Blog

Short blog posts, journal entries, and random thoughts. Topics include a mix of personal and the world at large.

Bangkok, part 5

A thing that strikes you as you move about Bangkok is there are portraits of the reining Thai King Vajiralongkorn everywhere. Highways, schools, malls, municipal buildings, etc. As an American with a culture lacking in such obvious worship of high personality (granted, I do not live in the Bible Belt), it is definitely novel to see. Even as a kid in China, I don’t recall seeing as many portraits of Chairman Mao. Either the Thai people really love their monarch, or it is untamed royal propaganda.

Por qué no los dos? I’m sure plenty of Thai people genuinely revere the royal family. Apparently, Vajiralongkorn’s father - King Bhumibol - was beloved and super popular. He ruled Thailand (unlike the British royal family, the Thai monarchy is not simply ceremonial) for over 70 years. That said, it is against Thai law to say anything negative about the monarchy. Therefore, even if citizens don’t want to see the portrait of the king plastered everywhere, they can’t really do anything about it publicly.

I’ve been told that one can’t even step on Thai paper currency. Because the image of King Vajiralongkorn is on every denomination. (Similar to the Chinese RMB, where it’s all Chairman Maos.) Therefore, if you were to step on a 100 baht note to stop it from flying away, you’re essentially stepping on the face of the king. I guess you’re losing that 100 baht.

Upon further reading, it turns out King Vajiralongkorn doesn’t even reside in Thailand! The Thai King purportedly spends most of his time ruling from Germany. Now that I can fully understand. When you have the option between Bavaria and Bangkok (and the Thai monarchy is immensely wealthy indeed), the choice is with Deutsch. Actual four seasons of weather is way preferable than always hot and always humid. When you are kitted-up like a Thai King should, being outside Bangkok gets sweaty quick.

Bangkok, part 4

It is true that things are cheap (in price) in Thailand. But that is only true from an American perspective. When you are making American dollars like I am, the exchange rate favors us very nicely. I doubt native Thai people making the average Bangkok income (~39,000 baht, or ~1,060 dollars) think stuff is cheap in their country.

To make math easy, think of 1 U.S. dollar as 35 Thai baht. The exchange rate obviously fluctuates, but the 1 to 35 ratio is a solid anchor. As an example, a 500ml bottle of Coca-Cola (20oz bottles only exist in land of the free) at a Bangkok 7-Eleven is 19 baht. Less than a dollar for bottled soda? I don’t think you can even get a 12-oz can for that money here in the States.

Obviously, it was easy spending in Bangkok, so long as you ignore the price of the plane tickets. Hotels are shockingly cheap, though I suspect that has to do with the fact there are so many of them all over the city. Competition is great. Nevertheless, for (what is considered on Booking.com) a five-star accommodation, I paid around $90 per night. Contrast that to America: you can’t even book a Motel 6 in the middle of get-stabbed-at-night town for that money.

For Americans traveling to Thailand, the only pain point in terms of price is the airfare.

I stayed at the Hotel Sukosol. I chose it because one, it was five-stars (why not, when it’s so comparatively cheap), and two, it’s two blocks from an airport rail link stop. On departure day it was super easy to take the train to the airport. No need to call a taxi, only to get stuck in horrible Bangkok traffic. Best feature of Hotel Sukosol isn’t even inside: there’s a 24-hours 7-Eleven right next door. I frequented that convenience store at least twice a day for refreshment replenishment.

There were plenty of airline pilots and stewards staying at the hotel as well, so you know it’s of a certain quality. I can recommend highly.

Death of a coworker

It’s a tremendously sad day indeed to find out that one of our coworkers has passed away. We’ve not heard from her all last week, so on the behest of HR, SFPD paid a wellness visit to the coworker’s address on file. Our worst inklings were unfortunately confirmed. The deceased has been battling chronic health issues for as long as I’ve known her. To die so incredibly earlier than you’re naturally suppose to is an absolute tragedy.

I think the news hit the older coworkers more intensely. Seeing someone close to your age die so suddenly is a rather rude wake-up call. You start examining your own mortality, questioning whether you’ve forsaken long-term health for more immediate pleasures. Us Knowledge workers who sit in front of a computer all day have a steep hill to climb in terms of combating the deterioration that comes with age. A majority of my coworkers in their 40s and 50s are not the paragons of health, I’m sorry to point out.

For me, the fear of death is about the sensation of not being here (rather than fearing the agony of death). It’s the ultimate form of fear of missing out. That's why I’ve long been on the exercise, eat right, sleep plenty plan ever since I’ve graduated from university. While aesthetic improvements are nice, the actual goal is longevity. I don’t want to be gone prematurely! I want to be around for all the fun and not so fun that a full lifetime has to offer.

I hope the deceased did not suffer. To have worked with you is a privilege. Rest in peace.

Red in the morning, blue in the evening sun.

Pour one out for McDs

Word on the street is the McDonald’s franchise store nearest to my home is inexplicably closing permanently. Quite a rapid turn, too. Today - June 23rd, the year of our lord 2024 - is the final day of operation after many decades in business. The cynical part of me thinks the workers there were equally as surprised as the general public. That is a sucky situation indeed to suddenly be out of work - and the financial security that comes with it - just like that.

I can still remember going to the Stonestown McDonald’s as a high school student. Back when a few dollars can get you quite a bit of food. These days? You’d need three of those dollars to buy just the apple pie. As much as it is lamentable to see the restaurant close down, I have to be honest: I’ve stopped patronizing that McDonald’s ever since food prices started inflating like crazy. If I’m going to spend $12 to $15 for a burger/sandwich meal, I rather go to an In-N-Out, or the Shake Shack that recently opened at the same mall.

But it seems I’m amongst the minority of price sensitive restaurant goers. The Stonestown McDonald’s remains busy, at least it looks like so every time I walk past it. If revenue isn’t the issue, then perhaps it’s the newly instated California fast-food workers minimum wage law? One month of this increase in payroll cost and the franchisee is already crying uncle? As much as it's en vogue to besmirch owners as evil, profit-hoarding fat cats, I think often times the math simply isn’t math-ing. It’s not like restaurants aren’t already infamous for ultra low margins and frequent failure.

According to this article, the owner also points finger at the Stonestown mall for the store’s demise. To put it most succinctly: the rent is too damn high. This I can definitely believe. McDonald’s would not be the first food establishment to be chased out of Stonestown due to exorbitant rent.

Bangkok, Part 3

One of the big reasons I have no interest in visiting any Southeast Asian countries is the weather. The equatorial location means it’s going to be hot and humid no matter what time of the year you go. For a life-long San Franciscan such as myself, accustomed to our wonderful natural air-conditioning and constant high 50s (Fahrenheit), traveling to hot weather is tough. Cold, we can do. We are used to bundling up tightly for the majority of our nights, year round.

But, when your good friend is getting married in Bangkok, you must go. I was born in Guangzhou, so high temps and intense humidity is not foreign to my upbringing. Perhaps some of that latent acclimation from my early childhood years can come in handy. Also, I’ve done Japan in the summer as well, and it can get equally hot and sweaty there during the post-solstice months. What am I saying is, as much as I would rather not be in constant high 90s weather, I consider myself well trained for it.

Lucky for me, the humidity during my brief five day stay in Bangkok was not all that bad. I’ve been informed that it can and does get worst. There weren’t any rain, either, which is always a plus because in these parts of the world, when it rains, it really rains. You go from completely dry to needing a boat to get around in matter of minutes.

But, high 90s is still high 90s. There’s no escaping the fact that when you’re outside, you will be constantly sweating. I think that is the thing to get used to: perspiration. We really don’t sweat much here in San Francisco, so we think of it as yucky and dirty. Over in Thailand (and, you know, normal places where there’s an actual summer season), you start sweating the moment you leave the air-conditioned confines of the hotel, and don’t stop until you return.

The key to combating the weather is to stay hydrated. Whenever I was outside, a bottle of something was always in hand, sipping every so often. Bangkok - like most other major Asia metropolises - makes this easy: there’s 7-Eleven convenient stores everywhere. Unlike the 7-Eleven here in the States, the stuff inside is actually good, and there’s zero risk of getting shot or mugged. Convenient store culture in Asia is something I deeply miss when I come back to America.

Bangkok, part 2

If you think your late evening flight into Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) is going to be lonely experience, fret not. Apparently, plenty of flights get into Bangkok rather late. I thought my 11:35 PM arrival time would mean a very quiet immigration and baggage process, but no! Even past midnight, BKK was bustling with the sort of activity you see during midday at a domestic airport in the States. Our flight’s baggage carousel was right next to a flight from Hong Kong. Hello, my people!

Because BKK is still so busy into the morning hours, getting a taxi to your hotel in Bangkok is no trouble. The taxi queue outside of arrivals levels was healthy. Passengers punch in their information at the kiosk. It then spits out a ticket, with which you show to the next available taxi driver. I’ve read a lot of stories of taxi (and tuk-tuk) drivers ripping foreigners off in Thailand, but apparently the airport queue is highly regulated. Drivers are incentivized to treat airport customers fairly, lest they get banned from this lucrative route.

The government can’t risk harming the country’s reputation right off the jump!

I did not take a regular taxi to get to my hotel. Thanks to pre-supplied information, I downloaded the Grab app before leaving America. Grab is essentially the Uber of Thailand (and a few other Southeast Asian countries), and super convenient. It accepts foreign credit cards, so you wouldn’t even need to get cash right away at the airport. At BKK there’s a dedicated Grab pickup zone on the same level as the taxis. At 1:00 AM in the morning, it was lit (to borrow a parlance from the kids). It was so surprisingly busy that there was surge pricing, and my driver actually directed me to a different pickup point.

It ended up costing about 700 Baht to go from the airpot to the Phaya Thai district - where my hotel is. Had it been during “normal” hours, I would have taken the airport rail link. It would have cost only 45 Baht to get to the same Phaya Thai district.

Bangkok, part 1

Pro tip: if you’re flying to Thailand from the San Francisco Bay Area, try not to do it all at once. Because there are zero direct flights to Bangkok from SFO, so a layover is involved. No matter your chosen layover point - be it Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong - you’re spending a cumulative 18 hours in the air before you touch the ground at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Arduous would be the apt word to describe that journey, especially if you’re a poor boy like me and can’t comfortably afford beyond an economy class ticket.

The smarter way to get to Thailand is stay at least a few days at the layover point. This avoids spending an entire day on the road and in the air. I should have traveled around Seoul - my layover en route to Thailand - for a week before then moving on to Bangkok. Given my propensity for the Korean language and affinity with Korean cuisine, it’s baffling as I type this that I didn’t spend any time at all in Korea. What a waste!

I think I was too focused on getting to Bangkok as quickly as possible. If not for my good friend getting married in Thailand, I had no plans to travel this summer (not in this economy). Honestly, I wouldn’t have otherwise visited Thailand at all. Southeast Asia - outside of Singapore - doesn’t hold any allure for me. Unlike some avid travelers, checking-off destinations for the sake of accumulation is not what I am about. I may never step foot on continental Europe, and that’s okay.

Therefore my thinking was to get in and out of Thailand as quickly and as cheaply as possible. I stayed five full days in Bangkok, just long enough to attend the marital festivities, and getting rested to endure yet another travel day back home.

Please don’t emulate me - enjoy Thailand fully! It takes at least that five days to acclimatize to the muggy hot weather. Be sure to take advantage of your layover destination and do some sightseeing there as well. 18 hours in the air in succession - plus all the waiting at the airports - will drain the life out of you.