One night in Bangkok... or rather three

Anyone who starts here must read until the end!

The first night was good, and the jetlag wasn't too bad. So we headed to the “Floating Market” in Bang Nam Phueng just before 10. The market is located on the Bang Kachao peninsula, which is often referred to as the “green lung” of Bangkok.

It’s not the floating market you see in movies and TV anymore, but it’s still very nice. Hardly any tourists, not overcrowded, prices are mostly displayed.
And here you can find the famous Boat Noodles (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boat_noodles), a very tasty soup served in the canals of Bangkok.
The first souvenirs were purchased, and there were many smiling faces.  

Afterwards, we headed to the Sri Navigon Khuean Khan Park, which is also on the peninsula. You can spend a good amount of time there and even walk in circles. You see more that way and make your daily step goal more easily. ;-)

We took a longtail boat back to Bangkok. Stopped by a 7-eleven* and found some strange snacks to eat. Some sort of jelly-like dessert in a squeeze pack. It was interesting and I would do it again. :-)
Unfortunately, the taxi driver wanted 150 Baht for the ride back to the hotel, which was clearly too expensive for us, and he didn't want to use the meter.
So, the bus was our choice of transportation. And those who know Egg and my trips to Bangkok know that it’s always entertaining.
What can I say? The right bus drove off right in front of us, and with the next one, we ended up waiting in traffic for 25 minutes.
And traffic is very rare in Bangkok, extremely rare. So basically always.

Arriving at the hotel, we briefly went to the pool and had a little break—also known as a power nap for Heide—before going on a food hunt in the new “Bangkok One” mall.
Unfortunately, it was a tough decision today; both of us were hungry and not very decisive. In the end, we found something, and the mix of fried rice, Thai sausages, fried meatballs, and fermented fish was very delicious. It was topped off with a chocolate and green tea ice cream.

I am a little disappointed with Egg, though: 24 hours in Thailand, and we haven't explored a single temple yet. I believe that will come, more than I would like. 

And with that, we conclude Day 1 in Bangkok.

What did Day 2 in Bangkok bring us?
A random visit to the preparations for a vegetarian festival, no visit to a shrine (as we weren't adequately dressed), street art in Talat Noi, a visit to one of the large shopping centers in Bangkok, Chinatown. And bus rides.

After the floating market was a wish of Egg, visiting Talat Noi was one of my agenda items. In the morning, I put together a route and then we set off on the first bus tour for the day. A nice man pointed out that we weren’t quite on the right bus, but we had no objections to a few extra steps.
When we arrived at our first stop, a café, I thought to myself, I know this area. Anyway, we continued on our sightseeing through backyards and less visible paths to the Chow Sue Kong Shrine.
Here, there were tons of people in white clothing, and it took a while to figure out why: it is a vegetarian festival that lasts a week. This was also the reason why the shrine itself could only be entered in all-white clothing, and unfortunately, we weren’t dressed appropriately.
(It must also be said that currently, in Thailand, it is advisable to wear subdued colors due to the death of Queen Sirikit.)
Well, we continued towards the Street Art street and a café called Mother Roaster Talat Noi. The café is located on the first floor of a former scrap dealer. Everything is quite hip and there are many tourists.
It was nice to look at everything, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling of having seen it all before—before it became Instagram-famous!
The realization that we had our hotel there in the corner in 2019 came just before the Holy Rosary Church, and I could recall the exact way to our hotel back then.
Nonetheless, you can spend the morning in Talat Noi, whether for the sake of street art, the cafés, or the temple. Also, the sight of many piles of used car parts stacked next to each other is a typical view of Talat Noi.

Next, we headed to MBK, one of the big shopping centers in Bangkok. Primarily, Egg wanted to check something out here but unfortunately didn't find anything. There was a short snack break before we made a quick stop at the hotel.

Actually, we wanted to go to a seafood BBQ, but we weren't that hungry after all, so we decided to head to Chinatown. 
Here, we experienced how fast-paced much of this city is. Last year, we enjoyed a small eatery; they have since removed the wall between two eateries to make one big one. It was still delicious.

And so we conclude our two days in Bangkok. Tomorrow we head to Nan in the mountainous north.

We wish you continued fun in single-digit temperatures in Germany; we will continue to enjoy 30°




*7-eleven is a retail chain where you can find daily necessities, drinks, convenience food, drugstore needs… 

Note for next time:
Bolt Taxi 11 km 85 Baht
Motorcycle taxi 1.5 km 20 Baht / 4.5 km 60 Baht
Longtail boat for crossing the chaotic Chao Phraya River 20 Baht

Old bus without AC 8 Baht, older bus with AC 10-16 Baht