Bangkok, Thailand. I landed in the DMK airport (and I use the abbreviation because I'm not even going to attempt to write out the full Thai name!) and it took quite a long time to get to my hostel. I admit that Bangkok was not my favorite of the places that I visited because the big city and the traffic reminded me a little too much of Shanghai. It is a nice place to travel and it was an enjoyable 5 days that I spent there. My only regret is not travelling to another part of Thailand. I did take a tour to the River Kwai and the Tiger Temple (a post about that another time), but I wish that I did make it to Chiang Mai or Phuket. Whatever, that means I just need to go back and see the other wonderful parts of Thailand!
It was so funny, you think that with 5 days there you wouldn't feel the need to crank out a lot in one day? Well, that's what I did and rather on accident. See, when you travel alone it is all up to you. You don't have to worry about anyone else or anything outside of you doing what you want to do. Now, the downside (and really, it is just another upside) is that it is all on you. When something goes wrong or you are lost, you have no one to rely on. It is just you and your wits and will to get yourself out of the situation. You're the one in charge, you're the one with the plan because it is just your plan.
That plan in Bangkok did not quite go as planned. I had originally intended to take it easier the first day that I was there, but I ended up doing all of the major tourist sites in one day. I left my hostel and got on a motorcycle taxi to the pier. From the pier I took a longboat to the major tourist stop where you can go see the giant Golden Buddha and all those famous temples and the Royal Palace. I took a tuk-tuk around to a few other places (after stopping for ice cream, of course) and then randomly took a canal tour that stopped at another temple. Then I took three ferries and another tuk-tuk to get back to the hostel, where I was just wasted and very tan after that day.
See, when you're alone--well, at least for me--I would go through places faster than I probably would have if I were with someone else. Yes, I stopped and appreciated things, but since you're not talking to anyone or sharing it with anyone, the inner monologue gets a bit dry, so you spice it up by going to a new place. Or making friends with a cat.
These are my two cat friends that I made:
It was so funny, you think that with 5 days there you wouldn't feel the need to crank out a lot in one day? Well, that's what I did and rather on accident. See, when you travel alone it is all up to you. You don't have to worry about anyone else or anything outside of you doing what you want to do. Now, the downside (and really, it is just another upside) is that it is all on you. When something goes wrong or you are lost, you have no one to rely on. It is just you and your wits and will to get yourself out of the situation. You're the one in charge, you're the one with the plan because it is just your plan.
That plan in Bangkok did not quite go as planned. I had originally intended to take it easier the first day that I was there, but I ended up doing all of the major tourist sites in one day. I left my hostel and got on a motorcycle taxi to the pier. From the pier I took a longboat to the major tourist stop where you can go see the giant Golden Buddha and all those famous temples and the Royal Palace. I took a tuk-tuk around to a few other places (after stopping for ice cream, of course) and then randomly took a canal tour that stopped at another temple. Then I took three ferries and another tuk-tuk to get back to the hostel, where I was just wasted and very tan after that day.
See, when you're alone--well, at least for me--I would go through places faster than I probably would have if I were with someone else. Yes, I stopped and appreciated things, but since you're not talking to anyone or sharing it with anyone, the inner monologue gets a bit dry, so you spice it up by going to a new place. Or making friends with a cat.
These are my two cat friends that I made:
The bottom picture is the kitten and he was a bit more shy, whereas the older kitty wanted some love. It was hilarious because there wasn't anyone around in that part of the complex and I knelt down on the ground to play with the kitties. (Yes, I do that. I love cats and I'm not ashamed to admit that. I'm "that person" you see at these places that makes friends with the animals...I did the same thing in England and the Middle East.) A group of Korean girls passed me and thought it was funny that I was petting a stray cat, so they stopped to take pictures. An older Chinese gentleman stopped and took pictures, but he--like me--is a weirdo and also knelt down to give the kitties some loves. That night when I was WeChatting a friend (WeChat is like the Chinese WhatsApp) about my day and sending her pictures, these cat pictures were some of the first that I sent her with the moniker "so I made friends with a cat".
Now, I'm not a crazy cat lady or anything. I did meet wonderful people whilst I was travelling, but just not that day. I was alone all day, so I made friends with some cats. It was lovely. Because you bore reading that piece, here are some pictures from my busy first full day of travels in Bangkok (notice the theme of gold):
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