Bangkok

I left Haneda late at night and found myself in Bangkok at dawn. I sent my suitcase on to the hotel from the airport and headed straight to Pattaya empty-handed. A record of six days and five nights walking around on my own.

A corridor at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Elephant silhouettes and the words “SAWASDEE” and “SAT-1” on a navy wall — Suvarnabhumi Airport at dawn

Day one: to Pattaya

Two hours to Pattaya starting at 7:30 a.m. I rode on the back of a motorbike taxi for the first time, and it was pretty scary. I took a boat across to Koh Larn and had lunch at a local diner. At Tong Lang Beach I got on a jet ski.

The rear deck of a ferry. Passengers sit by the railing, with a green island in the distance — The back of the boat to Koh Larn

A man in a red life jacket on a jet ski in shallow water

Two people giving a thumbs-up with the instructor behind them on a moving jet ski

A cup of mango juice with a straw on a table on the beach

At one point I couldn’t find the case holding my credit card, and the blood drained from my face. It turned out to be at the bottom of my backpack. On a solo trip, taking your eyes off your things is this scary. Back on the mainland I gazed up at the Sanctuary of Truth, then took a bus back to Bangkok. That night I ate noodles with a Thai person I’d met there, and finished with something sweet made of milk and ice cream.

The Pattaya skyline across the water. High-rises line the shore, with a small boat in front

A brown pony poking its head over a fence, with another in the sand behind it

Visitors in white helmets walking in front of a wooden building

Inside the hall, carved wooden pillars and beams run into the distance, with white light coming in from the entrance at the end

The whole wooden temple rising under a cloudy sky, its spires stacked layer upon layer — The Sanctuary of Truth. They hand you a helmet at the entrance

The front of a diner at night, Thai characters glowing on a pink neon sign

A glass building lit up in blue and purple with a “STADIUM ONE” sign

My step count read 24,000. I’d been speaking English nonstop, and my head and legs were at their limit.

Day two: wandering the city

In the morning, a back massage in Phrom Phong. I took it easy during the day and went out into the city in the evening. Shopping in Asok, a beer around Ekkamai, lazing around listening to music. Dinner with locals again at night. A day of a lot of talking.

At the end of a rain-soaked approach, a Thai-style hall glowing with golden lights — The night of day two

Day three: temple hopping

Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho, Wat Arun. I walked the three great temples in order. I took a boat out to Asiatique The Riverfront and looked into a walk-through attraction, but it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped. I went back to the hotel to shower, then to a jazz bar at night. There too I drank, ate, and laughed with Thai people.

A temple’s main hall at the top of a staircase, lined with pillars, a golden stupa on the right

Pad thai with shrimp on a white plate, served with lime, bean sprouts, and garlic chives

A statue of a hermit in a Ruesi Dat Ton pose with arms folded, in front of a white wall

Looking up at a stupa covered all over in porcelain fragments — Wat Arun

Mango sticky rice in a white bowl, dappled sunlight falling on the table

A Ferris wheel and warehouses on the far bank of the muddy Chao Phraya River

A glass of ice water with a straw on a wooden table

Som tam on a floral plate, sticky rice on the plate next to it, and a bowl of soup behind

A bottle of Singha and a foamy glass on a wooden table

Day four: massages and the market

I started with a traditional Thai massage: full body plus a head spa for 700 baht. It felt so good I fell asleep. I looked around One Bangkok, but it was all luxury brands and I couldn’t buy anything. I had a power bank but forgot the cable, and the one I bought at a dollar store broke right away, which got me down. At Chatuchak Market I picked out magnets and pottery. Before heading to the airport, one more massage. I got kneaded right up to the end.

The front of a café with houseplants and hammock chairs, two-story buildings in a row

Pad krapow rice topped with a fried egg, a bowl of soup beside it

A coffee shop along the sidewalk, motorbikes parked under eaves strung with light bulbs

A shopping mall with an atrium, shops lining the curved railings

Rice in a white bowl with red sauce on top, a small dish of soup in front

Back home

The fun parts were the massages, the temples, the beach activities, and talking a lot with locals. Taking that one step to try something, even if it costs money, is what stays with you most. The big shopping malls, honestly, weren’t that different from Japan.

A few lessons for next time. I forgot to bring my camera, with all that scenery. Don’t pick a currency exchange at random. Keep track of your money to the end, and use up your local currency. And cap it at 20,000 steps a day. Anything beyond that usually comes back to bite you the next day.

The departure floor at Suvarnabhumi Airport, travelers walking past golden decorations — The airport on the way home

I also put the trip together in a video.