The sandal saga
I decided to only bring a pair of sandals with me on the trip, which was weird for me because I'm a shoe guy. I went to a shoe store in Kitchener the day before I left and found some Tevas on clearance, so I decided to buy them. The $120 they cost wasn't super ideal, especially since I had already racked up some other unexpected pre-trip costs in the weeks prior, but I was hoping it would be a good investment. I needed them to be comfy for the long walks that I planned to do.
I wore them with socks on the plane. Don't judge. It was cold in Toronto and Chicago, and even a bit chilly in Tokyo.
The first day in Bangkok, I needed to get some flip flops. My flips at home give me blisters if I walk in them for too long, so I elected to buy some here, where I figured it would be cheaper. I read that to go in most places in the city, you had to leave your shoes outside, and that expensive shoes would get stolen. (This has definitely proven to be bullshit so far - I've only left my shoes outside when going into temples.) I also didn't want to be wearing my sandals in the shower, at the beach, etc. - I wanted something that was easier to slip on and off. I read that flip flops are sold everywhere here, so I figured it would be easy. Little did I know.
I looked for malls and markets near my hostel. I figured if those places didn't have what I wanted or sold them for too high a price, I'd probably encounter a street vendor along the way to haggle with, or a store that sold them. There was a market about a 15 minute walk away, so I headed there. The only vendors I saw on the way were food stalls, and the shops sold guns or Buddhas of varying sizes. Miss. The market turned out to be an outdoor market, with more food. I gathered that it wasn't a typical tourist stop because I was getting some weird looks from the locals for being there. I happened upon a mall, which thankfully had A/C and hopefully had some flips. No dice. A floor of knickknacks, two floors of fabric (?) and a food court. I gave up and headed back to the hostel, regretting that I hadn't just asked whoever was working at the desk in the first place.
The front desk guy told me to try the 7-11 at the end of the street (they're everywhere here), so I did. No luck. I googled every 7-11 within walking distance, and set out on another walk. There was another one with no flips, one with only women's, one where I'm not sure because it so small I could barely walk through the aisles without knocking everything off the shelves, and finally, at the fourth one, success! A pair of size 11s. Brand: Gambol. A bit small for flips, and a random brand, but they would do just fine. I paid my $3 and headed back home.
All that walking in my Tevas gave me a blister on my left heel. Damn. On my next walk I took my flips for a test run so I could give my heel a break. Lo and behold, blisters on both feet from the plastic straps when I got back. Tragic. This won't do.
Later that day, I went to Khao San Road for the first time, and understood what I had read about flips being sold everywhere: they were sold at every tourist trap. Should have known. I went back the next morning and haggled for a nice pair of Quicksilvers that probably aren't actually Quicksilvers. $10 - not bad. Probably could have done way better, but I was in dire need and it was my first haggle. These puppies were way higher quality: nice fabric straps, rather than hard, rigid plastic. I had high hopes.
Good news: about 10-15km of walking later, I'm blister free and they're super comfy. I also realized that I was doing the Tevas up too tightly so they're way more comfortable now that I've adjusted the straps.
Hopefully this marks the end of my quest for comfortable footwear.
I wore them with socks on the plane. Don't judge. It was cold in Toronto and Chicago, and even a bit chilly in Tokyo.
The first day in Bangkok, I needed to get some flip flops. My flips at home give me blisters if I walk in them for too long, so I elected to buy some here, where I figured it would be cheaper. I read that to go in most places in the city, you had to leave your shoes outside, and that expensive shoes would get stolen. (This has definitely proven to be bullshit so far - I've only left my shoes outside when going into temples.) I also didn't want to be wearing my sandals in the shower, at the beach, etc. - I wanted something that was easier to slip on and off. I read that flip flops are sold everywhere here, so I figured it would be easy. Little did I know.
I looked for malls and markets near my hostel. I figured if those places didn't have what I wanted or sold them for too high a price, I'd probably encounter a street vendor along the way to haggle with, or a store that sold them. There was a market about a 15 minute walk away, so I headed there. The only vendors I saw on the way were food stalls, and the shops sold guns or Buddhas of varying sizes. Miss. The market turned out to be an outdoor market, with more food. I gathered that it wasn't a typical tourist stop because I was getting some weird looks from the locals for being there. I happened upon a mall, which thankfully had A/C and hopefully had some flips. No dice. A floor of knickknacks, two floors of fabric (?) and a food court. I gave up and headed back to the hostel, regretting that I hadn't just asked whoever was working at the desk in the first place.
The front desk guy told me to try the 7-11 at the end of the street (they're everywhere here), so I did. No luck. I googled every 7-11 within walking distance, and set out on another walk. There was another one with no flips, one with only women's, one where I'm not sure because it so small I could barely walk through the aisles without knocking everything off the shelves, and finally, at the fourth one, success! A pair of size 11s. Brand: Gambol. A bit small for flips, and a random brand, but they would do just fine. I paid my $3 and headed back home.
All that walking in my Tevas gave me a blister on my left heel. Damn. On my next walk I took my flips for a test run so I could give my heel a break. Lo and behold, blisters on both feet from the plastic straps when I got back. Tragic. This won't do.
Later that day, I went to Khao San Road for the first time, and understood what I had read about flips being sold everywhere: they were sold at every tourist trap. Should have known. I went back the next morning and haggled for a nice pair of Quicksilvers that probably aren't actually Quicksilvers. $10 - not bad. Probably could have done way better, but I was in dire need and it was my first haggle. These puppies were way higher quality: nice fabric straps, rather than hard, rigid plastic. I had high hopes.
Good news: about 10-15km of walking later, I'm blister free and they're super comfy. I also realized that I was doing the Tevas up too tightly so they're way more comfortable now that I've adjusted the straps.
Hopefully this marks the end of my quest for comfortable footwear.
Love me some Quicksilvers
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