The bus rides are always interesting but even more is wondering where the heck I will even end up when dropped off. I got dropped off in Bangkok on some random street on the side so not even a bus station. Luckily, I was able to find a cafe with wifi and made my way to a hostel I had booked the night before I left (first time ever).
I arrived a bit late so after checking in, I ended up walking the famous Koh San Road after dark. The road was overwhelming with the bright neon shining lights and music blaring. It was fun just to be in that atmosphere and my hostel was nearby so I felt comfortable doing it. Because I was alone though, I didn’t feel comfortable enough to actually drink so I just spent a few hours going in and out of different bars.
The next day I wanted to go visit some famous malls and markets to grab some souvenirs for my younger sister. After trying a couple taxis and tuk tuks, I found they wanted to charge me USD 20 to get there. Being the cheap and broke person I was, I decided I would just walk there. I felt pretty confident in taking on the big city so ignoring the drivers’ calls, I began my two hour walk, as I decided I had nothing better to do anyway.
I have no idea where this map was bringing me but I truly ended up in areas of Bangkok that were way more residential and not really where tourists wander. The first interesting thing I hit were literal train tracks running through the city. These weren’t like the train tracks famous in Vietnam that run right through the city between homes. I seemed to be in an outskirt area when I climbed through a hole in the fence to cross. There was an entire community living along there, as children ran and jumped around between them.
Surprisingly most people ignored my presence and I just acted confidently that I knew where I was going, watching other people climb through the hole and then climb over the opposite fence. I followed suit where I ended up in a cool food market with all types of produce. Here some children noticed and ran over saying “Hi!” in English and reaching for high fives. One of the children pulled their hand away and ran off giggling. It was adorable and I waved as I continued onto the streets.
At another point I realized I was just walking through streets of purely residential apartments, no stores were in sight and people would glance and look away at me, not in a bad vibe, just were curious and then uninterested. I ended up walking along this canal and into a whole new market. There was fabric and clothing everywhere, it was cool to see a non-tourist market for once as people bartered with quick words and I saw money being exchanged everywhere.
Eventually after two and a half hours of walking I did end up at the malls and more touristy markets but those were a lot less interesting than where I had walked through. After all day in those areas I did take a taxi back to my hostel due to the setting sun and my utter exhaustion.
The next day I was one my way to my friend’s apartment who went to college on the outskirts of the city. Her family was from Ao Nang so I met her during her school break where she worked for the internship, showing interns around the town and introducing them to her culture. I hopped on the railway system and went several stops outside the city to the dorms of the college. I waited there for her to arrive and settled in.
That night she brought me to a market where I got a new belly button ring and ate tons of food. She first brought me to her favorite bar where we played a ton of pool. It was just to the side and below an overpass, with only a few people around. It was an amazing atmosphere as we played music, played pool, and she knew everyone there.
Eventually she brought me to a college kid bar that had some live music. It was so loud and hard to talk so she ordered a couple massive beers. I’m not a fan of beer but I didn’t want it to go to waste as we chugged it down. She loved that people were so surprised to see me, being the only foreigner there, and she laughed every time someone questioned her. We both got super drunk and made our way back to her dorm before passing out. It was a great last night in Bangkok and in Thailand.
