hi!
although it seems so long ago now since i was in bangkok, almost a month has passed, i still feel i should include at least a few words on it. afterall, it is an incredible city!
coming from slow, relaxed bali, bangkok was quite overwhelming at first. in ubud, life is very mellow, by 10pm everything is closing down and people are heading back to their hotels, me included. so you can imagine how strange it seemed to me to arrive in the big city at 1:30 in the morning and have a bustling nightlife going on all around me. i hadnt yet booked a place, but i was immediately not worried when i saw the throngs of people on the street. that's one of the best things about bangkok in my opinion - for a huge city, you feel totally safe, any time day or night, because there are just tons of people out anytime! and i mean ANY TIME: around the clock, people are out, either sightseeing in the day or partying at night and well into the morning. you never have to worry about being alone on an empty street, it just doesnt happen.
but back to it being overwhelming.. it's hard to even begin to describe it. if you haven't been to a major asian city before, (which i hadn't, except for China, which is tame compared to the southeast asian metropolitans), you just have never seen anything like it. the traffic, for starters, is more insane than anything i have ever witnessed in my entire life. there are just millions of people, cars, motorbikes, taxis, tuk tuks, bicycles, etc, on every street. and not only the quantity, but the speed at which they drive is just incredible! they really fly. in the 5 days i was there, i never crossed the street alone once. i would always wait for a local and then run across at their heels. ha you think i'm joking, but i'm dead serious. it's that crazy.
then there's the pollution and the climate. what can i say except that diesel exhaust and 90 degree weather with high high humidity is enough to put anyone over the edge at moments. you're sticky all the time and several showers a day are just a must. oh god - just remembering the heat makes me squirm!
but these, of course, are the chaotic and not so glamorous aspects of the city, which only make up its surface. once you get beyond that, it's a wonderful and exciting place to be. first of all, the food is soo good! street vendors are everywhere and selling endless varieties of anything you could possibly want to eat, along with things you probably never dreamed of eating. they really have everything - from the ripest, sweetest fruit i've ever tasted to strange and rare seafood and other indistinguishable dishes. it's so fun! and so cheap, as well. i would just try a little something here, and then later a little something there. i never really ate meals in bangkok, just snacked all day long. the highlights - definitely the curry, tom yum soup (a spicy soup somewhat like red curry but more sour, i like it with shrimp), the fruit (best pineapple i've ever had!) and the buns with different fillings. and the roti (fried dough with different toppings) was also to die for!
next best thing about bangkok is no doubt the shopping! there are malls that make ours look like nothing. in siam square, the ritzy mall area, there are malls upon malls every block, and each one incredibly enormous! i read on the side of one as i passed by on a bus: 'over 1,000 stores!' and that's just one mall in the midst of many. but actually, though the prices are low by our standards, for me, i didnt find it all that exciting, so it wasn't where i spent my time or money. i prefer the street vendors for shopping as well as eating. the items are more unique and unlike the things we have at home. and with the fun of bargaining, it's the best - both entertaining and dirt cheap prices! i bought a few things already, but what i'm most excited for is visiting the sprawling weekend market when i return in june. (i get one more week in bangkok right before i fly home). they say you can wander all day, both sat and sun, and not cover even close to the whole thing. i can't wait!
the last of my top 3 bangkok favorites is definitely the wats, specifically those of the grand palace and wat pho, where the reclining buddha rests (pictured here). the temples and palace buildings are so grand and ornate, they're really beautiful and amazing, especially all the gold-work. everything is newly painted, well kept and in good condition, so you don't have the old feeling of say the churches in europe. but still, they are so pretty and have a charm all their own. and they're clean clean clean, unlike the rest of the city.
bangkok is crazy, busy, amazing, chaotic, wonderful, exciting and exhausting all rolled into one. it's expansive and unlike anywhere i've ever been. i loved it and also hated parts of it at the same time. but the love prevails in the end and although five days were enough for my first dose, i'm very glad i get to have round two in june. there are more things to eat and buy afterall! =)
courtney
xoxoxo
"where is the organ of wonder situated? immediately above ideality. what is its function? to inspire a love of the strange and new."
-antoinette phillips
