April 3, 2019

Bangkok, Thailand

So I didn’t realize that the metro in Bangkok would be this expense, it’s 40 Baht for most rides which is about $1.30. I remember from studying abroad in Shanghai back in 2016 that it cost 3-6 RMB, about 50 cents to 1 dollar, plus it was way more developed (as in more places are connected, then in Bangkok. Of course the metro systems in China are subsidized by the government, in Thailand I’m not so sure.

Instead of taking the metro then, I’ve quite often taken the bus in Bangkok. The non AC buses seem to run 6.5 Baht while AC ones are about double (20 and 40 cents respectively). The problem with it is that wait times can be long (30 minutes) and Google Maps is not always accurate on which lines will take you to where you need to go.

Besides that the language barrier is interesting, especially since it seems I’m the only foreigner that takes the bus (that I’ve seen anyways). What I do is just at my phone and the fare collector will gesture how much it costs.

On another note, I attended a meetup group where no one showed up except the host. Initially six people flaked which in the end I feel was a good thing. Large groups feel so overwhelming to me for now and I like how I spent a few hours with a young woman. I feel like I should attend more of these smaller gatherings instead of writing them off as I’ve done before, especially if the host is female. Anyways it’s off to Cambodia for me tomorrow.

Kingston S. Lim

April 3, 2019

Bangkok, Thailand