I only got Sundays off do I did the most that I could with it
Wherever my mom was going, I tagged along or if I wanted to go somewhere, some one would take me
I'll tell you about the places I go to or the things I eat... This is several days in one blog so no I didn't do this in one day
They celebrate Valentine's Day here... I found this to be bizarre
Fresh popiah (spring roll wrapped around cucumber, Chinese sausage, tofu, and bean sprouts. Served with spring onion, chilies and sauce) - the sauce was too thick and sweet but the popiah was fine, I don't personally like them so it was ok
Lad Na - wide flat rice noodles with pork, egg, and Chinese broccoli in gravy - this place is supposed to be known for their Lad Na so this was pretty good, the gravy wasn't too thick and it tasted good
Coconut ice cream in a coconut! - the coconuts are halved and the meat scraped then ice cream is scooped in and topped with peanuts.. So delicous and satifying... This was 40B ($1.23) Serioisly!
A non-western toilet for anyone who was wondering... You squat! Not many places have them anymore but they do still exist
An indoor flea market I went to selling new and second hand stuff
Outside of the flea market was a fresh market - I've come to the conclusion that if you have a craft/trade and own a blanket, you can open a shop anywhere...
Remember when I said I look pale in my pictures?
#Fun fact about Thailand# being white or pale is really desired here in Thailand... People will wear makeup one or two shades lighter than their skin to look white... It's a sign of class (you don't work in the fields)... So in Thailand they sell products geared towards people who want to look white... Talk about self-esteem issues
I went to a small island off of Bangkok called Koh Kret cause my mom says they have decent shopping there.... It's literally a small island that you can cross a river to get to. There are temples and homes on this island, people use boats to get to and from the island and around to local markets
Our boat was taking off from a temple, you'll find buckets like this and wonder why they have animals in them... Well these animals are caught by temple people and the animals are used to make merit. The idea is you pay for the animal (eels, birds, turtles, or fish), say a prayer and release it back in to nature. Of course the temple people will them capture it again and start the cycle over but it's the thought of having done something good to turn your luck around... The money you spent also goes back in to the temple and the people who "sell" the animals
The boat ride along the river costed 30B ($0.92) each way
When you get to the island, you quickly learn that their specialty is pottery... They make these beautifully hand-crafted urns, vases, tea cups, coffee mugs, etc. There's also someone working on a piece at the shop to show you their skills
The clay is shaped and the artist will use various tools to carve designs in to pottery before being baking it
The island also had many options for food... Of course
These are the cup desserts I had earlier in my trip in Bangkok, the pandan flavored custard with coconut cream topping, this is how it's normally made and served
This is called Miang Kum - ginger, shallot, lime (with skin on), peanuts, sliced chilies, and a sweet and savory jam are folded in to a betel leaf and eaten in one bite. Miang means wrap and Kum means a bite, another variationis Miang Som O which is the same thing but with pomelo. This is convenient though cause it was folded and skewered 4 or 5 on a stick, 2 sticks for 20B ($0.61), seen below
My mom said she used to eat this as a kid and this was my first time having it so I was interested and confused at the same time.... Khao Biak means wet rice... The rice is cooked with food coloring and served in chilled rose water. The accompaniments are pork jam, sweet pork floss, pickled daikon, fried shrimp paste (clockwise starting from the top). The rice is pretty bland but the water is flavored by rose extract so it's floral rice in cold water. You eat a little bit of the rice then you pick at the different accompaniments, you don't put the accompaniments into the bowl of rice!! The pork jam was my favorite, followed by the fried shrimp paste... Both were sweet and had the texture of fruit roll up. The other two were just ok... The flavors didn't tickle my fancy
Mini taro pancakes
Old school (Boran) Popsicles! Each stick is 3B ($0.10)!!!
In late 2011 and early 2012 there was a Great Flood of Bangkok, as the locals call it... Torrential rain pour and a winding river caused the flow to the sea to back up and the city to become completely flooded. Areas lower than sea level were devastated, hundreds of people lost their lives and millions were affected. This photo of monks walking thru the flood to receive food was pointed out to me and I found it really moving. Monks can only eat before noon and their main source of food is thru donations, either to the temple or by walking thru neighborhoods and being offered food from the homeowners. This picture shows the monks walking thru a neighborhood with chest deep water, clutching the bowls they accept their food in
Boran ice cream - sweet sticky rice, mung beans, coconut ice cream, peanuts 10B ($0.30)... Can't beat that price for dessert!
I sat towards the back of the boat on the return trip this time and got a picture of our boat driver... He was happy to pose for me
Three flavored fried fish - the fish doesn't actually have 3 flavors... It's the sauce! Sweet, spicy and sour, poured over fried fish
Spicy razor clam stir fry - this dish was ok... I can't quite describe what I didn't care for but I didn't care for it
On another day off my mom and her friends took me to an outdoor market... It was called the Honey Market but had nothing to do with honey
It was incredibly hot, so even though this market was covered but open air, the heat coming off other people's bodies made it feel like a sauna... Be prepared to sweat!
These are little pumpkins filled with pandan and coconut flavored custard, steamed then topped with duck egg yolk noodles... It's a nice mixture of sweet and savory, but for those who like texture, this doesn't have much...
Ham hock noodle soup... Yea you read correctly... I almost cried when the girl told me she can make it! I normally love ham hock over rice but this was with noodles including the egg, yu choy greens and pickled mustard greens... So gelatinous and five spice-y!!
Our scenic lunch area and my mom
This is the ham hock station
Ducks on display... As they also served duck over rice and duck noodles
After lunch we drove thru central Bangkok and walked around a bit to see the mob action (protests)... For those who don't know, Thailand is having civil unrest at the moment because many people dislike the current prime minister, they think she's shady and they want her out.... You should also know she's the younger sister of the former prime minister who was outed in a coup for corruption in 2006 so apparently it runs in the family... The country is pretty divided om their preference and there have been massive protests for both sides.. This rally center is for the people who want her out. There's a stage for speakers and hundreds of people sleeping in tents and selling support paraphernalia.. Apparently at night it gets crazy. Basically lots of surrounding streets are closed off so traffic has been horrendous and many shops in the area have suffered from the lack of business. Enough business owners had complained so the rally sight was moved to a different part of central Bangkok
On another day off my mom arranged for some of her friend's friends to show me how to make Pork and Crispy rice salad... I was excited to learn this cause it's normally made with fermented pork and it's one of my favorites!
This lady I had to call Auntie showed me a way I've never seen it before, generational secrets and Boran ways. This is her mixing the rice with with some curry paste
Me shaping the rice in to disks (the way I normally have it is the rice is mixed with curry paste, left out to dry in to individual grains and then fried like rice crispies)
My UFO rice saucers waiting to be fried
The finished product (normally I have it with fermented/sour pork and peanuts).. Ground pork, pig skin, fried rice patties crished, fresh ginger, cilantro, shallots/green onions, salt, and lime juice. Served with fried dried chilies and lettuces.... I was surprised to learn that fish sauce is not used to season this dish but the reason makes sense, it adds too much moisture to it and makes the rice soggy (secrets!)
Pork egg noodles tom yum style for lunch on another occasion (too much sugar so I had to scoop some out)
After my stages were over I have friends joining me... The first to arrive are Rose wnd Kamy! Already traveling for 2 months prior, they knew I was going to be in Thailand and planned on coming to meet me
They requested I find a way to get them Sak Yant tattoos... Made popular by Angelina Jolie, Sak Yant tattoos are traditional protection tattoos performed and practiced by monks... Anyone can get them but you have to be diligent about the meditation and the rules to live by. Each Sak has a different protection and meditation... mainstream temples will do it cause it's now become touristy which is sad
When I first arrived to Thailand I ran into a gentleman at the market and noticed his body was done Sak Yant so I asked him where he had it done, he was happy to share information and offered to take me there... When the time came closer for Rose and Kamy's arrival, I went to check out the place for them... The monk/teacher took a look at my arm and said he doesn't do this kind of work, his work is ugly and tried to wave me off, I explained it wasn't for me and that they know it's not going be as smooth as a machine tattoo. Then he asked where I heard of him and who brought me, and kept repeating that I was not allowed to take pictures... Finally after much persuading, he agreed to meet my friends... And after much of their persisitance of understanding the rules, the pain, and no pictures, he agreed to Sak
And voilà!
Both give them protection from wrong doings and harm but they mean something different from eachother, they were both blessed and given meditations to perform everyday. I feel excited that I was able to be a part of this experience for them (Don't ask where and the name of the teacher cause we were sworn to secrecy and also cause I wouldn't know how to go back if I wanted to, small donations were given, and the needle was cleaned before he started but not cleaned between both friends)
After Sak Yant I took them to walk Soi Khao San (backpackers street). TONS of shopping, tourists, and hostels... That's why it's known as backpackers street... Food is pricier here cause it's geared towards tourists but shopping is fairly decent
We rode to Central Bangkok (Siam Center/Discovery/Paragon) to meet Kamy's friend on a tuk tuk... If you've never been it's really fun! They easily zip thru traffic and they know local streets to cut traffic and since the price is already agreed upon before you get on, there's no worry about racking up the meter
After meeting with Kamy's friend and having dinner, we took the Skytrain or BTS home. It's really easy to use.. Ynu look at where to want to get off, it'll show a number at that spot, that's the price you pay. So select the corresponding price on the ticket machine and pay (the machine only takes coins!) and it'll give you a ticket... If you don't have enough coins you can approach the information window, hand them the bill(s) and they will give you coins in return
Take the ticket and put it in the machine, locate which direction your train is traveling and take those stairs up... Keep your ticket handy as you will need to insert it in the machine to get out the of station
We went to the seafood restaurant Ja Cai and ordered so much food!!!
One whole fish, 1K of cockles, 1K of praying mantis shrimp fried, stir fried Chinese watercress
And 3K of fresh water shrimp!! Omg there were 3 plates just like this one of shrimp!
They had to give us a bucket for our shells! Hahaha this was our trash pile... Everything was so delicious and this time was a alittle more expensive cause the shrimps were bigger... So about $400 for 5 people... Still not bad for lots of seafood
So now off to bed cause we leave for Chiang Mai in the morning for the rest of my days off
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