my time in thailand

welcome to introspection ft. harsehaj! ⭐️ i’m harsehaj, a 19 y/o always up to something in social good x tech.

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onto today’s topic: my time in thailand 🇹🇭 

when i stepped outside the phuket airport to the beautiful sunset view, i was left in awe. i forgot how glorious sunsets could be — i didn’t see much in korea, let alone during the toronto winter. yes tanzania’s sunsets were beautiful, but this was absolutely stunning. the entire sky was painted orange and the patterns of clouds, colours and the sun’s rays were crystal clear. 🌅

it made for a good first impression. :)

if i had to describe my experience in 3 words it would probably be: motorbikes, hospitality and beauty. thailand offered me my first taste of motorbikes as a common mode of transportation. my favourite memories were watching the rapidly changing landscape while on the back of a motorbike that i called just like a taxi. 🚕

a few of the friends i made in korea had already travelled to thailand and all shared that people in thailand are so much more friendly in comparison. i didn’t think the staff or locals in korea were unfriendly though, they just kept to themselves and got the job done efficiently. once i landed in thailand, however, i immediately understood what they were talking about. hospitality is huge everywhere! i think the culture of smiling and showing respect to everyone plays a large part in it. i felt welcomed in every restaurant i walked into and unsolicited kindness was a common occurrence. tipping culture isn’t even prevalent in the parts i visited, so the hospitality truly was genuine.

thailand’s beauty was unreal. i’m not a huge beach girly, but with views of the ocean bluer than i’ve ever seen it and surrounded by lush forests, i loved laying on the beach and tapping through a book on my kindle. it was bliss. 🏖️

as always, my rapid fire highlights:

• motorbike rides.

• taking a nap along bamboo island’s coast.

• climbing rocks at banana beach.

• maya bay’s spectacular view.

• waking up for the sunrise at patong beach.

• finally mastering how to use chopsticks. 🥢

• devouring dessert with randy.

• visiting an elephant reserve!

• getting coconut icecream on the saudak floating market’s canals.

• discovering mangochid, a fruit native to southeast asia.

• seeing a muay thai fight. 🥊

• checking out the massive 5-story thrift building across chatuchak market (ty sitara for the rec).

• sunsets.

• any food literally anywhere.

while thailand was a feast for my eyes (and stomach), this trip was also my first encounter with major setbacks and working towards solving them. rather than letting them deter me, i welcomed the challenge with open arms. i was rejected from vietnam and ended up needing to stay an extra two days in bangkok, which i already wrote all about in another post. it was a testament to my resilience, and weirdly enough, i felt so accomplished. i knew from the beginning that things were going to go wrong. it’s inevitable, but i’m glad that my confidence in remaining positive and powering through wasn’t unfounded.

i’ve problem solved in math class, in group assignments, and in rapidly getting funding for projects among many other things. i guess i can add problem solving while backpacking asia solo to the list now. the skill was only further honed during my time in vietnam but you guys already know all about that LOL.

setbacks are a mindset. 🤓 everything is an opportunity for another story to tell and skills to practice.

i’ve been getting a few emails asking about pics! i spam all of them on my instagram story. ;)

daily opportunity + resource drops 🔍️