Travelling to Thailand Part 3: The Market and The Food

The travel agency I mentioned in the previous post arranged for us to go the farther-out places that we want to go to. Our group was pretty diverse, one Korean (or maybe Chinese?) guy/girl (hihi), two Europeans (forgot if they’re from Denmark or Netherlands), two girls from Hong Kong, and two Filipino mothers who are now based in the US. We mostly chatted up with the two Filipino mothers (updated them on the latest malls in Metro Manila haha) and the European guys, who are on a global trek (just envious, seriously).

Our first stop was the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, since we vowed to at least visit one floating market in Thailand. The longboats were pretty cool, although you run the risk of getting splashed by the muddy water or worse by the propellers of other boats cutting your path. It was a hot day again, so we took our requisite pictures then promptly proceeded on devouring the coconut ice cream. Too bad it didn’t occur to me that this is where they filmed the City Hunter chase scene. I think I would have taken more pictures for the “spots” if that’s the case.

We also went to the Elephant Village and finally took an elephant ride. It was pretty cool, especially since the elephant really goes through the forest and waded in the water. We also watched the Elephant show (this time in Samphran), which is also a fun experience. While I’m not an animal rights activist, I’m kind of relieved that the elephants look happy and well taken care of. Okay, now I’m thinking an animated film ala-Madagascar but with the elephants in Thailand is in order.

On a separate day, we spent most of the time shopping (because how can you be in Thailand without doing that?!?!). Now, everyone knows that I treat shopping as a chore most of the time but roaming through Khao San and going to Chatuchak market that weekend really awakened my dormant shopping sensibilities. The vendors are used to bargaining and it didn’t take me much of a stretch (I’m not an expert bargain-er) to convince them to lower the prices. There are also a lot of street performers and interesting food! And what is better than shopping? Eating amazing food WHILE shopping! The best was this Thai tea ice cream were you can put an assortment of toppings akin to halo-halo. IT WAS AWESOME! The thai tea gelatos I’ve tried thereafter paled in comparison!

So this concludes my Thai trip post. I’ll try to make a Laruku concert post. But then I still have a ton of other topics that I should blog about: Oslob, Laoag, my sister’s wedding, and my epic back-to-back-to-back Korean events (three weeks of pure adrenalin lol). Not to mention the other half of my kdrama round-up post, Rurouni Kenshin (squee!) and of course, the year-end post. So yeah, don’t be surprised if this evolves into a video blog just to improve the TAT, hahaha.