Monthly Archives: January 2012

Meatball Noodle Soup

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Sometimes unforgettable experiences start with the willingness to go outside your comfort zone. Such was our experience eating lunch at a noodle shop in the Sao Ching Cha area during our visit to Bangkok, Thailand.

When I did an Internet research to find lunch options after our visit to the Grand Palace, we found a website that seemed to be a great location to check out. It’s within walking distance from both the Grand Palace area where we were coming from and the Khao San Road area where we needed to go afterwards. There is also an easy to spot landmark, the Giant Swing, so we thought we would just find the Giant Swing, then follow the hand-drawn map from the website from there to locate the lunch options.

When we arrived in the area, I asked Kristi what she would like to eat for lunch. The guide from the website mentioned many places to check out, each specialized on a particular dish, and they all have the commonality of being local, street-level vendors that have been in the area for long time. Kristi said she wanted to have some noodle dish, so we picked several options from the list, and started following the map to find these stores. I had the description of the stores as well as map printed from the website to a PDF, and then sent to my Kindle. So conveniently we could look at my Kindle and looked around the neighborhood to find the streets and locate the stores.

Finding the streets on the hand-drawn map was not a problem, but once we reached the street, in some cases we saw several restaurants in a row that all seemed to sell the same thing. We couldn’t figure out from reading the description and looking at these stores which one is the one that’s actually featured on the website. To make it more discouraging, pretty much all of these stores didn’t have any writing in English, so not knowing how to read and speak Thai, we were not sure even how to approach ordering lunch there.

We continued our walk, and after finding a couple of the restaurants featured on the website, but refraining from entering/trying as we didn’t see anyone else around (it was around 2 pm, so it could be that lunch hour was already over), we finally found one small restaurant that was also on the review, and seemed to have good food. It smelled good from outside, and we saw many people (all locals) eating inside. We hesitated, but the lady who was cooking at the open kitchen at the front of the shop saw us, smiled, and motioned with her hands to invite us to come in. Still not sure, we decided to go ahead and try it out.

The lady didn’t speak English, but we could communicate with her with hand gestures. We pointed to the noodle soup dish that seemed to be their specialty, and she nodded and started preparing the food. We had no idea what we ordered, but we went along, waited for the soup bowls to be served. I still don’t know what the dish was called, but it was noodle soup with red, tomato-based soup and an assortment of meatballs, seafood, and pig’s blood pudding. Fortunately both Kristi and I had had these ingredients elsewhere before; it would’ve been a shock for some Americans who had never seen or tried these before.

I also ordered one item from their menu written on the wall in Thai. This particular one is recognizable from its logo.. Coca Cola. As we’re finishing our lunch, I looked at the page on my Kindle to read up about the place and compared the photos on the website with the surroundings to confirm that we’re indeed in the restaurant mentioned on the page. The shop lady noticed I was looking at my Kindle, and she pointed to it and smiled. I looked around, and then noticed an old lady coming from the back of the restaurant. It was the same old lady whose picture was on the website page. I showed the photo to the shop lady, and she called the old lady and showed the photo on the Kindle. Both of them smiled — very happy and proud to see their store on this electronic gadget brought by a couple of strangers who don’t speak their language. It was a memorable moment from this trip that I definitely treasure. And, in the hindsight, it would’ve not happened had we not gone outside our comfort zone and eating at this restaurant even though we didn’t know the language to communicate.

The photo below was taken from the outside of the noodle shop. I learned later on that the logo of the green bowl on the top left is ‘Shell Shuan Shim’ which is kind of like Michelin star or Zagat review that indicates recognition of the food quality at this place. The funny thing is that even the website simply called this shop as the ‘Shuan Shim noodle soup place’ — kind of like naming a restaurant as ‘the one with the Zagat logo’.

Noodle Shop

Sao Ching Cha

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Sao Ching Cha is a landmark in downtown Bangkok, Thailand. It a giant red swing that is now located in front of a temple near a busy road. The giant swing was commissioned by King Rama I in 1784, and it was used for ceremonies up til the beginning of the 20th century. The game performed on this swing is no longer done because it is dangerous. The game involved having young men swinging to the height of 25m from the ground in an attempt to grab bags of coins placed on top of the posts with their teeth. In the euphoria of this event, dedicated to the God Shiva and the zealous excesses of trying to be the most skillful, some of the intrepid young men would fall to their death. As such, the tradition was discontinued and now the giant red swing remains only as a monument.

We found out about Sao Ching Cha actually when we were looking for an area within walking distance from the Grand Palace where we can find selections of local food vendors to try out for lunch. I found a website with reviews of places in a neighborhood close to Sao Ching Cha.

The photo below was taken from across the street of the giant red swing. You can see a couple of tourists standing near its base as size comparison.

Giant swing

Thai Buddhism

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When visiting Thailand, a very visible aspect of the culture that you will encounter is its main religion, Buddhism. Nearly 95% of Thailand’s population is Buddhist of the Theravada school (the oldest surviving school of Buddhism — conservative and close to the early Buddhism). The religion has been part of the Thai people since the beginning of its history, and it very much influences the culture. Just like you find churches everywhere in Rome, you will find Buddhist temples everywhere in Bangkok. You’re likely to see monks with their orange or red robes everywhere; that’s because becoming monks is considered as a rite of passage for young Thai men. When you interact with the Thais, you will notice their mannerisms that reflect the teachings of Buddha — gentle, respectful, and full of smile.

Before our visit to Bangkok, I learned about this aspect of the Thai culture from reading guidebooks and talking to my cousin Kristi who had some Thai friends and had been in Thailand before. I wondered if this might be somewhat ‘in your face’ and might make a visitor feel uncomfortable or out of place. On the contrary, I thought we had a good experience immersing ourselves in the culture, and it brought out an interest in me to learn more about the culture and appreciate its rich history. What’s sad is that many foreigners (‘farangs’ as the Thai would call them) come to Thailand to look for white sandy beaches or the party scene (or even the darker side — sex tourism) and leave the country completely ignorant of this wonderful aspect of the culture that is rooted in their beliefs.

The photo below was taken in front of a store near the Sao Ching Cha neighborhood of Bangkok. We walked to this neighborhood after visiting the Grand Palace. On the way there we passed a street lined with stores selling statues of Buddha, ranging from the small ones to life-size. I suppose people will purchase these statues for their homes.

Buddha statues

Wat Phra Kaeo

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The Wat Phra Kaeo or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha is a Buddhist temple located inside the complex of the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand. This temple is considered as one of the most sacred sites in Thailand, but given its location at the Grand Palace and also its quite ornate architecture, it is a popular destination for both the locals and tourists alike.

When you visit the Grand Palace complex, you would enter through the part where the Wat Phra Kaeo is located. First you would have to go through a security line that also doubles as a checkpoint for the visitors’ adherence to the strict dress code for visiting the temple. During our visit we actually saw some foreign visitors being asked to go back to get the appropriate coverings before entering the temple area.

Once you’re inside the temple area, you can see a long wall around the temple area that is decorated with murals depicting the story of Ramakien (Thai’s version of Hindu epic Ramayana). The murals are divided into 178 scenes. They are so intricate, and they are well maintained. When we visited, we saw a gentleman in the process of meticulously hand painting parts of the murals with his fine brush.

The central part of the temple complex is the Wat Phra Kaeo itself, a large building housing the Emerald Buddha statue. The building itself is quite impressive; it has rich marble floor, and the walls and pillars are inlaid in colorful mosaic. From the entrance, you have to walk to the other end of the building to see the entrance to temple. You can walk in and see a section reserved for worshippers in front of the Emerald Buddha that sits on top of a big mound. The Emerald Buddha statue itself is a pretty small statue made out of jade. Given that this is an actual worship site, you have to be reverent and watch quietly while worship session is going on. Photography is not allowed inside the temple.

Outside the temple, there is another area also where worshippers perform ceremonies. I thought it was interesting to see so many people around, mixed between locals who came to worship and tourists who came for sightseeing. I wonder how one could concentrate and focus in worshipping when you have many foreigners around observing and taking your photos.

The temple grounds also include some large pagodas to its immediate north, including the Phra Si Ratana Chedi, a large golden stupa that’s probably the most recognizable feature of the temple complex. There is also a miniature scale model of Angkor Wat, the most sacred religious site in the Khmer Empire (Cambodia). Quite curious to see this in the complex — it was started by King Mongkut and completed by King Nangklao as the memorial of Angkor Wat and Kingdom of Cambodia that have been occupied by Siam for many hundred years until the colonization of Kingdom of Cambodia by France. I couldn’t help to think of this in comparison to the name of the area where Angkor Wat is located, Siem Reap (which in Khmer it’s translated to ‘the defeat of Siam’). Both the miniature model of Angkor Wat in Wat Phra Kaeo complex and the name of the area in Cambodia give you hints about the animosity between the Thai and the Khmers, two neighboring kingdoms that were in war with each other for long period of time.

The photo below was taken outside the Wat Phra Kaeo temple building. You can see the intricate decoration of this building. It’s awesome to look at as a whole, but it’s even more impressive to look at the intricate details of the decoration.

Wat Phra Kaeo

Grand Palace

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The Grand Palace in old, downtown Bangkok, Thailand, is the official residence of the King of Siam since 1782. Though the present King, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, now resides in a different palace, the Grand Palace is still used for many formal functions. The complex includes The Temple of Emerald Buddha and several buildings that are used by the royal offices. It is now open to public as a museum, and it is one of the popular tourist attractions in Bangkok.

If you like to visit the Grand Palace, there are some things to note. First, as mentioned in a blog post a couple of days ago, beware of anyone that tells you outside the complex that the Grand Palace is closed for ceremony or for any functions. Often times these were scammers who will then try to offer you alternative to go elsewhere for sightseeing. You should go to the main entrance of the palace and check it for yourself; if you can’t get in or the ticket office is closed, then it is indeed closed. In our case, we ignored a couple of people who told this to us, to find the main entrance was full of tourists visiting the Palace.

Second thing to note is that there is a strict dress code for those who want to visit the Grand Palace complex, especially the Temple of Emerald Buddha area. Men must wear long pants and shirts with sleeves — no tank tops. If you’re wearing sandals or flip-flops you must wear socks (in other words, no bare feet.) Women must be similarly modestly dressed. No see-through clothes, bare shoulders, etc. If you show up at the front gate improperly dressed, there is a booth near the entry that can provide clothes to cover you up properly. You must leave your passport or credit card as security.

Another thing to note is that the Grand Palace is not easily reachable from the Metro system in Bangkok, but it is close to one of the piers of the Chao Phraya Express Boat. So you can take the BTS SkyTrain to the Saphon Taksin station, then embark on the ferry boat at the Central Pier on the river bank not far from the SkyTrain station.

We spent some time inside the Grand Palace complex, mostly near the Temple of Emerald Buddha area. I think our ticket also included a visit to one of the halls, but we ended up skipping that part of the complex as it was already around noon, it was hot and humid, and we still needed to walk to another area in downtown Bangkok to look for lunch place.

The photo below was taken inside the complex, near some of the big halls. They’re quite elaborate and large buildings — I couldn’t capture them easily in one photo frame.

Grand Palace