On the bus to Chiang Mai, Thailand [Post #3, Day 4]

I am on the base level of a double-decker bus making our way from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. We are about 1.5 hours in to a 9.5 hour ride. I just ate a shortbread butter cookie snack provided by the bus service, tasted good! And I still have a black bean bun to try. We just drove past a huge gold Buddha statue. The past two days in Bangkok have been excellent. There is so much activity happening everywhere, from the minute you walk out the door in the morning to the time you return home at night. It seemed that every street I went down and around every corner there was something exciting happening. Street vendors and markets are everywhere. In Chinatown I experienced the busiest markets I’ve ever been to, with alleyways packed with people shoulder to shoulder. That doesn’t mean a moped driver can’t still squeeze their way through though! I saw all kinds of different looking seafood, meats, vegetables, and fruits I’ve never seen before. The one that sticks out most in my mind were buckets filled with ice water and sea slug looking things, maybe sea cucumbers? I didn’t buy any of those ones!

I was on a mission to find an English translation of the Thai book Time by Chart Korbjitti. After a few failed attempts at smaller bookstores with no English books I found Kinokuniya which was like a Barnes and Noble! They had a whole shelf of Thai novels translated to English. I couldn’t find the Time book but found another one I am excited to read, Sightseeing by Rattawut Lapcharoensap. I stayed in PanPan Hostel in the Silom region of Bangkok, I had a private room which was very clean and comfortable, and had the basics one needs: bed, desk and chair, and locker.

I am looking forward to Chang Mai, I thoroughly enjoyed the big city experience of Bangkok but am really looking forward to connecting more with nature, doing some hikes, and learning more about the local way of life in northern Thailand. Now to read some of my book!