BANGKOK, I'm not into you.

July 20th, Bangkok
Research is important. In my travel guide, it is repeatedly emphasized that one should cover their shoulders and knees in the temples to show proper respect to the sacred places. So, after buying a longer pair of pants from one of the countless market stalls in the area yesterday, my day started with a 45-minute walk to the Grand Palace. According to Google Maps, it would have taken only 18 minutes, but I guess I have nothing better to do than to take a wrong turn and then think that I can somehow cross the 6-lane road in my direction without having to turn back. 😅 I have to admit, my sense of direction leaves something to be desired, even though I have never had any difficulties with it in general. I can't remember the last time I got lost or went the wrong way.
So, when I arrived at the Grand Palace, I was directed through several separate paths along with about 1,000 other people, only to find out at the entrance that I had to turn back. My pants end just above the ankles, which is a reason to deny me entry. I declined the offer to buy an even longer pair of pants for 400 Baht (which is overpriced) at the ticket counter and wear them over my already too warm pants in 32°C weather. So, I squeezed my way back through the crowds and decided to explore the Grand Palace some other time.

I visited the nearby Wat Pho Temple instead. Apparently, my ankles are not too scandalous for the deceased kings. 🤷🏽‍♀️ The most impressive thing is by far the 46-meter-long reclining Buddha statue.

This Buddha is about the same size as the building that barely contains it. The statue symbolizes Buddha's entry into Nirvana and the end of all reincarnations. The soles of the feet alone are 5 meters high and contain intricate decorations that depict the 108 Lakshanas - the sacred attributes of the Enlightened One. The entire hall, in addition to the murmurs of the crowds, is filled with the dull clinking of coins thrown by believers into the 108 metal bowls placed next to the Buddha. 💰

The buildings of the entire complex are breathtaking. I stroll through the most extensive collection of Buddha images in all of Thailand and I am overwhelmed by all the gold. One Buddha stands, sits, strides, and lies next to another. Countless statues everywhere. 👀

After walking back to the hostel for 20 minutes in my long pants and fallen scarf in 32°C heat and 57% humidity, sweat poured from every pore of my body. I have never sweated so much in any sauna, on any hot summer day in Germany, or anywhere else. 💦

On the side street of my hostel, I ran into Shushma (the girl I met on the shuttle bus) with two other girls. We explored the surrounding streets, ate incredibly delicious and huge shrimp in batter from the nearest food stall, and discovered a mini temple amid all the hustle and bustle.

Shushma, Océane, and Eve are warmhearted and we had a lot of laughs. I told them about a bet I made back home that involved me receiving 50€ if I eat a spider, and Océane and I made a handshake agreement that this would be our mission for the evening. 🕷️ However, this mission was quickly postponed because the fried spiders in this tourist area were offered for 250 Baht, which is around 7.50€. Overpriced as fuck. So, we decided to use the money to buy five beers instead. Definitely a better investment. 🍺

I said goodbye to the girls and went back to the hostel. Friday is pool party day. Lots of beer. Lots of new acquaintances. Lots of laughter. Lots of beer pong. I stayed in the pool until late at night. 🏊

July 21st
I strolled through the streets during the day again. Bangkok is somehow not really my thing, and I have the feeling of being alone for the first time. This city is just so infinitely huge and packed with people. Everything is hectic. For a moment, it seems that everyone around me knows where they're going except for me. So, I decide to do what I always do when I feel uncomfortable: I go to sleep. 😴 When I sat at the hostel bar after my nap, I ran into Marty again, with whom I had a fantastic ball game in the pool yesterday. 🏊 We decided to go to the food market a few streets away, and I had the best Pad Thai ever. Marty taught me how to eat with chopsticks after laughing at me for 3 minutes. 🍜 Pad Thai consists of thin rice noodles, fried egg, tofu, chicken, and is seasoned with fish sauce and tamarind. Served on a banana leaf.🍃 However, I left my phone and camera in the hostel room since I was only planning to go to the bar for a short while, so I can't show you any pictures of the food or the incredibly colorful streets of Bangkok at night. After a few beers, a few bars, and a few kilometers, Marty and I ended the evening with a small group and enjoyed the rest of the night.

July 22nd
Departure day. I am pretty glad to be leaving Bangkok today. I was getting in my own way, and the feeling of being alone somewhere was getting stronger over the past few days. I packed my things and spent the day entirely at the hostel. The cooking class offered by the hostel for 60 Baht, which is around 1.70€, was super fun, and the cooked 'Kaeng Khiao Wan' was delicious. However, for my unaccustomed palate, I may have overdone it a little with the chili paste. 😅 It's not like I'm not constantly sweating anyway.

I take a Grab taxi for 150 Baht (around 4.30€) in a 30-minute drive to the bus station. The bus station is massive. I stumble into the entrance hall with my large backpack on my back and a smaller backpack in front of my stomach. Luckily, I am taken under the wing of a pretty good-looking security guard who helps me find the right counter out of the approximately 200 counters in this hall. He also escorts me to my bus stop. He takes my ticket from the counter, briefly talks to his colleague, and hands it back to me. When I took a second look at it, I couldn't immediately recognize my information and briefly thought he had exchanged it and I had once again behaved recklessly and let myself be fooled. 🙄 But that was not the case, the ticket is completely in Thai and the only thing I can recognize on it anyway are the numbers. After a 10-minute walk through two more halls, going down two escalators, and passing through 4 'bus stops' (if you can call them that), I finally arrived at my stop, 501. The 'bus stops' are also massive. Buses are parked side by side, mirror to mirror, with 15 buses on each side of the platform. I have already crossed four more of them on my way here... how many people need to go from A to B here? And how many A's and B's are there? 👀 I am once again totally impressed, overwhelmed... simply overwhelmed by the scale of this city. 🏙️ After a 20-minute wait, a bus employee approaches me, points to the bus on the opposite platform, grabs my backpack, and shouts 'Nong Khai' about 15 times. The Thai people waiting around me stand up and follow the employee, who rushes to the double-decker bus with my backpack in front and me trailing behind. He throws my backpack into the luggage compartment and points to my seat from the outside. Although everyone here is very helpful, I am still a little surprised by the pervasive haste with which I am being assisted. 😅 My seat is almost at the back, I have limited legroom, and another employee distributes a pack of chips, a bottle of water, and an orange-colored snack with a dip to each passenger, which I cannot identify. Vegetables? Fish? I will find out eventually. 🍱

After the employee walks through the bus once again with a notebook, jotting down each passenger's drop-off points, we start. Ten hours of bus ride and the well-functioning air conditioning blowing directly on the back of my neck. Oh. Due to the rush when boarding, my neck pillow is now in the lower compartment. I hear 'Well, it's lying there nicely, isn't it?' in Izza's voice in my head. I smile and am glad to see the Bangkok skyline slowly fading away in its smog.

Next Stop -

Nong Khai, on the border with Laos.