Instant Culture Shock
I met a really cool dude on the airplane that I mentioned last time. I wanted to meet up with him but when I tried to email him it bounced back. So I resigned myself to just me and Steve traveling through BKK alone. That’s fine with me too. So we exit the airplane and instantly we’re greeted with an absolute labyrinth of wires (#wiregore) and tons of street vendors who are surrounded by dudes with mopeds wearing balaclava and uniforms. I legitimately thought to myself, “Maybe I should just go back to Japan…” but I wanted to try it, so I forced myself past the culture shock. I’m so glad I did, and I’ll elaborate later.
B-Your Home Stay Hotel
This place was off the beaten path, and we had to walk by a ton of different street vendors selling all kinds of food. I wanted some but Steve told me that street food will curse your bowels. I believed him at first. When we got to the hotel, it was a pretty cozy place to stay and only cost like, $20/night split two ways. We only stayed one night. There was a really nice restaurant at the top and the woman there was so kind and generous. It helped me get over a lot of the fears I was experiencing.
Balaclavas
A lot of the trepidation that comes with seeing balaclava wearing moped riders is that I’ve only ever associated it with enemies in video games. I’ve gotten used to it a bit now and the Thai people are a wonderful group that will help you when you need it. The few conversations I’ve had on the porch while smoking cigarettes (it’s a wonderful social lubricant) have been great. I met a Saudi national that used to work in finance and he and I had great interactions thanks to Google Translate. I do feel like I have to keep an eye out to make sure I don’t get scammed though. Many people want to be your “friend” until they pressure you to do something strange.
That said, there are a lot of tourists in Thailand so everyone is a mark, which is sad, because many of the Thai people seem to exist in the margins and depend on “getting theirs” when they can. The only other abject poverty I have seen has been in Curacao when I was younger so this really brings it home once again. My conversation with Lucas on the plane here was great and he and I agreed that if something is taken, the thing to do is not forgive but to thank them for providing you an opportunity to grow. He has a good soul and I clocked it immediately during our conversations.
Taxis from BKK airport
Unfortunately I’m a massive idiot and didn’t update/install Grab or Bolt or Whatsapp and can’t verify my phone number so I literally can’t get those apps. It really sucks because the first two are essentially Uber for SEA. I should have done it 4 weeks ago but again, see the first few words of this paragraph. Thankfully Steve had whatsapp so I made him install Grab and we were able to get a taxi to our new hotel which is close(r) to downtown. It’s still a 45 minute bus ride, but that’s fine. I spoke with a French girl who reassured me the transport was safe and clean. I’m so thankful that I’ve been so outgoing and willing to talk to anyone. These kinds of things are how you make the best memories.
The taxi itself was ~250 THB (Thai Bhat) which comes out to something like 8 USD. The drivers pay the tolls so I handed him toll money plus a healthy tip. He was very appreciative. There are a plethora of scooters you can get to and from places too but without Grab I will not be able to. I would love to ride on the back of a scooter through Bangkok. I guess I’ll have to reserve that for next time.
The Residence on Thonglor
The new hotel has a really nice pool on the rooftop, as well as a gym and a bar. I’m actually going to check out the bar up there after I finish this post. It’s a nice hotel and the room is spacious. Room service is provided and everything is really well polished. It’s surprising how nice some of these spaces are in the middle of what feels like an overcrowded, gritty mess. I’ll get over that last part eventually and I’m looking forward to the day when I do because I think there’s such a wealth of beauty in the world and discounting it based on appearance is the same as judging a book by its cover.
Oh and there’s a thai massage parlor in the basement. I got one today for 650 THB and it was great! I told them it was my first massage ever and they gave me the works for like 50% off. I’m going back for a reflexology massage before the end of my stay here on Sunday.
I’ll update you all again when I finally get to go somewhere. Until then, I’ll be working from the lobby in the hotel. It provides me both a way to get what I need to done and a good reason to update my blog between code review, meetings and development.
