Mathew Biadun | Column Writer
Bangkok is 8,571 miles from Willimantic. The flight, ultimately spanning twenty hours, crosses a distance greater than the Earth’s diameter. This city houses nearly eleven million people. That’s around three times the population of Connecticut, crammed into a tenth of the size. Somewhere here in that cramped metropolis is now my dorm, as I’m one of just 170,000 American students that studies abroad every year.
It is hard to put into words how different Thailand is from America. From the architecture to the language, the sights and the sounds, culture shock hits hard upon arrival. The difference is, ultimately, why I chose to come. To experience living in a starkly different culture, locale, climate and society from my own. This article, I hope, provides a glimpse into that life.
A key part to understand about Thailand are the Thai people themselves. Foreigners often say that Americans are very friendly travelers. Well, as one of those friendly yankees, I must say that the Thai are perhaps the friendliest people I have ever come across. Thailand is known as the ‘Land of a Thousand Smiles’, and it’s a nickname well earned. No one rolls their eyes when you stutter broken Thai, or when you take too long in line, or if you’re struggling to explain something to the Grab driver (Grab is their version of Uber). They will patiently smile and nod until they understand. It’s an extremely friendly country for foreigners; perhaps part of the reason tourism here is thriving.
Another reason may simply be the abundance of things for tourists to experience. Bangkok has splendorous temples and palaces. It has armfuls of museums and monuments. It has markets that float on the water, markets that hug railways (yes, right on the railroad!) and markets that sprawl over the streets. All of which is sprinkled across six-hundred square miles, making it easy for tourists to navigate efficiently. Outside of the capital are the temples of Chiang Mai, the island paradise of Koh Chang, and the party beaches around Pattaya. All of which are part of future excursions planned for my study abroad adventure!
For now, I haven’t gone anywhere in Thailand besides Bangkok. However, that alone is a marvelous city with lots of amazing sights to see. Here are some of the highlights in more detail:
War Arun is the most iconic temple in the city. It has a pyramidal shape, vaguely resembling the Eiffel Tower in silhouette. A base of stone slowly grows until it peaks into the skyline, seen from great distances along the bank of the Chao Phraya River (which, by the way, is perhaps the brownest and murkiest river I have ever seen, although impressive in its width and temperament).
In the temple you will find an interesting activity in historical immersion. Thai booths outside will rent you historical Thai costumes, with sashes and a silk appearance (although real silk it most certainly is not). A photographer comes with you, to shoot pictures along the temple. One may expect this to be popular amongst tourists. In actuality, the most common customers were ordinary Thais. Groups of friends or couples taking matching photos by the temple. To link it to our own mindset, it’s as if you visited a castle in Europe and took photos dressed like medieval royalty, or if you went to Philadelphia to dress up like the Founding Fathers. Foreign tourists are not uncommon either. Some may call this cultural appropriation. However, based on how eagerly the Thai booths will try and sell you a costume, I do not think they are insulted, and it seems like harmless fun.
The other great, ‘must-see’ attraction in the city is the Temple of the Emerald Buddha. The decadence and extravagance of this temple is incredible. Walls are gilded with gold, imprinted with jewels and gemstones that form intricate portraits of Buddhist mythology. Giant statues of spirits guard the courtyard. Within it lies the Emerald Buddha, seated upon a throne of wealth so thick and studded in every material ore found upon this planet that it may surpass any American conglomerate in wealth. You must take off your shoes to enter, where tourists and monks pray at the altar. Soldiers armed with rifles and bayonets guard the Nirvanic peace of the Buddha. The same ticket will allow you to see the Grand Palace; ceremonial home of the Chakri Dynasty who sponsored this temple, and still rule Thailand today. They also sponsor the Khon performances at a nearby theater, which the ticket also allows access to. Khon is a traditional masked dance in Thailand, perhaps similar in cultural value and appreciation to Viennese opera.
If Kohn represents a genuine feature of Thai culture open to tourists, the vendors outside the temples represent the opposite. The elephant is Thailand’s national animal and a common symbol. Small booths outside of major tourist attractions will sell long, flowy pants and buttoned-shirts of linen emblazoned with these elephants. These pants are marketed with an old sense of ‘Oriental fascination’. That term is not particularly acceptable anymore, but it represents exactly what these souvenirs are. Exotic imaginations of what Thai society would genuinely wear, instead of the slacks and shorts they actually have. Maybe some Thai people do wear them. But if so, I haven’t seen it. Still, they are fun and surprisingly comfortable, and even I bought a pair or two.
Wat Pho is the last great temple we visited. Inside lies a truly massive statue of the ‘Reclining Buddha’, showing him laid on his side with heavenly scripture on his feet. Just like the Emerald Buddha, royal monuments are close by. This time they are in the form of ‘Chedi’. These are large, also pyramidal structures created as shrines to celebrate a monarch’s reign. Four were built by and for the first four monarchs. The Fourth King told his son not to build anymore, saying that there wouldn’t be enough space, which is a rather lavish example of closing the drawbridge behind you.
The age of everything here is ludicrous. The paint on old temples dates before our republic. Some things here doubtless date before the concept of republics ever existed. Bangkok itself is a modern city, constantly having new apartments, modern cars, smart phones and all the trappings of our modern world. But everywhere stands the reminder that this is merely the newest wonder of an ancient, ancient civilization.
The Royal Family, itself having been in power before America’s independence, is omnipresent here. Paintings of the current King, Rama X, litter highways, streets, temples, government buildings and ordinary shops. Each monarch has their own name, his being ‘Vajiralongkorn’. Upon taking the throne, however, they take the ceremonial name of ‘Rama’ and a regnal number. He succeeded his father, Rama IX, who is one of two Thai monarchs called ‘The Great’. King Rama IX can be compared to Queen Victoria or Emperor ‘Showa’ Hirohito, in that they had a long reign which the native population associated with economic growth and a flourishing of culture. He died in 2016, but his face is still the one upon the highest banknote. Fun fact; he was actually born in Massachusetts, while his father was studying at Cambridge!
Along with elephants, common here are stone statues of lions in the traditional Chinese style. One of the lions holds a stone ball in his maw, while the other stands on a cub. These pairs are found guarding important buildings such as palaces, temples and 7-11s.
One would be shocked to find how many 7-11s are here. They are even more common than portraits of the monarchs. Standing on the street corner by my dorm, one can see three at once on the same street. They’re often right next to each other, separated only by one or two buildings. They have much more than just food. ‘Sevies’ have detergent, towels, shampoo, chicken feed, and virtually anything else one might need. American culture in general is powerful here, at least in the capital. There are McDonalds, Burger Kings, KFCs (fried chicken is very popular here overall), Auntie Anne’s and more. American music plays on the pop radio, and our fashion brands are in high regard here. The prevalence of American icons makes you feel far closer to home than you actually are. As, of course, do your fellow Americans.
There are thirty of us in this group. Mahidol University, our school, has nearly 30,000 students; with 3,200 in its International College. However, 30 of us are in the CISAbroad cohort. We stayed at the same hotel upon arrival, attended orientation together, and go on ‘field trips’ together. As you can all imagine, we’re quite close.
All thirty of us are Americans. There are a lot of students from New York and Massachusetts, particularly from UMass and Rochester College. Most of us are from New England, with me being Connecticut’s sole representative. But there are also students from Colorado and North Carolina. Few majors overlap, spanning a vast amount of fields and professions. Most are upperclassmen.
Despite the differences between us, there are a lot of common factors. Everyone here is very adventurous and open-minded; traits that are required for studying so far away. Everyone I’ve met is socially liberal and accepting, and very curious about the customs and cultures here. Lots of people are interested in spiritualism, astrology, and other philosophies and religions uncommon in their homeland.
Being a giant city, there is lots to do here, particularly at night. Restaurants tend to be open quite late, as are food stands. There is plenty of entertainment to be found for those interested. Some of which will be normal to most Americans, some of which strange. For example, walking down the street from the dorm, one can find a cafe that's one part smoke shop, one part cat cafe, which is apparently legal here. But it might be more normal considering the animal culture here.
Animals are found everywhere here. Stray dogs are common. Even if not strays, people will own dogs and cats but allow them to wander freely or help guard their food stands. It may seem cruel to keep them outside, but the animals look quite happy to nap in the sun and run around freely. Most are friendly. Although, because there is a small percentage that have rabies, you never pet or feed the animals. We often forget about the risk of rabies, but in a country like this where strays roam the streets everywhere, it's a big risk. Rabies has a 100% fatality rate. If you get it, you will die. So walking around the animals is a good idea.
Food stand culture is truly marvelous here. A good ice tea, in a large cup size, made with fresh fruit by hand, will perhaps cost 25-45 baht. A really good meal of steak, rice, and vegetables will be around or less than 100 baht. For context; 35 baht is a dollar. If you save your money and go to cheap food stands, a day’s worth of food and drinks might be 7-10 dollars. It is truly excellent for a budget trip.
In fact, I am actually saving money by coming here. All your scholarships, student loans and grants can transfer over to pay for your foreign university. My tuition is $9,750 for the semester, with a double room (one roommate, sort of like a two bed hotel, with a fridge, balcony, gym and pool) costing $800. With the cost of that tuition, my program with CISAbroad includes fully paid trips to Cambodia, Koh Chang, Chiang Mai, and occasional free transportation to shopping malls, tours of Bangkok or mangrove floating markets. You’re free to travel as much as you want on the weekends. Most students have no class on Friday, and clever students can arrange their schedules to have Monday free as well. Three or four day weekends means travel is up to your budget and desire. Some students are discussing trips to Vietnam, the Philippines, Mongolia, Japan, Hong Kong and more.
There are some challenges. An eleven hour time difference makes it hard to communicate with home, as you can only realistically connect in the mornings and nights. Twenty percent of students get food poisoning, due to questionable food stands. Motorcycles pose a genuine threat to every pedestrian’s life. The drivers will stare you down as they drive straight towards you without ever slowing down. But overall, it’s an incredibly rewarding experience.
Here, you will make new friends from all over the world. You can experience new cultures, try new foods, see amazing sights and all the rest. I’d recommend it to anyone who can go. For more information, feel free to reach out to the Study Abroad department at Eastern. You can make free, thirty minute appointments just to discuss potential travel plans. If you want to reach out to me, feel free to email me at Mathewbiadun05@gmail.com, and I’d be happy to answer any questions! From the other side of the world, I wish everyone an excellent semester!
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