Bangkok Bangkok (Day 1)

Sawadikaaaaap!

A mini Bangkok travelogue:

Day 1 (18 Mar 05)

Happiness. 1st trip together for the both of us, the GF and I. She's been to Bangkok only once, like 15 years ago maybe, me been there quite a few times, most recently Aug last year. Hope to make this a real treat for her, which in return, provides me with an added incentive to revisit the bustling city.

Arrived at Bangkok international airport, instantly greeted by the tour agent holding up our names in bold. I have to say, this is the most impressive and efficient agency I got in Bangkok. Fast, minimal hassle, super comfty (as we'll find out on the last day).

Survived minor jams and reached Asia hotel around 3 plus in the afternoon. Have never stayed in other hotels, cos this one's just so darn convenient, being connected (literally) to the Ratchathewee BTS station. The BTS... simple yet efficient. The frequencies between trains are at least twice as fast as out local SMRT.

Decided to head towards Siam Square, a shopping area which I have not been to before. Sadly, the shopping complexes were rather uninteresting. Not the best start, but no problem, since not much time spent. Went straight to MBK (Ma Boon Krong), arguably the most popular shopping centre in Bangkok. The GF and I bought a pair of jeans each - cheap, comfortable and pretty decent in quality. Got hungry and had dinner at the giant food court; the GF was slightly amused at the way food courts work in Thailand. Coupons had to be purchased before you could 'buy' food and any extra coupons refunded at a separate counter after meals. Still haven't really figured out the reason for this system yet... watch this space. Phad Thai was delicious, and so was the pork knuckle meat (my all-time fav Bangkok food). Topped off with sweet, sour and slightly salty honey lemon juice... yum!

After a short rest back at the hotel, we went to Suan Lum, my favorite Bangkok night market (in case you're wondering, no, it's not where pole-dancers are). Hired a Tuk Tuk for 100 Baht; the ride was a new experience for the GF. Pity he didn't speed fast enough to give her the 'real' Tuk Tuk experience, but it was still quite an interesting ride. Turns out that the driver's an Everton fan, so we had a good time laughing at Liverpool's misery this season. Hope it's not a case of speaking too soon...

Suan Lum had an interesting variety of goods on display, but we didn't buy much. Guess we were too picky. But it was still an enjoyable walk... although it almost killed our legs! There was an interesting shop with a young lady vendor whose sweetness easily persuaded us to buy two packets of cripsy seaweed. According to the GF, she not only offered us samples to try, she also did it with a request: "Bite Me Please!". Apparently, that was the shop's name as well. Man, how on earth did I miss hearing that!? After an hour plus we were still stuck in the first tent (out of about 4 full tents), and eventually we didn't have enough time (and energy) to cover every shop in detail as they all started closing. In the end, the GF got a pair of cool pants and I got a nice sling bag as reward for our 'efforts'.

We were totally whacked out when we reached the hotel. And we have not even started our main event tomorrow yet... the Chatuchak weekend market. Nevertheless, we could still muster just enough energy to grab some 'experimental' street food near the hotel. The 1st we tried were two sticks of very yummy looking 'meatballs'. I emphasise "looking"... because they tasted absoultely horrendous. We had no idea what we were chewing, if we did manage to chew at all. Luckily it was a cheap investment, just 20 Baht. The next thing we bought was a piece of beef fillet... which was tediously grilled over a charcoal stove. It tasted quite bad and very raw... yet another failed experiment. The final thing we bought were beefball kway teow from another stall. Was expecting the worst, but this time we finally struck gold. The beefballs were juicy and chewy, with the soup and noodles tasting surprisingly good as well. The feeling of success was almost marred by the hotel wanting to charge us 30 baht for borrowing their bowl and utensils. That's as much as what the beefball meal costs! So we proceeded to have a great time eating straight from the plastic bag, with a pair of chopsticks and spoon the hawker had kindly 'loaned' us, which we didn't return eventually!

So much for the 1st day... pretty eventful I must say. Next up, Day 2! Stay tuned!