Dearest Readers,
I’m sheepishly coming back to you two full months after my last blog post – yes, I know, I know…I should be ashamed. It’s been a hell of a summer and I’ve been here, there, and just about everywhere. I’m no longer in S.E. Asia – I’m now back on the other side of the world in Europe. My Sabbatical is coming to an end soon and it’s incredibly bittersweet to realize that I won’t be traveling non-stop anymore. I’ve officially started my job search after not working since May 2022. I don’t know what’s crazy – the fact that I haven’t worked since May 2022 or that I’ll be going back to work again soon.
As I sip my matcha latte, I’m transported back to the simpler times of my time in Thailand in May 2023. While I was in Thailand, I enjoyed just “being” and “existing” and I’m glad I did because my summer was a busy stressful storm. As much as I enjoyed just vibing in my neighborhood and feeding “my” ducks, I did actually need to actually go outside. I decided to book an excursion to the very Instagramable Maeklong Railway Market which also included a stop at the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. I’ll admit that I 100% “did it for the gram” but it was a fun time and I’d recommend the experience.
The excursion picks up at River City Bangkok where we had a quick orientation before boarding the buses. An hour outside of Bangkok, we made a quick stop at a shopping plaza to grab some breakfast and snacks for the day. We then headed to the Ban Kalong train station where we waited to get on the Maeklong Railway. The train “station” is really just a small wooden platform next to a small gazebo with a few local vendors on the other side of the tracks. The train arrival signaled a frenzied free-for-all with everyone rushing onto the train to get a coveted seat by the window. I was prepared for that, but I was not prepared for how many people were already on the train – they must have boarded at the previous stop. Unfortunately, this meant that I did not get a window seat – I was honestly lucky to get a seat at all. Ha!
The journey from Ban Kalong to the Maeklong Railway Market is a cozy 30-minute trip through the Thai countryside on a train that is likely older than I am. Arriving at the Maeklong Railway Market by train is a very fun experience, complete with everyone participating in the fanfare. It’s exactly as it appears on social media – with the merchants quickly moving their wares inside their store space and pulling up their awnings while customers duck into the nearest space they can occupy to get out of the train’s way. Once off the train, we stopped to quickly get pictures in front of the train – this was once again a free-for-all that resulted in the train officials eventually ushering picture takers out of the way so the train could continue its journey.
My tour group was given about 25 minutes to explore the market and do some shopping if we wanted to. I walked from one end of the market to the other – the market is actually quite long and there’s everything from clothes to fish to souvenirs to fruit. From what I’ve read, it’s one of the largest fresh seafood markets in Thailand, and that smelled quite accurate to me. While we were at the market another train came and I got to have the full train market experience from inside the market – literally the inside, as I did get locked away inside of a merchant’s clothing store to avoid you know…getting hit by a train.
While waiting to get back on the bus to our next stop, I came across a Spanish tour group which was a fun surprise for me since it marked the second or third time I’d come across Spanish speakers while in Thailand. This reminded me of the conversation my friend and I had two weeks prior on how difficult it must be to travel extensively if you don’t speak English – most places will have English tours, but it was refreshing to see that there was a Spanish option. I stopped briefly to speak to the tour guide (en espanol) and they apparently have several tours throughout Thailand.
We made our way to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market where we were put into smaller groups so that we could take small boats to go through the floating market. I was grouped with two other women who were also there solo. We ended up having a nice time chatting as we floated through the market stopping at a few along the route. The market reminds me of Xochimilco in Mexico City, but it was much quieter and the vibe was quite subdued – after all, it’s more of a true market for shopping than a fun party experience like Xochimilco is. Alongside the floating market is a traditional market that also has some restaurants and a “secret” store.
After the boat experience, we had lunch at the restaurant that our tour guide recommended. Then one of the women I met on the tour, U, and I went off to do some shopping where I was aggressively coerced into buying some coverups from the market. One thing I did need to buy was a new purse since my trusty travel purse had finally gone to purse heaven after five great years together. I headed over to the “secret” store to see what they had available. If you’re familiar with Canal Street in NYC then you’ll know what the secret store is like. I didn’t actually want a knockoff as I support buying actual designer items, but I needed a plain new purse that was decent quality. I ended up leaving without anything because I didn’t have enough time to peruse since we had to get back on the bus to head back to Bangkok.
The bus drove us back to Bangkok and dropped us off at MBK Center, one of Bangkok’s many malls. Since I was already out, I decided to pick up a swimsuit that I had ordered and then ventured off to Lumphini Park so I could get a peek at the famed Water Monitor Lizards that inhabit the park. I didn’t spend a lot of time at the park – I came, I saw some lizards (and stayed out of their way) and then I left. Okay, I did walk around a bit and did some people-watching because did you really go to a park if you don’t people-watch? The park is very peaceful and clearly a favorite of locals, as I saw a lot of people at the park walking, jogging, picnicking, and just enjoying the afternoon sun. One woman, who is clearly not afraid of anything, plopped down right next to a lizard and promptly set out her picnic – she was going to enjoy her day. Period.
The next morning I headed to the airport to start my Phuket trip. After canceling this trip, I decided at the very last minute to go anyway because I needed a vacation badly. What you’re probably saying to yourself is “What could you possibly need a vacation from…you’re traveling the world!” Life still goes on even while you’re on a Sabbatical – I still have a million and one problems to deal with, the only difference is that work is not one of them. Initially, I didn’t make plans because rain was forecasted for the whole week, but it didn’t end up raining and I simply never made any effort to explore. The Hyatt Regency Phuket pool was everything I needed (it’s one of my favorite pools in the world!) and I spent every single day lounging in a cabana and swimming to my heart’s content. When I wasn’t at the pool, I was enjoying the Regency lounge, dining, relaxing in my room, or exploring the beach across the street.
I believe this was the first time in my life I’d gone on a vacation where I did not do anything outside of the resort. I only spent 3 nights in Phuket before heading back to Bangkok because I had a weekend trip scheduled to Pattaya. Long story short, I had an AmEx free night that I needed to use, and my friend, James, was going to be in Pattaya so I just took it as an opportunity to head down there so we could hang out and party. The Andaz Pattaya Jomtien Beach is a beautiful resort complete with manicured grounds, several pools, and private beach access. It’s definitely somewhere I’d love to stay again, however, it is not a convenient resort to get to/from Pattaya City.
On Friday, the plan was for James to come to the hotel so we could use my dining credit and then head to Pattaya City to party!! What actually happened is that we went to dinner and spent several hours talking about the perils of being in our 30s, unpacking trauma, and fighting mosquitos until we were both too tired to bother going out. While chatting we were also treated to bad karaoke coming from a company party at the resort. Ha! I don’t know about him, but honestly, I probably needed that moment of unpacking more than a night out anyway. This has been an unexpectedly “heavy” year for me and without my therapist, I rarely get to talk about it. I recently watched the movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and minus the freaky stuff, that’s how life has been feeling.
Since I had a 4 pm checkout, I decided to just enjoy my time at the resort on Saturday before heading back to Bangkok later in the day. My favorite thing about this resort is how hidden some of the pools are, so I had the luxury of enjoying the smaller pool to myself for a few hours – it was just me and the Towel Boy vibing and it was *chef’s kisses*. Phuket and Pattaya definitely inspired me to appreciate slowing down and enjoying a boring vacation. By the time I got back to Bangkok, it was late, so I called it a night pretty quickly. Sunday was my last day in Thailand, so I spent the whole day cleaning and packing so I could be ready to fly off to my next destination in the morning. Thailand was amazing and I can’t wait to go back – since I’m pretty sure at least one of my friends will end up moving here or staying long term, I know I’ll be back sooner than later!
Note: I will continue to catch up on the last few months of my travels (I’ve been to so many places since Thailand), but my job search is taking up a lot of my time and energy, and it has to take precedence right now. Working was such a large part of my identity for so long that not working definitely felt weird at first, but now it almost seems like such a distant memory. When your days don’t revolve around meetings and constant productivity, it definitely changes the way you think about life and who you are. Have I “found” myself – absolutely not…not even close, but I do know that my career should not be what defines me. I’ve certainly learned a lot about myself and I’m at peace with the realization that I may never know what my purpose is.