Bangkok
I arrived in Bangkok at six in the morning after some, but not much sleep on the 13 hour night bus from Khao Lak. In most cases I would accept that I’d be a zombie until the afternoon, when I could check in for a shower and a nap, however The Yard hostel in Bangkok turned out to be such an incredibly social place that I immediately met Tayla, got chatting over breakfast and we headed out to Chatuchak weekend market together to start exploring the city. The Yard had come highly recommended to me, and it became a real home in Bangkok - somewhere to sit, relax and meet people without it ever seeming forced. While I’m gushing about the hostel, the breakfast was also excellent - a big plate of exotic fruit every morning really helped my vitamin intake in a country where rice and noodles make up most meals.
After a long awaited shower and nap, I was feeling even more sociable and met Carla, Laura and Jack. Along with Tayla, we headed to Chinatown for food, and ended up eating next to a busy road full of neon lights, in a place I suggested due to it being full of Chinese people. My food was nice (stir fried morning glory with crispy pork) but Laura’s tom yum soup was delicious, and luckily she’d vastly over ordered. This was the moment that tom yum became my favourite Thai dish. On Jack’s suggestion we headed to a drag show and didn’t leave until 3am. What a first day in Bangkok.
After a predictably slow start the next day, I went to a local tattoo artist, Petch Painter, to discuss a possible tattoo idea I had. I absolutely loved his work and his methodology (he paints with brushes on your body before then tattooing) and together we came up with a concept far, far better than the one I had originally taken to him. A couple of days later he tattooed me. The experience was really special and his work was some of the best I’ve seen. I liked it so much that I booked in for another tattoo - I thought he would do a good job of knitting together the various ideas I already had for a tattoo of my memories of living in Rio de Janeiro. A few days later I had my second tattoo by him. The concept and style were different to the first, but the quality was similarly impeccable and he was just as fantastic to work with. I might well visit him again one day.
While in Bangkok I also visited Lumphini Park to hang out with huge water monitor lizards (after having seen it in David Attenborough’s Asia documentary), Wat Saket, the golden mound, and a high viewpoint for sunset (sadly the clouds rather got in the way, but the view was great), the temple of the emerald buddha (an utterly stunning complex, with incredible attention to detail), the amulet market (lots of the same little trinkets, didn’t really understand it), Wat Pho, with its huge reclining Buddha statue (the one thing I remember seeing on my previous trip to Thailand over 20 years ago), watched a traditional Thai masked ballet at the royal theatre, went drinking on Khao San Road with all the other tourists, and ate a lot (a lot) of good food.
After having visited Kanchanaburi and Ayutthaya and returned, Bangkok felt like a bit of a base, and being a big energetic city, a bit like home. On one of my last nights, and Katie’s last of her trip (I’d met her on Koh Phangan) we went out for dinner and a massage, but didn’t make it out until it was already fairly late. Something about eating at 10pm, a foot massage after midnight, then leaving after 1am and walking an hour or so home through a sleepy, but still alive city felt like a real Bangkok night. I like Bangkok.
And with that, it was time to leave Thailand. While travelling through Malaysia I’d heard how touristy Thailand had become, and expected to be disappointed. Time and again though, I would arrive in undeniably touristy places, but still be charmed by them. The scenery and the food remain world-beating regardless, and the Thai people I’ve met have been beyond lovely. Yes, some work in the tourism industry and are paid to be kind, however their smiles and willing to help feel genuine. And then there are those who I only interacted with briefly on the street, or on public transport. The lady on the bus who insisted I sit next to her, because once the bus turned, the burning midday sun would be on the seats on the other side. The motorbike taxi drivers in Koh Samui who all wanted to talk about football the whole way home. Petch Painter, who despite looking like the coolest man in the world, was fun and playful, receptive and genuinely humbled every time I complemented something specific in his work. The security guard near the temple of the emerald Buddha, who of his own accord told me to buy the long trousers I needed to enter from a specific person so I didn’t get ripped off. The wais. The smiles. The sing-songy hellos and thank-yous at every opportunity. Yes, Thailand is touristy as hell. And I love it regardless.