We’re condensing two days into one post since day 7 was a half day, and also our hotel wifi in Bangkok is no bueno. And also we were tired. :)
We landed in Bangkok late Saturday morning and decided to take public transport from the airport to the hotel. Unlike Singapore’s train system, the ticketing here is cash-heavy; but like Singapore, the trains are very clean and air conditioned. Bangkok is well connected via the privately owned BTS Skytrain and government owned MRT subway train (as well as ferry system, an airport line, and many bus routes). A+ public transport.
Walking around the streets of Bangkok, one is slapped in the face by the energy, chaos, smells, traffic, and dirt of a large, densely populated city. Tall skyscrapers, tiny food carts, stifling heat, and humidity! We love it. Or at least, Uma does.
The highlight of the first day in Bangkok was a night-time backstreets food tour. Before we made our way to Chinatown to meet our tour group, we stopped at a cat cafe. We sipped on some cool drinks and watched many chubby, fluffy kitties hang about - sleeping, stretching and jumping on things. Adorable!
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Bangkok’s Chinatown is one of the largest in Asia (perhaps the world) and is home to many Michelin-grade food stalls. Our amazing guide, lead us from one tiny stall to the next via several small dingy alleyways. He talked about the food we ate, and also about Buddhism / Thai culture. This was really valuable since it gave so much context to things we witnessed in Thailand so far. For example, we learned that besides Theravada Buddhism, many Thai people also practice animism. The shrines outside various establishments are not Buddhist but actually spirit houses, where offerings of cold drinks (especially red Fanta) and food are made to the spirits of ancestors. Another interesting fact is that many Thai men become monks for a time before they get married and have jobs (kind of like how everyone in India is an engineer before they really start their adult lives). It’s believed that when your son becomes a monk, you accumulate good karma. If you don’t have sons, you can even pay someone to become a monk. Women cannot be monks in Theravada buddhism.
During the tour we even stopped at a unique Buddhist temple that was built by the owner of a brothel. This madame is something of a deity there now and young girls will offer presents to her statue when there wishes are granted
Alright then, onto the food. Uma was very nervous here since the tour strictly is non-vegetarian. However, she did really well! She tried everything, which included an assortment of dishes with chicken, pork, and seafood. In total, we had 15+ courses throughout the walking tour. Some were small eats (ex. meat skewers), others were almost full meals - like pig’s feet with deep fried scallion pancakes. A lot of the foods on the tour reminded Han of Chinese food from his childhood. This is because Chinese influence in Thailand runs deep. According to our guide, Thailand had two large influxes of Chinese immigrants. In the 1400s, a large wave of Chinese males arrived for work (trade and construction), and they integrated with the locals after arriving (read: married with Thai women). In the 1800s, Chinese families started arriving, and instead of integrating, they started to spread Chinese culture and lifestyle to Thai people. As a result of this influx, some of the richest families in Thailand are Chinese-Thai. This influence carried over to many dishes throughout the night. Some of the most memorable were: green curry with Chinese sausages, soy sauce flavored ice cream, and fried baby clams in spicy sauce.
For dessert, there was, of course, mango sticky rice. And also fried Chinese donuts with pandan icing.
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The next morning our first destination was the Chatuchak Weekend Market - the world’s largest open air market. It’s rather hard to explain the scale of this thing. If you can think of something money can buy and you can carry, you’ll find it here (at a discounted price). Decorations, ceramics, antiques, plants, herbs, clothes, on and on. There are maps with a breakdown of categories per section, but they weren’t really adhered to. Our favorite section was probably the vintage, second-hand clothes. The place is a gold mine for memorabilia from the 70’s and 80’s.
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After the market, we decided to go see some of Bangkok’s most famous temples. Namely, Wat Pho and Wat Arun. In an earlier post, we mentioned that each day of the week is associated with a different Buddha posture. Han’s birthday is on Tuesday, and the pose for Tuesday is a reclining (laying) Buddha. Thus, Wat Pho is extra special because it’s houses a massive gold gilded reclining buddha. Massive is probably an understatement.
Wat Arun sits just on the other side of the river from Wat Pho. It’s a stunning temple (arguably best viewed at night) with picturesque spires that are built with detailed tiles. The temple sits by the main river in Bangkok, so you can easy admire its full facade from coffee shops across the water from the temple. The central spire (prang) is rounded, which we later learned is an indication that the architecture was influenced by Cambodian temples.
Because of our proximity to the water, we decided to take a water ferry to our last destination for the night. During our food tour the previous night, we made a friend (hi Marlene!) who recommended a really fun Thai cooking class near our hotel. The class walks through four Thai dishes, and a rich description of the various flavors of common Thai cuisine. The four dishes were: tom yum soup, pad thai, panang curry, and mango sticky rice (!). Notable Thai ingredients are lemongrass, galangal, kefir lime leaves and the minty Thai basil. The meals were fun to make (especially since we didn’t do any clean up 🙃), but also great to eat (you know which one Uma liked most). The chef who worked with us was so energetic and cheerful, and all the ingredients were presented so delightfully. It was a great way to end a full day of walking and exploring.
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Unfortunately, Bangkok hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. This was the first time on the trip where a couple discouraging events happened to us. First, we tried to get into a well-recommended restaurant (Instagram and Google) and were pushed out the door. The server said the restaurant was full, and when Han asked how long the wait was, the server ushered him away and flipped the “Open” sign to “Closed”. Rude behavior aside, a Caucasian couple arrived within a few minutes and was allowed into the restaurant immediately. At best, the server was being selective about the patrons allowed in the restaurant; at worst, there was some discrimination here. We did end up eating here, since we were rather tired and wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. But over the course of the next few minutes, we saw a couple more groups of Asians turned away from the restaurant and more Caucasian tourists accepted in. It’s quite disheartening to travel so far and still experience bias.
The second poor experience happened minutes later, while we were walking to the entrance of the Grand Palace. At popular attractions, tuktuk drivers will wait by exits to secure rides. This particular driver tried to get us to go on a tour by trying to convince us that the Grand Palace was closed at noon on this day (it was already 2pm) pointing to a sign that was in Thai. He even went so far as to draw out an itinerary of nearby Wats that were “good fortune” or “only open today” to get us to go with him. Fortunately, we didn’t fall for this and kept walking. When we passed by the Grand Palace entrance, we saw that it was in fact open - he had lied to us.
While these hiccups did sour our afternoon a little, they were certainly the exception rather than the rule. The Thai people in general are incredible kind, respectful, and hospitable. And while Bangkok dwellers have a little more city roughness than the gentle people of Phuket and Chiang Mai, they haven’t lost their warmth and and ability to make you feel welcome.
Nugget of the day: The Thai kings are considered reincarnations of Lord Vishnu (which is why recent kings are all named Rama), and have a very elevated status in Thai culture. Don’t insult the Thai royal family, that’s 15 years in jail if you’re caught. And don’t try to take photos of them, that’ll also get you in trouble. These laws are actively enforced.
Experience the difference.👍
The cooking class looks like a lot of fun!! And reclining Buddha is a vibe haha