On our first full day in Bangkok, we took a 30-minute Uber (about $5 USD) to the Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market, a bustling array of vendors along the Lat Ta Niao canal. We had bananas fried in coconut honey batter and sticky rice with coconut milk and the best mango I’ve ever had. We took a boat tour around the market and surrounding canal neighborhood, and visited a traditional Thai wooden house built as a gift for the owner’s two daughters. We then took another 45-minute Uber (also about $5 USD) to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, the largest market in Thailand. We spent hours strolling down the countless aisles with vendors selling everything imaginable, including fake designer handbags, homemade perfume, pets, antiques, art, etc. in more than 8,000 stalls. After a lunch of tom kha kai soup (made with chicken broth, coconut milk, chili, and lime), barbecued chicken, and noodles, we took refuge from the heat in Siam Square, Bangkok’s massive complex of shopping malls. We spent the evening walking around Khaosan Road near where we were staying. Khaosan is infamous for its hordes of backpackers, bars, and cheap hostels. We got foot massages ($4.50 for 30 minutes) and had yellow curry and papaya salad at Madame Musur on Soi Ram Butri, a quieter street a block from Khaosan. Travelers from all over the world sat on the floor or on multicolored loungers – both the waiters and patrons had to leave their shoes at the door. We spent our second day exploring two of Bangkok’s most famous temples: the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. The Grand Palace featured an interested exhibition on the life and work of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who reigned in Thailand for 70 years, 126 days, the world’s longest reigning monarch at the time of his death in 2016. Wat Pho, home to the 49-foot-high and 151-foot-long reclining Buddha built by King Rama III in 1832, was particularly fascinating and architecturally stunning. On our final day in Bangkok, we woke up early for a city walking tour. The guides shepherded us on the public ferry to another neighborhood, which cost 9 Thai Baht (28 cents USD). We climbed up the 344 steps to Wat Saket/Golden Mount, a Buddhist Temple that dates back to the Ayutthaya era (1351-1767), but was renovated in the 1700s by King Rama I. We also walked through Baan Bat, the last remaining neighborhood in Bangkok where craftspeople make alms bowls, which monks use to collect food donations from nearby residents. Many people sat outside their homes making crafts or watching TV, while dogs and cats (including some very cute kittens) roamed around eating scraps from the street. One welder proudly shared a 2007 AP article about his work published in The Chicago Tribune (linked copy in The Seattle Times). Robert tried his hand at cutting sheet metal (and succeeded!). We took a sunset ferry ride to Wat Arun, a porcelain studded group of stupas, to enjoy the site without the crowds. For dinner, we enjoyed shrimp pad thai and vegetarian pad thai at Thipsamai Pad Thai, which our tour guides recommended as the best in the city.
2 Comments
Marcy
1/11/2018 08:04:00 am
I love Bangkok!! Looks like an amazing 3 days
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nancy n radin
1/13/2018 09:06:38 am
Love the food you eat-I'd starve! It all sounds fascinating but you must be young to do what you're doing..Just continue having the adventure of a life time.
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