4 Things I Really Loved About Bangkok

There is so much in Thailand that you could take a vacation here every year and visit a different place and have a different experience, and a wonderful one at that. There are islands and beaches and cities and villages and elephants and rivers and food and people. As alluring as beaches and islands sound I’ve discovered I’m really not a beach person. I guess I knew that all along. I’ve been known to go to the beach on a mild day in the winter, roll up my pants and wade in, and fully enjoy it. In the summer I sunburn really easily. So when it came time to book our time in Thailand we settled on an apartment in Bangkok for 25 days to settle down a bit and explore this famous city. And it was a joy.

• Public transportation is phenomenal. Bangkok has 2 subway lines, 2 skytrain lines, riverboats, canal boats, an airport link, a train station, and 2 international airports. All of them are connected with the exception of 1 of the 2 airports. They all run efficiently. 2 times when I was on the subway an announcement come over the PA to apologize for a delay. The delay lasted 15 seconds. The systems are also squeaky clean. You can take the subway to the canal boats, and the canal boats down the canal to your destination. You can take the skytrain to the riverboats, and a riverboat to the palace, or market, or across the river, and the skytrain goes across the river too! Even when you get off the beaten path there are options. One day we went to a temple, rented a bicycle just outside the front entrance, walked 20 feet to a river and were ferried across to Bang Krachao by a longboat with the bikes on board. After cycling for a while we got lost and a kind gentleman summoned a longboat to take us back to our starting point across the river. The person we rented the bikes from even reimbursed us for the extra longboat ride since we had already paid for a roundtrip ticket. And when the system doesn’t fit your travel plans there’s an army of motorcycle taxis, UBER along with traditional taxis that actually use their meters.  It was a great experience using all of this public transportation in the 3 weeks we stayed in Bangkok whether it was getting to one of the top tourist attractions or finding solace in a coffee and movie in an air-conditioned mall.
• There is food everywhere. I do mean everywhere. Picture your home, where you live. Imagine driving up to your home after work or on a Saturday afternoon. Now picture someone right in front of your driveway, apartment building, or your home – with a giant grill, a wok, a table, an umbrella – cooking and selling food – right there. Imagine walking from your car and going into work and seeing multiple food vendors cooking away. This is Bangkok. On our 20 minute walk to the subway we pass about 40 stands that are cooking food. There 3 or 4 right outside our apartment. This is in addition to the thousands of restaurants everywhere. Almost nobody cooks at home. Pouring through TripAdvisor was exhausting, so many times we just gave up and gave in and ate where we were. On certain nights in areas where the weekly markets set up, hundreds of other pop-up food vendors are cooking away. When you go to a grocery store there are anywhere from 4 to 8 large food-court type choices right there. The food is great and the places are really busy. This is great for us. We show up, eat, and then shop. You see lots of folks carrying food around with them, except on public transportation where it’s not allowed.
• The public parks and green spaces.  Lumphini Park, a 140 acre green space right in Bangkok, provides some nice shade on hot Bangkok days. It is also home to outdoor exercise enthusiasts like joggers, people doing aerobics classes, and Tai Chi practitioners. One afternoon I saw some sort of alligator or very large lizard slowly making his way around. There are fountains, lakes and ponds there too. We did a brief Yoga practice in the park one afternoon. Benchakiti Park is another nice place where we sought some shade one hot afternoon and ended up doing our meditation practice there. It was that quiet. Then there is Chatachak Park which was only a couple of subway stops away from our apartment. I think most people go there because it’s right next to the extremely large and famous Chatachak Weekend Market. All of the parks are clean and well-kept.
• The people. People in Bangkok are quiet, even reserved. This caught me off guard coming to Thailand straight from India. In India everybody pays attention to you, wants to talk to you and take selfies with you, and generally wants to know your name and how many kids you have. Our first week in Thailand I don’t remember anyone talking to us or even giving us a look, never mind a second look. We stayed in a neighborhood where there were no other westerners and I don’t know if anyone noticed we were there. In India we’d already be going to someones wedding or invited for dinner or taking a road trip or something. I’ve made Facebook friends with folks I’ve met in India and Sri Lanka but in Thailand there was no interaction maybe with the exception of buying something at the corner 7-11. People went about their daily routines and paid us no attention. I did notice that they were polite though. They duck down if they’re walking in between you and someone else. They give up their seats on public transportation for old folks, pregnant women, disabled people and monks. They don’t drive crazy and they don’t honk their horns. They wait patiently for the traffic light to change. They don’t throw trash in the street. If you ask for their help they will oblige. Thailand is ruled by The National Party for Peace and Order and everything seemed peaceful and orderly in a city I incorrectly assumed was going to be chaotic.

We did venture out to see some of the tourist sites in Bangkok but the most memorable times were when we wandered off the beaten path. We turned in the wrong direction, or took a shortcut or went down an alley way and were pleasantly surprised. We opened doors to see what lied on the other side and ended up meeting fascinating people. We got off on the wrong stop and walked through neighborrhoods we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. Maybe after another month or so of settling down I’ll be ready to do some running around. But for now I’m hanging out in Thailand and slowing things down.