To do and must see in Bangkok

The last stop on our journey was Bangkok. So here are my to do’s and must see’s in the metropolis of Southeast Asia:

1. Cooking with Poo

Cooking with Poo is not just any cooking class, it is THE cooking class. Promised! Poo lives in Klong Toey, which is the largest Slum in Bangkok. With her cooking school Poo has changed the life of her family and the life of many neighbours in Klong Toey. She employs neighbours and supports them to start their own business with the initiative Helping Hands. Because of Poo’s succes they could even improve the public health in the community of Klong Toey. I love the idea behind Cooking with Poo and besides that, the cooking class is great as well. Cooking with Poo starts with a visit of the Klong Toey market, where you buy the ingridients. The market is not for the faint-hearted. I had to fight to hold back the tears because it’s just cruel how they treat animals there. But apart from that the market is great and you get the chance to see a real thai-market with hardly any Farangs (that’s how Thais call Western people). After that you drive to Poo’s house, which is located in the Slum of Klong Toey. They cook different menus with three courses every day. Our menu was

Yum Ta Krai
(Lemon Grass Salad)

Gaeng Massaman Gai
(Massaman Curry with Chicken)

Pad Thai
(Thai Noodles with Prawns)

Everyone has the chance to cook everything by oneself and eat it afterwards. That was great because I had the possibility to exclude some ingridients from my menu. The food tasted delicious and we got a little cute bag with the recipes in it. One cooking class costs 1.500,00 Baht.

2. Make a bike tour with Grasshopper Adventures

You want to see Bangkok off the beaten tracks? Go and make a bike tour! A bike tour in this heavy traffic? That was my first thought, especially because I am not the safest driver. But it’s possible and you really get to know Bangkok from another side. We chose the Bangkok Night Bike for 36,00 US Dollar. We visited two of Bangkok’s most famous temples: the Wat Arun and Wat Pho. Originally we planned to visit them the next day as well, but cancelled because it was so great to see them after dark, beautifully lit up and free of day time crowds, that we did not want to ruin this with a lot of chinese tourists. We also visited the Pak Khlong Flower Market, which was my personal Bangkok Highlight. The Pak Khlong Flower Market is the biggest wholesale and retail fresh flower market in Bangkok. The market is open 24 hours and located Chak Phet Road near Saphan Phut or the Memorial Bridge. The energy and colours are overwhelming and I fell in love with the beauty of the lotus blossom. We had a great guide who explained a lot about Thais and their habits and culture as well.

3. Visit as many markets as you can

I already told you about Pak Khlong Flower Market and Klong Toey Market. But there are so many other markets, which are defintely worth a visit: Or Tor Kor Market, PatPong Night Market, Chatuka Weekend Market to name just a few of them. PatPong Night Market for example is located in the red light district of Bangkok, which is very filthy and where creepy guys want to invite you to a Pussy Ping Pong Show every 5 metres. But every market is different, the impressions are overwhelming and you need a little bit of time to immerge and be carried away.

4. Try the street food, or better do not

Well, me and the street food have a story. When I visit a foreign country I want to get to know as much of the country as possible. In Thailand and especially Bangkok this includes street food. I wanted to act courageously and not like a Farang, so I decided to eat just anything at Or Tor Koey Market. After strolling through the market for at least half an hour already becoming kind of hangy (a mix of hungry and angry) I went to a food stand. Nothing was written down so I just pointed at two dishes. Well both were so spicy that I could not feel anything in my mouth for the next hours and besides that I got stomachache as well. Into the bargain my boyfriend said afterwards: „Maybe we just ate cat.“ I decided that this was the end of my street food career but then our guide of the bike tour provided us with some street food at Pak Khlong Flower Market and I gave it another try. It definetly tasted better but I got stomachache the next day as well. She told us, that even Thai people prefer going to Restaurants, when they are able to afford it, because the quality of street food is poor most of the time. Meat sometimes is no real meat and they do not refrigerate their food, so it is most likely spoiled and you fall sick. Well, that definetly was the end of my street food career, but hey, at least I gave it two trys.

5. When you are male: go to a tailor for a handmade Shirt

My boyfriend got five tailored shirts. I can recommend Rajawongse. One Shirt is 1.500,00 Baht and they are wonderful. We went their right after our arrival in Bangkok to take measures. After that we made our journey through Thailand and Cambodia and came back on our first day in Bangkok again for the first fitting. It fitted so good, that he decided to get two more and after two days we picked up five beautiful Shirts.

6. Spend one night in the area around Khao San Road

Khao San Road is the backpacking-mekka per se and for one party night it is pretty funny. It is a little bit too touristic but most of the tourists are backpackers, so it is not that bad. The bars try to surpass each other with their music and everyone seems to be drunk and crazy. Some people offer scorpions to eat (we did not try them) and there are a lot of shopping possibilities.