We woke up to pouring rain, followed by a hot and humid day with more rain in the afternoon. We were told by the doorman that the area we wanted to walk around was flooded, so we had a lazy morning and decided to make today our temple-free day and relax a bit after 10 days of traveling. We could still fit most of the sights into our second day in Bangkok.
Surprisingly, the mall is where everyone recommends you go for good Vietnamese food. It is kind of like an inside, upscale version of the street food.
Sticky rice with mango and a Vietnamese coffee. I don't think this is a typical Vietnamese breakfast, but it tasted darn good to us.
The rain drove us to the Starbucks to hideout for a bit. Most places here make you pay for wifi access.
Our Starbucks hideout. It was nice to have a good Internet connection.
The city is a bit of a zoo and a bit difficult to navigate. Many of the street names listed on the signs are a little different than those listed in the map. Some of the street signs don't use letters at all, making them essentially useless to us. The skyway, an above ground subway, was our best friend.
Me rocking a pair of Khmer pants (which is part skirt and perfect for the temples because it covers your knees and are lightweight). I was very excited to take the skyway instead of navigating the streets.
We used the skyway to get to the Jim Thompson House. Mr. Thompson was an American architect who volunteered to serve in the army during Wold War II. He visited Thailand while he was in the army and later returned to live here. The house he built is a typical Thai house, which now serves as a museum. Mr. Thompson disappeared in Malaysia while vacationing in the highlands in 1967. No photos are allowed inside the museum. We liked the elevated door jams, which are said to keep out the evil spirits (because they only travel on the ground). They also had neat chamber pots in the rooms. One was a cat for the men to use, and the other a frog for the ladies. It was worth the visit if you are nearby.
A typical Thai house we later saw in Old Bangkok that was similar to Jim Thompson's house.
A quick stop for some street meat--grilled chicken breast. It took a friendly translator to communicate that I wanted the chicken breast and not the chicken's intestine. Whatever I ended up eating was pretty good.
We walked most of the way across town to go to the flower market. It was at least a two-hour walk. We finally decided to take a tuk tuk the rest of the way. We negotiated a price and hopped in. We knew to look out for crooked tuk tuk drivers because we were forewarned that they like to take tourists to shops where they get kick backs for bringing guests. Sure enough, he started heading away from the market and told us the market was flooded. Anna was on top of things and told him he was going the wrong way. He started mumbling things about shopping and eating and acting strange. I got firm with him and made him stop the tuk tuk so we could get out. It was an entirely unsuccessful trip to the market, but we did get a feel for the city.
The view on our walk.
Walking around town. I think I was faking that smile....
It was almost 5 p.m. by that time. We were starving and not loving Bangkok. We decided to head back for some lunch.
We stumbled on a market outside the National Stadium.
There were tasty treats all over the place. Above are crickets, cockroaches, worms, and some other mysterious treats.
Cockroaches. I heard the legs get stuck in your teeth-- one of the many reasons to skip it.
Our favorite was these potato skewers. They were spirals of potato battered and fried then sprinkled with different flavorings. Verrryyy tasty!
Herbal medicines.
We also stumbled upon the worlds worst rock band. I think it was a concert to raise money for the flood victims who live about an hour outside of Bangkok.
Vertigo bar at the Banyan Tree Hotel.
We treated ourselves to a drink before dinner. The view was spectacular. We enjoyed being above the chaos. The hotel concierge also informed us that the flower market was not flooded and that our own doorman was misinformed about the flooding in the area we wanted to walk around. Arghhh. It is a good thing we had a cool drink to soothe our battered souls.
Next up, dinner.
Anna posing with the figures made from condoms at the restaurant, Cabbages and Condoms, which promotes safe sex. They had some funky pictures and outfits on display.
A condom superhero.
Tom, this picture is for you. Chang, a Thai beer.
No fortune cookies at this joint--free condoms instead.
All in all, not a bad day but not our best. We booked a tour for tomorrow to go see the temples and the city sights. Despite our attempt to have a lazy day, we were still exhausted. "It is hard work being lazy."
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Bangkok, Thailand
No comments:
Post a Comment