I landed in Bangkok not really knowing what to expect other than chaos, heat, and tourist traps. I honestly wasn’t too excited given it being my first trip to Asia, me being a naturally anxious person, and also being a solo female traveler. I just wanted to grin and bear it until I could move to the rest of Thailand.
Now I’m not saying Bangkok isn’t chaos, heat, and tourist traps but the truth is it’s so much more than that.
On my first day exploring, I was walking down a street near my hostel, taking photos of an alleyway and an older woman came up to me and started complimenting me. Immediately, I’m nervous. As a solo female traveler, being called beautiful out of nowhere raises warning sirens. I engage with her but leave myself room to make a swift exit if the conversation takes a weird turn or becomes a sales pitch. She starts asking me questions about where I’m from and what I am out doing today. More warning signs! Keep in mind I am on the corner of an incredibly busy street and it is an old woman so I am not too worried just a little uncomfortable and confused.
We keep talking and she begins recommending places in Bangkok to take photos. This turns into me thinking she might be trying to get me to go to some tourist place she works at. I make up an excuse to get out of going but we keep talking. She asks me if I’m hungry and at this point, I am a bit more settled because she just seems generally curious. I ask if she has recommendations and she then tells me of a place right down the street before beckoning me to follow her. Again it is on a busy street during midday, I wouldn’t have followed if there weren’t multiple layers of safety.
This adventure unfolds and turns into this local woman seeing me, thinking my western features are exciting (personally, I felt rather bland at best) and deciding to show off her city because she is proud of it. She asks for selfies, helps me order and finds my way to the shops. She practices her English by asking about my life back home and in return, I get to know more about her life here. I left being so genuinely confused because there ended up being no scheme or ploy. She was just a sweet lady interested in showing a Westerner all that Bangkok has to offer.
This definitely was the tipping point that allowed me to start to exhale in Bangkok.
And I am glad I did. Sure, Bangkok isn’t quite as friendly as the rest of Thailand. And yes, there are tourist traps to be wary of. But I’ve learned that overall, Thai people are incredibly warm, in a selfless way you would almost never find in western countries.
The secret of Bangkok is that it is no different from the rest of Thailand. And it is definitely not a place to fear. If you show the locals you are interested and appreciate their culture, they will welcome you just as you welcome them.
PS. I just want to state that this is all based off my four days in Bangkok so I am no way an expert and my experiences may be very different than a lot of people’s time here. Either way, I hope you gained something from my insight!
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