The Markets Of Bangkok

A month since my last post! Oy vey. Grad school has officially taken over my life. :(

But i'm back and ready to talk!

So you've walked the streets, eaten the food and have seen the sights. Now what to do? 

Well go visit the floating markets of course! Which is basically a huge market that is on little boats in the water. You navigate the waters with your own boat going up and down "aisles" like on land! Its a crazy awesome experience. Just make sure you bring a lot of bug spray! Which I did not. I'd rather not relive that thank you. 

When floating along these canals you will be bombarded with people trying to sell you anything they can. Food and non food items alike. I am not one who is sold easily so I said a lot of No's :)

Chachkies everywhere!

Food wise there were a lot of fruits and vegetables being sold off of peoples little boats. It all looked fresh, they cut and serve it in a plastic bag for you, so I would definitely try it there. Can't go wrong with some fresh Thai mangoes! 

Or that red thing...fruit? Pepper? Who knows! Shes selling so you're buying!

There was also the questionable food items....

Any type of meat on a stick!! And when I say meat I don't mean chicken or fish. Try at your own risk! 

I am for sure not the most adventurous eater, I kind of like to play it safe. But when your tour guide/taxi driver decides to take you to the most authentic Thai soup spot in Bangkok you obviously say yes. Even though its about 150 degrees outside and the last thing you want to do is eat a hot soup on a boat with mosquitos everywhere with utensils washed in the river you are floating on....but I digress.

Thats our soup being prepared. With some water from the river. But you can't say no! Don't even try.

Hesitant? Me?

I dont want to talk about it.......

Just take me back to the hotel......

Swatika!

Thailand! A land so far far away that this girl, who is TERRIFIED of flying.... 

never thought she would reach! But when it came to my honeymoon I knew that I had to go to a place that was so tropical and exotic, it would only be right! Now this is a land where non adventurous eaters will run into some problems. i.e. ME. Now I am not a "picky" eater per se but Im also extremely cautious of what I eat :) Thank you very much 3 courses in food and sanitation!

Would you eat this?.....

 That my friends is chicken feet, on top of a hot soup (mind you it was 10000000 degrees out) made on a floating "house" on a river.

"Do I have to eat all of this?!"

So you must have an open mind! Try everything once! You've made it all that way! The cuisine of Thailand is very similar to what you would eat here in a Thai restaurant. Lots of noodles, vegetables, sautéed dishes, and SPICE. I repeat the food is SPICEY. Hello ulcer! So  come prepared with lots of tums and pepto!

If you are staying in a hotel, make sure that breakfast is included or is an option. Finding a place to eat breakfast in Thailand may be a problem. Luckily our hotels had amazing breakfast spreads. 

Lots of egg dishes, breads, dumplings! More savory dishes than sweet. 

Congee, or rice soup with meat in it. 

Chinese sticky buns, fried rice dishes and BBQ pork skewers.

And lots and lots of meat. Meat everywhere. 

It is definitely hard to stay away from all the breads and noodles in the morning. Luckily most hotels offer a Western style breakfast, so you can stick to fresh fruit, Omellets made from scratch, wheat breads with jam, and peanut butter, which was always on the breakfast table! If you do want to eat some noodles or dumplings now is the time to do it! 

Enjoying breakfast in Phuket

In my opinion it is best to eat your heavier carbs in the morning or early lunch time because you will have all day to burn it off.

And if you're lucky enough, your taxi driver will make a stop by a roadside stand selling fresh coconuts! Always a good idea before starting a tour in a hot hot city.

Next up, the floating river markets of Bangkok and street food!