Adventure is what we wanted and adventure is what we have experienced. Only three days in and so much to share! As we arrived in Bangkok, there was a storm that had just moved in. Rain was pouring down and from our plane, we had to be shuttled to customs. No problem here, we got through just fine and with no wait. Next stop, finding how to get to our hotel. After some searching and looking like lost Americans, we found our way to the shuttle and made it safe.
We arrived about 11:30PM and not having adjusted, were really hungry. We thought to try the random place right next to our hotel since it was the only place we could walk and not get sopping wet. And conveniently was still open and serving food despite the time. We hopped in grabbed a table and ate some delicious food. Welcome to Thailand.
The next morning, we transfered to a hotel further from the airport. We have learned there is no true downtown to Bangkok, just different neighborhoods that offer different atmospheres. There was nothing crazy where we were just great hospitality and wonderful service. The jet-lag finally caught us and at about 6pm, we were exhausted and fell asleep. All plans for the night fell through and we woke up later, ate food and fell back asleep. Fun times.
Waking up the next morning, we went on the hunt for food and coffee. We stopped at a street food vendor and having no idea what the menu was, pointed to whatever was listed at the top and said we would have two. Delicious again. It was some type of omelet thing with pork? on a bed of rice with chili sauce. so simple and wonderful. From here, we jumped on the skytrain (similar to the link light rail back home) in search of a market. We have realized this is the easiest and safest way to get around....more on this later.
The markets here are incredible, gross from an American perspective, although a great representation of Thai culture. I am not admitting the Thai culture is gross, but as Americans, we are all about cleanliness, health codes, standards, etc.. Restaurants, hotels, vendors, etc. must meet standards and at Starbucks, they are not allowed to give your coffee with the lid off for fear of contamination. Well, we really haven't gotten that impression here.
Danny and I have not been shy about eating street food. We use common sense, but we came here to experience everything we can, not to hide on a beautiful semi-Thai but really more American resort. The markets here are not like the farmers markets back home. They are huge and much more permanent. They stink. Most likely because of the huge piles of various meats and fish standing about. The Thai people butcher their meat and clean their fish right in front of you. Typically, water is on the ground, likely from the heavy tropical rainfall and the occasional cleaning of their areas. Oh, and there are plenty of stray (or owned, its hard to tell) cats and dogs lying about. There are also piles upon piles of beautiful fruits and vegetables, spices, candies, and random...well stuff. You would think after all this Danny and I would never feel safe eating again, but we keep on trucking. We think we will take the out of site out of mind approach.
We were told by some friends to try dragon fruit. Lots and lots. But of course like any good traveler we never looked up what this fruit looks like and in the market, there are no signs in English and very little English is spoken. So naturally, we chose a fruit that if we were in the fruit naming business, would look like a dragon. We fumbled through ordering, most likely paid way too much money, had our fruit sliced and excitedly found our way to a park to enjoy this dragon fruit. It was...disgusting. Smelly. It was similar to a pudding texture and I really don't know how to describe the taste. We were also not allowed on the train with this fruit in hand. After googling this (thank you modern technology) we found it was named Durian, the treasured fruit of Thailand, described as "the king of fruits, distinctive for it's large size, strong odor, and thorn covered husk". The fruit is also banned from certain hotels and public transportation. Clearly we are making progress as official American tourists who are simply trying to understand another way of life and culture. You win this round, Thailand.
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