Last Days in Bangkok

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Waking up later around noonish, I showered, only to be sweating again in ten minutes. Downstairs, I got breakfast again from the hostel- some scrambled eggs and fresh fruit this time. Dragonfruit is very popular here with its exotic pink spiky peel. Unlike you'd expect, it tastes pretty bland, and it looks like a white colored kiwi inside. Anyways, today's plans consisted of going to Wat Arun and China Town. Supposedly, Wat Arun is best to see during sunrise or sunset from the boat ride over, but we visited in the middle of the day because no one had the energy to wake up at 5 AM. There are ferry like boats that we rode over, and believe it or not, the boat drivers are just as crazy as the taxi and tuk tuk drivers! There's really no order to the traffic here and the drivers spend more time on and crossing the lines rather than in the actual lanes themselves...

Wat Arun temple was just as detailed as the Grand Palace, but less fancy without all the gold accents and jewels. Usually, there are stairs available to climb up to the top, but today we weren't offered that option because workers were making repairs. The temples in Thailand are constantly being reconstructed and cleaned, which would explain why many of them have been around for centuries. Wat Arun was another great site for getting textured pictures!

We then hopped back on the boat and rode it to Chinatown. Like many other chinatowns, Bangkok's was chaotic, loud, and bustling with energy. Also, you can smell something new and mysterious at practically every street corner! A really nice Thai who spoke English recommended we try a certain restaurant, so we took his word for it. The locals are always trying to make business and profit, so later he reveled that he's a tour guide and handed us each his card while we were eating. We were told that the food was going to be spicy, so we eagerly awaited to have our taste buds on fire. Unfortunately though, the green curry with peppers and Tom Yum soup (which is usually very hot) were both very easy to eat, which kind of disappointed us! Maybe we've just had so much spicy food since we've been here that this meal just didn't rank on the scale.

We rushed the check in order to make it back to the meeting place in time to ride back with the rest of the group. Even though we have a very small group of 8 students, getting everyone together at the same time always seems to be a struggle. This time we were getting texts from Ed and Bobby who were lost. While we waited, I checked out a vendor selling marigold crowns and bouquets. I wanted to buy some, but at the same time, I didn't want to offend anyone by wearing the flowers. The marigolds hold huge religious significance, symbolizing trust and faith in the divine, and they're often brought into temples to honor Buddha. They can also be found on the shrines outside, which I'll tell you about in a bit. Apparently the marigolds' odor keeps bugs away from places of worship. I figured it might not be appropriate to buy the marigolds considering I'm not Buddhist, but they really did smell good!! There's also a lot of controversy here with buying Buddhas. With Thailand being a popular tourist destination, many outsiders come hoping to bring home authentic souvenirs, like wooden statues of Buddha. In the palace the other day though, there were protestors making good points that "Buddha is not a form of decoration- stop buying Buddha." This of course does not keep street booths from selling every possible size and variety of the statues... Now I'll quickly write about the mini shrines we see everywhere. They have the unique Asian architecture and many are brightly colored. They're usually pretty small, but have a table sitting in front where people can make offerings. Originally I assumed they were shrines for Buddha, but it turns out to be the exact opposite. The shrines are a "home" for the demons and they're placed outside to keep the bad spirits out of houses, restaurants, and buildings. Then I wondered why people would put food and flower offerings outside these shrines. Basically, it's just a way to keep the peace with the demons, making sure they are happy so they don't haunt you. If you satisfy them, they'll stay in their little shrines.

Sorry to go off on so many tangents, I'll get back to our day. When we came back to the hostel, we met some newcomers- folks from Canada! Really friendly people, we joked with them for apologizing too much like the stereotypical Canadian. I get envious of the people in our hostel, because quite a few of them have been taking the entire year off to travel Southeast Asia and other places around the world. Regardless, hearing about their stories and experiences always blows my mind. Some of them quit jobs and school, just for sake of wanderlust. Don't worry, I'm not getting any crazy ideas...

That night, we got dinner with everyone because it was the last night with all of us together. Eating near Khao San Road, a restaurant with vintage lanterns caught our eye. I'm really going to miss seeing fresh coconut water and fruit juices on every menu! Also, I'm going to have serious withdrawal from spicy Thai food and the variety of stir fries and curry. Hopefully I'll find a place near my university back home!

Tomorrow everyone leaves at different times, and I am the last to go. It will be sad without waking up next to everyone and buying cheap bottled water from the 711 first thing like we do every morning. I've really enjoyed getting to know the group- we really are a random grab bag, not quite as extreme as the breakfast club, but somewhat like that! Who knows, maybe we'll all connect in the future for another trip abroad...

It's bittersweet saying goodbye to such a beautiful place. I've looked forward to this cross cultural experience for such a long time, and it's all passed by so quickly! Even though I won't have the experience to await, the memories will stick forever, and hopefully I can add to them by returning someday! It will be weird coming back to the US and not bowing slightly to say hello or thank someone. Also, I'm used to leaving shoes outside as a sign of respect, but in snowy Wisconsin, that won't really be an option.

I hope this blog served you well- whether you were using it to keep in touch with me or just wanted to know what I was up to, I hope it inspired you to seek out new experiences! That doesn't necessarily mean traveling 30 hours by plane to go across the world...but in daily life, we encounter so many opportunities to become more knowledgeable and sensitive to a culture we initially know little about. To me, this has been one of the most influential experiences to my education thus far. Thank you Thailand, parents, teachers, relatives, friends and everyone who has helped support me along the way!

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Comments

[Mimi & Grampi]

Enjoyed your trip Vicarously!
Becca, we really enjoyed your blog and all of the beautiful pictures! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful experience with us! You are an excellent writer and we felt like we were along for the journey. You are very fortunate to have had such a terrific cultural experience in Thailand. We wish you many more happy travels!