Bangkok Day 3

Another busy day out in the Big Mango.  We visited a few new things near the Banglampu area including a nice temple and the Royal Mount.  Lunch was at Chote Chitr at long last.  I certainly enjoyed it although it wasn't worth all the hassle I went through to find it.  The food was very good although I was somewhat turned off by how focused the restaurant is on tourists.  I'm fairly certain that no Bangkok residents would ever eat at Chote Chitr due to the relatively high prices.  I guess I've become a total snob for local, local places although the cooking was certainly good at Chote Chitr.    

After lunch we visited a famous Thai dessert place that was other worldly, Nom Mod Sod.  I will definitely visit this place again before I depart for LA.

After our dessert we visited the Golden Mount.  This is very nice temple with great views of Bangkok.  I really enjoyed visiting the Golden Mount and would definitely return again.

In the late afternoon the sky opened up and it absolutely poured for awhile.  

Dinner was at an old favorite of mine near Soi Nana - Took Lae Dae inside the Foodland Market on Soi 5.  I ordered the pad kee mao noodles.  They were decent but I've had much better.  I asked for it spicy and my dish came 'farang spicy'. 

Some pics from Chote Chitr:

Khao Sarn Road, Bangkok

Visited the Khao Sarn Road area of Bangkok last night after getting to Chote Chitr and finding it closed (again).  I should give up on the damn place.  Unfortunately, I left my camera in the room.  Khao Sarn at night is a spectacular place for photography.  The area is famous for being the 'backpacker area' in Bangkok.  It is basically a human carnival where the people watching is as good as it gets.  We ate at a little shack on the street that took 30+ minutes to serve out food.  At least when it arrived it was really good because I was getting pretty pissed off.  I needed an extra Beer Lao to cool me off. 

Ready to head out for another day in the big city.  Tomorrow we leave for Ko Samet.  A little island getaway on the weekend.  Monday will be the flight to the Northeastern city of Ubon Thani and then a border crossing into Laos.

Here is our snack yesterday afternoon.  The famous Isaan salad dish Som Tam.

Siam Paragon, Bangkok

We spent some of the afternoon at Siam Paragon, which is the premier shopping mall in Bangkok.  What an incredible place!  I'm actually not surprised at all since it seems that no mall in the western world can match the malls I've seen in Asia.  The food court at this mall is absolutely massive and has just about everything you can think of.  A lot of it looking so very good.  All of the western favorites are there.  Krispy Kreme had by far the biggest line.  Lilly says the people here are nuts about the donuts.  All of the high end shops are of course.  Canali, Zegna, etc.  RT - eat your heart out.

Here is me inside a Tuk-Tuk outside.

Boat Noodles at Victory Monument

Lunch today was something that I have been waiting to do since I discovered boat noodles at Sapp in Hollywood, California.  There is an area near Victory Monument that has several boat noodle restaurants next to each other right on the side of a canal.  This is supposed to be the best place in Bangkok to sample this famous Thai noodle dish.  I can't tell you how very happy I was to be there.

We walked around looking at the different shops and ultimately settled on the one that was the most crowded.  My original thought was to sample the noodles at a few different places but that idea was quickly scratched after my first slurp.  The flavors were just incredible!  The broth is so thick and rich.  Sorry Sapp Hollywood, I love you but you have been trumped.  I dig how the noodles are served in little bowls that you stack up.  Prices are a lofty 9 baht per bowl. 

Bangkok Day 1

The first day of my trip was quite busy (and seemed to last forever).  I got the welcome Thai massage for an hour.  It felt great and only cost $5 for an hour.  Lilly and I drove around the city for part of the day.  Traffic everywhere.   We ditched the car and rode the public transportation later (the better bet).  Food is everywhere and we ate throughout the day.  We had dinner in Silom on the street.  The highlight was fresh red snapper in chili lime sauce.  Amazing flavors.  I was utterly exhausted by last night.  I slept great and woke up early this morning.  Just had a very good western breakfast at my hotel.  Plans for today are getting my visa for Laos and getting lunch at Chote Chitr.  Boat noodles later in the day at Victory Monument.