May 27: Arriving in Thailand
In the morning, I woke up at about 7 AM. I had a hard time sleeping the night before for whatever reason, although I must have been tired from the judo practice that I joined. I got ready to leave the hotel by packing everything into my backpack.
From the hotel, I took a taxi. It took only about 30 minutes to get to Noi Bai International Airport. After arriving, I headed to the check-in counter and finished all the procedures. While I was doing that, I realized how boring it is to cross borders by air. Since I arrived in Mongolia, my main means of transportation have been trains and buses. I had not intended to travel overland when crossing borders before I started this trip, but as I chose cheaper ways to move around, overland travel naturally became my default. Now I actually like it. There are always some stories during overland trips, like when I entered China and Vietnam. That is why I do not really have anything interesting to write about when it comes to moving to Thailand by air.
I eventually finished all the procedures about one hour before boarding time, at 10:55 AM. I bought some bread and ate it while waiting at the assigned gate. The passengers seemed to be from many different countries. The flight was only two hours long, so it felt very quick. I spent the time reading on my tablet and sleeping since I could not sleep well the previous night.
After arrival, I had to go through immigration. I got in the long line and waited until my turn. I handed over my passport to a young woman who looked to be in her late 20s or early 30s. She asked me if I had filled out some documents while showing me a paper. I did not know that I was supposed to complete the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card), so she told me to go all the way back and fill it out.
I was like, “NO……”
Since my reaction was pretty clear and kind of loud, people waiting in line started laughing. I got back in line and filled out the TDAC while waiting. That way, I could minimize the additional waiting time. Eventually, I was accepted and entered Thailand.
One thing that always confuses me is how to get out of the airport. I searched online, and the options were taxis or public transportation. I wanted to use a bus because it is cheaper, but I decided to take a taxi because it seemed easier and was relatively affordable. I used the Grab app and entered an address somewhere in central Bangkok.
The taxi driver and I started talking using a translation app, and then there was silence for the rest of the ride.
After I got out of the taxi, I walked around and found a good-looking food street called Petchaburi Soi 5 Food Street. On that day, my main goals were to do laundry and withdraw cash from an ATM, so the street was perfect because it had laundry machines and plenty of ATMs.
At first, I struggled to figure out how to use the machines, and a woman who looked to be in her 50s helped me in fluent English. She is from Thailand and currently lives in Australia. She was visiting Bangkok to see her family. She even gave me the rest of her detergent packets because she was going back to Australia soon. I thanked her and got my laundry done.
I also withdrew some cash. In every country, I am still not sure how much money I should take out because I never know exactly how much I will spend. I asked ChatGPT how much cash I would need for four days in Bangkok, and it suggested around 3,000–7,000 THB. So I withdrew 5,000 THB (about $150).
I had a small lunch of rice and plain chicken along the street. The woman running the restaurant, who looked to be in her late 50s, kindly took my order in English. Since it was already past lunchtime, there were only three customers, including me. She looked bored and started exercising with a kettlebell.
While I was relaxing at Café Amazon, a common coffee shop chain in Thailand, I changed the hostel I had booked because it was far from where I was. I tried to get a refund, but I could not. I wasted $7. I booked another hostel that also cost $7 and was only one minute away from the food street.
I went to the hostel, where a young woman who looked to be in her early 20s helped me check in. She was very kind even though she did not speak much English.
My room was on the fourth floor. I am not sure why my room always seems to end up on the fourth floor whenever I book a hotel or hostel.
The room had six beds. My bed was the bottom bunk on the left side. The room was cool thanks to the air conditioning, and a couple of other people were already staying there. Thankfully, nobody was sleeping in the bunk above me.
I put down my large backpack and left to explore the food street around Victory Monument on foot. I planned to have dinner there, but it felt too touristy for me, so I left and returned to the first food street. I had dinner at a random street-side restaurant. I really liked the spicy and sweet sauce that people put on their food.
After returning to the hostel, I relaxed in the common room on the second floor. The room had a water dispenser, hot water, coffee, tea, and a refrigerator. Surprisingly, there were not many backpacker-looking people there. The receptionist told me that most of the guests were Asian, which seemed true.
The room was very quiet and calm, so I slept very comfortably.
May 28: An Unanticipated Meeting / Unique Hostel
I woke up at about 7 AM. For some reason, I cannot sleep for very long while traveling.
After packing my belongings, I went downstairs and asked the front desk staff, a nice young man, if it was possible to stay one more night in the same room because I had slept so comfortably.
He replied, “Your room is actually for females only.”
I was like, “Really? I was assigned that bed by a young woman last night.”
He said, “I’m sorry, but it is for women only.”
Everything suddenly made sense. The room had been very quiet, clean, and odor-free, which is not always the case in male hostel rooms. I had not realized it because I had barely seen any of the other guests.
I was a bit reluctant to stay if I could not sleep in that room again, so I decided to check out for the day and think about where I wanted to stay next. It would still be possible to book another night at the same hostel if I wanted.
I left the hostel and headed to the coffee shop I had visited the previous day. I was there to update this blog and edit videos for YouTube. I became so focused on those tasks that I barely paid attention to the people around me.
After about two hours, I heard Japanese being spoken from the seat next to me. I looked over and saw an elderly man with a cane sitting nearby. There were Japanese travel guides on the table, so I was sure he was Japanese.
Whenever I meet Japanese people overseas, especially solo travelers, I usually talk to them out of curiosity.
I asked him, “Nihon no kata desu ka?” (Are you from Japan?)
He told me he was from Japan and in his 80s. His name was Miyamoto, so I called him Mr. Miyamoto.
According to him, he used to own a business that operated between Thailand and Japan, which is why he often comes to Thailand. At some point, he underwent surgeries on both his eyes and teeth. The eye surgery was successful, but the dental procedure was a major failure.
Because of that, he now struggles with speaking and is self-conscious about his appearance. He told me that once people lose their teeth, their entire facial structure changes. What bothered him even more was his ability to speak. Without teeth, it is very difficult to pronounce words clearly. He explained that sounds like “sa, shi, su, se, so” are especially difficult in Japanese.
He emphasized how important it is to take care of your teeth. Personally, I do not have perfect dental health either, so the conversation made me more determined to take better care of mine.
Because of the failed dental work, he was currently visiting Thailand and planned to stay as long as necessary to address the problem.
We spent a couple of hours talking—or rather, I mostly listened. Eventually, we made plans to have dinner together at around 5 PM that day.
By the way, he likes smoking. He even showed me the smoking area next to the coffee shop and explained how nice it was. Ironically, I am sure smoking contributed to some of his dental issues.
After we left the coffee shop, he went somewhere else while I walked to the nearby food street I had visited the night before.
Since it was already late afternoon, many restaurants were either empty or closed. I found a nice-looking restaurant and decided to have lunch there. Orders were placed by scanning a QR code at the table, which is usually not a good sign when it comes to prices.
As expected, it was more expensive than street food. I ordered the restaurant’s most popular dish, which cost about 170 THB ($5), whereas street food typically costs between 60 and 100 THB. The portion was smaller, and the taste was not as good as the street food.
After lunch, I headed toward the area where Mr. Miyamoto and I had agreed to meet for dinner.
Since I was curious about Bangkok’s bus system, I decided to take a bus there. In Thailand, you need to wave your hand to signal the driver to stop. I did, and the bus pulled over.
One interesting thing was that the doors started opening before the bus had completely stopped.
I got on and took a seat. A few seconds later, an elderly female conductor came to collect the fare. My destination, Chit Lom, was only a few stops away and cost 12 THB (about $0.40).
Although I did not understand Thai, I asked her to type the fare into the calculator app on my phone. That method usually works well.
The bus looked quite old. I would not necessarily recommend using buses in central Bangkok. Although they are cheap, heavy traffic often makes them much slower than expected.
After arriving at Chit Lom BTS Station, I walked around the area but found it rather boring. It was mostly filled with luxury brands and shopping malls.
In my opinion, shopping malls are pretty much the same wherever you go. I have little interest in buying luxury goods (I do not have enough money anyway), although plenty of tourists seemed to be enjoying themselves.
As I observed the crowds, I remembered a conversation from The Backpacker Lifecycle by Brendyn Zachary. In the book, a Danish backpacker saw the author’s large camera and said, “Tourists are my enemy.”
The author replied, “What’s the difference?”
The Danish traveler explained that tourists come to see what they expect to see and are “too ignorant and scared to see anything else.” Backpackers, on the other hand, wander.
I sometimes find people who visit famous tourist spots just to take pictures and post them on social media a bit boring. However, there is really no difference between tourists and backpackers. Backpackers are tourists too—just a different kind.
Every traveler has different interests, curiosities, and preferences. But as long as you are visiting another place and exploring it, you are a tourist.
I think backpackers, myself included, often like to think of themselves as different. In reality, we are not so different from the tourists we sometimes criticize.
I want to keep that in mind while traveling.
I am simply one of many tourists who enjoy exploring people, history, and culture in different countries.
Anyway, I got a bit off track.
I tend to get tired of those shopping-district environments, so I settled into a Starbucks and relaxed until dinner.
When I arrived at TOPS EATERY in Central Chidlom, Mr. Miyamoto was already there with some food and white wine on the table.
During dinner, I ordered several Thai dishes, which were surprisingly affordable. We spent a couple of hours eating and talking.
I paid only for what I ordered, and he covered the rest.
Every time I meet someone I did not know before traveling, I learn something new. That is one of the things I enjoy most about traveling, which is why I try to listen carefully when talking to strangers on the road.
After dinner, Mr. Miyamoto and I took the BTS in opposite directions. I hope to see him again in Japan someday.
Later, I booked a different hostel near the restaurant called Kiwi Capsule Hotel. It cost $7 per night. In Southeast Asia, the cheapest hostels are usually around $4–7 per night.
Because the hostel was located in central Bangkok, there were many tourists staying there. According to the receptionist, many of the guests were Asian travelers.
The hostel was quite unique. Each bed was enclosed in its own capsule rather than being separated by a simple curtain. The dormitory was mixed-gender.
While reading reviews, I found one from a female guest claiming that there had been a male stalker staying there. In terms of safety for women, the setup seemed a bit questionable.
I tried editing a video in the hostel’s common area, but the Wi-Fi was not working well, so I gave up.
I took a shower and went to bed. Unfortunately, I could not sleep very well because of noises coming from the neighboring capsules.
I think I finally fell asleep around 2 AM.
