Beating Jet Lag...
...is tough! I'm out at 10pm or so, and up at 5am. Today, at least, I got up at 6am so hopefully I can stay up until 11. Party on! It's Monday, which means I am going to head out to the Chinese Embassy to try and get a visa to visit Shenzhen. I get into Hong Kong too late on Friday to try and get it done there. (This travel is 2 weeks from now, by the way.)
So yesterday we went shopping at MBK, the giant old, cheap) mall with the food court on top. Somehow it just didn't seem as interesting as it has before. Perhaps the thrill of buying fake designer tee shirts has rubbed off, much like the future of their lettering. The food court, however, is pretty good. You buy a bunch of coupons (refundable) and use them to visit different booths and pick up their specialties. Average cost per dish is $1.50. We had three -- Beef noodle soup (too hot!), honey glazed roast duck, and chicken two ways (steamed and fried) with coconut rice. I had a beer which oddly helped keep be out of the "awake but zombified" mental state of the jet-lagged. From there we walked to a few malls, each one being more upscale. Siam Discovery was first, follwed by Paragon. They reminded me of Vegas. Megan bought a handbag and I bought a shirt. I was surprised to find anything that fit me. I got an XXL and it's about the size of a US "Large".
Highlight of the day was the $8.00 1 hour foot massage. After walking around for a couple of days that really hit the spot. For added entertainment, there was an Australian woman tourist who looked like Phil Silvers getting a pedicure a couple of chairs over. It looked like she'd been of a five year barefoot walkabout in the outback and then went straight to this Bangkok salon for a pedicure. If you can remember the scene in "Dumb and Dumber" where they had to use an angle grinder on Jim Carrey's feet...you get the picture. This, of course, created great entertainment for all.
We dropped off the packages at the hotel and I took a short nap while Megan checked her email. Afterward we headed to one of the top-rated seafood places in town. It's so good that a bunch of fake restaurants with similar names have cropped up and slick taxi drivers will ferry unsuspecting passengers there (instead of the real place) for an ill-gotten commission. We, however, made sure we were brought to the genuine article.
Dinner was fantastic! There was a plump, southern crab in a curry chili egg cream sauce that was amazing. I've never had anything like it (the sauce) in taste of texture. Here's a picture from their website:
We also had these fantastic prawns, fried whole in the shell with garlic, chili, sugar, ginger and lemongrass. Those were Megan's favorite. A plate of raw oysters were super-fresh but not spectacular tasting. Their version of Tom Yum Goong was delicious and not too spicy at all. The vegetables were not great, but oh well. The meal was expensive by Thai standards at around $34.
The key to having a good time on a longer trip in BKK is to have a hotel that is both centrally located and right next to an interconnect station for the subway and the skytrain. Bangkok, with it's weather and long streets to explore, can wear you out. Having great public transit right at your door goes a long way to save your energy for actual sightseeing. It's embassy time...more later...
So yesterday we went shopping at MBK, the giant old, cheap) mall with the food court on top. Somehow it just didn't seem as interesting as it has before. Perhaps the thrill of buying fake designer tee shirts has rubbed off, much like the future of their lettering. The food court, however, is pretty good. You buy a bunch of coupons (refundable) and use them to visit different booths and pick up their specialties. Average cost per dish is $1.50. We had three -- Beef noodle soup (too hot!), honey glazed roast duck, and chicken two ways (steamed and fried) with coconut rice. I had a beer which oddly helped keep be out of the "awake but zombified" mental state of the jet-lagged. From there we walked to a few malls, each one being more upscale. Siam Discovery was first, follwed by Paragon. They reminded me of Vegas. Megan bought a handbag and I bought a shirt. I was surprised to find anything that fit me. I got an XXL and it's about the size of a US "Large".
Highlight of the day was the $8.00 1 hour foot massage. After walking around for a couple of days that really hit the spot. For added entertainment, there was an Australian woman tourist who looked like Phil Silvers getting a pedicure a couple of chairs over. It looked like she'd been of a five year barefoot walkabout in the outback and then went straight to this Bangkok salon for a pedicure. If you can remember the scene in "Dumb and Dumber" where they had to use an angle grinder on Jim Carrey's feet...you get the picture. This, of course, created great entertainment for all.
We dropped off the packages at the hotel and I took a short nap while Megan checked her email. Afterward we headed to one of the top-rated seafood places in town. It's so good that a bunch of fake restaurants with similar names have cropped up and slick taxi drivers will ferry unsuspecting passengers there (instead of the real place) for an ill-gotten commission. We, however, made sure we were brought to the genuine article.
Dinner was fantastic! There was a plump, southern crab in a curry chili egg cream sauce that was amazing. I've never had anything like it (the sauce) in taste of texture. Here's a picture from their website:
We also had these fantastic prawns, fried whole in the shell with garlic, chili, sugar, ginger and lemongrass. Those were Megan's favorite. A plate of raw oysters were super-fresh but not spectacular tasting. Their version of Tom Yum Goong was delicious and not too spicy at all. The vegetables were not great, but oh well. The meal was expensive by Thai standards at around $34.
The key to having a good time on a longer trip in BKK is to have a hotel that is both centrally located and right next to an interconnect station for the subway and the skytrain. Bangkok, with it's weather and long streets to explore, can wear you out. Having great public transit right at your door goes a long way to save your energy for actual sightseeing. It's embassy time...more later...
posted by Free Buffet at 6:26 PM
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