Same Same, but Diffferent

Almost 3 months here. My life in กรุงเทพมหานคร (Bangkok) is halfway complete and I don't know how to feel about it.

Did you know Thai people actually call Bangkok Grun-tep, which means, "area of angels"

"Thailand" is just the word everyone else uses

Time is simply flying by and I know I will miss this warm feather-like humid air and population of independent women who chase ladies nights and adventure as much as I do.

In January, I jump on a plane and move to a new Asian Destination for Part II of my training program. And at this point of my journey I feel all sorts of things about leaving. Its hard to clearly communicate, but in so few words, the way I feel about leaving is the same way I feel about leaving a really fun party right when my favorite song comes on. I am at my peak time of growth and maturity, but yet know I am in the peak years of youth! Making friends, taking risks, travelling alone. Would it be strange to say Bangkok is like a roller coaster you're riding for the first time? You have no idea what this food will taste like-- salty or sweet? Is this bus going where they said it was going? Is this how a normal massage goes?

Enough about this.

Bangkok is fun, but for my memory's sake, and all my American readers virgin to Thai ground, let me sit in my Americanization with you and marvel at cultural differences. This art really sums it up...

A city stitched together by contradictions, making for one very fun cultural Mosaic. 

This post is a little premature, but my memory isn't good but this information is, and I don't want to forget a single detail. 

Shopping.

Malls. Everywhere. Linked to the BTS, owned by the same family. Going to a mall is more of a past-time or a lunch destination than it is a shopping center. Every single train stop has a mall and these malls have 5-9 floors of department store, tech stores, food courts, you name it. But beyond the malls the streets are an ongoing tunnel of pop-up shops selling everything you see on Wish and every other online knock-off shop. I went broke fast my first month. 

I eat out a lot (its simply just cheaper and more delicious) but also started grocery shopping at a Tesco (the US Kroger, Vons, etc) when I got here, you know to continue my regular routine. I was skeptical on the water quality and didn't want to chance local market food. But guess what, I went broke over buying imported cheeses. So I started buying food from outside my apartment on the street. The veggies are unrecognizable and the vendor laughs at my attempts at Thai, so I mean, what else can you do but fry it in soy sauce and love it no matter what? I buy more often, for $1 a bundle of goods, since the everything must be eaten in a day or it goes limp. I can't explain to you how good my body feels eating this way. This is one of the ladies in my soi pushing me to buy some large beans. She has no teeth and was standing out here despite it pouring rain at the time. 

Taxis

Thailand doesn't have Uber. They have the BTS (the SkyTrain), normal yellow taxis, "Orange Jackets" (city motorcyclists), songthaews (shared minibuses), and Grab (basically Uber). Grab sets a price before you book, taxis price change based off how long you travel, and Orange Jackets just offer a high price with the hopes that you don't know better to negotiate. Motorbikes are also faster since they can weave through traffic and slip past red lights (traffic laws, what?). BTS is cheap as heck, but after midnight it closes down. For those late hours, I call a Grab, which by the way can be a car or a motorbike. (I obviously Motorbike Babe it everytime).

There are also tuk-tuks, which are fun for about 1 ride. After that you've lost most of your cash and breathed in heaps of car exhaust by sitting in traffic. But hey, you do feel like a queen so depends where your priorities are at!

Nudity

Don't worry I'm not about to make my mother blush. Again, you see this contradiction of Bangkok, as nudity is both sexualized and normalized. You have regions of exploited women, an entire tourist population characterized as "SexPats," the grossly notorious Ping Pong Shows, and the normalization of Lady Boys, but also an unsaid respect for the body and its functions. Massages are intimately non-sexual (there's another paradox) and women are most often covered up, especially in the temples and places of worship that are located everywhere. Thailand is considered a "Conservative Culture." Totally makes sense, right?

I went to one of the Red Light districts, (below) called Soi Cowboy. Its a party soi and consists of beautiful Thai women and Lady Boys (I can't tell the difference) and slimy ape-like men and backpackers. The lights are bright, the drinks are cheap, and the music is loud, but I think I'll stick with going to my sidewalk bars.

Tradition

Tradition includes customs and spirituality. You see temples everywhere. They're covered in gold, they're huge, women on sidewalks sit on the ground and make flower wreaths for you to offer to Buddha and there are frequently public places of worship and offering. Temples are just as beautiful as you see in the photos, truly breathtaking. Everything on them are HAND PAINTED by monks or students. 

Similar to a home having some sort of spiritual sanctuary, bible study area, collection of crystals, or prayer mat, homes here will have a designated, elaborate "Spirit House" to pray to, asking for luck and protection from bad spirits. People will live in a tin lean-to shack on the side of the freeway and will have this gold trimmed altar-looking pedestal in their tiny yard. I learned thought that these altar are in fact not Buddhist worship centers, but rather a "Spirit House" dedicated to Chao Thi, the displaced earth spirit that was within the land now developed on. The fact that money for this elaborate decor is present on even the poorest of home shows how much Thai spirituality means and how seriously they rely on Buddha for protection. Another thing odd to us Americans where Church and State and separate,....my work has a Buddhist area to pray in that some coworkers go to before eating lunch. I think its beautiful. 

Here you see a young girl spinning silk from worm cocoons. Because of Jim Thompson's help globalizing Thai silk, it is the jewel it is today. 

Poverty and Love

Ahhhhh this photo. I can't tell you how warm it makes me. I will keep this photo in my pocket forever and feel the selfless love it emits each time. 

Some other different things

• You're not allowed to eat on public transport, and this rule is followed aggressively: guards won't let you on the train and people will give you some very stern looks
• HEALTHCARE. Man this will be hard to get over! It is cheap and accessible and amazingly serviced. Clean facilities with bilingual doctors who help. Appointments are easy to schedule, can be on the weekend, and cost just as much as my American copay. 
• Don't speak bad about the king. Ever. 

Don't worry; talk to God
Mali