The Bangkok Adventure

The last time I was in Bangkok was when I was about 8-9 years old. It's been at least 15 years, and I don't have a fond memory of this city. All I remember is that I cut the queue at a restaurant, which I got yelled at. Since then, I never cut lines anymore HAHAHA...

The flight to Bangkok was one hell of a ride. The ascend was pretty steep, and the descent felt more or less the same as riding a rollercoaster. I blame the clouds above Suphanburi. What I was surprised more was how large Don Meaung Airport is. It is behind Suvarnabhumi in the pecking order, but still, it was too big imo for an airport that accepts mostly neighbouring international flights.

First thing first, Traffic. Bangkok traffic deserves its category in the list of busiest traffic in the world. If Google Maps mentions 30 mins, aim around 1:30 hrs. Some people in Vancouver complain about Van City traffic; I guess they haven't been to Bangkok.

The night I arrived, a friend picked me up at the hotel. I got to see a lot of places around my area; centralwOrld, Erawan Shrine and nearby night markets. Bangkok at night is beautiful from the connecting bridges; One gets to see the gigantic traffic and laugh at it XDDD. Nana Area; I have no words. Never in my life I have seen something like this. The streets around it were filled with clubs, bars and sex workers. These people were everywhere; they kept touching people who walked past by. What's worse was that I had no clue if they were females or trans. There's just no way of distinguishing them. Also, I thought only Thais get to do this stuff, but I was so wrong; I saw Caucasians, Asians, Blacks and Latinos. Very very interesting...

I met friends whom I hadn't seen since middle school. We spent a good chunk of time catching up, chatting and laughing in the middle of a food court with no shame XD. We spent the whole day wandering around; this is where I got to most parts of the city. Asiatique was stunning; the market, ferris wheel and a mini amusement park. We tried a highly-rated Mookata nearby, but it was overrated imo.

Other days were pretty much soloing around the city. I always believe in giving myself some time and enjoying life at my own speed. Going with friends is nice, but on the one hand, you don't get to do some things because you don't want them to see it, or you are just too shy to show it. To me, soloing gives me the freedom of taking whatever time needed to do something, and doing whatever I want to do.

On one of the remaining days, I went around the city using only a bike and boat. I biked to Talat Noi, a spot known for street art and retro vibes. Exactly what I was looking for. Then, I took a boat from a nearby dock into the Chao Phraya River. What's about to come next is what I call a true soloing experience.

Living in a first-world country has taught me to rely on technology, but that doesn't always work in Southeast Asia. I was supposed to take an Orange boat, and Google Maps showed it had arrived, so I boarded it. It turned out to be a Green boat which headed in the same direction but with different stops. My goal was to see Wat Arun from the boat during sunset, which I got to see, but I had to stop at a different dock to get back to where I wanted to go, now with an Orange boat. Waiting for the boat was a true Bangkok experience; watching the sun go down behind the scrappy buildings. This is what the freedom of soloing means to me; if I were to travel with a friend, I might not have experienced these at all.

On the other side, there are a lot of Burmese in Bangkok. There's a good chance that a Burmese is around you every minute you are in BKK. From Pratunam to Khao San Road, our people are making a living. The sad side of this shows how poor Myanmar has become in the past few years. The standard of living, and wages have gone down while the inflation rose, so people had no choice but to flee to survive and afford families back home. MAYBE, the increasing population is the reason why Thailand left Myanmar alone in the 14-day VISA-free category while upgrading others to 30 days. Every country's moving forward while we are falling behind....by a lot.