Bangkok Culinary Trip, Day 1

We were supposed to meet up at the meeting point at Soekarno Hatta the latest at 7.30am. I am late *sigh*. Its all because I forgot to bring my camera memory card. I was so panic back at the car that day, I can't believe I forgot one very important thing. So I have to stop over at some mobile phone store to buy any memory card available. They have some types but all was without wifi, So I cannot transfer my pictures to my handphone at all. Really really bad news. 

When I finally arrive at the airport, I rushed myself to the meeting point, and found out that most of the participants were already there, including the legendary Pak Bondan Winarno. To meet him in person is an honour. And to travel and doing the culinary trip with him is a blessing for me. He is a very humble and full of knowledge person. I admire him right away! 

left to right : Reza, Didit, Kadek, Bu Dame, Pak Bondan, Dina, Eliza, Sherlya, Jeje, Mba Sella, dan 2 perwakilan dari TX Travel

There are 13 of us. 5 contest winners (Dina, Eliza, Rifky, Sherlya and Jessica), 1 representative from Diatabs  (Ibu Rumenta), 1 rep from Dentsu, brand agency (Mba Salli) and 2 rep from Aitindo, digital agency (Boris and Didit), 1 brand ambassador (Pak Bondan Winarno), 1 host (Reza), and 2 cameramen ( Kadek and Dahny). After all the participants complete, we took group picture and heading for check-in. While waiting, the 2 cameramen, Kadek and Dahny interviewed Dina and me. Oh so nervous. I used to hide behind the lens, just like them! I took food photos almost everyday, its me behind the lens, not the other way around.  

We took Garuda direct flight to Bangkok, it's an approximately 3.5 hours flight. 

After a quite brekkie time,  some of us sleeping, watching, reading or whatever to keep us busy. And I don't exactly remember on what time that was, we bumped into a turbulence. It is quite scary to feel the plane jostle and jolt seeking the right altitude. It feels like the plane has dropped for I don't know how many feets. 20? 50? 100? I can't tell. All I remember is the butterfly on my stomach when that happens. And after a few super tense minutes, thank you, God, we arrive at Suvarnabhumi airport in one complete piece .

We were picked up by a tour guide named Ari. He is very warm and friendly, and surprisingly he speaks Indonesian well even though hes never been to Indonesia. As we walk and take a look around the airport, we saw a booth that was crowd with tourists, Ari told us that the booth selling Thailand sim card with internet access. We directly take a que and pay for 299 baht for Thai sim card with 1.5 gigabyte internet access. They activate the sim card in no time, I texted my family right away, to let them know that I arrived in Bangkok safely.

The bus provided by the travel agent was clean, big and comfy. I think its a bit too big for our small group btw, but the bright side is, you don't have to feel awkward with your seatmate or anything. You have two chairs all to yourself.  The bus' window were huge , it gives me clear view of Bangkok traffic  jam (yes, traffic jam!) and also the scenery. Tall buildings, fly over over fly over, Crowded housings, beautiful building with colorful roofs, just like Jakarta! But I found Bangkok a bit cleaner and more organize. Maybe because I only see a very small part of Bangkok? I don't know. The weather  was quite friendly that time, cloudy with a little sunlight.

Our first stop is : 

Kalapapruek Resto

We ate red curry roast duck, which is very delicious. Eventhough the appearance looks a bit intimidating (red and thick), the taste was not  too spicy for us Indonesian. But the combination of chili flakes (eventhough the level of spiciness is low) and coconut milk really can cause you a lot of trouble with your digestive system. But, my friends, #noworrywithdiatabs.

Som Tum or Thailand papaya salad, it is refreshing with the dominant sour taste. 

To be honest I ate better version of it in Jakarta.

The third menu is fried tiger prawn in tamarind sauce. Sour and spicy and finger lickin! Delicioso!

Kalapapruek Resto looks small on the outside. But actually quite spacious on the inside. And it has this beautiful and delicious corner that makes me drool...rows of cakessss! Pies! Sweets and more baked goodies! Oh help me God. I suddenly miss my kitchen and my oven *a real baker problem*. 

A little behind the scene while we were shooting at Kalapruek, pic taken by Dina. Thanks for the pic, roomate 

Btw, check out this youtube link for the Video of Day 1 Bangkok Culinary Trip with Diatabs. Awesome!

And here we are in front of Kalapapruek with the legendary Mr. Maknyus 

5 winners and Mr. Maknyus :)

.

Grand Palace, Wat Arun, and Wat Po

Sawasdee ! Left to right : Dhani, Boris, Kadek, Reza, Pak Bondan, Bu Dame, Mba Salli, Rifky, Sherlya, Didit, Jeje, Liza, Dina, picture courtesy : Didit

We don't go inside the Grand Palace, only took few group photos and move to our next destination, Wat Arun by boat. The rain was drizzling that time, so we took a little run all the way to the boat yard. 

can't help not to take picture of this cute building

on our way to the boat yard

Wat Arun or Temple of the Dawn has a very different architecture from any other temple in Bangkok. When we arrived, the temple was still under renovation. You can see alot of woods/pipes covering it from afar. But, it cannot cover the beauty of the details when you take a closer look. Porcelaine, beautiful and colorfull drawings really amazes me.

And then we hurriedly walk to Wat Pho, still walking distance, but the rain is dripping harder at that very moment. I got a headache instantly. I guess age does matter,

eh? After buying the tickets, we took off our shoes and get the blue plastic prepared by the caretaker and put our shoes inside. I didn't bring any lense other than my fix 50mm lens, so it is hard to take a pic of the sleeping Budha. 

Our next schedule is heading to Old City area, there is a Pad Thai vendor famously known for their authentic and delicious padthai. Too bad the place was closed. So we tried the next door padthai vendor instead, the taste is quite decent. Btw, In front of Thip Samai Padthai, you can find an orange juice vendor, you all gotta try it. It is quite expensive, 180 baht/bottle. But really worth the price. Super fresh with generous orange pulp. Very recommended! 

After fulfilling our tummy needs, we went to Khaosan Road. This destination gives me chill. Wanna know why? Because we are going to eat bugs! *going pale* *and then faint*. Please wake me up when the show is over. 

This part of trip I want to erase from my memory. Especially the part when i cried and shaking in front of the camera. No acting required! I am really freakin scared to death with all those bugs. I mean......Sorry i am speechless here. Thanks God they erase the particular scene. Based on Pak Bondan explanation, the Thai eat bugs in order to satisfy their hungry tummy and the need to eat healthy and high protein food with a little money to spend. Still, that is not enough to build a sudden interest with bugs (for me). Okay, since this topic is nothing i wanna discuss with, lets just fast forward to hotel scene.

So it was late, everyone is tired, its time to throw ourselves to our comfy pillows and bed at The Davis, Sukhumvit. See you on day 2 *waving excitedly*

Travel tips: 

1. If you want to visit the temples, make sure you are dressed properly. Nothing too open or too short is allowed. So forget your spaghetti strap or ultra short jeans, put on your cardigan instead. 

2. If you use DSLR or mirrorless camera, make sure to bring the right lens. You'll get much trouble with fix 50mm lens like mine. 

3. Use comfy sandals or sneakers. Don't try to wear your favorite sexy-hi heels. You might get your leg sprained, especially if you  have to face the unpredictable weather like us.