Bangkok is the capital of Thailand full of hustle of bustle. It is one of the most densely populated cities in Asia and predominantly Buddhist, which is reflected by number of Buddhist temples in the city. For example Wat Arun, the decor is very intricate but not opulent. The ground of the Grand Palace is expansive and the architecture is quintessential Thai. There was certainly a lot to see and appreciate. Well worth the entrance fee of 500 baht.

The streets were busy. When I say busy, it was BUSY. Roads are full of cars, vans, busses, motorcycles and who can forget about the tuk tuks in Bangkok. Travelling by boat seems to be convenient and seems to have avoided the busy traffic of Bangkok. However, the boats are still heavily relying on diesel engines, so the emissions were clearly evident in the air.

When we were there, it was the weekend of their election. According to Thai law, the sale of alcohol was prohibited during such weekend. Chinatown along Yaowarat was full of tourists and locals alike looking for food and drinks and a good time! Despite the crowd, bar a few incidences, there was very little pushing around. The last time we were in such a crowded place was Kyoto. See the Photojournal of Japan here. Having said that, the night scene and the hustle and bustle was an eye opening experience.

Another unique experience was visiting Khlong Lat Mayom Floating Market. It is what it sounds like. It is a working market next to smaller rivers connected to Chao Phraya River, the main river trunk of Bangkok. Vendors can often seen selling fresh produce and food from their boat. I can imagine increasingly more locals are involved in boat trip business for tourists than actual boat market now.

One of the first things to come to mind when we think of Bangkok was Thai food. It has a balance of sweet, salty, sour, spicy, umami and perhaps other flavours I fail to mention. You can steam, grill, fry, poach or just raw. You can eat in the streets or comfortably in air conditioned restaurants. Thai cuisine is just so versatile and as someone who enjoy Asian cuisine, Thai food is certainly up there amongst our favourite cuisines around the world such as Malaysian, Japanese and Korean food.