After 33 hours of travel, my arrival to Bangkok was nothing short of a spectacular relief. Insanely dressed in a (culturally appropriate) floor length skirt and long sleeve shirt, I was dripping sweat before leaving the terminal. I sailed through immigration after receiving a free 30-day visa stamp for Thailand (note: entering by land only grants a 15-day visa). I'd booked a bed at Bodega Bangkok from Hostelworld.com (highly recommend this site if you like to book ahead of time) and was determined to get there via the cheapest route possible. This meant AirTran (FREE) to Subway (27 baht, roughly .83 cents) and a long walk through some hectic Bangkok sois (streets).
Upon arrival, I instantly met a professional jump-roper from Baltimore (Note to self: check out CirqueDream). She had been (diarrhea) sick for two entire weeks (even hospitalized for five days) and invited me out for her first meal since it all began. What did she choose? WAFFLES. Did I come all this way to the culinary capital of the world to eat waffles?! I don't think so. I did join her though. And then broke away to wander where I discovered my overall opinion of Bangkok is average mainly because nothing really appealed to me at that moment in time. But then again, cities usually never appeal to me. I realized I've had this vision of Southeast Asia for a long time, and Bangkok is SO far from that image that I could not shake it.
Considering Bangkok is home to over 8 million people (comparable to NYC), the streets are overcrowded with (hazardous) food carts, maniacal motorbike drivers, vendor tents with all the same various goods and bundles of (mostly empty) tuk-tuks. The sidewalks are hardly manageable for pedestrians to walk on and amidst all this chaos are the gnarliest smells that only rats should know about. What a way to kill an appetite. But contrary to my novice nose, everyone eats the next-to-nothing-but-oh-so-delicious street food. Apparently, many Thai families don't even have kitchens in their homes. So I get it. They are trying to feed their people...all 8 million of them + the nearly 30 million tourists that pass through their city on an annual basis. I just feel like they could be a little more innovative with their set up. I know I sound like a diva, but it's a logistical nightmare--there is garbage, grease and gasoline fumes everywhere. Where is the government involvement in all of this? MUST RESEARCH. I definitely like that it seems to be run by the people, but they appear to have no sanitation or safety guidelines or concerns.
But then there is night time. And this is when Bangkok sparkles. All the grime disappears, the lights come on and it feels like a less energy sucking Las Vegas. I went out to dinner with new friends (from America, Scotland, New Zealand & Sweden) and ate my first Thai meal--squid & rice & fried egg + Shanghai beer (100 baht / $3). It was divine. We proceeded to play our own version of King's Cup, Bangkok style (see rules below) and recruit a slew of other worldly comrades, all of us buzzing with energy from around the globe, brought together through our love of travel and adventure. This, I recalled, is the backpacker's life. You're never alone, you're never bored and you're always absorbing some form of culture just by putting yourself in a new place. It's spectacularly stimulating.
King's Cup, Bangkok Style
Ace: Bust a move
2: Fuck you
3: Fuck me
4: Whores
5: Drive & Sing
6: Dicks
7: Heaven
8: Pick a date
9: Bust a Rhyme
10: Never Have I Ever
Jack: Make a Rule
Queen: Question Master
King: Jam Session (sing-along-song)
*Next day: Overnight train ticket, tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace, Buddah.
*Next stop: Chiang Mai
Upon arrival, I instantly met a professional jump-roper from Baltimore (Note to self: check out CirqueDream). She had been (diarrhea) sick for two entire weeks (even hospitalized for five days) and invited me out for her first meal since it all began. What did she choose? WAFFLES. Did I come all this way to the culinary capital of the world to eat waffles?! I don't think so. I did join her though. And then broke away to wander where I discovered my overall opinion of Bangkok is average mainly because nothing really appealed to me at that moment in time. But then again, cities usually never appeal to me. I realized I've had this vision of Southeast Asia for a long time, and Bangkok is SO far from that image that I could not shake it.
Considering Bangkok is home to over 8 million people (comparable to NYC), the streets are overcrowded with (hazardous) food carts, maniacal motorbike drivers, vendor tents with all the same various goods and bundles of (mostly empty) tuk-tuks. The sidewalks are hardly manageable for pedestrians to walk on and amidst all this chaos are the gnarliest smells that only rats should know about. What a way to kill an appetite. But contrary to my novice nose, everyone eats the next-to-nothing-but-oh-so-delicious street food. Apparently, many Thai families don't even have kitchens in their homes. So I get it. They are trying to feed their people...all 8 million of them + the nearly 30 million tourists that pass through their city on an annual basis. I just feel like they could be a little more innovative with their set up. I know I sound like a diva, but it's a logistical nightmare--there is garbage, grease and gasoline fumes everywhere. Where is the government involvement in all of this? MUST RESEARCH. I definitely like that it seems to be run by the people, but they appear to have no sanitation or safety guidelines or concerns.
But then there is night time. And this is when Bangkok sparkles. All the grime disappears, the lights come on and it feels like a less energy sucking Las Vegas. I went out to dinner with new friends (from America, Scotland, New Zealand & Sweden) and ate my first Thai meal--squid & rice & fried egg + Shanghai beer (100 baht / $3). It was divine. We proceeded to play our own version of King's Cup, Bangkok style (see rules below) and recruit a slew of other worldly comrades, all of us buzzing with energy from around the globe, brought together through our love of travel and adventure. This, I recalled, is the backpacker's life. You're never alone, you're never bored and you're always absorbing some form of culture just by putting yourself in a new place. It's spectacularly stimulating.
King's Cup, Bangkok Style
Ace: Bust a move
2: Fuck you
3: Fuck me
4: Whores
5: Drive & Sing
6: Dicks
7: Heaven
8: Pick a date
9: Bust a Rhyme
10: Never Have I Ever
Jack: Make a Rule
Queen: Question Master
King: Jam Session (sing-along-song)
*Next day: Overnight train ticket, tuk-tuk to the Grand Palace, Buddah.
*Next stop: Chiang Mai
RSS Feed