Travelling Alone

Buddha

The next day as I was getting over some of the culture shock I decided to do some touristy things. As I was walking to a buddhist temple, a tuk-tuk driver offered me a good deal to check out some of the local sites so thats what I did. I went to one temple which was the 'standing buddha' which is basically a fucking massive gold Buddha standing. Once I got there, there was a woman selling wooden cages with 3 little finches in them, and the aim was to set them free in front of the Buddha so it would bring you good luck. I figured I might as well make 3 little birds lives better, so I went to get some money out. The lady was really weird and wanted me to take her to Kho San road and buy her drinks and tried to get me to come with her but I basically shut her down (nicely).
I then went to go and pretend to be interested in buying a suit so the driver would get a fuel voucher for bringing me there.

Today I bought a ticket to Chiang Mai on Friday. Bangkok is a cool place, but really busy and touristy. It would be fun if I was here with some friends to party and stuff but there is not that much appeal beyond that. Also I would like to get started with finding a teaching job and making friends with some locals.

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Travelling Alone

Playground under a motorway

Travelling alone defiantly takes some getting used to. To go from a state of complete stability and organization with all your friends and family to the opposite is a shock for sure. There are defiantly times where question what I am even doing, but with a little introspection and insight, I can get to appreciate what i'm doing.
I think travelling is such an important thing. It just gets rid of any stubborn viewpoints you might have adopted about the environment you live in. Ironically Australia is one of the nicest places to live on earth, but it seems that a lot of people are unhappy to a certain degree. Here in Thailand there are people living in complete poverty, who are so happy and genuine. They do all still want money, sure. But they get by with what they have and they are adaptable. Seeing all these things in front of you just shows you what the world is really like, and how lucky we are living in western society. The fact is that the world is a really big struggle for a lot of people, and it can't be ignored by the people who have a fortunate situation. Once you have adopted a positive viewpoint however, you start to develop a kind of  inner strength and happiness, and start to appreciate what you do have as opposed to what you don't (from my limited experience).

Now that I have seen a Ping Pong show, I think I have seen it all. I figured seeing as I was in Bangkok, I might as well. Sexuality is shoved in your face a lot here, which is fine if thats all you are looking for, and on a good note it is about the most prosperous thing for the Thai economy as well. But looking underneath what is essentially glorified prostitution it is really just a sad world of desperation, catering to drunk tourists. I met a really nice tuk tuk driver called Artie, who told me all about his life as an ex Muai Thai boxer as well as his family and kids, and he wished me luck in being a teacher in the future.

Bangkok Train Station

Anyways, I am going to Chiang Mai on the overnight train on Friday, and i'm planning on doing a meditation retreat once I am there for a while, and possibly some kind of a trek. And then getting on finding a job. Its only my third day but I feel like I have already experienced so much.
Until next time!