One Day in Bangkok

When someone mentions Bangkok, the first thing that pops in my head is that song from the 1980s, “One Night in Bangkok.” As a kid, I didn’t really understand the lyrics, but I knew that Bangkok would be an amazing place to visit.

China Town in Bangkok

My friend Christine agreed, which is why she decided to fly in from Houston to meet me for one day (and one night) in Bangkok before we headed over to Sri Lanka. 

The little alleyways. People live in the apartments to the left.

Because our time was tight, I hired a guide named Joke (Wallop Kittiwititkun) for the day who was fantastic. He took us to see stuff via Tuk Tuk, commuter boat, subway and taxi. He was also really flexible with what we could see as it was pouring rain for the first half of the day.  I found Joke on Viator and highly recommend him.  He was always smiling and was easy going with any changes we made to our plans.

My friend Christine and I looking stylish in our plastic bag rainwear

He quickly led us through China town and down all the narrow streets where people almost lived in these tiny apartments. We then strolled through the old market and saw tea, spices, shark fins (shark fin soup is their most popular fast food), and lots of vegetables. 

One of the many stalls in the old market

It was interesting to see the difference in the markets. In North Thailand, insects, still breathing fish and really fresh and colorful fruits were in abundance. In Bangkok, the Chinese influence was more pronounced in the types of spices, dried foods and fish, and in the types of vegetables. We didn’t see any insects or worms for sale.