The first day

After a relatively painless Airberlin flight, I arrived in Bangkok about 12 hours travel time. As we exited the aircraft, a young airline hostess gave me a courteous wai, welcoming me to Asia. I had read a book about Thai culture before my trip and learned that the wai was the traditional form of greeting, thanking, or a sign of respect for the Thai people. There are different types of the wai depending on the relationship of the two people greeting or thanking each other. The wai is essentially two hands placed together finger to finger and palm to palm placed in front of the body as if in prayer followed by a short bow. The height of the hands in relation to the face and the depth of the bow reflect the status difference and the relationship between the two involved parties. If I, a commoner for example, were to wai a monk, my hands should be raised high in front of my lips and my bow should be low so that my head is lower than that of the monk as a sign of respect. I am still not sure what kind of wai I received from the airline hostess, but it is definitely a form of greeting I could get used to.

After picking up my backpack carefully weighed in at 15 Kg so as not to incur the excess weight charges air asia (the cheap airline) likes to impose, I decided to wait for my mom who was arriving an hour later on a flight from Hanoi. She had been traveling through Asia for a month already and we were going to meet some friends in Ayuthaya together. In fact the whole trip originally began with the 30th birthday celebration of some dear friends of ours from Berlin. Anja and Lutz are both avid rock climbers and on what I am sure was a drunken birthday celebration about ten years ago, cajoled their friends to commit to coming to Asia to celebrate their 40th birthday with a rock climbing adventure in Rai Ley, in Southern Thailand. They were presumably arriving three days later and we were going to meet them in Ayuthaya. My mom and I were going to spend two days exploring Bangkok before heading north to the old Royal city.

As I waited at the baggage claim carrousel number 12, I was surprised at the easy going to nature of the people around me. It did not resemble the hectic and aggressive nature I had experienced in Turkey only days before. People here were constantly smiling, kind and helpful, and I did not feel the slightest bit anxious. After about an hour I finally saw my mother waiting for her bags and snuck up on her. We had agreed to meet at the hotel, and she was surprised to see me. We got her bags and headed out the door.

We walked through the security gates and were immediately hounded by numerous taxi and shuttle drivers. Maybe my first impression of Thailand was misled. We avoided the masses and headed for the nearest cash machine. I extracted 2,000 Bhat and quickly realized that it would not last me very long (2,000 Bhat is only about 40 Euro). I decided to get a little bit more just in case. As we made our way through the aiport looking for the city bus into town, an older Thai man approached us and inquired where we were headed and if we needed help. After my Istanbul adventures I was skeptical but decided to give the guy a chance. He announced that the best and cheapest way to get into town would be by the airport express bus. True enough it only cost about 100 Bhat a person (aprox. 2 Euro) and took us within a block of our hotel. I threw my luggage onto the luggage rack and promptly passed out. About an hour later we pulled up to our stop.

The heat/humidity combination outside was stifling, as we marched down the street, bags in hand. A few minutes later, with beads of sweat collecting on my forehead, we arrived at the Navalai hotel. To make my transition easier, my mom generously invited me to stay at a nicer hotel for the first few nights in the heart of the Bangkok backpackers haven Khao San Road. The hotel at a whopping $30 US a night had all the amenities one could ask for. We had free wifi, air conditioning comfortable twin beds, a pool, and a great location. These are all things that would prove rare and unaffordable for me in the near future. The day was hot and the airplane food proved unsatisfying at keeping my appetite in check, so we decided to go get some local Thai cusine. We caught a ferry from our hotel and headed down the river. The boat was full of smiling locals. I enjoyed the cool breeze and admired the beautiful golden wats glittering along the shore of the curving river. As we turned to exit the boat I noticed a few monks dressed in bright orange robes standing at the back of the boat. Above their heads a sign read: Space for Monks. I later learned that monks are a very important part of Thai society and the influence of Buddhism is an integral factor in creating the compassion so apparent in the Thai people. A large majority of Thai men will partake in monk hood as young adults. We happened to be there during a transitional period that takes place every year around mid October. During this time men finish their 1-3 year monkship and immerse themselves back into mainstream society and new men sign up. Even the revered Thai king was a monk for ten years! Unlike in western society, religion is apparent everywhere here. You cannot go ten minutes without seeing a monk somewhere, be he riding on a ferry, cruising down the street in a tuk tuk, or simply strolling along the sidewalk.

We exited the boat and jumped onto a monorail, which provides fast and cheap and air-conditioned transport across the city. The shyness and quiet nature of the Thai people struck me immediately as I examined my surroundings. Most of their eyes were glued to tv screens scattered throughout the train. I looked to see what was so captivating. The TV monitors showed a constant stream of commercials. During our ten minute journey I saw advertisements for sun glasses, cell phone companies, and my favorite…the essence of chicken. It showed a guy at a bowling alley tired as hell sitting on a chair. Two girls come up to him and try to get him to have fun and he resists. Finally they pull out a bottle of essence of chicken and he drinks it and goes nuts. He bowls with one ball and then two and looks like he is on speed. I tried finding a link for the commercial but no luck.

From there we exited back into the heat and decided for the air-conditioned lunch option... the enormous Paragon mall. It was clean, cold, and the food was cheap and amazing. We walked through a few more malls, admired the culture of consumerism which seemed almost more intense than back home, and decided to finish off the night with a walk down Khao San road. Khao San road is the backpackers area or Bangkok. It is lined with hostels, restaurants, travel agents, bars, roadside food, people selling fake IDs, people advertising Thai Ping Pong shows, massage parlors, T-shirt stands, etc. The goods by the way are all cheap as hell. Before I left I was told not to bring any clothes and just buy my clothes upon arrival. T-shirts cost around 2 Euro a piece. After a great meal and a cold beer we headed back to our hotel for a good night of much needed sleep. I was exhausted.