Ruby in the Sky

It’s the second of February 2017; I get on a plane. A plane that will take me to new, faraway places, further than I’ve ever been before. After about 13 hours of travel, I land. Welcome to Bangkok!

So yes, it’s been almost three weeks since that day. Since then, I’ve discovered an additional 7 places and taken well over 400 photos and video clips. If you’re subscribed to my Youtube channel, you might have seen the vlog from my first day in Bangkok. It took me about 4 days to upload that – and I’m not that patient. Hence, for now I will write down, instead of documenting audio-visually. I will still vlog – but the material gathered that way will be uploaded at a later date, when time and wifi are abundant.

I spent three days in Bangkok. The first, as you will have seen in the vlog I mentioned, consisted mostly of trying to get a grip of this new situation, including the minor setbacks that were thrown my way. On day two, however, I had to suck it up and get going: I had a tour booked.

On this fine first morning, I got up nice and early, so I could grab a smoothie at one of the many stands all over the neighbourhood before jumping on the ferry that would take me to the tour centre. Sounds confident, right? A little too much so, as I ended up missing my ferry by walking to the wrong ferry stop (because I didn’t want to ask for directions). Luckily I ended up getting to my destination just in time, and me and the three other Dutchies who had also booked this tour, set off into busy Chinatown, together with our guides.

The tour was divided in  different parts, involving different modes of transport. The first portion of our day was a walk through Chinatown. We walked through narrow alleys, marketplaces, temples… around every corner there was something different to be found.

After we finished our walk, we took a ferry, the BTS (Skytrain) and a túktúk to the location of our longtail boat. From this point, the boat took us through what out guide called the muslim-canal area, somewhere on the east side of the city. After cruising the canal for some time, stopping somewhere along the way to buy some food off a barbecue boat (I didn’t make this up), we arrived at the bike shop. Here we each got a bike, and continued the tour this way.

What followed, I did not document, for safety reasons. But if you’re willing to believe me, I can paint you a picture in words. Along the sides of the canals, there were narrow pathways, probably just big enough to fit a twin stroller, if you were willing to risk the lifes of the children in it. There were no rails between the water and these paths, and all paths were two-way streets (except, not as big as streets). It was not unusual for us to pass motorcycles, other bikes or walking people. Sometimes, we had to stand still to let someone pass, with our feet and/or wheels not 10 centimeters from the edge. Sometimes, we had to make a corner coming from a bridge, with our very good brakes as our only safety net. And a couple of times, there were unforeseen road obstructions, and at one point we even had to cross a highway.

After an undetermined period of cycling, we reached the restaurant where we were having lunch – a welcome break after riding in the soaring heat of the sun. Sweaty and gross, we caught our breath and recharged with some typical thai food. In my case, this was simply rice and veggies.

Once we all finished our lunch, wiped our sweaty everything and reapplied our sunscreen, we were back on the road; more life-threatening, fun adventures ensued. The last part of our journey, after locking up our bikes at another bike depot, was a local train back to the city. Taking a local train in Thailand is an experience in itself, mostly for the behavior around the tracks. As you may have noticed in the first picture included in this post – it is completely normal here to walk across the tracks, or even sit on them while having a chat. For someone who’s experienced trains only in Western countries, this is a liberty I never imagined I would ever have! The things you can get excited about, right?

After that, the tour was soon finished, and I was beat. Although it was quite the adventure at times, I absolutely loved it, and would definitely recommend it if you’re traveling to Bangkok! You can find it here.

My last day in Bangkok I spent a bit more chilled. I started my day with an early morning stroll, upon which I found out that a lot of the street stalls only start up from about 9 a.m. onwards. By this point I felt quite comfortable finding my way around there area I was staying in, and this definitely added to the charm of it all.

When you’re new in town, especially in certain areas, it can all be way too overwhelming. Staying near, but not on Khao San and Rambuttri road (a far more easy going, peaceful alternative to the former) was perfect for me. It’s an area that is not as accessible by public transport, and getting on that first bus on day one was a big leap of faith, but the locals are as helpful as they can be in a language that they do not always master, and you’re way cheaper off this way than you would be, taking a cab or túktúk!

All in all, my first days in Thailand were an intense, but ultimately great experience. While on day three I was aching to get out of the city, I am now looking forward to flying back to it in a few days. Maybe this time I’ll actually hit the touristic landmarks!

I hope you enjoyed this first travel diary – if there’s anything I can improve (or if you simply want to share your enjoyment of this post) please let me know by commenting it down below!

Love, Ruby

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