Bangkok, Thailand
I woke up this morning at 7:15am (sleeping in, compared to the last few days) and gathered my remaining items before taking advantage of the free breakfast and checking out of my room. Part of me felt a little badly about leaving a very dirty towel (I used it to wipe off my mud/elephant poo covered tennis shoes) for them to clean, but I just couldn’t stand the thought of smelling up my entire bag with those shoes.
I only had to wait a few minutes before my ride came to pick me up from the lobby. We made the short trip to the Chiang Mai airport, I checked in, and am now sitting outside the security gate in the “domestic passenger lounge,” trying to chug the rest of my water from my water bottle. I board my flight to Bangkok in 55 minutes, so I still have some time to kill. I’m sad to be leaving Chiang Mai, because I quite liked my stay, but I’m sure Bangkok will be just as interesting an adventure. I’ll only be there less than 24 hours before getting on another plane and heading back to Melbourne and to all of the schoolwork I should have been doing during the break.
I finished my water in my own good time and then proceeded to my gate after clearing the security check. I was very interested in all the stores along the way because they contained things I’d never seen before. So I took my time, which was good because my flight ended up being delayed (only 10 minutes) and I didn’t have anything else to do (I finished my book a couple of days ago and don’t feel like I have enough time to get through another one). There was a program on TV about the Royal Wedding, which ended up keeping my attention even though it was dubbed over in Thai.
Once on the plane, we actually made up time and got to Bangkok in 50 minutes and only 5 minutes late. The plane itself was probably the largest aircraft I’ve ever seen or been on, which seems silly for such a short flight, but still cool to look at. It was two stories (I don’t know who the lucky privileged ones were who got to sit up there on the second floor) and an amazing looking first class, with round chairs that were soft and swiveled around. Even my seat in economy had more legroom. For the first time on this trip I had someone sitting in my row, but it was fine because the flight was so quick. How the service staff even got through a snack and beverage service (mini chicken sandwich and hot tea) is beyond me.
For whatever time we made up in the air, we lost at baggage claim. Something happened to the belt as the luggage was coming out and so we were stuck waiting for maintenance to get it fixed. I was already apprehensive about even getting my bag because in Chiang Mai, my name was called over the intercom and I was asked to make myself known at the ticket counter. They informed me that something happened with my bag before giving me a new claim ticket. It turns out the belt got fixed and my bag showed up, so crisis was averted.
I found my ride, and again I was met with some questions that made me a little worrisome. Booking with the travel agent put me under the false pretense that everything would run like clockwork and I wouldn’t have to think. That ended up being a terrible assumption on my part. In this case, the driver showed up and then we found out that we had conflicting listings when we looked up where I was staying. The driver was a little reluctant to take my advice and take me to the place I had listed, but I finally convinced them that I had printed out the most up to date itinerary from the travel agent and hadn’t received notification of a change. I kind of passed out in the car on the second half of the trip, but I ended up being correct and I was in fact staying where I thought I was.
Coming out of the airport, the difference between Chiang Mai and Bangkok was stark. Bangkok is very westernized and actually reminds me a bit of LA. While Chiang Mai made me feel like I was somewhere very different, Bangkok greeted me with billboards in English and multi-lane freeways. As we moved away from the airport and more towards the city center, that seemed to change a little bit, but the two cities have completely different dynamics.
When the car stopped and I woke up, we had arrived at the hostel where I was staying. This is my first time in a hostel, and it is a very unique environment. On the bottom floor there are a cluster of computers, a table with games, a couple of TVs, and a bar. As you go up, there is also a theater, which I’m pretty sure has some comfy chairs and another TV, maybe for watching movies. Continuing up to the fourth floor, I finally made it to my room. I walk in to five sets of bunk beds, only two of which are taken, so I am free to choose any of the remaining ones I want. Each bed has it’s own light on the wall by it, and a shelf and set of plugs. No one was in the room when I got there, so I just quickly rearranged some of my things and was eager to get out and explore.
I found my way to the main road and enjoyed looking at all the shop, food, and street vendors along the sidewalk. I bought some fresh guava for 10 Baht, and it was delicious. It was at this point that I was approached by the driver of the nearest tuk-tuk. He offered to drive me around for an hour for 20 Baht, which is an amazing deal, and I fell for it. I should have known there was a catch. The first part was great; riding in the motorbike taxi was fun, and we made our first stop at a temple in the middle of the city that is home to the lucky Buddha. I was able to get some pictures, and then we left. Our next two stops were at a travel agent and a fabric/tailoring store, both of which confused me. The driver told me to spend five minutes in each store, but neither time I did because there was nothing there of interest to me. The driver started getting angry and explained that he needed me to spend five minutes in the store so that the owner would give him a gas card. I told him I didn’t want to, because by this point I knew I was just being used, and he argued with me before he just got fed up. When he tried to strike a deal with me and I refused, he just shook his head and I finally walked away and got back on my own.
I went back to my room because it was so hot and sticky that I decided to change from a shirt and shorts into a sundress. I went out and found myself a hole-in-the-wall little place for lunch on one of the side streets. I had green curry with chicken and rice (I am going to have to take a serious hiatus from rice once this experience is over) that was very spicy, once again clearing my sinuses. I went back to the hostel again to get 20 USD to convert, just to make me feel safe (the hostel reception took a 100 Baht deposit when I arrived). Before heading back into town, I took advantage of the free internet and tried to catch up with the rest of the world. It ended up taking an hour, which was actually good because that put me at about 4:45pm and it had cooled down and became very pleasant outside.
I walked along the opposite side of the road, once again taking in all of the action of the street vendors (including food, tailoring, watch repair) more than anything. I ended up buying a bag and getting a Thai pedicure along the way, which was a nice way to treat my feet after keeping them in damp, mud covered shoes for the better part of the last week.
One more stop at the hostel to get a dinner suggestion and I was off again to what I would learn was a very nice little outdoor restaurant. It was very relaxing, with the warm weather and slight breeze, and was a great place to gather some thoughts while enjoying a spicy salad with duck, and of course some rice. That 30 minutes or so, with nothing really going on around me, gave me time to realize just how much I’ve learned about myself this past week. I think I’m going to let that stew until I get back to Melbourne, but then I think it’d be worthwhile for me to take note of it all before the feelings begin to fade.
I’ve been writing all of this while in the hostel lobby, observing the sea of people who have been coming and going. It’s cool to see/listen in to everything that’s going on, because there are travelers from all over the world, and all here for different reasons. If I make another trip like this one, I’d like to spend my non-trekking time in a hostel. I don’t really have enough time to do it here, because I’m leaving tomorrow at 5am, but it really is an optimal environment to meet people because it lacks the formal feel of a hotel.
Like I said, early morning tomorrow so I am going to get ready for bed. I can’t believe it will be my last sleep in Thailand. Maybe I’ll put it off just a little longer by reading one of the books from the communal bookshelf the hostel has, which basically functions as a book trading site where people leave and take books as they please. Cool to think that the book I choose could have come from another awesome country somewhere.
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