After keeping a casual eye on the situation in Myanmar and my deadline to reach Bangkok I caved and took a flight from Kathmandu to Bangkok. I know I know, this one I’m a little ashamed of because since looking into it more carefully, I think it would be possible to visit Myanmar right now, with the UK government website just being overly cautious. I really wanted to visit Myanmar, to understand the transition from India to Thailand in terms of culture and especially food. Is this a travel regret? Yes, absolutely. I feel like I took the easy option and should have tried harder to cross overland from India to Thailand. But I had already arranged to meet a friend in Bangkok and was running out of time in general on my trip, so here we are. Perhaps I’ll go back, maybe some other time, maybe on this trip… Anyway, moving on to the here and now, I landed in Bangkok and underwent the biggest culture shock of my life. I hadn’t realised how used to the developing country situation I had become until I was driving along a huge elevated road, surrounded by skyscrapers and shopping malls, my eyes almost falling out of my skull and a continuous drivel of “I can’t believe how modern this is” out of my mouth. My distant family relative who had picked me up from the airport kept glancing at me like I was mad. This judgment deepened when he dropped me off to his spare apartment where I’d be staying and I exclaimed repeatedly at how amazing it was. To my now adjusted eyes, it was just a normal, nice apartment. But to the eyes that had spent the last few months using squat toilets in sheds, it was pure luxury. That first night in Thailand, Isada (my distant relative) took me out for dinner with his girlfriend. Over a wonderful feast in the traditional Thai way (lots of dishes ordered for the table and shared) we worked out how exactly we were related: my grandpa’s cousin is his grandma’s brother. I did some life admin the following day - washing my underwear in the sink, getting a sim card, using the apartment’s gym - before going out with Isada to celebrate the Thai New Year or Songkran. This saw the streets explode into a city-wide water fight. Water was thrown on you or shot at you from water pistols from every angle, especially when walking down the main party street in the centre. Riding in a tuktuk you were a sitting duck, especially at traffic lights. It was absolutely insane. I did make the mistake of wearing a pink top I’d bought for about £1 in India with my cream shorts, and the dye from the top bled all over them creating the strangest look. Sadly I have no photos from Songkran for the obvious reason that water was everywhere and I’ve already lost one phone to water damage!
The following day I returned to the airport to pick up a very special guest. A returning character to the travels of Meg the Rolling Egg if you will. Rosaline! Clearly not put off by the 2 weeks we spent in the Balkans together right back at month 2 of the trip, she had decided to come and join me for 6 weeks in Southeast Asia. So for now it’s goodbye solo travelling, hello travelling as a pair. After my post-hike slump shaking up the vibe by no longer travelling alone is definitely something that has its benefits! I was extremely excited to see Rosaline after not seeing anyone from home for so long, but I was also a little apprehensive. I was so used to this slightly new version of myself I’d developed into whilst travelling, I didn’t know how it would feel to be back around someone who knew the me from before. This isn’t to say I think I’ve changed whilst travelling, but I have settled into a slightly newer form. How would our relationship be after not seeing each other for so long? And what would that mean for all of my other relationships with people at home? Luckily, as always, there was no need to worry and it was the perfect balance of reuniting with an old friend and celebrating how we’ve both grown since we last saw one another. We spent several days in Bangkok celebrating Songkran, eating amazing food (including pad thai of course), having a thai massage, and falling for what was most probably a tourist scam boat cruise but one we enjoyed nonetheless.
Bangkok was a metropolis. The outskirts were filled with glass skyscrapers and the biggest malls I’d ever seen. The centre had wide streets filled with tuktuks and cars and mopeds, impressive temples and palaces dotted around and a river snaking through. There were pavements, something I’d missed in India and Nepal. You could walk around and explore quite happily, a part from the humidity and heat which left you soaked in sweat after 15 minutes. The street vendors were plentiful but the vibe was different to India and Nepal. Nepal vendors were my favourite still. But the food here, I think it wins it. Maybe I’m just tired of Indian food, but I was in love with the Thai cuisine. It tasted so fresh, with so many salads on offer, and with so many flavours in one dish. Indian food seemed heavy and simple in comparison. The people in Bangkok were amazing. You’d think huge crowds drinking and throwing water at each other would invite some unsavoury behaviour. We were body to body with people frequently in the crowd, all soaking wet. Neither Rosaline nor I experienced any inappropriate behaviour, nor did we see or hear of any. It’s a low bar, but one that I highly doubt would have been reached in London! People were very respectful, often asking before they splashed water on you if you weren’t on the crazy main street. I didn’t love Bangkok but that’s because it’s a huge, slightly impersonal feeling city and I’m not a fan of those. I wouldn’t rush back, but I didn’t hate it!
Rosaline and I had done very little planning for our 6 weeks, having just a rough idea that we’d go up to north Thailand and into Laos, crossing to North Vietnam and down to Cambodia (maybe a bit ambitious for the 6 weeks Rosaline has but hey ho). On her arrival we rethought all of this because of a festival Rosaline wanted to visit in Hoi An, so we instead made way for Siem Reap in Cambodia. It had been a very short introduction to Thailand but I’d be back for more!
