Tues Mar 20- Lessons Learned in Bangkok

Over the past few days traveling in Bangkok, Jessie and I have had many experiences (both good and bad) and have learned quite a few useful lessons.

Number 1:
Don’t always trust people because of their occupational positions. If you’ve read my earlier blog “Nightmare in Bangkok” you’ll recall the horrible situation with a psycho cab driver. Well, this has taught me to be more skeptical and cautious when trusting people I don’t know. It was a huge learning experience, but in the future, I’ll know to stand my ground and be more assertive if I’m ever in that situation again.

Number 2:
Haggling is an artform; one that I do not possess…. yet. Jessie and I are both learning that we’re not very good at guessing fair prices for the items we want to purchase. In turn, we’ve discovered things that we’ve paid 7times the price for… it’s a painful realization, but we’re getting better with every shopping opportunity. I guess in the end, as long as we’re happy with the sale, it doesn’t matter. But it’s always nice to know that things are done fairly.

Number 3:
Arriving at the airport early is a good thing. For our most recent flight: Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Jessie was pretty insistent on arriving at the airport with about three hours to spare. I thought this was slightly ridiculous seeing as it was a short domestic flight, but I was proven very wrong. When we arrived at the airport (we got there by taxi), Jessie and I walked around looking for our airline, but had no luck in finding it. Eventually I asked at the information booth and was told to my horror that this specific airline (Nok Air) doesn’t fly out of the regular airport, it had moved to another airport at the other end of the city.

Jessie and I ran to the taxi terminal and took the nearest taxi, all the while praying that we would arrive in time for our flight. The traffic was pretty heavy and it took almost an hour to get to the other airport. Thankfully, because of Jessie’s persistence, we arrived with plenty of time to check in and even enough time to grab lunch. I guess it never hurts to be early, even if it does cut in to sleeping time.


Overall, Bangkok was a nice place to visit. We had great times at the temples and experiencing the beauty of the city. There were times however that also pushed us beyond our comfort zones. These are also a blessing because they help us grow. Although Bangkok has not been our favorite place so far, it definitely has it’s pros.