The Enigma

Did you know that I have just turned 23 a few days ago?

I'm the kind of person who tells everyone about my birthday since January. Sometimes how I remind them of my birthday can be subtle, other times just plain annoying and borderline obnoxious. I don't know, I just really like doing that, it's kind of my thing. Yeah, I probably need to get a new hobby...

Anyway, I know that a lot of my friends have been here before I do. In fact, since I'm sort of the younger one in my friendship circle, I kind of always arrive in a phase behind the rest of my peers. It's like, they've been here, done that. But it also made me go through the many stages of life that we went through together earlier than they've ever were, so sometimes people would say, I'm wise beyond my years, but sometimes also very, very childish.

I honestly don't know what I'm going to do with being 23. Some of you might know better than I do. Some of you might even think, "What are you doing? You're an adult! You should've figured yourself out!" 

All I know right now is that I'm older. Much, much older than I think I am. Sometimes when I see high school kids, I think fondly of my miserable high school years and the realize... Damn. That was almost 10 years ago. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I have the mentality of a college student. I know I have a full-time job now, yes, but sometimes I thought that there would be a holiday period waiting for me. That there would be a break somewhere down the line. I keep waiting for that moment when I can just stay at home all day not thinking about a single hard thing but then I realize... I should feel so lucky that I don't have that kind of time anymore. I should feel so lucky that I have a job that requires me to spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer, typing shit that sometimes I don't even believe in. Hell, I should feel so lucky that I have all these things that I have right now, at 23 years old.

Of course, there's always room for improvement. Like a more existent love-life, for example. Or a more fit body. Or simply a more healthy diet and lifestyle. After all, life is not supposed to be all work and no play at all, and I know that. I know. I'm just not good at finding things that I like. I'm not very good at determining whether I really want something. I'm not good with money, and terrible at making plans. I hope I will get better with all of these things, and perhaps even more that I failed to mention...

For the time being, let's just start off 23 years old with caring about treating my skin and applying my creams in upward motions :) 

Bank-ok!

Sawadee-kha, people!

Very recently (as in, last week) I went for a short trip to Bangkok with a few of my closest friends. It was a great pleasure, albeit somehow miserable... Why don't I just jump into the story, as I always do? 

Chatuchak, after two hours burning under Bangkok sun.
I obviously looked like I was working out

First of all, it was a great mistake on my side not to do some research before departing to Bangkok. People always say, "Ah, it's a lot like Jakarta!" Well, that's a bit of a bullshit, because Bangkok is scorching HOT! I thought it was just because I never actually walk around the city at home, but then I stopped believing myself. It was thoroughly hot. Like, seriously-biting-my-skin-around-noon hot. Like, please-always-remember-to-reapply-your-SPF hot (God knows I didn't).

Secondly, it's nothing like Jakarta because the street food stalls are to-die-for. I didn't take any food pictures for you, because I was too busy devouring them right after the seller handed them to me, but long story short, I think I gained 2kg just from mango sticky rice. It's that good. There was almost no food stop where my gals and I didn't stop for mango sticky rice. It's like we were on a hunt for the most delicious tom yam goong and mango sticky rice everywhere we went! (P.S. My favorite tom yam goong is from a counter near the Siam Paragon food court. But that's probably just the amateur tom yam-eater in me) Anyway, I came to the city just after the week-long Songkran holiday festivities, and they say it's the right season for mangoes. Yes, the mangoes are that good.

After walking around all day long, trying out the Chao Praya river taxi, BTS, shopping at Chatuchak Market and the upscale Siam Paragon and visiting what's probably the smallest Madame Tussaud's House of Wax I've ever been (oh how I've missed you, London!), we decided to go to this very touristy place called Asiatique, where we can see Bangkok's famous ladyboys show.

The show's pricey, but I think it comes at a cost if you were born with a penis and testosterone running in your blood to look like this:

Feeling inadequate already, ladies?

Since we felt pretty... tired (um yes, 23-year-olds feel tired too) we decided to brace ourselves to get an Uber ride home. We stayed in a very nice, entirely white IKEA furnished AirBnB in a very nice area near Khao San Road, where the loud white people went for some nightlife fun, which is great. But also... it's hardly accessible with public transport other than taxis. And taxis in Thailand seem reluctant to use the meter, plus, they hardly speak English. Ugh. I read from people's experiences (as you would expect, too) that Uber drivers speak better English, so it was a deal. And guess what? The ride is so cheap we swore not to take another public transportation ever again!! Plus, our first driver from Asiatique speaks fair English. Great.

The next day, we were still pretty loaded, so we went shopping at the most famous fashion mall in Bangkok: Platinum. The Pratunam area where it is is not too far, but still we took an Uber after having our very first McDonald's nearby the accommodation. And guess what? We ordered Uber X, but what came to us was a very nice white Toyota Fortuner, where in Jakarta, it's really hard to even get a Fortuner for Uber Black!

Platinum itself is convenient compared to the same scale malls in Jakarta, and the price range is rather lower. I know a lot of online shops in Indonesia bought their supply from this mall, which if you buy clothes in bulk, you'd get even better price than if you shop retail. From there, we went across the street to Pratunam Market, where the place is almost no different than a traditional fashion market near my home in Jakarta's suburbs:

Pratunam Market (that's Meinyda. Say hi!)

And from there, we were still not tired (ha ha lies) so we (again) got an Uber to Sukhumvit, another shopping area. Now, the part where even getting an Uber in a foreign country is a challenge, began.

We were checking out the Baiyoke Sky Hotel, which is the tallest building in Bangkok, where we will be headed that night. Since the tower practically has no other place of interest nearby, we decided to wait at the lobby and get an Uber. One driver rejected us, because, well, who knows? Then one another accepts, and this one drives a sedan. There are 5 of us, and a sedan is pretty small, no? But we literally had no choice, because we ordered a few times and still we were referred to him. Thank God, this one also speaks English, though on the phone, it was still quiet a struggle to understand him. The tower, albeit the tallest, isn't exactly easy to find, I guess, so this guy couldn't find us immediately. Until he did.................. but we put the pick up point wrong.

I thought I put "Baiyoke Sky" but instead it was "Baiyoke Suite", which is in another building, and I was already getting rude to him, to which he responded in high-pitch voice, and turns out I was wrong :)

So, of course, we raced there, went through the parking lot (because the lobby of this hotel building is quiet complicated) and met him in the level 5 car park, sweaty, tired, almost not breathing, and really, really guilty. To that driver who turned out to be very friendly, speaks English, and owns a much nicer phone than the rest of us, if you are reading this, we're very sorry :(( 

The Underground station. (yep, that Meinyda again, and oh, Tiko! Say hi!)

Another thing that sets Bangkok apart from Jakarta: the transportation system is somehow on a whole other level. I could be wrong, but it's unfair to say that we're very similar because of the heavy traffic, especially at rush hour. The thing of the matter is, Bangkok has two support systems that Jakarta doesn't have: the BTS and Underground, and the latter is very much modern like the one we can find in Singapore (not even counting on the river taxi here...) Even though they probably don't serve every parts of the city (the Underground only has 2 lines, I think?) it seems to me that they are way ahead of Jakarta. Do you realize what a very long and complicated way it is to provide an infrastructure project? You should. So that you understand that it's not easy to be a governor, and those guys currently fighting for Jakarta gubernatorial are probably no less in the dark than you at this point.

Hey, Bangkok!

Later that night, after experiencing the second nightmare of the day (the Uber driver doesn't speak English when we really needed him because somehow we ended up in Bangkok Railway Station, like, the grand station where you can go for long-haul train rides) we went up to the Baiyoke Rooftop Bar. The bar isn't really rooftop, since the rooftop is at the 84th, and the bar is at the 83rd, and it was kind of lame, and the drinks just okay... But the view. Oh, the view. Breathtaking.

Too bad we were there during maintenance, and the light was turned off so it was almost pitch black and really hard to take pictures. I even had to take a selfie while my friend showering me with a flashlight. 

Also, the wind was like so... harsh. It's hard to find a picture where our faces are not covered in hair!

Tuk-tuk selfie -- a tourist's obligation

The next day, which is also our last day, we wanted to feel more cultured so we took the tuk-tuk from our AirBnB for 100 Baht to the Grand Place. No, we didn't even bargain for the price. Yes, we could probably get cheaper. Look, it's only because our two previous Uber drivers said, "Never pay for more than 200-250 Baht for a tuk-tuk! Also, they are dangerous. Better take Uber!" So we thought we had a pretty good deal.............

Anyway, (I refuse to feel guilty for paying 100 Baht for tuk-tuk when we'd probably need to pay roughly 20 Baht to the Grand Palace by Uber--but this is just an assumption) we were so impoverished by too much shopping and eating street food so we didn't even take any guided tours in these beautiful temples and palaces, so, we knew nothing about them. Mission to be more cultured: FAILED.

Also, in these places: so. many. Chinese. tourists.

It's harder to get a picture without their presence in the background than to find a halal food in the streets. I'm speaking from fresh memory and experience, you guys.

Supposedly, the Grand Palace's...something?

Supposedly some very beautiful stupas adjacent to Wat Phra Kaew

Supposedly the gate of Wat Arun

Supposedly the beautiful stupas surrounding Wat Arun

All in all, it was a blast. Short, but rather a very remarkable trip. None of us has ever been to Thailand. None of us knew any Thai besides for "Hello" and "Thank you". None of has ever taken Uber in a foreign country (turns out it could really feel like Amazing Race, finding the pick up spot your driver can get you). We did not have much cash at our disposal, but we lived like a royalty anyway (this is probably the mistake). But after all, what's a holiday without making mistakes, without getting lost, without eating food you're not supposed to eat, or without at least try to live like locals? 

Probably just a trip.

Friday After Hours: A Ballad

The day was Friday and you were sure that things would go on easy. You came into work, made a list of goals you are going to score today and promised you'll scratch them all out at the end of the day. Then your boss came, and everything was not as simple. You started juggling things, had quick lunch, and returned to your desk almost half sleepy. The next thing you know, you barely scratch any goals you set, and was instead set for new goals that you must complete by the weekend. You got frustrated and decided to have some fun on your own. You know your friends are busy and not the kind that will soothe your mind tonight, so you go alone. "Nothing is sadder than a career girl sitting alone eating ramen with a laptop on the table. Let's do that." you thought to yourself. But your favorite ramen place was so crowded; almost everywhere in the mall was. You went to the next ramen place and was set for a not-so-good one, but better than go home with nothing. You bought yourself a dress you've been wanting for months. You checked out your favorite bookstore, and was reminded of the book you have just started at home. You were torn between going home before taxis are scarce and Uber is surging, so you went pass Starbucks. The place was crowded, almost no table left. You realized that you are not alone in this world. You are not the only person alone in that mall that evening; not the only person with a laptop and a heavy boots. Not the only lonely people wanting to find some obscure sanctuary in a place like Starbucks. Apparently, people are lonely too; and they like to be lonely together. You realized that you don't need to indulge in that kind of melancholy tonight. So you get your phone, order an Uber, and go home. It was raining mildly, but the road was already jammed. You saw a young couple hiding from the rain in the tunnel--they look so in love you wonder if you will ever be ready to love again, in this city that shines bright, even without you.