I was always hesitant to visit Bangkok, I’m not too sure why, I guess I just thought it would be a real backpacker place, not really my scene. I’m happy to report that I was wrong and have since fallen in love with the place.

We arrived around midday and deciding to be adventurous we took the train from the airport. Three trains later we arrived sweaty and exhausted from lugging our backpacks on and off the different lines. Let me point out that Bangkok’s rail network is amazing. The trains are punctual, efficient, clean and secure. We haven’t waited for more than five minutes for a train in any direction and they are incredibly user friendly for tourists. This is a shock to us Sydney folk who are used to around 15 train lines to get around the city compared to Bangkok’s 2.

Our first couple of days were spent in the WongWainYai district so we spent most of our time hanging out in Siam.

Oh boy is Siam awesome. To me, Siam seems what I imagine Tokyo to be on a much smaller scale. Firstly, it is shopper’s heaven. There are about five or six main shopping centres all seemingly connected by a series of overpasses, you know, to make the shopping THAT much easier =)

Then, by night the shopping gets even better as markets start appearing on the street. Stalls are erected using metal poles and sheets and the different wares are dragged out of the shops and onto rickety wooden tables or coat hangers hanging off street lights. These tables go on forever and everything is soooo cheap; it is an absolute nightmare. I say nightmare because if I bought everything that I wanted to, we would’ve caught the first plane out to Sydney the next day as all our money would be gone. Would I have regretted it? Probably not.

Then, there is the food in Siam. The first barrier to eating here is getting over the, “why on earth would you choose to eat in a foodcourt?!” mentality. The foodcourts here are on another level and actually have not just edible food but delicious food. The concept is so popular that you have to purchase a food “gift card” at the start and load it with money and swipe the card each time you buy something to eat. Seems silly at first but once you see how busy the stalls get, it seems ingenious. Especially when you have two white backpackers (by which I mean us) holding up the line as it firstly takes them forever to decide what they want, then they change their order once they see how delicious the fried chicken is. Next, you watch them try to decipher what each of the sauces are and should they add this to their bowl of rice? Next, do they want egg added on the side? Lastly, as everything is piled up their trays, they walk away only to the frustration of the growing line of other hungry shoppers when they are told that they didn’t take their complimentary bowl of broth. Adding cash to this situation would only prolong the agony.

That’s just the food courts, at night the street comes alive with delicious sounds and smells of street food stalls; bowls of pad thai for 30THB(~$1), barbecued duck with rice, kebabs and pastries filled with someone sort of mysterious goodness.

Aside from just shopping and eating, we did manage to fit in some tourist attractions in our first couple of days. We took the ferry along the Chao Phraya River and stopped off to visit Chinatown, the Grand Palace and Wat Pho. Unfortunately, we didn’t fully research the Grand Palace and when we saw the admission price of 400THB(~$14) we decided to just walk around the grounds instead before slinking away to go visit Wat Pho.

Wat Pho is a temple housing the enormous “Reclining Buddha”, a giant gold Buddha that is 15m high and 46m long. The reclining statue is used to represent the transition of Buddha into nirvana.

We also did the mandatory walk down Khaosan Road, hoping for something controversial. However, this was a major disappointment. What we were expecting was a street heaving with debauchery, instead we were met with stalls of beer singlets, thongs and buckets. We were hassled by people handing out leaflets for palm readings, food and even for a good tailor. Which is something everyone is after at 11pm on a Saturday night. I sincerely hope that the people who frequent this street don’t think that they are seeing the true Thailand.

Tim did some research into various night markets happening around Bangkok on the weekends. In the end, after practically wetting his pants every time he sees an old Vespa puttering around the city, he settled on the Ratchada Night Bazaar. These markets, held every Saturday night, are just a basic flea market for anything vintage especially old cars, motorbikes and Vespas. Anything with an engine. So, after trekking out to the burbs, getting off at the wrong station and wandering aimlessly for over 40 minutes while I silently convinced myself that we were about to get mugged, we finally found the markets after asking four seperate 7/11s (we bought a packet of chewing gum each time to seem like asking for directions was just an afterthought).

The night bazaar is big. It stretches out over two massive fields and sells everything you can think of; food, clothes, shoes, bags, books, lamps, cars, motorbikes, Vespas, headlights, spark plugs, rear vision mirrors, brake pads, baby rabbits…the list goes on. We wandered around the markets for hours, continually surprised at what was being sold.

Travelling to the market with a passion for all things Vespas and earnestly searching for a buy, Tim was sadly disappointed that it didn’t quite live up to his expectations. I, however, managed to buy a dress. Go figure.

The other cool aspect of the bazaar is the type of crowds that it attracts, the people here reflect the market itself. In any one night you have all of Bangkok’s vintage rev-heads, punks and teenagers, ultimately a grungier, grimier version of Siam crowded into dimly-lit outdoor bars in the middle of the “thoroughfare”, scouring the stalls for a good bargain.

Right near our hostel in Bangkok we have struck gold in the form of a little Japanese bar called Musashi (17 Samsen Rd, Bangkok). We have frequented this bar many times since being here as it satisfies our great love for Japanese food and drink. We have been gorging ourselves on draught Asahi, Shochu and gyoza. It, more than ever, increased our yearning to visit Japan, something we have lusted after for quite some time. *

Bangkok has completely surprised us and has blown away our differing expectations. To us, it kinda feels like Sydney and the strong culture of cafes and smalls bars has been a welcoming respite for us. A place for us to, feel normal, for a couple of weeks.

Next stop, Kanchanaburi.

Staying: In WongWainYai, U-Baan Guesthouse. For the rest of our time in Bangokok,we stayed at Sivarin Guesthouse, 10 minutes away from Khaosan Road. This place is great, the rooms are nice and the free breakfast in the morning is delish =) Highly recommended.

Getting there: Flight from Hanoi.

Tip of the trip: Ratchada night markets. How to get there: train from Hua Lamphong station to Lat Phrao. The markets are just outside of the station (you want the exit that says something resembling ‘park and ride’ exit and carpark). Make sure to eat the omelettes, barbecued skewers and anything roti in abundance. =)

*As this entry was being written, flights to Tokyo were purchased. We blame Air Asia and the euphoric haze of dumplings and shochu.

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