Just Starting Out
Well. We have been out of quarantine and in the real world for about a week. Most of it has gone by in a blur.
Despite the whirlwind of the past week, we can share a bit about where we are living, since that is where we have spent most of our time. We live in a village called Sammakorn in Saphan Soong off of Ramkhamhaeng which is about 20 minutes outside of the main downtown of Bangkok.
This village is home to many expat teachers who teach at international schools around Bangkok. We've heard that it is also home to important government officials, royal family, some famous actors, and even judges from the Voice. Sammakorn has loads to offer in terms of convenience. There are more restaurants than I can count. Street food is abundant. Cafes line every corner and some shopping stores are nearby. Random shops and small markets fill the cracks between restaurants. Most of this can be found on the main road 112. On the weekends, we have a weekend market that is very large and people come from all over to shop.
Our first trip to the weekend market was filled with unfamiliar ingredients.
We have acquainted ourselves with some of our neighbors who also work at RIS with Emily. Many have taken us around to introduce us to some of the local restaurants in Sammakorn. We have a spunky landlord, Vim, who owns a lot of the properties near us. A khlong (canal) runs behind our apartment where giant komodo dragon-like lizards live. Geckos are found everywhere catching and eating the abundant bugs, and the mosquito love the light-skin folk.
Our apartment is a breath of fresh air. Literally. Bangkok is so hot that our apartment is like finding a tunnel in Forbidden Desert because the SUN BEATS DOWN. After following the weather on the weather app, it is clear that you must add about 12-16 more degrees for the heat index and that you should always carry an umbrella with you for the sporadic showers during the rainy season. I am visibly three shades darker and I have yet to wear anything but tank tops and shorts. Coming from a small basement apartment in Seattle, this apartment is three times bigger for 1/3 of the cost. We have so much space and natural light! While it came furnished, there is still plenty to do to make a complete kitchen, office space, and fill the balconies with plants.
“Bangkok is so hot that our apartment is like finding a tunnel in Forbidden Desert because the SUN BEATS DOWN.”
The food scene here in Sammakorn has been a delight. Since there are several groups of expats living here, there are some restaurants that have a menu translated in English. It seems that the translations are far from perfect but they are quite a bit more helpful than trying to figure out what "ข้าวซอย" or "ไคเจียว" (meaning Kao Soi and Thai Omelette respectively). Some of our favorite restaurants that we have frequented already a few times would be places like Maan Muang, Little Savoey, Winner House, Ruenros, and this woman who has a very small fried chicken stand near our place. Let me tell you, this woman sells some of the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. You can get a breast or a leg/thigh with sticky rice and some chili sauce and fried garlic for 45 baht ($1.43). Indulgence will be my downfall here in Bangkok.
We are slowly gathering some cookware and ingredients around for everyday cooking at home, although home cooking will be quite a challenge. I get the impression that if you have an electric stove top, like we do, you do not cook often. Food is so cheap that financially speaking, you can eat out for most meals and not break the bank. Seeing as I like to cook and we have been told that adding a small gas burner even out on one of our balconies would be a fire hazard, I have my work cut out for me. I honestly do not know how things will turn out. Maybe I'll focus on sauces and pastes and less on wok cooking this first year here. Maybe a local restaurant will let me work for free and learn how they cook their cuisine. Who knows. Regardless, Thai ingredients are at my finger tips now and I can't wait to start finding recipes and begin.
Last weekend, Emily and I spent an afternoon traveling into Bangkok to explore a small piece of the expansive city. We decided to visit Thong Lor which some call Bangkok's Japan Town. It has one long strip, Thonglor Road, with offshoots like our neighborhood. We took a taxi and two train links to get there.
Not only is it required to wear masks, the announcer suggests you also refrain from talking.
After walking only a few blocks into Thong Lor, we ran into what looked like an impromptu art walk in a green patch off the main road. We had our bags checked by police and entered. What looked to be random art from all different mediums soon became clear that this art wasn't random. It was in fact all created by the younger generation of Thais who have been protesting the Thai government. Unfortunately, because speaking any further on this subject could lead to serious consequences, I would encourage anyone to do their own research on what is and has been going on in Bangkok with these protests.
Soon after we skedaddled out of there, we found a beer hall called Beer Belly and had our first alcoholic beverage in weeks. (While we are not big drinkers at all, quarantine certainly made us miss some of our vices.)
The waitresses had unique uniforms.
We then made it to Wattana Panich Beef Broth. This is a local food stall that has earned a Michelin star two years in a row. Their broth has been simmering nonstop for over 40 years and the recipe and taste hasn't changed. It is said to be Bangkok's oldest beef noodle stand. It was spectacular and unbelievably rich without being too salty.
Then we went to the Commons which is a multi-level food hall right off of Thonglor Road for what ended up being the best bahn mi we have ever had at Eastbound. Because we did not want to be out too late our first night out in the big city, we decided to head back and try to remember all the steps it took to get there in the first place. We ended up making it home safely with only a few errors and wrong turns along the way.
Our first week has been filled with unfamiliarity, culture shock, and great food with kind folk.
