Bangkok

I traveled to Thailand in 2017, and Bangkok was the first stop.

I won’t do this post day by day because I don't remember many things, since it was a while ago. But I will describe my experience in every place we've been to Thailand.

First days - staying in Bangkok

Bangkok is, for me, the place of street food. I was quite afraid of having stomach issues during my days in Thailand, but I didn't have any problems with the food, at all! And you should definitely eat in the streets of Bangkok because it’s the best food!

The day we arrived, it was the first thing we did, EAT! You can get something to go or you can stop to enjoy a meal at the nearby tables (som tam, noodle soup, pad thai, grilled meats, spring rolls, mango sticky rice)! Just be adventurous and soak all that street food life. The cars, the chaos, the food vendors, the smells, the locals and the tourists, what a mess! But what a beautiful mess.

My first impact with an Asian country and I was in love. Just leave me there near the food stalls.

Things we’ve seen in Bangkok - Khaosan Road, The Grand Palace, Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Pratunam Market, Mae Klong Market, Khlong Lad Mayom Floating Market, Sky bar.

Life is pretty cheap in Thailand. But be aware of some scams. Even though everyone was friendly, people are just trying to survive, so when they see tourists, they will try to trick you into paying more. We rode a tuk-tuk one or two times for the experience, but there's actually a better service like Uber and will cost you less.

Even though none of these scams are dangerous, they make you feel like a dumb tourist, so, do your research before you go, otherwise, you might end up in a gem or souvenir shop being "forced" to buy something.

There are scams like a taxi outside your hotel. You will probably feel that it's very convenient, but it's just a trick for you to pay more than the usual (they will say that the meter is not working).

Although I really loved the cultural difference in Bangkok, sometimes, it made me feel sad. I'm not trying to be naive here, or pretending that I know nothing about how the world works or how privileged I am. But it's frustrating because the money will always speak louder. Of course, you can still enjoy things (even if you get scamed), but you will lose time and money.

If I had to choose one word to describe Bangkok, it would be exhausting. Everything that makes us fall in love with it, the lights, the chaos, all the running around, people approaching you on the streets, this is also what makes it exhausting.

Don't be discouraged by my speech, I would go back there in a heartbeat, but that's the thing about traveling, you start learning more, to build thicker skin so you can deal and understand things that are different from what you already know (and to realize how privileged we are and to learn how to minimize the importance of our little problems back home).

Besides the tourist spots, Bangkok has so much to offer. Modern coffee shops, nice restaurants, genuine people.

When we're on vacation, we obviously want to have fun and relax from the “real world”, and I think it is important to have a real vacation, not doing anything and going to nice places and staying in nice hotels. I’m thankful that I get to do that, but I also believe that the best experiences come from trying to get to know other cultures, and although I think this trip was exhausting, emotionally and physically, I felt like it was the most fulfilling.

We met some amazing and extraordinary people, but we also saw bad things happening, and we could see what tourism is doing to places like Thailand, and not in a good way. For me, it is important to see other countries and to acknowledge what you have back home. To learn to value the life in which we were lucky to be born.