On to the motherland
In a way I'm so glad to be out of Thailand. I had a good time there and there were some things I'll never forget, like the beaches and the people I met and hung out with, but man I think the stress and the weather was getting to me.
The rank humidity combined with the language barrier and the atmosphere where I always feel like someone is out to get me was starting to wear me down. I just don't think that most of Thailand is a very good place for a westerner to live. Most of the people are so incredibly friendly and nice on the outside, but after being there for a month, I can't really believe that they really are good people all the way to the core. I'm sure some of them are, but definitely not most.
Everywhere I looked or turned I felt like somebody was trying to rip me off on something. The only store I could trust to not do so was 7 eleven, Family Mart, and Tesco Lotus. Sounds sad huh? I know I'm a worrier and not trustful of many people anyway, but this country is not good for my health.
I think that if I stayed in Bangkok for longer than like a week it would be harmful for me. I think it would turn me into a person that I don't want to be and that would be terrible.
2 days ago, my friend Katja (Germany) and I took a walk through a very low to no income area of Bangkok and it was tough on my soul to see and smell. The river area was so nasty looking, with trash everywhere, and the smell was like walking through a sewage plant. The houses were just metal boxes slightly bigger than a small bedroom where families lived. It was a part of Bangkok that I didn't expect. These people live in this area every single day of their lives, and it's along the river so the loud ass boats are going by every 10 minutes screaming for mercy in the air.
I really felt bad for the people there, and it helped me appreciate my life quite a lot more. I didn't take pictures because I felt so rude in doing so, because I knew that the people there would know why I'm taking the pictures. I wasn't there to be intrusive so I spared them the involuntary showcasing.
I can see why some of these people will take every chance they have to get more money for what they're selling (or sell things that shouldn't be sold). I don't blame them. I think I might do the same if I was in their shoes. But as a westerner, it's just not a good place for me to be if I don't want to be corrupted.
The rank humidity combined with the language barrier and the atmosphere where I always feel like someone is out to get me was starting to wear me down. I just don't think that most of Thailand is a very good place for a westerner to live. Most of the people are so incredibly friendly and nice on the outside, but after being there for a month, I can't really believe that they really are good people all the way to the core. I'm sure some of them are, but definitely not most.
Everywhere I looked or turned I felt like somebody was trying to rip me off on something. The only store I could trust to not do so was 7 eleven, Family Mart, and Tesco Lotus. Sounds sad huh? I know I'm a worrier and not trustful of many people anyway, but this country is not good for my health.
I think that if I stayed in Bangkok for longer than like a week it would be harmful for me. I think it would turn me into a person that I don't want to be and that would be terrible.
2 days ago, my friend Katja (Germany) and I took a walk through a very low to no income area of Bangkok and it was tough on my soul to see and smell. The river area was so nasty looking, with trash everywhere, and the smell was like walking through a sewage plant. The houses were just metal boxes slightly bigger than a small bedroom where families lived. It was a part of Bangkok that I didn't expect. These people live in this area every single day of their lives, and it's along the river so the loud ass boats are going by every 10 minutes screaming for mercy in the air.
I really felt bad for the people there, and it helped me appreciate my life quite a lot more. I didn't take pictures because I felt so rude in doing so, because I knew that the people there would know why I'm taking the pictures. I wasn't there to be intrusive so I spared them the involuntary showcasing.
I can see why some of these people will take every chance they have to get more money for what they're selling (or sell things that shouldn't be sold). I don't blame them. I think I might do the same if I was in their shoes. But as a westerner, it's just not a good place for me to be if I don't want to be corrupted.
posted by Jimmy at
4:15 PM
2 Comments:
glad you are appreciating what you have in the states Jim. So many of us take things like clean water for granted. I felt the same way too when I was in Bangkok, everyone was out to get me.
hi jim, sorry to hear about your feelings of thailand. even though the beaches are beautiful, you will always find people living in shanty-towns & poverty in the poor countries. i'm sure you will see this in India as well.
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