Day #118 Bangkok, a food paradise

Bangkok,

Once again, we had the pleasure of welcoming our friend Mariana, but this time Tiago was replaced by his sister Carolina. The whole week was planned with a lot of precision so our friends and us could enjoy the most of North of Thailand in just a few days. Also, it was Jess’s birthday on the 16th so I had to make some arrangements while in Indonesia for that special day.

I woke up the first day in Bangkok with pleasant memories of our dinner at Surhing, a 2 Michelin Star restaurant run by german twins chefs. The 14 dishes experience was long but delightful. For me, it was the first time I tried caviar and I loved it. In general, I thought that the food lacked a bit of originality but that flavours were subtly good and perfectly presented. German food in Asia by its own is special but I was expecting more “Wow” out of this expensive food experience. Nevertheless, the company was great and it felt like a great way to start our trip in Thailand.

Our first morning in Bangkok began in the perfect way with us visiting a local market. We decided to go to Khlong Lad Mayom floating market. It is a small market that only opens on Saturdays but known by many locals as the best traditional market experience you can get in Bangkok. It is partially a floating market and partially a regular market with stands. Right away, the four of us were amazed by the wonders of this place. Every food looked exotically delicious and colourful. Furthermore, food stands seemed very clean and food was beautifully presented in bamboo leaf wrappings and on bamboo sticks, amongst other traditional ways of platting the food. My mind was making millions of new connections every step I would take deeper into the local market. I couldn’t stop noticing how all the food was either based on an ingredient, recipe or technique I had never seen before. It was like I landed on another planet. Soon enough, I forgot we had had breakfast 30 minutes before and started to taste everything I could put in my mouth. The best discoveries were the ones that were deliciously chewy from glutinous rice, such as sweet rice and bean dough with sesame seeds and different types of rice dumplings. Every bit of food I tasted was delicious. I was starting to fall in love with Bangkok. My mind started to telling me “just focus on the food, the more meals you can fit in your daily routine the happier you will get”. I knew from that point on, the more programs we would do during the day the more meals I could fit in between. I just needed the girls to follow me and my enthusiasm :). And so, my mission for food began.

That afternoon, we decided to take a rickshaw to China town so that we could continue our delicious journey through Thai cuisine. Marianna and I were super keen on trying the famous Durian fruit. For many Asians, it is considered the king of all fruits, but with the strongest and most disgusting smell you can think of. I love the fact that it reminded me of the taste of cheese.

For dinner we had our first delicious Pad Thai at Thipsamai Pad renowned for being the best of the world. Every day, locals and tourists queue for hours the get a seat at this street food restaurant. Being a few block away from our hostel, we decided to avoid the queue and take this delicious piece of noodles back to our place. After dinner we decided to have a sneak peak at the famous Bangkok nightlife. On my mind, I could only think about the fried insect stalls and how, as a foodie, I had to test my limits. There they were: the larvae, the crickets, the scorpions and the tarantulas amongst other horrendous insects. I had promised myself to try a scorpion because Bangkok was the only place I could do it, but when Jess saw the huge black tarantulas I was challenged to another level. I was told to eat a tarantula as a proof of my love for her. Obviously, she was joking but I took her jock very seriously. In my opinion, actions can tell more than words so there I had another chance to collect love points in my wife's heart :) I started with the easy peanut tasting larvae, then moved on to the crunchy and shrimp tasting scorpion and finished off with a beautiful bite on the tarantula proving my love for Jess. However, I couldn't get a well deserved kiss from her. I let you imagine why!? Nightlife in Bangkok was too wild for our spirit so after an hour of sightseeing of this savage place we went to bed.

I will always remember these days for the delicious experiences it provided us. The same deliciousness followed us throughout our journey in Thailand. We visited the ancient capital of Ayutthaya and two famous cities in the North of Thailand: Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. One of the highlights of our stay was Jessica´s birthday. I had prepared a little deviation in our schedule for us to enjoy one day at the MuseFlower retreat. This peaceful place had a huge range of holistic therapies and massages that I had never heard of so I knew Jess would love it. We started with a private session of Qigong in the morning, followed with a therapy of our own choice and finished with a couples massage. It was a great way to reboot our bodies and finish of our fast paced trip in Thailand, We were again without the company of our friends but ready to fly to the beautiful country of Myanmar.