I will never be Thai-ered of leaving the country
Sawadi-ka!
I graduated, and within two weeks I was in Thailand.
Moved out of my beloved college home, moved my parents out of our beloved California Treehouse Home, and moved myself across the world. Would you believe that I still needed my mom to pack my bags? Despite going to a continent I'd never been to, I have adapted quite well. Thailand is a very colorful city of extremes: conservative rule-followers who scowl you for eating on the subway, monks blessing you with holy water, the seasonal Asian-invasion of Chinese tourists, and lady-boy prostitutes who I've been meaning to ask for help with make-up. I've had the best $6 massages of my life from women half my size and had too many near-death experiences from riding in taxi cabs (tuk-tuks) during rush hour. I've been THRIVING. But most of all,... the FOOD. I thought $2 street tacos were heaven, but I have never enjoyed such mysterious flavors from sidewalk kitchens and sweet thai women who hand you two baggies of rice and (hopefully) curry for 55 THB (~$1).
I've now been here for two weeks, moved into my own apartment, started my job. Adulting now allows me to recap. For the sake of saving everyone on Facebook a mass spam wave of my experiences, I will try to make this post as efficient as possible.
Day 1: My father and I sought to cover as much ground as possible. We asked around and figured out the BTS (Bangkok Train System) headed to a flower market.
I will try to properly explain all of the things going on, please forgive me for any inaccuracies
Pak Khlong Flower Market
Khlong San Night Market
Things to note: I was warned that Thai food is especially harsh on foreign stomachs, however, we did not experience any misfortune after eating street food. Perhaps it was from mainly eating hotel and restaurant food the first couple meals or perhaps it was our steel guts. Also, I was personally terrified of the BTS and getting lost. Even with all service people unable to speak English we fared okay.
Day 2: Tour of the Bangkok Temples. My father and I were clueless on what to do in Bangkok so we just booked a tour on GetYourGuide.com for some activities that were all very well organized and reasonably priced.
The tour begins with a boat rides...
Temple of the Emerald Buddha / Grand Palace
Shot of the temples; blue roof is where the Emerald Buddha resides
Royal Library
Many temples visible on this site
Holy water lotus blessings outside the Emerald Buddha Temple; photos and shoes were prohibited
The king's family does reside there at a private residence seasonally and for short visits. They do pay visits to pray at these temples and ask for prosperity, protection, and luck from the Buddhas. Also note, every since design on every single temple is hand painted. Yes, like, with your hand.
Temple of the Reclining Buddha / Wat Pho (pronounced P as in Pad Thai)
Gold flakes are pressed to other Buddhas for signs of luck and protection
The Reclining Buddha 15 m high and 46 m long
Burial Sites
Wat Arun
A place of education and practice for monks
The walls are made of broken plates and pottery
Khaosan Road (aka backpacker paradise)
A great place to see white people when you're missing home!
Day 3: We booked another trip on GetYourGuide.com to see the floating markets! Highly recommend going through a travel company. It gives you a great tour of what you want to see scam-free, however we personally wished we got more time to spend here.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The long boat ride took us through a canal to the market entrance
Her morning commute
Have you ever eaten a bowl of spicy Phat Thai in a narrow row boat? Best way to do so
A couple days later... My father and I headed up to Chiang Mai for a change of scenery and literal breath of fresh air.
Wat Prathat Doi Suthep & Wat Saen Fang
In Chiang Mai we stay at this boutique hotel called the Ban Chang Tong. It was a dream hotel for less than a $100 a night. This is what it looked like...
Bangkok is dirty and loud and overcrowded and smelly. It has scams around every corner and traffic worse than LA. Yet, the Thai culture has already showed me so much love and welcoming into their country. I am so grateful to be able to spend some of my life here and excited to see what happens next!
I graduated, and within two weeks I was in Thailand.
Moved out of my beloved college home, moved my parents out of our beloved California Treehouse Home, and moved myself across the world. Would you believe that I still needed my mom to pack my bags? Despite going to a continent I'd never been to, I have adapted quite well. Thailand is a very colorful city of extremes: conservative rule-followers who scowl you for eating on the subway, monks blessing you with holy water, the seasonal Asian-invasion of Chinese tourists, and lady-boy prostitutes who I've been meaning to ask for help with make-up. I've had the best $6 massages of my life from women half my size and had too many near-death experiences from riding in taxi cabs (tuk-tuks) during rush hour. I've been THRIVING. But most of all,... the FOOD. I thought $2 street tacos were heaven, but I have never enjoyed such mysterious flavors from sidewalk kitchens and sweet thai women who hand you two baggies of rice and (hopefully) curry for 55 THB (~$1).
I've now been here for two weeks, moved into my own apartment, started my job. Adulting now allows me to recap. For the sake of saving everyone on Facebook a mass spam wave of my experiences, I will try to make this post as efficient as possible.
Day 1: My father and I sought to cover as much ground as possible. We asked around and figured out the BTS (Bangkok Train System) headed to a flower market.
I will try to properly explain all of the things going on, please forgive me for any inaccuracies
Pak Khlong Flower Market
Khlong San Night Market
Things to note: I was warned that Thai food is especially harsh on foreign stomachs, however, we did not experience any misfortune after eating street food. Perhaps it was from mainly eating hotel and restaurant food the first couple meals or perhaps it was our steel guts. Also, I was personally terrified of the BTS and getting lost. Even with all service people unable to speak English we fared okay.
Day 2: Tour of the Bangkok Temples. My father and I were clueless on what to do in Bangkok so we just booked a tour on GetYourGuide.com for some activities that were all very well organized and reasonably priced.
The tour begins with a boat rides...
Temple of the Emerald Buddha / Grand Palace
Guardian demons to keep out bad spirits block the doorway behind me
Holy water lotus blessings outside the Emerald Buddha Temple; photos and shoes were prohibited
The king's family does reside there at a private residence seasonally and for short visits. They do pay visits to pray at these temples and ask for prosperity, protection, and luck from the Buddhas. Also note, every since design on every single temple is hand painted. Yes, like, with your hand.
Temple of the Reclining Buddha / Wat Pho (pronounced P as in Pad Thai)
Wat Arun
Khaosan Road (aka backpacker paradise)
Day 3: We booked another trip on GetYourGuide.com to see the floating markets! Highly recommend going through a travel company. It gives you a great tour of what you want to see scam-free, however we personally wished we got more time to spend here.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
A couple days later... My father and I headed up to Chiang Mai for a change of scenery and literal breath of fresh air.
Wat Prathat Doi Suthep & Wat Saen Fang
In Chiang Mai we stay at this boutique hotel called the Ban Chang Tong. It was a dream hotel for less than a $100 a night. This is what it looked like...
I only recommend places worth writing the Google review about. This is one of them.
For sake of length, I will finish sharing about the rest of my experience in Chiang Mai with elephants for the next post as I am falling asleep writing this novel. As I record and share this time abroad, as travelling is my favorite way to grow in every direction, I just want to thank you for reading this whole thing and showing a genuine interest in my adventure. I'm grateful to have people to share with and glean so much wisdom from while I'm a few hours away.
In closing, I just want to say,....
Bangkok is dirty and loud and overcrowded and smelly. It has scams around every corner and traffic worse than LA. Yet, the Thai culture has already showed me so much love and welcoming into their country. I am so grateful to be able to spend some of my life here and excited to see what happens next!
Love love love this! Thank you for writing all of this ❤️
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