Bangkok

January 9th, 2016

Last night before going home.  Instead of sitting around the hotel, we headed to Bangkok’s Chinatown.  I had been there on a previous trip but during the day as opposed to the night.  It took on a very different ambiance.  It wasn’t just the lights, during the day there were a lot of gold shops along with food markets.  Although crowded during the day, it was busier at night and there was a lot of street side dining.

As before, I noticed things such as bird’s nest soup (with actual bird nests) and shark fin soup.  Not sure I would have tried either of those but there was plenty to choose from.

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Fried Papaya Salad

August 14th, 2014

Sophon and I were headed to our favorite seafood place when I spotted this place, it specialized in Thai food and it looked a bit trendy.  I wouldn’t be posting it on my blog if it wasn’t good!

One of the thing that I loved was the fired Papaya Salad.  I had never seen or heard of it prior to a visit to the Night Market on sunset Blvd.  Here I found the real thing and it was good.

As usual, we ordered too much and we at too much!  I guess that this what vacations are for.  Sophon loves Mango with sticky rice.  He actually ate that entire serving after eating that huge meal!  I cannot eat like that any more!

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August 13, 2014

It was off to Chinatown and to see the Golden Buddha – the worlds largest golden statue.  The history of it is somewhat a mystery.  It dates back to either the 13th and 14th century.  The statue was created and then later completely covered with plaster. Scholars believe this was done in order to prevent the Burmese from stealing the statue when Ayutthaya fell to the Burmese in 1767.  It remained in the ruins of Ayutthaya until it was moved to Bangkok.

It wasn’t until 1955 until they discovered that beneath the plastered Buddha was a solid gold Buddha.  The story goes that the workman were trying to place it on a pedestal and the ropes broke which caused the Buddha to crash, exposing the sold gold statue beneath the plaster.

It is currently located at the top of the temple Wat Traimit in Chinatown.  The statue weighs over 5 tons and has an estimated value over 250 Million US dollars.

There was one floor of the temple dedicated to the history of Chinatown.  It looks like it was done very recently and it was very interesting.  Another floor of the temple is dedicated to how the Golden Buddha was made and the history of it.

Is it me or does he look like C3PO? Just a little?

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August 13, 2014

The golden buddha is housed in the Wat Traimit temple.   It is a temple that is easy to miss.  We took a sky train, then a subway and landed in Chinatown.  I risked my life crossing a couple of roads and then this temple easily missed emerged.  When I went in, it was sunny and when I came out it was overcast.  I was glad I got some shots early in the day when the sun was shinning, it glimmered off of the temple.

This temple houses the Golden Buddha, a solid gold Buddha on the top floor of the temple.  Lower floors are used to house exhibitions about the history of the Chinese in Bangkok and how the golden Buddha was made.  It was overall a really great place to go to and kind of a hidden gem.

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Chinatown

August 13, 2014 Chinatown in Bangkok is like no other Chinatown I have ever seen.  Being south of China, it is no surprise that this is one very large Chinatown with one of the largest markets.  As I write this, my clothing still smells of the spices, herbs and mushrooms that were in that market.

I was surprised to see a lot (as in every other restaurant) restaurants serving shark fin soup.  I was intrigued by the restaurants serving Bird’s nest Soup.  I know there are strange and exotic foods but a bird’s nest?  I thought that maybe different birds gather different materials in order to create a nest, it could be very possible that the nests taste quite good and then I picture the nests outside my house full of bird poop and feathers.  Yes, me and bird nest soup is not going to happen!

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Tom Yum Fish

August 12th, 2014

It is mother’s day in Thailand which is a National holiday.  Mother’s day coincides with the reigning Queen’s Birthday.  That meant restaurants were going to be packed.  Sophon is from Thailand so I met them for an early dinner.  His mother is 80, half my size but is what we would call a pistol.  I would have never guessed she was her age.

She had decided between three places at the Central Mall and we would go into the mall and the first one we found would be the one we would eat at.  The first one we found was Laem Cha-Roen Seafood and I really loved that place.  Ironically, I found that she was looking at ordering the same things I was.

After dinner, she wanted to check out the grocery store on the top floor of the mall.  I am always up for a grocery store – especially in a foreign country.  Let me tell you for an 80 year old, she certainly can move, she bee-lined it right to the bakery section looking for bread.    My kind of person! Continue reading →

Bridges over Bridges

No elevator used to get supplies to the top.

August 9, 2014

Bangkok is one of the most congested cities I have ever seen.  I was struck by that when I first travel to Bangkok almost 15 years ago.  Since then, they have added a skytrain which has done little to ease the congested traffic that runs all hours of the day and night. Continue reading →

August 8, 2014

For the most part, I really enjoy flying.  It doesn’t always go well and there have been flights I would rather forget about but for the most part, I look forward to the experience.   Being at a Star Alliance Gold Level helps tremendously, the lines are shorter, the luggage comes out sooner, and with enough points you can upgrade to Business Class and that makes a huge difference.

My flight to Bangkok started in Los Angeles, it stopped in Narita (Tokyo), before landing in Bangkok.  The first leg of the trip was on United’s 787 Dreamliner.  I treated myself to business class and it was worth every minute of it.  I had  10 hours of being served while watching movies.

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