Looking Back: Bangkok with the Count

Greetings, all!  This has been in our drafts section for a while, so I decided to add pictures and publish it!

Shortly after our return to Singapore, it was National Day–Singapore celebrated it’s 46th birthday!  This holiday provided us with a long weekend, so off we went with three friends, Landon, Dani, and Max to Bangkok!  We went to Bangkok over the same weekend last year with Patrick, Yoshie, and Landon and we all knew it promised to be an epic weekend.

Delicious Dinner!

We arrived late in the evening and had a spectacular dinner at Long Table, a brilliant Thai restaurant with a view of the Bangkok skyline.  We shared the set meal and were not disappointed.  It proved to be a diverse assortment of Thai dishes, giving us a chance to try new things we may never have ordered otherwise.  After finishing dinner we went to the hotel, Shanghai Mansion, a little gem in the middle of Chinatown.  The rooms were amazing!!!  Upon check-in our friend Max received a welcome flower wreath as his reservation said he was the “Count of Massachusetts” (thank you Landon).  It was official:  Max was branded the Count for the rest of the trip.

The next morning, we woke up very early to make our way to the Floating Market, about an hour’s drive outside of Bangkok.  We hired a driver for the day named Sewit.  About halfway through our trip he told us his name means “sugar” in English, so we called him Sugar for the rest of the day.  After some mean bargaining we got to go in the boat for an hour and 32 minutes (Sugar was able to get us the extra two minutes through his shrewd negotiation skills).  The longboat was tons of fun, as we had a very aggressive driver who had no problem running our boat ON TOP of other boats.

Crowded Floating Market

We scared some poor old man half to death.  We floated through the market looking at the goods the shopkeepers were offering.  Every once in a while they extended a large shepherd like hook and grabbed our boat to reel us in as potential customers.  There were vendors in boats, too, selling beer, drinks, and delicious local snacks.  Dani and I bought matching hats.  Our journey was complete.

Upon arriving back in the city, we booked ringside tickets to a Muay Thai match.  Thai boxing is very fascinating and incredibly violent–it seemed no part of the body was off limits.  To top it all off, the action is accompanied by traditional Thai music including the daintiest little symbols.  Words cannot do this experience justice.

We are the champions!

Walking out of the arena, we spotted two tuk tuk drivers and convinced them to take us to a club, not merely by driving us there, but by racing!  John and I were in one and Landon, Dani, and Max in the other.  It was back and forth for a while (and got quick scary and fast, I must admit), but in the end John and I just couldn’t pull it out.  After heading to a few more nightspots, we hit the sack.  We had to make sure we had enough energy to handle Chatuchak, the insanely large weekend market that covers 35 acres with more than 15,000 stalls and shops.  Needless to say Dani and I enjoyed ourselves immensely there, sending the boys back to the hotel early so they could grab a foot massage.  Dani and I took a 45 minute tuk tuk ride back to the hotel through some cool local parts of town.  Then, she had to go to the airport to get back to Singapore for work.

After an intense morning of shopping at Chatachuk

So now, it was me with three guys in Bangkok.  Awesome.  We started out this evening at Cabbages and Condoms, a restaurant dedicated to a public service announcement:  birth control.  There were condoms everywhere.  In fact, instead of after dinner mints, you get a condom!  After a delicious meal (yes, the food is really good!), we headed to a few bars.  Then, I decided to purchase some grilled bugs for us all to try.  They were beetles of some sort, I believe.  Actually, they weren’t bad, they didn’t taste like much of anything.  I am proud to announce that I was able to eat 20 bugs while each of the boys I was with was only able to stomach one a piece.  The reason I got to 20 was because one of them refused to try one until I got to 19.  Not mentioning names……Landon. 🙂

Trying of the bug

After the bugs and a few more crazy adventures involving a mechanical bull, lady boys, and some Russians (not all at the same time) we headed for a late night Burger King run and then off to bed!

The next day was Landon’s birthday and we decided to take it easy.  We had a delicious brunch at Crepes and Co (found by Yoshie on our last trip) and had some Thai Massages.  Then, we stopped by the tailor (a trip to Bangkok with John Candeto is not complete without going to the tailor), and headed to Khao San Road–the backpacking district for some drinks and street food.

YUM!

We spent some time at a little bar built into an old VW van and ate Pad Thai from the street vendors.  Then, we all headed back to the hotel.  As I was climbing the stairs for the night, I looked back and all three of the boys had this gleam in their eye.  A tuk tuk driver had offered to take them to a local club–they were in.  I was not.  I slept.

Kings for a Day

When I woke up the next morning, the boys were exhausted from too much fun the night before.  Upon our arrival at the airport, we immediately went to Burger King (again) where Landon and Max acquired crowns they proceeded to wear all the way back to Singapore.  And thus ends our adventures in Bangkok–stay tuned for more stories!!!