It is hard to believe but we are already since one whole month in Bangkok. So many things are so different here.
I am from Munich and our Campus is really small. We almost do not have one whole Campus. It is splitted in 3 areas. In Bangkok we are studying at the Chulalongkorn University. It has a Campus which could also be a small district. It has two metro stations, an own bus line and several shops. And the greatest thing is that every student and teacher could speak English. Otherwise it is really difficult to find somebody who understands you if you do not speak Thai. This fact made everything to a little adventure. It could be really hard to explain something just with your hands and feet. Some things which are good to know when you visit Bangkok are also that they for example have 6 different shopping malls called “Central Plaza”.
In our second week we decided to go to the cinema in the “Central Plaza”. We were a group of I think 8 people. At this moment we did not know that there are more than just one Central Plaza and how to distinguish them in a way the taxi driver understands. We take 3 cabs because we were so many people and in the end just two groups arrived at the right one. This was kind of funny and now we are always afraid that maybe one group do not arrive at the right place. But you can prevent this if you always write down the address for each group. Or you can also try to take one cab for 6 or more people. In Thailand it is normal that there are more people in a car than usually in German. Sometimes we take a cab and one of sits on the front passenger seat and the other 5 people in the back. Two are sitting on the laps of the other three.
What I like the most about Bangkok is that this city does not try to hide its poor sides. You can see big rich hotels and next to them little, small and dirty houses or temples. And between all this big city stuff there are parts of vegetation which remember you a jungle. It is amazing how you walk from one world to another step by step. Everywhere are skyscrapers and right beside them small wasted cottages. Or what seems to be unbelievable is that the city is spitted by a highway in two parts. You can just pass it over a bridge or some few crossroads. And they do not have a timetable for the busses. They just came all 5-10 minutes. So it seems all to be so chaotic and disordered. Not like it is in Germany. Strict. But it works. And after a few days you habituate to it and you get more relaxed. Like the Thai people are. They are so much more relaxed then we are.
They never show anger and are always friendly and dignified. They try always to smile and show their best side. If you are shopping somewhere for new clothes there will be always somebody who will make you compliments how great you look in this dress/top/shoes/what ever. Thai people really know how to sell things. They are much better then Germans.
And here are so many tasty foods. I like the most of all the sweets and desserts. You can everywhere find cakes, cupcakes, muffins, pies, bubble tea, donuts and much more. But not just the sweets are good of course. We eat in restaurants beneath everyday because it is really cheap here. For a good meal with a drink I pay usually 3 euro. It is amazing. In the cafeteria of our university it is even more cheaper.