Bangkok, Thailand

We left Cambodia early Friday morning, mentally preparing ourselves for the 12 hour bus to Bangkok over coffee before we bid goodbye to our hostel owner. The bus was nicer than expected though, and only ten hours! As usual, we stopped at roadside souvenir/food stands on the way, (the drivers get commission, so everywhere we go we stop too often and for too long), and soon enough we were at the border. Immigration into Thailand took over an hour, due to lines of buses, then we were herded into groups and sorted by colored stickers. “We’re like cattle,” I said as a yellow sticker was slapped onto my sleeve, designating me in the ‘Bangkok’ group in the corner. We were led past the border to another bus…but the bus turned out to be a van, and they squished 11 of us in it, along with our bags. It looked like a family vacation from the outside, but inside we all exchanged awkward smiles, wondering how we could possibly fit.  Luckily, the ride to Bangkok was only a few hours and we were dropped off near Khaosan Rd., where tons of backpackers and tourists congregate at guesthouses and outdoor cafes and bars. We were supposed to meet Baitoey, a student who had stayed with my mom’s friend in Deerfield, but couldn’t get in contact with her, so we found a hostel and had our first Thai food.  Pad Thai…definitely better in Thailand!

Baitoey is a student at the University of Technology, so we went to meet her at her campus the next morning. She came running excitedly at us, a tiny girl in bright yellow, armed with an umbrella. She immediately began telling us about her school and parents and asking how everyone in Wisconsin was doing. She was so friendly it was like we’d known her much longer than 5 minutes. As we walked by other students, Baitoey would put her hands together and make a small bowing gesture. Seeing our confused faces she explained that younger students have to respect the senior class. She and her roommate Joy fed us coconut water and a spicy papaya salad with shrimp fried in sesame seeds, then started our tour of Bangkok.  Joy doesn’t speak English, but wanted to come along and was very sweet. Baitoey is talkative, funny and LOVES shopping. Joy thinks she shops too much…haha.

They took us to a temple where we learned how to burn incense, pray and present gifts to Buddha. We’ve been to a lot of temples, but hadn’t yet joined in the rituals. Next to the temple is a fishing village, so we took a small boat to explore. It was windy, and raining, and our little boat that was like a motorized canoe was swaying a lot. The man who owned the boat scared us when he jumped into the lake, only to show that the water, even far out in the middle, came only to his knees. Feeling safer, we continued to a river where we looked in on houses of fisherman and saw giant lizards climbing the banks. The mudskippers, (fish that breathe through their skin and can live above water for days), were really cool.  Their slimy skin blends in with the muddy earth around them as they pop in and out of holes.

Back on land, we headed to the Amphawa floating market, otherwise known as the place Brianna and Rebecca gained ten pounds in sugar. Boardwalks filled with shops stretch across the water, with bridges connecting each side and a few boat vendors too. We passed rows of colorful sweets, (some we recognized, some we never would have guessed what they were), before reaching the “restaurant” we were stopping at for lunch. It was a row of tablecloths along the side of the dock, with a boat tied to the edge where people sat grilling fresh seafood. We sat on the ground, my feet hanging over the water while we ordered fresh scallops, shrimp, squid and seafood salad, then watched them cook it before setting heaps of food on our makeshift table. This was one of the best meals we’ve had so far, and we happily peeled shrimp, (whole, with the eyes), and attempted to use our chopsticks. Actually, I’m getting a lot better at using chopsticks over the past few weeks! Though we were stuffed, Baitoey insisted Brianna and I try pad thai again, because a certain stand was supposedly the best. It was served on banana leaves with orange glass noodles in the center and the egg, greens, peanuts, sugar and spices surrounding them. You mix it together yourself, and it really was the best.  “Now it’s time for sweets!” Baitoey said. We tried homemade popsicles from a spinning ice box, ice cream, fried bananas coated in honey, suncakes, cotton candy and lastly a “taco” made of a sweet pancake shell and filled with coconut, cream and so much sugar it spilled out everywhere. Even for dessert lovers like myself, we had overdone it. “I just want you to try a lot of Thai food,” Baitoey kept saying as we protested against any more sweets. Feeling a little sick, but happy, we said goodbye to Baitoey and Joy and went back to our hostel.