2020-01-23

2020-01-04

The first week in Bangkok ... 

   The new year 2020 began with the new plan after spending almost 6 months in Cape Town my second semester at the University of Cape Town (UCT) with travel to Bangkok in Thailand to spend the third semester at Chulalongkorn University. I'm as always excited about the new academic experience including exploring the country and the surrounding society. I arrived in Bangkok on the first day of 2020, so I celebrated the eve of the new year on the flight the night before. My arrival was very smooth, there were no obstacles at the airport, I picked up my suitcase and went off to my accommodation. 
The accommodation is at a popular hostel, which is an affordable way of living that I had booked before as I didn't find a flat or dormitory. The first night was awful I couldn't sleep because of some drunk guys from Spain were disturbing. I yelled at them loudly to shut up. One of them was badly crying for a certain reason and they were calming him down. The owner came up to see what's going on. I said to him threatening, if you don't shut those deviant guys up, you must repay my money and I will check out! If I had known that there are such people at your place, I would have not come to. I hadn't expected such noise and people don't consider that there are other people around them exhausted after long flights and jet lag, they just unashamedly shout loudly in the dorm.
Fortunately, they left the next day. I continued living in and looking for an apartment. 
At first glance, I felt that the city is safe while walking in the street, nobody would come up attempting to rob you off-guard. I wasn't warned of unsafety in the city of Bangkok particularly or other areas in the country in general either unlike the case of South Africa, we had been informed on the fragile security situation which proved to us that indeed safety there is violated by outlaws. Up till the writing of this blog, I haven't had many chances to explore the city and tour around due to preoccupation with some matters, especially the matter of settling down, preparing for the new semester, and finding an apartment or dormitory to live in as I can't continue living at a hostel which is somewhat uncomfortable for a student where there are distraction and nuisance by some people coming in and going out of. It's like a micro global community where people almost from all countries come to such guesthouse to sleep over for one night or a couple of nights depending on their schedules and plans. So they resort to such popular places given to its low cost like I booked 5 nights for 1007 Baht which adds up to almost 30 euro. Such cost is considered very cheap and reasonable in comparison to paying for accommodation at a hotel. 
Tuk Tuk is one of popular transportation means

I have got to know people from some countries from the global north to the global south. I have had interesting discussions at the hostel. It is the way I usually follow wherever I go on this earth, listening to people's experiences and stories, by which I can learn new lessons that are not possible sometimes to learn from books or professors. That's why I consider people at their differentiation a school, from which I can receive good wisdom! 
Furthermore, sharing ideas is a very useful way of overcoming misconceptions and help change the way how people think towards certain cultures, religions, dogma, society, so on and so forth. This is how do I make my life's experiences colorful and embellished with different sorts of knowledge that are being built up by meeting people and interacting with them. 
The city of Bangkok has a lot to offer as it has a diverse landscape that is created by its openness to the global community at all spheres. It's a cosmopolitan city where I felt that there are many things to explore and pick up but I can't figure out where can I start. Its amazement, beauty, and fascination have got me distracted. This makes me impatient and attracted to everything around, but I should control myself and start off exploring everything step-by-step because there are many expected plans are to come, which will be set up by my amazing friends from Globalization Studies Program (GSP). 
The popular market in the city gives a strong impetus to explore everything and gives a strong reflection on the culture of the Thai people who seem to be friendly and hospitable. Therefore, pass by the peddlers in the street gives a strong indication to the Thai recipes and cuisines as clarified in some photos, like this photo where I passed by a lady selling fried scorpions and spiders that seem crispy for 150 Baht which adds up to 4 euros each. 
Street food at a popular market

Thai people and other peoples in South East Asia like China, Taiwan people are well-known for eating such insects and snakes. Eating this is something significantly unfamiliar with my culture and I can't imagine one day trying out eating such a thing. However, It's part of their culture that I should respect. This what I can write on my experience in the first week in Bangkok thus far, hopefully, the up-coming couple of months will be as amazing as I expect to add new interesting things to my memory. 

 29.02.24 a rare date