#SeeTheRealBangkok
Today's adventure was a bike tour around Bangkok, run by Co Van Kessel bike tours. We arrive at their home location ay 0830, excited for a ride, and hoping for no rain. We are shown to our hire bikes for the day, some lovely dutch bikes with baskets for our belongings, and we head off through Bangkok. The first stand out location is a statue on a roundabout, our guide Pekky tells us is made with scrap from the local scrap markets. It's hard to believe this isn't a Universal Pictures ad, but a local artist!
We're then taken through a street art alley, where we're told the students from the art University nearby come to practise. You'd think these were commissioned murals.
There's a side alley lined with barbed wire, where i also grabbed a picture of dad
After this we ride through the city, and make our way towards the flower market. We're told this is the oldest market in bangkok, and that it used to be a fish market, but it's placed too close to the king's palace, so due to the smell, the king made it a flower market instead, and sent the fish market elsewhere. Walking through the flower market, we see dozens of stores full of prepared flower bouquets and arrangements, all for use as offerings. Because we were there in the morning, there are also stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables wholesale, and we're told hotels and restaurants get their fresh food here. We walk around, our guide buys us a drink each and a traditional coconut desert. I, looking for a local energy drink to try, mistakenly buy myself a sports drink. It's not bad. I don't finish it.
We walk further, where there is a lovely old lady, destalking chillis. We're told she makes 400฿ ($20 aud) per 10 kilos she completes. She offers us chillis, with a twinkle in her eye that suggests this is a dare. I accept. Mistake 1. I take a bite, and not tasting too much chilli, I take a second bite to show off. Mistake 2. The chilli oil coats my mouth, and the slightly delayed reaction sets my mouth ablaze with capsiasin fury. I cough and splutter and grab for my waterbottle. The lovely old woman laughs, impressed at my boldness. I do my best to wash it down. It barely helps. I regret nothing.
We get back to our bikes, and continue on, past locals impressed with our thai greetings, to the Buddhist temple. We're all given lotus blossoms, and taught a special technique to fold the outer petals to open up the bulb, folding the outer petals right, then left, then right again. Here's my attempt, and the parents with theirs.
We take these lotuses in as an offering to the budha. our guide suggests we make a wish. The budha is so large. There's also a smaller but nearly as impressive budha, carved from jade.
We are brought back outside, and asked to ring an old bell 3 times each, for good luck.
We continue on, riding through a nearby Christian neighbourhood, surrounding a school.
We're then taken through a street art alley, where we're told the students from the art University nearby come to practise. You'd think these were commissioned murals.There's a side alley lined with barbed wire, where i also grabbed a picture of dadAfter this we ride through the city, and make our way towards the flower market. We're told this is the oldest market in bangkok, and that it used to be a fish market, but it's placed too close to the king's palace, so due to the smell, the king made it a flower market instead, and sent the fish market elsewhere. Walking through the flower market, we see dozens of stores full of prepared flower bouquets and arrangements, all for use as offerings. Because we were there in the morning, there are also stalls selling fresh fruit and vegetables wholesale, and we're told hotels and restaurants get their fresh food here. We walk around, our guide buys us a drink each and a traditional coconut desert. I, looking for a local energy drink to try, mistakenly buy myself a sports drink. It's not bad. I don't finish it.We walk further, where there is a lovely old lady, destalking chillis. We're told she makes 400฿ ($20 aud) per 10 kilos she completes. She offers us chillis, with a twinkle in her eye that suggests this is a dare. I accept. Mistake 1. I take a bite, and not tasting too much chilli, I take a second bite to show off. Mistake 2. The chilli oil coats my mouth, and the slightly delayed reaction sets my mouth ablaze with capsiasin fury. I cough and splutter and grab for my waterbottle. The lovely old woman laughs, impressed at my boldness. I do my best to wash it down. It barely helps. I regret nothing.We get back to our bikes, and continue on, past locals impressed with our thai greetings, to the Buddhist temple. We're all given lotus blossoms, and taught a special technique to fold the outer petals to open up the bulb, folding the outer petals right, then left, then right again. Here's my attempt, and the parents with theirs.We take these lotuses in as an offering to the budha. our guide suggests we make a wish. The budha is so large. There's also a smaller but nearly as impressive budha, carved from jade.We are brought back outside, and asked to ring an old bell 3 times each, for good luck.We continue on, riding through a nearby Christian neighbourhood, surrounding a school.