Wild and Wonderful Bangkok

I'm so behind on these blog posts but will try harder to be better! Since the last post Alo and I have traveled to Thailand, twice to Bali, AND one of my best friends gave birth to her little girl Berkley Katherine! Lots to write about so I must catch up! :)

Due to Eid Al-Fitr, the holiday at the end of Ramadan, Alo and I got a week off work because all offices close - even the banks! We planned a trip to Thailand including Bangkok, Koh Samui and Koh Tao.  In case you don't already know, Ramadan is the Islamic month of fasting and they fast from sun up to sun down every day for 30 days. They can't even have water, mints, nothing!

We left Friday after work and headed to Bangkok. It's only about a 3.5 hr flight from here but we had to connect in Kulua Lumpur, Malaysia due to the holiday and our last minute booking habits.  We stayed in Patpong - which is one of the red light districts - so to say the least it was quite entertaining! ha. It was also a popular area for many of the famous "ladyboys". If you don't know what a ladyboy is I think you can figure it out - pretty self explanatory. But wow it's amazing how they truly do look like women! Watch out boys - you wouldn't want to have one too many cocktails and end up with a ladyboy!

We went to a famous "ladyboy" show called Calypso. It was a packed house!

We visited temple after temple and it was HOT in Bangkok - so it made for quite a long day! The Grand Palace was the first stop and it was just gorgeous. The Grand Palace served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand from the 18th century onward.  When King Rama V came along, he no longer wanted to use the palace as his residence so from his time and on the Kings no longer reside in the Palace. It is however still very much in use. Many royal rituals and  ceremonies still take place by the King every year. And it stays quite busy and filled with tourist like Alo and I :)

Check out Alo's pants :) Fashionista! The true story is that you can't wear shorts in the temple so Alo had to buy or rent pants. Makes for some funny photos!

Wat Pho was another temple we visited. Not nearly as beautiful as The Grand Palace but what makes it very famous is the reclining buddha inside.  This is not just a large statue lying down - it is enormous!

One of my favorite things we did was take a long tail wooden boat along the Chao Phraya River and waterways through Bangkok.  We saw a floating market and bought a beautiful elephant which Alo later dropped on the ground and broke into pieces! (thank goodness for superglue!!) We passed by many temples on the ride and got to see many local houses that lined the river. We also fed the catfish in the river and they were huge and aggressive. See how many there are in the picture?!

And of course my favorite part of Bangkok was the FOOD! I love Thai food so there was no doubt I would like the food but it was even better than expected. Even street food. I don't eat the street food in Indonesia becaues it all looks funky and dirty but in Thailand it was great. And didn't even give me a stomach ache! Pad Thai on the street would cost a $1! There were tons of backpackers in Thailand and there is no doubt as to why. It can be very cheap if you want it to be.

One interesting restaurant we went to was called "Cabbages and Condoms". Alo was quite skeptical about going but so glad we did. It was actually right next to Alo's coworkers apartment so we all had lunch before we flew out to the islands.  The concept behind the restaurant is to promote better understanding and acceptance of family planning and to generate income to support various development activities of the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand.  The idea behind the name is that condoms should be as readily available as cabbages (meaning vegetables but it doesn't sound as catchy). The decorations in the restaurant were very creative - it's not everyday I see Santa made out of condoms!

We also went to a local fruit and flower market (forget the area). Alo was practicing his photography skills here and they turned out pretty good! Many of the fruits are also in Indonesia so it wasn't too much of a surprise although we did try one new one: Rambutan. Doesn't it look wild?! It's actually native to Indonesia and the Philippines but I never see them here.

And lastly we rode around in Tuk-tuks! This is just like a taxi in Bangkok but cheaper and sometimes quicker since it can weave in and out of traffic. They are pretty funny - and very loud! Alo did have the bright idea of getting us a tuk-tuk on the way home from Calypso when it was pouring rain...maybe not the best idea :)

One last thing about Bangkok...the bugs for sale on the street! Literally they would sell fried bugs in the push carts on the street and outside the bars. And business was booming! Yuck! It grosses me out just thinking about it. Needless to say we never tried the bugs.

And that's the end of our Bangkok adventures for now! I would recommend it to anyone planning to visit Thailand!