Tim in Thailand : August 2017

Wowsrep and Instagram - recipes...

How did I find this Instagram posting - https://www.instagram.com/wowresep/.

I am going to have to make this one - this weekend...

(note this video may not work so go to link - https://www.instagram.com/p/BYW--oXn-HR/?taken-by=wowresep)

Types of Thai delicacy

Now you know how the food is prepared.

Game of Thrones - Pencil MicroSculpture

Game of Thrones is not something I have watched (I gave up after the first series) but I have to admit I was intrigued by this.

A Pencil Microscuplture Exhibition by Salavat Fidai - have look at some videos.

It was a very small area and a number of interesting pencils - they provided you with a magnifying glass for you to look more closely.

Wow - I do not know if I could have the patience to do this.

I could not take a

good photo either...

On looking for the video above I was amazed that the art of pencil carving is not new either....

Thailand Live Gastronomy

Visited the Thailand Live Gastronomy for lunch. When I had found the Soi - on Siam Square Soi 7 behind Siam Square 1 (thanks Richard) I was bombarded with a smell of cooking.

"The ‘Thailand Live Gastronomy’ festival is being organized as part of a strategy to put greater emphasis on Gastronomy Tourism, which is considered as an important part of travel and the unique local Thai experience.

The Thailand Live Gastronomy, which will be presented with a tagline ‘Flavours to the World’, is scheduled to take place from 25 to 27 August, at one of Bangkok’s famous shopping and dining venues, Siam Square." - text from The Nation - full text link above

There were certainly a lot of different foods to choose from - I had to circle twice before I knew where to start. The street was full of Thai people who were mostly carrying food and some tabes between the stalls.

To the sides were places which were selling the fruit and produces from Thailand but I was drawn to the smell (and the queues) for the cooking food.

The queue for the crispy duck was far too long and by now I was starving -

so I went to the gyoza queue and

then the crispy pork - I loved every bit - thank you.

But what did I drink?

I was intrigued by the queue for the 'Rainbow' produced though - it was bigger - I could not get to the front

and relied on someone taking a photograph of theirs

and then another - but not sure what it was they were making. Now full I needed a coffee shop or a desert cafe...

Erawan Buddah - Things to do in Bangkok

The Erawan Shrine is a wonderful place to visit whilst you are in Bangkok, even since the bombing- I always do when I visited to work in Bangkok.

The Erawan Buddha Shrine was formally the Thao Maha Phrom Shrine and it is actually a Hindu Shrine - it houses a statue of Phra Phrom - the Thai representation of Lord Brahma.

The history of the Erawan Shrine is quite interesting as well

"The Erawan Shrine was built in 1956 to appease the supposed evil forces that were taking the lives of construction workers and causing other calamities in the construction what is now the Grand Hyatt Erawan. The misfortunes were caused, it seemed, by starting the construction on an unfavorable date.

After the shrine was erected, construction deaths stopped and the hotel grew very prosperous." - Sacred Destinations.

The attraction to here is enormous for tourists and it is always busy. There is the opportunity for you to have the trope dance for you - also very popular.'

Please remember that the pavements will be clear on a Monday.

The placing of the Shrine is relevant to the information above but only when you are there and the skytrain goes past, the motorbikes stream past you on the pavement and the cars make a lot of noise leaving the traffic lights that you realise that you really are in the heart of the Bangkok City.

There are always people selling birds to be released and I urge you not to buy the birds.

Lunchtime in Bangkok

The longer I am in Bangkok the more I enjoy taking the River Taxi - apart from when I get an enormous splash that is though... Got the River Taxi at Witthayu Bridge and travelled to Phanfa Bridge.

My first stop was the Pom Mahakan - a fortress around the old city of Bangkok. On researching this I found that there is a community living there who is under threat of eviction...

Then I walked on to see the very impressive Wat Ratcha Natdaram Worawihan
- วัดราชนัดดารามวรวิหาร - a really quite beautiful place here I could wander around indefinitely.

Then behind I saw Loha Prasat Metal Castle - โลหะปราสาท - this was definitely impressive and I believe that it is the only Metal Castle in the World?

Then it was time to enter into Wat Suthat Thepphaararam - วัดสุทัศนเทพวรารา - this was peaceful - certainly a place to enter for reflection.

On leaving the traffic was busy as it circled around The Giant Swing - เสาชิงช้า - which certainly has an interesting history and the original is no longer there, worth looking at.

Then I entered เทวสถาน (โบสถ์พราหมณ์) Dhevasathan (Brahmin Shrines) and it was a set of 3 temples - but we were not allowed to take photographs inside - that's why there are so many for sale on the Internet...

Then it was time to return - back past the Victory Monument - อนุสาวรีย์ชัยสมรภูมิ - an impressive place to visit.

Then I came upon Wat Thepthidaram Worawihan - another impressive

place to visit - lunch at Once Again Hostel

back on the River Taxi...

Tourism Tragedies (2016)

Well the water is certainly dangerous -
I wonder what the reason was?

Man jumps over fence to feed bear and...

In a recent post a similar thing happened but in China - but this bear attacking is in Russia - apparently outside a Cafe and the person who entered the cage wants compensation....

Not sure...

Chaophraya - App for your holiday (App)

Let's take the river taxi...

Description

Chaophraya express operates boat rides along the Chaophraya river, heart of Bangkok. Check our service schedule instantly on your iPhone! And discover riverside restaurants located near our piers!

*Our default language is Thai but you can select English in the dropdown in the first page.

Taking the river taxi is something that you can try whilst you are in Bangkok - I take it to work each day.

Then again the App did not always work - maybe because I was in the English Mode? But the river taxi are pretty regular so do you need to know all those details?

Here's a map to use to make sure you are going in the right direction.

Cost: Free

Ease of use: it didn't always work for me

Comment: great idea

Link: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/chaophraya/id591000319?mt=8

For more App reviews - click here.

Looking for lunch in Bangkok

I was adamant that I was going to go out for lunch after taking the BTS somewhere - but I ended up taking the river taxi to Phanfa Bridge and then change for the boat.

At this point I turned in a direction that I had not chosen before an immediately came upon King Prajadhipok Museum which is certainly a place who is interested in the history of Thailand, review coming here.

I needed to find a coffee shop, relying on the Google App I found Eden's - a very 'in place' to visit, I was certainly the oldest person in there - had a nice coffee, review coming here and then off again.

The next place was Wat Sommanat - but there seems to be some changes being made so I was very cautious, I was not able to walk around the whole building.