Bangkok: Days 11 to 16

April 24, 2024

Bangkok: Days 11 to 16

I didn’t do much exploring in the past six days because the temperature was so hot in the day, reaching over 100 F. However, I paid the 500 THB, or about $14, for an admission ticket to see the Emerald Buddha and the Grand Palace that’s nearby. The Emerald Buddha was so small. There was no photography allowed, but I still snapped a picture. Visitors can’t go into the Grand Palace so it was a disappointment. I only took a photo from the outside.

I enjoyed staying at the Boxpackers Hostel. It’s clean and quiet with a nice common room. The air conditioner works well and there’s free water from the water dispenser. The first couple of days at the hostel I was feeling depressed, but I feel better now.

On a normal day, I would wake up around sunrise and get coffee. Once I come back to the hostel I would read. The book I’m reading now is Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins. The first chapter was quite intense since it’s about his abusive childhood. I also started to relearn JavaScript by reading on eloquentjavascript.net and doing the exercises at the end. My goal is to get back into web programming.

Several days ago, another traveler in my dorm room was coughing, so I gave him my medicine that I had bought in Taiwan. It also included the cold medicine that a nice stranger bought for me when I was staying in Tainan. The traveler’s name is Connor and he was so appreciative that he bought me lunch two days later.

I learned that Connor is only 20 years old. He’s from the UK and was working hard labor before he saved enough money to travel. He was looking to buy a camera and I sold my camera that I had bought in Taipei to him for $400. However, to save on transaction fees Connor wanted to wire me the money from his bank in the UK. I never received the money because there was some complications with the information that was needed to complete the transfer. Connor’s money is still pending in the bank. PayPal didn’t work because Connor couldn’t transfer money from his checking account into PayPal. There’s no Venmo in Europe, or Zelle. I didn’t think transferring money internationally should be this difficult. In the end, I told Connor to keep the camera and sort out the payment later since he’s leaving Bangkok.

Today, I’m taking the 1:30 PM flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap in Cambodia. I’ll be staying a total of 13 days in Cambodia, but I’m still undecided on how to split that time between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. I’ll figure it out once I get there.

I was also warned by another traveler that I should be careful with my possessions, especially money, in Cambodia. Apparently, there are a lot of fake US dollars there.