สวัสดี from Thailand! It's the end of my second night in Bangkok, and I'm trying to get this blog started. I wrote a post on the flight here, but it feels outdated after kind of a rough start to this trip.
(Swanky-ass plane for a nearly 14-hour flight)
Not gonna lie, I was overwhelmed when I got off the plane. I didn't expect to feel scared and alone because I've always wanted to travel. But apparently seeing families and couples traveling together was enough to send me to the verge of tears. Emotions, man. Right as I started thinking 'what am I doing?', a woman from Colorado who I had met on the plane found me, forcing me to pull it together. Thank you, Jaclyn, for preventing a panic attack. We tackled the entry process together and then went our separate ways. Hopefully we'll meet again -- she and her friend are visiting Cambodia at the same time as me.
Navigating public transportation from Suvarnabhumi Airport to my Airbnb was incredibly frustrating and the next challenge I faced. The monorail from the airport and the bus station don't directly connect, so I got lost. The bus stations also aren't labeled with the right stop numbers, so I got lost again. After being crammed into a train car with at least 100 people and then squeezing dozens MORE on at each stop, walking in circles for hours, finding buses, walking some more, constantly adjusting the pack I'm learning to hate, profusely sweating and heavily relying on Google Maps, I made it to my Airbnb, collapsed onto my bed and took a nap.
How did I get here?
Humans don’t make life changes until their current state is unbearable. Like when you’d rather be dehydrated than get off the couch to get water (or is that just me?). Up until the past couple months, I lacked enthusiasm about everything, and I saw myself on a continuous descent to average. I bore the weight of what to do with my life every day, and nearly every week I’d have a new career plan I hoped would bring me purpose. The problem: I wasn’t enthusiastic about anything, except finding a way to travel the world. Several more failed career-planning attempts led me to the simplest solution: Just go. Decision made: I’m traveling on my own for a while, but I'm learning everything I thought I had planned (however loosely) is likely to change. America's broken health care system prevented me from getting a vaccine and antimalarial medication before I left (More than $2,000 for both? No thanks). I had planned to get both while in Bangkok, but I can't get in for an appointment before I go to Cambodia, so goodbye living with monks in Myanmar. I'd rather not risk it.
(View down a street near my Airbnb)
My second day here was much better than my first. I'm excited about being here after exploring the old city of Bangkok, which reminds me of New Orleans. The pace is slow and it's definitely dirty, but the culture and history are vibrant. There is so much to do outside, and after coming from months of winter weather, that's exactly where I want to be. Though I am sweating more than I thought was humanly possible. Meanwhile, everyone who lives here dresses like it's a spring day in Wisconsin. I don't know how they wear jackets when it's 88 and humid.
I'm taking a bus to Siem Reap, Cambodia, Monday, and I hope to compile an overview of the days I spent in Bangkok on the way there. Enjoy some pictures from Instagram in the meantime!