MY FIRST DAY IN THAILAND

Resting

After my flight, I was completely finished. I had been travelling for over 22 hours at that point and was deathly tired¹. There was one problem though, I was in a new country and still full of that youthful zest for life^{2 3}. I got to my hostel and checked in. Thereafter, I headed out. I wanted to explore.

Meeting “J”

As I was preparing to leave, I met a Filipino guy, J. He was fabulously gay and had no issue flaunting it. I enjoyed his company, he spoke English well and was a good tour guide. He had been in Thailand for some time and gave me tips and suggestions for the rest of my trip in Thailand. J even offered to host me at his house in the Philippines once I went there⁴. He was a bit of a flirt, who could blame him though I am a snacc 😉 . I did make it clear though that I was a very straight manly man exclusively interested in wahmen and not remotely into him. He got the message⁵.

Walking around the city

As mentioned earlier, J was a great tour guide we walked around and went to a few temples, Siam, and Victory monument. I did have to stop a few times because I was so tired I needed a bit of a break. I often stopped often at 7/11 and downed energy drinks to perk myself up.

Dinner

After touring the city, it was finally time for me to try some of the famed Thai food. At that stage, I didn’t have a favourite⁶. J ordered for me. The food was so cheap and filling. We ate together, I should’ve known something was up because we fed each other⁷. Thereafter, we headed back to the hostel. We relaxed for a bit and I made some new friends, an international couple. They had been travelling together for 3 months and she was heading back home, to Germany, with him⁸.

They convinced me to go out to Khaosan road and party. I didn’t need much convincing. I mean, it is one of the most famous party streets in the whole South East Asian backpacking community. It would be remiss if my first day did not end with a wild night out in Bangkok.

Partying

The couple, J and I headed out to Khaosan road. Talking about the party is going to sound time, trust me though it wasn’t. We bought drinks and danced and I ate a scorpion and was subsequently dared by the couple to eat a spider. I promptly did. They didn’t know me, I would put anything in my mouth…

J wanted to celebrate too. Earlier that day, he had received word that he got a job in Bangkok. He bought me so many drinks and we partied the entire night. I was in my JC 3000’s⁹, the music was blasting and there were weird mannequins overlooking the dance floor. It was great.

The incident

Eventually, the couple left. J and I didn’t see them leaving, we closed out the club and then headed back. I stumbled and flailed and did not know the way back. J walked me back but then, he put his arm around my waist which made me uncomfortable. We got back to the hostel and then the guy, thinking I was drunker than I actually was¹⁰, tried to force me into his room.

Thankfully, I managed to weasel my way out and head to my room. Even though I was exhausted, I hardly slept that night. It showed me that while there would be great experiences I would have to keep my wits about me¹¹

1. Similar to when my brother attempts to unpack the dishwasher ↩︎
2. To be young and dumb ↩︎
3. I’ve since grown out of it ↩︎
4. Which I did not take him up on, you’ll find out why later in the story ↩︎
5. That’s called foreshadowing ↩︎
6. Which is now the famed Pad Kraphao Kai Dao Moo (am I spelling this right? Definitely not) ↩︎
7. Not really, but I mean I think that this makes a better story. ↩︎
8. I hope the relationship lasted ↩︎
9. Jesus cruisers 3000s, the name courtesy of Thabang, Ahmed and Larry ↩︎
10. Thanks for making me an alcoholic, Zamalek. ↩︎
11. I nearly lost my passport in the hostel shower cubicle the following day ↩︎