10 Months in Equatorial Singapore

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On our final day we were supposed to go snorkeling in Koh Tan. It is considered one of the best, if not the best, spot in the Gulf of Thailand. I was the first awakening and noticed a front moving in. Light rain and a breeze turned to heavy rain and wind and we got the call. The boat trip was cancelled. My kid was super bummed as they had been looking forward to this day as a highlight of their trip. They handled it well, but I think we might need to return to SE Asia some time again to go for a snorkel. Maye we will hit u an even better spot. So we walked the beach and found anew breakfast spot. Avocado toast and smoked salmon raised their spirits a bit.




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I can't tell you enough how nice this stretch of beach was. I do like a quiet beach, but also like walking to my meals. This spot really hit all those marks.



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Empty. Okay, a heavy sky after a morning rain may have helped a bit. Still, we saw only a few people from time to time along this beach. What felt odd, is there were plenty of access point, but I think people just don't come out this way unless they are lodged nearby.


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I walked to get a 6L bottle of water and a beer. Stoped along a rocky section of beach to enjoy my Chang.





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It was Father's Day, so my family got me over to Lucky to Be Alive, where I could try some Thai beers. I really wish I had taken a picture of the menu board, as the two I had were superb versions of Hazy IPA and NEIPA. It was not inexpensive. About 350 baht per pint. But it was tasty and had a nice chill outdoor seating area that was family friendly - if you don't mind three cannabis shops in the same area.



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It was in the Fisherman's Village area. Not a horrible place but for sure super busy, a bit pricier and more of a party scene. We had a great dinner nearby, and then grabbed some Roti (like a crepe) and walked down to the fire show in front of one of the restaurant/bars. Roti is yum. I had mine with banana and Nutella.






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The fire show was odd. For sure felt like Brady Buch goes to Hawaii kind of scene. It was nice to is it this part of the island, but glad we were where it was quiet and slow.

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The next morning we were off to the airport, where I had my espresso shot hand pressed. Never seen this before. I am still learning to order coffee here and ended up getting a iced Thai coffee instead of a latte. Condensed milk and ice goes down pretty easily.



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What other airport has an outdoor terminal. This is after we checked in and roped our bags, but before security. Pretty sweet, especially with no rain.



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Our next stop was Chaing Mai. We got off the plane, found our airbnb, walked the neighborhood and then were off on a street food tour for our first night. Takes the pressure off finding a place to eat. This tour was mixed food and local history.



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After a few snacks form the Warorot Market just west of the old city, we headed into center of Chaing Mai. Wat Inthakhin Sadue Muang, a Buddhist temple that is the geographic center of the old city, built over 700 years ago




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This temple is small, central, but still not often visited. Yet it is still an active temple and very well maintained considering its age.




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Around the corner is Three Kings Monument. I appreciated the skate scene going in the plaza. Kings Mengrai, Ramkhamhaeng, Ngam Muang formed the Lanna Kingdom, which is today Northern Thailand, and parts of Laos and Myanmar.




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After a flash of history, we were off to a restaurant outside the west wall, and then off to the north wall night market. This stall had a long queue, which always bodes well. We did not eat here this night but made plans to return. Basically a noodle stall where you choose your protein and veggies.





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We did eat this pork though, and it was quite good. This apparently is a famous stall, maybe from a Bourdain episode. I do highly suggest tours when visiting these cities. First, it takes pressure off any decision making and second, you know that on your first night you will be visiting stalls that the tour has taken thousands of other westerners without upsetting their stomachs, We left quite full and tried over 15 different items.




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The old city of Chiang Mai is not big. 1.5 square kilometer. There are over 115 temples inside the old city. Wat Chedi Luang is one of the more significant sites lit up nicely at night.

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Having templed out a bit, we decide to take a hillside e bike tour. Our first stop was a.... temple. We did not ascend to this one, but still took in the view.




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The Buddhist cremate their dead. A few miles down the road, we came to the village region facility. This is a modern indoor oven, which is used by some. Because of the remote location, you do not need to make a reservation to use it.




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The second option is a traditional exterior platform. This one is used a bit more often, as there is a lower cost. Turns out the oven is preffered, because it does a better job. Yet the higher cost keeps many rural people form using it.








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The fat tire e bikes were a bit of overkill for our mostly paved, relatively flat ride. The group had fun, and with not being used to the heat and humidity, I can see the appeal. I mostly rode unassisted, as it was the first real exercise I had had in over a week. Much of the ride was through countryside and small villages.



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No idea the name of this temple. Phone did not record, nor can I figure it out from maps. It is far out in the country side and was purpose built to attract pilgrims and vitalize the area.




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Still, it is a dramatic site, with four Buddha atop a peak.




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The work here was fairly intricate, and fun to check out.



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Looking at the Buddha from the near by pagoda top.



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Perhaps the best reason for climbing the stairs and coming to this place is the views of the river valley below.


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We were southeast of Chaing Mai, but otherwise don't really now where we were.






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While the top floor of the pagoda had vast panoramic views, the forth floor offered up something a bit better. Shade. Looking toward the north. This part of Thailand is mountainous. Chaing Mai itself is in the Ping River valley, but the surrounding area is very much the mountains. It gets cool, but not cold. Temperatures drop to 12C in the winter, and can even drop to freezing, but snow has not been recorded. It mainly falls in the taller and wetter mountains of northern Laos and Vietnam.



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One thing you'll notice about these temple grounds are there are usually a few minor temples spread around. These may be to a Buddha or even a monk. The smaller places will often serve a purposes to the attending monks, such as a remote place to meditate.





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Looking back up the staircase we ascended and descended. Coming down was harder than going up. The stairs were not regular, but changes a bit in heigh and width most of the way. Our guide explained that precision in building was not a priority for the Thai. He owns a home in the mountains, and is having a second building being constructed. He checks the work every day, after finding the foundation was 4cm shy in one direction. His crew just shrugged and said centimeters don't matter all that much.




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The ride was actually pretty nice. This section was scenic enough. Again, I think I would have preferred a gravel bike or cheap mountain bike with a 3x, but much of my group were happy to be on the eBike as we covered a little over 25 miles, and there were a few steeper climbs along the way.

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Back in Chaing Mai by 1PM, I took a quick shower to cool down and get the road dust off of me, and then headed out to explore around the city. You can not walk two blocks in this town without seeing a temple. This was not my mission this day, so most I only saw through gates or what poked over the wall. What was impressive was how many of them were in great condition, even though many dated back from 500 to 700 plus years in age.



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I would not call Chaing Mai cute or quant, but it was a fun city to spend a little time in. It felt bigger than Siem Reap, but not huge. The Old City was for certain the center of activity, but it was surrounded by a busy urban landscape bustling with many different markets.




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Tha Phae Gate which is on the eastern wall. Much of the wall is now gone, but they have maintained the sections near each gate and at each corner to the Old City. This was the gate that monks and traders would enter the city in ancient times. This in not the original wall and gate, as it was rebuilt several times since it first went up in 1292.




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Thai craft beer again. I visited Renegade, which is a restaurant and a bar. The bar does not open until 5PM by law, but I was able to sit and eat in the restaurant during the late afternoon. This Hazy IPA is a session level beer at 5.2% and brewed in Chaing Mai for this establishment. Great last with lower alcohol. And way better than a Chang or Leo.




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Having walked all this way, a second beer was in order. I decided to try a Heart of Darkness Some Sorcerer NEIPA, even though it is from VietNam. I really enjoyed their beers when visiting, and thought it would be a good call. It was not a bad call, but side by side, I found the lighter Hazy IPA to be a bit better. Don't get me wrong, the NEIPA was excellent, but I was shocked with how delicious the locally brewed Hazy was. Perhaps it was just super fresh.




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Chiang Mai is more than temples. This meditation center was a striking places as well.





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But, yeah, plenty of temples.




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Surrounding the exterior of the defensive wall is the old moat. It creates a wide boulevard and acts as the median between opposite bound traffic. It is still completely intact, except where they have build roadways.




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Leaving the Old City, I headed off toward the Warorot Market. Along the way, I went through a wicker district. I noticed a lot of similar arts were located close together. Also I saw a lot people working anther wares from time to time. Whether it be weaving a wicker piece or carving a wood sculpture. It is still shoulder season here, so perhaps they have less time to create as the crowds fill in during summer.



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A few blocks walk lands me in the middle of Warorot Market. This is one of the main markets used by the local people. That means great prices as it is not a big tourist destination, and some great food. Turn out I really enjoy Sai Ua, Northern Thai Sausage, so I grabbed an ordered here. It reminds me of spicy Italian sausage without fennel but loaded with lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime.




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Isaan Thai Sausage (Sai Grok) is no chump. I ate here on our food tour the previous night. This meat treat is mild, and served with green Thai chilis, as well as thin slices of fresh ginger and cabbage. It is made from fermented pork and sticky rice with some garlic and alone it is sweet and sour. Mix it with the raw vegetables and it knocks it up to Thai level 3 spicy.




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I got the call that the crew was headed for dinner in the Old City, so I headed back toward Tha Phae Gate. Crossing the moat and accompanying boulevards again, I thought about how this 700 plus year old urban feather still today dictates how traffic moves through Chaing Mai. The Old City has narrow and busy streets. Tuk Tuks, motorbike, bicycles and pedestrians really rule in the Old City, and cars need to move slowly. So if you are headed from the south wall to the north wall, it is much faster to go around the exterior, which leaded to these roads being some of the busiest for cars and trucks in the entire city.




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We opted to eat at Dash located on a quiet and cute alleyway. Food was good, but what stood out was the service and space. I really liked these side alleys as there were no cars and few motorbikes allowing for leisurely and quite strolls. Besides Dash there were a ton of eateries and bars.





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We were lodged near one of the regular night markets outside the wall. We opted to hit that up on the way home for dessert. One of our group ordered a matcha waffle and it look pretty good, but each waffle took over five minutes to make, so I opted for a quick banana and egg roti. Sounds odd, but it was very good. And almost healthy (except for the drizzled condensed milk).

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There are a few bookshops in town, which worked out really well for us. Our kid had finished all their non-electronic reading material, and we were trying to keep them off the screen. Found two old school hard copy books for them to work through, They were used and super inexpensive. Another win.



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More ancient temples peaking above the surrounding apartments.




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You can hardly even stop for breakfast without having a stunning temple view.




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By breakfast I mean Thai breakfast. Curry noodles and noodle salad. We ate at My Secret Cafe and I'd give it a good rating. It was quiet at 10:30am. Food was good, service was good, ambiance was good.



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Wat Phantao is not a major temple. We were headed to Wat Chedi Luang, and entered here. In case you are wondering, Wat is the Thai word for temple.



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Even these smaller, lesser known temples are fun to walk around. At least for me, By this point in our trip, our kid is getting a little temple fatigue, so we space it out a bit.




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Then we got to Wat Chedi Luang. There is a small fee to enter this space, as is the case with many of the larger complexes. This shot is inside a temple only men can enter, as a woman might soil it. There is for sure some gender differences in this style of Buddhism.




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Construction of the central temple began in the 14th century and was completed nearly a hundred years later. It was not a huge undertaking, but is assumed there were issues with the construction. It was planned to be the burial ground for the ashes of the then king's father.







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The temple, when completed stood over 80 meters high, the tallest in all of the kingdom of Lanna. Buildings in the old City are required to be shorter than this temple. These bells along one side of the temple correspond to the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac. You can make an offering and ring your corresponding bell for good luck.




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The elephant is an auspicious animal in Thai culture and tied to the birth of the Buddha. It makes it a bit of a shock how many of these animals have been abused in the area for financial gain. On the other had, it is not an easy place to find an income, so you can understand how that might happen.




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The Buddha and an elephant tied together with golden ribbon.





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Ajuhn Mun Bhuridatta is a monk with a tempe in Wat Chadi Luang. Growing up in the west, I remember hearing stories of people climbing to the mountains to talk to a wise man living an aseptic life in a cave. That story is not made up, and Ajahn Mun was one of those guys. Born to a farming family in Isaan (northeastern Thailand) in 1870, he founded the Forest Tradition and lead a life of meditation and living off alms. His story is pretty insane.




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More small temples around the grounds.




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Reclining Buddha. We were guides here, and once again I felt that guides can be awesome sources of information. But this was a chill day, and more about walking around and taking in the sights than pure education. But if you really want to know what you are looking at, consider higher a guide or tour.




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It is not all temples. Just a basic street scene. This is what much of the city looks like.




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But there are still a ton of temples.





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More temple.

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I stopped at the weed shop near our place and picked up a pint of craft beer. Raven was more of a west coast style IPA, but still pretty light on the malt. Better tasting than I thought it would be when I poured it out.




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We were off to a cooking class for the evening. and stopped at a market on the way there to snack and collect ingredients. These fish sure looked good.



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I typically do not enjoy cooking classes, but I came along to hang out with family and friends. This class turned out to be excellent. Each participant chose three dishes from a menu and you ended up with your own work station. I opted for Khao Soi Gai (Massaman style curry noodle), Pad Thai (cause no one else was making it) and Tom Phed w Basil (Spicy Basil Soup).




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We all also wrapped our own spring rolls. It was something watching my kid cut with a clever the size of their head preparing food.




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We made the four main types of curry paste. Red and Green (green uses fresh green chilis) and Massamam and Panang. The last two are basically red curry with either Indian masala or peanuts added to the paste.


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Making them from hand in the mortar leaves a great texture to the paste.


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Eating was the best part, as we all enjoyed the foods we made.



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After getting home I went out for a walk to check out Harmony. Craft beer in cans. None on tap. So I grabbed one take away and brought it home. At first I was a little bummed nothing was on tap until I saw the prices. This can was 140 baht, which is a little over $4. Craft beer in Asia for that price is a bit of steal. And this one tasted great.

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The next day our group split up. Three went off to some more temples. Our pick up was a little later, so I took a morning walk to grab some coffee. Not surprised I saw a few temples along the way.



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The other four of us opted to take a ride up into the mountains to defend 1000 plus meters on bikes. It was cool up there. The first part of the ride followed a paved road, with some ups and downs, but mostly steep down hills, It was fun enough riding, but ut had just rained a bit and the wet pavement and upright bikes were an interesting mix. Soon we stopped at a pretty cool location to grab some beverages. There was a rooster on a perch and our local guides explained you could put them to sleep by petting their cheek.




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We also were on a perch. This place was built over the side of a ravine that eventually meets the valley far below.



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We drank some warm coffee, tea and cocoa. It was just 22 degrees at this elevation. That is centigrade of course, but the coolest outdoor weather I've been out in for some time. I think my evenings in Canberra were a bit cooler, and for sure HaLong Bay. But it felt really nice to ride in. When the guide asked if we Brough jackets, the crew from San Francisco just laughed.




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This was not the craziest MTB ride. Mostly we descended fire road. Some of it quite steep and rutted, so there was some challenge. But our all, it was the views that made the ride.



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We biked through all sorts plantations. This is a coffee tree. We also passed through Mangosteen, Lychee, Rambutan and eventually Mango.




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In the not so steep sections, I was able to pull out my phone and grab a few pictures. This gives a sense of the type of surface we were on. Mixed semi loose gravel and hard pack. Much of it was damp, and slightly slick. Not muddy. Which was good, as we were on some cheap XC rubber. This would have been a hoot of a ride on a moderately decent bike. No complaints, as this was pretty cheap trip. I had looked into some other outfits, with better bikes, but they were all booked out for the days we were in town.



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There were a few climbs mixed into our route. Nothing more than 150 meters vertical at any one time. As we finished. long descent, and crossed a valley before out next climb, this guy was feeling pretty stoked. You can see someones property behind them. We only saw a homes from time to time. Our guide explained these were the farmers that worked the different plantations.



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Our only water crossing.



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After close to 3000 feet of descent we finally hit up a little single track. This is full jungle downhill. I can attest, these routes were solid black downhills. Our group took a break after the first run. I was pretty stoked on my kid hitting up these lines. We were on full upright XC bikes. Heavy and unwieldy. Crap tires. And their frame was a size or two too big for them. Can't say they nailed it, but they made it. Kind of wish they had a proper bike under them.


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Along the second line. It's nearly impossible to see the line through the jungle. It was tight, rutted, rooted, loose, wet, natural and a load of fun. Chaing Mai has a ton of MTB opportunity. For sure if I was staying in SG longer this would be a weekend get away place for me. You can typically fly less than $150 round trip. lodging is cheap (our 4 bedroom home was $85/night) and you can get some real rides in for under $100. A bit more if you want to go big. That includes a bike rental of a nice quality (think Jamis Faultline or better bike), transit from you hotel and up the mountain to a high start point, and 6-8 hours of guided riding. Guides would be key here until you learned the area. It is full on jungle and we made plenty of turns on our descent.



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Coming out of the wood and back onto the road. One touch through this entire second section. Proud papa. Notice the knee pad fully off the knee. That required we wear the knee and elbow pads. These were fully on motocross pads and even did not fit me properly. Way more pad than needs,d but the damn things kept slipping down.


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Cruising the final section of fire road before returning to tarmac.

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Our $60 ride included lunch at a lakeside location.



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Lunch was good. Chicken Red Curry. What I really enjoyed was being out at a place we only saw Thai people. Notice how many of these platforms are around the lake. It was not crowded, but there were still plenty of people. While we were served lunch at ours, out of them are not associated with any business. You just come and find an open platform to hang out on.






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The ice cream truck came by while we were eating. My kid noticed it well before I did.



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On our drive back to our lodging, we pasted the northwest corner of the old city wall.



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And then we opted to go get a Thai massage. After they washed our feet, we were asked to put on these loose outfits for the massage.



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My mini was super stoked afterwards, especially when they served us tea and rice cookies.. Thai massage is not gentle, but it does feel pretty good once you work through a bit of the pain. And at 350 baht for a full hour, the price is right.

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Our last evening we headed out to the night market. We asked the taxi to take us to the north market, but lost in translation we ended up at the south market. We learned that these markets operate a bit different than some others we have been to. I t is not open seating, and you actually sit down near the vendor you wish to buy from. Often, they will come to you with a menu, but for some you need to go to the stall. This stall had meat or veggies on a stick. I bought 6 different sticks and it came to 40 baht (about $1.15).



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I learned to love these little treats. We had something similar in Cambodia. Coconut puffs that have a treat inside. They are sweet, but you can choose from chives, corn or mango. I found the chive and corn to be surprisingly good.



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Our flight to Bangkok was at 1pm, so we got out fo the house int he morning for a walk. I found there was a little street art inching Mai.



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The taxis in Chaing Mai. These cost about 30-40 baht per person to get you across the city. Just look for these guys, or negotiate a price with one of the hundreds of other drivers trying to get your business. We had used a Grab to get from the airport to the our lodging, but chatted with a driver the morning of our departure to get us back and he offered a significantly cheaper prices. So we just told him where and when to pick us up.


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A bit of the local architecture outside the old city. A mix of older with mixed style and newer with no style.


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This artist was pretty proficient in covering the streets near our lodging.

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My kid discovered caffeine here in Thailand. Thai iced tea for the jolt.

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Flying out Chaing Mai, the region is mostly green and farm land. I never actually saw the urban landscape of the city.



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The mouth to the Choa Phraya River, which winds through Bangkok.



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Off the plan, check into our hotel and on a ferry. we thought we'd have a few hours to chill, but the taxi ride from the airport took well over an hour. While my family. chilled for 45 minutes, I explored our neighborhood and found the ferry terminal.



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Turns out Bangkok has a few hundred or more temples.



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Also turns out the river would be our main transport artery and a great way to see parts of the city. Bangkok is such a mix of super modern and old shacks and amazing temples. Notice the tower left of center that looks a bit pixelated. It reminded us a glitching computer screen.



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A short subway ride and we met up with our food tour and got into a tuk tuk. Subways are pretty easy to use in Bangkok. You can either purchase a card and load with money, or buy tokens with a single ride fare. Just stop at the booth and tell the operator where you intend to alight, and they sell you a single use token. Scan to enter, and drop in the slot to exit. Easy peasy.



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We are big fans of a food tour our first night in a new place, especially if arriving in the afternoon. No need to get your bearings or worry about figuring out dinner. Just show up and have some one guide you through that first night. I have these places pinned, but can't tell you the names (they are written in Thai). Our first stop had their kitchen set up out on the sidewalk, and you ate either inside or outside.



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We started with a spread of green papaya salad, grilled chicken, tom phed basil, ground duck and grilled pork. All the dishes were great but the pork was perfect. The soup was prepared mild, even though it is traditionally very spicy. Still quite good in this form.



We were back in the tuk tuk and off to our second stop. Rice noodles. I ordered mine with seafood. Again delicious, and these reminded me of Hainanese style prawn mee.


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Next door was a hotpot style place. Their kitchen was sort of inside, but open to the sidewalk. I watched as they prepared a chili based broth.



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Our third stop was quite busy, so while we waited for seating, we took a tour of the kitchen. They walked us around back into the alley, and there it was. All preparation goes on back here. Insane. They have one dish, prepared two different ways. Fat rice noodles, fried crispy in the wok, with chicken. Either a soft fried egg or inlet served on top. This dish was insanely good. If you are headed to Bangkok, for sure PM me for the pin location. Of all the food I had in Thailand, this one was my favorite single dish.

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Need to rotate this one, but notice the foot wear. These guys work from 2pm til past 10pm making noodles one after the other. What a blast to be invited into their kitchen and be able to watch them at work.





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The noodles. Like I said, so good. The wok her was intense. The noodles were crisped into almost a single pancake. The egg on top was divine. Between the two, I prefer the fried egg, but both worked.

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A quick ride in the tuk tuk and we found ourselves in Chinatown. The food scene in Chinatown is really worth a visit. If I was spending more time I this city, I would for sure eat in this part of town. The fusion of Thai and Chinese influences is obvious and works quite well. There is a a huge amount of street food offerings and endless restaurants. It is also very busy from Friday o Sunday nights (when we were in town).



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The road is narrowed one lane on each side of the Main Street to accommodate food carts and pedestrians. While this is a huge tourist destination, locals also come to visit. It starts busiest from 6-9pm, and we were told locals that do Coe here to eat not he weekend tend to show up early. Prices were very reasonable, but we were told it is pretty expensive by Bangkok standards.


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We would east some of these later. Basically You Tiao style fried dough, but here they cut them up and drizzle with a pandan custard and condensed milk. A wonderful sweet treat. And for this tour we were in Chinatown for dessert.



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We did not eat here, nor would I generally. Shark fin soup is big with the Chinese community, but most fins are harvest in terrible ways. Fishermen will slice off the fin and toss the shark back in the water, as the meat is not nearly as valuable. The is changing, and there is a push to find a market for the entire shark. It reminds me of the Tiong Bahru hawker center back in Singapore - Lor Mee 49 serves their dish with friend shark nuggets and it is very popular. Hoping we can moe toward. sustainable future so this dish can remain for this who wish to have it.



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Khanom Buang are basically paper thing, mung bean flour crispy crepes bent like a taco shell and filled with whipped egg whites and then toped with savory or sweet items. Savory will usually be dried shrimp, fish sauce, coconut and coriander. The sweet is egg yolks boiled in syrup. Both ae kind of sweet and both are really very good.




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This vender was cooking up Black Sticky Rice Coconut Pancakes. These are fairly common in Bangkok, and something I have yet to see elsewhere.


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Sweet, but not overly so. Filling as well. And yes, yummy. I could eat these for dessert or breakfast.



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Another item I could et for dessert or breakfast - fresh Thai pineapple. this fruit is much smaller than our typical Hawaiian variety but three times as sweet as what leaves the islands. There is a variety there (I forget the name) that is just about as good as these. A nice finish to the sweets course.









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Then were were off to a rooftop bar. Our tour sorted at 7pm and it was snow about 11:30. We walked through this closed restaurant with a nice view of the Temple of the Dawn across the river.




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From the bar, the view is not all that bad.



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Over two weeks on the road and we are not that bad.



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And the view out the other side of the bar was pretty good as well.



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After a Chang and mocktail, we were off to the flower market.



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This market operates 24 hours a day, but is busiest from about midnight until 6AM. It is primarily a market for wholesalers, but they will sell even smaller volumes to individuals.



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It is huge. Both sides of the street and each market is at least an acre in size.




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Hotels and venders come her to buy flowers. If you own a flower shop within a hundred kilometers of here, this is likely where yo come each night to buy flowers for resale.




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Adjancent to the flower market is a large produce market. They tend to be busy from about 4am to 8am. At midnight, they were just starting to set up the fresh items for this coming day.




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Parts of the produce market will also operate 24 hours a day, but most venders only are open for 6-12 hours each day. The majority are operating it the morning, but there are a few wholly open in the afternoon or evening.



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We finished our night with this dude. Or rather a alter dedicated to him. He was a monk who many her feel offers good luck to venders of fresh food and flowers. I made an offering of my lotus flower.

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Next morning I was up early (like 8am) and my family was resting and chilling at the hotel. I hoped a ferry north and went looking fo a haircut.



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I walked around a bit and stopped in a river side park - Phra Sumen Fort. Built in the late 1700, to fortify the new kingdom capital at Bangkok, this fort ws never used for defense. Neighboring Burma was he bigger concern, but they never bothered to invade the you kingdom of Thailand.




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The river was very busy at this hour. I kept seeing these type of barges cruise by. Tug in front, followed by four barges and a steering tug in the rear. No idea what the cargo was.



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The wiring inBangkok is kind of insane.




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I was tired and stopped at a light. Started talking to some local and he spoke great English. We spoke about a nearby temple an their festival happening that day. Told him I was looking for a barber, and would check out the temple later. He posted out a nearby place I could get my hair cut and he walked me toward it. Next thing I knew, I was in a hair salon getting my hair washed. Her I am laughing with my hair wrapped up in a towel. The lady who cut my hair and trimmed my beard I am pretty sure never worked on a man before. Lessoned learned - go to a barber - not a hair salon. Still enjoyed the entire experience and spent less than $15. But the $3 cut and shave in Siem Reap was 20x better.



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This part of town was packed with cute little streets.




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Headed back down river to start the day - or afternoon.

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While on the river ferry, I just loved this small temple against the very modern and sparse building behind it. Speaking of ferries, there were three that I took while here. The tourist ferry (blue flag) cost 30 baht per ride. That is just under a dollar. Regardless of how far you were going. This very operated late into the day. The Orange Flag ferry was also an optioning morning through about 4pm, and would cos 16 baht. There was also a third ferry that just crossed the river directly to Tha Chang, operating from morning till afternoon and it cost just 4.5 baht. This last one was an amazing price, as that is about $.14 to cross the river.


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Wat Phra Chetuphron. This was our first tempe visit in Bangkok. These temples are ornate.


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Built in the 16th century. This place was expansive and very impressive.



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There is a thing such as temple fatigue, but I am not yet there. These spaces are really quite amazing and each feel unique I really love these statues surround the trees.




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This temple area predates the 16th century when Rama I began renovation of a dilapidated Buddhist temple. It has since gone through several additions and renovations.




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Also known as Wat Pho, this temple is best know for the reclining Buddha.






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My wife had read ten foot long feet. We were skeptical. The literature was correct.




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The Buddha is gold but the base of the feet is inlay is mother of pearl. The work is intricate to say the least.




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For little bit of scale. This Buddha is big.



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As we visit each of these temples, we try to spend a little time, and a little money, exploring the tithing and worshiping in each culture. He my kid places a coining each of the many buckets lining the exterior wall of the temple.




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Some folks, apparently, like to put their extra coin in the belly of the sitting Buddha.

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The tile work is intricate in these Bangkok temples.


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Gongs are a thing. You can see the hits this thing has taken over the years.




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Over the years the temple was renovated and expanded, Rama V placed these statues around the grounds. I really enjoyed how they blended with the trees and surrounding temples.




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These statues guard the gateways teach part of the temple.




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We have this thing with jumping in photos. My kid demonstrates levitation.



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It is really hard to capture the intricate work in these spaces. Tiles, gold, plaster all work together.






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The temple was pretty busy around the Reclining Buddha, but if yo ventured just a bit away from that temple, it was fairy quiet and we found you could relax and contemplate in your own corner for the facility. We are for sure not devote, but it was easy to find some peace in this place. It is really quite striking how a hundreds year old construction can center you.




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The glitter and gold have their effect. These temples felt so new and so refined compared to what we saw in Siem Reap or Chiang Mai. Some of that is age and much the is wealth.




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As we walked around the grounds, we found ourselves further and further from other people. It became a bit shocking that we were funding ourselves nearly alone.


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Hindu stories still find themselves in the Buddhist world. Ramayana images in the structures.






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At this point we have left most of our below tourist behind and were alone except with a few worshippers.



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Inside this temple we find quite the alter to Buddha.

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We made it through another temple escapade and grabbed some street food - friend pandan cake






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River scene.


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Temple of the Dawn.


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Royal Palace.



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Selfie - getting better at these.

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Looking down river on our ferry ride home.



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There are only a few places open for dinner in the WagLang area, and several of them feel like designed for westerners. We found - A River Never Sleeps - a locally owned riverside eatery with great food. Our fried fish with fishsfauce and lemongrass was a hit.



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A shot from our hotel floor.

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We stayed near Wang Lang marker, much of which closed down by afternoon. Tanee offers some craft beet ad was open until midnight


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This moment had me wishing I had brought my proper camera in this trip.

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As did this one.

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We lodged at the Theatre Residence. It was a bit pricier than other places, but was the right call after weeks on the road. For three nights, it did not shock the pocket book too much. It was in a great location and included a buffet breakfast. Eggs cooked to order, continental and Asian breakfast.


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It was adjacent to the Wang Lang Market - one of the oldest operating markets in Bangkok. This area was busy from armoring until sundown. Around mid day, you can barely walk down the narrow alley ways. The hotel was about a five to fifteen minute walk to the Prachen ferry dock - depending on the crowds and time day. Fromthere you can pretty much get tot anywhere along the river. If you only needed to cross the river, thee was a dock about two minutes south of the hotel. That ferry cost 4.5 baht and brought you directly to the Imperial Palace area.



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Food and snacks are plentiful Wang Lang. And you can buy just about anything from groceries to clothing. I saw four t shirts for 100 baht (about $3). We walked around the market a bit, but usually were in transit to the ferry.




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My wife and I decided to head to the Grand Palace in the morning, while our kid hung back and recovered from Temple Fatigue. They tried a therapy called "video gaming". The river was busy as usual with tugs, barges and all sorts of traffic. We went directly across to Tha Chang and the palace is a 5 minute walk from there.




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We arrived just at the changing of the guards. Had no idea this was a thing, but was fun to watch, as the arriving and departing guards coordinated their movements.



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As you enter the outer grounds you get your first glimpse of the temples. Sure, you can see these from the river and afar, but more stunning close. It took me close to twenty minutes to realize that middle spire was being renovated and not some cool minimalist design. They did not really do minimalist.




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Even though we arrived early, soon after opening, it was pretty packed. Busiest place forms to visit yet. With over 8 million visitors a year, this was not a surprise. I braced myself for crowds.

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I'm still in awe of this place and the kingdom that went through such lengths to construct it. It is immense and intricate and shiny. Like super shiny.



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The Grand Palace was built over many years, but construction began in 1792 by the order of Rama I, when the capital of Siam was relocated there. Wat Phra Kaew, or Temple of the Jade Buddha is perhaps the biggest attraction in the Grand Palace. Construction began in 1783, but each successive king has renovated or improved upon the temple to demonstrate their dynasty's reverance.


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The temple is actually many structures, only the largest of which houses the Jade Buddha. Each is impressive in and of itself.



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There are two golden Chedi supported on the backs of yakshas, or demons. These have also been renovated over the years, and in a museum on the palace grounds you see the remnants of older removed yakshas.



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The mosaics and inlays are impressive. The entire place is impressive. I would love to walk around this place in quiet with just a few others, or even better, by myself. I imagine the royals having this place to themselves at times infers pasts. Or the night guards of today.



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The Emerald Buddha is really not so very big, but sits atop a mound of gold. You can nougat pictures inside the temple, but I was able to get this from just outside. I checked with a guard and he gave me the okay. He commented on my good eye and mentioned that most just walk by the spot I was at, not realizing you could get this view. Inside, we sat and contemplated. I am not Buddhist, but still found this place to be special and calming, even with the hundreds of others nearby.



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A lot of visitors are tourist, but many are pilgrims coming to visit a holy site. We just enjoy the quality of workmanship.




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I really do enjoy poking around and finding quiet places among the hordes. Every time we visit a crowded place, we seem to go around the corner and find a little peace.




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There are six pair of large yakshas around Wat Phra Kaew, protecting the temple from evil spirits. Seems like an odd task for a demon.



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This piece was bas relief and insanely intricate - nearly impossible to translate to a two dimensional picture.




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Taking one last glance of the temple before we leave for the royal grounds and a view of some of the palaces that were built by the various Kings of Siam and, later, Thailand.

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Once away from the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, it was much quieter. You did need to head this way to exit the compound, but we noticed most people breezed through quickly, leaving the area mostly uncrowded and quiet.



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The finish here was no less impressive.





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Each succession led to a new palace constructed, so there are many different palaces in this compound. I'm not sure why there seemed to be a lack of interest. Perhaps it is because it is not a religious site. Or maybe people were tired from the crowds and just wanted to go grab some food to eat. Whatever it was, was fine with us, as we mostly had these grounds o ourselves.




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King Rama IV built this palace. When it went up, he was criticized for it looking European (he intended it to house gifts from other nations), so it got a Thai style hat put on top.

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And some elephants out front for good measure.




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Again, images from the Ramayana make an appearance. There are no pictures from inside the museum, as it is not permitted, but it is for sure worth a visit. The Emerald Buddha has three outfits, one for each season: Wet, Hot and Dry. The outfits are changed by the King and when he determines the changing of the seasons. The out of season outfits are stored in the museum, along with relics from previous iterations of the temples.



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We called it a morning and were back on the river headed home. Our hotel - Theatre Residence. The dining room was on the water, but the rooms were set back just a bit. Again, a worthy place to stay. Nice small pool, easy breakfast, clean rooms, easy access to ferries and market.



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Wang Lang Market a few hours before peak times. It is a hustle and bustle with loads of places to get great coffee, tea and bubble drinks. Not to mention snacks.



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We meandered through some of the side alleys looking for potential places to eat. Plenty of street food vendors along the way.




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The restaurant had a great outdoor kitchen and I loved their vent system.



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We ate at Kuay Tiew Koh Thai, close tot he hotel. Very inexpensive and very good. I also loved we were the only non Thai speaking people in the place and our menu was not in English.

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We had plans for another food tour at 4:30. My family wanted to rest, so I took a ferry, alighted at Ranjinee and had and a stroll. After a walk through the flower market mid day (not nearly as busy as midnight) I ended up in Saranrom Park.


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This captures so much. Irrigation truck and the local security guard is as enthralled as I am. This park is well patrolled, and a guard counts everyone entering and exiting. Not to mention an armed soldier at the only entrance. I also enjoyed this man's proper uniform and pink bike. Pink brings balance and purity to on'e mind in Thai culture.


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I was shocked with how clean this place was. When I was headed to the park in Bangkok, I wondered if this was a good idea or not, having heard so many crazy stories about this city. Not only super safe, but clean enough to walk through the grass barefoot. For sure not like an American city.




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Wat Phra Chetuphon is adjacent to the park. Notice the tree and wall as one.



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Besides the cleanliness and safety, it was really quite beautiful. I mostly admired the trees, but there was a great play structure and two temples tucked into the back corners.



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I would have loved to spend more time here, reading my book, but soon enough found it was time to be on my way to beside I got to Chinatown in time.


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On my way to the MRT, there was this whole skate scene going on across the road. I watched for just a few minutes (on full set of traffic lights) but never crossed the street for a closer view. Just rather enjoyed the show. Some of these guys were going big and landing their tricks.






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The MRT in Bangkok is easy to use, and felt safe, efficient and clean. And it had AirCon.




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Alight at Wat Mangkon and you come above ground directly in Chinatown.

This is outstanding, Ottime. Thank you for putting in all the time to document your year. What an adventure for you and the family!

I'm headed to Singapore in a couple of weeks for a conference, so this has been really helpful to get a sense of things. My main takeaway is that pretty much I just want to eat as much as possible, that the food centers are nearly all I need, and that I should aim for the stalls with lines (and maybe come back earlier the next day...). I won't have a ton of time, and will be based in the marina (?) area, so I figure I'll mostly just walk around from there.

I have been slowly reading through this thread, gradually catching up to present day. I think you may be in transit now, or nearly, so I expect you're plenty busy. But if you happen to have some down time, I'd be happy to hear about a few things...
Do you have any footwear recommendations? For the conference I figure I'd better wear something that looks like proper shoes, but I figure otherwise such footwear may be impractical for a place where it's hot and rainy. I'm thinking maybe some kind synthetic sandals.
Do you know of easy bike rental options and/or do you recommend such a thing? Seems like your bike riding was a pretty great way to see the place. I'll have most of two days to explore before the meetings, and I'll be glad to cover some ground, see some stuff, and get some exercise. A half day or day on a bike could be nice. Or maybe it's too much to bother with.
I took note of many of your "must try" foods. But if you have any summary thoughts on best-of items or places etc, I'll be happy to hear of them.

Whether or not you can address my questions, thank you for the great descriptions and photos. I'm stoked for my trip. (Maybe not so much for the flights...).

You found me at a coffee shop this morning. Now in Tokyo. Grabbing a bite and drink before grabbing a train to Kyoto.

Shoes. I wore my leather Keen sandals pretty much every day. I've beat the shit out of them and have gotten my money's worth. Something similar. Water shoes with a bit of support. Crocs and similar are popular with the Singaporeans, but I find they do not breath as well.

Food Centers. Use this website to locate:

https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/...ement/overview


Chope your table first. That means to claim your seat. If it is busy, just ask if you can join someone. I've never been told "no" unless the seat was taken. Then, chose - leave a packet of tissues* or water bottle or business card on the table at your seat. Then go find what you want to order. This is the custom and gives you a place to return to.

*Napkins do not exist here. It is customary to carry a packet or to of facial tissues to use to wipe your hands, as well as chope. Brings several small packets with you. Even a number of restaurants will not provide napkins. Some food can get messy.

If I were to suggest just a single food center, I would say get over to Tiong Bahru. It really has a little bit of most things. Off the top of my head, it lacks Thunder Tea (Green tea poured over rice, tofu, steamed veggies and ikon balis), Nasi Lemak (Coconut rice, ikon bills, peanut, cucumber and protein - like fried chicken leg), and a few others - but has a wide range of stalls, it old school (first wet market in SG), fresh air, big fans and widely spaced seating options. Be sure to try stall #49 - Lor Mee 49. Some of the best on the island and I'd add the optional fried shark nugget. The Hainanese Curry (Loo's) if often rated in the top three in SG. Oh, and the Sotong Prawn Noodles (first stall on left when you come up the escalator) and the Rojak stall near there (all of its dishes). Also some really good Chicken Rice and Duck Rice.

Other notable near the CBD

Amoy Street is my favorite downtown. Two levels. Packed to the gills from noon to 2PM. Big (like 200 stalls) so a little bit of most things.

Market Street - in the heart of it, next to Raffles Place. Modern, in the 2nd and 3rd floor of a tower. Good options if you are working nearby and slipping out for lunch. Not one I would go out of my way for, but it is cool to see the different styles.

Tanjong Pagar and Hong Lim - old old school. Tight, low ceilings, packed, urban centers with history. Had my best Teh Tarik (pulled Indian tea with evaporated milk) in Tanjong Pagar. Worth the show. These places are older and highlight what Hawker Centers used to look like. They have also been servicing the downtown community for years.

Smith Street and People's Park in Chinatown - Smith Street is fucking huge. Worth a visit even you are not hungry to see a massive market. I've only visited there over lUnar New Year when 90% of the stalls were closed. I can also attest I had amazing steamed dumplings at People's Park, something like 8 dumplings for $3.

Maxwell - place is famous, but mostly due to the Hainanese Chicken Rice. Worth trying this dish, as it seems so simple you might skip it. Poached chicken and rice basically. Oddly delicious.


Out of the CBD

Zion Riverside - along the Singapore River. Easy bike ride along the river from CBD

Alexandra - one of my top ten centers. Great selection. Very good Thunder Tea stall. Good Mala if you like hot hot soups. Order the least spicy to start. I like spice, but I never got past level one. There is also apparently and amazing burger - Burnt - here, but I could never get myself to try it.

Tekka (also called Buffalo Road) - In Little India. Decent sized, with a ton of Indian, Pakistani and Lankan foods. Also a sizable Chinese selection. Not a lot of Malay/Halal, but some. Then walk around Little India.

Not a food center, and I never got here, but Beach Street Scissor Cut Curry Rice is very well reviewed and a few blocks north. Worth mentioning these type of places. You won't pay a lot in these type of restaurants. Plastic chairs, spilling out on to the side walk. Indian, Chinese, Malay style foods. And they offer service.

Albert - close to CBD, medium sized, plenty of good options.

For a nice bike ride, you can circumnavigate Marina Bay. The best center nearby, and worth a visit anyway, is Golden Mile. Two floors, old school, tight, but lots of good food. Some of it famous - as in people travel across the country and foodies visiting SG, head to these stalls.

Longer ride, but one fo my favorites - East Coast Park. East Coast Lagoon opens around noon. Plenty of satay and bbq stingray stalls. Great location with ocean views. Open air. A bit pricier, but not expensive by any means. Also accessible from ECP via under or over passes are Marine Parade and Marine Terrace. Both are local centers catering mostly to the local community. Especially Marine Terrace. If you want to get a taste of a more local place. The food is not different, but the crowd is. The CBD is mostly wealthy Singaporeans and expats. If you get to either of these paces, you will be one of the few westerners, and likely only one at Marine Terrace, Marine Terrace closes down early (like 2pm) and is mostly breakfast and lunch.

EAST: Harder to reach, but I was fond of them. Bedok Blk 216, but really any of the centers in the Bedok area. These folks claim they have the best food in SG, and they may be right. 216 is in the middle of a pedestrian mall, and is what the old townships were built around - back when Bedok was its own town. No the city/country is all interconnected by urban structure. 216 is big, airy and, good coffee, even better You Tao and a wide selection. Partially known for its Nasi Lemak.

WEST: Jurong is another hard to reach district, but I had some of my best rice skin dumplings in Jurong at the Yuhua Center.

CENTRL WEST: Bukit Timah - another old school center with many good stalls.

NORTH: Admiralty Center I really enjoyed. At there many times. Right off the train on the North'South Line. About an hour train ride from the CBD. Canberra is a stop closer, and modern garden style center. I was told the best Char Siew (bbq pork) was across the street but near had the chance to follow up on that suggestion

CENTRAL EAST: Ang Mo Kio Central. Also in a pedestrian mall. Wide selection. This was in my mailbox shopping district. Not a lot of westerners. here. Best smoothies on the island are from Ice Breaker. These were my people - so friendly, especially the husband. I'm really not sure about a lot of their smoothies, but they made the best Avocado Coconut and Coconut Shakes that I had anywhere.

Other Notables:

Changi Village - in the north east. Notable for Nasi Lemak. If you want a nature adventure, this is your gateway to Palau Ubin. If you go here and like beer, hit up Charlie's Corner. Reasonable by SG standard. It is in the corner of the hawker center, and you can bring your own food over. They sell western food, but the guys who work there don't eat it. $12.10 net Archipeligo drafts. The summer IPA was my go to, They also have an Irish something or other.

Newton - Great for dinner. A lot of places close early. I know Alexandra and East Coast Lagoon also stay open late. Newton was featured in Crazy Rich Asians, so has become more popular and pricier. Satay, bbq stingray, seafood, carrot cake, and many of the standards. Great outdoor scene.

Pasir Ris - close to early coastal park. Some really solid food on both levels. Bottom level is full of classic and cheap ($3 Wanton Noodle - char stew, wonton, Gai lan, noodles, see of broth). 2nd Level is more refined versions - Prawnaholic makes an amazing Prawn Mee for $7.

That is a start.

Not really sure with bike rentals, as I never rented.

Anywhere is an app based bike. There is another brand as well. You can download the app. Its about $10/day for a foreign phone number ($10 a month for a SG number). That gives you your first 30 minutes free, but if you park and lock the bike every 29 minutes, you never get charges. Hop right back on and go on your way, They are crap bikes. Solid tires, so you feel everything.

GoCylcing has a bunch of outlets I've sen in different parks. You can rent point to point. I think you can even rent a bike at Changi Airport and bike all of East Coast Park and return it near the CBD.

Punggol is worth biking around. Can connect to Pasir Ris Park and eat at the food center.

A resource: https://thesmartlocal.com/read/bicyc...tal-singapore/

You won't fit all of that into two days, but enjoy.

Oh, good Paranakan at Serei Geylang Center. And the neighborhood to the south is pretty nice, with a bunch of street art and murals. Very unlike much of Singapore. You can actually bike north from Marine Parade to access this area, and that will bring you by Dunman Center which is small but has great Vadai.

In short - you can't really go wrong with food. If you have the time, google "-Food Centre Name- best food" and you will get a bunch of reviews to read through. Daniel Food Diary, SETHLUI, Miss Tam Chiak, Uncle Noven and others are solid reviewers.

Bring a water bottle and keep it topped up. Drink a ton of water. If you bike, a bladder pack might be nice to have.

Coconut water and Sugarcane Juice are very good at hydrating.

Enjoy an Yin Yuan (or Micheal Jackson) while here. Soya Milk and Grass Jelly mixed. Live like a local.

On the topic of footwear, I loved my keen sandals except on days i was going in and out of temples. On those days, flip flops or crocs were far superior choice to just slide into and out of.

Agree on footwear. I only have Keens, Vans and flip flops on my current travels as we go though many temples. I can't wear flip flops for long walks (lack of arch support kills my back), so have been in Keens or Vans. Would love to have some crocs with me. I noticed they are popular with serving staffing Japanese restaurants where you take off your shoes, so they have something to wear as they enter the kitchen.

Back to Thailand....


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Walking the streets in Chinatown, even at 4pm, there is a constant buzz. It is still relatively quiet at this hour, with the real buzz starting around 6pm.



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This tour was great. We walked the entire time and started with the alleyways in the area off the main stip. These chive and rice flour dumplings were a great start. Fon was an excellent guide and was great to talk food with. She knew her stuff. Not only what was on the tour and Thai dishes, but was well versed with food from across SE Asia.



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Next up were some meat treats. Pork is popular in but Thai and Chinese cuisine. This pork was, of course, very good. Chinatown is located here, because when Rama I moved the capital to its present location, he needed to displace the Chinese, as well as Vietnamese "workers" (they were technically not slaves, but forced laborers) to this part of Bangkok. The result over the next several hundred years was a blending of cuisines.




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Of course, you can not skip on the satay while in Thailand. The fan is to keep the smoke from building up. While it does cool the cook down, that is not why it is set up there. At other places, you may see a person waving a fan to move the smoke away.



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Perhaps my favorite stop was for Pennywort juice. We first tried it sweetened, and it was quite good. Our guide thought the unsweetened version would be too harsh for us. Most of the tour liked it without sugar as well. Full disclosure, our guide finds it not very tasty either way. It does taste very healthy, and was a perfect palette cleanser between course.

Terrific info, thank you Ottime.

Especially the thing about napkins -- never would have guessed that, and a biggie for a bearded messy/gluttonous eater such as myself.

Have fun in Japan!

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This street has a lot of business that sell charms and paper cutouts for the temple seen in the background. I am a big fan of the alleyway in general. So many cool thing to see when you duck off the main streets in any city. But they are easier to explore when you have a guide, especially in a city like Bangkok where you do not know the language and not sure of where is safe and where is not.




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This budding is being renovated and will be the new location for the pork restaurant we had just eaten in. Would have had no idea this spat was both ideal and in the process of being built into an eatery.




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Jok One Table is listed in Michelin. These fried prawn dumplings were a nice treat along our route. We walked a far count on this tour. We started at 4:30 when the main dinner spots in Chinatown are not yet open, but these alleys and side streets were all going early. It worked very well, striating us off with a variety of small bites. Through this tour we tried 16 different items, and not one was a red curry or pad Thai.




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Walking through markets is another thing I rather enjoy. This stall had a lot of food prepared and ws getting ready for the dinner crowd.



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I would have walked right past this place. So we did end up with a green curry, so not all new items.




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The kitchen is partially covered, but mostly out in the alley. This place was busy, with a lot of locals coming and getting their food take away. Basically that means walking, or driving, away with a plastic bag of curry and a plastic bag of rice. I first saw this done in Singapore, where you can also get you coffee or tea in a bag. It took me a while to get used to it, but after buying prata a number of times to eat at home, I got used to the baggie of curry sauce.




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A few minutes after this picture, all the seats were taken. It was about 5:30, so for sure dinner time, but I was shocked with how busy this little unassuming outdoor place was.




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Coming out of the tight market out to the main streets, it felt really bright outside, even with it being the hour of dusk.It was a combination of the darkness of the market space and all the lights out on the street.




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Chestnuts are a popular treat. They are roasted in these vats of hot rocks that get moved around by a rotating bar.




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Seafood on a stick. This stall is open until about 11pm, or when they sell out. That means all this food will be grilled and sold within 5 hours.




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I finally got my pig intestines. This place is also Michelin listed, and we had a choice of proper innards soup, or served with just fried pork cutlet. I was one of two who went for the full dish. The other was a Portuguese dude who is currently living in Japan - just because he felt like it living outside his comfort zone was a good thing to do. Alfonso I think is making the right decisions in life.




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And like clock work, by 6:45 the streets of Chinatown were packed. Things are quieter on Monday through Thursday, but it is never sleepy. This area is very popular with tourist as well as locals.



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Our next and final dinner stop was at this seafood restaurant. I really wish I had used Strava on this walk, so I could identify the location of each of the places we ate. Made a note of that, and the next time I'm on a walking food tour, I will do just that. Again, the kitchen was outside and right on the street.



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We had a good meal here, including grilled prawns, morning glory, tom yum and a few other dishes. I was envious of the table next to us, where I could see a superb meal going on, including grilled lobster or crayfish of some kind. Our food was great, but that particular table had ordered quite well.




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The restaurant was in a three story converted home. Each room, and the balcony, each had a few tables in it. Instead of gutting the place, they just placed tables where ever they could. The decor was pretty much non existent. The tables and chairs basic and utilitarian. The food was where it was at. My favorite space was this spot in between the first and the second story. We ate on the third and it was a maze getting in and out of the place.



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Our table had been reserved by the food tour, and it was the only open table when we entered the place. As we exited, the kitchen was busy, and the line of people waiting to be seated was a throng of people packing the side street. I really had no idea how we would have even figured out how to get a table at this hour if we were on our own. Arrive at 5PM when they open was what our guide suggested. After dinner, we ate a few street deserts including mango rice and pa tang go (that fried dough that reminds me of you tiao, served with a panda dipping sauce).

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On my last morning I discovered the ferry dock juts two minutes from our hotel and in front of the nearby school. You can only go directly across the river to Tha Chang. This area is called Wat Rakang, named after, you likely guessed it, the nearby temple. There are so many temples to explore in this city, if you so wished. I enjoyed just walking around just as much, if not more, than visiting the temples. It is still amazing how much glittering gold there is to be seen here.



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After a short morning walk along the river, we were off to the airport. Three nights was nearly perfect for Bangkok. I would love to come back another 10 times and stay for 3 nights each time, It is an intense and bustling place, so it was kind of tiring to spend time here. Our hotel was not cheap cheap, but not too expensive. Food was very inexpensive. Cabs were as well. We took one from Chinatown back tot he hotel, which was about 6.5 kilometers and cost us less than US$3.

Yeah. Napkins or tissues.

Agree with crocs over keens for temple days. I only packed vans, keens and flip flops for these current travels and I can't walk in flip flops all day so have been sporting the keens. For sure a pain bending over to take off and put on, but my back can't handled no arch support.

While there are plenty of temples to enter in SG, I didn't do that much there. A little, but only a handful my entire time.

If you are interested in temples, be sure to cover your knees and shoulders.

Other pieces of hot weather advice. I preferred button up shirts as you can open them up a bit to let in any breeze. I also like synthetics and super light clothing. Linen works as well.

Biking cools you off cause it creates a breeze.


Japan has been good so far. In Kyoto this morning about to head out and explore after booking a room for our final few nights in Asia.