When I hear or read about Bangkok, only two things come to mind: thrift shopping and delectable street food. More than visiting Buddhist temples and going to the beach, these were two of my agendas after returning to Thailand. Well, not much on the shopping bit because I'm actually trying to eliminate as much stuff in preparation for my migration to the US, but it's an experience to have lived within the shopping district of Bangkok.
Today I'm sharing some street photos of Bangkok taken from our week-long vacation. Let me start with the street food. Unless you have an irrational fear of eating street food, then I highly recommend that you at least try these while you're in Thailand. As you can see in the photos below, the vendors were wearing a face mask and gloves for hygienic purposes. It's not shown in these photos, but there was actually a long queue before us.
Pork and Chicken Barbecue (above) and Mango sticky rice (below)
While you're at it, Thailand's famous mango sticky rice is also a must-try! I might have had at least three servings of these during our stay. Oh, and we also discovered that the sticky rice (sans the coconut milk) is also best paired with pork or chicken barbecue! Can you imagine a budget snack/meal for less than 50 Baht?
In one of our trip to the nearby shopping malls, Mom and I bought chilled fresh watermelon and pineapple sold in the street. Hands down Thailand has the best-tasting fresh fruits in the world! It's almost impossible to believe it, but it's true! Did I mention it was my first time to try a fresh pomegranate juice drink, too?
We were mostly on tour during our vacation, and we usually just walk around Pratunam Market from our hotel, so we didn't get a chance to enjoy Thailand's public transportation such as
Pink Taxi
TukTuk
I don't know where Mom heard about the Hello Kitty House, but she was pretty determined to see it in person. Just a quick background, Mom has had an affinity for Hello Kitty products since she was little; however, she came from a less-opulent family, so she only got to buy some Hello Kitty products when she got older. On New Year's Eve morning, we walked all the way from the Platinum Mall to Paragon, then crossed the street to get to Siam Square One only to realize that it's actually a café slash museum of Hello Kitty displays.
As much as we wanted to come in, there was already a long queue waiting to be called in. It will probably take at least two hours to get in, and we didn't have the luxury of time because we needed to get back to our hotel before the roads closed for that night's street party.
The streets of Bangkok are a lot like those in Manila, only better. In my opinion (and observation), their streets are cleaner—even their overpass/foot bridge was conducive for a picnic, really. I don't remember coming across a street sweeper during the entire time we were there, but their sidewalks don't look as filthy as Manila's.
Traffic in the metro was a common thing in Bangkok, too, but their widened roads have helped in easing the road congestion during rush hours. These are only a few of my observations on the busy streets of Bangkok. I'll leave you with a couple more photos for visual reference.
Up Next: Travel Tips: Bangkok, Thailand