Falling Love With Thai Culture

Thailand, known around the world for having the hottest capital, never being colonized by a European power, and for its beautiful culture. The main reason for me wanting to visit Thailand was through the stories of my friends that have moved here. I have been told that the Thai people have a level of respect that the USA does not have.

This country represents everything that a country in Southeast Asia would be. A beautiful mixture of South and East Asian cultures, it’s hard to ignore the influences. From the way that the people look, the food they eat, and the language, you can see East Asia and India. Buddhism here is somewhat unique to other Buddhist majority countries. With the strong Hindu and traditional Chinese beliefs making a big impact on the local culture.

What I enjoyed most about Thailand was the food. Me being an enjoyer of Indian food, you can see it in the local cuisine. They have curries here that are somewhat similar to the Indian counterparts. Indian curry is almost like a stew, while Thai curry is more light. In Indian curry, you get more blasts of flavor. Thai curry doesn’t pack the same punch. Yet, that doesn’t mean that it is not good. Thai curry is still very favorable. You also see the east Asian Influences in the noodles. If I stayed in Thailand for a month, I’m sure I would gain a few pounds.

The temples are what took my breath away. I heard they were beautiful but seeing them in person was another thing. From white marbles to all the beautiful designs, you can tell they put a lot of effort into their temples. It’s clear that Thai people are very proud of their culture.

Lastly were the traditional dances. There are 6 different forms of traditional dances in Thailand. I got to see a few. I don’t remember exactly what dance styles I watched. However, it was beautiful hearing traditional music and seeing the people dance to it. It made me feel like I was truly in Asia.

I can see why my friends love it here. The cost of living is cheap. The weather is usually hot year around. A lot better than living in New York City. Not to forget about the awesome food. This country is a place of smiles.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe everyone! Wash your hands! Much Love!Thank you so much for your support!!

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In my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

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October 17, 2020 7

Seeing The Scale of Bangkok And Getting lost

We all heard that Asian countries are developing cities and skyscrapers at a rapid pace. However, seeing it in person gives more meaning to that statement. So, Bangkok is big and about the same size as the city of New York City. Yet, I never have seen so many cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic in my life. The beauty in the chaos is what I love about Bangkok Thailand.

After I went to see my first Buddhist temple, I was completely out of energy. The sun of Bangkok Thailand mixed with jetlag, I had to go back and sleep for hours. Somehow, my body sleep schedule started to match the local time. The sun was setting, staying up watching all those marvel movies on the plane actually paid off. The sunsets here are so beautiful, it reminded me of my time watching the sunsets by the Nile river.

Getting back to my accommodation ended up being a journey. So, picture yourself tired and you are just itching to lay on a bed. Out of nowhere, your tiredness made you miss your stop and you were 9 stops aways. Yeah, that was me. Like a drunken person, I stumbled off the train and started walking toward what I thought was the opposite platform. In a zombie state, I sat down and counted the many stops I missed not realizing that I was nowhere familiar.

Not evening looking at the stop’s name I got off. I was tired and was only thinking about laying on a bed. It wasn’t until I was off the train that I saw the mistake I just did. I went on another line and I have no idea where I was at. However, I was super tired and just couldn’t do another train ride. A taxis cab became my favorite option. Found a cab, gave my address and I was out. I woke up around 30 mins later to find us stuck in the infamous Thailand traffic.

Seeing Thailand in a taxi is a must-do. You get to see the city in a whole new light. Bangkok is big like really big. What was about 9 stops took us almost an hour. Seeing the buildings, car traffic, and the people made me realize how similar this city is compared to New York City. I used to think Thailand was underdeveloped. However, it’s very modern. Being the hottest Capital City in the world with great culture and people. I can see why Bangkok, before COVID, was the most visited city in the world. It is world-class without world-class prices.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe and travel safe everyone! Much love!

If you want videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

My underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Some links for each hope you all enjoy! Here are links to hotels and other deals. Hotels, make sure to click here. Apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here and villas click here. ALso bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the links.

October 10, 2020 8

Visting A Buddhist Temple For The First Time

It was my first day in Thailand and I had to see a Buddhist Temple. I couldn’t wait to rest up. My main reason for coming to Thailand was to experience the Buddhist culture. There was no time for no sleep. I was in a city of 33,902 active temples.

I asked around and there was a temple nearby to where I was staying. Well, not too close but like 5 stops aways. My imagination was running wild. I kept thinking about the monks in the mountains training martial arts. Of course, I was wrong about that.

After about 30 mins, I found the temple. Constantly reminded of Thailand’s sun. It was about a 15-minute walk from the train station. With the sun, it felt like it was twice as long. It was snowing back home in New York. The change of weather can affect you in mysterious ways.

You are greeted with a Buddhist Statue. I had my video camera out. An employee of the temple told me to turn off my camera. However, he did explain to me about Thailand and it’s culture. I learned that Thailand was never colonized by Europe like all its neighbors. So, a lot of the Buddhist temples here have no European influences.

The further I went inside, the more colors I saw. The 20 foot Buddhist Statue stood tall. You can tell that the locals here really care about their religion. The Statues are well kept and you see tons of donations. Sadly, I didn’t see anybody praying. It seems like this temple was more of a tourist attraction. Tried to remember and find the name of this temple. However, after looking at about 100 temples none look like this one. I truly wished I could remember the name of this temple. Since it was the first one I have been to. Thai words are difficult to remember for me.

There was a back entrance to the temple. I walked towards it to find another big statue. Looks like Buddhism and the Buddhist culture really like images of buddha. Every different compared to Islam. I noticed that all the statues in the temple were made of out gold. Made me wonder if gold is considered holy in Buddhism. Thailand has been good so far. Couldn’t wait to visit more temples and the country.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe and travel safe everyone! Much love!

If you want videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

My underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

October 3, 2020 4

Arriving in Thailand

After my layover in Wuhan, I was on the plane to go somewhere so foreign to me. I have never been to a Buddhist majority country. Growing up, I never knew anyone who was Buddhist. Although, there were a few Buddhist temples where I lived. No one I met was Buddhist. I learned about this religion through Japanese cartoons and comic books. Needless to say, I was excited to learn about Thailand’s culture. I was told by friends, the Buddhist temples in Thailand are hard to match elsewhere. I’m sure out of my comfort zone.

A shrine at the Bangkok airport photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Once I arrived at the airport, you are greeted with signs saying that Thailand is the land of smiles. Never associated Thailand and smiles before reading that statement. Actually, never thought much about Thailand before this. I finally got to the immigration line at the airport. It was long and somewhat chaotic. Although, there was still an order. However, a group of kids dressed as monks kept cutting everybody. They would find spots in the line to wander and pretend they were there the whole time. Me being aware of my surroundings, I picked up on it quickly. One even cut the people in front of me. I noticed that people were somewhat aware but for some reason, everybody was just ignoring it. So, I didn’t make a big deal out of it. It might have been a cultural norm and I didn’t want to be that “guy.”

Statue to scare off evil spirits photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

About an hour past, it was finally my turn to speak with the immigration officer. Did the normal routine, gave my passport and etc. What struck me odd was the big smile the officer gave me, when he handed me back my passport. Maybe it was the sign that I read before. Yet, I don’t remember any immigration officer giving me such a big smile. I would get the normal fake smile, the stone face, or the nod, and the officer saying, “sir.” Maybe this country is the land of smiles.

Past the line, I was now in Thailand. What really stood out to me were the statues. I learned they scare off evil spirits. Yet, I can just picture my super Christian grandma freaking out thinking the statue is some kind of a demon.

Beautiful grass photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

I was out of the airport. Took a train to get to my air bnb apartment. After unpacking and taking a long needed shower, it was time to explore. Not trying to get too lost, I only explore what was around me. It was actually not too far from downtown. Only four stops away from the center of the city. To my surprise, Thailand is very developed. I was not expecting such a beautiful skyline that can rivalry majority of the cities in the USA. Even the metro is pretty advance.

Yeah, this was the weird part. I went to get some water at a 7/11. Thailand was hot even during December. I got out and started walking a few blocks. When another 7/11 showed up. I found it weird but didn’t think much of it. Until walked about a block, when I saw another one. It was three 7/11s within 4 blocks from each other. I guess the Thai people really love 7/11.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe and travel safe everyone! Much love!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.

We have partnered up with booking.com and working on TripAdvisor. Here are some links for each hope you all enjoy!Here are links to hotels and other deals.For Hotels, make sure to click here. For apartments make sure to click here. For Resorts click here. For villas click here. For bed and breakfast and for Guest houses, make sure to click the links.

September 26, 2020 2

Off to Thailand…Hopefully: Red Flags On the Journey to The East

Winter was here in NYC. The cold breeze with the white snow looked like a scene out of any of the Home Alone movies. I was sitting in my office desk hoping to be elsewhere. Thinking of all the warm climates that New York City did not offer. Eventually, I got a notification for tickets that the price had dropped. It was for a flight from NYC to Bangkok priced at 450. I just had to buy the tickets for a return in mid-December. Nobody knew was brewing around the same time in that part of the world. Hard to believe, it would cause so many deaths.

Of course, I jumped on that deal. I was off to Thailand at the end of November. Well, I wished things were that easy. Sadly, nothing is very that easy. Looking at my passport, I realized it would expire in March 2020. That meant, most countries wouldn’t allow me in because I’m high risk of missing my return flight. The flight was just a week away. There was no time to spare. Or, so I thought.

Paying extra to get my passport renewed photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Started applying for a new passport at the nearby FedEx store. In case something were to happen, I can always get the overnight option. It’s funny looking back, there were so many obstacles thrown at me. Maybe that was a sign that I shouldn’t have gone. However, me being stubborn I ignored all these signs and pushed through.

time in egypt photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

europe stamps photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Belize stamps photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

more europe stamps photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

dubai stamp photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

my time in south america photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

This trip was going to be epic. One week in Thailand and then, a few days in Malaysia. Hopefully, I can squeeze Cambodia as well. Gave Fedex the most valuable item to a traveler, their passport. Did all the paperwork. It was time to wait. Three days passed by, my flight was in 4 days. I decided to randomly check my passport status. Logged into the website and I saw the process on hold, reason: missing paperwork. I started to freak out a little. Had to find the solution quickly or I won’t be able to go to Asia. I remember I did all the paperwork right, one of the FedEx employees even double-checked it. It was weird that I could be missing a few pages. This was another sign that I probably shouldn’t have gone on this trip. Ignoring the sign, paid for the overnight service to make sure I could get the passport in time.

Flying to Asia photo courtesy of Hugo Morel

Friday came, my flight was tomorrow and the new passport arrived. I was super happy and excited. Had to do last-minute packing because I wasn’t 100 percent sure that I was going to be able to travel. Packed like a wild person. After a few hours, I was ready.

It was Saturday, the time of my flight arrived. Got on the plane, looking at the plane tickets. I noticed that I never actually flown on China Southern Airlines. Nor have I heard of a place called Wuhan, China. Had to google the city before the plane took off. Found out it was the third-largest city in China. Looks like I will have a good time exploring Wuhan. Glad I had the chance to be there twice. It was time for take-off and I was off to a journey to the east that the world will never forget.

Thank you so much for reading! Stay safe everyone! Wash your hands! Much Love!Thank you so much for your support!!

For videos about cultures of the world and to see our travels, subscribe to our youtube channel!

For my underwater photos, I use the gopro hero 7 white.