Right now we’re on the plane from Bangkok to Tokyo, Japan. As Jeroen has to work and I could ‘clear my agenda’, we decided to go a bit longer so we can discover this city together.

Diazepam

It is now half-past two in the morning, the lights in the plane are off and around me, I hear some snoring. I think I’m the only one who doesn’t sleep at all (and that with diazepam and 10 kilometers in the legs) so no better time to write a blog about my adventure of today or yesterday.

Expat groups

Everyone who comes to Bangkok has seen it. The Grand Palace, Wat Arun, Wat Pho, the countless night markets, shopping malls and the tuk-tuks. Through an expat group on Facebook for people who live in Bangkok, I found the BKK City Hike. By the way, these expatriate groups are quite useful for wherever you are. Expats are everywhere and they give you tips on social media all day long. Sometimes to get crazy about, but now very handy!

BKK City Hike

BKK City Hike is an organization that organizes five-hour walks through the city. During this walk, you won’t see any known tourist attractions, but you will be taken to unknown places. It’s a lot of fun when you’re sick and tired of all the Chinese and Dutch people around you and want to escape them.

Pay what you think it’s worth

This organization works via the ‘Pay what you think it’s worth’ model. They have chosen this approach because they want to make the walk accessible to everyone. This way, backpackers with a smaller budget can participate as well as expats who come to discover Bangkok for a weekend. And that works perfectly, in a small group of up to eight people you get to know each other quickly. At the end of the tour, there will be an envelope where you can put money in. This often varies between 400 and 1000 baht (€11-€30).

Tourists

The person behind this all is originally from Pakistan, but is now called ‘citizen of the world’. A lot easier than explaining that you have lived in Pakistan, America, England and Australia. He has been living in Bangkok for four years now and works in the tourism industry. During a conversation with two German travellers, he asked them what they wanted to see in Bangkok. They replied that they preferred to go to places where there were not that many tourists. He set out a route and within a few months, this became a real tour with tourists all over the world.

Puppies

At half-past eight the tour starts and ends around two o’clock with a lunch with a view over the river. This lunch is not a nice restaurant with air conditioning, but on plastic chairs with one menu for the whole place. Here you can recover from the walk and enjoy a plate with rice and chicken. In between you visit a local market, several temples, a Portuguese church, a very special Chinese house (with puppies, huge plus) and you pass street art and take a ride on a boat. Highly recommended to go out with a local guide and see something different from the big attractions of Bangkok.

Tokyo

In the meantime, we have arrived in Tokyo and I have slept for at least two hours. But the enthusiasm wins over the tiredness so we get on our bikes (after six months) to explore the city!