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Heya everyone! Hope you are well, welcome back to the Journal of a Journey.
I am finally caught up with where I actually am now so can give more insights and thoughts in this issue than just recounting the events.
Thank you for all the feedback that I have gotten, keep it coming!!
My apartment is in an area of Bangkok called Rama IX, named after the previous king. The monarchy is quite present in Thai society, I’ve watched two films in the cinema now (Backrooms and Obsession) and before each screening they play what I assume is the national anthem and on the screen it says all rise for the King (Rama X now).
I haven’t actually seen anyone stand up though…
You might have seen in the news a few weeks ago that the Thai Princess died. She was in a coma for a couple of years and passed away the day before I arrived in Thailand. The majority of billboards are still of her and there are public shrines/memorials set up everywhere.
The skyline from my apartment has a view straight onto a massive building that displays ‘Long Live The King’ & ‘Long Live The Queen’ nightly. There is a general sense among the Thai that they are quite different from the rest of Asia.
The only country in the region to not be colonised, and it shows. There is a very unique culture (although it has become quite Americanised in the centre), everyone I’ve met has been very friendly and I assumed that the Brits were kinda hated over here because of our ‘lads lads lads’ stereotype but everyone has been super kind.
I’ve been getting my Thai language skills down a little, and successfully asked how are you to someone and it was understood! That being said, the majority of young people (and people in general) speak pretty good English but there is still a massive difference in reception when you at least try to speak Thai.
I’ve noticed that you literally cannot go wrong in saying your gender’s polite term to pretty much everything (ka for women, krap for men). It seems to mean ok, good, yes, really?, hello, bye and cheers. Yes is easy to remember as well - Chai, as I just think of tea each time. And then no is simply Mai Chai, nice and easy.
Like Mandarin though, Thai is a tonal language and it does sound like I’m being a bit racist when I hold out the krap e.g - Sawadee kraaaaaaaaap, but it’s one of the tones and you need to hold it otherwise it can sound like a completely different word.
As for what I’ve been up to, all sorts, I thought I would run through a pretty typical day in the life of funemployment:
Wake up, scran some scrambled eggs (not very Thai but oh well)
Get a Grab (remember those?) to a cafe (I’ve been rotating most days and have become a local in a few of them so don’t even need to say my order anymore!).
Either work on this, my kinda part-time job (data training for AI, but it’s super boring), parom (more on this later!) or website building for both this and parom.
Before I forget, I have been working on a website to keep all of these blogs and format them better. This email service does work but I’d prefer to have them all up on my own website as well. Check it out - joaj.net
It’s been great fun actually to get stuck back into coding, I forgot how satisfying it is when things eventually click together with what you are making, it really is just like Lego tbh.
While it did cost some money to get the domains I feel like it’s worth it to have autonomy and ownership of my writings.
After grabbing some lunch around the cafe normally I work a little more and then head back to the apartment to reload for Muay Thai (thai boxing). It’s so brutal.
Sessions are normally an hour and a half of pure sweat. The trainers don’t take any excuses and if you start flagging in the last sparring session they will just straight up target your head with hooks lol
It has been really good fun to do, I did want to do much more running than I have done but it’s wayyyy too humid and treadmill running just isn’t for me. Maybe if I wake up early enough I can actually get out before it’s impossible.
Talking of getting out, you (well maybe just me tbf) can’t go outside for more than a few minutes before a layer of sweat appears on your skin, it’s ridiculous.
Again, I thought to myself I’ll walk to the coffee shops and stuff but I did that on one of the days and I got there drenched and then with the AC in the coffee shop I ended up pretty cold, just not worth it.
I’m becoming a bit of a pro at catching grabs as well, not quite at the level of side-sitting but able to somewhat relax and talk to the driver as we weave through Bangkok’s awful traffic.
They do have a metro system (above ground) but it doesn’t have many lines and the stations are all too far from me to justify sweating to walk there.
Anywho, after Muay Thai I normally pop back to my local mall and grab munch in the food court, they have so many options and loads of them are Michelin recommended. You can eat a whole full-on Japanese spread for around 250 Baht (around £5.50), it’s really good value.
As I mentioned earlier sometimes I treat myself to watching a film or even getting a massage (much needed after Muay Thai).
The massage culture is super cool here (not talking about sketchy ones lol), there does seem to be a real emphasis on just looking after your body, from massage places to clinics for pretty much every single need possible. I feel like in the UK that’s still kinda seen as odd if men go to them but here you see the most macho fighters getting their feet scrubbed with cucumbers in their eyes.
This even extends into Thailand’s approach to Cannabis. While you technically need a prescription to get it, many places just openly advertise that they give a free prescription with each purchase. Additionally, the dispensaries are seen in a similar light to spas, a place to just unwind and have a bit of R&R. More on this in the thought of the week!
Talking about unwinding, I’ve got to touch on Bangkok’s parks. While there aren’t many of them, they are awesome!
Lumphini park in particular is home to all sorts of creatures, activities and foods. The place is a thriving hub, open pretty much 24/7 with early morning run clubs and late night public aerobics. Monitor lizards roam freely and the local cats seem to have a very friendly relationship with them!
It is so cool to see a public space like that actually being used to pretty much the capacity of what it was made for. Bangkok could definitely do with more green spaces but Lumphini and Benjakitti do a lot for the cause.
While the majority of walkways are awful in Bangkok, pavements just erode into the road and are full of obstacles, there is a really nice sky-bridge type thing between Lumphini and Benjakitti park. Not only is it super useful to not have to wait for like 5 minutes for the lights to change when crossing the road, it means you can get some serious mileage in running while staying in green spaces.
It would be super cool if there was a Thames-path type thing for the river in Bangkok though. The shops and restaurants seem to have pretty much free-range when it comes to fixtures outside of their actual shop with stuff kinda all over the place.
This chaos does actually make for some really unique and cool places though. One example is a coffee shop that I found on Google Maps. I got to the place and it seemed like a pretty run-down looking alley so I thought it must have shut down or just not been there in the first place. I was literally just about to turn away when I heard the grrrrrrrrrrr of coffee beans being ground, it was here somewhere!
It turns out I had to walk through this metal-workshop and go upstairs to find this sick little coffee shop, they did have signs for coffee to be fair but they were all in Thai lol.
A lot of places are quite hidden like that. The things out in the open are the western-style shops and malls with all the known brands but honestly, although the malls are really cool, it does feel a bit like duty-free at an airport so I have been trying to find the more local side of Bangkok.
Fortunately, someone who was in a group project in my last year of uni is actually Thai and she was currently in Bangkok before relocating to Singapore. We met up yesterday actually for a little coffee chat (never thought I’d be doing one of those out here lol) and I got a ton of recommendations which I will work my way through for the rest of my time in BKK.
Our meeting came just at the right time for me in Bangkok, my place in Rama IX is due to run out in a couple of days and I was looking for a new side of Bangkok to stay in for the next month. Upon her recommendations I have found a place in an area called Ari, I’d describe it as somewhere between Shoreditch and Peckham, a very artsy place but with a raw undertone.
I was kind of fed up of being in this international bubble that I had tried to get away from in the first place. Rama IX is nice but it’s full of so many expats (lots of Chinese people interestingly) and just felt kinda sterile with everything geared up for convenience. I’m hoping Ari will be different!
Talking about different, my rent is lower in this next place (~£450 a month, on the high-side for Ari) so it has freed up some funds for parom!
Without sounding too linkedin-posty - parom (yes, stylised lowercase) is a fashion brand I started up for some reason during exam season of my last year at uni. It started because I genuinely just couldn’t find a t-shirt design I liked so I got my own printed and actually really enjoyed the process.
The brand is positioned as being anti-algorithm and very much human-first. You probably know that for like 5 years I had my phone in black and white and have been recently doing digital detoxes to help get the phone out of my life even more. parom serves as almost an extension of that. Along a similar line of thinking it is all about human authenticity, vulnerability and the human journey; something AI cannot experience.
It has already taken me on a journey. I’ve seen two suppliers this past week and had a sample of a cap made that I’m pretty happy with (for now the first product is a cap so I can figure out the whole supply and production logistics).
I’ve also spent some time getting a launch page up so I have some credibility with suppliers which I’ve noticed is going to be a bit of an issue.
They always seem very surprised when I walk into the factory and ask about my meeting and pretty much the first thing they say is “omg you so young”, and I’m like “yea cuhhhhhh”.
In all seriousness though, I think there is a need to show that I mean business, even though I am technically their customer, as it can lead to better deals and respect.
That being said, feel free to check out paromapparel.com and @paromapparel on Instagram for updates and stuff relating to that, I’m hoping to get the first product launched during this Bangkok leg.
Enough of a sales pitch…
With the combination of this blog and the comeback of my personal Instagram (@nutbrowngram) I have really fallen in love with creating content again. Something that I had wayyyy back in my ManageMe days (shoutout MM) and honestly a big part of it is you guys! Hearing about how some of you read this as breakfast reading or on the commute or on the toilet(?!) makes my day each time I hear it.
It’s exactly why I made this, just to sort of ramble, not even needing anyone to read it but it’s very nice when they do :D
I think I may be coming into my influencer arc. Something I detested ever since I heard the word for the first time…
We’ll see, I’ll keep doing what I enjoy in terms of what I make and one day I’ll either have to stop and get a real job or might be on the next season of Traitors. It’s make or break babyyy.
As always, hope you are all well. Let’s all have a great day/night/morning/whenever you are reading this. Cheers!
Thought of the Week↗
Some of you may know that I have been dealing with random panic attacks and stuff recently and while I was in the UK I found that CBD (the non psychoactive part of cannabis) is actually really helpful. In Thailand they can do stronger concentrations of CBD and even offer pure CBD joints which are pretty cool so I have once or twice spent an evening smoking up and journaling while I do so, it’s honestly been so helpful.
I think a big contributor to my attacks and just general unwell feeling was alcohol. I haven’t replaced it with CBD as I don’t want to consume anywhere near that much but I certainly see the mindset of being ‘California Sober’.
In fact, I feel silly even saying this because it was never a problem, but, I have only had one beer since the bois came over. I say it was never a problem but part of me was very aware that on any sort of event where alcohol was involved I found it very difficult to stop and it wouldn’t only wipe me out for the next day (sometimes multiple) but it would also nuke my wallet.
Having that one beer recently I sort of realised I genuinely just am not a fan of the effect I get from alcohol anymore. Being tipsy is fun yes but it just puts me off-kilter now, fixating on the next drink, chasing the inebriation, rather than enjoying the moment. I’m not sure when it turned from being an accessory into the main event of the night but I have noticed that and am most definitely reining it in.
I’ve been really trying to focus on my health and general wellbeing recently as well, just learning to relax and have a bit more self-love.
Album of the Week↗
Africa - Amanaz - 1975↗
Those in the know may have realised that the title of this issue: ‘Thoughts from a balcony’ comes from Mac Miller’s Macadelic album. I could recommend another Mac album but we have already had Faces so I think it is somebody else’s turn.
Last issue we dived into some psychedelia and if there is one album that is the cornerstone for my personal favourite type of psychedelia it is Africa. This album by Amanaz is a true pioneering album out of Zambia. I came across it a few years ago, I’m not really sure how but it has since been in heavy rotation and I even managed to get my hands on the deluxe CD (which has both the normal and the reverb mix).
Most of you will know my favourite artist by far is Travis Scott because he sits right in the intersection of all music genres I like. On his most recent solo album, UTOPIA, I was genuinely overjoyed when I heard he had sampled a track from Africa (SIRENS sampled Nsunka Lwendo). It felt like I had gone so deep into the search that I had found the inspiration to my favourite artist.
He picked a great track to sample but the whole of the Africa album is just pure energy. The sort of thing you can blast from the speaker on a Sunday morning while you have your coffee and read the latest JOAJ issue. In fact, there is even a track called Sunday Morning!
The reverb version has also been released on streaming platforms so highly recommend listening to both. My favourite track is Green Apple, it just oozes positivity and, in a non-cringe way, vibes. If you listen to it, let me know what you think!!
Note - Just as I add the finishing touches to this issue, I have officially moved out of Rama IX, peace. Ari-gato