Paris in Bangkok: You never quite find what you dreamed!

Gone are the days where Thailand is all Thai and France is all French. Thanks to human migration and globalization, there’s a bit of Bangkok in Paris and a slice of Paris in Bangkok.

As my seventh month of travel approaches an end, I realize that I’ve learned just as much about other countries than I have about those I’ve visited. Moreover, I’ve gained a clearer perspective of America through non-American eyes than I ever gained in high school and college History classes. I am reminded that travel is as much about unexpected fun with the people you meet than about where you happen to be in the world.

Heading to Chile? One of your favorite experiences might involve German trivia night at a Munich style pub. Exploring London? Your best and most memorable meal may be a simple plate of dahl and dosa in Little India. Wherever you’re headed, be prepared for unexpected highlights that go beyond traditional guide book assumptions about the place you happen to be visiting.

So here I am, in the bustling Southeast Asian metropolis experiencing my first taste of Paris. I’ll get there eventually, but for now this taste of the city of lights will do just fine.

So, tired of Thai street coffee, I stumble into Cafe Tartine in central Bangkok for a latte and croissant. The prices are unfortunately more French than Thai, but I treat myself on occasion in an effort to prevent backpacking fatigue.

This particular Parisian enclave is abuzz with French conversation and Edith Piaf songs, and my brian desperately works to recall my year of college French class. I learn quickly that new French mothers meet at this patisserie on Wednesdays, arriving every week with their infants to speak in their native tongue over quiche and cappuccinos. I look around the room at the eclectic mix of Europeans and fresh croissants and wonder..where am I?

I head up the Bangkok BTS stairs to board the train, and spot a poster advertising this year’s French Thai Cultural Festival, a celebration of the Alliance francaise centennial in Bangkok. It’s a visual showcase, celebrating 20th century France through theater, visual arts and cinema. After my breakfast experience, I find it fitting to head to the Bangkok Arts & Culture Center and check it out.

One of the many perks of long term travel is the ability to break free from the confines of a schedule – to simply go with the flow of the day and embrace whatever spur of the moment idea seems right at the time. In my case, this Wednesday turned into a quick metaphorical trip overseas.

I meet a few university students at the exhibit who tell me what they know about the artists and remind me that thousands of French students, expats, artists, and families live in Bangkok. I join them for red wine and Thai food and learn more about Paris, not Bangkok, in that dinner without even stepping on French soil.

“The reason vagabonding is so addictive is that, joyfully, you’ll never quite find what you dreamed.”