As far as what I packed (I had a 95L Bergans backpack)
- 6 t-shirts
- 2 pairs of shorts
- 6 pairs of socks (which was relatively pointless because I wore sandals the whole time)
- 6 pairs of boxers (probably about right)
- Sunglasses
- Hoodie (basically for being in Oslo)
- Sweatpants (same)
- Towel
- Small Digital Camera
- Small First Aid kit
- Running Shoes
- Ipod/Cellphone/Headphones
- Sunscreen (you can buy it there for cheaper than in Norway)
- Malaria pills (did not use)
- Toothbrush/toothpaste
- Immodium
- I bought a swim suit there so it's your choice
- Pen and notebook (many uses)
- Ziplock bags (large and small)
- Toilet paper
First off, the best thing I did with this trip was have no agenda. The only reservations that I had were a flight to Bangkok, a flight from Bangkok, and a hotel for 2 nights. That's it. I had never done anything like this before, never went into something blind. I always try to follow a schedule. After this trip, I realized that the way that I had been traveling was completely wrong. Any advice I would give for a trip of this magnitude is to just wing it. You'll understand why as you read on.
Day 1
I was lucky enough to find a nonstop ticket to Bangkok from Oslo for relatively cheap (just under $1000 on www.skyscanner.com) and decided to jump all over it. In reality, all a nonstop flight does it hopefully secure that the chances of losing your bags are minimized. If you have a layover and get to your destination 2 hours later, it really doesn't matter when you think about it, and if you save a few hundred dollars, you might as well.
So I arrived in Bangkok around 5:30AM and met up with my friend at the airport who had just arrived as well. After a quick walk through at customs, it was time to get into the city and start our adventure. My friend had met a guy, Bobby, who was also a Swede traveling out of Copenhagen and was able to get some insight on what to do, where to go, and how to get around. We lucked out here cause we honestly had no idea what to do. Also working in our favor is that the guy we were now with, was going to the same area of Bangkok that we were going to, Sukhumvit Soi 11 area. We jumped on the train and headed to our new home.
Since it was now 6:30 or 7AM, the train started to fill up pretty quickly and were squished in like sardines with luggage by the time we reached our destination. Also, we couldn't check into the hotel yet so it was time to figure out a game plan. For some reason or another, our new Swedish buddy had the novel idea of going and grabbing a few beers. We obliged and followed him to Soi 7. This is the local area for bars, and at this time in the morning, where all of the left overs were sobering up from the night before.
After cracking our first beer around 8:30AM, none of the bars were open yet so we enjoyed it on the street with our new buddies and a few bar girls. I had told my friend that during the entire trip, I was not going to eat one meal that was Thai. So no Mcdonalds, no pizza, no pasta dishes, strictly Thai. This is where I got a little skeptical because our only meal in view came from this...
Being an American, this little food stand is not something that I would walk around hoping to find anywhere, and if I did find it, there would not be a chance in hell that I would even consider making it a part of my diet... but a promise is a promise and it was my first chance to engage in my new found culture. As it turns out, these little places were the staple out our meals for the rest of our trip... and all of them were some of the best food I have ever had in my life.
After a few more street beers, 10AM rolled around and the bars started to get fired up. The one closest to us was littered with pool tables so it was enticing enough for us to make a pit stop. Me, being the pool shark that I'm not, did not fair too well so I decided my new beer of choice was going to be Chang, and that ended up being the case for 17 days. Eventually we went across the street to a different, more relaxed atmosphere, enjoyed a few more cold ones and soon it was time to check in to our hotel.
We stayed at the Ambassador on Soi 11 strictly based on internet reviews, price, and proximity to our desired area. It ended up being $49 dollars a night for a double, which is unheard of where I'm from, so we booked for 2 nights, in anticipation of where our trip would take us next. Bobby told us to get a hold of him later on and he would show us a good time.
Since we had barely slept and were already half in the bag, we decided to check in and shut her down for a few hours before going out for the rest of night.
That few hours ended up being 7 hours but at least we were refreshed and ready to go. We decided to head out, grab some more street meat and then give Bobby a call to see what he had in store for us. Walking around, there here hundreds of little shops with people selling everything from shirts, shoes, purses, watches, viagra, and cialis. If you needed it or wanted it, chances are you would only walk about 100 feet in either direction and find it. Finally we found something that looked edible and ordered. I noticed in the stand next to me that there seemed to be some kind of squid or other sea animal so I tried asking the vendor but his limited English told me that there were babies inside of it. Babies? I did not need to hear anymore when I turned back to what I had initially ordered. But, there was a girl that overheard me and asked if I had any questions about what she had just ordered. She explained that is was squid with eggs in it. After almost vomiting on the spot, I remembered my vow and she offered me a piece. With the anticipation of a gag reflex, I reluctantly put a piece in my mouth and chewed. Once again, amazing. This now gave me the confidence to try anything we saw on the street without worry of a tape worm or Yersinia.
The girl that force fed me mentioned that she worked at a bar down the street and we should come in for a drink. She said it was called the White Bar and it was under the bridge. We said that sounded great and followed her to her "bar" although this was not what I have been brought up describing a bar. Instead, it was simply a large table and a cooler surrounded by IKEA chairs and was literally under the bridge. Dumbfounded, as much as this place seemed like an illegal street operation, we sat down and enjoyed, and so did other people, then more people. Throughout the course of our trip, we found that there were many places like this. It's not like in the U.S. where there are liquor licenses and codes that need to be followed, basically anyone can get a bunch of booze, a few tables and chairs, and establish their own bar. And this is still day 1.
After a bit, we called Bobby but he said he had taken off to a magical place called Pattaya, so he sent his other buddy from Sweden to fetch us up and take us out. We stopped for a beer at what seemed to resemble Mickey's Diner in St.Paul, Minnesota. A few of his Thai friends met us. Amidst the broken English conversations, I was starting to hear what seemed like the techno beats of a Paul Oakenfold number and noticed that this cute little diner was actually the entrance to Insomnia, a club that I vaguely remember due to the 30 dollars for a bottle of whiskey.
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