Bangkok

Recently, I spent four nights in Bangkok and it was so much fun. I wouldn't say that would be enough to discover such a big active, fun city. But, for me, four nights was probably enough to satisfy my interests, which are mostly food and market related, including my first visit to the city's Chattuchat market.

Both long and short vacations are relaxing for me as I work 7 days a week and don't have weekends, but I do take lots of breaks. That's just how it works out. My friends wonder why I take so many short holidays. I mean of course it's to relax and relieve any stress and luckily, from Vietnam, there are lots of places close by and sometimes there are cheap airfares.

Bangkok is not my favorite city in Asia but I don't mind going back for a short vacation as I love Thai food very much and also Thai people are very friendly. I'm not sure how many dishes I tried and their names but it was very tasty though occasionally too spicy for my tastes. At times, I felt like I was crying and smoke was coming out of my ears while I was trying to finish the food. It was so much fun eating like a local and it's also a way for me to learn the culture of the place I'm visiting. That's the most important thing for me.

Besides the fantastic weekend market at Chatuchak, I loved Klong Toey produce market as well. I love the way Thai people present their vegetables and meat and, similarly to Vietnam, kill some animals in the market to ensure freshness. The Klong Toey market sellers were so friendly, showing me how to kill fish, frogsand smiling when I asked to take photos. I smell their meat and I saw fish jumping up and down. Like in Vietnam, the local markets are the best places to do food shopping.

Bangkok night life was a bit much for me especially Pat Pong where it's all related to sex and nudity but that's what Bangkok's famous for. There was way too many people asking me the same question, sex DVD? sex show? boy or girl? It was a bit confronting at the beginning but I felt annoyed at the end. Anyhow, it's something they you only can see in Bangkok and I experienced it.

One of the highlight of the holiday was the Sofitel Sukhumvit Hotel. It was great with super refreshing cocktails and bubbles from 4-7pm and a beautiful swimming pool during the afternoons after long walks discovering the city. I'd love to come back to Bangkok again and definitely will stay there.