After visiting the north (Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai) and the south (Phuket and Ao Nang), we returned to Bangkok primarily to enjoy more time with Les and Gina. Les Nordhauser attended Colonie Central High School, just outside of Albany, NY, and graduated in 1970 along with Sara and me, so we are friends from way back. Les has often invited us to visit Thailand, so this year we made it happen. We were able to stay in an Air BnB right next door to Les’s home and his film production business. Even though Les is still working and Gina attending school, this proximity made it easy for us to spend lots of time together.
In this post, I’ll feature just a few memorable times in the week and some comments on driving in Bangkok and Thai Food.
Traffic is Crazy! If you’ve ever complained about driving in traffic in America, a trip to Thailand’s cities, especially Bangkok, will make you appreciate how easy and safe driving is in the States. Bangkok is a huge, populated city with lots of traffic. The streets are crowded with cars, trucks, scooters and “Tuk-tuks.” What we call “rules of the road” are just suggestions here, and most drivers feel free to ignore them. There are as many two-wheel scooters as there are cars, and they drive everywhere, between cars, around the cars, and even on the sidewalks. Sometimes they carry as many as four or five passengers. I’m so glad I never had to drive here.
Thai Food is Great: People in Thailand like their food spicy, far too spicy for me and toxically spicy for Sara, so Les warned us to order “mai ped” (no spice) or “nitnoi ped” (very little spice). Thank you, Les. With that said, we loved the food in Thailand, and we sampled a great many dishes. Sara even sampled cooked crickets, bamboo worms and a frog in Chiang Mai (see our Chiang Mai post for more on this). We both loved the popular pineapple with stir-fried rice. We still love Pad Thai, even after learning that it’s not an old, traditional staple of Thai cuisine. It’s a dish created and named to encourage nationalism and to help market Thailand across the world.
Thai Cooking Class: Sara talked me into joining her for a Thai Cooking class (she already did one in Phuket), and this turned out to be great fun. We met our “instructor” near one of Bangkok’s many open market areas to begin by shopping for our ingredients. In Thailand many women go to the market every morning to gather fresh food for the day. Then we went back to our instructor’s studio to prepare the meal. She was a delightful teacher who guided us clearly through the process of creating four great Thai dishes, including Tom Yum Soup, Pad Thai, and Mango Sticky Rice for dessert. We loved the experience, and the meals we created were some of the best we enjoyed in Thailand.
Chinatown at night: One night Les and Gina took us out to meet another friend, Susan, and to experience Chinatown in Bangkok. Entering Chinatown, we found ourselves in a crowd celebrating something special, but we never knew what. At the Chinese Temples we saw many monks and countless folks in traditional costumes. There was music and singing, and the streets were very crowded. Stopping at a Chinese restaurant along the main street, we sat on the second floor with windows looking out over the street. We enjoyed sharing our Chinese meal, our good company, and then watching down through the windows overlooking the street as a loud and busy parade passed by. Hundreds of people wore costumes, and there were plenty of Chinese Dragons winding their way along the streets. The Chinese version of Nightlife in Bangkok was great fun.
Sunset over Wat Arun: On our last night in Bangkok, Sara and I went to a rooftop bar along the river just across from Wat Arun, one of the more important and picturesque temples among the many in Bangkok. We visited with other tourists, enjoyed snacks and a few drinks as we watched the sun descend over the city. It was a lovely way to spend that evening, and to gather our sunset shots over Wat Arun.
And tomorrow, we fly to Viet Nam.
