Initial impressions of Thailand: Bangkok

I’ve made it to Thailand! The first part of my adventure has been 4 days in Bangkok. Here’s a little bit of what I’ve learned and experienced so far . . .

Food: It is great, and since I am easily identified as a westerner, it hasn’t been too spicy! I’ve had pad thai (no orange noodles like Asian Café, Dori) where the little orange bits weren’t carrot slivers but rather tiny, whole shrimp; an amazing peanut and coconut milk curry, green curry . . . and these dinners that have set me back only two to three dollars each. There are lots of small vendors offering kebabs and fruit along the street, including durian, which I have yet to experience (it is reputably so smelly it is not allowed inside many buildings in Malaysia).

Transportation: The streets are packed with three vehicles: cars, motorbikes, and the iconic “tuk tuk.” As Carola (my female boss and the one who is with us now for orientaion) has said, “you just make room.” Which means that everyone changes lanes very frequently, no one signals, and there seem to be relatively few accidents considering this style of driving. It was a little stressful in the rainstorm that flooded the highway to the airport though . . . even Carola was wincing as we hydroplaned our way to pick up Richard.

The people: Thai people are famous for their smile, though apparently there are around 16 smiles that all have different meanings. You can smile to get out of awkward situations or instead of apologizing, which has turned out to be useful with the language barrier. For example, at the red cross station/snake farm where we went to get our Japanese B Encephalitis vaccines, there was some confusion of where the end of the line was, and I directed our group to the beginning, appearing to cut in front of a large group of Thais and a few westerners. Once the error was discovered there was lots of smiling all around and it became clear how we were supposed to queue. So far everyone has been very friendly and excited to hear me speak a little Thai (three phrases so far; don’t be impressed!).

The city: Bangkok is rather large and spread out. While our hotel is located at the geographic and commercial center of the city, near several large shopping malls (which makes giving directions to cab drivers who speak no English easier), we are not at the historic center of the city near the Chao Phraya River. There are hundreds of temples (wats) in the city, and images of Buddha abound. About 95% of the population is Buddhist so this comes as no surprise.

The weather: August and September are the second peak of Thailand’s rainy/monsoon season. It is hot, humid and cloudy during the day and it doesn’t seem to cool down much at night. Luckily we are staying in a nice hotel and can turn on the A/C. We’ve had two big rainstorms since Sunday. I have yet to hear thunder but when the rain comes, it is unbelievably heavy and pounding. Everyone tries to take cover, and Sunday the highway flooded.

I am in BKK until Thursday morning and will try to be in touch more once I get up to PKWS!