Thailand: Part IV

8.17.2011

And, finally, Bangkok. I'm still unsure how I should write about Bangkok. A lot of factors come into play when reflecting on how I feel about that city.

Factor number one: we began our trip on paradise, on an island where the word "beauty" was possibly birthed. Time did not exist and people floated (literally) through life without a care in the world. Then, to go to Bangkok, where the reality of a big city smacked us in the face like a huge brown coconut was not easy, to say the least.

Factor number two: we got sick! The day we left Koh Chang, Charlotte and I both felt a little tickle in our throats. And without saying anything in fear that saying it will confirm it, we secretly prayed that this was nothing but a tickle. Unfortunately, that was not the case. And even more unfortunate, Charlotte got much sicker than I did. On the 5-more-like-6-hour bus ride to Bangkok, she was shivering, then sweating, then tired, then coughing, then sneezing, then shivering again :( I felt so bad for her!

Factor number three: we weren't going to party. We wanted to relaaaaax. I guess if our intention to go to Bangkok was to get belligerent and join the other foreigners in the streets until four in the morning, I'd have raver reviews for you. But that wasn't our deal and it was unsettling to be woken up by our neighbors, quite literally, falling into their rooms and barfing their brains out at five in the morning.

Factor number four: we were intimidated. I don't think Charlotte and I prepared ourselves mentally for how busy, big and chaotic Bangkok can be. It's a big city. There's a lot of people and not everyone is there to cater to the tourists' needs. I'm proud to call myself a budget-traveler and I know how to travel low maintenance, but my mentality that week was to be on vacation. Had I been ready for adventures and exploring, Bangkok would have been perfect. But I wasn't.

Now, with all that said, I enjoyed Bangkok. It was overwhelming at times, but there's no denying that there's a lot of culture there. Eating $1 pad thai and then chasing it down with $1 fresh blended juice and then getting $1 mangoes for dessert is just hard to beat, I don't care who you are. Wouldn't you agree?

Another highlight of Bangkok was our day trip to Ayutthaya, which was Thailand's ancient capital city. Tons of ruined temples hide behind these tall trees and lush green fields, but up close, they're not inconspicuous at all. They're tall, bright and full of history.

And without further adieu, Bangkok. Oh, but I should warn you, some of these photos aren't very good quality. While editing the photos, I accidentally deleted the originals. The only way to salvage them was to take a screen shot of the photos in the editing program. Totally lame, but totally my fault. If you squint a little, they look clear :)

[On Kao San Road, where our hotel was. "We're never close."]
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[My new Thai pants. Don't hate. I got three pairs.]
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[Enjoying cheap but delicious pad thai!]
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[The first temple in Ayutthaya]
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[Charlotte and her friendly stray :)]
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[Lunch was included in our day trip. Got to enjoy some authentic Thai food
next to this beautiful brown river.]
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[A cute road near our hotel]
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[One last juice before we go!]
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Recently, I was told I didn't do Thailand right. Instead of seeing all the touristy stuff, I should have gone to a couple of other places. Even though I didn't have a chance to experience these "other" places, I'm glad they're there...it gives me something to look forward to next time. But then again, why go to Bangkok when you have the islands?!

To see all the photos from Thailand, visit my Flickr page here. Until next time, bisous xoxo.

3 comments :

Michael said...

Didn't do Thailand right?! No such thing! Haters gonna hate.

Susan said...

Love them pants. When you get tired of them, hand them up to me. All 3 of them. :-)

Laila said...

If I had known you were going before you could have met up with my cousins! My Dad's brother and family live there still, my cousins are like 17-21. Oh well, next trip :)