Bangkok food trip

For me Bangkok is kind of like a backyard. I have probably spent about a year and a half in the number of days staying here and wandering around not only as a tourist but also for business so it’s a very familiar place. The reason I decided to spend about a week here was for food. There are different varieties of food. I like to try out, especially the IISAN (NORTHEASTERN) and Chinese food in the old Chinatown area. This time I found a couple new interesting places. Near the Chulalongkon university area. There are quite a few restaurants that serve the student population so are very inexpensive and the food is so far very good. That’s where some former student students took me for IISAN food. in the Chinatown area. There was a restaurant I went to several times which was pretty good, but the restaurant has become fairly dirty and a number of rats running around. But then again that’s the very old area with old buildings and there is a lot of grease and maybe not well managed leftovers which provide good nourishment for the rats. But being an old part of the city it’s an animal you just kind of hope isn’t caught. He could very well wind up on somebody’s dinner plate somewhere.

Same same but differen tBangkok food trip
This is an old cute phrase used in Thailand, Thai English, mostly on T-shirts years ago. This sign was in one of the large shopping malls in the Siloam area
Kimchi lunch Bangkok food trip
Actually, once I landed, I wanted to have something really simple so I went to a nearby shopping center and found a Korean restaurant which surprisingly had really excellent kimchi, Real Korean style. anyway I ordered just that and some rice. The waitress was very kind for some unknown reason, maybe because I was using very polite Thai language, and she brought me extra kimchi for free. But I couldn’t eat it all so she put it in a little box for me to take back to the hotel.
Cute marketing phrase Bangkok food trip Hasul
This was the Korean restaurant. As you can see, it has a very catchy marketing phrase.
Moo grop Bangkok food trip
Walking through the university restaurant area I took a photo for a friend of the MOO GROP ( deep fried pork), his favorite, and the lady posed for me.
Spanish dog certificate Bangkok food trip
OK it’s very early in this post, but I’m taking a little break by showing you a dog certificate which is required in one area of Spain, Valencia, to take the pet dogs on the local transport. Evidently it is not easy to take pets around Spain on public transport. They are not as welcome as they are in France.
Iisan food Bill Smale
This was our meal there at the IISAN restaurant comprising a lot of pork but done in a way which is very delicious along with the sticky rice which is really a Lao food. But this area called IISAN is made up of Lao people, not Thai. And many of the people there still speak a variation of Lao which is slightly different than Thai.
University area Bill Smale
This is what the area looks like
Bangkok artwork Bill Smale
Some local artwork
Shopping mall
The name of a local shopping building
New Orleans style building
I just like the architectural and lighting style on this building. It kind of reminds me of the French Quarter in New Orleans
Nice coffee shop
When you visit Thailand, you will find the very interesting and often cute uses of the English language in shops and businesses. This was a very nice coffee shop where I stopped a couple times. I really like the sign. It’s cute.
Good roast duck
This roast duck was tasty but not the best I’ve had. I would rank it seven out of 10, definitely not Michelin star quality. But they promote they are a Michelin star restaurant but if you check it out, it’s for their restaurant in Hong Kong not this one. Anyway I love Hong Kong style food so this place is acceptable.
Screenshot
Godzilla
And guess who showed up near the hotel
Lao beer
I prefer this Lao beer to Thai beer
Japanese stain remover
This I guess is another break. This stain remover I found in Japan is in a very tiny bottle, which is good for traveling. You just dab it on the spot, they give you a number of dabbing pads to soak up the stain which you can use or not use and then you put it in the wash. It works extremely well. And, it’s small and good for packing.
Pickled mustard leaf
I think this is the mustard leaf they’re using here and this pickling is just a little bit sweet for me, but I like the mustard leaf, especially if it’s the sour pickling sauce
Good eggrolls
At the Chinese restaurant, the eggrolls were pretty good.
A variety of sauces
This is a huge contrast to traveling in the UK and the isles Next to The UK. look at the varieties of sauces. This is the kind of place I like to eat. Brown sauce is not sufficient for much of anything. And in fact, I had forgotten what it tasted like so I used it once over four months and never used it again, bringing my own sauces with me which I bought in the store.
Restaurants sign
OK, well in the MBK complex they had this restaurant sign which is cute.
Interesting phrase in a restaurant
And this is a very imaginative twist of a phrase which I hope you can get
Thai tea
I think this all started out about 60 years ago, but it has a vault into a kind of popular drink. It seems. I don’t drink it because it has way too much sugar
Tangmoo
I went to visit friends in Prachuap kirikan and this is their dog TANGMOO (watermelon) who slept outside my door every night and greeted me in the morning. She was my good buddy
Lax safety
They can Bangkok you can see this fellow doing some welding without proper protection. Where there are no inspectors around, in Small projects and local fixes you will see this kind of safety.
Carnivore dog food
Walking around the supermarket. This pet food is doing what? Is it suggesting this dog is a carnivore?
Deep fried chicken
Nowadays spicy chicken seems to be a big popular Korean offering outside of Korea. 50 years ago I never saw anything like this and probably was not even available in Korea or Japan in Korean restaurants. But it’s now a big thing so I stopped in and for a very reasonable price I ordered some chicken, hoping it would be a small but reasonable portion. It turned out to be a huge portion and the sauce was a little bit too sweet for me. I should’ve ordered something more spicy. You see the kimchi on the side, which is something I used to eat every day in Japan to keep my stomach in good shape
Ice cream
After the chicken I tried Swensens ain’t got this, which was very delicious
Honda PCX
This was the bike model I had in Koh Chang during the Covid lockdown. But I had Red instead of this color
New bank notes
at the ATM I got some brand new ฿100 Notes with the image of the current King when he was very young

Enjoying Prachuap Thailand

Prachuap is a cute little city with a few good restaurants and nice hills and beaches to view. The beaches are not really the cleanest in Thailand so swimming should be done in another area of Thailand but the town is fun for a few days and not overcrowded and developed like Hua Hin which has really been over populated and cementified. So try Enjoying Prachuap Thailand. I have friends who live here, having worked in the Scuba Diving business in Phuket for 8 years long ago. That’s why I come back to Prachuap.

Overlook Enjoying Prachuap Thailand
The mangrove forest was destroyed so there is this receding beach on a nice north-point overlook.
Sunan Enjoying Prachuap Thailand
Sunan is contemplating the universe.
Tapestry up  Enjoying Prachuap Thailand
They got their Pakistan wall covering up in the bungalow.
crabs on the beach Enjoying Prachuap Thailand
A girl taking a video of the hundreds of crabs running around on the former mangrove forest
main house Bill Smale
The house. In Thailand, because it rains so much, it’s a good idea to have your house elevated. Look at the nice garden Sunan created from nothing.
tangmoo Bill Smale
Tangmoo (watermelon) wants a tummy rub
electric Motorcycle Bill Smale
Alain preparing the new electric motorcycle. It works well except for a few overly cheapened items.
coffee shop Bill Smale
Coffee at a nice coffee shop that will last a few months or a year and close due to lack of customers. That’s a typical business deficit in Thailand, good ideas in the wrong place and for a much too small population.
cute sign
The sign is very cute, i like it.
beeper
When your ordered item is prepared this beeper will let you know. Going around to various restaurants in Thailand this trip I found these devices had exactly the same wording on the back….interesting.
yamazaki
I didn’t expect Yamazaki (famous Japanese bread company) to be here in Thailand, much less in Hua Hin, but here it is. The company used to make only Japanese style bread, soft and squishy, but now makes very good quality French style products. I was pleasantly surprised.

Waghor Aquarium

Funny looking fish
Eel fish
Eel fish?
Talking to me fish
They were trying to communicate with me.
cuttlefish
Hiding cuttlefish
stonefish
Stonefish. Do not touch, you will suffer horribly and may not make it to your next meal.
blob
I didn’t figure out what this stringy blob was. Do you know what it is?
Popular murmaid
This was the most popular attraction in the whole aquarium.
tangs
Colorful Tangs
students galore
The place was overrun with students. We had to avoid them rushing past us here and there.
beautiful bird
A visitor to the house every morning. This young bird is quite beautiful.
earth moon
I was surprised the moon looks so much like Earth.,
neptune
Renaming this planet also
moon
Anyone want to take part in renaming the moon? For now it has no name.
feather
From a beautiful bird
tangmoo
Tangmoo, my new darling buddy.

Chivas -Strathisla distillery in Huntley, Scotland

I stayed in a guest house owned by a local well-known professional boxer who also traveled around the world as an internationally recognized boxing referee and umpire. He showed me his trophies numbering more than 50, very impressive.

Breakfast in the morning was Scottish minimalist
an interesting house next to the distillery
The distillery where Chivas’s headquarters are but where one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland still creates their own single malt which is not made in large of quantities to sell out of the general area.
Strathisla is translated as ‘narrow river’
These buildings here represent their very famous distillery, very old and a shape which determines how the whiskey is distilled. The equipment is bent sideways to accommodate the roof structure
Very limited production
The Royal salute series was originally created to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II
We were just visitors so we did not need to clock in
You can see how the equipment is created to fit inside the building which is very old
The Chivas brothers bought this distillery because they needed the water and the distilling capacity
This is where we did our tasting
From the coronation of Elizabeth II to Charles
As you probably know the Chivas series are all blended whiskeys. This one will be an alternative purchase to a very small car

Thailand interesting stuff

By my bungalow, there are trees and electric wires for this truck to avoid.
a nice hilltop view cafe on Koh Chang
Don Maeung airport with its literal “centerpiece” golf course which belongs to the military. Golfers have to wait to cross for planes headed to runways
Excellent quality
Naval trainees with their land life jackets, over 50 of them walking the main street
My friends were surprised I could recommend an excellent wine. I finally got some respect
A local taxi actually it belongs to Gee so she can transport coffee drinks and her grand daughter

islands in the sun

A Guinness with a cigar from Cuba. The best thing to do in Pattaya.
My first hamburger in many years. It was pretty good.
One of my favorites, grilled waterfall pork (NAMTOK MOO) with sticky rice.
Having some grilled duck with noodles at the airport
Some pork with noodles in a soup it’s fairly tasty and not
The main international airport in Bangkok has completed its center art piece
I think there is a spelling mistake. It should be “FEMEAL”
Just a photo to keep your attention
Be careful passing his truck. Several times I thought it was going to fall over
Good to know
I didn’t stop in to see if the haircut was really free
A nice cappuccino design
Beautiful flowers at the resort
A view of the fishing village on Koh Kood
Below you will see the original Honda Giorno. They have a new version out this year which is so similar to a Vespa
The license plate is from some island of the host of China
Was Goldfinger here?
Thang you too. Papa makes good bread
The international bocce crowd; Italy, England, Laos and a confused nationality
CORNELL COLLEGE colors
What is a Monk living in my apartment?
In Japan, near where I used to live, beautiful tricycle motorcycles from this shop
Playing tennis at night in Tokyo
Thief wants to be the first to get any snacks in the morning
Some good Lao food
Getting home, one dog begging for food and the other two guarding to keep other dogs away from potential snacks
It seems the use of chemicals produces this green and yellow hybrid bunch
A special Poké bowl presentation
The shark is still there
A Poké bowl falafel
A very tasty chicken and coconut soup
Who says dogs can’t do paddle boarding
This cat from White Elephant fancy himself a leopard

Food and friends

At Mauro’s Babylon Italian restaurant on Koh Chang
Falafel dish at Poke Bowl. Can’t say it is very Hawaiian but it is good food
A nice café desert
Sweden and the U.S. at one of our usual haunts
Chicken rice (KAO MAN GAI) in Vientiane
Lao style “sushi” in a hot open market, not my idea of sushi for sure (Vientiane)
small lunch, spring roll
gee at her coffee stand before moving back to her home town in Surin
in the city (SFO) we used to have Mr. Muso’s cookies like this one in my cappuccino
in Laos, pineapple picked the day before. Soooo sweet
delicious Indian food in Lungprabang
Cooking for Gee’s return home party. We will miss her.
In Pakse, Laos, a remarkably delicious pizza lunch
Laab (spicy minced pork), tam som (papaya pok pok), and dried, fried beef in Vang Vieng, Laos

Koh Chang excitement

This photo speaks for itself
A snake is taking its time to suffocate a Tokay gecko
Koh Kood coffee shop
Keeping fish for customers at the restaurant
I think he’s trying to tell people he wants some food
These leaves are good food for shrimp farms
Clearwater at Koh Kood
This grilled gecko is the reason this electric plug was not working
You could do almost anything to Ciccio but he would not move
Theif likes her belly rubbed
I wonder what they charge for
This guy was hanging around for some reason
No filter was used for this photo
The guy in blue jumped onto the ferry as it was leaving the dock, hit one of the metal plates which dislodged and almost fell in the water
A beginning driver
Obviously an early PC adopter
Where else would you use your phone but while riding your motorcycle
Do all wheels on the back axle serves some purpose

Fun stuff 3

This is proof I am lazy
Right outside the bungalow
A very nice Indonesian cigar
Dancing girls at the local night market in Koh Chang
Balloon bread and various dips at my friends Turkish restaurant, AlaTurka
Another very nice Indonesian cigar
Spelling Bea?
A nice sunset on the island
Very tasty bread from Flavio’s Italian restaurant
One of the best Churchills I’ve ever had
AI idea of me as an evil villain with a cat. Watch out James Bond!
Is this what you would name your hotel?
More proof I am lazy
Move over Orlando Bloom. I have gotten younger
Pasan made a very delicious long grilled fatty pork with vegetables
A kind of Turkish pizza
One of the best cigars I have ever had and, yes, it was made in Indonesia