Chaotic, exotic and very, very hot. Full of life, movement, smoke, pollution and noise. That’s how I would describe Bangkok. The capital of Thailand is a mosaic of colors, ornaments, architecture, and paintings. It is not a city that makes you fall in love at first sight, but the kindness and joy of its people will captivate you.

Known as the gateway to Southeast Asia, it is a mix up of skyscrapers, temples, Buddhas surrounded by offerings, “tuk-tuks”, floating markets, street food and flower stalls, with a subway that runs through it all in the city. It requires a couple days to know it better.

You should not miss the Grand Palace. For 500 Thai Baht’s (15 USD), you get to see this giant complex built in 1782. It comprises a series of majestic temples including the royal palace and the temple of the Emerald Buddha, which is the most revered in the country.

The line to enter seems endless, and inside, there is a tidal wave of Asian tourists who arrive daily to visit the seat of the Thai monarchy. When entering the temples, you must be barefoot and always covered. You are not allowed to take photos inside.

The décor, the small carved pieces and the precious stones that make up each pagoda have an otherworldly beauty, which will definitely make you gawk. A few blocks away is the reclining Buddha of Wat Pho, a statue that measures 43 meters.

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Bangkok is much more than temples. Take a ‘tuk-tuk’ (a three-wheeled motorized vehicle used as a taxi) and haggle a little for the price, so you can go through the shortcuts and discover Chinatown.

Here, the delicious smells will come from everywhere, especially fish, and then cross to Khao San Road, the famed backpacker street that is full of restaurants and nightlife.

At night, my next stop was the Lebua Tower, and to be precise: the SkyBar. This famous rooftop came to be known from the Hangover 2 movie and it’s one of the most popular in the world. From the 64th floor you have all the lights of the city for yourself .

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The bar is small and without chairs. It is permanently full because all tourists want to live the experience. I suggest you order the Hangovertini, a cocktail that was specially created due to the films popularity and has green tea liquor and Martini Rosso. After a few, you might believe that Bradley Cooper will be coming down the stairs. Pricing starts from 20 USD.

On my last day in Bangkok, I skipped a long list of amazing sites, due for my next visit, and headed instead to the Ayutthaya archaeological center. This is known as an iconic place in Thailand.

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My tour included Wat Maharat (Temple of the Buddha Head). And although the citadel is completely in ruins, the famous buddha head surrounded by the roots of a tree, is perhaps one of the most famous photographs from Thailand.

In the ancient ruins you can see the number of beheaded Buddha figures during the last Burmese invasion. The Burmese decided to destroy them as a punishment in the conquering raid.

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To visit the temple, the taxi (round trip) from the hotel cost 30USD. There are also buses and trains available. The journey can take about 5 hours. The temple staff recommend renting bicycles or taking tuk tuks to visit all the temples. But with a temperature of 40 degrees centigrade, I decided to tour the park in a taxi.

Sadly, my visit in Bangkok was really short. There are other sites like the Floating Market and Temple of the Dawn (Wat Arun) that cannot be overlooked. Despite the short time, the 10 days I spent in Thailand were an unforgettable experience. The smiles and friendliness of its people will be the best memory of the country.

Tailandia me eligió. Me atrevo a decirlo porque nunca estuvo en mi lista de viajes. Al menos no en el 2016. Solo apareció y en el momento indicado. Fueron 10 días en los que la palabra ‘plan’ no estuvo en mi agenda. Solo me aventuré a un continente totalmente desconocido. El sudeste asiático.

No me arrepiento. El país me atrevo a decirlo, es uno de los más cautivadores. Sus maravillosas playas y sus magistrales templos te envuelven y sus extremos contrastes son su atractivo, su esencia.

La religiosidad, su lealtad al Rey y la prostitución pueden compartir incluso el mismo perímetro. Y lo mejor, es que no necesitas una fortuna para disfrutarlo sino que con poco presupuesto puedes hacerlo.

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Era noviembre y el motivo: El Yi Peng o el festival de las linternas en Chiang Mai, norte de Tailandia. Buscar los tickets aéreos no fue difícil con Expedia. Una semana antes del evento (13 de Nov) los encontré en 630 USD por China Southern Airlines. Pero el precio puede bajar más con anticipación.

Eso sí, el primer vuelo desde New York tiene un promedio de 16 horas y casi todos tienen extensas escalas en ciudades chinas que nunca habías escuchado y en las que difícilmente hablan ingles, por lo que debes estar preparado. En mi caso fueron siete horas en Guangzhou, China y en luego ocho en Bangkok, para finalmente arribar a Chiang Mai.

En cuestión de alojamiento, el abanico de opciones es extenso. Hostales, hoteles lujosos, bed & breakfast ubicados en el sector histórico de la ciudad con diferentes precios. Elegí Fuengfa Place 34USD por una habitación con dos camas.

Chiang Mai es una ciudad con mucho tráfico y ruido, pero sus imponentes templos budistas son la principal atracción. En cada calle los monjes con sus trajes naranjas decoran la ciudad. Y los tuk tuks (tricimotos) y los songthaew (furgonetas colectivas) le dan el toque urbano.

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Los sitios que son parada obligatoria: Templo Wat Pa Prao Nok, Wat Phra Singh, Wat Phan Tao, Wat Phra That Doi Suthep y el más antiguo Wat Chedi Luang Worawihan por el cual solo pagas 1,50USD. El bazar y el mercado nocturno son los sitios perfectos para comprar.

Los precios son el enganche perfecto. Por ejemplo, en un día tus gastos pueden incluir 0.60USD en movilización, 5USD por un almuerzo completo, cervezas como la Chang en 1USD, cocos 0.50USD, camisetas en 3USD, carteras por 10USD. Y el famoso masaje tailandés por 6USD.

Mis amigos y yo rentamos un taxi para poder tomar los tours fuera la ciudad. La primera parada fue en un centro de rescates de elefantes. Por 79USD entramos a Elephant Nature Park. Alimentar, pasear y bañar a nuestra amiga Satawy por dos horas fue inolvidable.

Luego, con los nervios de punta entramos a las jaulas de los tigres y finalizamos en la tribu de las mujeres de ‘cuello largo’.

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Finalmente era la noche del 13 de noviembre. La luna llena era el marco perfecto para iniciar el festival de linternas que ocurre todos los años. Como no alcanzamos a comprar los tickets para el evento principal, tuvimos que irnos a un pueblo llamado Lumpung.

En ese sitio el tour nos costó 60 USD incluía el transporte, cupones para comida, la entrada y las linternas.

Soltar y dejar todo lo malo es parte de la doctrina budista. Los rezos y las bendiciones de los monjes, el encender las linternas y soltarlas fue tan mágico. Miles de luces amarillas adornaban el cielo, tal como la película Rapunzel.

Por un segundo te sumerges en ese espectáculo donde no sabes si tomar fotos, abrazar a los que están contigo o soltar tu linterna. Ese momento fue un ‘visto’ en nuestra lista de “cosas por hacer” o “bucket list”.

Una vez terminado el evento nuestro siguiente destino era descubrir el sur y sus playas. Pero hasta este punto recomiendo Tailandia. Mochilera o aventurera es un destino al que no le puedes decir que no.

The rift narrowed little by little. The path was rocky and at times zigzagged. All around us, the stones took on shades of red, brown, gray, orange, and yellow. But, after a kilometer, the panorama changed. It was darkening and, in the background, through a thin entrance, an imposing pink light illuminated the route. 

Our guide told us. “Close your eyes until I warn you.” We were impatient. We already knew that we were meters away from observing “The Treasury”. We advance a few meters and finally open them. 

We had seen it in photos on social networks, novels and even in the movie “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” Now it was our turn.

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We were in Petra, the pink city in the middle of the Jordanian desert. The capital of the Nabatean kingdom for at least 8 centuries (B.C.) and one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, since 2007. 

Literally speechless, we were looking at the Al-khazna, known as “The Treasury of Petra”. A building literally sculpted out of sandstone rock, as is the entire ancient city. Its magnificent 40-meter-high facade, almost intact, would make anyone believes that it was built only a few centuries ago. But, according to the guides, there are legends that it was the tomb of a pharaoh in the 1st century AD. 

It was a trip to the past or to the movies. Camels, donkeys, Bedouin merchants selling handicrafts and carriages with horses transporting tourists. It all made the site charming. Suddenly, a “Wifi” sign brought us back to reality. It was the right time to use Snapchat, Instagram or record live for Facebook.

Petra was on the bucket list of my tour. My group arrived from Australia, the United States (Boston, San Francisco, New York, Chicago), Argentina, Paraguay, Spain and Mexico and landed in Israel. We left Eilat (south Israel) at 7am, crossed the border into Jordan and after 2 hours by bus, and 2 hours of walking, we made it to the site. 

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The entrance to the city is made through the Siq, a narrow canyon, one kilometer long, surrounded by cliffs that rise to 80 meters high 

The journey inside Petra begins from Al Khazna. It’s fascinating to observe a whole city sculpted on the rock and see a mosaic of colors reveal themselves as the sun goes down. Due to erosion, some buildings have lost their shape, but the influence of the cultures that lived in the city is noticeable.

Starting off the Greek pillars of the “Treasury”, through the Roman Theater, the tombs with pyramid designs and the Urn Tomb that was a Byzantine church. You can argue that modernity has left its mark too, since the bathrooms are equipped with hand dryers. 

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Camels accompanied us on the long journey. One option was to pay to get on one, ride a carriage or just walk it out. The group decided to make it on foot 

After 4 hours of walking, 3 bottles of water, a Gatorade and 800 stairs carved out of the rock, we arrived at the last stop: The Ad-Deir Monastery. More than the temple, the view towards the desert leaves you speechless. And, standing on the rock and extending your arms made you feel like the king of the world. 

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On the way back, we had to speed it up. On 1-day tours you cannot visit all of Petra. Time is limited and you had to cross back into Israel before 8pm. I returned to the bus with the satisfaction of crossing the fantastic Pink City off my bucket list. 

TO NOTE:

• Petra is located 240 km south of Jordan’s capital Amman and 120 km north of the Red Sea. 
• Visiting Jordan requires a visa, which is obtained in advance at the country’s embassy, ​​or easily at the Amman’s airport or on the border with Israel. The cost is 60 USD. 
• The Jordanian currency is the Jordan Dinar (JD). At the moment of my trip, it was equivalent to 1.41 US dollar (USD). 
• The ticket has a value of 50JD (71USD) if it is for one day and 55JD (78 USD) for two. It is advisable to stay two days to be able to visit the extensive area 
• In my case, I chose a tour that started from Eilat, Israel. The cost was 216 USD. They pick you up from the hotel and process the visa to cross the border. www.tourisisrael.com 
• You can enter visitpetra.jo for information on hotels on the outskirts of Petra.