January 2015. One day, my friend Rajib from Narayanganj, Dhaka, called
unexpectedly—he was planning a trip to Thailand and suggested I apply for a
visa. At that time, I was in Sylhet. Instantly, my three companions from a
previous Nepal trip—Ripon, Ropon, and Imam—agreed to the plan. After completing
all the preparations, we submitted our passports and required documents to the
Sylhet VFS Center by ourselves. Then began the waiting period. A few days later,
I received a call from the Thai Embassy. They asked me about my name, address,
and type of business. Then came the direct question—"Do you intend to do
business in Thailand?" I simply replied, "My business has no connection with
Thailand. I am just going there to travel because traveling is my passion."
Within a week, I received an SMS stating that my passport was ready. When I
collected it from the VFS Center, I saw the Thai visa stamped on it. Now begins
the story of my friends' visa experiences: First friend: He was asked only a few
basic questions over the phone and was granted a visa directly. Second friend:
Similar to the first, he received a visa, but the passport was stamped "VOID."
We assumed the embassy got suspicious due to a large amount of money in his bank
account, so they canceled the visa in a rather dramatic way. Third friend: He
was called for an interview at the Thai Embassy in Dhaka. One question was,
"Since you are in service, what is your role at a rod-cement shop?" He answered,
"I am a marketing manager. Our job is to market products and visit construction
sites." I believe he couldn’t present his answer properly, and unfortunately, he
was not granted the visa. Seeing my friends' experiences like this, I was a bit
confused—should I go or not? Rajib himself did not say anything clearly, but
looking at his behavior, it was clear that he did not get a visa either. At that
time, one day, it suddenly rained and I met another old friend of mine, Saki.
While talking, he asked if I could help him with his Thailand visa. Without
wasting a moment, the next day I collected all the necessary documents and sent
them to Dhaka through an agent. After just 7 days, the Thai visa arrived in my
passport! Getting a visa for Bangladeshis in Thailand is not that easy, but it
is not that difficult either. Applying for a visa becomes easy if you follow the
rules, keep the documents in order, and apply based on true information. The
total cost of applying for a tourist visa was 3,740 Taka, and it could take
about 15–20 days to get the visa. A single-entry tourist visa is issued for a
total of three months, calculated from the day you apply, the first days of
which are wasted before you get the passport. Now it was time to confirm the
tickets. One of my elder brothers works in tourism; he booked tickets through
Anupama International on Regent Airlines. One at his request, another at the
request of another friend—this way we became a total of 5 people, although it
would have been more convenient to have 4 in terms of travel expenses. Finally,
the tickets were confirmed—21 April 2015. On 20 April, Saki and I arrived in
Dhaka by flight from Sylhet. Ripon and Ropon were already staying in Dhaka and
went to their hotel. When we left the hotel in the morning, Ropon was upset, and
we certainly didn’t have anything to say. The rest of us went to the airport as
we pleased. On the Dhaka → Bangkok route. After a 30-minute break at Chittagong
Airport, and after a journey of about 3 hours and 30 minutes, we arrived at the
well-equipped Suvarnabhumi International Airport—which can blow anyone’s mind.
Immigration was done. I hadn’t booked a hotel—I planned to see for myself and
choose one. As soon as we left Suvarnabhumi Airport, everyone was busy taking
pictures. Ripon and I decided to buy bus tickets to Pattaya first. We bought
five tickets at 200 baht each. There was still an hour and thirty minutes left
before the bus departed. We spent this time wandering around and talking. We
boarded the bus right on time. After a pleasant journey of about three hours, we
reached Pattaya. Then we hired a local tuk-tuk (auto-rickshaw)—100 baht each.
Evening fell, so it was time to look for a hotel. Everyone was quite tired.
After visiting 2–3 hotels, I realized that room rates were relatively low during
the off-season. We got a 3-bed room for 900 baht, and another 2-bed room for 800
baht. The name of the hotel was AA Pattaya—it's incredible to find a 5-star
hotel on such a budget. After freshening up, we all rested for a while. After 8
pm, we went out in search of food. After eating at KFC, we headed toward the
famous Walking Street. At night, this area seemed to come alive. Thai and
Russian performers kept the tourists enthralled with their dancing and singing.
Three of us friends bought tickets to a showroom and went to see an adult show.
What we saw was truly terrifying—one girl's performance still makes my head spin
when I think about it. The crowd of spectators was impressive—tourists from all
over the world, even an Arab family with small children, came to see the show!
After the show, we went outside and enjoyed some free cultural performances. I
realized that Pattaya's night means entertainment, light, and excitement—the
night never sleeps here. Live music, dance shows, magic shows—all combined into
a colorful world. As the night got darker, I returned to the hotel and fell into
a peaceful sleep. The next day, I woke up at noon and went to a nearby
restaurant. I ordered egg fried rice, which was cooked in front of my eyes.
After eating, I saw that something non-halal for others was being cooked in the
same pan. That’s when I realized—it is very important to be aware of halal and
haram before eating here. I walked around Beach Road and noticed—there wasn't
much halal or Bengali food available at that time. The roads were empty in the
scorching heat at noon, and tourists usually go out after 4 pm. So our food
depended on ready-made egg fried rice or seafood fried rice from 7-Eleven
stores. In the afternoon, I went out for a walk on Beach Road. Time to watch
“boom boom.” It seemed that people from all over the world had gathered in
Pattaya—the Balkans, Iran, Europe, Africa, and even Bangladeshis and Indians
were not far behind. However, caution is necessary with ladyboys—it is not easy
to recognize, so if you have any doubts, it is better to ask directly. Later, I
went to the Sanctuary of Truth—a wonderful temple standing on the seashore, made
entirely of wood. Its extraordinary craftsmanship and design will impress
anyone. In the evening, I went to Pattaya Viewpoint and a small Thai cultural
village called Mimosa. The entire place is decorated with colorful lights. There
is a Thai traditional show there—although there's no entrance fee, you have to
buy a ticket to see the show. At night, I returned to Walking Street and spent
the night amidst colorful lights and music. Coral Island Trip The next morning,
we set off for Coral Island. The ferry pier is at the end of Walking Street. We
reached the pier at 8 am—all around was quiet, whereas a few hours earlier it
had been noisy and light-filled. We bought a ticket for 30 baht and boarded the
ferry. It was a great experience to float on the ocean for the first time in my
life. I reached Coral Island in about 40 minutes. I rented a bed on the beach.
At that moment, a poisonous catfish stung a tourist in the leg. Immediately,
someone tried to squeeze the poison out by hitting the leg with a bottle. I
don’t know how to swim, and I didn’t go into the sea due to the incident.
However, the rest jumped in joy. Everyone cleaned themselves with tap water when
they returned. In the late afternoon, we wandered around and left for Silver
Lake. The view of vineyards and colorful flowers spread across a vast area
touched my heart. There is no entrance fee, but you have to pay 180 baht to tour
the area by car. I returned to Beach Road before evening. I walked and saw some
“boom boom”—the last evening of my Pattaya trip. At that time, the 7-Eleven
store was our only hope for dinner. It's not that we didn’t get Bengali food. I
found a restaurant next to the place where I bought the ferry ticket to Coral
Island, but I couldn’t eat it because of the taste—it was like the “salad
hotels” in our country! I met a Bangladeshi in this shop, and I learned from him
that there were 15 to 20 Bangladeshis in Pattaya. Most of them worked in
tailoring shops. I bought food and returned to the hotel. Countless memories and
experiences in my head—a joyful, exciting, and a little bit surprising Pattaya
trip ended like this. Bangkok Journey In the morning, while everyone was busy
with the arrangements, Ripon caused a bit of a stir. He said he would need
another hour—because he had ordered a suit set the day before. We went to the
suit shop early—it was a Bangladeshi tailor shop in Sylhet. The shop delivered
on time and beautifully. They also helped us by offering coffee and arranging a
tuk-tuk. We reached the bus counter and boarded a bus to Bangkok within an hour.
We reached Bangkok in about three hours. Our destination was Sukhumvit Soi Nana.
There was an MRT station near the bus counter. We bought tickets and went a few
stations further. At that time, some parts of the MRT line were under
construction. After getting off, we took another tuk-tuk to Soi Nana. This time,
we talked about finding a hotel, but no one agreed—first of all, we needed food!
There are many local restaurants in Soi Nana. It felt like I was eating properly
after a long time—local fish, beef, stews—everything was available. A lot of
Bangladeshis live here. One of the most famous medical institutions in Asia is
also located here. After eating, we started looking for a hotel. Nearby, we
found Sumna's Hotel, owned by an old Chinese woman. She has a bit of an
irritable nature. There, a three-bed room was available for 1,200 baht and a
two-bed room for 800 baht. I went out at night to enjoy the beauty of Soi Nana.
There was a hawker fair on the sidewalk around the road—children’s toys, adult
accessories, various types of sandals, and medicines for the elderly were being
sold. I also talked to the locals and found a shopkeeper girl who did not seem
Thai. I asked her, and she replied that she was Burmese and that they do not
have their own country. The matter reminded me of the many Rohingyas in our
country. I asked her if she was Muslim, and she said she was Hindu. I bought
chocolate from her. As I walked a little further, I felt like I had arrived at
Pattaya Beach Road. Young women from different parts of the world had gathered
here. Iranian, Moroccan, and Turkish girls are a little more valued here. There
is an Iranian bar nearby, where a bottle of wine costs over a lakh taka—this was
the first time I had heard of such a price! Many older Arab and non-Arab
tourists come here—perhaps to escape loneliness. They are often seen with one or
more partners. But sadly, I did not see any young people involved in such
activities. Tomorrow, two of our group will return to their respective
destinations. Before leaving, everyone was busy shopping. Some were thinking
about visiting the Grand Palace, some wanted to go to Safari World, and some to
the Floating Market. But finally, it was decided—this time, only shopping, and
only the Floating Market tomorrow. In the morning, I reserved a taxi for 400
baht, said goodbye to our two brothers, and left the hotel. Before leaving, one
of them gave me a breakfast treat—he was an old acquaintance, and the moment
became a little emotional. After saying goodbye, we went to MBK Market. Everyone
was busy shopping—some buying clothes, some buying watches, some buying gifts.
From there, we left for the Sukhumvit area. This time, the destination was a
supermarket located in Soi Nana. The shopping frenzy was on, as if we were
competing to outdo each other. An unfamiliar face, a small acquaintance—in the
afternoon, I met a young Christian woman in front of the hotel who had come from
Ethiopia. She told me they were a group of four. She asked me, "Are you from
Ethiopia?" She thought so because my skin color was similar to theirs. I smiled
and said, "No, I am from Bangladesh." She pointed to an apartment next door and
said that there were two women wearing hijabs there, seeing whom she remembered
her own country. I told her, "Yes, they are Muslims, and I myself am a
Muslim—Alhamdulillah." Then she told me a sad story—her relationship with her
Italian boyfriend had broken up, and she came here to spend some time because of
her sadness. She asked me, "Do you know this whole area?" I replied, "I have
quite a bit of experience." Then I took her around the different areas. Walking
together—another round of farewell shopping was not over yet, so I met everyone
again. I entered a nearby shopping mall and did some shopping—especially toys
for children. In the evening, I went back to the hotel to freshen up and met the
Ethiopian girl again. She told me that she works in the accounts department of a
private firm. This time, she wanted to explore the area a little more. I took
her with me, and we walked to the Iranian Bar area. She said that she didn’t
like this kind of place—she only went to such places on special occasions. On
the way back, she suddenly tripped and cut her foot badly. I immediately bought
medicine and bandages and dressed her wound. Then she went back to the hotel—and
I went out with my friends. I spent the rest of the evening wandering around
various shops, doing light shopping, and talking. I realized that the real
beauty of traveling is not just the sights—these small memories, acquaintances,
and moments are the real treasures. Breakfast was coffee, bread, and butter.
Then the three of us went out for a walk. On the way, we saw one shop after
another on the side of the road—if we liked something, we bought it immediately.
Small canals flow through the city. Surprisingly, ferries run through these
canals—what a great sight! Such a transportation system has been possible
because the canals are deep and clean. It’s nice to think that if the canals
weren’t deep, such a wonderful plan would not have been possible to implement.
We also have canals and ferries in our country, but most of the canals lack
water. So far from ferrying there, the canals themselves are disappearing. In
fact, many things in our country are ruined due to lack of proper planning and
maintenance. Just as people use public transport in this city, passenger
transport is also carried out by boats on waterways—clean, regular, and
efficient. It is impossible not to be impressed by the sight. I got on the boat
and realized that local transport and boats are used equally here. At one point,
I arrived at the Floating Market, which we all know as the Floating Market.
Here, you can find many things at low prices. Street food is very popular in
Bangkok, but we weren’t able to eat it because it wasn’t to our taste. Dogs,
cats, and chickens were fried and hung up at the same time. When we returned, we
couldn’t find a boat, so we rented a tuk-tuk and returned. We spent the
afternoon and evening in the colorful lights and lively atmosphere of Sukhumvit
and Soi Nana. Then we left for Rome at night—because our return flight is
tomorrow. We have to get everything ready. --- This trip was not just about
seeing places; it was a unique journey of feeling, connecting with people,
understanding new cultures, and experiencing. Sometimes a sudden encounter,
sometimes a small moment of compassion, or the city’s well-designed
transportation system—every day was a new experience to learn, understand, and
remember. I realized that travel is not just about what the eyes see—it is about
what the heart feels, and the stories of life are collected in every step.
Thanks & Regards =================== Hassan Mahfuz
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasanclymax Email: hasanclymax@gmail.com
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