Thailand - Bangkok

Just got back the other day from my mini Thailand and Malaysia trip! It was a small 10 day getaway, but it was nice to escape a little bit for the summer (especially given the 40 degree heat in Melbourne!). I enjoyed going to Thailand with my cousins...the country is right next door to Malaysia, but I'd never been over the border in all my past trips (I frequently visit Malaysia because I have family there). We spent a day in Bangkok, a few days in Pattaya and then a day in Bangkok again....And here is what we did in Bangkok...

Chatuchak Markets

The first thing we did was visit Chatuchak markets. This is a giant market selling everything: clothes, food, souvenirs, dog socks, cowboy styled leather bags and boots, contemporary art...the list is endless. It's only open on the weekend, so we were lucky to see it having arrived on a Sunday morning. We spend almost the whole of our first day there from about 1:00pm in the afternoon till sunset, but according to my cousins we only saw a portion of it...

The first thing we ate was from a small stall in the market. This is crispy chicken rice. It pretty good (except the servings were pretty small), but I may be giving you a warped opinion as we were staaaarving after our plane ride and this was the first meal we had. Nonethless, it was satisfying.

After lunch, we went for a wonder around the market. There were many delicious Thai snacks to try. If you've never travelled before, it might count as some of the street food you've been told to avoid...but if you have common sense (eg. avoiding seafood/meat that's been left out in the sun for hours) and have a relatively good stomache, I would recommend trying the snacks from these stalls...this is truly where you'll get a taste of the local flavour. 

We had these tasty fruit icy-poles and mango slices with chilli and salt dressing (but I forgot to take a photo:s). Have you guys tried it before? Personally, I think Thailand has some of the sweetest fruit I've ever tasted, especially mangoes. They're a lot thinner and smaller than the ones you find in Australia, but they're really, really sweet! Anyway, we walked past many other interesting food stalls as we navigated our way around. Here's a picture of a pretty little place selling popular south-east asian drinks...

After eating a fair bit, we went to have a look at the other sections of Chatuchak market...I really liked this faux flower stall. So bright and colourful.

I also really liked those random nic-nac stalls selling toys and fairy lights and souvenirs. It was all very whimisical, especially when you had to walk through these crowded, narrow paths. The market was a giant maze formed from these little walkways with the centre of it marked by a bell tower. But maps were avaliablearound the tower to help those who were lost or wanting to find their way to a different section of the market.

My favourite area we visited was the art section. From memory, it was hidden away in the back corner of market. Walking through these stalls was like visiting a row of mini art galleries. Some sold quirky, contemporary pieces (giant buddha head, anyone?), while others sold very beautiful depictions of landscapes. There was a stall selling white canvas shoes which artist hand-decorated with paints and permanent texas. They had such cool patterns and doodles, but unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take a photo because it was too crowded. I did, however, snap a picture of the feng shui store I liked in the art district...it looked so peaceful and was full of plants and mini fountains...wish I could have taken one home with me!

Aside from brousing, we did do some actual shopping. Clothing is pretty cheap and you can get everything from boxer shorts to baby dresses. I invested in a bunch of nice t-shirts :) To finish off, here are some cool clothing and accessory stores we passed at Chatuchak market...

So that was most of our first day in Thailand. I'd recommend paying a visit to Chatuchak if you have a weekend to spend in Bangkok! Otherwise I hear there's plenty of beautiful floating markets to see as well (which I totally plan on visiting if if I go to Bangkok again!)

Tuk tuk rides 

We finished our first day in Bangkok by taking a tuk tuk ride from the Chatuchak Markets to a local shopping mall for dinner and a leisurely stroll.

If you've never been in a tuk tuk before (a three wheel motorcycle with a passenger cabin), you should definately go on one in Bangkok...It's such a fun way to travel! You get to feel the cool Thai breeze blowing through your hair and see the shacks, shrines and street stalls whizz by. It's probably the best way to see life as it is, on a day to day basis, in Bangkok. (Here's a view you'd be likely to see on your tuk tuk ride...)

Most tuk tuks fit about 3 people, but we managed to squeeze 5 people in with my slim cousin and her boyfriend sitting on the cabin floor! Everyone on the roads would do a double take and look at our tuk tuk! Even our drivers would have a good laugh when we piled out....While I do highly recommend travelling by tuk tuk, I would recommend doing it with a friend - both for safety's sake and because it's much more fun that way :)

Safari World

On our second morning we had a booked tour trip to Safari World - a tourist attraction which was somewhat like a zoo, but also home to many animal shows. Now I'm not someone who particularly likes animal shows and I really, really oppose animal abuse. But Safari World seemed ok. From what I saw, the animal shows ressembled those at, say, Sea World in Australia - they worked on incentives rather than punishment. The animals also seemed healthy and had reasonable habitats, including an open range park.

That's not to say I approve of everything there, or that I know what goes on behind closed doors, or that I'd go back...but it resembled what seemed like an international standard for animal training, and was something interesting to see while we were there. Our tour guide ushered us into a number of shows including an Orangutang show, a seal show, a wild west show (humans acting, mainly) and a dolphin show.

Join me later this week for some photos of Safari World!