Day 10: Leaving Bangkok

Saying I saw Bangkok, while true, is meaningless. The city is so vast it’s hard to get the barest sense of direction in a week and a half. I did get to know the neighborhood around my guesthouse and hostel — Silom and Satthorn — fairly well, and make it to some of the famous attractions. This all left me with a the following impressions.

First, Bangkok is huge. It is out of scale coming from a small US city like Seattle. Bangkok just goes on and on and on. And up and up: towering, fat skyscrapers everywhere.

Second, true to the stereotype, Bangkok is hot, crowded and polluted. The air is often disgusting. This again compared to the pristine air of the pacific northwest, cleaned by thousands of miles of open ocean.

Finally, Bangkok is just bubbling with energy. Everything seems on all the time, from the relentless construction (even in this economic slowdown) to the incandescent night life, to the profusion of commerce looking like it was squeezed and seeped out of every doorway and crevice. Going out to eat is like getting your feet wet it the dew: just walk around a bit and you’ll collect all the food you need.

Traveling in Bangkok is easy. Language wasn’t really a problem. Moving around was simple with the omnipresent taxis and tuk-tuks (which you’d think would require some language skills, but no: I just uttered the magical “Silom Wat Kek, Meter” and got home every time) and great public transport. Getting ripped off was relatively easily avoided with some experience and common sense. Though it felt unknown and dangerous in the beginning, I can’t really say anything about it was threatening. It’s just a huge city getting on with its business.

And that’s the thing: it’s the largest city I’ve ever been in, my first city in Asia, they drive on the wrong side of the road (all sides of the road sometimes), but it never appeared really alien or strange. It is simply a huge city. It is a wonderful place with amazing and unique sights and an incredible character, but it feels comfortably familiar.