Get Lost! Be Farang!

If you think about it, travel is such a pain in the bum! Seriously!

I mean you spend a good part of you day deciding on the grave matter of what to wear for 4 days. Then, you have to figure out how to fit all that into your weathered suitcase. Then, on the day itself, you have to wake up at some crazy hour just to catch your flight where you try to sleep in your seat but can't because of the sound of the engine. Then when you get to your destination, you just get lost and end up feeling like one big farang.

Wait! Isn't that the point of travel anyway? To get lost and be farang? To remove whoever you are and embrace, if only for a moment, the culture and ways of another? To get to know a culture that isn't yours and find out that you aren't so different? To remove your state of mind and understand another? To get enchanted by the sights and sounds of a place considered normal by those around you?
Farang-ness and getting lost is a huge part of travel. And what makes a destination extra special is the way they can turn that innate farang-ness of you as a traveller and embrace you as one of their own. The way they can make you get lost.

These are a bunch of places I wouldn't mind getting lost and farang in again and again (Did I mention I like the word farang?! Farang = Thai for "foreigner", by the way.). This is inspired by Myungs who did her own list here. These are just some of them, actually. There are a whole lot of places I'd love to go to, actually. I guess these are just my top ones:

1. Sydney

And yes, that means I don't live in Sydney...yet! I'm just pre-empting my living there (which will probably be in 2 years).

You know how there are cities that are great places to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there? This isn't one of them. It's an amazing place to visit and an even more amazing place to live in! The vibrant, multicultural city has everything in it. Great food. Great beaches. Great nightlife. But most of all, great people. Great people who say "G'day!" even to strangers. This in a world famous city! That has to be something!

There is a reason this city is known for warmth. I think that reason goes beyond its beaches. It's in the heart of every Sydneysider. And I want that warmth.

2. Bangkok

Yes, City of Angels, you! Yes, you who have enchanted me with your sensory assault. Yes, you who have made me fall in love with the warm smiles of your inhabitants. Yes, you whose culture, language, people, and cheap everything (But of course!) glitters just like the gold in your temples. How could I not put you in this list, my dear Bangkok!

Yes, I know. Many hate you for your madness --- the traffic at Sukhumvit and Silom; the amount of people pounding your pavements, the dizzying blend of the streets. But for some reason, it is that madness that attracts me to you time and time again. That constant thump thump that is your pulse just makes me want to get lost in your concrete jungle again! Your people and madness are the reason why I agree with you when you call yourself City of Life!

I guess there's nothing else to say but Chan rak Krung Thep (ฉันรักกรุงเทพ. I love Bangkok!).

PS:
--- To all Thai readers, please correct me if I'm wrong!
--- And yes, I started liking Bangkok way before I liked Mario Maurer! Haha!

3. Paris
Ah...Paris, je t'aime et tu es belle!

The City of Lights never fails to fascinate me. After all, this is the birth place of many an important movement in many different art forms. Impressionism, Surrealism, Fauvism, Cubism and many more were all born here. There's also the very lovely sights here. I bet I'd feel like Amelie/Mathilde/Stephanie once I hit its Rues (BTW, those are the protagonists from my fave French films!)P. Haha! Plus of course, when you say romantic cities, which one first pops into your mind? Yeah, thought so!

There's also a personal connection between me and Paris. You see, my parents met here (I know right! Sweet!). So there!

4. New York



Like I tell people, I'm such a city girl! And New York is the city of cities. I love it!

The vibrant cultural scene, Broadway, the multiculturalism, the traffic!

Basically, many of the things I like about Sydney and Bangkok! Haha!

5. India
If wealth were measured in the beauty of its people, India would be a multi-billionaire! A beautiful nation enriched with bright treasures, India is truly a lovely place to visit. But I think its most brilliant treasure would be the Indian people themselves. A people with a rich history and rich culture that makes you cry at the beauty.

Plus, it's part of my heritage so it makes it even more of a must-visit!

6. Italy




It's capital city is called la cita eterna --- the eternal city. Well, I think that encompasses why I should go to Italy! A lovely country whose history and culture spans centuries. A former empire. A nation whose culture still influences us today.

Nah. Italy isn't just eternal just because of that. Italy is and will always be eternal because of it's wonderful people. As long as Italy's dolce vita burns bright in its people, Italy lives. Because Italy is a lifestyle. It infiltrates its people. And those who choose to live it.

7. Rio de Janeiro
Brasil, meu Brasil brasileiro
Meu mulatta iscondeiro
Vou cantar te nois meus versos
Brasil, samba ke da
Bambuleio que fas gingar
O, Brasil do meu amor
Terra de Nosso Senhor...

So sings Joao Gilberto in Aquarela do Brasil. And yeah, that's basically why I love Rio... It's Brasil brasileiro. It never pretends not to be who it is. It's Rio and you'll know it. It also has this bamboleio (dance) to it. Everything goes in rhythm. In beats. Rio is a dance I want to be a part of.

Anyway, these are my top places I want to go. But really, the important thing isn't really where you'll get lost. But whether you'll get lost in the first place?

So where will you get lost?