After our long journey, sleep came easy. We intentionally gave ourselves a free morning to rest up and to adjust to the time zone difference.
Our booking included breakfast at the hotel. The Ariyasom restaurant is vegetarian and has a nice morning menu of Thai and Western options. I had a ‘Thai omelet’, a fried egg over vegetable spicy rice. Mary went with yogurt & granola.
I took a short walk around the neighborhood while Mary took advantage of the hotel’s massage offerings, (A Thai massage is a different experience). The Ariyasom is around the corner from one of the major canals used for transport around the city. Canals run throughout Bangkok. So many, in fact, that the city was known as the ‘Venice of Asia’.
Mr. Ed met us late afternoon for a ‘Twilight Foodie Tour’ by tuk tuk. We started off by taking the short walk from the hotel to the canal where we boarded a narrow boat to get us into the center of Old Town Bangkok and a hookup with our tuk tuk driver.
First up was ‘Wat Saket’ also known as the Golden Mount, one of the key landmarks of Bangkok. Wat Saket is a Buddhist temple dating back to the 19th century and sits on the highest point in the city. There are 318 steps to reach the mount. We took pictures from the base!
Around the corner from the Golden Mount is ‘Elvis Suki’, our first food stop. It’s a small, non-descript restaurant which has repeatedly won a Michelin “Bib Gourmond” award. Their specialty is sukiyaki – the Thai version, not Japanese. I had the seafood suki, Mary went with chicken. First time eating squid tentacles with chopsticks for me! Delicious.
Leaving the restaurant, traffic was halted for the arrival of the King at a nearby temple. Taking advantage of the delay, we walked down to the ‘Royal Pavilion Mahajetsadabadin’ and the collection of nearby Wats. The Pavilion itself is a stunning example of Thai architecture and use of gold leaf.
Our next dining stop was at ‘MaeThum Pad Thai’ in the heart of a bustling street food market. MaeThum is another award winning restaurant. The dining experience is cozy and welcoming. We both had Pad Thai – chicken for me, Vegie for Mary. The chef who had run restaurants in the States for some 15 years stopped by our table to greet us. Very cool.
Our final activity of the evening was a tour of Chinatown, one of the biggest in the world. What a busy place! Absolutely packed sidewalks and stalls. The adjacent flower market was huge with blocks of vendors. Then, a taxi back to the Ariyasom and another crash.
