Why Bangkok made New York, Paris and London feel old

‘It made New York, Paris or London, overall, feel very old.’ 

The anonymous writer behind Random Thoughts wasn't trying to insult three of the world's most celebrated, greatly loved cities – they were simply describing how Bangkok felt against their experience of New York and Paris: spontaneous, open and startlingly modern.

The diary-like Random Thoughts account is better known for intimate, diary-style observations than provocative city rankings. This time, though, a few frank lines put Bangkok ahead of New York, Paris and London.

‘It made New York, Paris or London, overall, feel very old.’ 

The writer’s identity remains secret by design – more on that later – but they currently live in Paris and have also lived in New York.

Sure, it’s one traveller’s opinion – a hot take, breezing in, perhaps. A personal, subjective view, and hey, everyone’s entitled to their feelings. But those names being dropped come with some context. This is someone who actually knows those cities, has lived in them, and still felt Bangkok was worth raving about. The post travelled well beyond its devoted readership, too – and the comments are still trickling in.

‘What blew my mind was the flow and spontaneity of the city, how you mix high and low,’

they say.

‘This was very new, very fresh and very modern for me.’ Paris and New York are both ‘having some kind of a renaissance’, they add, but this (Bangkok’s) energy is harder to find there.’

‘Best meals ever’

Food comes first – and not only the kind of great meal that requires a reservation, a hefty bill and a carefully lit dining room.

‘In Bangkok, street food will probably be one of your best meals ever,’

they say. 

‘Sometimes we think we can only have an amazing food experience in a top venue, in a nice, Instagrammable place that has been carefully decorated. In Bangkok, the setting is the city itself while you’re eating the best pad thai of your life.’

Then there's the matter of who's allowed to make things, and how. 'Sometimes I feel art or fashion in the west are very defined, and have to fit into some standards,' they say. 

‘You can create inside a frame. But in Bangkok, I felt there was more transgression, more freedom to experiment. If you have something to tell, go for it.’ 

They saw it  in street markets, shops and galleries: less concern with fitting a category, more appetite for putting an idea into the world.

What stayed with them most, however, was the passion people brought to everything they did – cooking, selling clothes, explaining a painting or clubbing. ‘They do it with their heart,’ they say.

That was the frame they landed in the city with. What came next – the adventures that followed – is what fixed it in memory.

‘We’re going to crush’: a Bangkok bike baptism

One trip began on the back of a motorbike. Bangkok traffic did little to calm the nerves. 

‘The first thing I thought was: We’re going to crush!’

The sheer number of motorbikes and density of traffic were startling. Yet, somehow, ‘everything works out’.

Some places lingered more vividly than others. So Heng Tai House was one. ‘This place really stayed with me. I don't know why,’ they say. 'I found it so peaceful and beautiful. It was a huge contrast.’

Part of its appeal was the surprise: half-hidden, easy to miss and revealing little of what waits inside. ‘The colors of the venue work so well,’ they say. ‘I still remember how I felt walking there.’

Warehouse 30 swallowed an afternoon. They lost track of time in Woot Woot, emerging with zines, stickers, bookmarks and a notebook ‘to write everything about the trip’.

Then there was the place whose name they can’t remember. On an especially hot and humid day, they ducked into a huge corner building in search of air-conditioning. The AC has faded from memory; the shops have not. There were vast tables of books and zines on street art and rave culture, a vinyl shop a floor or two up that also served food and drinks, and an exhibition. ‘I think I spent two hours there.’

They bought clothes at Warehouse Bangkok, vinyl at Zudrangma Records and dinner at Charmkrung.

‘I couldn't stop dancing’

At night, the geography got a little looser.

‘With the nightlife, I remember some of the places where I started but not where I ended,’ 

they say with a laugh.

They followed new friends and trusted their judgement completely. 

Across three nights, the route took in Studio Lam – now closed – Clutch, Salon Kiku and Goja. At every stop, locals drew them into the night rather than merely tolerating their presence. 

‘They took care of us, kept the party going, shared their go-to places and made sure we were having the best time.’

The music mirrored the city: old beside new, tearing up the dance floor together.

‘The nightlife was incredible. I couldn’t stop dancing,’

they say. 

They marvelled at DJs moving from Fela Kuti to Carabao, a band they discovered on the trip. ’Somehow, all  three nights we went out, we ended up mixing with locals.'

Beneath the specific places and songs was a broader impression: 

‘I also remember the morals, the mindset – so open-minded and respectful. Very modern and very inclusive.’

‘Huge for a small account like mine’

The response caught them completely off guard. ‘It was completely unexpected to receive this amount of love and attention!... It was huge for a small account like mine,’ they say. 

Once the scale of it sank in, the messages went deeper than expected: Bangkok residents sent DM after DM thanking them for seeing the city beyond the usual stereotypes. 

‘They were grateful for how I captured the essence of Bangkok. It was as though they were proud that I could have this holistic experience of the city, write about it and share it.’

The post prompted happy tears, big feelings and plenty of love. One message in particular stayed with them: 'When I saw your post, it brought tears to my eyes. It’s wonderful that people can see this side of Thailand too, beyond all the stereotypes. Your post is very important, and I thank you for that.’

‘I had no idea how meaningful or helpful my words could be,’ they say. ‘It made me think about how much positive impact we can all have through small actions.’

The original quote has gathered weight since it was posted. ‘I think it became deeper and more meaningful,’ they say. At the time, they were simply describing a trip that had exceeded every expectation. 

‘It was very subjective. I didn't know what to expect, and I had an absolute blast!’

The more lasting change goes beyond the post itself. 

‘What has changed for me, in the bigger picture, is how I have de-Westernised myself. That’s why I mentioned New York, Paris and London. Of course they are amazing cities, but they aren’t the only ones we should always mention or admire.’

 

‘Maybe i should now’

The reaction even found its way onto merchandise. The writer had previously made a tote bag featuring a line about  double espresso. As the Bangkok messages kept coming, the next design became obvious. ‘I thought, why not wear such powerful words about Bangkok?’ they say. 

‘It could be a source of pride for people who live there, and for those who had the same experience as me.’ 

They made a couple of prototypes but went no further.

The bags never entered production. ‘Maybe I should do it now – what do you think?’

‘A public journal’

The account remains anonymous for a reason. As Random Thoughts works like a journal published online – a public journal – the writer felt that staying anonymous would let them be honest, raw and emotionally open. 

'Random thoughts is a bit like a journal, and I'm publishing it online – so a public journal – if I want to be honest with my feelings, raw and deep, I thought it could help me to do it anonymously…which it does,' they say.

 

There's a second effect they've noticed too: without a face attached, readers seem to fasten onto the feeling rather than the person behind it. 'The fact that you don't know who is behind it helps people to relate more to the feeling itself versus the person behind it,' they say.

Instagram is just the highlight reel. Every post is excerpted from a longer blog article that came first. 'Most people just see the posts,' they say. 'But they're all excerpts of a long-form piece that lives on a blog. I cut paragraphs from it and publish them on Instagram afterward.' And what gets written depends entirely on what is happening in their life – which is, as they put it:

‘As random as my life, lol,’ 

they say. 

When life feels stimulating, the words come quickly; at quieter times, there may be nothing exciting to write about. The process is simply to gather whatever they are carrying and somehow find the thread connecting it all ‘somehow’.

Some thoughts nearly stay private. The Bangkok post was one of them.

‘Usually, the more honest and raw I am about my feelings and thoughts, the more people relate,’ they say. 

Their theory is that social media has made us all a little too practised at performing a polished version of ourselves – at presenting the version that already knows how it wants to be seen. 'There's something in today's society, with all the personal performance on social media, that no longer allows us to feel, think or behave as we'd like,' they say.

This isn’t simply a story about parties, dancing, cool kids or the best pad thai of your life – although all of those happened. Nor is it really about Bangkok winning while New York, Paris and London become old news. They’ll be fine. 

It is about a slightly startled kind of gratitude: one unpolished, perhaps overly honest random thought found its way to people who needed it – or didn’t yet know they were waiting for it. That is how Bangkok got under the skin, into the heart and all over the writing.