Falling in Love with Bangkok

This post is about my beloved city of Bangkok. It sure wasn’t love at first sight. I fell in love with the city without even realizing it. I guess you could compare the situation to a person you only know superficially at first. Then, if you should happen to get to know that person really well, you might find yourself in love with that person.

My relationship with the city started, when I was a small child: My parents visited Bangkok a couple of times with me. But all that I remember from those stays are the crocodile farms and elephant soccer.

My next visit to the city was many years later, when I was already 21. I came to Bangkok for a weekend trip with a friend. Even though the city was shown to us by a Thai friend of mine (meaning that we were able to see more than just the tourist stuff), I didn’t like it very much at all. On the contrary I was quite disappointed: The city was too hot. I got sick and everything was so big and just too overwhelming.

But still the city had somehow fascinated me, and as I was planning my semester abroad a year later, I decided to go to Bangkok, trying to get to know the city better as a resident. During that time I deeply fell in love with the city of Bangkok and I wanted to stay forever. I lived in a small street (soi as it is called in Thai), in a small furnished apartment in the centre of the city, mostly occupied by Thai people. The street was full of all the delicious and authentic Thai food and provided me with everything I needed for my everyday life. At the university I met nice people from all over the world with whom I became great friends and travelled around Southeast Asia; also exploring the different parts of the city of Bangkok: The huge shopping malls where you can get lost, the different kinds of foods and restaurants, the cultural sites such as wats (temples), muay Thai fights, Thai massages and lots more. There is so much to discover in Bangkok that you will never get bored. Should you after all get bored, then it is easy to get away from the city for a couple of days and see totally different parts and sites of Thailand.

If it isn’t love at first sight, then one has to give the city more time to win your heart. But once you have fallen for Bangkok, you will never forget it.

Roong