Thailand - Bangkok & Pattaya

Why is Imran visiting Thailand?

Since I like Thai food and Muay Thai.

This was my fourth stop in my first Round The World Trip in 39 days.

A little background information on Bangkok

Bangkok is backpacker central city.  No adventurous backpacker trip around the world would be complete without a visit to Bangkok.  Bangkok is known as the Venice of Asia due to the amount of canals that run through the city and its surroundings.  Bangkok has the worlds longest name which is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit, yeah imagine saying the full name while booking your tickets.  

What I did?


Things to do in Bangkok


I was in Thailand after Christmas up until New Years.  Beer is very cheap in Thailand and everyone was in party mode when I reached Bangkok.  Since I don't partake in drinking activities I felt a little out of place, which really didn't matter to me as I was in Bangkok to explore the city.

Temples


Bangkok has a lot of temples and I tried to visit as many as I could.  I took a bicycle tour through grasshopper tours.  I did the 4 hour night tour which takes you through the back streets of Bangkok and on a short river cruise over the Chao Phraya river.  The tour also takes you through the flower market.

@ Wat Arun.

The Flower Market.

I was trying not to be goofy.

Reclining Buddha.

In front of the Grand Palace (Wat Phra Kaew). 

Sirocco Sky Bar

I had read about the Sirroco Sky bar in the Delta air magazine from a flight from Atlanta to D.C. before the bar was featured in Hangover 2.  The bar gives you a birds eye view of the city and is best to visit during or after sunset to avoid the heat.  You do need to order a drink which costs $20 which basically is the entrance fee, or you can be sneaky and just click pictures and leave, which is exactly what I did, since I didn't want to waste $20 on a virgin Pina Colada.  

Sirocco is located on the 63rd floor of the State Tower.

One Man Wolf Pack.

I had to wear my Alan T Shirt.

This is how much space there is at the bar.

Muay Thai

Muay Thai the deadly art of 8 limbs (punches, kicks, elbows and knees) which I love so much.  Muay Thai is the national sport of Thailand and every one in Thailand loves this sport from kids to old people, Muay Thai runs in the blood of all Thai people.  Pretty much everything is legal in the sport except obviously contact in the groin and the back of the head.  I went for the Muay Thai tournament at the Lumpinee Stadium which is the Madison Square Garden for the sport.  There are tournaments held every Friday night which last for around 3-4 hours.  Being in Lumpinee and watching the tournament reminded me of  the video game Mortal Kombaaaaaat. 

Push kick.

Most of the contestants were kids younger than 18.

The fight was so intense both contestants fell out of the ring.

The most modest fighters locker room I have seen, everyone was together and it didn't matter before the fight.

Fight card.

In my VIP Seat.

TT: If you are sitting in the VIP section, after the main event is over you can request security to let you sit up front in the press section.  Had I been any closer I would be in the ring.

Round 2.

The real  champ is in between.

Muay Thai Fight Initiation Ritual.

Elbow to the head and Knee to the stomach Knockout!!

Taking Bets.

Definitely Fight of the Night!!

Knockout of the night!! Crazy Stuff yo!! 

Marble Temple

Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram aka Marble Temple.  I ended up going to the Marble Temple randomly as the tuk tuk driver insisted I visit the Marble Temple before I go eat lunch, I was like sure and I ended up going to the Marble Temple.  When in Bangkok you have to ride the tuk tuk, the most efficient,cheap way to get around the city where the trains don't go.  Riding in a tuk tuk in itself is a death defying experience but it is all worthed.

In a Tuk Tuk yo.

The temple was being decorated for New Years celebration.

Beating the ceremonial drums.

Siam Niramit

Siam Niramit is a Thai cultural dance show whose name was included in the Guinness book of world records as being the largest production dance show in the world.  The show tells the story of Thailand as a country with the use of interpretive dance.  Without giving much away the shows cast consists of Elephants, chickens, goats and of course humans.  I ended up going to watch the show on New Years eve as I wasn't in the mood for partying and being around drunk people.  

In a Thai Hut.

Chilling in a Shack.

The Last Samurai.

Siam Paragon Mall


After New Years all of Bangkok goes on an extended weekend vacation during which time most businesses are closed.  I was advised by my hotel concierge that since most businesses would be closed I should go check out the biggest mall in Bangkok.  I don't like hanging out at the mall but since I didn't have many other options I ended up going to the mall. 

With the Last Samurai.

They misspelled Osean. 

I have heard of Gucci but not Pucci.

Dizzying view of the escalators.

The mall has a lambo showroom.

The mall with supercar showrooms!!

Pattaya


Pattaya is a beach town 2 hours away from Bangkok, which makes it a perfect destination for a day trip.  You can hire a personal car for 4500 THB, a taxi for 3500 THB or go in a shared taxi for 500 THB.  I honestly didn't do much while in Pattaya other than hang out at the beaches and take naps, I took an hour nap at the Hilton Pool and another hour nap at the beach.  

Before my nap.

Perfect place to nap.

View from the Hilton.

The beaches are super touristy and packed.

You can rent a chair an umbrella for 30 THB ~ $1.

Bugs anyone?

Crunchy Cricket Snack.

Sunset as viewed from the Hilton.

Shout out to Paris Hilton yo!!

What I ate?

Things to eat in Bangkok

If you like eating street food then Bangkok is the place for you.  There is food to fit any budget.  Just a word of caution though, food in Thailand is spicier than the Thai food you find elsewhere.  Also you might forget what you ordered as the names are tough to pronounce, I don't think I remember the name of any dish I ate.  

When I went to go watch the cultural show at Siam Niramit I purchased a ticket which included a dinner buffet.  The dinner buffet included Thai & Indian food.  I personally liked the yellow fish curry which was spicy and was coconut flavored.  The food in the buffet was very fresh, spicy and tasty. 

Dinner buffet @ Siam Niramit.

I ordered a steak which had 3 chillis next to it, indicating the steak would be super spicy.  As I mentioned earlier I don't remember the Thai name of the things I ate but I do remember the English equivalent.  The Steak was prepared using cooking techniques used in Northern Thailand served with an atomic spicy hot sauce which was surprisingly flavorful.

Northern Steak.

Jungle curry fried rice is fried rice prepared in jungle curry and has exotic ingredients.  This fried rice doesn't contain your usual onions, carrots and peas served with chicken.  It had vegetables whose names I don't even know and neither had I eaten those vegetables before.  Make sure you get the mild or not spicy at all version, since the spicy version is SPICY.  I couldn't finish the fried rice, not because it wasn't tasty but because it was super spicy.  I ended up eating an ice cream since my tongue was burning even 20 minutes after the meal.

Jungle Curry Fried Rice.

After finishing my spicy meal I needed something that could remove the spicy burning sensation from my tongue.  Having milk after eating something spicy can reduce the burning sensation.  So I ended up eating a banana walnut fudge vanilla ice cream from the cream & fudge factory which prepares it's ice cream on a cold marble slab kind of like coldstone.  The ice cream was expensive (180 THB ~ $7) according to Thai standards but boy did it hit the spot on bulls eye.  

Banana, Walnut, Vanilla Fudge Ice Creammmm!

The biggest apple I have seen for a minute I thought it was a watermelon.

I had heard there is some good street food to be had near the victory monument, so I took the BTS Skytrain down to the Victory Monument and walked around the area till I came across a chicken and rice stall.  I ordered the boiled chicken over rice which is a very simple meal with no spices.  It is exactly what its name suggests a serving of rice topped with boiled chicken.  Having the meal as it is will taste flavorless, although as soon as you add in the "Delicious sauce" to the rice and mix it with the chicken, the meal turns into something else almost as if it has transformed into another dish.  I like to call it autobot chicken and rice due to its transformational properties.  It was the best food I had in Bangkok.

Boiled chicken with rice.

Boiled chicken with rice + Thai Iced Tea, although in Thailand it is just called Iced Tea.

The Delicious sauce is really delicious.

You will also find a lot of small stalls selling the Thai equivalent of the pancake.  I am not sure what it was called but it is a bite sized pancake with various fillings.  I just ordered mine with the filling which looked visually appealing.

Thai Pancake.

When I was in Bangkok I got addicted to the orange juice stalls.  I would drink the orange juice almost everyday.  You can find orange juice stalls in almost every other block.  The orange juice is served in a small plastic bottle for around 20 THB = <$1.  The orange juice is served chilled making the Thai heat a little bearable.

Orange Juice Stall.

Drinking Orange Juice.

Once again not sure what this is called it was a vegetarian dish which consisted of steamed rice and mashed sweetened peanuts inside.  It made a very good snack.  The gooey sticky texture will make you think it is some kind of fish, although there wasn't any kind of meat in it.

Being in Pattaya for a day I made sure I tried some kind of seafood, although I am not really a seafood lover.  I ordered 2 things a spicy beef noodle as an appetizer and soft shelled crabs in a chili garlic paste.  The noodles topped off with the half fried egg was amazing not too spicy.  The crab in the chili garlic paste was also pretty good but very messy.  There was more trash and less crab meat.   

Beef noodle.

Soft Shelled Crab in Chili paste.

Thai Diet Coke.

I went to Mango Tree an upscale restaurant which caters to the Tourists, in the sense it is Thai food for people who don't want to eat in the street and would like to sit down, eat and pay with their credit cards.     Nonetheless the food was good but a little on the expensive side.  I ordered the shrimp puff cakes, mango orange mock tail and spicy chicken noodles (once again not sure what the food is called in Thai).  

Shrimp Puff.

Spicy Chicken noodles.

After Jummah (Friday prayers) I was hungry and wanted something to eat asap.  Unfortunately there weren't  a lot of options close to the mosque where I prayed.  There were 2 stalls 1 with fried chicken and the other serving noodles, I decided to give the noodles stall a try.  I went up to the stall and ordered the beef noodles, after which I was asked by the vendor "do you want BEEF BALLS in noodle" to which I replied "YES".  I was under the impression beef balls meant balls made of beef kind of like a meat ball, I didn't know when the vendor said "BEEF BALLS" she actually meant it.  I got my noodles with 2 BEEF BALLS and to my surprise the beef balls didn't look remotely like any meat balls I have had the texture was all wrong.  Being the person I am I decided to give the BEEF BALLS a try, the texture is real rubbery and the taste is very bland, the whole thing is very chewy and fatty.

BEEF BALLS Noodle Soup.

TESTIEI-NG BEEF BALLS.

I Lance'd Armstronged the soup - I ate only 1 BEEF BALL.

Jummah in Bangkok

I went to a mosque close to my Hotel for Jummah (Friday prayers).  The khutbah (sermon) was in Thai.  

Conclusion:

Thailand is a friendly touristy country with friendly people and gorgeous beaches.  Bangkok is party/backpacker central with majority of the people visiting the city to party.  It is challenging to be sober in a country where beer is cheaper than water.  It is a safe place with good clean efficient transportation, with lots of temples to visit and foods to try and eat.  You can enjoy the city either ways by either getting down and dirty or be posh and glam it up, it all depends on what you are in the mood for.  Bangkok has something to offer to all kinds of travelers.