Thailand: A few things I learned ( + more)

- Do not take a cab or tuktuk when they stop for you without you asking. Only take them when you have to stop them yourself. Otherwise they will take you to the wrong place (in my case I got kicked out at a tourist office which most likely paid the driver money to drop off tourists unknowingly). In that case, as long as you stay friendly but stubborn, they take you to the right place.

- It is not rude to offer tuktuks half of what they offer, simply because they always offer double the normal price first.

- During rush hour, don’t ask them to take you to the other part of the old town, as they will simply refuse and drive away. Happened to me with 3 taxis in a row. I was so late for my biking tour, damnit.

- Outside of Bangkok, people do not always want something from you when they say hello. They just like it to say hello to everyone. Or, Sawatdee in Thai. A friendly nod and a smile will do wonders, you’ll always get a generous smile back (either with teeth or without, because well, many Thai don’t really have a lot of teeth left). People just really like it to say hello and are very pleased when you make a polite gesture back to them. Even when it’s just a smile and a nod. Sometimes a very old cute lady of about 1.40m comes up to you and grabs your arm and starts rubbing your skin saying something and looking very worried while their daughters (?) are just standing there smiling behind her or repeating the exact same thing in Thai when I am asking what she’s saying because I had no clue what the hell was going on (probably my very slight sunburn, or very light skin. Either of those). Anyways, all I do is smile and nod back to all the friendly people since I’m in Chiang Mai. It feels great.

- If you can’t sit, don’t eat it. When a street stall is movable without any plastic stools or things it’s pretty likely that the food has been sitting out in the open air for a while, so I’d rather not take that risk. If they have something to sit, however, it’s mostly fine. I’m still very paranoid though, even when I really shouldn’t be. Also, when it’s being cooked on the spot, it should be perfectly fine so I’m enjoying a lot of freshly sliced mango with sticky rice and anything straight from the grill or hot plate. Food is awesome.

- My English is too complicated. “Excuse me, for the mango and sticky rice, is the mango presliced or do you slice it freshly from one of those?” No clue what I was talking about. “Fresh mango or from fridge” however, makes a lot of sense. Also, the question “I heard there was a train accident, how can I find out if my train to chiang mai is going at all?” got the response “Yes trains most bit late but will be in Chiang Mai on time!” (Lies, I tell you, lies! See below.)

- I’ve also learned that cycling is really the best way to see a lot from places in not much time at all. During the bicycle tour I did this week in Bangkok, we took the small alleyways with happy people and small kids waving as you drive by, awesome smelling food everywhere (although I am still very paranoid). We crossed the river by wobbly boat which I probably would not do myself and the guide told the best stories about the sights we saw on the way. I did the same thing again in Ayutthaya, a former capital of Thailand, but this time by myself. The feeling of freedom is amazing. Let’s go to the left here! Let’s see if I can make it to the top of this waaay too steep little bridge thingy in one go! Let’s see what’s over there, oh hey another awesome little ruin thingy, awesome! All I could think was “weeee!”. Yep, this is gonna be my new way of getting around the world.

- Culture shock does not hit me until I notice that I really have to be careful when it comes to pretty much all the things I need to survive (food, getting around, always carrying water, where to sleep, derailing trains, not getting stabbed by tuktuk drivers (kidding, kidding)). When I first came here, I felt very adventurous so everything I did was awesome. But after a day or so I start to feel slightly uncomfortable. But once I force myself to just go out and have fun, everything is completely awesome again. Exploring, yay!

- Dutch people are everywhere in Bangkok, everywhere, and can’t do English. A few quotes. “Ken aj hef a vrep wis de nuutelloh?”(Can I have a crepe with nutella please?) – Ken wie sit? (Is this place taken or can we sit here?). Also, the further up north you go, the fewer Dutchies you see and the more British and French people are around.

Would this be a good place for some very cheesy inspirational quotes?
Probably!
- “One travels more usefully when alone, because he reflects more.”
- “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries” (“Bangkok is so smelly and disgusting! All tuktuk drivers are assholes! You must stay on Khao San road to have a good time! Thailand is wáy too hot!”)
- “People travel to faraway places to watch, in fascination, the kind of people they ignore at home.”
- “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going". Story time! On ayutthaya train station, asked some French tourists: I'm sorry how can I get to ayutthaya city? "Eh I don't know we just went to some ruins and now we're going back to Bangkok" ... Dude that ís Ayutthaya city.

Day 3 (and 4)! Goood morning Bangkok.

Intermezzo. It’s the morning of Thursday the 18th of July. So, as some already know: there has been a train accident in northern Thailand the day before yesterday (Tuesday, that is). All trains were cancelled yesterday but I have no clue if my train to Chiang Mai tonight is going at all. Improvising all along! I have to get to chiang mai anyways so my plan is to go to the train station, check if my train if going. If it is: go to Ayutthaya and then to Chiang May by train. If not: back to Bangkok and take a night bus. Oh the fun. Oh well, is probably not going to be the first time.

Anyways, my train was not cancelled, so I went up to Ayutthaya at 12 and arrived at 15:00 instead of 14:00. Hooza trains!

Got myself a bike for 30 baht (0,70 euros), drove around, went wherever I wanted to go, got the best awesome rice krispy thingies with caramel and freshly squeezes fruit juice at a local market I kind of accidentally bumped into and had the best time ever overall. Then, train to Chiang Mai. My god. I got at the train station at 6:30pm as my train was leaving at 9:00pm. Gave me some time to eat and relax beforehand. I met a very nice Dutch family who were travelling around with the 4 of them (including 2 kids from 8 and 10 I think) and they had took the night train that left before mine. Theirs ended up going at 9:10 and mine at 10:20. Yup. Awesome. Anyways, we chatted away for a bit about everything, a great way of having company when you’re bored out of your mind on an empty train station. My train finally came and I had the cutest top bunk in a sleeper train, it almost feels like your own personal little cocoon. Breakfast was server (Sandwiches with French fries. For breakfast. Hehehe.), I enjoyed the gorgeous views of hills, mountains, rice fields and villages for a good 4-5 hours because we ended up having a 3 hour delay. And then I finally arrived in Chiang Mai. Worth it. This city is the bomb. Awesomely friendly people, awesome food, so easy to get around, gorgeous buildings and sights.. It has everything. So I walked around a bit, got myself even more food (mango and sticky rice + some very delish pastry thingies with onion and coconut, 25ct for 8 pieces), walked a bit more and now I’m chilling in my empty dorm room. Tomorrow is a day full of cooking on a biological farm just outside of Chiang Mai. I’m overly excited, I can’t wait.