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Shea and I met our shuttle this morning at 8:00am in the hotel lobby. There was nobody around from our tour so I guess our goodbyes from last night was the last time we would see anyone. It was an uneventful ride to the airport and after checking in for our flight to Bangkok aboard Thai Airways, we had some time to kill and wander the airport looking for some last minute souvenirs. I found a Starbucks where I purchased a few Cambodian Starbucks coffee mugs. I also found a large gift shop which had some carvings produced by Artisans Angkor. We visited the Artisans Angkor workshop on our first day in Siem Reap a few days back. I wanted to purchase one of their carvings but was hesitant to shell out a few hundred dollars. The price was the same here at the airport so I just bit the bullet and handed over $225 for an Aspara wood carving. The flight to Bangkok was very uneventful and within less than an hour of taking off from Siem Reap, we were landing in Bangkok.
After being picked up by our airport transfer, we were on the road making our way
Bangkok Skyline
From our room on the 21st floor of Hotel Indigoto the hotel for the next few days, Hotel Indigo in the Lumphini area of Bangkok. While being transferred, the first thing that I notice is that driving is on the left hand side of the road here similar to the UK. This was a bit surprising considering Thailand has no history of British influence. Located in a business area in the city center, Hotel Indigo is a wonderful boutique hotel with modern and vibrant interior decor and a friendly welcoming staff. We were hoping to check in early and relax in our room but the room wasn't immediately ready so we had an early lunch at the hotel's restaurant, Metro at Wireless. I ordered the Pad Thai however I found the Pad Thai here to be rather bland. Perhaps it was because I requested non-spicy but I didn't realize that meant without much flavor. Despite the disappointing first meal here in Thailand, we had a few beers which improved our moods and we had a very friendly and entertaining lady boy as our server.
Our room was on the 21st floor and had great views overlooking the Bangkok skyline. The beds were so comfortable and the air-conditioning so
cool that we decided to nap for a few hours. While Shea was still napping, I decided to stroll around the surrounding area to get my bearings as well as locate some snacks. The area around the hotel was more business oriented rather than tourist oriented. I noted a fair number of high end shopping, upscale restaurants, and even a few embassies including those of the United States and Vietnam. I eventually found a 7-11 which are much nicer than those found in the U.S. While purchasing my snacks, I was amazed at the various flavors of Lays chips that I found that were geared towards Asian taste buds such as Green Curry, Nori Seaweed, Salted Egg, and Mieng Kam Krob Ros. Back at the hotel, I checked out the rooftop pool with great views of the Bangkok skyline and was excited to have some time over the next few days to lounge and enjoy the pool.
We had signed up for a night food tour of Bangkok with Bangkok Food Tours which started at 6:00pm. The pick-up point for the food tour wasn't too far from the hotel so we decided to just walk instead of grabbing a
taxi. We cut through Lumphini Park which was a hive of activity. There appeared to be some sort of running event taking place at the park this evening with many people jogging and had a number attached to their shirts. Cutting through the park, we dodged the many joggers and eventually made it to the south-west corner of the park and had a quick view of the King Rama VI Monument. From here it was a short walk to our meeting point at Chamchuri Square. We were a bit confused at first as we were unable to locate anyone else who was joining the food tour. Eventually we found a British couple who also had signed up for the tour. We chatted for a bit until eventually many others showed up. Enough people had showed up that we were divided into 3 groups. Our tour leader for the evening was Ron, a Bangkok local who had lived for many years in Orange County. Our group made the short walk to the nearest major road where we all jumped into our awaiting tuk-tuks to bring us to our first stop of the evening.
Buzzing past cars on the traffic snarled
streets of Bangkok, our first stop this evening was a small family owned restaurant in the Pathum Wan District. Our table was split up based on one's tolerance for spiciness. Those who preferred their food spicy on one end while the non-spicy people on the other. Needless to say, I was on the non-spicy side while Shea sat on the other side. I chatted with some of the others in the group where I met a couple from South Korea, a guy from Chile, and a couple from Missouri. We all shared various small Thai dishes and washed it down with some Changi beer. Shea had indicated that the spicy food wasn't as spicy as she was hoping and that I probably would have been okay with it. From here we all got back into our tuk-tuks and made our way over to a place well known for their crispy fried noodles along Luang Road. Upon arriving we immediately made our way around the back of the restaurant to have a look at the outdoor kitchen to see how the noodles were prepared. The dish we all tried was Guay Tiew Kua Gai and is basically fried noodles along with
chicken and an egg flavored with soy sauce and spring onions and cooked in pork fat. This was easily the most delicious and flavorful of all the foods that we tried on this tour. After devouring our Guay Tiew Kua Gai, we made our way through various dark back alleys into central Bangkok where we stopped just outside of the famous flower market. Our guide Ron explained to us that the flower market was a hive of activity at all hours of the night and during our visit this was no exception. We explored inside the indoor market where it seemed that every flower and plant imaginable was being sold. In addition to flowers, the market is also one of the largest markets for fruits and vegetables in central Bangkok. Ron brought us to a couple of street vendors where we tried various tropical fruits. Continuing our walk, we passed the Phra Rachawang Police Station which Ron reminded us was featured in the movie The Hangover 2. Our tuk-tuks picked us up here and we made the short ride over to Wat Pho for a quick walking tour. This Buddhist temple complex is one of the most popular attractions here
in Bangkok and is usually teeming with tourists. However at this late hour, there were very few people here outside of a few local schoolchildren. It was quite nice to be able to wander around freely without having to battle the crowds. We walked around the numerous stupas which here were called chedis. Ron explained to us that some of these chedis contained the ashes of members of the Royal Family. We then walked past the room where the famous Reclining Buddha was located but obviously was closed for the night at this late hour. I knew that we would be back here during our visit so I wasn't worried that I was missing out on anything. After this quick walking tour of Wat Pho, we made our way to Thipsamai, our last food stop for the night. Thipsamai is a well known restaurant in Bangkok and is the origin of Pad Thai cooked with shrimp oil and herbs. When we arrived at Thipsamai, there was a line that reached well beyond the front door. While waiting to enter, we all had a quick look around at the street vendors nearby selling various sweets and desserts. It wasn't long thereafter
when Ron brought us into the restaurant bypassing the long line waiting outside. Shea and I sat with the South Korean couple and it wasn't long before our Pad Thai arrived. As much as I love Pad Thai, I just wasn't hungry after everything we had already eaten tonight. It was a struggle just to have even a few bites of my meal before I had to just eventually stop. I did enjoy some very delicious orange juice complete with chunks of orange. Our last stop for the tour was for a drink at a rooftop bar along the Chao Praya River. Here we enjoyed the cool midnight air along with our Changi beers while admiring the views over the river and of Wat Arun on the other side. After chatting for a bit with the Chilean guy who I had the sense wanted to hang out more and bar hop, Shea and I were getting very tired after what has been a very long day. We were only at this rooftop bar for about 30 minutes before heading back to our tuk-tuks for the long ride back to the hotel.
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