Bangkok Rocks - A Week in Thailand

After an amazing two weeks in Vietnam, Andrea, Pea and I flew to Thailand and rented a condo in Bangkok for a week. Our initial goal was rest. We had just spent the night in 4 different locations around the Hanoi area in a period of just 5 days. Of course, we also wanted to sightsee and try Thai street food (Mostly Pad Thai) or Phat or Phad as it is called there.

Although we didn't spend a great deal of time in Thailand, we were impressed by Bangkok. A truly international city, The Kingdom of Siam presented a rich and varied landscape for our exploration. And, we ate bugs...and Pea liked them.


Bangkok features a fast and effective subway system for getting around the city. Cabs and Tuk-Tuks are a pretty cheap means to get around as well.


We tried some questionable flavors of KitKat including what looked and tasted like dogfood flavor.
The nice part of visiting Bangkok was there were many interesting foods to try. 


I think we scored about 50% correct on our streetfood gambles. Pad Thai was always good, but I'm not certain what type of meat was on some of those skewers, and I don't really want to know honestly. 


The Grand Palace and Emerald Buddha (unable to photograph) are a must see for any visitors to Bangkok. Built in 1782, this palace was home to the King and court of Siam for nearly 150 years. 


Featuring countless carvings and paintings, the intricate designs were nothing short of spectacular. 


Pea enjoyed exploring the many palace complexes. 


You must wear pants to the palace (which I did not bring with me). Thus, I wore Andrea's comfy elephant pants. I would note the strict dress codes before you visit.


The Grand Palace is over 200,000 sq meters in size. We spent several hours there and understandably failed to see everything. 


The palace served the King of Siam until 1932 when a political revolution replaced the traditional monarchy with a consitutional monarchy. 


Beautiful sight. (I'm talking about Andrea)


This is a picture of Andrea when I have done something wrong. See how I prefaced this joke with a compliment? That's a learned behavior.


Happy family!


I wonder if anyone knew I was a tourist...


The Thai people do not joke about Buddha. There are strict codes of conduct of respect where the Buddha is concerned. Buddha heads are strictly prohibited, only fully bodied statuettes and pictures are allowed. 


Even the exit gate was neat looking. 


The Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho was quite spectacular as well. Walking distance to the Grand Palace, it was easy to see both sites in one day. 


Wat Pho is one of Bangkok's oldest temples and is credited with being the birthplace of Thai Massage. 


After Vietnam, Pea become obsessed with Buddha. She still pays tribute to the Buddha figurine we bought her. 


The Reclining Buddha is 46 meters long! 


Posing Pea probably pooping. 


We took this picture, but I don't know Wat Pho (what for). Bad joke. 


Fruit vendors circulate the streets of Bangkok peddling delicious spicy mangoes...sweet, fiery and amazingly refreshing. 


Roasted grasshoppers are also an affordable treat along the streets of Bangkok. They weren't that bad actually and funnily, Pea actually enjoyed eating them. They tasted something like roasted almonds. 


This was one of the better street foods we enjoyed, a cabbage salad garnished with fried quail eggs. Amazingly good for about 50 cents. 


Pea-ce! She made lots of friends in Bangkok. 


Like in Indonesia and Vietnam, Pea was a big hit in Thailand as well.


After a nice stroll through Thammasat Univseristy, the girls and I found ourselves at Sanam Luang park, a big field overlooking the Grand Palace. Interestingly, we met and befriended a group of locals who belonged to a bird club. 


Paully did not want a cracker. However, he did want a bracelet. 


Sawadee-krap, Thailand! Males use the word "krap" at the end of many phrases while women use "ka". I could make lots of jokes about this, but I know you don't really give a krap. 


Pea making buddies at Sanam Luang. 


Pea was excited, but also kept a safe distance. Looks like one of us need to change that diaper. 


I would buy a bird, but I think I'm too cheep. HA! 


View from our Bangkok Condo. 


Near our spot, there was a nightly festival with good beats, good brews, and friendly people from all over the world.


My beautiful travel companion. 


This 1$ Pad Thai alone will inevitably draw us to visit Thailand again. Actually, one look at this deliciousness and I want to book another trip right now. 


Thai Iced Tea is everwhere as well. Condensed milk just makes everything taste so good. 


Okay, we ate at Sunrise Tacos several times. There is nothing resembling good Mexican food in Jakarta. This was good Mexican food. We also got to eat at Subway sandwich, a major highlight for me. 


Fun week in Bangkok. Now onto Siem Reap, Cambodia!


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