Back in Bangkok - Taking a Relax

I arrived in Bangkok around 7 pm on Wednesday the 21st via a flight out of Bombay (Mumbai). I didn’t much care for Bombay and after more than 5 weeks in India I was ready to move on to different things. I must say though that traveling India is a totally amazing experience despite all the hassles and extreme cultural differences. In the next day or two I’ll be posting some final thoughts on my travels through India as well as a topic that’s been on my mind the entire time I explored the country. The sustainability of India.

Today I felt like I was in a daze as I went for a short walk. I’m tired. I did a lot while I was in India and all of the senses were constantly bombarded. Bangkok feels like a quiet city in comparison to Delhi or Mumbai. I walked into a supermarket today and felt like it was a bit too much. So many choices and varieties of food! All neatly packaged and displayed in a way that would never work in India. I did not see a single supermarket in India. Everything is bought out of basic small shops that you can barely walk into. Selections were always minimal as most everyone prepares food from scratch. Spices are bought from a man selling spices. Oil is bought from a man selling cooking oil. Etc. I always knew what I could or could not get from a particular store. My shopping list was usually something like this. 1 pack of surf powdered detergent (2 rupees), bottle of water (12 rupees), package of cashew cookies (12 rupees), packet of shampoo (2 rupees), and a small sized Kit Kat (5 rupees).

I did manage to stumble into the Vietnamese Embassy today. Had I had my act together and paid a little more money, first thing this morning, I could have had a visa by this evening. Instead, my passport is camped out in the hands of Vietnam until 3 pm on Monday due to tomorrow being a holiday in Thailand. I’m taking this as a period of forced rest and I really have no problem with resting for now. I don’t plan on spending much time in Vietnam but since I’ll be so close to the country I’d like to see a little bit of it. My real interest is in Laos and Cambodia. If I like the countries I’ll spend a good month between the two. Tomorrow I’ll see about buying a ticket to Chaing Mai in Northern Thailand. From there I’d like to do a bit of hiking then jump the border into Laos.

While in Bangkok I’m staying in a really nice hostel in and area known as Sukumvit. I really like the place and am booked into a single room with A/C and shared bath (down the hall) for just under $20 a night. It’s extremely clean and well managed. It’s located on a quiet side street and right near the Sky Train which makes getting around Bangkok easy. The hostel is also very close to lots of good places to eat. Tonight I ate at a Japanese restaurant. For $4 I got a large bowl of veggies, noodles, and shrimp along with all I could drink iced green tea. If you eat at the nearby street stalls you can get a big dinner for about $1. Bangkok is the most expensive place I’ll be staying at while in S.E. Asia.

Aside of buying a train ticket tomorrow I’ll just be taking it easy as a I adjust to a totally different culture from India. I’ll also be plotting out the framework for where I’ll be going in the coming weeks. Knowing me, once I leave Bangkok I’ll be covering a lot ground before flying back to Texas in mid December. Looking forward to all of it.