We arrived in Bangkok on the 6th of September and I was looking forward to exploring this city as I had enjoyed the last time I was here in 2012. Things took off on a smooth note as the friendly Ukranian gentleman who was sitting next to me on the plane gave us a ride to our hotel. This really helped us avoid the hassles of finding a legitimate taxi driver who would take us to our destination safely. Alex shared his story of how he came to work in Thailand and his life here for the last ten years. He then dropped us off and kindly went on his way. As I reflected on our experience, I realized how paranoid we have become as a society. The first question that popped in both our heads was, wait what does he want from us? Why is he being nice to us? Will he kidnap us? Are we being naive to get into a strangers car?  Is this another catch like in Bali? The society we live in today is so fear driven that we have lost touch of what it means to receive the kindness of another human being. But then again, I think back on our experience in Bali where we offered to help a chap who simply wanted us to rate a hotel and 12 hours later we were stuck being sold a holiday package. The lesson I take from this is that we have to believe in the goodness of people. Yes, you sometimes might get burnt but you must continue to believe, as there are more good people out there than bad ones. I have come across a few people in my life, who have been burnt a few times and as a result live life so cautiously that I wonder if it’s living at all. I myself have had my fair share of disappointments but I choose to keep an open heart and believe that if I do good and keep a clean heart then the kindness will be returned.

What are your thoughts? Do you avoid recieving kindness from others from fear of getting hurt? Or do you keep an open heart and risk getting heart?

We were in Bangkok for 3 nights and we agreed we’d explore Bangkok’s culture through food and people watching. We considered visiting the Grand Palace temples however we opted against it given I had already visited most of them and David isn’t exactly a temple kinda guy.  Part of understanding Bangkok’s culture requires checking out their malls, as a lot of Thai’s escape to these air conditioned hubs on hot days (which is everyday in Bangkok). Our first stop was Union Mall and Central Plaza. These malls are gigantic and a lot bigger than some of the Canadian malls I have visited. Central Plaza was at least 7 stories high. We purchased our SIM cards and did a little retail therapy. In terms of prices, Union Mall has better deals than Central Plaza. The following day we also checked out MBK mall and JJ Mall. Many of these spots have a lot of the same thing with a slight variance in prices. I’ll let David further elaborate on the cost of things of things in Bangkok.

As for food, I was rather disappointed. On my last trip to Bangkok in 2012, we were conviently located in Chinatown and I remember finding Pad Thai at every street vendor along with my favourite fruit: Mangoes. This time however, I only found Pad Thai on Khao San street and it wasn’t that tasty. Over the next three days I idealistically attempted to find good food and was sadly disappointed.  I  won’t get into the details of what I ate but I tried a variety of street food, recommended spots from trip advisor and mall food stalls. I left Bangkok hopeful that I’d have better luck in Chiang Mai.

After a long 12 hour train ride from Bangkok, we safely arrived in Chiang Mai on the 10th of September.  It’s now been a week we are here and I am slowly finding the good eateries in town. I even found this fantastic Burmese restaurant, the Swan where I had eaten four years ago and loved every minute of it. I was happy to return and enjoy my meal just as much. As many blogs indicate, Chiang Mai is expat haven. There are dozens of restaurants and coffee shops at every corner. This city has grown tremendously since I was here last. Sadly, I find it’s lost some of it’s Thai charm. It just feels like a big tourist city now.

If I was to compare the two cities, I prefer Chiang Mai to Bangkok. I feel safer here, the air feels cleaner (at least in the month of September) and the pace is slower. It’s a fairly easy city to navigate by foot, scooter and the traffic is nothing compared to Bangkok. Bangkok on the other hand, definitely has it’s big city charm but it’s just not my style.

We’ve slowed down our pace in Chiang Mai as we are here for three weeks. I’ll write soon with details of our trip in Chiang Mai but in the meantime if you have questions or places you’d like us to check out. Do let us know! 🙂