The first leg of my approximate 24hr journey from Montreal to Bangkok went smoothly enough; the flight to YVR was on time at 6pm, the layover in the swanky international section was pleasant and non-stressful (seriously I do not remember it being so incredibly fancy - that fish tank and the new year decorations?!), and the final giant flight left on time at 22h45 Vancouver time to arrive on the 15th at around 5h30am. I lost a day going into the future!
During the super long flight I was seated next to a UVIC researcher flying out for a conference on reproductive rights (kinda wish I got her details), and a guy from Whitehorse visiting Thailand for the first time with his gf. All three of us had never been to Bangkok before. The atmosphere in the flight was interesting - a lot of young people getting advice from random men on the plane, being told what to avoid and what to see. I eavesdropped a little before the Gravol kicked in and spent the next 16yrs drifting between reading and trying to doze. I could feel my ankles swell and my neck get sore, but was too drugged to walk laps.
Bangkok airport was muggy but enormous and well-organized. I found a SIM card before security so immediately had unlimited wifi on my phone for 30d for 44CAD which was insane. Being able to check in with people from home reassured me while waiting in line to get through immigration, which involved almost zero questions and some fingerprints. No one asked for proof of onward journey which I hope will remain a theme.
My first mission was to get food at this airport food court I had read about, freshen up, adjust the backpack, and figure out the transport situation. Oh and exchange money. The only learning experience I had to deal with was the food court - turns out you have to go buy a little card with money on it, then use that to buy stuff in the food court, then return the card for your change when you go. Cash and card sound the same with an accent so I initially went to get cash after showing my card and getting a no, brought some back only to find out no, it was card, and no, not credit card... I eventually ate some incredibly cheap and surprisingly non-spicy food.
After shoving literally everything into my main backpack (thank god it all fits), I figured out the straightforward metro system which involves tokens and cards which you keep during your passage, dropping them off to exit in the same turnstiles. It appears you pay based on how far you are going so each trip costs a slightly different amount. Everything so far was easy to figure out. The metro took almost 2 hours but it was all above ground (they even call it a skytrain as well!) so I could take in the city. The BTS was more air conditioned than the rail from the airport which made me prefer that leg of the journey. I forced myself to stand the entire time since I had sat for 16hrs, which did earn protests from my knees (weight from backpack likely did not help - I have to build my stamina for that again!).
I made it to my host's area of town (near On Nut station) with some time to spare, so found an iced strawberry tea and the 7-11 where I could get shampoo. The montreal airport had taken my shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, and body wash since I had too many liquids. With this delay I had made it to 9am so I could get into my first host's place!
I was greeted in a beautiful lobby and was able to chill out and wash my face and teeth which felt amazing. We got to know each other for a while, then made a little plan for my first small excursion. He recommended keeping it local today since I had travelled so long and it was super hot out, so I set out with a few things in mind: get the requisite thai elephant pants, get a massage, eat noodles, find sunscreen, visit a small local temple area and the surrounding malls, and pick up something to eat for the two of us on the way back.
The city itself is busy but not overwhelming at all. There are, however, an overwhelming amount of places to eat and most of the food was completely new to me. So cheap and so much potential, I didn't know where to start. I went with Yuto's recommendation of a noodle shop in a shopping centre, walking through a street full of massage buildings to get there. I ended up speaking to a couple people named Jack and Ben at the noodle shop - one was a local with a building he was looking to sell or rent out, the other LA based seemingly in the commercial\movie industry who visits Bangkok 3-4x a year and has a condo in the city. They gave me further recommendations in general and reminded me how easy it was for me to meet people when I am sitting around by myself in a random place. It was reassuring and felt like an appropriate initial travel experience. I found the sunscreen (with surprising difficulty), rejected the pants in the shopping centre, and went up to the temple area and walked around.
It was incredibly hot - 35C - so even my camera had it's muggy effect going on and the photos of the temple complex were all affected. I was too uncomfortable with the idea of taking off my shoes to go into any of the buildings since it seemed it was for those wanting to express their religion and I was not going to do that (thus what business do I have going in). Funny how I have no quams about entering a church even when I have no intention to practice Christianity.
I began to overheat walking on a sidewalk with about 1000 electrical wires just above my head, so had to escape to a couple thrift stores with AC to cool down. I was extra sweaty but wanted a massage anyway, so went in a random spot and ended up having a foot massage for an hour which worked out perfect. No one getting offended by my sweaty back, feet were washed by the masseuse, and the massage involved everything from the thigh down which is what I needed the most anyhow due to being cramped in a plane with throbbing ankles and bent knees. I was in HEAVEN for about 10 bucks despite there being some pain (I don't mind if it hurts to some degree).
I left floating and happy - found the perfect pants on the same street and boom - almost my whole list of stuff to do was done smoothly. I was proud about not collapsing, and even the people at the noodle place had commented on how fresh I seemed despite what I had just done. Having internet and maps was so handy, so I ended up at what seemed like a version of walmart or tesco called lotus on my search for dinner. I found some cute dessert for us and came back to the apartment (I was given a spare keycard which is amazing).
We watched some anime (spy x hunter, mashle - loved both) and Japanese music videos - talked more then started smoking joints. This is where it began to hit me - I had not laid down in maybe 36 hours and now I was starting to notice. I did my best to stay awake to a reasonable time but was on the floor on my little mattress by 930pm. I woke up once and smoked more around 11-12, but this ended up making me sleep less soundly so now I know not to do that. I am so pleased marijuana is legal here!
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