"Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow"
- Norman Vincent Peale
Here Hostel Bangkok
I’m currently sat in my hostel in Phitsanulok, right by the river with nothing but the sounds of distant traffic and animals to accompany me. The first 5 days of my travels were a mad rush of temples, mopeds, new friends and laughter. It is hard to put into words how wonderful it was but I will give it a good shot.
Day 1 (Scorpions Taste Like Crunchy Cardboard):
Oh my!
After 12hrs flight I had finally arrived! 6 months of hard work and penny-pinching have all lead up to this: Bangkok. My plane landed at 4 pm and I had a taxi waiting to pick me up, so after hustling through passport control and luggage pick-up I found my name written on a sign among a million of others and got into the blessedly air-conditioned car. And then, TRAFFIC! We hit rush hour and the originally 45min ride got extended into 2hrs, with me starring out of the window, absolutely mesmerised by countless mopeds weaving in and out between the cars with too many people on each of them and only very few wearing helmets. Having arrived in the hostel I got myself a drink and joined a group of people. There was lots of laughter and when we got hungry we decided to go to Khao San Road. Khao San Road is MAD! it’s loud and busy and you can’t escape the people trying to sell you beer, bucket cocktails and scorpions on a stick. After giving in and buying a scorpion (which I don’t recommend, its a wholly unpleasant experience) I had Pad Thai from a street vendor and then decided I need my bed asap. So I parted from my group and headed home.
Day 2 (Temple, Markets and More):
One of many signs on toilet use xD
I woke up a 4am and being unable to go back to sleep went to chill in the breakfast area. There I met a fellow solo traveler from America who had arrived in Bangkok in the middle of the night and was too jet-lagged to go to sleep and we decided to explore the city together. We had breakfast at the hostel and then ventured out to see the Grand Palace. It’s beautiful there and overwhelming and we quickly discovered the Thais fondness for signs telling you what not to do; Don’t smoke, Don’t climb, Don’t point your feet at the Buddha, Don’t touch elephant, DON’T RIDE LIKE LAT! (No, unfortunately we never figured out what that was supposed to mean xD) Then it was time for the obligatory Tuk Tuk ride, which was in equal parts fun and absolutely terrifying! Somehow we made it to Chatuchak market without falling off the Tuk Tuk, and it was time for yet another Pad Thai and some Thai Ice (for 5Bath!). We met up with a lovely Thai girl who played tour guide for the rest of the day and go in a Grab (basically Uber) to our second temple of the day: Wat Arun! Personally I preferred this temple to the Grand Palace. It’s a lot smaller so I was able to appreciate it more since I was actually able to decide where to look. Then our native tour guide handily scored us some very cheap boat tickets and on we went to Bangkoks version of China Town. Very hectic, very full and SO. MUCH. FOOD! There I discovered my new found love of iced thai tea, that stuff is pure magic! We saw so much and were both so tired when we got back to the hostel that we went to bed at 9:30pm. And also could appreciate why most Thai people have 2+ showers a day.
Day 3 (The Lizard Attacks):
The view moments before….
So. Hot! One day I might get used to this heat! And maybe even the mosquito bites that decorate my pasty pale skin, even though I am covered in 50% Deet spray and countless mosquito repellent wristbands. After a solid hours walk through the blistering heat and frighteningly busy streets of Bangkok I settled myself down by the lake in Lumpini Park. There I was innocently basking in the glorious shade by the river bank and talking to my mum on the phone when out of nowhere this HUMONGOUS lizard jumps out of the water. Chomping down on a snake, blood everywhere, and dead-eying me as if to say “You are next, pasty white girl!” I jumped up, screeching, swearing at the top of my lungs and incredibly glad I resisted the temptation of dipping my feet into the invitingly cool looking water. With my mums panicked voice on the other end of the phone I shouted at her to enable video chat so I could show her rather than trying to explain the situation. That’s why I unfortunately don’t have photo evidence of the lizard but I according to google they are called Monitor Lizards so look them up at your own peril! This seemed to be quite enough adventure for one day so I decided to head back to the hostel. On the way I started texting with a local girl on the Couchsurfing App and hopped on a moped taxi to a lovely coffee shop in Sukhumvit where I recounted my lizard encounter and exchanged life stories and philosophy. I also successfully freaked out a few people in the hostel late this evening with my thrilling tale.
Day 4 (Pool, Sunshine, Good Food & Nice People):
Ooohhhh yaaassss!!
I think I was still shaken from the lizard thing so I basically spend the day chilling by the pool, chatting to lot of lovely people and occasionally venturing out for some food.
All in all a success I would say.
Day 5 (Ayutthaya!):
Ayutthaya!
One of the lovely people I met the day before by the pool a long-time traveller from New Zealand and we decided to take a day trip to Ayutthaya. We met bright and early at 7:30am to catch a VIP van to the temples there. And oh my, was this VIP! Rainbow light show on the highly decorated ceiling and flawless air-conditioning made the 2hr drive more than bearable. The temples in Ayutthaya are awe-inspiring! There’s a total of 6 temples there but after only two of them we felt pretty templed-out and wen’t to get some food. Not quite used to the immense heat we then wandered through the city intermittently finding refuge in air-conditioned cafes and shops. We also stumbled over this adorable little Thai Boat Museum with the most welcoming and adorable owner who showed us around, gave us water and showed us pictured of her family. Even though there was a language barrier we managed to exchange stories and all in all got shown how friendly and welcoming Thais are. The bus back was slightly less VIP. It was about the same size as the first one but with an additional row squished in so neither of us actually had any space for our legs and spend the journey with our knees tucked under our chins. On the other hand, the ride was about 30min quicker and cost half of what we’d paid for the VIP van.
With this it was time to leave Bangkok and head on a night bus to Phitsanulok and on to Sukhothai!
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