Christina Marie's Travel Blog

After 15 hours on an overnight bus from Chiang Mai, I finally arrived in Bangkok. What made this part of my trip unique was not just the obvious fact that I’m in Bangkok, but that this city marked the beginning of me traveling solo.

As soon as I got off the bus, there were a number of tuk tuk and taxi drivers trying to win my business. I finally agreed on 200 bot with this one taxi driver (which I later learned was double what I should have paid) to get to my CouchSurfer’s house. 

My driver said he knew exactly where I needed to go. I should have known better. We get to this one random hotel and the driver needs me to come with him so he could find out where the address I showed him was. After the receptionist told him where to go, we were on our way, again. I’m frustrated at this point because the driver lied to me about knowing where to go. At this point I decide to sit directly behind him because I recently read an article about a taxi driver shooting his customer, which was not how I wanted my solo adventure to begin. After 30 more minutes, several attempts and much help from the locals later, I eventually found the place. 

Part of my solo travel goal was to meet other travelers and tour the city with them. Mission accomplished partly thanks to CouchSurfing. Overall, Bangkok was a pretty great city with my favorite part being the architecture, pagodas and clubs playing house music. 

Initially, I was nervous about touring the city because of the number of militants I saw on every block, but I eased up since a number of them loved flirting with me. I didn’t see a lot of red shirts as I made sure to avoid the ‘red zones’. What surprised me was that although I went at a time when every country advised tourist to avoid Bangkok unless absolutely necessary, there wasn’t a moment I felt unsafe or threatened. I had heard from several CouchSurfers that they met some members of the red shirts and were even invited to eat with them. 

Since there were areas in Bangkok I refused to go just to be on the safe side, I can only recommend areas close to Cow San Road. The street is a popular spot to buy merchandise and hit up some bars and clubs with bartenders that are not concerned about your age.

Other tourist attractions worth seeing includes Grand Palace, Golden Mountain Temple and Wat Pho. 

Please visit my Flickr photostream to view more photos from my trip to Bangkok.