Bangkok

Photo: A building in the Bangkok Grand Palace

Bangkok: the Thai capital. I just arrived in my next destination, Ayutthaya, after a 6-day/5-night stay in Bangkok. Getting to the city was a simple hour-long flight from Penang, which went smoothly. I heard a lot of things about the Thai border police being very strict about checking your stay and onward travel, but I got through with no questions! Just a “have fun” from the border guard - that was cool.

My hotel was in the west part of the city, separated from the main attractions by the prominent Chao Phraya River which Bangkok is built around. This place was off the beaten path, which made getting around a bit more expensive, but it was nice and quiet. The room itself was really high quality! I lived a brief life of mini-luxury.

I spent the first night just getting familiar with the neighborhood and setting up my Thai SIM card. My plan for Bangkok was to take it easy, so I slept in before an extended walk to Khao San Road the next evening. In hindsight, this wasn’t a great start to the trip - Khao San Road was filled with tourist traps aimed at the “party tourists” who come here to drink and smoke weed (which was decriminalized in 2022). I did, however, have some very good pad Thai :).

The day after, Thursday, I woke up early to see Bangkok’s famous Grand Palace and nearby Buddhist temples (in Thai: “Wat”s). The buildings were impressive! The architecture is unique and filled with endless details. An intricate mural depicting a Buddhist tale covered the entire inside wall of the compound. That evening, I had dinner in Bangkok’s Chinatown. The meal was great; somehow, the Chinatown in a city always has some of the best food. Maybe that says more about my taste preferences than culture, though.

On Friday, I took a tour of Jim Thompson’s house. The reviews were raving. Jim Thompson was an American OSS officer who settled in Thailand and played a huge role in revitalizing the Thai silk industry before mysteriously going missing in 1967. People love the story, and his house is apparently considered a stellar example of traditional Thai architecture. But the impression I got was that Jim Thompson was just another white guy who happened to have a good connection to Vogue magazine and a lot of money. He apparently never even learned to speak Thai despite living here, which is super lame.

That evening, I walked around Chatuchak Park and explored the Chatuchak weekend market, both of which were really nice. Both the park and market ended up being my favorite part of the city, despite me not having much to say about them other than they were cool.

On Saturday (yesterday, as I write this, and my last full day), I visited Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market for breakfast. It wasn’t much of a “floating market” - there were no vendors in boats - but it was cool nevertheless. I spent the rest of the day lounging in the hotel room before going out for a pad Thai dinner at the local mall (malls-as-a-hangout-spot culture is alive and well in South-East Asia, and I like it!).

This morning (Sunday), I squeezed in a water taxi trip in the Chao Phraya River before heading to my train north. I’ll post more about Ayutthaya, my current destination, in the coming days!

So - my thoughts on Bangkok. I have mixed feelings about the place, and I’ve struggled with what to write here for the last day or two. In general, I love big cities (and Bangkok definitely qualifies as a big city), and the Thai culture I’ve gotten to learn about so far has been fascinating. But on its own, Bangkok has seemed a bit overhyped. It’s polluted, the transit is sparse and disjointed, and the market game on weekdays is generally lacking. Also - Thailand so far has been more expensive than Malaysia, despite reports from other travelers. What’s up with that?

Regardless, I’m optimistic that the rest of Thailand will prove to outshine its capital. As I learn more Thai and get more familiar with how things work, traveling will become more and more comfortable. Onwards!