our First Morning in Paris – From Bangkok to Our Airbnb in Asnières-sur-Seine

Paris had been on our travel plans for a long time, and finally the journey was beginning.

This was not going to be a short European holiday. We had planned 18 days across France and Switzerland, starting with five nights in Paris.

After all the planning, bookings and excitement, it was finally time to leave Bangkok and begin another new travel experience.

Our First Airbnb Experience

Another interesting part of this trip was that this was our first experience staying in an Airbnb.

Until this journey, hotels had normally been our choice while travelling.

So I was curious about how staying in an apartment would feel compared with staying in a hotel.

Our first impression was very good.

The Airbnb was nice, comfortable and, most importantly for our travel plans, conveniently located near the train station.

We reached the apartment and checked in at around 11:30 AM.

After travelling overnight from Bangkok, we didn’t want to rush straight into sightseeing.

We had five nights in Paris ahead of us, so there was no reason to exhaust ourselves on the first day.

We unpacked a little, settled into our new temporary home and relaxed for about one hour.

That short rest was exactly what we needed.

Our First Walk Through the Streets of Paris

Around lunchtime, we stepped outside.

This was the moment when Paris started feeling real.

There is always something special about the first walk in a new city.

You don’t know the streets yet. You don’t know which direction will become familiar after a few days. Even an ordinary coffee shop, bakery or street corner feels interesting because everything is new.

The weather was comfortable, so we started walking around the area near Asnières-sur-Seine station.

We weren’t searching for a famous Paris attraction yet.

No Eiffel Tower.

No Louvre.

No big sightseeing checklist.

For the first few hours, we simply wanted to understand our neighbourhood.

We noticed several small restaurants, cafés, bakeries and places where local people were stopping for lunch or coffee.

This is something I enjoy when travelling.

Before visiting the famous attractions, I like getting a feeling for the everyday life around the place where we are staying.

Our First Lunch in France – Döner Kebab

After walking around for a while, hunger finally won.

There were several options around us, but we decided to keep our first lunch simple and have a Döner Kebab.

Maybe it wasn’t the traditional French lunch someone would imagine for their first day in Paris, but that’s the reality of travel.

Not every meal has to be planned or famous.

Sometimes after a long flight, you simply find something nearby that looks good, sit down and eat.

And that became our first lunch in France.

Getting Our Navigo Weekly Transport Pass

After lunch, we had one important practical job to finish.

Since we were going to spend five nights in Paris and expected to use public transportation frequently, we wanted a convenient way to travel by train, Metro and bus.

We arranged our Navigo Weekly Pass, locally called Navigo Semaine.

For travellers planning to use public transportation frequently, understanding the Paris transport system early can make the rest of the trip much easier.

One important thing travellers should know is that the Navigo Weekly Pass operates on a fixed Monday-to-Sunday schedule, rather than simply being valid for seven days from the date you buy it.

Once our transport arrangements were sorted, I felt much more relaxed.

Now we were ready to explore Paris properly over the coming days.

Our First Coffee and Bakery Stop in Paris

There was still one more thing I wanted before returning to our Airbnb.

Coffee.

We stopped at a local café/bakery near the station.

Sitting there with our first coffee in France felt like a small moment, but these are often the memories I enjoy most from travelling.

We had flown overnight from Bangkok, landed in Paris early in the morning, passed immigration, reached our first Airbnb, walked through our new neighbourhood, eaten our first lunch and figured out our transportation.

Now we could finally sit with a coffee and simply enjoy the feeling:

We were in Paris.

After coffee and some time around the local bakery, we walked back to our Airbnb.

It was around 4:00 PM when we returned to the room.

The first half of our first day had been intentionally simple.

There had been no rush to see famous landmarks.

Instead, we had used those first few hours to settle in, understand the neighbourhood and prepare ourselves for the days ahead.

And our real Paris exploration was only about to begin.

To be continued — our first evening and the beginning of our Paris sightseeing journey.

First Evening in Paris

In the evening, we visited Qwartz Mall and spent some time exploring the area. Later, we returned to our Airbnb neighborhood, where we enjoyed the relaxed local atmosphere with a café stop and a beer nearby.

Since it was our first night and we were tired from the day’s journey, we decided to call it an early night. It was a simple and relaxing end to our first day, giving us some much-needed rest before exploring more the next morning.

First time we saw sunset at 8:30 pm.

FAQs About Our First Day in Paris

1. Where did we stay during our first visit to Paris?

We stayed in an Airbnb in Asnières-sur-Seine, an area just outside central Paris with convenient train connections into the city.

2. How many nights did we plan to stay in Paris?

Paris was the first part of our 18-day France and Switzerland journey, and we planned to stay there for five nights.

3. What time did we arrive in Paris?

Our Thai Airways overnight flight from Bangkok arrived at around 7:30 AM local time.

4. Was this our first Airbnb experience?

Yes. This Paris trip was our first time staying in an Airbnb, and our initial experience was very positive.

5. Is Asnières-sur-Seine convenient for visiting Paris?

For us, it was convenient because our Airbnb was close to Asnières-sur-Seine station, allowing us to travel toward central Paris easily.

6. Which train station serves Asnières-sur-Seine?

Asnières-sur-Seine station is served by the Transilien network, including Lines J and L, with connections toward Paris Saint-Lazare.

7. Which Paris transport pass did we arrange?

We arranged the Navigo Weekly Pass, known as Navigo Semaine, because we expected to use public transportation regularly during our Paris stay.

8. Is the Navigo Weekly Pass valid for seven days after purchase?

No. Navigo Semaine follows a fixed weekly period from Monday through Sunday, so travellers should check whether its validity fits their travel dates before buying it.

9. What did we eat for our first lunch in Paris?

Our first meal after arriving was simple: Döner Kebab near Asnières-sur-Seine station.

10. What did we do during our first afternoon in Paris?

We explored the streets around our Airbnb, had lunch, arranged our transport pass, enjoyed our first coffee and bakery stop, and returned to our Airbnb at around 4 PM to relax.