Life begins at the end of your comfort zone and I had realised that when I began travelling through India, but to travel to a foreign destination on my own was far away. But that opportunity came in the form of my friend Rashmi. Ever since I remember, she has had travelling as the best way to celebrate her birthday, and 2 years ago she decided that she wanted to take this party to foreign lands. The reason why I give her full credit for this is because I wouldn't have ever done this on my own, at least not then, she was literally the person who booked and packed me for this trip. So let me take you through the journey that was.
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| Rashmi & me at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport Mumbai |
With all the luggage and excitement we entered the airport only to witness an 8 hour delay in our Air India flight, irate costumers fighting, impulsive airport shopping, bored to death drunk man rolling on the floor and finally the evaporation of all excitement.
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| Rashmi with all her Zara clothes on the ground |
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A very sleepy me
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But of course when the flight took off we did all our touristy things like clicking the clouds from the airplane window, asking the air hostesses for everything they can offer, peeing in the lavatory and thinking, "does it actually throw it out in the air?", walking the aisle to check-out boys and peeping in the business class to see what is it that they charge so much for. The excitement was back.
Phuket, Thailand
At Phuket International Airport, I saw Rashmi hover over the conveyor belt panicking that her worst nightmare had come true, that they had really miss-placed her luggage. Never happened. But as we moved around the airport and took-in everything, one of the first things that marvelled us was the packaged food. It was so different and so tempting compared to India.
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They had Hot Chili Squid flavour in Lays!
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| They had Kitkat Ice cream! |
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And Mars & Oreo!
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3 kms into Phuket and Rashmi announced, "This looks like Kerala. Why am I not getting the foreign feel?" and I was wondering about the exact same thing. With lush green lands and tall coconut trees, Thailand's Phuket pretty much resembled India's Kerala. That changed when we saw the beaches, because crystal clear water is a phenomenal I've never witnessed in India.
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Kamala Beach
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Our first night itself was the most epic of them all. We were welcomed on the streets of Phuket with funfair, colours and constant boxing match announcements. But we were too jet lagged to pay attention, so we headed up straight to the famous Thai massage parlour, where 2 middle-aged women welcomed us. I won't deny we were skeptical of their massaging skills and we even thought of backing out, but rudeness was not on our menu, so we stayed. I think the women read or faces, because they massaged the life out of us! When we left from there we were drowsy and ready to drop, so we dropped at an Irish Pub fro a quick dinner. That turned into an all night jam session between people from different nationalities. They had karaoke going on in the pub and one Chinese women requested to sing her homeland song on the mic. That's it! Then the Australians pounced, then the Americans, then Japanese and then to Rashmi's surprise her Indian friend joined the bandwagon. "I am not a singer, but who cares! Music transcends borders", this was my opening to Bulleya from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. We were the last ones to leave from there and all footages of this night are safe in my passcode protected folders.
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| Before I embarrassed myself at The Irish Pub |
Krabi, Thailand
It was in Krabi that the journey started to shape-up, because the first thing we decided was that massages everyday is more tiring than relaxing and second we started interacting with the locals. One of my most fondest memory of Krabi was when we went to a travel agent to take us on the island tours and she asked us, "What do you want to see? Blue waters or green waters?" and we were like, "what?!", so she said, "Oh confused Indians, I'll show you both." That is when we went on the Phi Phi Island tour. It was the picture of this place that had pulled us all the way to Thailand. Words will fall short to describe the beauty and purity of that place. James Bond Island (because James Bond was shot here, also know as Maya Bay) and Phi Phi Island both are located between Phuket and Krabi but in opposite directions. That day we saw blue water, we saw green water, we saw deep underwater and we finally understood why Hrithik Roshan cried in Zindagi Milegi Na Doobara after scuba diving. We were in water for 9 hours straight. For a girl who hates deep water, that was an achievement (that girl is me FYI). We got so addicted to that floating feeling that even after coming back to the hotel, instead of showering we jumped straight in the pool.
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Testing the clarity of water
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| Before snorkelling |
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In a relationship with the deep sea
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| Mermaid in the hotel pool |
The side effects story- my hair was the longest I've ever seen in my life when I visited Thailand, but all those hours in water had taken its toll, and people who know me know that I am always looking for a reason to chop my hair, as I find it most difficult to handle my Hagrid like tresses. Once back in the shower I realised that combing my hair was going to be a nightmare, so I combed until I could and exactly where the comb couldn't move further due to the tangles, I asked my friend to chop the hair and the result was a very chic apple cut!
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Boom Chop!
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That night to commemorate our success over my serpent hair and to get over that floating feeling we decided to indulge in Thai food, the street style. They have this concept on the streets where you buy your fish raw, they cook it right in front of you and serve it pipping hot.
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The raw food
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Turned into a fest featuring the best Lobster we ever ate
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| From left to right - Lobster, Squid & Shells |
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First Oyster of our lives
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This we only clicked
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Salmon Sushi
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Donuts, but the presentation is love
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Just eggs, but again the presentation
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Savoury in one picture
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The famous Thai Durian which is so smelly that its not allowed in public transports or hotels
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Talking to the locals we understood that the reason why there are more women conducting business on streets is because most Thai men take up Muay Thai i.e Thai Boxing as a career option more than anything else. Also the sex ratio of Thailand is 0.970 (970 males per 1000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio that of 1061 males per 1000 females.
Bangkok, Thailand
After all that water, greenery and breeze, Bangkok felt like a concrete jungle and we couldn't help but count the similarities between Mumbai and Bangkok. Here there was little sex ratio difference on streets, women and men were equally inclined in squeezing as much as possible out of travellers. Cars moved mindlessly. Always prepared for traffics, people stood in long serpentine queues waiting for busses or fast foods.
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| Traffic is at its worst from 7 to 9 in the morning and 5 to 7 in the evening, however big traffic jams are usually limited to a few roads a popular intersections |
At first Bangkok was a complete downer, it felt as if the vacation was over, but then we started noticing the good things, like how fashionable the Thai people in this part of Thailand were and how inclined were they on commute friendly packaging of food. It was like all your instagram fantasies had come alive, the fashion, the food, the colours, it was all so picturesque. When we went shopping we realised that their XL is our M so sizes were quite an issue for us Indians, but we played our hands on colourful footwear, accessories and even unusual house items.
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Rashmi & me featuring the city breeze
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What gives Bangkok its distinct identity is the fact that there are dozens of huge representations of Lord Buddha dotted around the city. These are the city's star attractions and it is easy to see why. Gleaming in the sun, wearing an expression of total bliss, these sculptures are wonderful cultural highlights.
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Worlds biggest reclining Buddha statue, Wat Pho
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An architectural marvel, Wat Pho
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Buddha and the disciples, Wat Pho
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It's a temple, make sure you are covered appropriately
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The sun can get harsh here
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You have to appreciate Thais for their food presentation. My dear friend Rashmi fell in love with the way they simply served coconut, while I was ogling over the wide availability and their convenient ways of serving fruits. Sitting in the posh by-lanes of malls we even came up with a business idea to take their skills to India, which died as soon as we digested the food.
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Had seen this kind of coconut cutting only on instagram until then
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Rashmi with her new best friend - the designer coconut
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| They make fruits look so appetising |
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Fancy fruit juices replaced water
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Star Apple & Tuk Tuk
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And that was all about our first no family foreign trip; not all because this is a family site. Until this trip there were only two Thai things we were aware about - Thai massage and Thai food, but this trip gave those bland perceptions a very colourful image. What I liked most about Thailand was the number of women on streets working and supporting their families, then the fact that they are a lot of really happy smiling faces, then their fashion and then their food. Having said that Thailand is way more than Phuket, Krabi and Bangkok. There is so much more on the outskirts of these famous tourist destinations and I wish to explore that someday after this pandemic subsides.
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Our Dil Chahta Hai moment
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Thailand changed my equation with Rashmi, from my best friend she also became my bonafide travel partner. This trip also got me over my fear of deep water and thought me how the most boring things can look appealing with the right presentation. Lastly I also realised that no salon can do to my hair that what my friend can.
P.S - Travel. Not for the destination but for the journey. Experiences await to be lived.
Beautifully written 💓
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