Our Asian Farewell Trip: Bangkok

Our adventure picks up with us leaving Hong Kong and heading toward Bangkok, Thailand.

Bangkok, Thailand

• Day 4 - Arrive in Thailand

• Day 5 - City Tour

Here we are at the Grand Palace. The former King of Thailand passed away just over a week prior to our visit, which you can see the memorial behind us. 

We needed a boost while walking the streets of Bangkok, so why not try some freshly squeezed pomegranate juice!

Next, we enjoyed a boat ride along the Chao Phraya river. 

During the canal tour, we visited the floating marketplace where we enjoyed the popular Spicy Papaya Salad.

• Day 6 - Bizarre Foods Tour

If you've been following us for any amount of time, you know that we love to eat and try new, and sometimes bizarre, cuisine. That's why we signed up for the "Bizarre Food Challenge"! The company says this tour is for "Adventurous Eaters" - that's us!  We definitely got to try some "rare and bizarre items".

We kicked off our bizarre food tour with some blood noodle soup. We had the choice of either pork or beef blood with our noodles, and we picked beef. It was surprisingly very savory and delicious, without any harsh flavors of blood!

A close-up view of the beef blood noodle soup. Yum!

Stop #2: Som Tam Pla ra a.k.a. Spicy papaya salad with a fermented fish. Pla ra is the fish that is fermented for up to six months.  This was one of the toughest foods for us to handle and we definitely we're able to eat the whole fish. Its stink stayed on my fingers the whole day!

We can't remember exactly what this is, but it's a type of sausage and a soy sauce reduction.

Pig Brain Soup! This was my favorite...the brain was deliciously smooth and creamy. The broth was also very good and savory.

Fried frog skin!

Chicken foot soup!

• Day 7 - Jim Thompson House & Float Pod Center

We visited the famous home of Jim Thompson, an American businessman who helped revitalize the Thai silk industry in the 1950-60's. The Jim Thompson House "consists of a complex of six traditional Thai-style houses, teak structures that were purchased from several owners and brought to the present location from various parts of Thailand. Construction of the Thai house was completed in 1959." He outfitted his home with the many antiques and artifacts he collected from Thailand, but unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos.

After all the traveling, walking and eating on our trip, we needed some relaxation. Why not combine it with something bizarre we've never done before? At the Theta State Float Center (now closed), we were able to experience "Floatation Therapy".  Floating consists of getting into the pod (aka Sensory Deprivation Chamber) that is filled with water and enough Epson salt to cause you to float effortlessly. After getting over the newness of the experience, we both found it to be very relaxing.