Traveling By Yourself Can be a Good Thing

I'm in Bangkok with 12 other people who I have the opportunity to travel with everyday. As fun as it is to travel with others, sometimes it is kind of nice just to be able to travel by myself places. With the risk of giving my mother a heart attack, I have to say I have really enjoyed going around Bangkok by myself some days. I end up seeing more and at my own pace, as well as a few other advantages here and there. I don't think that being by myself would work everywhere, but so far, here in Bangkok, it has worked rather well.

So here are a few advantages I have noticed about travelling around by myself:

People say "hi" more.


This one has fascinated me the most. I have now met someone who studied in America for some time and worked at the Kennedy Space Center. I met a couple where the guy was from Brazil and working in Taiwan. He had to take a leave due to his Visa restrictions so him and his Taiwanese girlfriend were exploring Southeast Asia for a few months. People at restaurants are more willing to talk to me for a second, ask me where I am from and what I am doing. In fact, I don't see a way to meet people at all unless it is just you and maybe one other person travelling. I feel as though once you are in a group of three or more (even two), it can be intimidating.

I get to see more.


Everyday when I go out by myself, I have a general plan, I know where I want to end up each day and how to get to each place. For example, my plan for one day was to take the BTS (Skytrain) to Siam Square to have a look around at the malls, then walk to Lumphini Park. I could have taken the BTS from Siam to Lumphini, but I figured it was close enough and I might as well see the sites on the way.

The blue represents the path I walked.

On my walk to Lumphini, I ended up seeing Thai children singing and dancing for National Milk Day and a mini parade for National Donut Day.

Neither of these things were anything that I planned to see, but because I was travelling by myself, I was easily able to explore the area on the way to Lumphini Park.

I get to go at my own pace.

This really goes with the above. Because I get to go at my own pace, I get to see more, or at least see more of what I want to see. It is kind of like going to a museum. Museums are strangely usually viewed as group activities, but you never want to spend too much time at one place in case the other person doesn't want to, and sometimes you barely get to see something that you want to look at.

But beyond that, going at my own pace means being able to sit down whenever I want to and pulling out my book, or sitting and simply watching people for a little bit. I only argue with myself when trying to figure out where I want to eat, etc.

It can be almost meditative sometimes.

Walking around a museum, a park, or even down a busy street by yourself in an unfamiliar area is oddly relaxing. Part of the stress of being "lost" or taking too much times comes from travelling with others. It's completely okay if I stop to look at something for a little while, or even get lost in thought. I notice more around me, and stop worrying about interactions with others.

Overall...

Traveling with others definitely has its benefits with comradeship, but if you get the chance, go out by yourself sometimes and see the world rather than experiencing it with others.

"Thailand is Odd"

Unfortunately, my internet has not been working well since I have been here. I am going to make this a quick post because I have been taking a lot of videos and pictures I want to share, but can't due to the slow uploading.

I was in the elevator of my apartments the first or second day of being here, and a Thai lady asked me where I was from. When I told her I was from America, she told me, "Thailand is odd." I quickly told her that she would find America odd, but her comment has certainly stuck with me.

So, this blog post is going to be about things that have made Thailand "odd" to me so far... then, in comparison, what Thais would find odd in America.

Bangkok traffic is something else.

Odd Things in Thailand to me as an American:

Motorcycles. Motorcycles just have free reign here, and it can be incredibly scary. I also need to take a picture, but some women won't even straddle the back seat when they are wearing skirts, instead opting to sit with both legs on one side... yet they stay on. HOW?! 

Street vendor food. Just... fish... whole fish... and these funny "meatballs" (not like Italian meatballs, just literal balls of meat), massive quantities of fruit, and other discernible things. 

There are plenty of "pirated" and cheap things, but what gets to me is that almost every market vendor has the same pirated and cheap thing. Like clothing for instance, you would assume that the market on one side of town would have completely different tops than the market on the other side of town, but they don't. Same with shoes, headphones, etc. There's just some massive factory here that provides cheap/pirated things to all of the vendors. 

Malls are just indoor markets. They have some traditional stores, but really, the middle of the hallways are just set up with more vendors. This means in most stores, only one or two people can really walk in at a time. 

I don't know how to buy shoes. This really goes for a lot of things, I don't know if I can ask for a different size or if I can even ask for certain things on my pizza. I expect I will learn, but right now I do feel like the ignorant traveler. 

Handicapped are on their own here. There are no drop down buses, temples have stairs galore and no ramps, and the streets are generally just not meant for handicapped.

Being generally lost all of the time. At least in European countries, I could sound out the words and translate them. Here, I don't even know where to begin with translating. Luckily, many important things like street names are in English so I'm not literally physically lost, but when I am trying to buy snacks or other odds and ends, I'm generally at a loss.

What Thais would find odd in America:

Motorcycles. They follow general traffic laws, so even though there is plenty of space for a motorcycle to get through somewhere, the motorcycle won't take it.

Restaurants. You have to leave a tip, and the waiter won't actually wait next to your table until you are ready to order. Actually, you will barely see your waiter and definitely not when you need them. It's also rude to call them down on top of that.

Everything comes in sizes, and the sizes are much more complex than small, medium, and large. It appears that Thais have feet that range from size 32 to 37. I wear a size 41 as an American size 8.5, so as you can tell, they have tiny feet and most shoe vendors only carry those sizes. Most shirts, dresses, and pants here are all loosely fitting as well and stretchy, so it is very much a one size fits all. In the nicest store I went in, the only "sizes" they had were S, M, and L... even in pants. In America, just women's sizes in pants range from 00, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4... and on up to the 20s and so forth. 

Flea markets and farmers markets. There is usually only one of each per town, and often per county. You definitely won't just run into one as you are walking around.

Americans feel entitled to the internet. I imagine this will grow in Thailand as well, but even the "poorest" homes in America have access to the internet it seems like. Here, it free WiFi is available but sparse, and well- you never see anyone taking advantage of it except for Westerners.

Although dressing nice is, well, nice, it isn't necessarily expected. Almost every Thai I see walking in the street is dressed up nicely. America, on the other hand, it's expected to see t-shirts and jeans with the occasional well-dressed person.

Everyone is loud. Very loud. It is not unusual to see public anger, either, in America. 

Overall:

The world is getting tinier, and cultures are beginning to merge. There is a lot of westernization going on in Thailand and it is especially obvious with the younger crowd. I wish that some of the Thai / Asian culture would seep into the Western world as well, but I highly doubt that it really will. There is a culture of respect, discreteness, and quietness here that would never translate into America at the very least. One can hope.