After three days work in Singapore last week, Lucy and I had had enough. We decided to go up to Bangkok to have our first experience of Thailand. Actually we planned this last year, but it was nice to have a mini-break without even working a whole week!
The flightWe flew Tiger for about $200 SGD return. It is possible to go to Bangkok for less, but the cheapest is during the week.
The Tiger planes were clean, but a little worse for wear on the inside. The service was good and the planes weren’t full.
They only lost marks on the return trip when they were quite rude about Lucy and I bringing our dinner on board from within the airport. The first problem is that we weren’t told about this, either in the many terms and conditions displayed to us while booking or when we walked onto the plane very clearly carrying drinks and hot food. The second problem is that they announced to the entire plane that outside food and drinks are not allowed as a consideration to other passengers. With lots of gluten filled food available at exorbidant prices, I think this was more about consideration to Tiger’s additional revenue and not to any customers.
The new Bangkok airport is reallt big and quite space age. It has an interior that looks more like a train station. It remind me of Olympic park station in Sydney, just a lot bigger!
The Markets
After arriving on Friday night we raced straight to Suan Lum night bazaar. I had my first Pad Thai in Thailand, which was quite momentous. Lucy and I rode the big ferris wheel and picked up a few things on offer. I warmed up my bargaining skills on a few of the stall holders.
The shopping continued on Saturday afternoon at MBK centre, really an air-conditioned market, rather than a shopping centre. The shops are very small and the bargaining is fierce.
Sunday was entirely occupied by the gigantic Chatuchak market. This place has everything! I sought out the local designers and got some lovely things for myself along with some presents. We also explored Siam Centre and returned to MBK for some last minue purchases on Sunday afternoon.
The Temples
Saturday morning was occupied with visiting the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Chetuphon (Wat Pho). The temples were very elaborate and beautiful. The Emerald Buddha itself was sparkling in his winter coat. The reclining buddha in Wat Pho was beautiful. It entirely fills the room, which makes it seem much larger than the one I saw in
Penang.
Lucy and I experienced a Thai massage in Wat Pho, which was very relaxing, if a little painful at times.
The Temples were very crowded and seemed to get even more so as the day progressed. I recommend arriving early!
We also sped past Wat Arun on the Chao Praya express during sunset on Saturday.
The foodI have been very disappointed with Thai food in Singapore, so one of my priorities while in Bangkok was to determine whether Sydney Thai food was authentic or if I was just used to it. I am pleased to say the former is true, from my first plate of noodles to my last noodle soup. I particularly liked the salads, and the Pomello salad at Cabbages and Condoms was a highlight. We also enjoyed Tom Yum, various meats on sticks, Soft Shell Crab, Massuman curry, Green Curry, Vegies, Catfish salad, and sticky rice.
We met up with G, a frisbee friend, on Saturday night. After dinner at Cabbages and Condoms with G and Nut, one of her friends, we met a few other ultimate players to scope out the venue for the Bangkok Hat tournament party. It is a very cool venue, but on a normal night is frequented by typical Bangkok bar girls. We had discussed the strangest things we had eaten during dinner, so it was inevitable when walking past a street stall selling more exotic Thai food we were persuaded to try some.
I enjoyed grasshoppers, silk worms, little frogs and some other worm. All of it was more crunchy than gooey and luckily no stomach aches afterwards. Lucy entertained us all with girlish squeals, but we did manage to get her to eat most of the treats on offer.
After an exhausting weekend, we’re very glad we went. There was no sign of any bombs going off and you can’t detect this is a country that had a coup just a couple of months ago. Thailand looks like a beautiful place and I am looking forwrad to visiting again next month! I’ll be heading to the Bangkok Hat, and plan to spend the following week somewhere in Thailand.
