Taxi drivers (and all drivers, for that matter) drive like there is literally no tomorrow. Every driver knows the exact dimensions of his or her vehicle and where that vehicle can squeeze itself into. And by exact dimensions, I mean about a quarter of an inch. So we start flying down the freeway, weaving in and out of traffic while traffic weaves around our taxi… quite an adventure! Somehow all the drivers know where the others are going and we haven’t witnessed an accident yet. But it is still quite unnerving to be able to reach your hand out the window and shake hands with the driver of the car next to you.
Being thrown into Bangkok slightly jetlagged is a little bit like being the last piece of colored glass added to an already twirling kaleidoscope: sheer chaos upon first glance, but with a definite weird sort of beauty. Everywhere you look is something you’ve never seen: a family of five crammed on to one small motorbike, odd looking open air taxis called tuk tuks, world class sky scrapers camped out next to crowded, run down apartments, Buddhist shrines, monks wandering in brightly colored garments, fruits that look like the spiky balls that fall out of trees and hurt like hell to step on… you name it, and Bangkok has it!
When you walk out into a street in Bangkok, you literally have to hit the ground running. The sidewalks are only wide enough for two lanes of pedestrian traffic to squeeze between all the street vendors, and if you make the terrible mistake of walking too slowly or stopping, you get subtly harassed by everyone within a ten foot radius. It is a bit overwhelming when you try to stop and smell the fresh fruit and three Thai women all start trying to sell you something, two deformed men ask for money, and a boy no older than 12 rides by you on a motorbike through the crowded sidewalk. Bangkok is a city that is literally beyond words, but hopefully you have some small idea of what our first day was like!
After checking into the hotel, we took a cab to Siam Square and wandered around the market place for a bit. We must have looked a bit out of place (whether it was the cameras, the profuse sweating, or the pale skin we will never know!) because a Thai man approached us and asked us about our trip. We told him a few vague details, not wanting to buy anything just yet, and he recommended that we go to the Tourism Authority of Thailand office for students and student discounts. Even though we aren’t technically students anymore, apparently we are close enough! We decided to try it out and got into our first tuk tuk, and the fresh moving air felt so good after the stagnant Siam Square! But “fresh air” in Bangkok is definitely a relative term, seeing as we both starting to feel the dirt and smog in our lungs after about an hour of being out and about.
When we walked out of TAT, we had booked a three day trip to Kanchanaburi, a flight to Phuket, 8 nights accommodation in the islands, a flight to Chiang Mai, and a three day trek in Chiang Mai… so much for not buying anything! But with our “student discount” it was an opportunity that couldn’t be missed. We headed to Chinatown, continued wandering around and sweating profusely, and finally made our way to the river. We had walked in the opposite direction of our intention, but caught another tuk tuk back to a good noodle house for dinner. Our first real meal in Thailand and it was great! We walked back to the hotel, had a few Thai beers, rested our tired feet, and quickly fell fast asleep.
Loved the comparison to the kaleidoscope. Very poetic and instantly made me know what you were feeling. Please keep writing it's wonderful to live vicariously.
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