Chapter 3: Going in With A Bang(kok)

The sun had already set a couple of hours earlier over Koh Samui airport. In my infinite genius, I booked a flight very late in the day. But it’s January in Thailand, so the airport is packed anyway. All the other passengers are waiting in front of the gate, sitting – except me (dash made by human hands, I promise). After a couple more minutes, a cart brings us on to the runway to the plane. We’re in the air half an hour later heading for the big city: Bangkok.

The plane touched down right after midnight. I ordered a Grab and was off to my…accommodation. You might remember the accusations that were made against me described in this post. The gods of backpacking had deemed me a fake backpacker because I stayed in hotels and not in hostels, homes of locals, or garbage cans (go figure).

This accusation was never truer than when I arrived a couple of hours later in Bangkok.

I put off booking a stay until the last minute until there were no spaces left in the hostels that were recommended to me by other travelers. So I hopped on to booking.com and searched for an accommodation not a fellow traveler, but my grandmother recommended. My finger hovered over the button for a second, then I pressed it – I just booked two nights at the SILQ in Bangkok.

What is the SILQ? Let’s just say it’s not a hostel. There are also no common rooms. It makes up for this deficiency by having astronomical luxury.

A five-star hotel baby.

Smooth As Silk

I must’ve looked comical when I arrived at the pure opulence that is the SILQ. Everybody around me wore business attire and were loaded up with suitcases.

I wore my two backpacks. One on the back, one in the front.

Safe to say I didn’t exactly look like your average five-star hotel guest. The expression on the reception lady’s face confirmed that suspicion. After trying her hardest not to fall out of her chair laughing at the backpack-wearing puddle of sweat that was in front of her, she gave me my room key.

It was already past 1 am. I just remember falling into bed and getting some of the best sleep in years.

I couldn’t have closed my eyes from excitement if I knew what this city had in store for me. Because tomorrow, I’d face another great challenge of traveling alone: meeting new people.

One of the greatest experiences about traveling isn’t all the beautiful vistas forcing fluid into your eyes, but meeting other travelers.

Here I was, in one of the largest cities in Asia. Alone. No direction. Ever since Jeannine had left, the training wheels were off.

That’s where some of our digital capabilities shine the brightest. I used an app called “Hostelworld”. When you book a bed at a hostel via the app, it automatically puts you into a group chat where you can find people exploring the city with.

I enter the group chat and see a message left by someone named Sara. She asked if someone wanted to come explore Bangkok with her.

I’m going to be straight with you: I was extremely nervous. Social anxiety crept up from nowhere and had me in its grasps. But switch the situation around. The other person who’s also traveling solo has the same feelings as you.

Which was never more evident than when I met Sara. Two other girls were waiting with her. Later, she told me that they first wanted to check if I wasn’t a creep.

After passing the creep check (yay me), Sara and I started exploring Bangkok. She was a super cool person! After all that worrying, I had already made a new friend.

Most fears are paper tigers, anyway. Except the bill that staying in five-star hotels put on your credit card. That’s why it was hostel time after two nights at the SILQ. But finding a hostel bed in Thailand during January you haven’t booked two centuries in advance is a miracle. You’re not the only traveler trying to enjoy the beautiful weather.

Yet the gods of travel were on my side again. I found what was probably the last hostel bed in all of Bangkok. I got lucky!

Or so I thought.

Hostelgate

I was super excited – I hadn’t stayed in a hostel for forever!

Until I arrived and saw the room.

You might not see it on the picture, but calling it dirty would be an understatement.

There are a lot of things I can deal with. But cleanliness is a non-negotiable for me. Not that it has to be perfect, but there should be a difference between the cleanliness of my bed and the street outside.

I laid in bed with all my clothes on. I was dead-tired because of the eventful day. I fell asleep instantly and dreamed of better accommodation. Tomorrow, I would make this dream reality.

…because I went straight back to the SILQ.

Back To the Poshtel

Thanks to my bravery, I got over the terror of credit card bills in an instant.

My five-star experience had left me spoiled. But the last time I checked current scientific evidence, you only live once. So instead of just enjoying my room, I went all in with the experience:

Room service, baby.

This might sound so random, but ordering room service in a hotel had a special place in my heart since childhood. I think there’s something so funny about using a table on wheels to transport food. I don’t know why, just makes me giggle.

Yes, I ate it all. Yes, I ordered three desserts (Tiramisu, lava cake, and an extra scoop of vanilla ice cream). No, I have no shame. No, I don’t have any regrets.

Man that was a great evening.

Bangkok Camera-Hunting

Here’s the big problem: I left for my travels without a camera. Even though I already owned a Canon, it was just too large to bring with me.

Enter my friend Orlando.

He’s a savant when it comes to cameras. I reached out to him and asked what camera I should get. I didn’t just receive an answer, but a full guide:

• Camera model: Fujifilm
• A list with the best stores in Bangkok
• The stores with the highest probability of having the recommended camera for sale

Man, how I love Orlando.

I found it after some searching – and I’ve been loving it ever since.

Where To Go Next?

The next day, I would meet up with Sara and other travelers. After exploring the outskirts of the city for a while, we took a Grab back to the city. A city they were about to leave: all the people I had met would leave for Chiang Mai tomorrow.

Chiang Mai is a city in the northern part of Thailand. It’s surrounded by mountains, known for its humongous nighttime markets, and beautiful temples.

That night, I didn’t know where to go next. I love Bangkok – but man is it busy. I was ready to see something else. Something more out in nature.

So I booked a flight to Chiang Mai, leaving tomorrow.

That’s the great thing about traveling alone and without any plan: you can be spontaneous and act on the tips of other travelers.

Little did I know that the adventure was only just beginning.