So here are my 2 cents on the Venice of Southeast Asia.
Largest city in the area and among the largest in the world. 14 million people living on top of each other, some in extreme poverty, some in decent conditions and few in great luxury. Everyone I saw looked content and happy to be where they are. Whether they were selling, teaching, learning, praying or doing whatever.
Runners HELL…..polluted and overcrowded, but doable. Had to wake up early and carefully pick a route. It was totally worth.
Top tourist destination in the world. If we weren’t amongst tourists in Bangkok it was most likely a bad area. Different story in the suburbs. We went to Siam boxing stadium for an authentic mui thai event and were the only tourists.
In the touristy areas of the city, there was a scam for us on every corner. Cab drivers wouldn’t take us because we would ask them to run their meters. Super friendly people sending us to “the most secret temples” were actually sending us to shady retailers. It felt like the locals figured out the tourist business and their main objective was getting the most cash for the least time.
THE FOOD is what made Bangkok so cool. There is awesome food everywhere. I got one of the best plates of food in my life in an alley from a thai lady that didn’t speak any English. I sat at a single table and raised a finger meaning one. Rice noodles, chicken feet, pigs blood, crispy skin pork belly, spare rib, egg and watercress all in a pho like broth from a pot simmering on an open pit next to me….I can still taste it, it was perfect!
All in all, I can’t wait for us to go back in May.
Now, off to Myanmar, where men wear skirts, honking is a must and women don’t drive…
We are here in Bangkok and we love it. Our hostel is in Chinatown, which is very busy, kinda dirty, and a bit of a trek to anything touristy – but that’s ok because we like it like that. This first post will be short and sweet because we are approaching our last night in Bangkok and arrangements need to be made (i.e., before we leave for anything further than a mile radius I look up directions on my phone, establish a route, screenshot it, pack a bag/purse, repack it 3x, and then start walking).
Tales of a Southeast Asian Invasion 