How many kinds of local transportation could a person experience in Bangkok? How many have you tried, my friend?
Tag Archives: Thailand
Bangkok: First Impressions
What I left behind in New York City in that November was a gloomy, cold weather. I spent many hours flying over to Asia, lost a day while crossing the International Date Line, connected to another flight in Taipei, and arrived in Bangkok, Thailand around noon on a Wednesday.
Bangkok has been a popular, easy destination for all sorts of vacationing. And yet, I was just catching up and visiting it for the very first time. I paid extra 200 baht to see how fast I could get a visa on arrival. 3 minutes! Totally pain free. The taxi ride into the city, though, was another story. The notoriety of traffic in Bangkok I’ve heard for years was all true. When I checked in at my hotel at Sukhumvit, I was beat. CNN was showing President Obama’s victorious speech after winning his second term. I was happy for that. Honestly though, I was happier after a nice shower and one-hour long full body massage.
Then I was all set for my mission to explore. I did what I typically do. Wander on foot.
The heat. Sweat. All those smells and noises. Tastes of spicy, salty, sour, and sweet. Movements and hiatuses embedded in the eternal crowdedness. This vibrant, buzzling City of Angles was a jolt of primal, awakening energy to all your senses.
Speaking of Spontaneity
Today I started to plan my upcoming trip to Asia around Chinese New Year. It’s less than a month away. I almost popped champagne to celebrate this rare occurrence. Me! Planning! So early!
I have to admit that I do enjoy planning for a trip. Pre-departure anticipation and excitements is an essential pleasure any traveler should savor.
In the past few years, though, I did more and more solo trips with minimal planning. Every journey was highly spontaneous. You know, I’ve always shared how a trip came about and I’ve used the word “hyper” quite a bit in my previous posts. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if you just call my travel style crazy.
As long as the journeys were crazy good, I wouldn’t mind. Seriously :)
While I was flipping through this beat-up Lonely Planet guide, I felt compelled to tell you this journey I took in November 2012.
journey matters 