It only took one day….and we were in love with Thailand. We had heard mixed reviews about Bangkok – crazy, noisy, stinky, dirty, and only a handful of good sites, so we are sure that people will question our judgment that we could fall in love with Thailand while in Bangkok. We actually found Bangkok to be much less chaotic and stinky than Marrakech, so perhaps we were toughened up a bit and came in with a different perspective than other people. This exotic, yet somehow familiar, city is so full of contradiction that we found it captivating. We loved the crazy blend of old/new and Eastern/Western with skyscrapers standing tall next to centuries-old pagodas, cheap street food stands set up outside expensive gourmet restaurants, and tuk-tuks sharing the road with uber drivers. Although we took advantage of the convenience of uber drivers, we were pretty excited for our first tuk-tuk ride and loved every heart-pounding minute of the thrill ride through traffic.
We also enjoyed our long-tailed boat excursion to see the 200-year-old homes built on stilts along the canal. But, of course, we opted to stay in the high-rise part of town for the modern comforts. Our 40th floor apartment had great views of the city and two awesome roof top pools.
On our first day out touring, we decided to try out the long-tail boat taxis on the canal. Talk about jumping right into the craziness that is Bangkok. We weren’t quite sure how it would work, but when the boat pulled up to the dock, it was packed!! But the attendant told us to squeeze on, so we did. Some people were seated on benches but most were standing. Poor Jimmy had to stand bent over the whole time because he was too tall! Two little Thai guys tied to each side of the boat were balancing on the edge and would walk back and forth to collect payment when new people got on board. The ride offered a unique perspective of the city along the canals and the daily life of commuters in Bangkok. Here is a pic of the boat after everybody got off at the final stop (Golden Mount Temple is behind the canal):
There is something different about Thailand that is intoxicating and draws you in making you want to stay forever. How can you not love a place where there is a food stand on every corner at all hours of the day?!!???! The food culture here is a dream come true for us. In other countries we have visited so far, getting a meal between the hours of 2-7pm can often be a challenge. In Thailand, they enjoy meals whenever they are hungry. Just our style!! Getting amazing street food is so easy. On every corner in Bangkok, there is somebody grilling up some mouth-watering pieces of pork, chicken, or fish. I thought Bangkok smelled glorious with the aroma of grilled meats and stir-fried vegetables and noodles wafting through the air. Here we are on our first day out touring and enjoying some fried chicken, fried crab balls, and Kanom Beuang. Kanom Beaung are a Thai crepe/taco-like street food that can be traced back over 600 years. Ours were topped with marshmallow cream and sprinkled with either raisins, coconut or shredded duck egg. I was skeptical when the vendor said that it was egg and thought it was a mistranslation. However, I looked it up to discover that the topping is called foy tong and is strands of sugary cooked egg yolk flavored with jasmine, rosewater, or vanilla.
And let’s not forget the fresh fruit stands with pre-cut pieces of dragon fruit, papaya, pineapple, cantaloupe, mango, and tons of other fruits I don’t recognize, ready to eat and enjoy!
In addition to convenient Thai street food, Bangkok has a diverse set of cuisine. While we were itching to eat traditional Thai food, we also wanted to take advantage of everything Bangkok had to offer. With so many other countries nearby, the options for authentic Korean, Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese are endless.
We had two great Chinese dinners: a roasted duck with stir-fried noodles and Dim Sum. The Dim Sum restaurant, Tim Ho Wan, is famous for their golden baked bbq pork dumplings. Their restaurant in Hong Kong is the world’s cheapest Michelin star restaurant, so not only is the food in Bangkok diverse and delicious, it is inexpensive! The roasted duck with noodles dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall spot popular with locals was only $2.
One of our favorite desserts was from a Korean dessert café called Snow Tree. The brownie snowflake that we got was a giant pile of shredded, frozen, sweetened “milk” covered in cocoa powder and topped with brownies, chocolate ice cream, and chocolate syrup. Oh, and more chocolate ice cream and brownies hidden in the middle.
And we thought Asians were not big sweets eaters. But, if our interaction with Chinese and Japanese co-workers over the years is accurate, it appears that perhaps the Koreans and Thais have a much bigger sweet tooth than Chinese and Japanese. There is no shortage of dessert stands and specialty dessert cafes all over Bangkok.
Bangkok also offers the full gamut of dining experiences from the $2 duck at a hole-in-the-wall local spot to fine dining with overpriced food but the best views, 64 stories up, overlooking the city lights at night.
We also decided to splurge on a Thai gastronomic adventure at Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin, the sister restaurant of Kiin Kiin in Copenhagen, which is the only Thai Michelin star restaurant outside Thailand. We indulged in a 10 course tasting menu that gave a modern flare to local, traditional cuisine. One of the most creative was the traditional Tom Ka soup that was frozen on liquid nitrogen and then served alongside the usual fixings in a carved out wooden log.
The course that we are voting most attractive included tuna tartar in a floating flower and laksa soup buried in sand with decorative shells.
Obviously, the way to our heart is through our stomach. But, of course, there is so much more that we loved about Bangkok and our first week in Thailand. Quite possibly the most important aspect that makes Thailand such an appealing place to be…the Thai people. Such a happy and genuinely sweet people. Always smiling, friendly, and wanting to be helpful. Every interaction, whether it be taxi drivers, local guides, waitstaff, or street food vendors, is pleasant and stress-free even given the language barrier. Thailand is often referred to as the “Land of Smiles”. Even the market vendors and tuk-tuk drivers will haggle with a smile and hint of playfulness.
Another reason we fell in love with Thailand while in Bangkok was the absolutely stunning architecture. Wat Phra Kaew, The Temple of the Emerald Buddha, at the Grand Palace was much more extensive than we realized with many beautiful buildings/structures, each with a unique story and history.
Phra Asadha Maha Chedi are 8 prangs or towers standing on the east side of the temple. They are each a different color representing a certain Buddhist concept.
There are six pairs of Demon Guardians that are protecting the Emerald Buddha from all evil spirits.
Phra Mondop is a Buddhist library with figures of demons (and me) guarding all four doors.
Hor Phra Gandhararat is a chapel containing an image of Buddha that is believed to have magical powers for invoking rain. Luckily there were no farmers praying during our visit.
The Royal Pantheon, a pavilion with a prang summit, was built in 1856.
The Chapel of the Emerald Buddha, built in 1782, is the most important building in the temple. The doors are inlaid with mother-of-pearl designs from the Ramakian epic, and inside, the Emerald Buddha sits high up on a gilt alter.
The outside walls are decorated with gilt and colored glass mosaics.
Another temple that was also very ornate and one of our favorite stops in Bangkok was Wat Pho, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. The temple is one of the oldest and largest in Bangkok and houses the largest collection of Buddha images in Thailand.
The most impressive of the over 1000 Buddha images is the famous reclining Buddha that is over 46m long making it the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand as well as one of the largest Buddha images overall. The reclining Buddha represents the entry of Buddha into nirvana and the end of reincarnation.
The temple is considered the earliest center for public education in Thailand and was the birthplace of traditional Thai massage. Here are images around one of the pavilions showing acupressure points:
Another important Buddha image can be seen in Phra Ubosot (or bot), which is the ordination hall used for performing Buddhist rituals and the most sacred building in the complex.
Four huge chedis called Phra Maha Chedi Si Rajakarn are dedicated to the first four Chakri kings and are a whopping 42m high. Look for me at the base of this chedi to give perspective on how huge these are.
The temple grounds also contain 91 smaller chedis. Seventy-one of the smaller chedis are called Phra Chedi Rai and contain the ashes of the royal family. The other twenty are in four groups of five and contain the relics of Buddha. In this picture, you can see both styles on either side of me.
Another one of our favorite activities in Bangkok was visiting the Chatuchak Market. Imagine rows and rows of little shops and street stands spanning the area of 88 football fields. This market is popular with locals as well as tourists as there is so much variety from trendy clothes to home goods to souvenirs and even pets. We enjoyed browsing the shops and found a couple good buys – a floppy beach hat and a Thai birthday card for my nephew. Of course, another chance to indulge in local street food was a highlight as well. We got our first traditional coconut ice cream served inside a coconut with fun toppings like sticky rice and dried palm seeds. We also tried a popular Asian beverage – a cocoa milk with green grass jelly.
Lastly, as I eluded to earlier in the blog, you can’t go to Bangkok and not spend some time exploring the canals and the Chao Phraya river. We hired a long-tailed boat to see the quieter neighborhoods and life along the canal. Kids swimming, men out fishing, women paddling little canoes selling goods, wooden homes built on stilts, and glistening pagodas and temples are some of the sights that we saw on our little tour along the canals where life appears unchanged from previous centuries.
Then, back out on the main river, you see the tall skyscrapers, sparkling hotels, and trendy waterfront bars/restaurants of the modern world.
Finally, one of the things that surprised us the most about Bangkok was the amount of Western influence. If you take a stroll down Khoa San Road, the popular backpacker area, it feels like foreigners outnumber the locals.
We quickly saw why this area is so hugely popular with backpackers and ex-pats from Europe and the US. Almost everything is in English, and there are so many products and stores that we are familiar with from the US. After 4 months of traveling around Europe and Morocco, we surprisingly found Thailand to be the easiest!! When we got to our apartment, we were pleasantly surprised that the washing machine was in English. You might not think this is a big deal unless you have ever struggled to interpret symbols and settings on foreign appliances like we have the past few months. When we had to do grocery shopping or buying personal products like shampoo and face wash in Germany, Italy, and Morocco, we relied heavily on google translate to figure out what everything was. When we figured out that google translate didn’t work for Thai characters, we thought we were in big trouble. But, our first trip to the grocery store eased our fears when we could read most of the labels and even found US products like Skippy peanut butter, Smuckers jelly, and Neutrogena face wash. The supersized mega-malls were also full of stores you would see in any typical mall in the US – GNC, Auntie Anne’s pretzels, Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins, Dairy Queen, Pizza Hut, and KFC.
Jimmy thought I was crazy when I told him I was ready to move here long-term. But it is hard to beat the beauty, the cuisine, the hospitality, and the cost of Bangkok. The crazy contrasts give this exotic city a uniqueness that has enthralled us, and the familiarity will surely bring us back for longer stays. If we already love Thailand, we can’t wait to see what the next month has in store as we explore the beaches in the south as well as the jungles and smaller cities in the north.
Love it!!!
Merry Christmas! Just received your card today, thanks so much! Enjoying all your adventures, thanks so much for sharing. Love you both!