Bangkok: A Bustling City
I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand after nearly 35 hours of straight travel. Exhausted and disoriented, I stepped out of my taxi onto one of the many backstreets in the city, finding very quickly that this was a place very foreign to me. Vendors lined the street, stray dogs were abound, and the atmosphere was something that I would best describe as high electricity.
Everything in my body told me to go to my hostel and lie down, but my mind raced at the possibilities and experiences at my fingertips. I hustled to the hostel to drop off most of my gear, and then quickly turned around to immerse myself in the city with camera in hand. The first stop was to find some food, and it did not take long before delicious smells enveloped my senses. My travel partner and I stopped at one of the first restaurants that we found, and we were greeted by a friendly Thai woman and a gigantic menu. Seeing us flipping through the pages like deer in the headlights, an elderly Thai woman sitting a table away came over and essentially ordered our meals for us. Four plates and two giant Leo beers later to the tune of roughly 5$ American, and we were happily satisfied. At this point the exhaustion could not be overcome, and we stumbled back to our hostel for some much needed rest, but not before I snapped a couple pictures of some hungry locals and one brave blind man and his dog!
The next morning I awoke at 7AM feeling fresh and energized. With renewed vigor I hustled up to the roof of our hostel to catch the sunrise and throw my drone up in the air. The city was bathed with golden light, and a beautiful thin layer of mist enveloped the surrounding buildings. I found myself elated at what I was capturing, and I knew that this was only the beginning of many mornings spent alone, peacefully enjoying and experiencing a new environment. So many dreaded mornings over the last 10 months getting up to do work that I had no interest in had finally paid off. The world was at my fingertips, and in that moment I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be. Chasing a dream and capturing the world through my lens.
After a 15 minute drone flight, a few photos, and a quick rooftop body-weight workout, I scampered back down to the hostel room to awaken my travel companion. We were both excited to get out and see what Bangkok had to offer us, so we gathered our equipment and just started walking! The city felt like a whole new world to me. The sights, smells, and sounds were familiar but foreign. I have never really been one to enjoy the frenzy of a city, but there was something about this one that had me completely encapsulated and mesmerized. I felt like a kid in a candy store just walking around experiencing and capturing every little thing that caught my eye. A 20 minute walk, a street coffee, and a quick meal later, and we decided to take an Uber deeper into the heart of the city.
I asked the Uber driver to take us to the only place that I knew in Bangkok at the time, the infamous Khao San Road. Upon arrival we were met with a sea of vendors, backpackers, and locals. Restaurants, bars, clothing stands, and food lined the edges of the street, and it was the first of many times that I walked up and down the road just for the mere entertainment of it. 30 baht for a smoothie, 50 baht for some Pad Thai, and 100 baht for a knockoff Nike tank top, and my first Khao San haul was a complete success.
We eventually made it to the end of Khao San Road, and we were met by a plethora of Taxi's and Tuk Tuk's, all vying for our attention and business. We instead decided to tackle the city on foot, and we made our way towards The Grand Palace, one of Bangkok's most prolific sites, and the official residence of the King of Siam since 1782. Hundreds of tourists lined the streets, and we ended up following a group of monks to the gates of the palace. Unfortunately we weren't able to enter the palace on our first day, as we did not meet the dress code with our shorts! We did eventually make our way into the palace though, so here are a few shots from some of the amazing architecture inside. While this is definitely a site that is a must see, I would highly suggest going early in the morning or later in the evening though, as the amount of tourists when we were there definitely detracted from the overall experience.
Being turned away from the Grand Palace did not diminish our spirits in the slightest, as we then meandered our way over to the interesting and eclectic Asiatique The Riverfront. We began in narrow quarter alleyways, where vendors tightly packed the edges, selling various trinkets and hand-made crafts. Interesting people and cute animals aplenty, I could have easily spent thirty minutes to an hour in here while being thoroughly entertained.
Our next adventure led us to a Tuk Tuk driver that was willing to take us to multiple temples for 30 Baht, the first of which was Wat Saket, or the Temple of the Golden Mount. I quickly found that photographing out of the backseat of a Tuk Tuk was one of the most efficient ways to capture images of this city, albeit rather difficult!
After a quick car accident where our Tuk Tuk driver brushed against a car and they both determined it was of no consequence, we arrived at The Temple of the Golden Mount! At 77 meters tall, it broke a slight sweat to get to the top, but it was well worth it. Beautiful architecture, vibrant shrines, and gorgeous sprawling views of the city awaited us at the top.
By this point the sun was beginning to go down, so we decided to have our Tuk Tuk driver take us back down to the waterfront to finish our day off on one of the many long boats that float the Chao Phraya River. On the way to the waterfront, I saw an alleyway that caught my attention though, and I got the sudden inspiration to go walking down it. After confirmation with my travel companions, we dove in!
What awaited us was one of the more culturally rich experiences that I had in my time in Bangkok. Tightly packed houses lined either side of the alleyway, and families were going about their daily duties. Many interesting characters were found, and all of them seemed intrigued and excited that we had stumbled our way into their lives. One particular interaction with an elderly woman and a kitten definitely made my day!
The rest of the walk to the longboats led us directly past a game of Sepak takraw. I found this sport incredibly entertaining to watch, as it is essentially volleyball, but you are only allowed to use your feet, knees, head, and chest to get the ball to the other side of the court. The skill at which these locals were playing this game was nothing short of spectacular, as they leapt and nearly did back-flips to kick spike the ball onto their opponents.
We finished up watching the game of Sepak takraw, and finally headed to the longboats on the water. The sun was just falling behind a beautiful temple called Wat Arun, and this laid the perfect atmosphere for some amazing photography. Cruising down the river, it was impossible to not have a smile on my face. It felt like the perfect finish to an incredible day in the city of Bangkok.
Conversation began to elude our travel crew at this point, as we had all had a big day, full of rich experiences. The silence as the darkness began to envelop us was peaceful though, and we all contently enjoyed the sight of the city as it began to glow from the surrounding lights while the water gently lapped against the side of our longboat.
One last Tuk Tuk back to Khao San Road, and we were finally home free to walk to our hostel for the night. While we were very much exhausted, Khao San Road at night breathed life into our drained bodies, and we found ourselves once again immersed in the hysteria of the environment. It wasn't long before we had indulged in a infamous alcohol bucket, and a BBQ scorpion straight off of a stick. Many fellow travelers were met from across the globe, and we completed the rest of the evening sharing stories, dancing, and indulging in horrendous alcohol buckets, Chang beers, and of course, the infamous scorpions.
Bangkok had worked its magic on us, and we finally decided to call it a night. This city is hectic but beautiful, and the people kind and welcoming. While I definitely grew tired of the delirium of this environment after a few days, the experiences I had and the people I met in this city will stay with me for the rest of my life. I highly recommend checking Bangkok out if you haven't been there, and in my opinion it is best experienced in a highly concentrated dose. 2-3 days in Bangkok at a fast pace is about all you need, and you will be glad that you pushed yourself to see as much as possible. Having said that, keep in mind that it will be exhausting and draining, just ask the locals!
