Black Market Bangkok

3/5/2008: After a tooth-rattling ride [video] thru northwest Cambodia to the border with Thailand, and a much smoother ride to Bangkok, we were quite excited to be back in a 'developed' nation. With only one full day in Bangkok and with so many different sites to see, we decided to move into the present and tour the much talked about MBK mall, an all electronics - legitimate and not so legitimate - bonanza. Unlocked iPhones anyone? We wound our way through the alleyways of Khao San road (the backpackers district) to a water taxi station -- a mass transit system that takes you up and down the city on the Chao Phraya river. A much faster, and much recommended mode of transportation. We then took the sky train to the mall and spent a few hours immersed in a scene that brought on total sensory overload. It was packed and there were merchants everywhere selling mobile phones, mp3 players, cameras, bootlegged software, movies, music and much, much more.

Meal 1: Nice alleyway restaurant, Spring Rolls, Pad Thai, Red Curry with Chicken.

JM - I was feeling a lot better and ready to eat some real food. I know, I know, we can get all this stuff back home, but I figured I might as well try the Pad Thai here. It was really good. Way better than the gluey, tomato-y crap they serve in most Thai restaurants in the states. It was well worth the 2 day fast in Cambodia to ready my stomach for some Thai food.

BDM - Picked up a bit of a sinus cold as we arrived in Bangkok (it had made its rounds thru the cambodian travel group). Only one cure for a stuffy nose...some spicy Bangkok flavors <rubbing hands together>!! Started with spring rolls which were pretty standard, but arrived with a sweet chili dipping sauce which had

more heat than back in the states. Followed it up with spicy red curry with chicken (looks yellow). They tossed a few extra small unnamed peppers into the curry when the obnoxious irish boy ordered it spicy. And yes, it was spicy...not overwhelming, but did indeed induce perspiration on the back of my neck. Just what I was looking for!

Meal 2: Rakk, Pad Thai, Tom Kah Gai

JM - Some of you may know that I have a habit of getting stuck on one dish and eating it over and over until I can't stomach the idea of eating it again for a few years. Pad Thai seems to be my current obsession. This one was quite different from the one the night before. More tangy and made with thinner rice noodles. The noodles had been pan fried a bit more so there were some nice crispy, chewy, charred bits. It's hard to compare the two since they were both good. So I would say they were "same, same, but different" to borrow and oft-used phrase in this part of the world.

BDM - Traditional Thai soup time for me as I continue my quest to kick this sinus cold before heading to the beach (Okay, okay, maybe i shouldn't have stayed out late last night drinking and playing foosball with the cool kids...). The soup was outstanding! The coconut milk base is just head and shoulders fresher and tastier than anything i've had before. With such a delicious base to work with, the crazy thai mushrooms, chicken, and spices combined to be the proverbial 'icing on the top'.

We also snapped a pic of the way the steamed rice was presented. Yup, it's a bear. A delicious, starchy bear.