Updated: 01/21/2018 | Orignally posted: 1/10/2009
I’ve been living in Bangkok on and off for two years now. It’s become my base of operations as I backpack around Thailand and Asia. It’s the place I return to when I am out of money and need to work. I’ve developed a network of friends, service contacts, learned the language, and mastered the city.
But now this chapter in my life is over. I need to say goodbye to being an expat in the city.
I first came here with my friend Scott in 2005. We were on holiday and, upon landing in Bangkok, made a decision the first thing we had to do was figure out how to get out. We hated the city. It was dirty, crowded, polluted, seedy, and boring. We didn’t come here for crowded, hectic city streets. We wanted beaches and parties and jungles. You know, the “real” Thailand.
Even when I returned to Thailand in 2006, I spent just 10 hours in the city before leaving for the islands. I couldn’t leave the city fast enough. Again, why would I want to spend time in a massive, chaotic city when I could be kicking back on the beach?
But, when I made a decision I wanted to improve my Thai, I moved to Bangkok. It was the best place to learn the language as Bangkok Thai is considered the standard; learning it in one of the outside provinces would have given me a a lot more obvious accent. On top of that, it would be much much easier to find a teacher in Bangkok (especially one that could also speak English). I figured I would hard it out for a month, learn what I could, and then be on my way.
But things changed, as they often do, and I found myself living in the city. before I knew it, I started to take pleasure in my time there. Bangkok started to become a place that I liked spending time in…and then it became a place that I loved. As I pertained to realize, the city has a lot to offer if you know where to look.
As a vacationer on those first visits, I didn’t know where to look — which is why I never took pleasure in my time. but once I was able to peel back the curtain and get a look of the real city, it became a place that I loved. It’s one of my favorite cities in the world.
As I leave in a couple of weeks to go show in Taipei, I can’t help but think about all the things this city has taught me.
5 lessons learned from Living in Bangkok
Living in Bangkok taught me that first impressions are nearly always wrong. I hated the city when I first came here, yet the longer I stayed, the a lot more the city opened up to me and the a lot more I found it an exciting and riveting place to live. had I judged it by my first impression of it, I never would have stayed and learned how to make it in a city. I never would have developed the network I would have.
Living in Bangkok taught me that notions about safety are overrated. In the West, we’re incredibly safety-minded. and if we aren’t, someone will be sure to sue us. but here you see little kids driving motorbikes and people running across busy streets, jumping on and off buses, and walking on sidewalks with gaping holes leading into pipes. Western lawyers would have a field day here. but by living here, I’ve learned that safety, while important, is not as crucial as having a level head. few accidents happen because a lot of people are just conscious of their surroundings and use their heads.
So are notions about cleanliness. Last night, I ate Thai food on the street next to a motorcycle stand. The night before I had chicken BBQ made with chicken that clearly had been sitting there for some time (on ice). The woman who cooks my Pad Thai uses her hands to make it. Yet here I sit, still alive. They say a lot of the reason children develop allergies is because we’re so hyper clean that their bodies don’t develop resistance. There’s no talk about peanut allergies and wheat allergies here. Our species lasted thousands of years a bit dirty. Bangkok taught me that a little dirt never really hurt anyone.
Living in Bangkok taught me that I can be tone deaf yet still learn a tonal language. I love learning languages. I’m also horrible at learning them. It takes me a long time to pick a new one up. I still can’t roll my R’s when I speak Spanish even though I started studying it when I was in high school. though I don’t believe it, my Thai friends tell me my pronunciation is very good. I’m not fluent, but I can hold a basic conversation with the taxi drivers. If I can get my head around Thai, my upcoming forays into French and German shouldn’t be so difficult.
Most importantly, Living in Bangkok taught me I can make it anywhere. . I moved here not knowing any individual and spent the first weeks alone on my computer. Yet, I made friends, got a job, learned the language, found a girlfriend, created a social network. I managed to prosper in a foreign land. I navigated banking systems, rent, bills, and culture I didn’t understand. Bangkok showed me that I could be self-reliant and independent.
If I could stArte una vida en un lugar como Bangkok, podría comenzar una vida en cualquier lugar. Podría ser quien quería, hacer nuevos amigos y vivir una vida llena de aventura. Ahora, cuando voy a Taipei enfrentando la misma situación, no estoy ansioso por nada. Si puedo manejar en una ciudad, puedo manejar en otra.
*** Si está mochilando Tailandia, asegúrese de darle a Bangkok la oportunidad que merece. No solo visite Bangkok y el azar como lo hice en mi primer viaje. Trate de meterse debajo de su piel. Sal del sendero de vacacionistas. Bangkok es una ciudad para los residentes. No se encuentra en los templos, sino en la gente.
La ciudad te sorprenderá.
Y, ahora no puedo evitar preguntarme, después de aprender tanto en Bangkok, ¿qué me mostrará Taipei?
¡Obtenga la guía presupuestaria exhaustiva de Bangkok!
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Reserve su viaje a Bangkok: ideas y trucos logísticos
Reserve su vuelo
Use Skyscanner o Momondo para encontrar un vuelo barato. Son mis dos motores de búsqueda favoritos porque buscan sitios web y aerolíneas en todo el mundo para que siempre sepa que no queda piedra sin mover. ¡Comience con Skyscanner primero porque tienen el mayor alcance!
Reserve su alojamiento
Puede reservar su albergue con HostelWorld, ya que tienen el mejor inventario y las mejores ofertas. Si desea quedarse en otro lugar que no sea un albergue, use Booking.com, ya que constantemente devuelven las tarifas menos costosas para casas de huéspedes y hoteles baratos. Mis lugares favoritos para alojarse son:
Hostel de la casa verde
Albergue de mono loco
Si está tratando de encontrar muchos más lugares para quedarse, aquí están mis albergues favoritos en Bangkok. Y si te preguntas en qué parte de la ciudad quedarte, ¡aquí está el desglose de mi vecindario de Bangkok!
No olvides el seguro de viaje
El seguro de viaje lo asegurará contra enfermedades, lesiones, robo y cancelaciones. Es una protección detallada en caso de que algo salga mal. Nunca voy de viaje sin él, ya que tuve que usarlo muchas veces en el pasado. Mis compañías favoritas que ofrecen el mejor servicio y valor son:
Ala de seguridad (para todos los menores de 70 años)
Asegure mi viaje (para aquellos mayores de 70)
MedJet (para cobertura de repatriación adicional)
¿Buscas las mejores compañías para ahorrar dinero?
Consulte mi página de recursos para que las mejores compañías usen cuando viaja. Enumero todos los que uso para ahorrar dinero cuando estoy en el camino. Te ahorrarán dinero cuando viaje también.
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