Last stop in this long trip is Bangkok. After a refreshing taste of winter and almost three weeks of traveling I came back to the tropics to explore the capital of Thailand. Spoiler alert: I was not impressed.
Bangkok had more tourists than any other place that I have visited. That was not the main issue, however, I don’t want to be one of those people complaining about the amount of tourists like I am not one of them, like I have always been a part of the local ecosystem. If you are going to a popular place, don’t complain that it is indeed popular, you are one of the many, as well. The issue was that the locals knew that they have a lot of tourists and it felt like they did everything to exploit it. That was most apparent in Khao San Road. In every step you will find someone offering you a massage, which for some reason people were willing to take, even if that meant having your spine manipulated on the side of the street in front of everyone. There were so much street food, which is not necessarily bad, but most of the things were pretty similar. Similar were also the shops there, all catering to the westerner who went to Thailand to experience a freedom they can’t have in their countries. Bugs and crocodile meat was also on the menu, but if you wanted to take a picture of them, you had to pay, a clear sign of exploitation if you ask me. In general you can also easily find overpriced tours, offering just a ride and taking plenty of money, sellers that were not even interested in selling but mostly in you getting out of their store as fast as possible, tuk tuk’s all over, that felt scummy so I didn’t try and lots of sweat forming on your upper lip from the heat.
Being from Greece I have experienced the suppressed tourist who vacates in hot places with the only intention of getting wasted every night and act like the civil manners they acquired in their lives are not needed. You can easily spot them passed out on top of their vomit every night in many Greek islands, or groping each other publicly in the streets of Bangkok, thinking that no one is watching. Well, people are watching and they are not pleased. This goes mostly to western tourists, because mostly them show such behaviors -east asians are just interested in taking as many pictures as possible before their phone, power bank and transportable socket dies- (yeah I know, a racist generalization) stop it! Stop visiting places just to let loose, get drunk and get on top of each other in public. People live in these places and no one, except for you, enjoys this behavior. If you want to be your freer self, then be, but keep some grasp on the fact that you are not a child of the jungle, so act like you grew up in a place surrounded by people.
Bangkok is also hot and humid. Take two steps, get two centimeters of sweat. There is public transport but for where I lived it wasn’t very convenient, except for maybe buses which I tend to avoid, as their stops are not as well documented as an MRT or BTS, so I walked to most places. I was stopping every five minutes to buy water and an ice-cream from seven eleven or a similar store to survive the heat (thanks for the extra weight Bangkok!). From all the places I visited, it also felt the most sketchy. Not over the limit dangerous, but cat calling and petty theft seems to be common (that shouldn’t be a reason to stop you from going there though, there are many others). It is also very devoted to their king (at least in appearance) as there were statues, posters and pictures of him literally every five walking minutes. Speaking bad about the royalty is not an option. Also, I know I said that we shouldn’t complain about over-tourism, but I have to mention the smothering atmosphere of the China Town. You could literally not walk more than 500 meters per hour with all the people coming from all directions, it was pure insanity.
So what was good about it? The temples! The buddhist temples were amazingly beautiful, Wat Pho and Wat Arun being the highlights for me. The mastery with which they were made is evident and their golden and marble arcs will leave you breathless. The Wat Arun temple is across the river, so you have to find a ship to cross. There is one, that is almost free, but very fumbly, the ride is short though, so you will probably survive. Siam Paragon Mall is also nice to walk around, especially when the inevitable tropical rain comes (in the rainy season at least) and from there you can walk to Lumphini Park, which is a pretty green oasis in the middle of Bangkok. The floating market of Damnoen Saduak is pretty interesting, with plenty of coconut ice cream and some snakes. It is super touristy however so you have to go early. I booked a cheap tour there from my Hostel which was convenient, even though the tour guide was less than welcoming. The buddhist culture is very apparent there, which is interesting to see. They have signs that instruct you to give your seat to monks in public transport, they don’t appreciate Buddha tattoos and even their year is not 2020 but it is according to their calendar. It is also pretty surreal to see a monk, dressed traditionally, reading and listening to music in a public library. Lastly, Bangkok is pretty cheap, with the exception of places like the Madame Tussaud’s museum, things and food are affordable.
Is Bangkok worth visiting? I would really say, no. It is crowded, hot and it feels very unauthentic, as the whole city seems to be build to cater to tourists. The only thing I found to be worth the trouble and that you can’t find elsewhere, easily, are the temples. But is it worth enduring everything else to see them? Maybe…that’s for each person to decide. Besides someone might find Bangkok amazingly freeing and charming, which I am sure a lot do, given the number of tourists. I, however, will not be returning back any time soon.
The Indonesian Chronicles 