The quick flight was well worth the price and peace of mind. We split a taxi into the city center with two fellow travelers (both teachers from New Zealand) and began the search for places to stay. We found a great little guesthouse, set up shop, and headed out to see the town by foot at early evening. Kao San is a very popular strip loaded with tourists and shops to suit all kinds of needs and wants. We bought 30 baht ($1) pad thai from one of the various carts serving it fresh on the spot. Fresh fruit, deserts, and shopping till you drop line this ‘Hollywood Blvd. meets ‘ street. Fresh squeezed orange juice for 20 baht ended the night on a high note and made the walk home refreshing.
For our first full day in this big metropolis we began by taking the public river boat (similar to Venice’s) south through the city. Along the way we enjoyed seeing the impressive temples that line the banks on either side. Next it was off the boat at Central Port and up the stairs to the sky train. This super-clean elevated metro train took us through the city to take in the view of what the city had to offer. Big buildings, both residential and commercial, local markets, big highways, traffic congestion, public and private sports parks were all in sight. Coming from Vietnam we both agreed that Thailand seemed to be much farther along in terms of development and standard of living - we were very impressed, but we hadn’t seem anything yet…
Our stop came quickly and smoothly and we went down one floor and noticed an entrance to a shopping mall on our left. With no assumptions we walked in to quickly check it out. The floor we walked into was filled with up-scale retail shops (Gucci, Cavali, D&G, and every other high-end brand you can imagine). With jaws dropped we made our way down a floor where we spotted a food court. This was no ordinary food court, but an expansive area with every kind of food you can imagine, but beautifully prepared and presented. We walked around to take it all in and there ended up being a supermarket on the same floor so we wandered in. Hands down, most impressive supermarket we have ever been in - both in terms of choice of products and aesthetics. Every bag of chips was perfectly placed and organized. The wine selection covered every corner of the globe. Every kind of fresh fruit was peeled in front of you, packaged neatly, and ready for you to eat. Baked goods, dried fruits, freshly prepared food of all kinds - this was not your ordinary Safeway or Albertsons.
Next stop was to the electronic mecca of Thailand - the Panthip Plaza. Imagine a six story mall selling exclusively electronic goods. A man’s heaven, indeed. After our heads stopped spinning from spending hours in this place we headed towards Chinatown to see what was happening. Open markets and fresh food carts lined the streets that made up this area. We found a great place to eat where we had chicken skewers with vegetables and satay (peanut) sauce. Very cheap and delicious. For dessert we found our daily choice of soi with mango. This dish of sweet sticky rice covered with coconut milk and topped with fresh mango slices is like having a piece of heaven in Thailand. In Italy it’s daily gelato, but in Thailand it’s daily soi with mango. Yum-o, Rachel Ray.
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