38 replies to this topic

[realarch]

Just spent 9 days in Thailand and five of those were in Bangkok. I thought I'd share some of my thoughts and opinions for those considering attending the biennial.
It's a vibrant, electric city with the most incredible sights I have ever seen. The people are so nice and the food..........was out of this world. It's also bordering on chaos and the
air quality was pretty poor. Transportation and food are cheap, but be prepared to be stuck in traffic most of the time and we found that to be the most exhausting part of the visit.
If your planning to spend a few days there I'd recommend hiring a taxi at your hotel for the whole day as you travel to and from the sights and back to your accommodation. We found that
to be the best way to get around. The taxi driver will wait for you no matter how long you want to stay at a certain place. The cost is about $30 a day. You won't regret it. Tuk tuks are fun, but
talk about getting gassed, cough, cough. What an experience.
The street food was great and we had no problems other than it being chili hot as hell sometimes. Some of the soups and curries were beyond delicious and you couldn't tell if I was crying because
of the chili or because it was so delicious. Would I visit again? Yes! Would I spend 5 days there? Probably not.

OK, enough text.





Here are some shots of the Grand Palace. No words to describe this place except that I'm glad I'm not a tile cutter.

[realarch]

[realarch]

[realarch]

[realarch]

Scouting around at one of the garden markets


How many wires can you count?


Quiet spot at the Jim Thompson House. A really cool place to visit. Look it up and check it out.

[realarch]

A spirit house and some Bangkok grit.



Riverside Wat that you can climb about halfway up. The Wat's are EVERYWHERE.



Living on one of the many canals.

[realarch]

[realarch]

A part of Dusit Palace complex.





One book said you might see live elephants in Bangkok. This is as good as it got for us.



One of the many canals.

[realarch]

Now for the food!


Mangosteen's everywhere and so cheap. The same for the mango's.


Lunch at Chatuchak weekend market.


Made my mouth water, these things were huge.

[realarch]

I have no idea what this was.


I normally wil try just about anything, but nope, not this time.

[realarch]

Yep, that's what I said.



Lot's a creepy crawly things at the 'wet market'. I wouldn't recommend this for turtle lovers. Hard to take.





Street BBQ's are everywhere and so many people eat on the run.

[realarch]

The best Tom Yum soup I have ever had. Tears of joy in this bowl of soup.




Red curry. Another winner.

That's about it.

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[peachy]

Thanks Tim, I had forgotten how spectacular some of the buildings and statues are. Yes the air is too dirty and the temperatures way way too high for me to contemplate going there again. You are braver than me. After getting sick in so many places I wasnt tempted to touch even the most delicious looking samples.
Peachy

[ariscott]

I love food in Bangkok.... best thai food, I reckon!!! Does that mean you are going to the biennial, Tim? Or not? I would rather go to quieter place than Bangkok myself... like Samui or Krabi.

Regards, Ari

[dalmatiansoap]

How many wires can you count?

Four. All others are cabels

Great pics, specialy the market section, give us mooooore..

Edited by dalmatiansoap, 10 March 2012 - 12:28 AM.

[Peter]

Great photos Tim-thanks! And that food looks delicious :-)

[Patricia-CR]

Nice photo tour! Thank you very much

[realarch]

Yes Ari.......it means we are going.

[bgl]

Tim,

Thanks a lot for all the great photos and the commentary. And whether you've been there or not, this is going to be a great experience! I certainly look forward to it!

Bo-Göran

[paulgila]

great pix,tim! cant wait to see it in person!

[Jeff Searle]

great pix,tim! cant wait to see it in person!

Wow, this means your coming along? Great!


Tim,

Great pictures, brings back some great memories as well. I'm really looking forward to going back in september.

[paulgila]

you already knew that i was going,jeff,dont act surprised!

[ariscott]

so much to do.... so little money. Anyone wants to give me a money tree??

[realarch]

Glad you're going Paul, we'll have to sneak out and grab some delicious street food.

Look forward to meeting you too Jeff. I'm sure it hasn't changed too much.

[empireo22]

so much to do.... so little money. Anyone wants to give me a money tree??

If I had a money tree I would give it so much fertilizer it wouldnt last a month!

[Jeff Searle]

Glad you're going Paul, we'll have to sneak out and grab some delicious street food.

Look forward to meeting you too Jeff. I'm sure it hasn't changed too much.

Paul,

It's going to be a wingdinger of a time!

Tim,

Same here, alot of new faces will be showing up. I look forward to it!

Jeff

[paulgila]

jeff easy with the east coast slang,dewd.

tim i have been practicing in other 3rd world countries so that any GI bacteria i consume will be over-powered by whatever
is already in my gut.
its science!

[ariscott]

Paul has had Bali belly plenty of time

[Jeff Searle]

Paul,

Stop washing your hands so much and don't be afraid to get some dirt in your gut. Lord knows I have enough.

Don't worry, we'll take care of you newbies.......

[realarch]

I must have a lot of that killer bacteria as well. I have no idea what some of the stuff I ate was, but no problem. In and .........well, I'll leave it at that.
Ever try the fried roaches?

[amazondk]

Thanks for the trip Tim. I would really love to go. But, I am still looking for the same tree Ari is?

dk

[realarch]

Thanks for the note Don, hope you and Ari find than dang tree. Hope to get down to your place in the next year or two........now that's my part of the world.

[paulgila]

Don't worry, we'll take care of you newbies.......
[/quote]

thats what i'm afraid of!

[KONADANTOM]

Mahalo Tim for sharing some of your experiences and first impressions of Bangkok - the Biennial in September will give us opportunities to see / smell / taste (if we choose to) some of that street food...

[Jeff Searle]

It's official now, Andy and I will be going back. Just started tonight to look at flights. We plan on arriving somewhere a week before the biennial, maybe 10 days earlier. Starting to get excited, we want to make sure we hit the market for the entire day when it's primarily plant vendors only. If I recall, it was on wednesdays. Were looking to buy a few cool things to bring back once again.

[palmcurry]

Red curry. Another winner.

That's about it.

You had me at the Tom yum!

Looks like a Rad trip and am kooking foreward to all the pictures.

[Al in Kona]

Thanks for sharing pics of your recent Thailand trip, whetting our apetite for some of that delicious Thai food! Even though we have a lot of Thai restaurants in the Kona area, there's nothing like the variety and flavors you get in Thailand itself. I'm drooling just thinking about it. I remember as I was there for the last Biennial.

[paulgila]

it seems to me the thai food we have here in san diego is pretty good but i am looking forward to having the REAL thing so i can make a
more educated comparison.

[realarch]

The street food was good, I mean really good and never once was there a 'gastro' problem. I think the key was the freshness. When you see a mortar and pestle grinding away when you order a curry dish
you know it's about as fresh as you can get. If you like crab you're gonna be in heaven. The portion of shelled crab meat was so generous per dish you realize how skimpy the norm usually is.