A Farang's Observations

My Neighbourhood/Living in Thailand

My view - King Rama IX Bridge

Today I decided to go for a walk around my neighbourhood – partly to explore and partly to be able to show you where I’m living. Yesterday I went into Bangkok and visited Chatuchak market, also known as the weekend market. It is the largest market in Bangkok and definitely one of the largest in the world. I was also able to meet up with my friend Karima, who is teaching in northern Bangkok.

I am definitely experiencing the culture shock phenomenon that people talk about. Everything here is just so different than back home. Where I’m from, things are much quieter and less... chaotic. In Thailand, you senses are always being assaulted (not in a bad way) by different sights and smells. There is just a lot MORE of everything: more shops, more people, more cars, more motorcycles, and more STUFF. I constantly feel like I’m in a state of sensory overload. It’s impossible to take everything in, and it makes making decisions really difficult. And it’s also exhausting. Also, simple things like crossing the road and buying groceries have become ordeals. I haven’t quite figured out how a lot of things work here in general. For example, yesterday we had to take the 138 bus into Bangkok. We weren’t sure if we were at the right stop, and we asked the attendant, who said it was still coming. But we ended up missing it and ending up a ways away from where we wanted to be. On the way back, we took the exact same bus route and foolishly assumed it would drop us off near where we got on. We even asked the driver if it went to the “Phra Pradaeng Market”, and they said it did. But it didn’t and we ended up at some random station. Fortunately Bangkok and area has LOTS of taxis, so in a pinch you can always jump on one of them. Needless to say, we were exhausted after yesterday and I bought a 4 dollar 200g thing of nutella from the Tesco Lotus Express. But I digress... Basically my point is I generally have no idea what’s going on, which drives me CRAZY. I just need to learn to relax. 

 ANYWAY Anna wasn’t feeling well this morning, so I decided to go exploring a bit on my own. There is a park near us, so I wandered around there first. It was quite nice, and had many trees, a man-made lake and a pavilion. Some of the trees had little signs in front of them that gave their name and some of their characteristics (in English). I have been wondering about the different types of trees around, so I enjoyed that immensely. There were also two Thai couples taking their wedding pictures in the park.

The Park's Spirit House

After the park, I walked to the Chao Praya River. On the way, I passed a pack of stray dogs. They started growling and barking at a lone dog wandering around, and it was all I could do not to just bolt. There are stray dogs all over the place, as Thais don’t believe in euthanasia for the dogs. There are a few that hang out in front of our apartment. They seem to mind their own business but I am still uneasy around them. Mostly because I don’t want to get bitten and undergo several rabies shots.  I also walked by the front of my school. I found a post office but it was closed – I will try to go tomorrow so I can mail some postcards! There are also a few Wat near us, but I don’t know the proper protocol for visiting and am too shy to just wander in. One of them has a building that glitters, especially at night.

I eventually made it to the water. There was a sort of boardwalk along the shore, and there were people fishing off it. I saw several barge-type boats travelling towards Bangkok, and I could also see some kind of factory a ways away. I’m sure the water is quite polluted but I saw a couple Thai men going for dips from the boardwalk.  

The main road near my neighbourhood is called Nakon Kuan Kan, and it is lined by hundreds of shops, vendors, and food stands. We’ve been venturing around here a lot to buy things for out apartments. Some people speak English but many don’t. I’ve been trying to ask how much things cost in Thai, but no one seems to understand what I’m trying to say (not surprisingly). As it is the weekend today, many of the shops were closed, but there were many more vendors on the sidewalks. I bought a few things, including a small towel for 30 cents, a pair of converse knock-offs for $6, some mini-bananas (SO GOOD), and some fresh watermelon from a vendor. The fruit here is AMAZING. Street vendors will sell fresh watermelon, pineapple, mango, papaya, and you name it from their stands. During my walk through the market, I felt much less frazzled/overwhelmed than I have so far, so I think there’s hope for me yet.

*In this picture, you can see an archyway with the pictures of the King Bhumidol or Ramam IX and Queen Siriki. The King is revered here, and you see pictures of the King and Queen everywhere. The King is considered an IS very hard working, and has done much to unify the country. He is also the current longest-serving head of state/monarch (crowned in 1946)

Knowing what to and not to eat has also been challenging here. There are street vendors everywhere, but I have yet to eat from them (other than the fruit ones). I’m sure some of them are perfectly safe, but I need to wrap my head around it still. Also, many of them don’t look to clean or have food just stagnating. I will make the plunge eventually, but at my own pace. Yesterday, we were introduced to a nearby restaurant that all the foreign teachers go to – a small place called Keon’s. It’s basically a small, open air place, and Keon cooks the food from the front. There is no written menu, but what the dishes are has been recorded by some of the teachers. I had two meals there yesterday, curry for lunch, and a type of stir fry for dinner. I don’t remember what either of them are called but they were both delicious, or “aroi” in Thai.

I should also mention that this area doesn’t get many “Western” tourists. The Thai word for foreigner/white person is “Farang”, derived from the word they used for the French when they arrived to this area of the world. It is quite common for the Thais in this neighbourhood to stare (often blatantly) as we walk by, and I hear the word “Farang” following me wherever I go. If the person has a child with them, they will often point to us, and talk about the “farang”. A few have even brought their kids over and tried to get them to talk to us in English. Most of the time, I just smile, wave and say “hello”. It’s very odd...

This is the road my apartment building is on – as you can see we are slightly more secluded. I have also included a picture of the water dispenser. Thais don’t drink the tap water as is has a lot of chlorine in it (or so says our TEFL instructor) so you can fill up your containers at these machines. I have yet to figure out how these work yet – we were given full 6L containers when we moved in.

This is my apartment. It’s a bachelor and I also have a bathroom and a balcony (the two doors at the end).  The shower has no actual stall, you just hose yourself down with the nozzle you see there. I have air-conditioning, and I think one English channel on the TV, “Fox Crime”. It’s a nice enough place. Previous occupants have left some books here as well so I will have some reading material when I finish the first 3 “Game of Thrones” books. 

Today, I’m feeling a bit more settled in. Tomorrow we have a staff meeting at the school, and I have no idea what to expect. We start teaching on November first, eep!