Thursday, February 4th, 2016
We took a long walk to check out Wat Chaiwatthaanaram, but first, grabbed a bite to eat since Trevor was feeling a bit hangry. We both ordered pork over rice with a fried egg on top.
Trevor was feeling extra voracious so he also grabbed a chicken skewer to go afterwards. Once we crossed the canal, we were practically there. This was probably one of my favorite Wats so far. There were many buddha statues scattered throughout the temple and on the grounds.
We decided to continue our walk alongside the canal, seeing boats, Wat Kasattrathirat, Wat Thammaram and Wat Tha Ka Rong from across the water. After passing by Phra Chedi Sri Suriyuthai, and a busy marketplace, we decided to take a break to watch the elephants and to rest my blistered feet. A tuk tuk driver stopped to toss out some coconuts for the elephants to eat. We laughed as one carried away 3 coconuts with his trunk while lugging around tourists on his back.
After getting our bus trip booked for Kanchanaburi for the next morning, we stopped for lunch at a very busy local place I’ve been dying to eat at for their pork noodle soup, Guayabera Teow Nuaa (Sen lek). Sen Lek means medium rice noodles. The rest I don’t know. The important takeaway here is that the soup was damn good!
After that delicious meal, we returned to “Ayutthaya Heritage Restaurant” to hang out with Steven again. He tells us that Aom lives in an electronically gated community and was celebrating her birthday there when the power went out. She’s apparently stuck there until they get it fixed and can’t make it into work. Steven was mildly panicked since he informed us that he had no idea how to make cocktails.
We hung out for a couple drinks before walking across the street to a very bustling market which had many tasty snacks to explore. The first thing we sampled were tiny little fried eggs. Were they from a quail? A pigeon? Who knows! But they were tasty.
Trevor went for his tried and true chicken on a stick. My eyes were focused on a strange delicacy I was curious to try. I had never eaten any insects before and they’re kind of popular over here, so when I saw a vendor selling three different kinds, I was intrigued. I was staring down the crickets since they seemed like the less juicy option. The thought of having bug guts exploding in my mouth was not tempting. I decided to sit and watch to see what the locals favored. I went for these little larvae, grub-like thingies, since that seemed to be the one every Thai shopper was purchasing.
Although I would probably never get them again, they were surprisingly decent. They had a nutty taste to them, were not at all juicy, and kind of tasted like they had been stir fried in soy sauce. I went from outlandish to familiar when I made fried chicken my last purchase, which I shared with Trevor.
We contacted the folks at home back at the hostel, and my stomach was feeling a little angry. Maybe a whole bag of grubs was too much for my Westernized stomach. I would experience yet another restless night. Like the night before, I was kept awake by barking dogs and a singing nocturnal bird.
Jump Back to Part 9: Spacey Tuk Tuks, A Bucket of Turtles & The Ashes of Kings
Jump Ahead to Part 11: A Grumpy Driver, Jungle Curry & Happy Hour
OR
Start from the Beginning at Part 1: Mumbai to Chiang Mai
Stubbs Rambles On 