Floating markets, a temple & relaxation

Day 3 in Bangkok and we decided to do a morning excursion to one of the floating markets.  After breakfast at the MoMo cafe and saying hello to Fon, a driver picked us up from the hotel and we took a car over to the river front.  Once at the river front we boarded one of these long canal boats (khlong boats) with our tour guide to begin our trip.  You can see here how excited Little K is.

On our scenic trip through the canals we were able to see how people live outside of the city of Bangkok. From the top left hand corner below, you can see 1) a waterway intersection in the canal system, 2) a spirit house, 3) more of the beautiful long boats, 4) a floating souvenir shop where Little K was able to purchase a Hello Kitty Fan for a dollar or two and 5) a floating “farmers market”.

After our ride through the canals, we arrived at the floating market.  We walked past this beautiful field of lotus flowers:

Then we crossed the bridge to head into the market.  Before that we wanted to document our moment with a family photo but Little K wasn’t having it.  She boycotted so J and I took a selfie instead:

It was pretty ridiculously hot so neither Little K nor I had much of an appetite, but the market was filled with all kinds of food.  Freshly cooked meals and tons on desserts and delicacies.  They also had a number of goods for purchase, but mainly we were there to check out the food.  As mentioned previously, we had already tried a number of unique fruits like the dragonfruit, rambutan and thai bananas; however, we had not yet had pomelo so we did try that.  I tasted chrysanthemum tea and liked it, and we tried a number of desserts like mango sticky rice, freshly made rice cakes, moon cakes, etc. Only J had enough of an appetite to get something larger to eat.

Making rice cakes

J and the giant tilapia he ate

After our time at the market, we hopped back aboard the canal boat to head back to the main part of the river. Little K took a bit of a nap on me as we rode back.  On the ride back, we were a little more observant and noticed that some things really are the same from country to country… the homeless living underneath the bridge for example.  I wish I could help them all.

From there we went to visit Wat Arun, one of the temples. Pretty much like all the other temples we’d seen so far except for the fact that this one was sort of a hybrid Buddhist and Hindu temple so you can see artwork, artifacts and architecture representing both religions/cultures.

By the time we finished at Wat Arun, we were farther past lunch time than we had anticipated so we grabbed a quick lunch and then spent the remainder of the day relaxing.  We went up to the pool for a bit until the clouds rolled in and it started to rain.

I enjoyed a glass of wine by the pool and Little K wanted a “fancy drink” too so we got her watermelon juice with a little fruit garnish.  Totally made her day.  Then, since it was raining, we headed back inside and made her day even more since she got to watch a little bit of shows on her ipad.  Only another day or so left in Bangkok!

Chatachak Market & Celebrity Sitings

Our second full day in Bangkok happened to be a weekend day so we were just in time to go explore the Chatachak market, one of the most popular weekend markets in Thailand. The popular weekend market covers over 25 acres and has something like 15,000 different booths selling food, souvenirs, home decor, clothing, accessories, trinkets and more.

We got there pretty early which was great because some shops were just opening and it wasn’t quite so crowded.  I was able to score two gorgeous necklaces with different crystals for quite a deal.  We were told that you can get great deals at the beginning if you are the first person to come to someone’s shop/stall.  It’s said to be good luck, if the first patron makes a purchase.  I like to think my purchase brought the gentleman good luck for the rest of the day.  After walking a bit, we were getting tired (especially after all the walking the day before) so we took a break to get a foot massage.  Yep, Little K got one too! 

The ladies LOVED Little K and thought she was the cutest.  So much so that they kept bringing friends by to show them their first customer was pint-size.  As their first customers of the day and making a purchase, we were also able to bring them all good luck.  (Or so we hope!) It started to get really crowded at the market and it was REALLY hot so we decided to head back toward downtown.

We got lunch at a restaurant inside the Central World mall which is conveniently a few blocks down from our hotel and we got their via the BTS Skywalk… basically a sidewalk to get through a large portion of the city on foot, but above all the traffic.  You can also of course hitch a ride on the train from certain stations along the skywalk if needed to.  In true Little K fashion, she made a friend at lunch. 

After lunch, we needed a break from the heat and the crowds so we walked around Central World to check it out a bit more.  Not only did they have a wide variety of stores and restaurants, but they also had a really cool kids play area that Little K fell in love with.

After letting her play for a bit, we walked around a bit more where J decided to join in on some art for fun.  Little K asked me why all the statues were running naked.  I didn’t have a good answer. 

Finally as we were heading out of the mall, we spotted a celebrity.  We have no idea who he was, but the crowd around him was quite insane.

By then we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel to relax in the room.  Little K wanted to watch a show on the ipad so she did that while I read and J went to get his first Thai massage.  By dinner time we were still over the heat and the crowds so we ordered room service in for dinner and I was able to enjoy again my new favorite dish (spicy Thai Basil Chicken).  Little K only wanted milk and fruit.  As you wish.   J actually headed out to meet up with one of his grad school buddies from his former program who happens to live in Bangkok to grab drinks and dinner… a fellow Boothie as they say.  What a day!