To be honest, Molly and I were a little apprehensive traveling to Thailand because we were unsure of how difficult it would be to navigate. However, we found Bangkok to be super interesting, lively, easy to get around and a welcomed change of pace from Europe.
In my jetlagged state, I thought it was a good idea to try some street meat on a stick right after we got settled in our hotel. Halfway through eating it, I realized that it was raw in the center and I instantly knew I was going to get sick. It was not even 12 hours in Thailand and I was already feverish with cold sweats. Luckily it wasn’t too bad and I powered through it in a day.
We spent our first full day exploring a few of Bangkok’s Buddhist temples, Wat Pho then Way Arun. We took the river ferry which is one of my favorite experiences in Bangkok. It’s very cheap (16 baht ~ 50¢), the breeze was amazing (when it is 95°F with a dew point of 76°F) and it was fun to watch all the boat traffic buzzing up and down the river.
Wat Pho was my favorite Buddhist temple and is the oldest in Bangkok. It was created to house a huge 150′ long 50′ tall reclining Buddha. We first visited this temple when it was very busy, so getting a good picture was a challenge. However on our last night while we were walking back to our hotel we noticed that the Temple was open to the public for the Vijit Chao Phraya Light Festival and had live music and food vendors. We just walked in for free and got to see the reclining Buddha almost all to ourselves.
On our second day we visited the Wat Phra Kaew located on the Grand Palace grounds. This temple houses the very sacred Emerald Buddha. Unfortunately we were not able to see it due to a ceremony where the clothes are changed to a winter version. Later we walked around to the various street markets.
Malls are a big thing in Thailand so in the afternoon we thought we would go check out the largest mall in Bangkok called Iconsiam. This mall is very fancy and is known for having a large indoor floating market where there are street food vendors from every region of Thailand.
Bangkok has one of the largest Chinatowns in the world and is apparently the best place to get street food. I found a place that looked popular with the locals and got a bowl of brown fish maw soup. I had no idea what fish maw was, but I thought it was really good and I haven’t had anything quite like it. The fish maw had an almost soaked bread like texture. Molly informed me after I finished that maw is the swim blatter of a fish and that it’s a Cantonese delicacy. I guess it isn’t the most ethical thing to eat due to over fishing, but now I know.
7-Eleven has a special place in my heart after our time in Thailand. While walking around Bangkok in the most brutal heat and humidity we have ever experienced, 7-Eleven was the air-conditioned oasis that we needed. There was one located almost on every block. They have cheap milk teas, iced americanos and the best part were these small grilled cheese paninis that they grill for you. They were a safe and easy thing to eat when we weren’t feeling well.
Bangkok exceeded our expectations and we are so glad we got to experience this city. We have gained a lot more confidence traveling in southeast Asia and we will definitely be back in the future.
Not Sew Fancy Travels 