Please. I don’t think anyone here minds frequent posts providing us all with such interesting content.
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Yep. Mayhem is never very far from that kid’s brain!
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It could never happen!!! Your posts are always interesting and delicious-sounding. I love the ones where you get on a huge roll and go on and on, they absolutely make my day, every single time!!
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Absolutely. It’s about as close to Thailand as I’m gonna get for a while 
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Bangkok has so many things to do but I tend to just walk around and eat good food when I am there. It is a tough job, but I am just the man to do it. But I figured I ought to see some sights here that I have not been to before, so I planned a day at the Museum of Contemporary Art, then booked a Chinatown food tour for the next day. MOCA is just a couple miles north of Chatuchak Park, so I took the MRT subway to the park and walked around a bit.
Perfect place to read in a shady spot. Then I hit the museum when the day got a touch warmer. First thing I saw as I entered was this monstrous ant. Loved the look and the welcome!
Then it was up the escalator to a collection of Thai and Lao decorative Khon face masks that were pretty cool, incredible variety of them. Tucked away at the end of the face mask corridor was a painting that just knocked me for a loop. The colors, the beauty of the women, the arrangement of the characters in the scene….
Sometimes artwork connects and you know that you will always remember it! Rearngsak Boonyavanishkul’s Legend of Wang Na was that work for me this year.
The last time I had a connection like this was when I was touring the Phillips Collection in Washington DC and The Luncheon of the Boat Party just leapt across the room and took my breath away. I love that piece to this day! But I had 3 more floors to see so I was off to the races after a few minutes. Another that leapt out at me, though for another reason was Chuang Moonpinit’s “Lovers”.
A very distant relative of mine, Aubrey Beardsley, created a bit of a ruckus way back in the day in late-Victorian England. But it is work that I know and when I saw Moonpinit’s work it really reminded me of Beardsley’s Art Nouveau poster style works.
Then I ran into a reminder of why i really should insist on larger ships for sea crossings. No more Lomprayah ferries to Ko Tao!
Then it was back to the Lancaster for happy hour in the club and an odd take on a Highball. Tasty and cold so I will not complain.
The next day it was a wander day, again in Chinatown. Just walking down random alleys, past scornful cats and untrodden paths. I hate when an interesting path dead ends into a stranger’s door…
The day was hot so i ducked into the Hex Bar for a couch in a corner. A snowy window scene played in a “window” to one side, an antelope mounted on the wall and a fake fireplace. Perfect setting for a Thai Iced coffee.
Not sure if that link will be live but it is worth trying to share it.
Then it was off to join my Chinatown food tour through the still festive crowds of Chinese New Years celebrants. This was where being a part of a food tour kind of grated. Being a gawking tourist is an uncomfortable role to play. But it is what I was, so I guess I should get used to it. Especially when we stumbled on the elementary age kids doing a Chinese New Year Dragon dance. It was pretty cute but it was peak tourist.
We started with sukiyaki (?) w pork belly…
… plus chicken skewers on the side, then a mild green curry w Chinese sausage at Jek Pui that was rather good! The place was standing room only with a line for takeaway food in those little 500ml plastic bags. I sat near a guy that was eating while seated on his mint Vespa scooter.
Then we stopped at a couple fruit stands, first the jackfruit stand, then a few steps over for the mildest durian fruit I have ever tasted. Not sure if they grow a milder version now, or if the woman chose the mild ones for the tourists? Is there such a thing as a mild durian? It seems so.
The shops were full of goods, I think the ones that I took the photos of were the sponge sellers. But they were all busy selling and chatting, nonstop.
One of the last food stops we made was at a place I think I may be mid-identifying, but I thought it was Jok One Table and we had phenomenal shrimp dumplings there. Jok Kitchen? Not sure. It was a Mom and Pop place, just one large round table. Great dumplings!
Then it was off into the crowds for a doughnut with a sweet green sauce and a few more photos.
I was up at 4am the next day for an 8am Qatar Air flight to Athens. Sorry to see Thailand in the rear view!
Those quiet late night/early morning taxi rides through a sleeping city have always reminded me of a Phil Collins video for some reason. Makes no sense.
I need a new video for crossing a city in the dead hours of night. Something reflective yet cautiously positive. Suggestions welcome!
I experimented with Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 14, Op. 131 since I had it on my phone.
My flight was a complete anti-climax.
Gratuitous Chinatown photos to follow.
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Reading your most excellent post while listening to Beethoven! Thanks and yes always sad seeing Thailand in one’s rearview mirror… Cannot wait to go back, though other places (where I haven’t been before) beckon too!
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This is kuay jab - fat rolls of rice noodles in a peppery soup, topped with roast pork belly.
This place used to be inestimably more Instagrammable when it was at its old location, with customers perched on a line of wonky stools set against a dilapidated wall.
Its new location, which does a lot of takeouts, doesn’t have the charm of its old persona.
Those are dried fish-maw, a delicacy amongst the Thai-Chinese - they are rehydrated, then added to soups or braised in stews.
I think this is taken at 𝗣𝗮 𝗧𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗲𝘆, once listed in the Michelin Guide to Thailand (2018-2019). The sweet green sauce is sangkaya: pandan-flavored egg-coconut milk spread.
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I hear you about having many places you want to visit, Damiano! Both the familiar and the new.
Thank you for your insight, Peter! I was thinking of you and your knowledge of this cuisine as my food group walked from place to place.
Fish maw? I thought they were sponges. Face palm.
I really enjoyed the curry at Jek Pui. My only concern was that the little plastic stool would fold out from under me. Those photos of it from a while back are outstanding.
But that food tour was well worth the time!
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Knowledge of Thai and so many other cuisine!! Peter took my wife and I for a morning food and culture walk in Penang last week, the day after CNY.
Visited many venders (peter knew EVERYONE), got some real true insights into the history of the area and the diaspora that makes Malaysia such a fascinating harmonious blended culture.
I’ll need more time until I get on a PC back home to put pics and thoughts together. Thanks for a great experience, Peter!!!
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Pleasure’s all mine, @Google_Gourmet . Always happy to meet a fellow HOer. I used to take part in, and also organise Chowdowns during our old Chowhound days - in London, Hong Kong and Singapore,
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I’d read and vicariously followed those adventures. Always sounded so delicious!
Do give me advance notice should you make it to SF. There’s a slab of Prime Rib at the HOPR that I’m sure you would have no problem with. 
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I am back in Thailand for a few weeks, visiting an island I missed on my last trip mostly and a hotel on the Chao Phraya River I wanted to stay at. I flew into Suvarnabhumi and took a cab to the Lancaster on Phetchaburi Road. Remembering my last musical interlude, I cued a Boccherini Cello Quartet but it was not working for me. So I pulled up a video I have watched several times, Eric Johnson playing Cliffs of Dover and listened to it twice on the late night drive through Bangkok. Love this city and the music seemed to fit, kind of.
Checked into the Lancaster, the doorman, Wut, claimed to recognize me and Dream, the front desk clerk was very nice. Names in Thailand have a quirky charm. Hit the room, fell out, and seemingly moments later, I was tucked into the breakfast buffet. I like me some breakfast buffets, but the Lancaster does it with the amp turned to 11. It is not great food, but it is rather good food served with a thousand varieties. And the cappuccino is prepared well, too. I usually start with a small congee, dressed with hard boiled egg and crushed peanuts, maybe some minced green onion. Then I go back for a plate of as widely varied an assortment of rice, curry and noodles that I can find.
I went to my favorite ice cream/gelato place, Sarnie’s, and was kind of disappointed. They crunch up the garnish on the gelato now, and the iced coffee was pre-prepared. This coffee in a plastic container is a trend that I really despise. I understand why, I just do not like the result.
And when I rinsed my teeth later, I spit out bits of garnish. Like an hour later. I was carrying that gelato garnish in my teeth for an hour. Ick.
LOL!
Then it was off to a place I have always meant to visit and never had gotten to. Jim Thompson’s home in the Ban Khrua neighborhood on Khlong Saen Saep. Thompson is a great figure in both American and Thai history. He was an OSS operative in WWII, returned to Thailand after the war and played a large role in getting outsiders to recognize the beauty of Thai silk. Then he mysteriously disappeared in Malaysia right before the start of the Second Malay Insurgency. Hmmm…
Then the rain set in.
More importantly, I was hungry when I left so I waited out the heavy rain and then walked to Thai Niyom, a long-time Michelin Bib restaurant that I have been unable to get into in the past without a reservation. I zipped right in and the host took me up the stairs to a nice perch overlooking the place. I ordered Northern dishes, Khao Soi and Sai Oua. The Khao Soi was very good, nearly as good as the version I like so much at Khao Soi Khun Yai in Chiang Mai. Rich, spicy, simply delicious. The Sai Oua was soft, a bit oily and less appealing. Not enough lemongrass? Kaffir lime leaves? Not sure. The waitress seemed to not understand my request for sticky rice. I think that was a language issue on my part so that is on me. A nice meal, I will go back and work into the menu a bit more.
I noticed another favorite of mine, Mae Mali, as I was walking in and out. That is a place worth returning to as well.
I got back to my room and the sun was setting. A good day.
Then I mosey’ed up to the club and had a rather bad trio of hors d’oeuvres. Oh well. But how can you find a bad cook in Bangkok? That just escapes me.
But the hostess team is so nice it is not like I am going to complain. A day of travel is a good day. Add a good meal at both breakfast and lunch, plus a look at a historic set of buildings, and it is a great day.
I hate to admit it, but half the reason I pay for the club is the free laundry service…
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Yay!! You’re back on the road again!
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I greatly enjoy your travel reports! Keep them coming 
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Fantastic hotel and a great price!! Great photos and report as always 
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Looking forawrd to the rest of your adventures. If you do revisit Thai Niyom, I think their strength is their stir fry game, particualry the range of pastes they have from throughout the country. The special Phuket with seafood and Kanchanaburi (quite hot) with pork belly are among our favorites.
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Thank you for the heads up, TigerJohn! I will be in Bangkok for 6 days starting next week and I will keep your advice in mind. Phuket seafood sounds good!
My second day in BKK I feasted on the Lancaster breakfast and then grabbed my umbrella from the day before and Grab’ed a ride to the National Museum Bangkok. I think I have 3 or 4 rideshare apps on my phone now. If you have never been to the National Museum, it is a huge hodgepodge of beautiful sculpture, musical instruments, historic pottery, Royal Family palanquins, dollhouses, temples, mandi bath areas, masks… I loved it!
Then I walked to Sae Phun (through a slightly dodgy area) for their famous Michelin Bib Chicken Stew with Chinese Sausage and Fried Egg. Super sweet owner greeted me and got me an iced coffee. And yet again it was the dreaded pre-brewed, bottled in plastic coffee. It was ok and it WAS served in a tin cup full of ice, which is one of my favorite ways to get an iced coffee. But pre-brewed and bottled is still just not on somehow. The stew was good, not great, and the chicken was cut in oddly firm and regular shapes. Not sure how to describe the chicken other than unusual. Still, it was a nice meal and the street the cafe is on is a cool mix of shops and cafes.
Then I walked over to Khlong Robkrung, which I had seen in January while it was being renovated and trees planted. So I am on a bridge, taking a picture of the still “work in progress” Khlong reno, when I see a hugenormous Monitor Lizard in the canal. So I mosey on over to the side of the canal and start taking a video of this beast and it is more than 6’ long, maybe 2 meters. Just the biggest lizard I have seen since I visited Komodo Island. Then I get this weird feeling like someone is watching me and I look behind me and there are two more of them swimming up behind me! At first I thought they were trying to ambush me, but then I realized, A. They are in a canal 6 feet below me and B. Someone has been feeding them and they expect me to throw them food. I wish I could link a live video here because I have videos of two of them. They have the coolest disc markings on their back and the second one was fat as well as long.
Maybe I can link to my Google account, I will try.
I had to cut the video by 75% but I think it downloaded. But you cannot see anything to give it scale…
Anyway, I took my leave and walked into Chinatown and again, I really wish I could link to videos from my phone because I took a walking video of Vanich 1 Road which is a narrow shopping street full of people and motorbikes, and best of all, the street is so narrow that the street is air-conditioned by the open shopfronts! Rats, it is more of a gif than a video.
Anyway, I got an iced coffee at the Hex Bar that was prepared as I waited with my ibex (Kudu?) friend from my last trip. Carried my umbrella all day and not a drop of rain fell until I got back to my hotel. But I kind of liked my umbrella even if it did me no good.
If you are in Chinatown and want a cold non-alcoholic drink during the day, Hex is a nice little cool spot to hang out in.
On to Trang and the islands next!
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@ZivBnd everything OK? We’d love an update!
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Thank you for asking, Gretchen! I have been running around a good bit, the rainy season hit a week too early and it has been pretty cloudy, very windy and wet this past week. I flew into Trang in Southern Thailand 8 or 9 days ago as a stepping stone to getting to my favorite island, Ko Kradan. Trang is a cool medium sized provincial capital with a lot of really good food. And some fun bars with merely decent food. I started with merely decent at Lemoncino Speakeasy, an “Italian” cafe with a 2nd story bar. I have really enjoyed the atmosphere and the staff, even though the food is only so-so. I had the appetizer plate this time with octopus, a meatball, arancini and roasted lamb. The octopus went back to the chef, but the rest were ok. But they serve a nice Suntory Highball and my table overlooks the main road from the Clock Tower to the Train Station.
Then I wandered home through the night market where I helped myself to a much better meal of chicken and dimsum skewers.
The next morning I visited Laytrang 2, a dimsum cafe that also serves soups. I ordered congee with pork and seafood and got, something else. But it was good!
Then I wandered through the day market …
… until my van took me to the longtail boats to the islands.
My longtail captain was kind enough to take me directly to Reef Resort instead of dropping me a kilometer south at the main pier, which was cool. Ko Kradan is unusual for Thai islands in that it has not been over-developed. There are 5 resorts on the East side of the island and one in the middle. There are no paved roads, no streets at all to speak of, just one tiny market attached to one of the resorts. Just rainforest and beach.
I met Genta, the bar tender/manager and Maxxie, head server and possessor of the best language skills of the wait staff. Both were very good sorts. Wandered the beach, got some sun and just avoided sunburn.
So I returned to the resort and had a decent but not great Massaman Gai. This has been a Gold Standard dish for me. I first had it at Chicken Corner back in 1995 on Ko Phangan and that version has been my favorite ever. It is a very rich golden curry with potatoes, peanuts, coconut milk, chicken, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and the other usual suspects. Love this dish.
I wish I could download videos. This place is chockablock full of tiny hermit crabs that occasionally have group meetups where they stumble around and do crab stuff in a rather entertaining manner. Nearly everyone at the beach had their own crab stories. None epic, but still interesting. Went snorkeling a couple times. The coral is either dead or stressed badly but there are nice schools of fish and a few giant clams if you swim out beyond the safety buoys/ropes. SE Asia has seen its once beautiful coral reefs damaged severely over the past 30 years. It is a tragedy.
Reef Resort did a rather good fried rice with egg.
Went up to the Mali Resort’s Sandbar for dinner, had an outstanding Yum Woon Sen. Talked with the bartender and the resort manager. They both suggested I check out the trail to the sunset beach. When I mentioned that I was barefoot and the trail to the west side had some dodgy spots, the manager kicked off his flipflops and offered them to me. That is a good crew. I had to say no, but I still got a nice orange sunset on the East side of the island as I walked along the beach back to Reef Resort.
I did not know it but my first couple days of walking the beach were going to the only ones with more than a few minutes of clear skies.
Went back to the Sandbar for Larb Moo, another of my favorite dishes and again prepared very well with just enough heat to cause a little forehead sweat without blasting me like a furnace.
Then the rains and wind set in. LOL! Reef Resort had to pull all their furniture off the beach and hide it in a leeward spot where the wind would not pick it up and send it into the sea. Occasionally we would get hours of no rain and a reduction in the wind but almost no sunlight, so I tried to leave the island to return to Bangkok, but the taxi boat stopped its service due to the huge rollers that had built up in the waters around Ko Kradan. At that point, I was the last guest at the resort and Genta found me a boat, but it was just a medium sized longtail that was coming to supply the resort with drinking water. Let this be a lesson to me. If the taxi boats are sheltering in port and you see very, very few longtail boats, take a Dramamine before you board the boat. It was not dangerous, but it was a roller coaster of a ride. The captain was trying to ride the waves so instead of going full blast from Ko Kradan to Ko Mook and then to the river pier, he idled along waiting for the right wave and then accelerated onto it for as long as he could ride it. Eventually we would lose the race and the wave would roll under us and the boat would corkscrew around a bit until he caught the next wave. One moment I was looking down into the trough of the wave and the next all I could see was grey sky and rain. Maxxie had gotten me a couple big garbage bags, so my pack was dry in one, I had ZipLoc bags for my phone and wallet, plus I put a few holes in the other garbage bag and used it as a poncho. ZipLoc bags are the bomb for travel.
I tipped my captain when I got my feet on shore again.
I was back in Trang for a day, so I went to Lion’s Tale, a cafe I had heard about. I ordered a local special, the Trang Style Pork Stew. It really reminded me of a Northern dish, Gang Hung Lay. I was also kind of surprised to see a pork dish in a city that is, or I thought was, predominantly Muslim, but then I realized I had seen pork on the menu at Laytrang 2, as well. Anyway it was darker and even richer than the pork stew/Gang Hung Lay I had in Chiang Mai.
I visited Laytrang 2 again, ordered congee with pork and seafood again and got it this time! Yea! I also ordered two plates of dimsum which were very good, as well.
Went back to my hotel, saw this chicken skin ad on the elevator wall, I am going to be looking for this in the 7-Eleven!
Loved this bit of wall art!
Then it was off to the airport where I had a long wait for a flight so I went up to a dim, deserted cafe with a dynamite view of the brand new, soon to open, terminal across the runway. I had my doubts about the quality of the food I was going to get but the Yum Woon Sen and the Har Gow dimsum I got were both very good and again, perfectly spiced. In Thailand even the dodgy places can have outstanding food.
Then it was out to the apron and up the stairs for my flight back to Bangkok!
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