A quickie in Bangkok

Bangkok –

CROWDED, sleazy and absolutely bizarre is how I would pin a few adjectives to this place - In other words, a travellers playground.

Arriving on a busy Friday evening after a 15 hour journey from London and Abu Dhabi I met with my couchsurfing host Jake – he’s originally from the Philippines. It was a short 2 day stop off in the city before my Cambodia flight.

The transportation in the city was surprisingly good, I was expecting it to be much more hectic, but it is very well laid out and easy to navigate with the airport link that goes directly to the centre, then their metro system (MRT) and also the newest Skytrain (BTS) which is elevated above ground.

We visited places such as the chatuchak, one of the world’s biggest markets and spans over 35 acres. There you can buy anything your heart so desires, from some fake Gucci, a second hand toaster or a gaggle of geese (the pet/animal part was mind-blowingly huge, with some really interesting animals for sale - see the poor half-dead rabbits in the photo)

At the market you can also find many places to eat. We found a little spot and had some Kanom Jin (green curry and noodles) which was accompanied by hard-boiled eggs, aubergine (‘Eggplant’ for the Americans) and solidified chicken blood. Pretty spicy stuff too. (see photo) Surprisingly I didn’t have to delve into my supply of 60 diarrhea tablets after – I’m sure my time will come soon enough here in Cambodia.

In the afternoon we rested after walking about in the scortching city heat all morning. On the way we stopped at a little side stall and purchased a local Thai drink called Cha Keaow, an interesting and refreshing mix of green tea, milk, condensed milk and crushed ice.

In the evening we took a free 10 minute boat ride to another part of the city called The Riverfront which is a newly developed tousity part of the city with lots of classy shops and eateries. There we ate at asiatique where we sampled a few more local dishes such as:

Om Yun Kung - a spicy soup with prawns)

Pad Thai - stir fried rice noodles with eggs and fish sauce, tamarind juice, red chilli pepper, plus any combination of bean sprouts, shrimp, chicken, or tofu, garnished with crushed peanuts, coriander and lime.

Caw Pad Guy – Which I am not too sure about, but I remember it had very thin gelatine-like noodles and beef with lots of green veg.

After that we headed to the sleeze in Patpong’s famous red light district where we saw a couple of very interesting/explicit sights and shows that I will not go into detail about here – all I can say is, ‘OH MY!’ – Definitely a must see though in Bangkok.

Finally, on Sunday, I spent the day at a hotel in the Pratunam area. This area is filled with windey streets, with small food vendors on the street sides and also hosts another of Bangkok’s famous markets, this one being aimed at tourists comprising of retail and outdoor stalls selling clothes (they say it’s one of the cheapest places to buy clothes in the city)

All in all, the two days spent in Bangkok were filled with lots of new experiences and cultural delights. And I thoroughly enjoyed my tuk-tuk journey back to the metro station on my way to the airport, especially the massive Spanish style argument I had with the driver about the price that he GIPPED me on at the end ;) All  in the fun of travelling.

Tuk-tuk

Besos,

Stevieg