Bangkok Part 2

I met an expat from Canada while having breakfast one morning.  She is a digital nomad who’s been in Bangkok for the last five months.  When I informed her that I was test-driving Thailand as a new home, she was full of helpful info on where I should go next and what it was like to live in the city.  She confirmed that her rent and utilities were very low and she was able to skirt around the issues of gaining permanent residence by leaving the country just before her visa expired and then having a new one issued upon her return.  Something I hear is a common practice in the country.

The Buddhist religion is woven into every aspect of this society.  There are temples everywhere (again, not on my to-do list for sightseeing) and shrines seem to pop up every few feet.  There are also multiple pictures of the royal family erected in front of buildings.  Disparaging the family in any way will result in severe penalties.  I chose not to find out what those were as Thai prisons are infamously terrible places to be.

I cannot get a handle on the Thai money.  I don’t know if I’m still in Turkish mode or what, but the money confuses me.  I have to squint at it for several seconds before handing out the right bills, even with the different colors.  For reference (this changes on the regular, but this is the conversion rate as of this writing)

1 USD = 35.21 Thai Baht

1 USD = 25.12 Turkish Lira

1 USD = 1.79 Bulgarian Lev

1 USD = .91 euro (Greece, Portugal, Dublin, and The Netherlands among others)

As for the language … wow.  Thai, for the record, is considered one of the hardest languages to learn for foreigners.  On this journey, I’ve picked up a few words in Portuguese, Greek, and Turkish.  I didn’t even try to learn any Gaelic, Bulgarian or Dutch.  Thai is the worst of all to get a handle on.  I can’t even say thank you with any confidence.  It’s just a tough one.  Thank goodness the Thai people are very patient and accustomed to dealing with ignorant foreigners.

I didn’t realize it was Pride Month until I saw all the rainbow decorations.  Apparently, Thailand is a haven for the LGTBQ+ community.  The more you know.

I don’t know that I saw many gay couples, but I did see a bunch of older white men with young Thai women.  Way to live that cliché, guys.

Durian is a famously pungent fruit sold in SE Asia and it is all over the place here.  Smell it once and you will never forget it.  Not only is it sold fresh, but in dried and potato chip form (Asian countries will turn any flavor into a snack food).

7-11 rules here.  You can usually find one every few feet and that’s just on the side of the road you happen to be walking on.  They’re easier to spot than the grocery stores, most of which don’t even have storefronts as they are located in the basements of malls.

Bangkok is famous for more than just debauchery.  Shopping is big here and you have multiple options for spending all your money.  There are the street markets, the night markets (the daytime markets on turbo), and several megamalls.  The first one I went to was called Terminal 21.  

Easily accessed by BTS (the elevated train that runs the length of Sukhumvit), this mall is incredible.  I love the theming of the place.  The mall is on six or seven levels and each level has a location theme.  Rome, San Francisco, Tokyo, Istanbul (freaking Turkiye, man!), and more are represented in the mall while each escalator acts as the ‘flight’ to that city.  You even pass through a fake metal detector when you first enter the building.  It’s pretty impressive.

My last night in the city, I ventured out to yet another mall.  IconSiam is a different beast altogether from Terminal 21.  It’s more like three malls all smashed together.  One part is the posh section with the high-end stores like Fendi, Mark Jacobs, and Chanel. And Tesla and Porsche.  Why on Earth are there car dealerships inside a multi-level mall?

The second part on the lowest floor is more like the Bangkok street markets, a chaotic arrangement of little food stalls, vendors and live entertainment. 

The third part is literally across the main street.  I don’t know that it’s officially part of IconSiam, but it might as well be.  The two buildings are connected by a raised platform that leads to the train station.

The back of the main building leads right to a pier.  From here you can get a water taxi or take dinner time cruises. 

The place was packed that evening with people getting on and off the cruises, hanging out at the cafes, or taking pictures among all the lights.  At one point the fountains came on and put on a light show.  It was all pretty cool.

(By the way, I don’t know who this chick is, but she stepped in front of me while I had my phone out, so I snapped her picture.  Why not?)

As for living in Bangkok, I don’t know.  The vibe, like I mentioned is interesting.  The American dollar goes a long way, you don’t even have to know how to cook to eat very well there, and English is widely spoken.  The city is walkable and the public transport system is excellent with the BTS and the abundance of taxis and buses.  The weather is … challenging.  You’re either wet from the heat or from the rain.  I'm still leaning towards Portugal, I think.  I don’t know if it’s because I went there first or did the most research on moving there, but it’s still the place I’m feeling the most.  I already consider Madeira, and not Georgia, home at this point.  I’m not sure if that will change during the rest of my stay in Thailand, but only time will tell.