I write this blog post slightly recapping day 3 while sitting at a restaurant on Khao San Road in Bangkok. I’m currently finishing up a papaya salad and a large Chang beer, and watching people go by. I have to tell you though, the salad is spicier than I anticipated and I am currently sweating profusely. 

I’ve had a weird mix of sightseeing and travel day. I started my day at 3:30 AM because of jet lag, but laid in bed until or so. I spent my morning chatting with the other travellers in my hostel – the hostel I stayed in during my time in HCMC was phenomenal for a solo traveller. Everyone was friendly and ready to chat! 

I finally got my stuff together and made my way to the airport around 10am. The flight to Bangkok was short and sweet, which was a nice transitioning time. The plane was on the older side but the flight felt safe and they managed to do a few announcements in English which helped me feel reassured we wouldn’t crash land anywhere. 

That was my first small flight of many, as flight will be my mode of transportation to get around for the next 4 weeks. If I am not mistaken I am taking 8 flights total this month! While it is more expensive than getting around by bus or train, it’s definitely helping me with what I want to see in 4 weeks. Considering I’m on paid vacation for the whole time, it’s a great tradeoff in my opinion. 

I hopped on the airport link train to get to my hostel and then got in a cab. I’ve already gotten the vibe that Bangkok is tourist scam central. The taxi driver lied to me about how far the station was from the hostel (he said 7km instead of the 3km it was) and tried to charge me 450 baht for a taxi ride the hostel said should cost 70-100 baht. I got in an argument with him in the cab, we awkwardly rode silently for 30 min; then I sacrificed my dignity for $4 by giving him 200 baht. I felt pretty assertive by this point; I kind of yelled at him getting out saying, “I hope 200 is ok” then skedaddling. Again though, the $4 CAD is worth more to him than to me! Going to try to take grab or uber to/from the airport from now on though, haha! 

I made a friend in the hostel when I got there and we decided we would take an adventure to Ayutthaya tomorrow, 1.5 hours out of the city. I saw them visit these temples and ruins in the TV show Departures (on Netflix in Canada) so I am excited to see them in real life and get off the beaten track a bit! 

After figuring my life out I wandered around. I found a temple near my hostel and took some photos, then ventured to Khao San Road where I snacked on plenty of street food! Highlight of the day was definitely the $1 pad Thai! Since I was killing time and walking around, I treated myself to a foot massage for $4. Life is good so far!