One week in Thailand and I confess I worked a lot on my project Candyscovery and had very few time to enjoy Bangkok. Actually, I did not go farther than one kilometer around my place. While I cannot say I had a glance at Thai culture, there is something for sure: I spent a great first week!
People
As soon as I got out of my plane, I have met incredibly nice people, helping with everything, doing their best to speak English and even sometimes calling other people to give a hand. In my mind, Bangkok was an agitated and noisy city: although it is true, the atmosphere is actually much more quiet than I expected, even relaxing sometimes. The contrast with Hong Kong is certainly playing a role in that impression!
Weather
Waho! When I think of winters I have been through in France and even more, when I recall last year winter in Canada, I can only enjoy these temperatures! It is sometimes a bit stifling because the heat is quite muggy, but really, nothing worth complaining. All the more since…
Lodging
… there is a pool in my residence. My friend Marine, who has been living in Bangkok for a while now, helped me find this terrific 65 square meter apartment in the heart of the city, in a luxurious building, two minutes walk from the high-speed, air subway. Here is the best part of it: this costs the same for 40 days as four weeks of rent for a 18 square meters flat in HongKong… Yes, the one with no heat and no flush! I know this is not the typical Thai life, but for the moment, I can’t help enjoying it.
Food
The food is amazing. Whether I tried thai food, western meals or simply fresh fruits, it has always been a great and tasty surprise. From fruits juices in the street to smoothies in fast foods to elaborate courses in fancy restaurants, whiter I have had a chance to eat so far was fresh and delicious. One comment though: I really need to pay more attention to the spice level indications!
Shopping
I am a shopping-addict but I like seeing where people shop when I am abroad. What is really interesting here in Bangkok is that, in my street only (ok, it is a main street), i have come across many different types of shopping opportunities. Of course, there are malls, with dozens or even hundreds of stores, where you can find everything western people like: Zara, Aldo, Burberry, Uniqlo, etc. There are also some people making stuff, just like this guy I saw on Friday hand-making small leather bags to carry on your mobile phone or your papers (that was art and I even considered building a website to feature his talent on the internet).
Somewhere in the middle, there is a kind of stores that intrigued me a lot: these are not really brick and mortar shops but they are not pop-up stores either. You will find them in the street or in the subway, pretty much like a flea market that open every morning and closes every night. There, you can buy clothing, accessorize, shoes, souvenirs, food, pretty much anything actually. It is cheaper than in shopping malls and most products are quite creative based on what I have seen so far.
In a nutshell
This first week in Bangkok has been really cool as I could benefit from great lodging conditions to recover from fatigue accumulated in Hong Kong and get back to work efficiently: the typical expat life I guess!Share and Enjoy:
