Bangkok #4: Chatuchak Market and Patpong

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Our plan for our final day was to head to the big market because it was a Saturday and the market is only open on the weekends. We were debating how to get there, take the hotel shuttle to the sky train and then take the sky train across the city, or to take a taxi, but by looking on line it seemed that the traffic was really crappy. We decided to get a taxi, at least we could sit in the air-con that way. We paid the extra 50 baht to take the highway and it was dead we got to the market in about 15, maybe twenty minutes, not the 40 minutes to an hour that it said it would take on line. We were deposited by Chatuchak market.

I was surprised when we walked into the markets as they were not at all what I expected. I was expecting it to be like a generic market in South East Asia, little stalls and alleyways, a warren of passages and easy to get lost in. However the outer edge of the market was a pleasant surprise. The stalls were actually like small shops. They looked pretty fancy and all seemed to sell pretty good stuff, nice fashionable clothing, shoes, funky t-shirts, candles, posh looking soap, and those aroma diffusers. We also happened upon the most amazing stall, ever! It was a tiny food stall that sold pigs in blankets! Yes, you could buy sticks with three little sausages on it, and each sausage was wrapped in bacon. Well, of course we couldn't resist, so we ordered a set of three sticks to share. The stall also did garlic bread, so we got some of that to share, too. This area had some benches in the middle of the wide walkway and you could sit and chill there, which we did with our food. The food was great, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We ventured deeper into the markets, further inside it was more like a traditional markets, loads of stalls crammed together, load of different paths to walk down, you could get so lost in there. We wandered around looking at all the stuff on offer. There was a real mix of stuff, tourist tat and regular stuff for people living in the city. the busiest stall that we saw was the one selling Chinese style pork. There were loads of people queuing up to buy it. We were in need of some food, a drink, and a sit own by this point, so we headed to an outdoor restaurant in the market. It was filled with tourists. We had a look through the menu, but all the food looked really unappealing, so we settled for ice coffees only. We spent a while sitting there people watching.

Revived by our coffees, we took another walk around the market. Still hungry, I stopped by some of the food stalls to see what was on offer. I was in my element looking at the different stuff on offer. If I had the money and the stomach capacity, well really the money, my belly has plenty of room, I would have bought one of everything on offer and two of all the ones I liked. Anyway, I got some tiny fried eggs. I presume they were quail's eggs. I love quail's eggs in Korea, where they are served hard boiled in soy sauce. It was nice to try them in the fried form. I really should buy some from the supermarket and cook them that way. The other thing I tried was these little seafood pancakes. I split them with Shell as she was up for trying them. They were really nice and I could have happily polished off the lot myself. We spent a bit longer looking around the markets. I had bought some soaps earlier and I didn't buy anything else. None of us really bought anything. I had really wanted a lamp, but the plugs were the wrong kind, and I would have no idea how or if it is possible to change a plug. The market was starting to get busier and after a while it was all the same kind of stuff, so we went and found a taxi to take us back to the hotel.

We returned to the hotel and went upstairs to change, so that we could make use of the pool for the last time. The sky looked pretty ominous and we rushed out. We were too late, it was raining a little. Sod it, we went into the pool for a swim, I was expecting it to be cold because of the rain, but it was still warm. I didn't stay in the pool for very long, as it started to bucket it down. I huddled under an umbrella on my sun lounger. The ball I had curled up into getting smaller and smaller, as the rain pelted down, the umbrella didn't put up much of a defense. There was another big down pour, before the rain subsided. I took a nap on my sun lounger. When I woke, I chatted to the others for a while. We made a plan for that evening. So we headed back upstairs to shower and get ready.

We met in the reception area, around half eight and we asked reception to call us a taxi. So much easier than trying to haggle with one. One turned up that was dropping off other guests and we got in. Immediately the bloke quoted a price to go to Patpong, and we said meter, so he switched it one. I'll be glad to not have to deal with Bangkok taxi drivers again. It's just so much hassle. The taxi ride wasn't too long, and we were deposited at the start of the market street in Patpong. We wandered down the market street. The traders were quoting ridiculous prices, however we bargained down one bloke and all bought some snidey flip flops. There were only three quid, probably two quid more than we should have paid for them. There were lots of dodgy looking bars lining the street surrounding the market. We ha talked about going to see a ping-pong show, I really wanted to as I think it would be hilarious, an I would love to see the clientele these places attract. But after googling it, it seemed just like too much hassle, another chance to be ripped off. I was sick of people trying to rip me off, and didn't want to give them another chance too. So no ping-pong show for us.

We stopped at Boot's, to do more expat shopping. Deodorant, cheap Boot's own brand deodorant, and it was on three for two! Oh the joys! Us expats get excited over the saddest things. I have to say a big shout out for the staff in Boot's in Thailand, both at this branch in Patpong and at the one in Don Muang airport we visited before departure, they were excellent, impeccable English, polite, and really helpful. I love that you can all the drugs you need over the counter that you can't get in Korea, or need a prescription for. One set of pills I wanted they didn't have, but they had something similar, bless the pharmacist, he took my phone with the picture if what I wanted and went and googled it, to see if the dosages were the same as the one he had, they weren't but at least he tried. Also he didn't have enough of another drug I wanted so asked if I could wait, an he would get another shop to deliver them. I didn't have time to wait, but great service nonetheless.

We were starving by this point, so we went off in search of some dinner. We found a great restaurant: man woman food drink. That was the name of it, cracking! They had outdoor seating, so we sat outside enjoying the sights that were going by. We were at the end of the gay strip. There were a few drag queens walking past in various states of dress, some were done up to the nines, whereas others were obviously clocking off and had started to take their faces off. We were totally undecided by the menu there were about a million things we wanted to try, so sod it, it was our last night and we went made ordering all the different appetizers that we wanted to try. We ordered onion rings, baked mussels, tempura ennoki mushrooms, pizza spring rolls, and calamari. The onion rings and calamari were lovely, normal like what you would expect, but since I don't get to eat them really at all in Korea, I thoroughly enjoyed them. The pizza spring rolls were good, we have something similar in Korea, but these were a lot tastier. They weren't greasy and were served with a really nice Marinara sauce. The baked mussels were delicious, they were covered with cheese and under the cheese there was chopped tomato and garlic. They were very garlicky, just how I like my food. The ennoki mushrooms were a good find. They are really thin, long mushrooms, the kind used in jjigae in Korea, I don't know if they are used or available in the West. They were delish, coated in batter, they were light and easy to eat, a bit like crisps. They would be perfect as a snack or tapas.

We were a bit full from our appetizers, but we had to fit in our main meals, too. The girls had chicken Pad Thai, that they enjoyed. I had XO spicy seafood rice. It was really all my faves in one dish, seafood, rice, a fried eggs and a little bit of a kick. I really enjoyed it, and I will definitely look out for it again, when I return to Thailand or Southeast Asia. We were too stuffed too move after dinner, so we sat for a while with a few beers an cocktails, people watching and chatting, not wanting the holiday to end. Finally, we ragged ourselves away from the bar and found a taxi to take us home. I didn't want the holiday to end and I definitely wasn't looking forward to my two hours of sleep, due to our early start to get to the airport.

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