Between Plastic and Mint: Culture and Impressions from Bangkok
There’s Something Strange About Being an Israeli Tourist in Bangkok
On one hand, you hear Hebrew everywhere—every waiter knows how to say Beteavon and Labriut. On the other hand, you instantly fall into a world that is so completely different from anything familiar.
Here are a few moments from the past few weeks—about the wild markets, how plastic rules this world, and how every public space smells like mint. But mostly, I found myself wondering how one small suitcase taught me what really matters. (Spoiler: not much.)
📍 January 21, 2023 | Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok’s Markets
How One Suitcase Taught Me to Choose What Really Matters
One of the amazing things about Bangkok is its incredibly efficient public transport system—trains, vans, private cars, tuk-tuks, and even motorbikes. The downside? No helmets. There’s no law requiring them, so only those who want to wear one do. Still, motorcycle taxis are a genius invention—I wish we had them back home.
We went to the weekend market, a massive space divided into sections and only open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays. You can find literally anything—food, furniture, electronics, art, clothes, accessories, pet supplies, and even pets. It’s easy to get sucked into the maze of stalls and even easier to get lost. Since we all wanted to explore at our own pace, we shared our locations in a WhatsApp group, and when we wanted to reunite, we found each other easily.
Calling each other wouldn’t have worked. No matter how much I’d try to describe my surroundings, everything looked the same.
We remembered an old trick from ten years ago—buying a lightweight fabric suitcase to stuff all our market purchases in. That way, there was no need to carry heavy bags, and we could keep shopping without worry. And if there’s one place worth going all out, it’s here.
Everything is so cheap—even cheaper than I remembered. Clothes and shoes for just a few shekels, food for pocket change, and furniture at a fraction of what it would cost back home. My family was in awe—it was their first time in Thailand, after all—and they filled the suitcase with all sorts of things.
I, on the other hand, only bought a new pair of flip-flops because mine were on their last legs. That’s what happens when you wear them everywhere.
I don’t have a list of things I want, and definitely not things I need. If anything, I calculate every gram in my suitcase and think twice before buying something new. This little suitcase is teaching me what truly matters—and I’m starting to like that.
That evening, I went out with my brother and brother-in-law to their usual bar district. We started at a bar, then moved on to a massive club with a mesmerizing drag show. It was such a weird feeling being in a club where everyone around me was a man and no one cared about me at all. More than that, they gave me looks like, What are you even doing here?
But the feeling passed quickly, and I had the best time—fun, hilarious, and unforgettable.
We ended the night with another over-the-top, electrifying performance. I totally get why people are obsessed with these shows—you can’t help but get swept up in the energy, the humor, and the pure extravagance. These are men who are also women—or maybe that doesn’t even matter. It’s art. And it’s incredible.
📍 January 24, 2023 | Bangkok, Thailand
Less Sustainable
When the Waiter Disappears and Plastic Takes Over the World
We went to a restaurant we had been waiting to visit for a long time. The food was amazing, the dishes were delicious, and the experience could have been perfect—if only the service had been good. Okay, it didn’t have to be great, but at least not terrible.
The service was awful. They got our order wrong, everything took forever, and there was almost never a waiter around. It’s a shame when service like this overshadows an otherwise excellent meal.
Afterward, we visited one of the city's observation towers—a relatively new one featuring a glass floor on the 78th floor, designed to push your fear of heights to the extreme. The busiest time of day is right before sunset, when you can catch the city’s skyline in daylight, then watch the sunset, and finally see Bangkok lit up at night.
The rooftop view is absolutely breathtaking. The river winds its way through the bustling city, skyscrapers form a stunning metropolis, and a layer of haze blankets everything. Once, we might have thought this was just poor visibility. Today, we know—it’s probably the world’s worst air pollution.
One day, we wandered into a supermarket, and it was mesmerizing. The food culture in Asia is completely different from anything I know. Sure, European supermarkets are cool, and Mexican ones feel very American, but here—here, I saw things I had never even imagined. Exotic flavors, fascinating combinations, unfamiliar snacks, new types of chocolate—so many things written in a language I couldn't read but desperately wanted to taste.
Everything here is wrapped in plastic. They waste plastic on a ridiculous level. Back home, we try to save every straw. Here? When you buy an iced coffee that already comes in a plastic cup with a plastic straw wrapped in paper, they hand it to you in a plastic bag for easy carrying—along with a paper napkin.
If you walk around the streets at lunchtime, you’ll see office workers carrying plastic bags filled with styrofoam containers of Thai food, surrounded by tiny plastic bags containing sauces and side dishes.
In supermarkets, most products are sold in plastic packaging—even single items like a lone banana sealed in its own plastic bag. It’s all about convenience, making it easy to grab and go, especially since most Thai homes don’t have kitchens. When eating out is so cheap, spending time cooking just isn’t worth it.
📍 January 30, 2023 | Melbourne, Australia
Final Post About Thailand
From Mint to Muay Thai: Things I Learned About Thailand
I’ve started. I feel better—maybe just in my head, but that’s enough to take the first step. Literally.
Right before I move on to a new continent, here’s one last post about Thailand (I promise):
Thailand is incredibly friendly to Israelis. Just like Playa del Carmen in Mexico, you’ll find signs in Hebrew on the streets, plenty of workers who know a few Hebrew words, Hebrew conversations all around, and a hotel full of Israelis searching for cheese—and not finding any.
In Thailand, cows aren’t raised for dairy, only for meat (apparently, not the same kind of cow). And even that is rare. There are also no olive trees here, so olive oil isn’t very common either.
Every hotel, massage parlor, and most public places are filled with the scent of mint—a lemongrass-like aroma that instantly relaxes the body. The soaps smell of green tea, refreshing every inch of your skin. There’s something about Thai culture that deeply respects the body and its connection to the soul, and I love that. It’s so different from the high-strung culture we have back home.
Most public restrooms here have bidets, and sometimes there’s a single toilet paper dispenser outside the stalls. The restrooms, even in the most remote villages, are surprisingly clean. Maybe I arrived with my Mexico standards—simple like Thailand, but nowhere near as clean.
Muay Thai is the national sport, which makes me realize that Thailand isn’t so different from Mexico after all. The prices here are even lower than in Mexico—you can get a full meal or a cocktail for just a few shekels.
As a cocktail lover, Thailand is paradise. Every bar, big or small, has an extensive cocktail menu spanning multiple pages. They’re all exotic, refreshing, and most of them are absolutely delicious. Honestly, this is what I had expected from Mexico, but over there, the popular drinks are mostly just the classic cocktails that everyone already knows.
Here, it feels like they’ve made an effort to extract every possible fruit flavor in every imaginable way—to truly indulge the senses.
Because tap water here is completely undrinkable, bottled water is extra sweet—same as in Mexico. It’s meant to help you notice the difference and avoid drinking untreated water by mistake. In Ibiza, for example, tap water is extremely salty to prevent people from drinking it.
The sun in the Thai islands is stronger than in Mexico. And to be honest? Even in Israel, after an hour in the summer sun, you can feel your skin burning. In Mexico, the sun is warm but gentle—you can spend hours on the beach at midday without feeling overwhelmed by the heat.
In most restaurants here, they bring the silverware and plates after the food arrives. In Israel, people would have been fired for less.
Sometimes I wonder if the magic of new places is, first and foremost, in the eyes that see them. The most fascinating things in Bangkok are actually the smallest details—the scent of mint in public restrooms, the waiter lining up for food, the plastic bags wrapped around every single banana. Things the locals probably don’t even think about for a second.
Maybe that’s why I love being on the move so much—the ability to notice what’s special in what seems ordinary to someone else.
And also—this is an important point—the cocktails in Bangkok are way better than in Mexico.
Behind The Scenes
More stories from Thailand:
Resting Along the Way: On Sickness, Expectations, and Roadblocks
From North to South: Finding My Rhythm in Krabi’s Tropical Paradise
Your support helps me keep experiencing new worlds and sharing them with you through my words. Sometimes, a single cup of coffee can make a difference.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Who Am I? | The Journey Through Time | The Daily Journey