bangkok: where ancient meets exhaust fumes
okay so i've been in bangkok for a few days now and honestly my brain is just... full. it's like trying to process a million things at once. the city is this crazy mix of old and new, with temples that make you go "wow" right next to buildings that go "how did they even build that?"
first thing you notice is how flat everything is, which is weird because i'm used to mountains where i'm from. but then again, this whole area is basically one big river delta, so flat makes sense. and man is it hot and humid - i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. feels like 25.79 though, which is basically the same as saying "it's really hot."
the history here is pretty wild. someone told me that bangkok started as just a small trading post way back in the 15th century under some other kingdom called ayutthaya. then after they got invaded by burma in 1767, this king taksin set up shop on the other side of the river in thonburi. but then in 1782, king rama i (aka phutthayotfa chulalok - try saying that three times fast) moved everything to the east bank and built the grand palace. and these guys have been running the show ever since for over 240 years! that's like, longer than my country has been a country.
the temples are something else. the grand palace and wat phra kaew were built by rama i himself back in 1782. wat pho has this huge reclining buddha that's massive. and wat arun on the other side of the river is this beautiful orange temple that looks like it's made of candy. someone told me that the city used to be all canals and waterways, which makes sense when you look at how it's positioned on the chao phraya river near the gulf of thailand. but then they built all these roads and now it's basically a traffic nightmare.
if you get bored, thonburi (which is basically just part of bangkok now but used to be separate), nonthaburi to the north, pathum thani and samut prakan to the east, and samut sakhon to the southwest are just a short drive away. i haven't checked them out yet because getting around here is a mission. the traffic is insane, and the air doesn't smell great either. plus it's super hot, so i mostly just sit in cafes and write stuff like this.
the people here are a mix of thai, chinese, and international folks. everyone seems really nice, but there's this whole hierarchy thing going on that i'm still trying to figure out. and the food! haven't really gotten into it much because i'm still recovering from some street food that maybe wasn't the best idea. but i hear pad thai, som tam, tom yum soup, and mango sticky rice are the go-tos. someone told me that the markets like chatuchak are where you want to be for the good stuff.
overall, bangkok is this weird, messy, amazing place that's been around forever but still feels so new. it's got this full name that's apparently the longest place name in the world - "krung thep maha nakhon" which means "city of angels" which is kinda funny when you're stuck in traffic. but i'm having a good time, even if my feet are sore and i don't really know which way is half the time.
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