One Night in Bangkok Makes...
Place: Bangkok, Thailand
I did not wake up until around 2 pm. However, it was still 10 am in Sofia, Bucharest, Athens, Lviv, Tallinn, Vilnius, and Riga; Okay, even based on European time, I was up a little late.
Earlier that morning, arriving at Bangkok International Airport before 6 am, I decided to stay in a hotel near the Airport, instead of one in Bangkok city center. Since I would have an early flight the next day back to Taipei, it was better for me to stay near the Airport. The traffic condition in Bangkok is usually horrific. A bus ride from the center to the Airport may turn into a 2-hours' agonizing ride.
Now I woke up at Asia Hotel Airport, which is located right above a suburban shopping mall, with a lot of mini-shops that sell IT products. I walked into an air-conditioned noodle shop to have some Thai rice noodle (those pictures in the front made my mouth watering). However, I could not even decipher a bit of the menu. With those bean-sprout like alphabets, it looks far more difficult than either Ukrainian or Greek. I had to point to the pictures at front desk to show what I wanted. The waitress looked puzzled. I tried to use some very simple English (Sorry that I cannot say anything in Thai except "thank you" and Sawadeeka!) but she still looked confused. Eventually she realized that I am not Thai and I was not able to understand her. She went around to locate any co-worker who could speak any bit of English. It is a familiar scenario for me in the past few months.
Well, I was still traveling. And yes, I was still in a foreign country where I cannot understand their language (or even their alphabet). But this time it was somewhat different, people around me actually had no idea that I am a foreigner. For them, I look just like one of them.
I was not home yet but now feeling closer to home.
I did not plan much to do in my one-night stay in Bangkok. I was here two years ago for a conference and stayed for more than a week. I pretty much saw most major sights here. I just wanted to go to Kao San Road to have some bargain hunting, and to have some spicy drunken noodles afterwards.
Two years ago, I did walk around Kao San Road and found some interesting things. I did not buy anything. Two years and nearly 30 countries later, I realized how cheap things in Bangkok are. Many things here are even cheaper than in countries actually poorer than Thailand (Guatemala, Romania, just to name a few). I wanted to collect some travel related products. (and maybe some fake ID but I eventually decided that was a bad idea). I bought the national flag patches of the countries I traveled to in the past few years. Too bad that they don't have flags of Albania and Montenegro.
On my way walking to Hua Lamphong railway station, I ran into 3 French backpackers. It seemed they were lost. They inquired if I speak English. "Yes, but I am not a local." But since I was in Bangkok before, I was able to help them decipher the map. It turned out they were traveling around Thailand and this was their first trip to Asia. They were heading to Chiang Mai, so Hua Lamphong should also be the direction they headed to.
After saying goodbye to them at the train station, I headed to the subway station just beneath. I used to envy those foreign backpackers who can put their life on their back and traveled to almost wherever they want to go. They bring as little as possible and make their itinerary flexible. That used to be one of my biggest dreams in my life. However, I did not have that kind of freedom, I did not have a passport that can facilitate me entering many countries easily, and no, I just did not have that much time.
But no, I am no longer jealous of them. Not anymore.
After the trip I just completed, I know I am now one of them.
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