Bangkok, Thailand
I made it to Bangkok!!!
At 6:30 this morning, my plane landed in Thailand, and I finally reached my hostel by 10 a.m. The 30-hour transportation period is finally complete! I’m here, I’m excited, and I’m really on the other side of the world. I’m also extremely exhausted, but that should be a given by now. Wow -- I can’t believe I’m here!
At this point in time, I’m sitting in Warm White Hostel, which is located a few minutes away from the jam-packed Khao San Road. Other travelers are hanging out in the lobby around me, some making coffee, others talking about their drunk adventures of last night, some smoking cigarettes outside the glass wall. People with bulky backpacks are wandering in and out. It’s airy and upbeat, and everyone appears to be between legs of their journeys. We’re all waiting to either check in or out of our rooms, ready to start a new adventure.
I can’t get into my room until 2 p.m., so I’m just hanging out alongside the others. I am so content, but wow, it still feels surreal that I’m here!
After landing in Bangkok, I took a taxi from the airport to my hostel. Taxis here have a reputation of being relatively shady, but my bright pink ride luckily was scam-free. If you ever travel to Thailand, this is something to be aware of: make sure the taxi’s meter is on before heading out, with the initial price of 35 baht clearly displayed on the screen. If a driver doesn’t do this, they can charge you ridiculously large amounts of money without any proof that it’s not accurate. By ridiculously large, I mean like 750 baht, which is really only like $20 to get into the central city, but that’s still double what it should cost.
Anyway, my driver was nice and punched the meter right away, so we got off to a good start. The ride into the city consisted of us attempting to make conversation, but due to the language barriers, our conversation went more like this:
Taxi Driver: How many times you been to Bangkok?
Me: This is my first!
Silence
Me: ...One!
Silence
Taxi Driver: Apovuddjgnds afvdudn.
Me: Haha…
Silence.
Me: Beautiful city!
Taxi Driver: huh…?
Silence.
Driver: Suvhsdohodvzvsfgd sdd s tr.
Me: Heh.
Driver: No -- aosudgsuor tolls.
Me: Oh! You need money for tolls! ...Korp Kun Kah (phonetic spelling of "thank you" in Thai).
Silence.
This was the pattern for pretty much the entire ride. It was awkward, but at least I kept away from scams. After about an hour of driving, he dropped me off in the hussle and bussle of the city, right in front of my hostel.
Again, this was 10 a.m., so from this point, I had about 11 hours until I could meet with Roxanne. Her flight from Australia doesn’t land until 7 p.m., and she'll probably need another two hours to collect her luggage and drive over. With my spare time, I decided to go walk around the city.
I left my pack at the hostel and checked out some Saturday morning markets. As I walked through booths and alleyways, the fact that I’m in Thailand alone really hit me. I effortlessly navigated flights by myself and was able to set out in a completely new city. The self-sufficiency is invigorating.
Booths were crammed together on sidewalks and in the streets, selling everything from fried meat on sticks to work attire to fresh fruit to crop tops. Motorcycles and Thai conversations whirled about: it was chaotic and beautiful.
However, it was also quite hot. I was still wearing my airport gear, as I couldn’t get access to my room and consequently a place to change. This included two pairs of socks and full leggings in the 90 degree heat.
So, I worked my way back to the hostel, and here I am now. I’ve just been talking with some other travelers, anticipating the moment when I can reach a bed to nap in.