Backpacking from Bangkok To Chiang Mai: Part 1 - Leaving Bangkok

I lost my job at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in the month of August 2020. At the time, I was renting a condo in the Sukhumvit area, close to the Nana BTS, smack bang in Bangkok's CBD. After just a bit less than 2 years as an expat in Bangkok, I felt as though I had spent too much time in the city, and not enough visiting the rest of the country.

Now, don't get me wrong; I had the time of my life in Bangkok! I often ended my nights in the red light districts. Sometimes for a few drinks, but most of the times in search of TLC from the cheeky, but intelligent and oh so gorgeous, bar girls. I even fell in love with the most beautiful of them all, but this is a story for another day.

It goes without saying, I was crushed that this leg of my life was coming to an end. With Covid-19 at its height, the chances of getting a new job as an expat was next to none. Trying to see the silver lining in being let go, I decided to set out on my first ever backpacking trip.

My idea was simple:

• do away with all of my unnecessary worldly belongings,
• choose one of Thailand's train lines, and
• travel via train to well-known touristic, and less so, destinations along the chosen line.

Being from Australia, project "Walk About" was born and adventure was calling.

Selling and giving away my belongings

I had no income anymore. Having lived large from day 1 in Bangkok, I had no savings in Thailand to speak of either. Also, over the course of 2 years there, I had accumulated a fair bit of "junk". The first order of business was therefore to sell as much of my stuff as possible, and to give away the rest.

In Thailand, the best way to sell your second hand items is via the Facebook marketplace. You can ask your Thai friends to invite you to the buy/sell groups that generate the most traffic, and post there.

As it turns out, I was only able to sell my ps4. I also had many computer parts, which did not sell because of the lack of the original boxes. In the Thai culture, people expect to buy second hand items that come in the original packaging. My ps4 was the only item that did.

I gave away the rest of my stuff to friends, and staff from my rental's building.

I only had my core belongings left, and it felt freeing.

Backpacking equipment

Having unburdened myself from the things that I did not need anymore, I next had to gear up for the trip ahead. Since I had never backpacked before, I searched the internet for the best advice in terms of buying and packing a backpack. Below is a list of the best articles I came upon:

• 7 Secrets to Packing Light,
• The Carry On Luggage Rules to Live By,
• The Definitive Carry On Packing List, and
• What to Pack for Thailand.

I proceeded to make a checklist of the most relevant advice in my situation:

Rules
[ ] Start with the right bag - buy second hand within dimension, weight, and budget constraints
[ ] Pack “Must Have,” Not “Just In Case”
[ ] Pack for One Week
[ ] Pack Layers, Not Bulk
[ ] If It’s Bulky, Wear It
[ ] Don’t Pack Anything Cheap, i.e. < $10
[ ] No Toiletry Gadgets

From those rules, I derived a complete checklist of all items I was packing on my trip. Below is my survival checklist:

Items Checklist
Documents
[ ] Passport
[ ] 2000 baht cash
[ ] Credit Card
[ ] Debit Card
[ ] Insurance card

Clothes
[ ] 10 t-shirts 3 good 7 average
[ ] 4 shorts
[ ] 10 boxer shorts
[ ] 2 pairs of socks
[ ] 1 jean
[ ] 2 face towels
[ ] 1 towel

Work
[ ] Laptop + charger
[ ] Phone + charger + earphones
[ ] Adapters & extension cord
[ ] Bluetooth speaker
[ ] Notepad + pens
[ ] Day backpack; to carry around while not at base-camp

Hygiene
[ ] Toothbrush, electric toothbrush, & toothpaste
[ ] Nail clippers
[ ] Shaving blade and small foam
[ ] Soap bar in zip lock bag
[ ] Hair clippers
[ ] Deodorant

Miscelleanous
[ ] Sunscreen
[ ] Insect repellent
[ ] Medkit - bandaid, panadol, anti-histamine, etc.
[ ] Toolkit - elastic bands, scotch tape, etc.
[ ] Umbrella

Gym
[ ] Skipping rope
[ ] Elastic bands
[ ] Leg rolling bar

I left my condo with my backpack on my back, and my day bag carried up front for a total weight of 14kgs; it was much heavier than I had aimed for, but I had packed with me everything I needed.

As I locked eyes with passersby, they seem to bid me godspeed and farewell with, what I imagined, a knowing smile hidden beneath their n95 masks.

First Destination

I settled on the Northern Train Line, with Ayutthaya as my first stop. I caught the MRT from the Sukhumvit station to the Bang Sue station, and made my way to the Bangkok Bang Sue Central Station.

After less than an hour waiting and nursing a hangover from my farewell party of the previous night, I boarded a train to Ayutthaya.