Traveling to a foreign country is like falling in love.

Falling in love.

I’ve always believed that traveling to a foreign country is like falling in love. All your senses are heightened; everything is new, exciting, and mysterious. You can almost taste the colors and touch the smells. You experience mundane things like the rain or city lights from a different perspective. This is especially true in places where I don’t speak the language. It is wonderful to be unable to understand most billboards and ads!

Architectonically, Bangkok is similar to South American capitals like Bogota or Santiago, but hotter. Other key differences include an efficient subway, an impeccable elevated train, express buses, and a wonderful river taxi system (local, semi express, and express). The signs and ways to purchase tickets are so well organized that even without help one can understand and navigate the system right away. The city is shockingly clean, safe, and well organized. When compared to New York and other “world capitals,” Bangkok is years ahead.

The mid-sized Lumphini Park is a small-scale version of Central Park right at the heart of the city. I arrived at sunrise, looking to photograph people jogging and meditating, and, indeed, I found that. However, I also spent some time with a tai chi master, was invited to have breakfast with a group of retired Chinese folks, and photographed a woman who in the 70’s was the number-one dancer in Thailand and number-three in all of Southeast Asia. Now she teaches others how to dance tango. She even gave me an autographed photo of herself!

The food in Thailand is phenomenally tasty and affordable. I often had lunch with an appetizer, two entrees, dessert, and a Pepsi. All for a bit less than three dollars, including tip. Here’s another tip: I strongly recommend that you NEVER peek behind a street vendor’s shop. It ain’t pretty. Trust me.

It always takes a few days to flush the “New Yorker” in me out of my system. I want things to be quick and efficient, and I hate to wait. People in Thailand, especially outside Bangkok, are NOT in a rush. It can be frustrating trying to squeeze in tiny corridors with hundreds of people moving slowly, or waiting forever for someone to show up. The only real option is to adapt, slow down, and go with the flow.

If you want to discover the local habits and avoid touristic clichés, Khlong Toei Market is the real deal. For two hours I was the only foreigner and the only one with a camera. A traveler’s paradise. It’s a short walk from the National Convention Center and it’s challenging, but it’s totally worth a visit. The fish and crabs were still alive, the calamari was swimming in its own ink and the pigs’ heads were still bleeding. Don’t wear flip-flops or sandals—what looks like blood is blood. Wear a shirt that you can wash right away, and plan to take a long shower immediately after visiting this market. The smells will stick to you, but so will the experience.

The first few days of visiting Buddhist wats are fascinating. All those colors and details. So much history, and so many traditions I can’t even begin to understand. The Emerald Buddha (which is really carved from green jade) was first DISCOVERED in 1434. The sacred image wears one of three seasonal costumes: Summer, Rainy Season, and Winter.

I was told that in Buddhist wats, the bells toll three times a day: once to announce the start of the day, once at noon, and once to signal the end of the day. Monks are prohibited from growing their own food, storing their own provisions, or cooking their own meals. I was very surprised to know that some of them are not vegetarians. In Thailand, they rely on whatever is freely given to them by others, and this might include meat. The monks eat twice a day—breakfast at 7 a.m. and lunch around noon. After that, they are only allowed to drink water and other liquids, but they can’t eat solid food and they can’t store food overnight.

After a few days of visiting wats, your eyes and mind stop seeing—you are there, wanting to be moved and inspired, but the feeling is harder and harder to recapture. In Europe we can get overloaded by visiting too many churches and museums in too short a time. In Asia, one can quickly experience wat and crowd overload. Be sure to enjoy those first few days of innocence and wonder.

Bangkok’s Chinatown is like the opening sequence from the 1994 film Chungking Express—chaotic, overcrowded, packed with long and narrow hallways, and hundreds of people walking extremely slowly. The two competing shopping malls are “China World” and “India Emporium.” It seems like a good commercial representation of the world.

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