The night we arrived in Bangkok, I realized that the heat we experienced in Australia, would be nothing compared to what we were about to face. Immediately my shirt began to stick to my body and the humid air made it difficult to breath. As I soon found out, this temperature was considered cold, and I should have appreciated the nice break from the heat. The hostel we were staying in was in the heart of China town, and it sure reminded us of China. The bad traffic, cracked roads, and littered sidewalks, were unmistakable even in the dimming light. Later that week, we tasted a delicious Chinese bun, which once again sent us back to China. Despite our first impressions, we had a blast during our stay in Bangkok. The hostel had shared dorm rooms which I slept in for a few nights, and a coffee shop down stairs. As well as a beautiful balcony that gave us a view of the city, it also happened to be a great place to lounge while we were doing school.
Bangkok is a huge, sprawling and congested city. To travel by car, or Tuk Tuks, (motorcycles with a carriage connected to the back) took often over 40 minutes, due to traffic and distance. So, we took a bus boat. (The bus boat works exactly like a bus, holding many passengers and stopping at different stops, only its a boat.) These boats were often crammed with 100+ people. Mostly locals, with a smattering of tourist, like us. On our second day in Bangkok, we boarded a bus boat and sailed across the river to the meeting point of our foodie tour. Yes, another foodie tour. People who have read my blog before know that this isn't our first foodie tour, and it won’t be our last. But we feel the need to get to know the food in the countries we are visiting, because it helps us better understand the culture. We were joined in our tour, by a retired English couple, an older man from the US, two young men from Sweden, and a young couple who now live in Kenya. On our first stop, we headed off to a local favorite restaurant on the outskirts of the Chinese quarter. There we sampled some duck breast on rice, with a secret sauce. The sauce was delicious, and I have to say the duck breast was too. Though I couldn’t eat more than one bite of the meat, because I think ducks are just too cute to be eaten. I’m glad I didn’t because there was no way I would have been able to taste all the food that was to come. Our group boarded another bus boat and headed of to the outskirts of Bangkok. There in another local favorite restaurant, we had a family stye meal to share between all of us. This meal consisted of 3 dishes. Spicy papaya salad, fried lemongrass on fried chicken, and waterfall beef. I didn’t try the lemongrass chicken, but I did try the waterfall beef. It was delicious. The flavor melted in my mouth and it was one of my favorite dishes. The papaya salad was a mild sweet taste in the beginning, but then I accidentally ate a full chilly pepper. I couldn’t feel my mouth yet it burned at the same time. (I’m pretty sure anyone else who has ever eaten a whole chilly pepper can relate to that feeling.) The cook saw me running around the table with my tongue hanging out of my mouth so she handed me a bowl of what looked like brown mush. Telling me it would help. I didn’t question her, and immediately spooned some of the mush into my mouth. It was raw palm sugar. The sticky sweetness melted on my tounge, and though it didn’t help with the burning sensations that still coursed through my mouth, it still tasted delicious. From that restaurant we went to a soup restaurant. The soup we were served was sweet sour and spicy at the same time. Then we ambled to a muslim restaurant learning a bit about Bangkok’s history. At the muslim restaurant we were served the well known dish Massaman curry. For our last dish and for dessert we went to a fancier restaurant, that was founded by the royal family. There we tasted a delicious green curry, with a variation of naan bread on the side. Last but not least, for desert we had a scoop of heavenly homemade coconut sorbet. It was a delicious day, I learned a lot about Bangkok’s history and culture, and it was a great introduction to Thailand.