This weekly wrap-up covers our journey from February 9 to 15. We spent the beginning of the week on Ko Pha Ngan (Koh Pha Ngan or Koh Phangan) in the Gulf of Thailand before heading to Bangkok via ferry and an 8-hour bus on Tuesday.
Favorite thing we ate: Jonathan got back on the gelato wagon with a raspberry/passion fruit & white chocolate cup from Ghignoni Gelato in Bangkok [above left]. Megan loved the red curry from Jek Pui in Bangkok [above right, keep reading for more info on this Netflix-famous curry stall].
Favorite thing we drank: Jonathan tried a ”maize beer” from a 7-11 in Ko Pha Ngan. He’d never heard of it before but liked it and will keep it in mind for future 7-11 runs.
Favorite thing we did: This week, we took a couple of tours near Bangkok to check out the sights. Our Ayutthaya Temples and River Cruise day trip began with a visit to the Bang Pa-In Palace. This spot is the former summer palace for the royal family featuring buildings in different architectural styles the king liked from his travels including Portuguese, Russian, Italian and Chinese. Strolling through the grounds admiring the buildings was Jonathan’s favorite activity this week (although he insists no Portagee would allow the paint on the Portuguese-style tower, pictured above left, to fade to its current state). The other tour we took this week, a half-day trip to Maeklong Railway Market and Damnoensaduak Floating Market, was Megan’s favorite activity of the week. Both markets were very touristy [floating market pictured above right] but interesting and fun!
Biggest splurge: Jonathan’s necklace broke on him during our time in Malaysia (thankfully he didn’t lose any of his charms!). Bangkok has TONS of gold and jewelry shops, so he decided to wait until then to look for a replacement gold chain. While not technically a travel-related item, it was our biggest splurge of the week by far!
Best deal: During our travels in SE Asia, we’ve been watching episodes of the Netflix series Street Food for the scoop on any cities we’re visiting. The Bangkok episode featured Jek Pui Curry shop in Chinatown not far from where we stayed. We got there early and had a bowl of steamed rice with a mixture of green and red curry for 50 THB (~$1.60 USD) each, and there was free iced tea for all customers. The locals were super friendly and helpful. (One lady worriedly brought Jonathan a cup of tea after watching him pile chilis onto his plate.) The food was amazing and you can’t beat that price!
Biggest oops: We visited a lot of places that happened to be closed on that particular day/time. If you’ve been following us for any period of time, you know this is par for the course with us, but it’s been particularly bad as of late.
What we’re reading: Jonathan started Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha. Megan finished The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré, listened to Uncanny Valley by Anna Wiener during our long travel day to Bangkok, and started Bangkok Wakes to Rain by Pitchaya Sudbanthad. (Psst: Do you want to read more this year? Check out Megan’s latest article for The Everygirl on how to do exactly that!)
What we’re watching: As mentioned above, we’ve been watching Street Food episodes for each city we visit (when available). The main featured chef in the Bangkok episode is Jay Fai, but we looked up her restaurant and learned people wait up to 7 hours (!) to eat there and a crab omelette cost almost $40 USD (!!). So we did not eat there, but Megan walked by on her way to the library and saw Jay Fai in action [above left]. In the above right picture, you can see all the people waiting to eat; there are several rows of chairs at the right for people to sit.
via longtail boat or a (semi-strenuous) hike.
Total walking distance: 43.94 miles (all our beach/island time over the past few weeks did not result in much walking, but we made it up by walking 7+ miles each day in Bangkok)
Up next: Our Thai visa is up on February 18, so it’s time to move on. (Yes, we know we could extend it pretty easily, but we’re excited to see more of Southeast Asia.)
Featured image: Buddha head in tree roots at Wat Maha That in Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam (Thailand)
