Misconceptions and Discoveries from Asia's "City of Angels"

When travelers set out for Asia in search of an exotic experience, many plan to visit robustly colorful countries such as India or China. As a tourist, you often don’t hope to see larger cities like Bangkok, where modernization is the new norm and the history and culture is fading away. At first glimpse, Bangkok is a messy, overexcited city with a jumbled skyline, dotted with gleaming malls and large business structures. However, at second glance one comes to realize that this sprawling Asian metropolis isn’t just a city on overdrive, with its rainbow-colored cabs and motorcycled taxis, but a haven full of fading historical charms.

My first day in Bangkok was one full of modern stereotypes. On my way to the hotel, I sat in a taxi, wondering at the maze of flyovers, flashy billboards and towering skyscrapers. Overhead, the Skytrain, Bangkok’s rapid transit system, glided by on elevated tracks. The noises of the city: beeping car horns, hasty pedestrians, eager voices of the street side merchants, seemed to envelope me in an enchanting halo of wonder.

The first mall I visited, Siam Paragon, was like an instant teleportation into the western world: gleaming glass surfaces, a giant blast of air conditioning and endless choices of designer goods. The overwhelming prices pushed me to walk on, past the flashy designer logos and up to the very top floor. There, its vast Cineplex spread out before my eyes and I bought a “Blue Ribbon Seat” ticket, a VIP experience mirroring that of a first class plane ticket, complete with snacks, drinks and the most comfortable theater seat I’ve ever laid eyes on. To my relief, I remembered to stand for the Thai royal anthem before the showing, despite the surrounding splendor.

Day two in Bangkok revealed a whole new side to the city. After a vast breakfast buffet at the hotel, I set out on foot to explore. Early-morning Bangkok was quieter, sleepier, than its usual hastiness. I strolled through the warren of streets and alleyways, a bustling haven of cheap food and lodging for the great tide of European and American budget travelers. I passed food stalls, the halo of condensed humidity following me around, the motorcycled taxis locally called “tuktuks” buzzing by on the streets. It was an endless maze of color and culture.

At last I reached my destination: Chatuchak, a vast weekend flea market on the northern outskirts of the city. I entered the huge, chaotic labyrinth of lanes, surrounded by the hustle-bustle of local Thais and tourists out in search for, well, everything. Thirty-five acres of shopping, over-spilling with produce, Chatuchak sold everything from knockoff designer shirts to aromatherapy oils and reptiles. It was full of enthusiastic shoppers, bargaining cheerfully and light-heartedly – the gentle back and forth of price negotiation filling the air. There was an atmosphere of pure chaos, but I was content and excited to purchase my first Thai souvenir.

At lunchtime, after having finally found my way out of the market, I stood out on the street with arms laden with plastic bags, sweat dripping down my spine from the afternoon heat and my stomach growling uncomfortably. Across the street, I could see the unusually tidy food stalls of the Or Tor Kor market. I caught the kind eyes of a food stall owner, pouring curry into Styrofoam bowls for the American tourists beside her. The smells of the food drifted across the street towards me, past the smelly engine fumes. I crossed the road eagerly, and made my way over to the food stall lady. Out of the colorful array of Thai food she offered, I eventually decided on a typical Thai classic: Som Tham (green papaya salad) with sticky rice and fried chicken. I paid 50 baht for it, a price you would pay for a bottle of water in my home country. Unfortunately, my mouth is not made out of steel, and I found myself frantically shoveling in mouthfuls of rice to get rid of the extreme spiciness. Nevertheless, the food was heavenly, and I made my way back to my hotel, content and stuffed to the brim.

My stay was over, despite the fact that I had not seen all of Bangkok’s wooden shop houses and stunning temples, but the two limited sides of Thailand that I had seen had impressed me beyond my wildest dreams. As a traveler, you often fail to realize the perfect balance of culture, history and modernization that Bangkok brings to this world,  but I was able to see past the city where the old is so often torn down to make way for the new – and caught a glimpse of those faded charms that have remained all these years. Bangkok is exotic and colorful, and I believe the rest of the world has yet to discover it.