Busy Bangkok, a reflection

We're here!

So, let's tell you a little bit about our first few days here.

I'd been to Bangkok before: four times, but somehow being on holiday in this city, hanging out around Kao San road and getting foot massage twice a day doesn't seem to be the same as hurrying along massive Suhkumvit and getting squashed in the sky train when going up and down this busy city trying to find an apartment.

Our first couple of days were pretty hectic: massive bags, sore back, tired from the plane, getting to our hostel room late, dragging the luggage to the fourth floor (no lift) etc... it was a bit of a mission.

All the while, we were pretty happy anyway, eating five different kinds of street food every day and trying out our very limited Thai with the locals.

The similarities between our first few days here and our first few days in Hanoi 19 months ago are numerous, but can be summed up as follows:

- we don't understand a word
- we have no idea what's going on
- we don't know where ANYTHING is
- We don't know anything at all.

I am reminded all the time of how clueless I was when I got to Hanoi fresh off the plane. We were pondering everything, and making generalities that proved completely wrong over time (such as: 'people eat dog everywhere all day long, look! the word 'chien' is written on every menu. Turns out while chien means dog in French, in vietnamese it means... fried. So... lots of fried food in VN, but not that many cooked dogs).
So this time I try to calm myself down and remember that there's a process, and we don't know anything about anything yet. We can't plan a budget, because we don't know where the cheap goods are, we can't picture what our life will be, because we haven't met any teacher to clue us in, we can't build a general picture of the next year because we have no cards in hand.

This said, we can have a general feeling and we do, and it's very positive!

Being in the busy expat area of Bangkok is VERY different that hanging out in the old town - where I always stayed when on vacation before. Here, it's busy and bustling and modern: huge shopping centers and Starbucks at every corner and traffic jams. It's still Thailand and it's still enjoyable (cute little food stalls everywhere, lots of bars and restaurants etc...) but yes, not the paradise looking pedestrian streets you'll find near Kao San whith lanterns, flowers and beautiful tropical fruits cut up for your enjoyment, to eat while you stroll. I know, because our dear friend Lanette was in the old town doing just that this week end and we met up with her there, and for the evening felt like we were on holiday all over again.
We sipped a few cocktails on Ram Buttri, listened to some music, ate a green curry at a terrasse and got a foot massage lying down in comfortable chaises longues outside under the lanterns. Nice.


But, damn it, it's impossible to LIVE in the old town, isn't it? It's cut off from everything, public transport-wise. It's touristy, it's not the real Bangkok, it's far from every language school... it's not practical.

So, ok, I get it, I'll have to go there every week for a reminder that I am in fact in one of the most popular destinations for holidayers around the world, and in the meantime, get practical and build a life near the sky train or the subway... grr..

So there, since we arrived on Friday night, we've walked around a lot, as people do when they arrive somewhere new, gotten to know the Suhkumvit area a bit: I say a bit because, you can walk Sukhumvit as much as you want for three days: you still ain't gonna know it by the end. It's just the longest street in Thailand (really) with like... five different expat nationalities hubs depending on where you are on the street, and every few meters there are perpendicular roads going from Sukhumvit which are called SOI, and... every soi is long, some massive, and its own little world. So, we've gotten to know 5 or 6 sois quite well, the equivalent of a medium size town in France.
At least that's what it feels like. Because the sois are compact, filled with shops, restaurants, bars, beauty salons etc... it must take a whole year to know them all and what each has to offer.
And Suhkumvit is only ONE street in Bangkok.
Maybe if we want to explore all of Bangkok properly, we'll have to live here 10 years?

Anyway that's what it feels like so far, but as I was saying before, you never know what you'll know until you know the place a little better... you know?

I love it here, I love curry, Tom yum and pad thai, the people are nice, friendly and a lot of fun: I'm happy to be on this new adventure! We'll learn about Bangkok and its way of life little by little and enjoy the process, as we did in Vietnam (but with more green curries along the way!)