Bangkok, Bangkok, ThailandGreetings again from Bangkok. It's our last night here, and I must say, I'm quite liking this city. Maybe it's the pleasantly cool weather today, maybe it's the beer buzz I have going on, or maybe it's the happy feeling I have from what was a perfectly awesome day. But as excited as I am for the next leg of this journey, I'll be sad to leave tomorrow.
Wanna buy Mo Chit?
After breakfast this morning, Ryan and I hopped on the Skytrain to head up to the Chatuchak Weekend Market. Located near Mo Chit station, this market is one of the biggest in Asia, with more than 8000 stalls selling just about everything you could imagine, from clothes to housewares to trinkets to flowers to food. Oh yes, so much food. Mango sticky rice, coconut water, rice dishes, noodles, everything imaginable on a stick... you name it, it can be found at the Weekend Market.
The indoor/outdoor market is so big that it is easy to get lost, and we certainly doubled back on ourselves more than a few times during the couple of hours we spent exploring. We weren't really in the market to buy much, and backpacking with a strict bag weight limit tends to prevent ill-advised impulse buying. But it was a lot of fun just to wander and check out everything.
We had some lunch at the huge outdoor street food area. I had a noodle dish, and Ryan got some very spicy green curry that he decided to wash down with a Chang beer. Our first commercial lager of the trip. Probably not the last.
That's good Chit
Our afternoon destination was one that I'd guess is a bit off the radar of most first-time tourists to Bangkok. The island of Ko Kret, just across the river from the Nonthaburi neighbourhood, is an artistic and hipster oasis in the northern outskirts of the city. It's known for craft shops, floating houses, quaint little cafes, and pedestrian streets.
Getting there was a bit of an adventure, since there isn't really a convenient way by public transit on the weekends. I had to do a bit of research to figure out how to access the island. We wound up getting a Grab (local equivalent of Uber) to the temple on the mainland side. From there, a short walk through the temple grounds got us to a small ferry pier from which a local ferry transported people back and forth to the island all day for 3 baht.
The reason we headed to Ko Kret was to pay a visit to Chit Beer, one of Thailand's oldest and most legendary craft breweries. The founder of Chit Beer is known as the "godfather of Thai craft" for how he has created a community of craft brewers in this country where such a thing is still relatively unknown. One of the oldest and best breweries on the Thai craft scene, Chit is celebrating its 10-year anniversary next week. The bar is an open air bar located right on the riverfront of Ko Kret, where you can sit overlooking the water and drink the day away. You gotta love a brewery whose marketing slogan is "That's Good Chit".
A Thai hipster kitchen party
Chit Beer is only open on weekends and seems to be quite a destination for local Bangkok beer connaisseurs and hipsters. We arrived just at opening time, and it was a good thing, too, because the bar filled up quickly and only got more crowded from there. Ryan and I staked out a table, ordered ourselves a round, and settled in for what turned out to be a heck of a session.
One of the best features of Chit is that they have live music. We knew we were in for a good time when a boat pulled up to the pier and a half dozen musicians disembarked, holding everything from a fiddle to a banjo to a full sized standing bass.
What ensued was a proper kitchen party, if that kitchen party were taking place not in Newfoundland but on a Thai island by the river. The multicultural, multi-generational group of musicians proceeded to play a bluegrass session that would make any hipster in the world jealous. There were fedoras, there were spoons being played, there was even a random guy who joined in because he just so happened to show up with a banjo. Dueling banjos, literally. I don't know how you say "good craic" in Thai, but I suspect it must be some word related to "good Chit".
As the afternoon wore on, Ryan and I made our way through the taplist while listening to the musicians jam. We were both very much in our happy place. The bartender even shouted us a free round when he learned we were on our honeymoon.
Ko Kret may be a bit off the beaten track. But if you find yourself in Bangkok on a weekend and you are looking for a great atmosphere, you'd do well to make your way over there.
DIY coffee: The most hipster thing ever?
When neither of us could drink any more beer, we stumbled out of the bar to head back towards the ferry pier. But on the way, we made a stop at a cafe that definitely fit right in on this hipster island, advertising make-your-own coffee.
The DIY coffee experience involved roasting our own beans over a hot flame, tossing them, grinding them with a manual hand-crank grinder, and then making espresso-style pour-over coffee from the beans. I swear, I can't make this up. It was a pretty unique experience, and quite delicious. But mostly, it was just one of those "why not?" moments when you figure, hey, when else will I have the opportunity to do this?
Last night in Bangkok
We headed back across the river on the small local ferry. From there, we had to figure out how to get back to Bangkok. On weekdays at peak times, the Green Flag riverboat ferry heads from there right back to Sathorn Pier, but that doesn't operate on Sundays. Instead, we initially hailed another Grab to get us to Nonthaburi Pier, the furthest north the Orange Flag boat goes. However, a few minutes into the ride, we realised our mistake, because the Orange Flag ferry only operates until 6pm on Sundays, and it was already close to that time. Luckily, our Grab driver didn't mind a mid-ride shift, and we ended up just getting him to drive us all the way back to the hotel. It was a bit pricey, but totally worth it.
Once back, we spent our final evening sorting laundry, repacking our bags for tomorrow's flight north, and catching up on some blogging. Neither of us were particularly hungry for dinner, so we just got some yogurts and bananas from the grocery store next door. We're both pretty full of beer anyway. Whoops.
As if the day needed an exclamation point, there was a fireworks display over the river that we were able to see from our hotel room window. I'm not sure what the occasion is, but it felt a little like Bangkok was bidding us farewell with our own personal send-off.
Tomorrow, we head north. More soon!
MOM
2022-12-18
FANTASTIC LOOKING adventure day ! You find all the hidden treasures.